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Bible Quotations For Today
"You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’".
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12/16-21: "Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, "What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?" Then he said, "I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry." But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’".

But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?"
Letter to the Romans 03/01-07: "What advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much, in every way. For in the first place the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written, ‘So that you may be justified in your words, and prevail in your judging.’ But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?"

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 26/16
VIDEO: Evidence of Hezbollah coaching Houthis, planning attacks on Riyadh/Al Arabiya/February 25/16
Hezbollah’s Achilles heel/Michael Young/Now Lebanon/February 25/16
Iran and Hezbollah, hijackers of planes/Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/February 25/16
Will Lebanon become a state once again/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/February 25/16
Saudi piles pressure on Lebanon for siding with Iran/By Bassem Mroue /The Washington Post/ AP February 25
Gulf expulsions threaten Lebanese remittances/By Osama Habib/The Daily Star./February 25/16
Iranian Ambassador To Lebanon: Iran Will Give $7,000 To The Family Of Every 'Martyr Of The Jerusalem Intifada/MEMRI/February 25/16
Iranian Ambassador To Lebanon: Iran Will Give $7,000 To The Family Of Every 'Martyr Of The Jerusalem Intifada/MEMRI/February 25/16
The pretend ceasefire in Syria/Kyle Orton/Now Lebanon/February 25/16
What is Abadi doing to protect Iraq’s Christians/Cynthia Milan/Al-Monitor/February 25/16
Will Hamas, Israel fight again this year/Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/February 25/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on February 26/16
VIDEO: Evidence of Hezbollah coaching Houthis, planning attacks on Riyadh
Nearly 90 Lebanese Fired from Their Jobs in Saudi Arabia
Salam Speaks of 'Progress' in Trash File after 'Facilitations' Offered by some Sides
Rifi Affirms Yemeni Accusations on Hizbullah's Interferences in Arab States
Mashnouq: We're Reevaluating Presence in Govt., Dialogue, More Arab States May Join GCC Measures
Hariri Slams Hizbullah 'Documented Killing' in Arab Countries, Vows Peaceful Confrontation
Military Court Charges Suspect with Terrorism, Refers19 to Trial
Social Media Users Slam Government as 'River of Trash' Gains Infamy
Hizbullah, Mustaqbal Hold Mini Dialogue after Rising Tension
U.S. Diplomat Warns Lebanon Reaching Edge of Abyss
Iran and Hezbollah, hijackers of planes
Will Lebanon become a state once again?
Saudi piles pressure on Lebanon for siding with Iran
Gulf expulsions threaten Lebanese remittances
Hezbollah’s Achilles heel

VIDEO: Evidence of Hezbollah coaching Houthis, planning attacks on Riyadh
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/02/25/VIDEO-Evidence-of-Hezbollah-coaching-Houthis-planning-attacks-on-Riyadh.html
Al Arabiya/February 25/16/New video footage shows the Lebanese-based Shiite group Hezbollah being involved with terrorist activities in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The Government in Yemen confirmed that Hezbollah is directly caught up with the war tearing through the country between pro-legitimacy forces and insurgents. The insurgency is being led by Houthis and militias affiliated with the ousted former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The video recording broadcasted exhibited a Hezbollah commander referred to as “Abu-Saleh,” who is responsible for training Houthi militants. Training revolved around operations that will take place in Saudi Arabia in the future. The Hezbollah commander dubbed them: operations “impair Saudi Arabia”. Abu-Saleh reveals plans for assassinating high-up figureheads in Riyadh, the assassinations would be carried out by terrorist attacks and bombings. When the Hezbollah commander describes the process, a Yemeni recruit answers saying that it conveys suicide-attacks, however, the commander rephrased the explanation saying that it was “martyrdom”. Throughout the leaked video Abu-Saleh hints that there are terrorist attacks scheme planned for Saudi Arabia, yet the latter refuses to reveal their details before the Yemeni recruits, for being confidential.

Nearly 90 Lebanese Fired from Their Jobs in Saudi Arabia
Naharnet/February 25/16/Dozens of Lebanese employees have been fired from their jobs in Saudi Arabia, media reports said on Thursday, amid an unprecedented rift in the Saudi-Lebanese relations. “Around 90 Lebanese citizens have been informed by their employers in Saudi Arabia that they have been laid off,” MTV reported in the afternoon. The head of the Lebanese-Saudi Business Development Commission, Elie Rizk, confirmed the news to LBCI television. “Nearly 90 Lebanese from all affiliations and sects have been sacked,” he said. Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) also reported that around 90 Lebanese have been fired while noting that no decision has been taken to "deport" the laid off employees. The development is likely linked to the series of measures that Riyadh has taken in recent days in response to verbal attacks from Hizbullah over the wars in Syria and Yemen as well as recent diplomatic stances by Lebanon's foreign ministry. The measures started last Friday when the Saudi foreign ministry announced that the kingdom was halting around $4 billion in military aid to the Lebanese army and security forces. On Tuesday, the kingdom advised its citizens against travel to Lebanon and urged those already in the country to leave it, citing “safety” concerns. The rest of the Arab Gulf countries except for Oman followed suit on Tuesday and Wednesday, issuing similar travel warnings. Announcing the Saudi aid halt on Friday, an official said the kingdom had noticed "hostile Lebanese positions resulting from the stranglehold of Hizbullah on the state." Riyadh was making "a comprehensive review of its relations with the Lebanese republic," the unnamed official said, cited by the Saudi Press Agency. The Saudi official also said that Lebanon had not joined condemnation of the attacks on Riyadh's diplomatic missions in Iran, neither at the Arab League nor at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly accused Riyadh of backing terrorist groups in Yemen, Iraq and Syria and a Hizbullah statement has linked the Saudi backlash to economic pressures from the war in Yemen and lower oil revenues.

Salam Speaks of 'Progress' in Trash File after 'Facilitations' Offered by some Sides
Naharnet/February 25/16/Prime Minister Tammam Salam revealed on Thursday that progress has been made in resolving the country's ongoing trash disposal crisis. He credited this progress to “facilitations made by some sides over certain issues.” He made his remarks during a cabinet session held at the Grand Serail.No further details were made about the garbage crisis, but the premier said the “positive result” will emerge in the upcoming days. The cabinet also tackled the deterioration of ties between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia after the kingdom halted its aid grant to the Lebanese army last week. Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said after the government meeting: “Salam hoped that ministers would pay attention to their political stances in wake of cabinet's declaration on Monday of its commitment to Arab consensus.”“The government is doing its utmost to rectify the situation with Saudi Arabia and Gulf states,” he stressed. Saudi Arabia halted the aid in protest against Hizbullah's harsh criticism against the kingdom and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's abstention to vote in favor of Arab League resolutions condemning an attack against Riyadh's embassy in Tehran in January. Hizbullah has been very vocal in blaming Saudi Arabia for the unrest in Syria and Yemen. Saudi Arabia consequently issued travel advisories against Lebanon. Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates have also followed suit and issued similar warnings.

Rifi Affirms Yemeni Accusations on Hizbullah's Interferences in Arab States
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 25/16/Following Yemen's accusations that Hizbullah is sending fighters to engage in battles along the ranks of the Huthi rebels, former Minister Ashraf Rifi acknowledged the accusations and emphasized that Lebanon must not be used as a platform to launch verbal attacks against brethren countries. “Hizbullah has trained a lot of fighters in Bahrain, Yemen, Iraq and Syria,” Rifi said in a televised appearance on al-Arabiya TV channel. “It has engaged in battles against our people in Syria, Iraq and Yemen in addition to its participation in terrorist acts and military operations in some foreign countries,” he stated. “Lebanon must not be used as a platform to launch attacks at brethren and friendly nations,” concluded the ex-Minister. For his part, Lebanese Forces official MP Antoine Zahra noted that he was not surprised of Hizbullah's interventions in crisis-torn countries, he said: “The party is an Iranian tool in the hands of Tehran which moves it according to its own interests whether be that in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait and even in the Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia, if it was able to do so.”Zahra added: “The major problem lies in the fact that this party considers itself above the law and some parties in the government are not doing what should be done to deter it.” On Wednesday, Yemen's embattled government accused Shiite Hizbullah party of sending fighters to support Iran-backed Huthi rebels controlling parts of the war-ravaged country including the capital. The government has evidence of "Hizbullah's involvement in the Huthi war against the Yemeni people," its spokesman Rajih Badi said in a statement published by the official sabanew.net website. Hizbullah militants are present in "the battlefields along the border with Saudi Arabia," where attacks from Yemen have killed about 90 civilians and soldiers in the kingdom since March last year, said Badi. Hizbullah is taking part in the Yemeni war on the ground by training the Shiite Huthis and orchestrating attacks against Saudi Arabia, said Badi, urging "international legal measures" against the movement. "This evidence is documented and Hizbullah cannot deny its role in the destruction it is contributing to through the clear moral and logistic support" for the rebels, said Badi. Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab coalition battling the Huthis and their allies since last March in support of the government. The United Nations says the war has left more than 6,000 people dead. The government moved to the southern city of Aden after the Huthis captured the capital Sanaa in 2014. However, most of its senior officials, including President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, spend most of their time in Riyadh against a backdrop of worsening security. Riyadh said last week it had halted a total of $4 billion military funding program for Beirut in response to "hostile" positions linked to Hizbullah, which is also fighting opponents of the Syrian regime. In a statement, Iran-backed Hizbullah said Saudi Arabia stopped the military aid because of economic pressures from the war in Yemen and lower oil revenues. Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with its regional rival Tehran last month after demonstrators stormed its embassy and a consulate following the Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Mashnouq: We're Reevaluating Presence in Govt., Dialogue, More Arab States May Join GCC Measures
Naharnet/February 25/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq warned Thursday that al-Mustaqbal movement is “reevaluating” its presence in the government, the national dialogue sessions and the bilateral dialogue with Hizbullah, after a series of Saudi measures against Lebanon sparked a new standoff in the country with the Hizbullah-led camp. “I'm in favor of suspending the bilateral dialogue with Hizbullah,” said Mashnouq in an interview with LBCI television. “Who said that we will stay in this government? We are currently reevaluating our presence in the government, in the dialogue with Hizbullah and in the national dialogue sessions,” he added, in response to a question. Riyadh has taken a series of measures in recent days in response to verbal attacks from Hizbullah over the wars in Syria and Yemen as well as recent diplomatic stances by Lebanon's foreign ministry. The measures started last Friday when the Saudi foreign ministry announced that the kingdom was halting around $4 billion in military aid to the Lebanese army and security forces. On Tuesday, the kingdom advised its citizens against travel to Lebanon and urged those already in the country to leave it, citing “safety” concerns. The rest of the Arab Gulf countries except for Oman followed suit on Tuesday and Wednesday, issuing similar travel warnings. And on Thursday, media reports said around 90 Lebanese citizens have been fired from their jobs in Saudi Arabia. Announcing the Saudi aid halt on Friday, an official said the kingdom had noticed "hostile Lebanese positions resulting from the stranglehold of Hizbullah on the state."“The 'Death to the House of Saud' slogan is an attack against Lebanon,” Mashnouq told LBCI, referring to a slogan that has been chanted during recent Hizbullah rallies. The minister also accused Hizbullah of having trained Iran-linked militants who have been allegedly captured in several countries across the world. “Iranian revolutionary guard terrorist cells that were captured in eight countries comprised members who were trained in Lebanon” at the hands of Hizbullah, Mashnouq declared. “What do we have to do with Kenya, Kuwait or Nigeria? Why would the resistance play a role in these countries and to serve which project?” he asked. “What is the purpose of the arms depots in Nigeria? Who has tasked us to defend the Bahraini opposition or to plot coups in Kuwait and other countries?” added Mashnouq. Turning to the Saudi and Gulf measures against Lebanese interests, the minister warned that “more Arab countries might join the Gulf countries in the confrontation against Lebanon and we might see an Arab summit in this regard.” “Lebanon cannot withstand this policy and no one has tasked us to reform the Saudi regime,” he cautioned, referring to recent Hizbullah stances. “A 'shock policy' is being used with Lebanon and I hope it will wake everyone up,” Mashnouq added, referring to the Saudi and Gulf measures.

Hariri Slams Hizbullah 'Documented Killing' in Arab Countries, Vows Peaceful Confrontation
Naharnet/February 25/16/Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri stressed Thursday that Hizbullah's terror accusations against Saudi Arabia are baseless while noting that the party's “practices, crimes and killing of others” in some Arab countries are “documented” and corroborated. “There are efforts to establish a truce (in Syria) and we hope it will last, but the final solution will eventually oust Bashar Assad and Hizbullah's members and militants will have to return to Lebanon,” said Hariri during a Center House meeting with a delegation representing Lebanon's Arab tribes.“What would the party say to the families and relatives of thousands of militants left dead, wounded or disabled by the fighting alongside Assad's dictatorial regime? How would it justify what happened?” the ex-PM asked. Hizbullah has deployed at least 6,000 militants to fight alongside Assad's forces against Islamist-led rebels and jihadists and around 1,000 Hizbullah members have been killed in Syria since the start of the conflict. The party argues that its intervention was necessary to protect Lebanon from extremist groups and to prevent the fall of Syria into the hands of hostile forces. “We frequently hear accusations that the kingdom is exporting terror. We want a single evidence or recording that confirms their baseless accusations,” Hariri added, referring to recent speeches by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who has accused Riyadh of backing terrorist groups in Yemen, Iraq and Syria. “Meanwhile, Hizbullah's practices, crimes and killing of others are documented and substantiated by countless pieces of evidence, from Syria to Iraq and from Bahrain to Kuwait, Yemen and other countries,” the former premier charged. “These practices are being committed in public and the evidence is in everyone's reach. We reject these practices that Lebanon cannot withstand,” Hariri told the delegation. Mustaqbal's leader pledged to cling to “the project aimed at rescuing Lebanon” and to raise the voice high against “Hizbullah's practices and violations at home and abroad.”“We are observing what's happening in Iraq and Syria and we must exert all efforts possible to insulate Lebanon from what's happening in these two nearby countries,” Hariri added. “The same as we managed to kick out the Syrian army from Lebanon without any violence, we are capable through our unity to face all challenges and threats and return the project of the state to the right track,” he went on to say. His remarks come a day after Yemen's embattled government accused Hizbullah of sending fighters to support Iran-backed Huthi rebels controlling parts of the war-ravaged country including the capital. The government has evidence of "Hizbillah's involvement in the Huthi war against the Yemeni people," its spokesman Rajih Badi said. Hizbullah is taking part in the Yemeni war on the ground by training the Shiite Huthis and orchestrating attacks against Saudi Arabia, said Badi, urging "international legal measures" against the movement. "This evidence is documented and Hizbullah cannot deny its role in the destruction it is contributing to through the clear moral and logistic support" for the rebels, said Badi. Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab coalition battling the Huthis and their allies since last March in support of the government. Riyadh said last week it had halted a $3 billion military funding program for Lebanon in response to "hostile" positions linked to Hizbullah. In a statement, Iran-backed Hizbullah said Saudi Arabia stopped the military aid because of economic pressures from the war in Yemen and lower oil revenues. Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with its regional rival Tehran last month after demonstrators stormed its embassy and a consulate following the Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

Military Court Charges Suspect with Terrorism, Refers19 to Trial
Naharnet/February 25/16/State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Thursday a detainee with terrorism and belonging to an armed terror group, reported the National News Agency. The suspect, known as Abou Malek Sara, is charged with booby-trapping vehicles, belonging to a terrorist group, and killing soldiers. The vehicles he booby-trapped include the one driven by Joumana Hmeid and another used in a bombing in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Dahieh, in 2014. Hmeid was charged over her involvement with al-Qaida-linked groups. She was detained in February 2014 on the Arsal-Labweh road when she was transporting a car rigged with explosives. She was released in December 2015 as part of a swap deal with al-Nusra Front to free a number of servicemen the group had kidnapped in August 2014 in the northeastern border town of Arsal. Also on Thursday, Military Tribunal Judge Fadi Sawan issued six indictments, accusing 17 detainees and two fugitives with belonging to the Islamic State and al-Nusra Front groups. The suspects include eight Syrians, while the rest are Lebanese. They were accused of seeking to carry out terror attacks in Arsal and the northeastern border region of Wadi Khaled. They also took part in fighting between the rival neighborhoods of Bab al-Tabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen in the northern city of Tripoli and vandalized public property. Arrest warrants have been issued against them and they were referred to the permanent military court for trial.

Social Media Users Slam Government as 'River of Trash' Gains Infamy
Naharnet/February 25/16/Social media users vented their anger at the Lebanese authorities on Thursday after CNN mocked what it called Beirut's river of trash in a Mount Lebanon town. “Congratulations on the new fame! (Lebanon) is the best country in the world,” a woman said on her Facebook account after sharing the video of the CNN report. “It's nice … We are stinking everywhere! Our smell has become international,” said another man. “You have disgraced us and disgraced the country,” another angry social media user wrote on his Facebook page. The river of garbage bags snakes its way through a street in Jdeideh that lies north of Beirut. The landfill, which stretches for hundreds of meters through the town, is the result of the eight-month-long trash crisis. “To all our great Lebanese politicians thanks for making international news for all the wrong reasons,” a man wrote on Twitter. “We made the news, now they are working on the Guinness book record,” another angry citizen tweeted. Lebanon's waste management crisis erupted in July last year when the country's largest landfill that used to receive the waste of Beirut and Mount Lebanon was Following the closure of the Naameh landfill, garbage began piling up on the streets of the capital and Mount Lebanon. Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb, who was in charge of the garbage file, proposed decentralization to resolve the crisis. His plan was dropped by the government after it approved a scheme to export the waste. But it turned out that the company, which had been tasked with exporting the trash to Russia, had forged the permits. Following the scandal, the authorities were left without a plan, with some officials calling for decentralization and allowing municipalities to collect and treat their own waste. Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) spokeswoman Mona Kalot said there was no backup plan in place. "We don't have a solution, but they're working on something else," she told CNN.

Hizbullah, Mustaqbal Hold Mini Dialogue after Rising Tension
Naharnet/February 25/16/A dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqal Movement has suffered a relapse as a result of the tension that rose last week following the Saudi announcement that it would cut $4 billion in aid to the Lebanese army and security forces. While the dialogue was held in Ain el-Tineh on Wednesday night, it was only attended by Nader Hariri, the adviser of al-Mustaqbal leader Saad Hariri, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's advisor Hajj Hussein Khalil, and Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil as the representative of Speaker Nabih Berri. Previous talks used to be attended by more representatives from the two parties, including Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, MP Samir al-Jisr, who are al-Mustaqbal officials, and Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah and Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan. A terse statement issued following the less than 30-minutes talks said the two sides discussed the “current situation.” According to reports, the Mustaqbal chief wanted to adjourn the dialogue but Berri, who is on an official visit to Brussels, insisted on holding the talks over fears that a postponement would create doubts on the dialogue's path. Tension rose last week between the Mustaqbal-led March 14 alliance and the Hizbullah-dominated March 8 camp after Riyadh's decision which came in retaliation to Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil's rejection to support Saudi resolutions against Iran during two recent meetings of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers. Bassil is an ally of Hizbullah, which is backed by Iran. Travel warnings issued by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar this week further exacerbated the situation. The Gulf countries also urged their citizens already in Lebanon to leave.

U.S. Diplomat Warns Lebanon Reaching Edge of Abyss
Naharnet/February 25/16/An American diplomat has said that Lebanon's situation is “fragile,” warning it is halfway into reaching the edge of the abyss, As Safir daily reported on Thursday. According to the newspaper, a Lebanese official quoted the diplomat as saying that the situation in Lebanon is “fragile politically and security wise.” “We would not be exaggerating if we say that your country is not at the edge of the abyss but it has reached midway into falling in it,” he said. But the diplomat stressed that Washington will not let go of Lebanon. “We will not let it fall,” he told the Lebanese official. The diplomat also warned that the deteriorating security situation could not just “destroy Lebanon but also lead to its disappearance.”Lebanon has been on edge since Friday over a dispute between the Hizbullah camp and Riyadh's backers as a result of a decision announced by Saudi Arabia to cut $4 billion in aid to the Lebanese army and security forces in retaliation for Lebanon siding with Iran in the Sunni kingdom's proxy wars with the Shiite power. The Saudi decision came after Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, who heads the Free Patriotic Movement that is allied with Hizbullah, declined to support Saudi resolutions against Iran during two recent meetings of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers. This week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar urged their citizens already in Lebanon to leave and issued a travel warning for nationals planning to visit the country.

Iran and Hezbollah, hijackers of planes
Turki Al-Dakhil/Al Arabiya/February 25/16
Saudi Arabia is confronting several schemes plotted by Iran. A few days ago, the Manila Times reported that it saw confidential documents confirming that a team of 10 people - including six Yemenis - have left Iran in separate flights via Turkey and arrived in several countries in South East Asia in an attempt to execute their plan to blow up and hijack Saudi airplanes.
Iran and its affiliates, primarily the terrorist group Hezbollah, have a history of targeting passenger planes. On April 29, 1986, Kuwait said it had thwarted an attempt by a group of 12 people to hijack a Kuwaiti Airways plane and take it to an unknown location in East Asia. Iran and its affiliates, primarily the terrorist group Hezbollah, have a history of targeting passenger planes. The investigation accused Imad Mughniyeh, then-Hezbollah’s leader of security apparatuses. In 1988, he hijacked the Kuwaiti Al-Jaberiya jet and forced it to alter its route toward Mashhad in Iran and then to Larnaca in Cyprus. Kuwaiti passengers Abdullah Khalidi and Khaled Ayoub were shot dead by Mughniyeh and dumped off the plane. Back then, Mughniyeh - upon direct orders from Hezbollah leaders - demanded the release of 17 prisoners held by Kuwait for their role in the 1983 bombings that in one day targeted the country’s major power plant, international airport, the American and French embassies, a petrochemical plant and a residential compound. Iran, Hezbollah and hijacked planes are a never-ending story of criminality that knows no limits or mercy.

Will Lebanon become a state once again?
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/February 25/16
Saudi Arabia’s suspension of aid worth $4 billion to Lebanon’s army and Internal Security Forces derives from Riyadh’s declining relationship with the Lebanese state since the hegemony of pro-Iran Hezbollah and its follower, the Free Patriotic Movement led by Michel Aoun. It is not true that Riyadh has had enough of Lebanese media criticism - despite this, Saudi support continued because it was aware that Lebanon is diverse religiously and politically. However, things took a dangerous turn when the Lebanese state broke with its Arab and Muslim neighbors after its Aounist Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil refused to adopt Arab condemnation of the arson attack against the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad. Gibran justified himself by claiming to protect Lebanese national unity and impartiality.
Hezbollah’s hegemony
Lebanese Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi resigned because of “Hezbollah’s influence in government” and its paralyzing of the country’s politics. The people have been prevented from electing a president for 21 months due to Hezbollah, which does not consider the state a priority and is busy waging regional wars.
Hezbollah is managing Lebanon’s foreign affairs. For now, Lebanon is not even close to being a state. The party issued a statement in response to the Saudi aid suspension, evading responsibility for the deterioration of Lebanese-Saudi relations and repeating the usual insults toward Riyadh. Hezbollah is managing Lebanon’s foreign affairs through Bassil. For now, Lebanon is not even close to being a state.

Saudi piles pressure on Lebanon for siding with Iran
By Bassem Mroue /The Washington Post/ AP February 25
BEIRUT — Saudi Arabia has lashed out at Lebanon, cutting off billions of dollars of aid and telling its citizens to leave the country, after Beirut sided with Iran in the fallout over the execution of a Saudi Shiite cleric, in a diplomatic dispute that threatens Lebanon’s struggling economy.
The tension reflects the worsening Sunni-Shiite conflict in the Middle East, which is driven by regional powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Iran, who are fighting proxy wars in Syrbia, Yemen and, to a lesser extent, in Iraq.
Saudi’s punitive measures against Lebanon began last week after the Lebanese foreign minister, Gibran Bassil, an ally of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, declined to support Saudi resolutions against Iran during two meetings of Arab and Muslim foreign ministers.
The resolution sought to condemn Iran over attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions following Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr in early January.
Riyadh announced Friday it was halting $4 billion in aid grants due to what it described as stances taken by Lebanese officials which “were not in harmony with the ties between the two countries.”
This week, Saudi Arabia called on its citizens not to travel to Lebanon for safety reasons and ordered those staying there to leave. Its Gulf allies Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar predictably followed suit, issuing similar warnings. The United Arab Emirates also banned its citizens from traveling to Lebanon and withdrew a number of diplomats from the country.
Lebanon’s political elite is deeply divided between two powerful Saudi and Iran-backed coalitions. The spat has exacerbated divisions among Lebanon’s notoriously fractious politicians, who traded accusations over the billions of dollars lost. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 and parliament has failed to elect a new head of state because of lack of a quorum.
Concerns have been sparked that further steps could be taken by Saudi Arabia and its neighbors, such as gulf airlines halting flights to Beirut or the eviction of thousands of Lebanese who work in the oil-rich region, a move that would have a devastating effect on Lebanon’s crumbling economy.
There are some half a million Lebanese living in the gulf. They transfer billions of dollars to their home country in remittances, giving a boost to Lebanon’s economy, which has among the highest debt in the world — currently standing at $70 billion or 145 per cent of GDP.
Lebanese economist Louis Hobeika said the eviction of Lebanese migrant workers in the gulf would be the most damaging move Saudi could make. Yet, he suggested that such retaliation would be mutually harmful. “Lebanese hold key positions in companies and it is not very easy to replace him,” he said.
Some analysts say Saudi Arabia is going to deport some foreign workers anyway as projects in the kingdom are cancelled due to falling oil prices.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday before a Cabinet meeting, Economy Minister Alain Hakim urged calm. He said Lebanese should not “panic before any measures by gulf states because such fears harm our economy.”
Local media reports say some worried citizens were changing their accounts in Lebanese pounds to U.S. dollars but officials say people should not worry about the pound since the Central Bank can defend it with its $40 billion foreign currency reserves.
Central Bank governor Riad Salameh told the daily Al-Akhbar that “markets did not show any fears and were very normal this week.”
Saudi officials say they want Lebanon to “fix the mistakes” but did not say how they can be fixed.
“Mistakes were made in two international arenas,” said Saudi ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awad Assiri. “What is wanted now is for the side that made the mistake to fix it.”
Some local media reports in Lebanon have argued that the Saudis may be applying pressure to secure the release of a member of the royal family held in Lebanon since October on drug charges.
Abdul-Mohsen al-Waleed Al Saud , was detained in Beirut after authorities seized two tons of amphetamine Captagon pills before they were loaded onto his private plane. On Wednesday, a Lebanese prosecutor indicted Al Saud of dealing and using drugs. Other analysts suggest Saudi Arabia may be seeking to compensate for its declining hold over Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia’s influence has been dwindling in Lebanon since early 2011, when pro-Saudi prime minister Saad Hariri was ousted by Hezbollah and its allies. For the past two years, the Saudi-backed March 14 coalition has failed to see one of their leaders elected president. Now they are nominating legislator Suleiman Franjieh, a friend of Assad and a close ally of Hezbollah, for the country’s top job.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah, which has sent thousands of fighters to back Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces, is benefiting from recent victories against Saudi-backed insurgents in Syria.
“Saudi Arabia (is) feeling for a good reason that its influence in Lebanon is on the decline,” said Ayham Kamel, a Middle East expert with the political risk and consulting firm, Eurasia Group.
“The Saudi message is don’t think you can translate victories in Syria and control the system in Lebanon. We have plenty of leverage through our economic muscles,” Kamel said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/saudi-piles-pressure-on-lebanon-for-siding-with-iran/2016/02/25/97f525f0-dbf8-11e5-8210-f0bd8de915f6_story.html

Gulf expulsions threaten Lebanese remittances
By Osama Habib/The Daily Star./Published February 25th, 2016
Lebanon’s remittances and capital inflow could fall dramatically if some of the oil-rich Gulf states decide to expel a big number of Lebanese expatriates, economists warned Tuesday. “There are around 500,000 Lebanese working in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states and nearly 15 percent of them are Shiites. If these governments opt to expel a large portion of the Shiites then this could affect the inflow of remittances quite considerably,” economist Ghazi Wazni told The Daily Star. The prospect of mass expulsion of Lebanese working in the Gulf Cooperation Countries heightened in recent days as Saudi Arabia decided to freeze the delivery of nearly $4 billion of grants to Lebanon to protest what it termed as Hezbollah’s intervention in Arab affairs and the failure of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil to endorse the Arab League’s final communique on the attack against the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. A few days ago the United Arab Emirates expelled 20 Lebanese families under the pretext of security.
Sources said that most of those who are being targeted belong to the Shiite sect and some Christians who are politically affiliated with MP Michel Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia and UAE Tuesday issued a travel warning for Lebanon and advised all their nationals to leave the country.
This action is seen as an attempt to apply pressure on the Lebanese government to rein in Hezbollah and to show more solidarity with all decisions issued by the Arab League. In 2015, remittances from the GCC fell by 27 percent to reach $4.5 billion and if more Lebanese are expelled this year, these remittances would definitely fall below $4 billion. However, Wazni did not believe that the GCC would expel all the Lebanese because it would be very difficult to find replacements for qualified employees. “I don’t think the Gulf states are even mulling the expulsion of most of the Lebanese but they could target some of the Shiites,” he added. Wazni said that in the worst-case scenario, which is not very likely, the Gulf states could expel the 75,000 Shiites expatriates, and if this happens the economic ramifications would be terrible. He stressed that Saudi Arabia and the GCC states have no interest in destabilizing the situation in Lebanon, especially since most of the economic sectors are very close to the Gulf States. “All or most of the banks and businesses in Lebanon have very good ties with the Gulf States and for this reason Saudi Arabia is not too keen on more punitive measures [because they would] hurt its supporters,” Wazni said.
Economist Marwan Iskander warned that the expulsion of the Lebanese Shiites from the GCC could have counter-effects.
“If the Lebanese Shiites and specially the wealthy ones were expelled, I fear that that this would bring them closer to Hezbollah. I hope that we will never reach this stage,” Iskander said. According to Iskander, the immediate effects of the Saudi measures are psychological and not financial.
He also ruled out the possibility of withdrawal of the deposits of Gulf nationals from Lebanese commercial banks. “I don’t think we have more than 15 percent of the deposits belonging to Gulf nationals. I don’t believe they will be withdrawn because the interest rates on deposits in Lebanon are higher than many other countries,” Iskander said. He also dismissed the possibility that the Saudi and Gulf investors would liquidate their hotel and tourism investments in Lebanon so quickly. “They cannot liquidate them overnight. Who is going to buy hotels in Lebanon under the current conditions?” Iskander explained.
The Gulf investments in Lebanon are close to $6 billion and are mainly in hotels, sea resorts and prime real estate. The economists also did not see catastrophic results in case Saudi Arabia decided to withdraw its $1 billion deposit at the Central Bank. They added that Lebanon’s foreign currency reserves at the Central Bank are around $48 billion and if they dropped by $1 billion, it would not make a big difference. Sources said that a high-ranking Lebanese delegation is expected to visit Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain soon to assert Lebanon’s strong commitment to these states.

Iranian Ambassador To Lebanon: Iran Will Give $7,000 To The Family Of Every 'Martyr Of The Jerusalem Intifada'
The Middle East Media Research Institute(MEMRI).February 25/16/Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad FathAli pledged that Iran would give a sum of $7,000 to the family of every "martyr of the Jerusalem Intifada." Speaking at a press conference held in Beirut on February 24, FathAli further said that Iran would give a sum of $30,000 to "any family whose house was destroyed by the occupation, because one of its members participated in the Jerusalem Intifada against the Zionist occupiers." Amb. Mohammad FathAli: "We extend our utmost respect and appreciation to the jihad-fighting Palestinian people, especially in Jerusalem and in Palestine, for their great jihad and sacrifices, their martyrs, prisoners, and wounded. We all hope, and we have full confidence in Allah, that the blood of the martyrs will liberate Palestine – Palestine in its entirety, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. This is not beyond the power of Allah. "The moment the blessed Islamic Revolution in Iran was victorious, the flag of Palestine was raised [above the Israeli Embassy] and the flag of the plundering Zionist entity was taken down and burned. Tehran, the capital of the revolution, hosted the first Palestinian embassy in the world, thus declaring the beginning of the age of victories of the oppressed over the arrogant, with the fall of the tyrant, and the establishment of the Iranian Islamic Republic, which has supported the causes of the oppressed around the world, and first and foremost of the beloved Palestinian people.
"Dear brothers, in keeping with our Islamic and human principles, we denounce the Zionist occupation and its crimes, and we invest all the capabilities at our disposal in fighting it, in order to vanquish it and bring about its demise. "The Iranian Islamic Republic, as has been its practice, and in keeping with its support for the oppressed Palestinian people – support that was never stopped and was never influenced by anything, and despite all the years of oppressive sanctions – has decided to give sums of money, which would help the jihad-fighting Palestinian people to remain steadfast on its land, to confront the occupation and to alleviate its suffering. The decision is, first of all, to provide the family of every martyr of the Jerusalem Intifada against the occupation with the sum of $7,000. "Secondly, a sum of $30,000 will be given to any family whose house was destroyed by the occupation because one of its members participated in the Jerusalem Intifada against the Zionist occupiers."

Hezbollah’s Achilles heel
Michael Young/Now Lebanon/February 25/16
The Saudi decision to cut funding for the Lebanese army and security forces has been puzzling. As the Lebanese have absorbed the shock of this and subsequent Saudi and Gulf measures, they have wondered what it is they’re supposed to do.
Ambiguity can be useful, because it tends to force the target of one’s sanctions to over-interpret what needs to be done to fall back into line. But even there the Saudi move has caused consternation, and the way it has been interpreted by pro-Saudi commentators is that the kingdom wishes to isolate Hezbollah.
But is denying the army weapons the way to do so? How does one explain the fact that the Saudis promised the Lebanese army military aid in December 2013, at a moment not strikingly different than today? Hezbollah was deployed in Syria then and security threats in the country were on the rise. The decision was interpreted as, mainly, a reward to France, the intended supplier in the arrangement, because its government had taken a hard line with Iran in negotiations over a nuclear accord.
What has really changed to merit a turnaround? On top of that Lebanon is in a very dangerous place today, on the edge economically. Pushing it over would very likely create a massive humanitarian crisis and great instability, with some 1.5 million Syrian refugees in the country. This could precipitate a domestic sectarian conflict with dramatic repercussions. The country might not only attract extremists as has Syria, but could turn into the source of a new migration crisis affecting Europe.
That’s the nightmare scenario at least, and the indications are that both the United Nations and some European states are warning the Saudis against pushing Lebanon too far. It appears, at least for now, that this is not Riyadh’s intention. The kingdom realizes that there is considerable opposition to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and that, for example, expelling Lebanese workers from the Gulf states would simply undermine its own Lebanese sympathizers while opening a golden door to Iran.
For a better sense of what the Saudis want, the French-language L’Orient-Le Jour this week spoke to Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist with very close ties to the regime. “Saudi Arabia is not withdrawing from Lebanon,” he told the newspaper. “Saudi Arabia had agreed with the countries of the region, notably Iran, to freeze the situation in Lebanon in order to spare it the repercussions of the situation in Syria. That equation is now being challenged, since Saudi Arabia has become the only guarantor of the stability of a country that has become a base of support for Iran’s policies, implemented by Hezbollah.”
Khashoggi went on to say, “The key message, it seems to me, is that Saudi Arabia must not be taken for granted.”
While it’s true that Hezbollah has had free rein in Lebanon in recent years--prolonging the presidential vacuum and acting with impunity on many fronts—it’s unclear how the party’s adversaries can respond to an armed organization that never hesitates to resort to violence. The Saudis do not desire a Sunni-Shiite civil war in Lebanon, that much appears to be evident.
This means they prefer a political initiative, one that involves putting Hezbollah into the corner. What we can expect in the coming period is a harder line by March 14, which will make the country even more dysfunctional than it already is. The objective is to make all Hezbollah moves more costly and difficult.
Oddly enough, the wild card in all this is Michel Aoun, who has been left unmentioned in the latest saga, except for the fact that his son-in-law provoked Saudi ire. It must have dawned on the general by now that Hezbollah has refused to ensure his election as president, even though it could easily do so by persuading its ally Nabih Berri to swing his bloc’s votes behind the general.
For a man who sided with Hezbollah against the parliamentary majority because he thought it would get him elected, the party’s behavior must be deeply disconcerting. How long will Aoun remain silent? If he could persuade the Saudis and his Sunni counterparts that his presidency would not serve Iran’s interests, a consensus around Aoun could ensure that the presidential vacuum prolonged by Hezbollah is finally filled.
For now, however, Aoun is regarded by the Saudis as a Hezbollah peon. Yet the only realistic way to isolate Hezbollah is for the Saudis to persuade Aoun to take his distance from the party. Khashoggi pointedly remarked, “The Free Patriotic Movement, Hezbollah’s ally, is providing cover for a project that does not resemble it. What unites the FPM with wilayat al-faquih?”
Was that an invitation for Aoun to realign? Khashoggi has no official capacity, but he is privy to the thinking in the Saudi leadership. Would the Saudis reconsider their views of Aoun were he to take a more centrist position, with the result that Hezbollah could find itself without a strong Christian partner?
That cannot be ruled out. As Aoun becomes more frustrated with the absence of backing from Hezbollah for his presidential bid, he may be tempted to shift. The Saudis have now made the equation more stark than ever. They want Hezbollah to stand alone and Aoun is the party’s potential Achilles heel. Without him its agenda could be crippled. Aoun may sense an opportunity.
**Michael Young is opinion editor of The Daily Star newspaper. He tweets @BeirutCalling.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/566658-hezbollahs-achilles-heel

Minister Dion appalled by Bantleman verdict
February 25, 2016 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement:
“The Government of Canada is deeply dismayed and shocked that the Supreme Court of Indonesia has overturned the Jakarta High Court’s acquittal of Neil Bantleman and his Indonesian co-accused, Ferdi Tjiong, based on lack of evidence.
“This decision is unjust, given the many grave irregularities throughout the various proceedings in this case and the fact that all evidence presented by the defence has systematically been rejected. Mr. Bantleman and Mr. Tjiong were not provided the opportunity to demonstrate their innocence. Despite Canada’s repeated calls for due process, this case was not handled in a fair and transparent manner.
“The outcome of this case has serious implications for Indonesia’s reputation as a safe place for Canadians to work, travel and invest as well as for Canada’s long history of cooperation with Indonesia.
“Canada will continue to raise the case of Mr. Bantleman at the highest levels. Canadian officials will continue to provide consular assistance to Mr. Bantleman.”

Saudi jets to arrive in Turkey to strike ISIS
AFP, Ankara Thursday, 25 February 2016/Saudi jets are due to arrive at a Turkish base this week take part in the air campaign against ISIS in Syria, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday. “We are expecting the planes to arrive today or tomorrow (Friday),” Cavusoglu told the state-run Anatolia news agency, adding that Saudi equipment and personnel had already arrived on the ground. The planes are to be stationed at the Incirlik base, which is already hosting US, British and French war planes taking part in the strikes against IS fighters in Syria. Private NTV television said four Saudi F-15 jets would arrive at Incirlik on Friday. It said that 30 ground personnel and equipment had already arrived aboard C-130 Hercules military transport planes on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia and Turkey both see the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as essential for ending Syria’s five-year civil war and are bitterly critical of Iran and Russia’s support of the Syrian regime. The two countries have in recent months moved to considerably tighten relations that had been damaged by Riyadh’s role in the 2013 ousting of Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi, a close ally of Ankara. Ankara has said it is in favor of a ground operation in Syria, but only if it is conducted in coordination with Saudi Arabia and other Western and Gulf members of the anti-ISIS coalition. “We have since the beginning argued for the necessity of ground operations and all kinds of strategic moves to be carried out in addition to the air campaign,” Cavusoglu said.

Syrian army grabs Aleppo province town from ISIS
The Associated Press, Beirut Thursday, 25 February 2016/Syria's state-run news agency and an opposition monitoring group say government troops have recaptured a town in Aleppo province from ISIS militants. Read also: U.S. sees capture of Syria town key to destroying ISIS. The victory is key for Syria's military access to the provincial capital, Aleppo city. SANA says the army took the town of Khanaser on Thursday, after three days of heavy battles with the extremist group. The report says heavy fighting was ongoing to reopen the road to Aleppo city. ISIS seized Khanaser and surrounding hills on Tuesday, cutting the government's main land route to the city. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition monitoring group, says the army and pro-government Shiite militias were backed by Russian airstrikes in the push on Khanaser. The advance comes ahead of a cease-fire meant to start on midnight Friday.

Anti-ISIS gains in Syria clear way for Raqqa assault: US
AFP, Washington Thursday, 25 February 2016/Recent gains by US-backed fighters battling the Islamic State group in northeastern Syria are paving the way for an assault on Raqqa, the militants’ de facto Syrian capital, a US official said Wednesday. A Kurdish-led alliance called the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have encircled the town of Al-Shadadi in Hasakeh province in recent days. The fighters have enjoyed broad support from a US-led coalition conducting air strikes on ISIS targets. “There’s still work to be done and we expect ISIL fighters to put up a fight, but we expect Shadadi to be liberated in the very near future,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said, using an alternative acronym for the ISIS group. Davis said the recapture of Al-Shadadi would be followed “in the very near future” by anti-ISIS forces encircling Raqqa, ahead of an assault on the city. “The momentum is moving (to Raqqa), and the momentum currently is in Shadadi,” Davis said. He declined to speculate on a timeline for a Raqqa push. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said last week that the SDF were in control of al-Shadadi, but were still engaged in “mopping up” operations outside the town. The United States has highlighted Raqqa, and the Iraqi city of Mosul, as key targets in the anti-ISIS fight. ISIS forces seized Raqqa in early 2014 and declared it the capital of their so-called caliphate. In June the same year, the militants seized Mosul. Rather than sending large deployments of US forces into Iraq and Syria to fight the ISIS group, the United States has focused on training and assisting local fighters, saying they are best able to sustain a lasting defeat of the jihadist group. Since August 2014, the US-led coalition has pounded IS targets in Iraq and Syria. The militants have lost considerable ground in those two countries but expanded their presence in Libya.

U.S. sees capture of Syria town key to destroying ISIS
Reuters, Washington Thursday, 25 February 2016/U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told Congress on Thursday that the expected capture of the Syrian town of al-Shadadi would represent a key step toward dismantling ISIS in Syria. Read also: Syrian army grabs Aleppo province town from ISIS.“By encircling and taking this town, we are seeking to sever the last major northern artery between Raqqa and Mosul, and ultimately dissect the parent tumor into two parts,” Carter said in prepared remarks to the House Appropriations Committee. For months, the town of al-Shadadi, a key logistics hub for the group, has been in the sites of U.S.-backed forces that Washington has repeatedly resupplied with weapons to bolster their advance. Carter pointed to the battle for al-Shadadi as he cited “operationally significant strides” in the campaign against the Sunni militant group, including Iraq’s recapture of the city of Ramadi from ISIS last year.

U.N. considers resolution to back Syria ceasefire
AFP, United Nations Thursday, 25 February 2016/U.N. Security Council diplomats are discussing a draft resolution that would endorse the deal on cessation of hostilities in Syria, diplomats said Wednesday. Russia and the United States, which negotiated the ceasefire deal, are working on a text that could be adopted on Friday, a council diplomat said. “I think there will be a resolution that we will agree then to welcome the cessation of hostilities negotiated by the U.S. and Russia,” he said. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura will report to the council on Friday, a few hours before the ceasefire is due to go into effect. Russia and the United States have set a deadline of midnight Damascus time (2200 GMT) Friday for “the cessation of hostilities” between President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and rebel forces. The deal excludes ISIS and the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, which control large swaths of territory in Syria. If the ceasefire takes holds, De Mistura hopes to convene a new round of peace talks next week, possibly around March 4, said a council diplomat. The truce will also help U.N. agencies scale up deliveries of humanitarian aid to hard-to-reach areas across Syria’s many frontlines.

UN eyes new round of Syria talks
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Thursday, 25 February 2016/United Nations Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura will announce Friday – the day when the expected ceasefire will take place - a date for a new round of talks between Syria’s warring parties. Countries belonging to the “International Syria Support Group” will also hold a meeting of their ceasefire taskforce on Friday, De Mistura said told reporters on Thursday. That would be the first meeting of the taskforce, and follows a U.S.-Russia proposal for a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria.
Russian concerns
Meanwhile, Russia expressed its concerns after U.S. statements talking about a “Plan B” for Syria if the proposed ceasefire fails, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Thursday, the TASS news agency reported. “U.S. statements on the availability of some Plan B give rise to concern. We know nothing about it,” Bogdanov was cited as saying. Russia and the United States have set a deadline of midnight Damascus time (2200 GMT) Friday for the “cessation of hostilities” between President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and non-jihadist rebel forces. The deal, which marks the biggest diplomatic push yet to help end the five-year conflict in Syria, excludes ISIS and other Sunni extremists. On Wednesday, both the Syrian regime and the opposition agreed to ceasefire on Friday. Syria’s main opposition grouping said it would respect a provisional ceasefire in Syria “for two weeks.”
Turkey on Syria ceasefire
On Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said a ceasefire agreed between Syria’s warring parties was only valid inside Syria and was “not binding” for Turkey if its national security was threatened. “It must be known that the ceasefire is valid in Syria,” Davutoglu said in televised remarks in the central Anatolian province of Konya. “When it is a question of Turkey’s security, then the ceasefire is not binding for us,” he added. Turkey on successive days last week targeted Kurdish fighters inside Syria with artillery barrages, saying that the army was responding to incoming fire, and had repeatedly reserved the right to open fire again. Davutoglu said Turkey would closely monitor how the ceasefire would be implemented, adding: “We support the ceasefire under any circumstances.”

French president suggests Argentina help with Syrian crisis
The Associated Press, Buenos Aires, Argentina Thursday, 25 February 2016/French President Francois Hollande suggested Wednesday that Argentina could take in some of the hundreds of thousands of Syrians fleeing civil war. The idea appeared to be an off-the-cuff comment during a news conference by Hollande and Argentine President Mauricio Macri after they met privately and signed agreements on issues ranging from fighting terrorism to increasing cultural exchanges. Hollande lauded Argentina’s history of receiving immigrants, mentioning Syrians and Lebanese who arrived in the South American nation decades ago. Then, without referring to Argentina by name, he said through a translator that “we must make an effort wherever we are” to receive people in refugee camps in Jordan and Syria. With necessary controls implemented, refugees could be received in places with “existing communities from those countries that can help,” he added. As Hollande spoke, Macri didn’t make any notable facial expressions. The two leaders then left. It wasn’t clear if the two had discussed the issue privately or if Argentina was contemplating taking in some of the hundreds of thousands of Syrian’s who have fled their country’s civil war. Receiving refugees was not one of the agreements the two leaders mentioned. Beginning in the early 20th century, Argentina took in thousands of Syrians and Lebanese, waves of immigrants that continued to come during times of turmoil in the Middle East. Carlos Menem, who was Argentine president in 1989-1999, was born to Syrian parents. However, Argentina has not received many Syrian refugees in recent years. Since 2014, about 200 have come in under “Program Syria,” according to immigration authorities. The program gives humanitarian visas for two years and appears to have mostly been used by Syrians with relatives in Argentina. Hollande, who is on a tour of South America, planned to attend a ceremony Thursday paying tribute to victims of Argentina’s 1976-1983 dictatorship. He also planned to meet with Estela de Carlotto, head of the human rights group Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo.

Germany expects arrival of 3.6 mln refugees by 2020
Reuters, Berlin Thursday, 25 February 2016/The German government expects a total influx of 3.6 million refugees by 2020, with an average of half a million people arriving each year, German media reported on Thursday, in a country that took in a record 1.1 million migrants last year. The calculations are based on internal estimates by the Economy Ministry in coordination with other ministries, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung said. In order to project economic development, the Economy Ministry created “an internal, purely technical estimate on migration in coordination with other government departments”. There is no official government estimate on how many refugees Europe’s biggest economy expects over the next years, as numbers are highly volatile. But the unprecedented arrival of 1.1 million asylum seekers last year, included in the 3.6 million forecast, stretched public resources thin and put strains on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government. Merkel, whose open-door refugee policy has put her under much pressure, in recent months vowed to significantly reduce the number of people arriving this year. On Wednesday, German federal police said that they had only registered 103 migrants arriving on Tuesday, suggesting a sharp drop as a result of tighter controls along the Balkan At the start of the prior week, over 2,000 were arriving on a daily basis. Last autumn the daily arrivals sometimes totaled over 10,000.

Prosecution wants death penalty for 20 Saudis over spying for Iran
Al Arabiya/Thursday, 25 February 2016/A Saudi government prosecutor called for the death penalty for 20 Saudi suspects, and one Afghan, and for severe jail terms for the remaining four, three Saudis and one Iranian.A business analyst and a security serviceman are among the 32 people put on trial in Saudi Arabia this week for spying for Iran.

Saudi nuclear physicist ‘part of Iran spy ring’
By Mansour Al-Shihri Saudi Gazette, Riyadh Thursday, 25 February 2016/More details have emerged on the ongoing trial of 32 people accused of spying for Iran in Saudi Arabia, with latest developments being a nuclear physicist allegedly among the accused. A Saudi defendant on trial at the Criminal Court in Riyadh on Tuesday turned out to be a nuclear physicist, the Saudi Gazette reported. The spy ring consists of 30 Saudis, an Afghan national who worked as a cook at a rice restaurant and an Iranian who speaks fluent Arabic. Another Saudi defendant was a senior bank official. But neither his name nor the bank where he worked has been revealed. On Tuesday, the third day of the court sessions, eight of the defendants stood before the court. They consisted of six Saudis, the Iranian and the Afghan whom the court provided with an interpreter. The nuclear physicist told the judge that he had worked in China for six years. The Iranian suspect refused a lawyer and said he would defend himself. The judge, however, advised him to avail of legal counseling provided by the court. The general attorney, who read out the charges against the defendants, called for capital punishment for 31 defendants with the exception of the Iranian for whom he asked for a harsh and deterrent discretionary punishment. The judge asked them to prepare their written replies for the next session. The charges also included establishing an espionage cell in favor of Iran, passing classified information to Tehran, traveling to Lebanon and other areas for meetings with Iranian intelligence elements and plotting to sabotage a number of vital economic and military installations in Saudi Arabia.

Twin suicide bombing kills 12 at Shiite mosque in Baghdad
Reuters, Baghdad Thursday, 25 February 2016/Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a Shiite mosque in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 15 people, police and medical sources said. A further 50 people were wounded in the blast in the predominantly Shiite Shulaa neighborhood of the Iraqi capital.
The first assailant detonated his vest inside the mosque and the second blew himself up when security forces gathered at the site of the initial blast. Four of the victims were members of the security forces, the sources said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast but Shiite Muslims in Iraq are often targeted by Sunni ISIS militants.

Egyptians slam Sisi after ‘listen to me only’ speech
Reuters, Cairo Thursday, 25 February 2016/President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who once enjoyed widespread popular support, has come under withering criticism from Egyptians on social media after delivering a long televised speech on Wednesday. Signs are growing that the former army chief, who seized power in 2013, is losing popularity, though there are no clear indications his rule is under threat. Egyptian media, which once showered him with praise, have been critical lately. During his address on his vision for the future, Sisi seemed unsure of himself, at times delivering a barrage of random sentences. One Egyptian historian, Khaled Fahmy, compared Sisi to the late, eccentric Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi when he delivered a speech threatening to hunt down opponents in every corner of Libya as rebels challenged his rule. “Sisi’s speech is a historic speech in all ways,” he wrote on his Facebook page, suggesting the Egyptian president is on the defensive. Sisi toppled President Mohammad Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Security forces then shot dead hundreds of Mursi supporters and imprisoned thousands of others in a fierce crackdown. Less than a year later, Egyptians who opposed the Brotherhood and regarded Sisi as a decisive leader who could bring stability, elected him president. He has unveiled mega infrastructure projects he promised would turn around the economy but frustrations are growing on the street. Sisi often spoke in an aggressive tone in the speech, wagging his finger while providing few details on how he planned to improve life for Egyptians. “Don’t listen to anyone except me,” said Sisi. “I am speaking in all seriousness. I don’t lie or go around in circles and I don’t have any interest except my country.” Sisi asked Egyptians to donate a pound every morning towards tackling Egypt’s debt problem, and then said he would sell himself if he could to ease the burden. “I swear to God almighty, if I could be sold I would sell myself,” he said. Shortly after the speech, Ahmed Ghanem, an Egyptian living in the United States, took the leader at his words and listed Sisi on online auction site eBay. “For sale: Field Marshal, Philosopher with a military background in good shape,” said the advertisement. Within hours the bids reached $100,000 dollars, before it was taken down. Several Egyptians interviewed by Reuters said they could not care less about the speech. “Since he took power he has been talking and nothing has changed,” said shop owner Mohamed Nabil, 32. “People are about to explode again and he (Sisi) feels that his throne is shaky.”

Egyptian Christian teens jailed for ‘contempt of Islam’
AFP, Cairo Thursday, 25 February 2016/An Egyptian court on Thursday sentenced three Coptic Christian teenagers to five years in jail for contempt of Islam after they appeared in a video reciting Muslim prayers. A judge in the central Egyptian province of Minya also sent a fourth defendant, aged 15, to a juvenile detention center for an indefinite period. Defence lawyer Maher Naguib said the four had not intended to insult Islam in the video, but merely to mock the beheadings carried out by ISIS militants. The video was filmed on a mobile phone in January 2015 when the three teenagers who were sentenced to five years were aged between 15 and 17. The four had not yet been arrested as of Thursday and Naguib said he planned to appeal the judgement. “They have been sentenced for contempt of Islam and inciting sectarian strife,” Naguib told AFP. “The judge didn’t show any mercy. He handed down the maximum punishment.”In the video, one teenager can be seen kneeling on the ground and reciting Muslim prayers while others stand behind him, laughing.

Greece ‘won’t be Lebanon of Europe’: minister
AFP, Brussels Thursday, 25 February 2016/Greece on Thursday said it would not be left by the rest of the EU to become the “Lebanon of Europe” by hosting millions of migrants and refugees. Speaking ahead of a crucial meeting in Brussels, Greek migration minister Yannis Mouzalas criticized other countries for “unilateral” actions that affect Greece. “A very large number (of participants) here will attempt to discuss how to address a humanitarian crisis in Greece that they themselves intend to create,” he told reporters. “Greece will not accept unilateral actions. Greece can also carry out unilateral actions. Greece will not accept becoming Europe’s Lebanon, a warehouse of souls, even if this were to be done with major (EU) funding.” Four million refugees have fled Syria for the relative safety of neighboring countries, according to the United Nations, with more than one million in Lebanon. Greece is the main entry point for migrants to the EU, with most of them coming over the Aegean Sea to Turkey via the Greek islands. Athens faces growing pressure to stop “waving through” migrants to the rest of Europe, but it has criticised the response of the EU. Mouzalas in particular criticized Balkan countries that held talks in Austria on Wednesday at a meeting excluding Greece for agreeing border measures that would affect his country.

Libyan militia claim arrest of ISIS leader
The Associated Press, Benghazi, Libya Thursday, 25 February 2016/A Libyan militia loyal to the Islamist-backed government in Tripoli says it arrested the leader of the ISIS branch for a western city bombed by US forces last week. The Special Deterrent Force says in a Facebook post Thursday that it detained the city of Sabratha’s ISIS leader named Mohammed Saad al-Tajouri and killed dozens of ISIS members in a gunbattle. Al-Tajouri was also known as Abu Sulieman. SDF says he was sent by ISIS leaders in Sirte - a central city controlled by the group - to take charge of Sabratha. The militia says it will release videos of the arrest and al-Tajouri’s purported confessions. ISIS tried to take over Sabratha on Wednesday by storming the security headquarters and beheading at least 12 of the SDF fighters inside.

ISIS militants kill 17 in Libya’s Sabratha
Reuters, Tripoli Thursday, 25 February 2016/ISIS militants briefly entered the center of the western Libyan city of Sabratha, beheading 11 members of local security forces and killing another six in overnight clashes before retreating, local authorities said on Wednesday. The militants have taken advantage of political chaos and a lack of central authority to establish a presence in Libya, with fighters loyal to ISIS seizing control in Sirte and staging attacks in several other cities. The fighting in Sabratha started when local brigades - formerly among the many rebel groups that joined in an uprising that overthrew Muammar Qaddafi in 2011 - attacked suspected ISIS hideouts 15 km (9 miles) south of the city, Sabratha’s municipal council said in a statement. It said the militants then “took advantage of the security vacuum downtown and spread out all over the city”.Sabratha’s mayor, Hussein al-Thwadi, told Reuters that six members of the local brigades had been killed in clashes on Tuesday evening and 11 more were beheaded when militants entered the security directorate building in the city center overnight before the brigades forced them out. Late on Wednesday the Deterrence force, an armed brigade based in Tripoli that has a counter-terrorism role, said it had arrested three senior Libyan ISIS members in a suburb of the capital, including Sabratha commander Mohamed Saad Altajouri. A security source from the western city of Zintan said on Wednesday that authorities had agreed to treat the five wounded brigade members from Sabratha, a sign that Zintan and Sabratha may be prepared to cooperate in the fight against ISIS. The two cities have been on opposite sides of Libya’s post-Gaddafi conflict, with Zintan allied to the internationally recognized government now based in the country’s Far East and Sabrathan forces among those that support a rival government whose armed supporters seized the capital Tripoli in 2014. Sabratha mayor Thwadi said local towns and cities including Zawiya and Surman had offered support against ISIS, and that Sabratha had asked Zintan and two other towns to cut off militants’ supply routes along desert roads.
On Friday, the United States carried out an air strike on a suspected ISIS training camp on the outskirts of Sabratha, killing nearly 50 people. Serbia’s government said two Serbian diplomats kidnapped in Libya in November also died in the attack.
It was the second U.S. air strike in three months against ISIS in Libya.

Report: Most drugs enter Saudi Arabia through land borders
Saudi Gazette, Riyadh Thursday, 25 February 2016/Most of the drugs smuggled into Saudi Arabia are amphetamine tablets and hashish. Ninety to 100 percent of the seized hashish is smuggled through the land borders with Yemen. Amphetamine tablets, according to international reports, come via Syria, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, quoting Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Saudi ministry of interior as saying. This came during the press conference Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki held Wednesday at the officers’ club of the Internal Security Forces on security operations to thwart the smuggling of drugs into Saudi Arabia. He mentioned the noticeable drop in drugs and weapons smuggling due to the full control of the southern borders due to the ongoing military operations there. Earlier, Maj. Gen. Al-Turki made a statement on the results of efforts of security men in combating drugs. He said that during the first four months of 1437H, 953 people involved in smuggling, transporting, receiving and trafficking drugs and psychotropics were arrested. Of these, 258 were Saudis and 695 were of various other nationalities.While carrying out their tasks, security men faced armed resistance in several security operations which resulted in the martyrdom of one security man and injuries to 28 others. Five drug smugglers and dealers were killed and 13 others were injured. The security operations resulted in the seizure of 26.5 million amphetamine tablets, 16.1 tons of hashish, 6.3 kg of crude heroin, 2.14 kg of heroin ready for distribution, 4.7 million narcotic tablets, 401.6 kg of cocaine, 3 kg of “shabu” (methamphetamine), 565.8 grams of opium, 339 various weapons, 8,497 bullets, and SR26,582,831 in cash.

The pretend ceasefire in Syria
Kyle Orton/Now Lebanon/February 25/16
The Syrian ceasefire, which the United States and Russia agreed on February 12 and which was supposed to take effect on February 19, had seemed to amount to little more than granting Russia a week of internationally-legitimated time to press its aggression against Aleppo and then blame the rebellion for breaking the ceasefire when the rebels refused to freeze the fighting on the new frontlines. Of course, it has turned out worse than that: with the agreement of another ceasefire on February 22, due to take effect on February 27 at midnight, Russia has had two weeks to make gains.
As it happens, the Russian-enabled offensive against Aleppo by the pro-regime coalition—led by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and various foreign Shiite jihadist forces under IRGC control, including Lebanese Hezbollah, various Iraqi militias, and Afghan Hazara refugees—has somewhat stalled. It was always doubtful that the pro-regime forces could militarily crush the rebellion in Aleppo; the presence of foreign forces is strongly indicative of the regime’s shortage in manpower. And even if the moderate opposition in Aleppo could be destroyed, the regime could not hold the territory—thereby creating a vacuum that would inevitably be filled by ISIS.
As it was, the pro-regime coalition was even weaker than it appeared, losing ground to ISIS in areas it had already ostensibly secured, namely As-Safira Plains in southern Rif Aleppo. In late 2013, the regime pushed the rebels from As-Safira, claiming it was retaking a local chemical weapons production facility and shoring-up a path to the coast so it could ship its chemical weapons out of the country, in accordance with the deal Russia made on Assad's behalf, which spared Assad from airstrikes in retribution for the Ghouta massacre and re-legitimized Assad as a partner in chemical disarmament.
On the evening of February 21, Jund al-Aqsa (JAA), Imarat Kavkaz v Sham (Caucasus Emirate in Syria), the Turkistan Islamic Party, and ISIS attacked the pro-Assad forces’ supply line along the Aleppo-Khanaser road and captured various points. (All of the non-ISIS groups here are at least foreign-led, if not majority-foreign, and are affiliated with al-Qaeda, except for JAA. Last week, essentially the entire senior leadership of JAA and numerous fighters—apparently encompassing about 40% of the group—defected to Jabhat al-Nusra, the official al-Qaeda branch in Syria. This might be because JAA had shown signs of slowly being taken over by ISIS; certainly ISIS had infiltrators in JAA and the rump of JAA appears to be pro-ISIS.)
The Russians, therefore, might actually be happy now to have a bit of breathing room to consolidate before they push on. After all, the main aim of Moscow's intervention—to secure Assad—has been achieved militarily for the short-term, and the long-term stratagem of rehabilitating Assad internationally by eliminating all non-terrorist insurgents is proceeding apace. A ceasefire cannot work, of course, but there are diplomatic gains from pretending it can, and Russia seems to have taken them all, among other things getting the US to agree with Moscow that any snags preventing a political settlement are the opposition's fault.
Blaming the opposition for the lack of peace is an old habit of the Obama administration. It is not surprising that it happened over Geneva III, since the process was—as anyone could see, even before it began—fundamentally weighted to the regime because Russia had helped turn facts-on-the-ground so decisively in the regime's favor, at least in its core zones. This meant that either the West forced the opposition to accept the regime's terms for peace (which remain essentially total victory) to keep the process going or the process collapsed.
The new element is the US using the threat of Russian atrocities to cajole the Syrian opposition into surrender.
Hadi al-Bahra, the former ETILAF president, said on Wednesday that US Secretary of State John Kerry told the Syrian opposition: "We are clear, if you don't choose be part of [the ceasefire] then you are choosing to perhaps make yourself a target." There are echoes of an incident from earlier this month.
At the London donor conference for Syria on February 4, according to one of the Syrians who was there, Kerry was asked by a Syrian civil society activist to push the Russians harder to stop (and to stop Assad) bombing and starving civilians. The Higher Negotiating Committee (HNC), the opposition delegation to the Geneva III peace conference, had said it would only sit down with the regime once it stopped its aerial bombardments of civilians and blockading of humanitarian access. But Kerry's policy was that this was an unfair precondition that should be part of the negotiations. Kerry lashed out at any suggestion that the opposition had more to lose by participation: "It's going to get much worse [if HNC refuses to come to the table]. This will continue for three months, and by then the opposition will be decimated."
When an aid worker pointed out that, rather than the regime de-escalating (as the US did) while the negotiations were going on, the Geneva III process was being used as cover for the pro-regime offensive in Aleppo, Kerry reportedly said that the regime's gains were actually caused by the opposition's refusal to negotiate under fire and starvation-siege. "Don't blame me—go and blame your opposition," the Secretary of State allegedly said to the aid worker (which was later denied by Kerry's spokesman.)
As the above makes clear, Russia has correctly sensed that the US wants the process of peace rather than having any concept of peace, so Russia has decided to allow them the process, provided Russia can continue to do everything it wanted to do in Syria—and the US has happily played along, even using Russia's threats to checkmate the opposition, which is ostensibly its own side. The most telling example of this was Russia's victory in the wrangling over what to do about al-Nusra during a ceasefire.
The US had asked for the ceasefire to include a cessation of Russian attacks on al-Nusra, at least initially. Easy to caricature—and for Iranian and Russian propagandists to cast as sinister and indicative—as "America calling for protecting al-Qaeda," it was in fact an attempt to protect the moderate and US-supported Syrian opposition. Al-Nusra has embedded itself into elements of the rebellion and Russia is not wrong—in some areas—that the rebels and al-Nusra are militarily indistinguishable, even if this is a tactical arrangement and not an ideological one. But Russia's aim is not empiricism in service of defeating extremists; it's saving Assad by giving itself political legitimacy to treat all armed opponents of the regime like al-Qaeda. Russia already claims that everything it hits is either al-Qaeda or ISIS. It is for this reason—Moscow's terminal mendacity—that there is any truth in the claim that America was asking for a halt to attacks on al-Qaeda. In order to protect US assets and prevent Russia from making the conflict a binary one between Assad and the terrorists, attacks on al-Nusra had to be stopped, too. As ever, the US caved. The ceasefire allows continued attacks on al-Nusra.
Foreshadowing how the Nusra exception to the ceasefire will work in practice, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said:
"We, the ISSG [International Syria Support Group], have been very clear in saying that al-Nusra and Daesh [ISIS] are not part of any kind of ceasefire or any kind of negotiated cessation of hostilities. So if you hang out with the wrong folks, then you make that decision… You choose your own who you hang out with, and that sends a signal."
In other words, the US gave permission, in advance, for Russia to bomb any armed opposition group it likes and provided Moscow with the ready-made excuse that the group was collaborating with al-Qaeda, so has only itself to blame. Thus, in the last two days the US has sent the message that any rebel not actively fighting al-Nusra and any rebel who resists a peace process by working against them can expect to be bombed by Russia—and the US has no objection to this.
While the pro-regime side has this massive loophole to continue its war as planned, the rebellion—assuming the US orders rebel units it supports to abide by the ceasefire and once again restricts rebel access to weapons—will be debilitated from protecting itself during the period when they are pretending there's a ceasefire, and will be politically and militarily weaker afterwards. If Syrians come to see US policy as collusion with Russia to put down the rebellion, they can be forgiven.
*Kyle Orton is a Middle East analyst and associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. He tweets @KyleWOrton.

What is Abadi doing to protect Iraq’s Christians?
Cynthia Milan/Al-Monitor/February 25/16
Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon Louis Sako boycotted the National Conference on the Protection of Peaceful Coexistence, the Ban of Hatred and the Fight against Terrorism and Extremism held in the Iraqi parliament Feb. 7. Sako thought it was “useless to participate in conferences of slogans and mere talk that do not result in effective measures on the ground.”Sako, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, seemed angry at the government's failure to take steps to protect Iraq’s Christians, 120,000 of whom were displaced and whose properties in Islamic State-controlled Mosul were confiscated in June 2014. The Christians’ plight was also overlooked in Baghdad, where influential parties took over their residences. On Feb. 5, Sako pleaded in a public statement, “I call on the conscience of officials in the Iraqi government and on religious authorities to take actions that preserve people’s lives, dignity and properties, regardless of their identity. They are humans and Iraqis.” He went so far as to say, “Practices against Christians are against religious messages and can be classified as genocide of a different type.”
Perhaps Sako could not come out and say directly that Christians were being displaced and their houses stolen in Baghdad, as his status as a religious leader obliges him to be diplomatic. But in a June 2015 television interview, Mohammed al-Rubaie, a member of Baghdad’s provincial council, shared statistics showing that influential parties had taken control of 70% of the houses of Christians who were displaced from Baghdad to destinations outside Iraq. Rubaie added that these influential parties managed to change the ownership of the houses in the government’s real estate records to the names of influential people.
Other Iraqis including Sunnis, Shiites, Yazidis and Sabians are generally sympathetic to the Christians, as they are considered part of a peaceful and civil sect in Iraq. They expressed solidarity with Christians and objected to the confiscation of their houses. However, Rubaie’s announcement shocked Iraqi society and sparked a debate between Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Christian politicians. One of them, Imad Youkhana, said in July 2015, “Prime Minister Abadi promised to put an end to all violations [against Christians] and give the homes back to their original owners, but he has failed to do so.”Youkhana accused "illegal religious parties and militias" of "seizing the homes of Christians in Baghdad, kidnapping them and threatening them.” He noted that the situation in the capital is “leading to ethnic cleansing and demographic change.”
The political parties and the government are well aware of these practices, but something seems to be preventing the government and security forces from protecting the property of Christians who have been present in Iraq for thousands of years.
Yonadam Kanna, chairman of the Rafidain Christian parliamentary bloc, told Al-Monitor, “Militias affiliated with political parties are trying to eliminate Christians from Baghdad and seizing their property by force.” He stressed, “The government is well aware of these violations but it is not doing anything about it.”
He went on, “Those gangs continue to seize the property of Christians, and according to the information I have received, dozens of homes were seized, but I am sure the number is much higher as certain families left immediately after their homes were seized without filing a complaint or reporting anything, fearing for their lives. The seized homes are often empty homes whose owners have already left. But in some cases, the [gangs] threaten to kill the owners and they seize the homes while the families are still living there.”
Milad Majid (a pseudonym) told Al-Monitor over Skype about the threats that pushed him to escape to the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and then displaced him permanently to the United States. He said, “I lived in Al-Ghadeer, Baghdad, and I was harassed by armed groups many times. They called me ‘nasrani’ [Arabic for "Christian"] and 'mushrik’ ["polytheist"] and repeatedly asked me to sell them my house.”
Majid added, “They wanted to buy the house for a cheap price. It cost around $180,000. They wanted to buy it for only $100,000. I refused to sell my house in 2013. Months later, they threatened to kill me or hurt my mother.”
These threats scared Majid, but he did not report them to the police. He said, “I was afraid. When did the police ever protect the citizens? The militia might have discovered I called the police, and they would have killed me.”
Majid said the threats pushed him to evacuate his house and rent it out to a poor Iraqi family. But the militia soon threatened the tenants as well and forced them to leave the house so they could confiscate it. He added, “I found out later from my relatives that they claimed ownership of the house in the government’s real estate records and sold it. This is how I lost the house where I was born. I do not know if I will ever get it back.”
Majid did not want to reveal his real name or that of the militia that threatened him because he feared for his relatives who are still in Baghdad. He explained, “I am not the only Christian who faced such incidents. Since the fall of Baghdad in 2003, Christians have been telling their stories about loss of property and threats.”
Kanna said, “The ownership of many Christian properties is changed in the Iraqi real estate registry and transferred to armed groups via bribery. This act of fraud costs $10,000.”
The emigration of Christians from Iraq increased after the US invasion in April 2003 in response to the threat posed by Sunni and Shiite Islamic militias. As a result, their numbers dropped from 1.5 million to about 850,000 people in 2012. This number, too, is likely to have significantly dropped over the past few years, especially after the Islamic State took over a third of the country in June 2014 and marked the houses of Christians with the Arabic letter “n” for “nasara,” a pejorative Arabic term for Christians, for confiscation. There are no reliable statistics on the Christians still in the country today.
Shakhwan Abdullah, the parliamentary security and defense committee's rapporteur, told Al-Monitor, “The committee has addressed a letter to Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi, asking him to open an investigation regarding the seized homes to find out which parties are behind it and prosecute the perpetrators.”
Abdullah did not mention when the letter was sent, but said, “Abadi promised to open an investigation to determine the parties seizing the homes of Christians and falsifying official papers in the real estate department.” He noted, “The perpetrators are not individuals; they are influential parties in the government trying to exploit their position.”However, Abadi’s government has yet to give a serious response to the calls by clerics and Christian officials for them to protect Christians and urge them to stay in Iraq.
Meanwhile, Abadi, who met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Feb. 10, seems to be making promises but not actually implementing them. “Our Christian brothers in Iraq are the center of our pride and love and we are keen to take care of them, protect them and make sure they are free to practice their religious rituals,” Abadi told the pope. These words were a mere courtesy, and Christians are no longer looking for reassurance. They are now waiting for practical measures to punish those who seized their homes and sought to displace them.

Will Hamas, Israel fight again this year?
Raed Omari/Al Arabiya/February 25/16
Analysts cast doubt on the possibility of a war between Hamas and Israel this year, citing political changes since their last war in 2014. However, the reasons cited are the same ones that make another conflict highly likely. It was said in 2014 that neither side wanted a war due to certain political hindrances, but Israel launched Operation Protective Edge anyway. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened a harsher response than in 2014 days after Hamas admitted rebuilding tunnels in preparation for a future conflict. Each side is waiting for the other to begin military action.
Washington
Those believing another war is unlikely mostly cite Turkish-Israeli rapprochement as a deterrent to Tel Aviv attacking Hamas, which they see as supported by Ankara. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country must accept that it needs Israel. Ankara’s room for maneuver may be limited by tensions with both Moscow and Washington over Syria. The Israelis and Hamas are waiting for the other to begin military action. Israel’s only justification for its Gaza onslaughts in 2014, 2012, 2009 and 2008 was self-defense against Hamas rockets. This pretext still exists. Those doubtful of Israel waging another war say it would anger Washington by scuppering attempts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. However, Washington always reiterates Israel’s right to self-defense. Some say Israel cannot wage another war in the run up to U.S. presidential elections. However, Tel Aviv could take the opportunity while the United States is preoccupied, and remind candidates that Israel must be America’s first priority. It is also argued that Israel would be prevented from attacking Gaza by reconstruction efforts and international donors. However, previous wars against Gaza took place despite internationally-financed rebuilding efforts. The world views Gaza as geographically and politically separate from the West Bank, which is the focus of international diplomacy to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This leaves Gaza all the more vulnerable.

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