LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

June 28/16

 Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.june28.16.htm

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Bible Quotations For Today

Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10/08-12/:"Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, "The kingdom of God has come near to you." But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, "Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near."I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town".
 

A great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers
Acts of the Apostles 14/01-07:"The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them. But the residents of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. And when an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to maltreat them and to stone them, the apostles learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country; and there they continued proclaiming the good news."
 

Pope Francis's Tweet For Today
Jesus looks for us and invites us to make room in the inner reaches of our heart. Do we realize it?
Jésus nous cherche et nous invite à lui faire place au plus profond de notre cœur. Nous en rendons-nous compte?
إن يسوع يبحث عنّا ويدعونا إلى إفساح المجال له في أعماق قلوبنا. فهل نُدرِكُ ذلك؟

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 27-28/16

Both Before And After Lebanese Bank Bombing, Hizbullah Supporters Incited Against Banking Sector And Central Bank Governor, Threatened Further Escalation That Would Impact Country's Future/By: E. B. Picali/MEMRI/June 27/16
Will the Terrorization of Egypt’s Christians “Never Stop”/Raymond Ibrahim/June 27, 2016
When Hate is Promoted by Religious Leaders, Why Blame the Followers/Raheel Raza/Gatestone Institute/June 27/16
Pope Francis: The Good Shepherd Now Must Protect His Sheep/Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/June 27/16
Iran rejects speculation on shift, divisions over Syria/Week in Review/Al-Monitor/June 27/16
The US loses its moral high ground over Syria/Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/June 27/16
Greater Kurdistan – the dream and reality/Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/June 27/16
Brexit and the Arab Spring: an uncanny resemblance/Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/June 27/16
UK’s EU exit could spill disunity in Britain and Europe/Mohamed Chebarro/Al Arabiya/June 27/16
Israel and Turkey have reconciled, now what/Ben Caspit/Al-Monitor/June 27/16

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 27-28/16

8 Hurt in New Suicide Blasts in al-Qaa after Pre-Dawn Bombings Kill 5, Wound 15
Successive Suicide Bombings in al-Qaa Kill 5 and Wound 15
Lebanese Officials Denounce al-Qaa Bombings
The Fallout in Lebanon from Syria's Conflict
Al-Rahi Urges Officials to 'Spare Lebanon More Tragedies' after al-Qaa Blasts
Army calls on Qaa locals to avoid any sort of gathering
Red Cross: Eight wounded in Qaa night blasts
Baalbek governor imposes curfew on displaced Syrians
Hariri meets Emir of Qatar
Bassil: For a president who represents the people
Qassem Says Saudi Arabia Blocking Solutions in Lebanon
Qahwaji Says al-Qaa Attack Won't Affect Army's Anti-Terror Resolve
Hizbullah Slams 'Politicians who Justify Terror' after al-Qaa Blasts
Salam Calls for Army Support to Thwart 'Evil' Schemes
Kaag Condemns Suicide Bombings in Al-Qaa
Lebanese TV host arrested in Egypt, to be deported
Both Before And After Lebanese Bank Bombing, Hizbullah Supporters Incited Against Banking Sector And Central Bank Governor, Threatened Further Escalation That Would Impact Country's Future

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 27-28/16
Erdogan Apologizes to Putin over Downed Jet, Says Kremlin
Israeli, Turkish Leaders Laud Deal to Restore Ties
Gaza sea blockade to remain after Turkey deal: Israel
Turkey PM Says Israel to Pay $20 mn Compensation for 2010 Raid
Netanyahu Says Sea Blockade on Gaza to Remain after Turkey Deal
Second Day of Clashes at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque
Bahrain Jails 5 Shiites, Revokes Their Citizenships
UN Chief Ban Says Israel-Turkey Deal 'Hopeful Signal' for Region
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince in France for talks
Clashes Intensify in Yemen, Killing 41
Jordan Court Charges 21 with 'Terrorism'
CIA weapons for Syrian rebels ‘sold to black market
’Libya PM Says Only United Military Can Defeat IS
Iran: Criminal orders to execute three Arab minority political prisoners; call to save their lives
José Bové MEP declares support for Iranian Resistance led by Maryam Rajavi
Political prisoner writes to UN about abuses in Iran
Italian human rights figure expresses solidarity with Iranian Resistance
Fmr Palestinian chief justice shows solidarity with ‘Free Iran’ gathering

Links From Jihad Watch Site for June 27-28/16
Ramadan in Lebanon: Muslims hit Christian village with multiple jihad suicide attacks
Israel: 3 Muslim doctors and nurse arrested for jihad terror bombing
Egypt’s highest Islamic authority — a “moderate” — says apostasy punishable by death
Raymond Ibrahim: “Your Fault!” Why Western Women Get Raped by Muslims
Saudi Arabia: Muslim brothers kill their mother because she opposed the Islamic State
Kuwait: Muslim kills his own brother for not fasting during Ramadan
Diplomat: US Muslim’s Qur’an contest showing reflects “important role Muslim-Americans play in helping to shape society”
Canada: Imam commends preacher calling for annihilation of Jews, “enemies of humanity”
Muslim woman at Los Angeles airport: “I will make sure we bomb America”
Sweden: Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” smashes up Malmo church
Italy: Saint’s statue defaced with “Allah akbar”
Reading the Qur’an during Ramadan 23: Juz Wa-ma-liya
Pakistani Muslim leader: “Time is not far when the entire Western civilization would fall”
London church opens doors for Muslims, hosts grand Iftar

Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 27-28/16

8 Hurt in New Suicide Blasts in al-Qaa after Pre-Dawn Bombings Kill 5, Wound 15
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16
Fresh suicide bombings rocked the eastern border town of al-Qaa on Monday evening, injuring eight people, only hours after four suicide bombers killed five people and wounded 15 others in the town before dawn. In the latest violence, three suicide bombers riding motorcycles blew themselves up in the center of the predominantly Christian town, a security source told AFP. One struck in front of a church and the two others in front of the municipality building, the source added. Lebanese Red Cross chief George Kettaneh said eight people were lightly wounded in the evening bombings."Clashes are ongoing on the outskirts of the village between the Lebanese army and armed groups," a security source said.Military sources confirmed to LBCI television that four blasts rocked al-Qaa in the evening and that no one was killed other than the attackers.“The Airborne Regiment is staging raids in the town and the nearby areas and it urges al-Qaa's residents to stay in their homes,” the sources added.In the pre-dawn attack, five people were killed and fifteen others were wounded when four suicide bombers targeted the town. The suicide explosions struck at 10 minute intervals. "The first attacker knocked on one of the homes in the village, but after the resident became suspicious, he blew himself up," a military source told AFP.
"People began gathering at the site of the explosion and the three other suicide attackers blew themselves up," he added. A security source had said earlier that a bomb had exploded and then "more than one suicide bomber blew themselves (up)."The Lebanese army said in a statement that the “first explosion took off at 4:20 am where a suicide bomber detonated himself close to one of the houses in the town. Three suicide explosions followed but at different interval in a street adjacent to the first.”The statement added that the attackers were wearing explosives belts that weighed two kilograms each.
"At least eight killed including three suicide bombers, and 15 others injured," Georges Kettaneh, the general secretary of Lebanese Red Cross, told AFP. He said 15 other people were wounded, including some in critical condition. The victims were transported to the Hermel Governmental Hospital, NNA said. Three Lebanese soldiers who were stationed in the area were wounded and transported to the hospital, said NNA.
The agency listed the names of those who were killed in the pre-dawn attack as Faysal Aad, Joseph Lebbos, Majeb Wehbe, Bulos al-Ahmar and George Fares.
Those wounded were transported to the Batoul Hospital in Hermel and were identified as Khalil Wehbe, Bassel Matar, Milad Matar, Shadi Mokalled, Marwan Lebbos and Dunya Shahoud. An AFP correspondent in the village said security forces had cordoned off the site of the blasts, which lies on a main road linking the Syrian town of al-Qusayr to Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. The road cuts through a residential area in the center of Al-Qaa, and the explosions took place less than 100 meters from the village church. "Al-Qaa is the gateway to the rest of Lebanon, and here we stopped a plan for a much bigger explosion," said al-Qaa mayor Bashir Matar. He confirmed that the second and third suicide attackers detonated their explosives "as people gathered to treat the wounded.""We chased the fourth attacker and shot at him, and he blew himself up," Matar said. Resident Fadi Bsherrawi said he woke up when he heard the first blast, but went back to sleep thinking it was just fighting near the border. "I really woke up to the sound of the second attack," he told AFP. He spoke with neighbors after the attack who told him that one Muslim resident was having a morning meal before beginning his day of fasting for Ramadan when he saw a strange group of men outside. "He went outside to talk to them and they wanted to stir things up. So his son fired on them with a hunting rifle" before the explosions started, Bsherrawi said. Local paramedics began to arrive after the first suicide attack. "One rescue worker who was trying to carry a wounded man was killed when the second terrorist suicide bomber came," he said. "We have guards all the time. The village is always ready and people are on edge," he added. Health Minister Wael Abou Faour ordered all hospitals to receive people wounded in the bombings and treat them at the ministry's expense. Media reports said that the Lebanese army cordoned off the blast scene and kicked off 'combing operations' in search for suspects. Al-Qaa is one of several border posts separating Lebanon and war-torn Syria. The border area has been rocked by clashes and shelling since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011. Lebanon's army has fought off jihadist factions along the frontier and has sought to clamp down on local cells operating in the area. In August 2014, the army clashed with the Islamic State group and Al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, in the border town of Arsal. As they withdrew, IS and Al-Nusra kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen, 16 of whom were released after nearly 18 months of negotiations.

Successive Suicide Bombings in al-Qaa Kill 5 and Wound 15
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/At least nine people were killed, including four suicide bombers, and fifteen others were wounded in multiple suicide bombings in eastern Lebanon near the border with Syria, the National News Agency reported on Monday. A series of four suicide explosions struck at 10 minute intervals and hit the predominantly Christian village of al-Qaa. The attack came just hours after the Islamic State group on Sunday claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed seven soldiers on Jordan's border with Syria."The first attacker knocked on one of the homes in the village, but after the resident became suspicious, he blew himself up," a military source told the Agence France Presse. "People began gathering at the site of the explosion and the three other suicide attackers blew themselves up," he added. A security source had said earlier that a bomb had exploded and then "more than one suicide bomber blew themselves (up)". The Lebanese army said in a statement that the “first explosion took off at 4:20 am where a suicide bomber detonated himself close to one of the houses in the town. Three suicide explosions followed but at different interval in a street adjacent to the first.”The statement added that the attackers were wearing explosives belts that weighed two kilograms each. "At least eight killed including three suicide bombers, and 15 others injured," Georges Kettaneh, the general secretary of Lebanese Red Cross, told AFP. He said 15 other people were wounded, including some in critical condition.
The victims were transported to the Hermel Governmental Hospital, NNA said. Three Lebanese soldiers who were stationed in the area were wounded and transported to the hospital, said NNA. The agency listed the names of the deceased as Faysal Aad, Joseph Lebbos, Majeb Wehbe, Bulos al-Ahmar and George Fares. Those wounded were transported to the Batoul Hospital in Hermel including Khalil Wehbe, Bassel Matar, Milad Matar, Shadi Mokalled, Marwan Lebbos and Dunya Shahoud. An AFP correspondent in the village said security forces had cordoned off the site of the blasts, which lies on a main road linking the Syrian town of al-Qusayr to Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. The road cuts through a residential area in the center of Al-Qaa, and the explosions took place less than 100 meters from the village church. "Al-Qaa is the gateway to the rest of Lebanon, and here we stopped a plan for a much bigger explosion," said al-Qaa mayor Bashir Matar. He confirmed that the second and third suicide attackers detonated their explosives "as people gathered to treat the wounded." "We chased the fourth attacker and shot at him, and he blew himself up," Matar said. Resident Fadi Bsherrawi said he woke up when he heard the first blast, but went back to sleep thinking it was just fighting near the border. "I really woke up to the sound of the second attack," he told AFP. He spoke with neighbors after the attack who told him that one Muslim resident was having a morning meal before beginning his day of fasting for Ramadan when he saw a strange group of men outside. "He went outside to talk to them and they wanted to stir things up. So his son fired on them with a hunting rifle" before the explosions started, Bsherrawi said. Local paramedics began to arrive after the first suicide attack."One rescue worker who was trying to carry a wounded man was killed when the second terrorist suicide bomber came," he said. "We have guards all the time. The village is always ready and people are on edge," he added. Health Minister Wael Abou Faour ordered all hospitals to receive people wounded in the bombings and treat them at the ministry's expense. Media reports said that the Lebanese army cordoned off the blast scene and kicked off 'combing operations' in search for suspects. Al-Qaa is one of several border posts separating Lebanon and war-torn Syria. The border area has been rocked by clashes and shelling since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011. Lebanon's army has fought off jihadist factions along the frontier and has sought to clamp down on local cells operating in the area. In August 2014, the army clashed with the Islamic State group and Al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, in the border town of Arsal. As they withdrew, IS and Al-Nusra kidnapped 30 Lebanese soldiers and policemen, 16 of whom were released after nearly 18 months of negotiations.

Lebanese Officials Denounce al-Qaa Bombings
Naharnet/June 27/16/Following the successive suicide bombings early Monday that hit the town of al-Qaa near the volatile border war-ravaged Syria, several politicians denounced the attacks and described them as an act of terror. Al-Mustaqbal Movement chief and ex-PM Saad Hariri said in a statement: “The terrorist operation that targeted the Bekaa town of al-Qaa is an episode in a series of hellish plans to spread the Syrian fire (war) to neighboring countries, and the dissemination of chaos and havoc on the rest of the communities.” Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said via Twitter that the suicide attackers were hiding in the northeastern border town awaiting to be transported to another Lebanese region to carry out their plan. He said: “Al-Qaa was not the target plan. The suicide attackers were hiding in the town and waiting for a vehicle to transport them to another place.” Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat meanwhile warned that terrorist attacks might move from the border to the heart of the country, noting that "it is better to immunize the institutions through the election of a president."Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil for his part visited the border town and said that the attack “is targeted against entire Lebanon, not only against al-Qaa.”“Terrorists belong to all nationalities and I cannot link terrorism to an entire people or identity, but we cannot remain silent over the refugee crisis, which is being used as a cover for terrorism,” he added, in response to a reporter's question.
“The same as Lebanon is Europe's first line of defense, al-Qaa is Lebanon's first line of defense,” Bassil went on to say, urging the government to “do a lot more” to fend off the terrorist threat. Earlier in the day, Economy Minister Alain Hakim said via Twitter: “We will not let terrorism use al-Qaa as a mailbox to pass messages. The Christians will remain in their land until the end of time.”Arab Tawhid Party leader Wiam Wahhab meanwhile said in a statement: “The attack is a cowardly act,” and called on “the military and security apparatuses to intensify efforts in order to thwart an opportunity for those who plan to target the country's security and stability.”Minister of Displaced Alice Chabtini for her part urged each citizen to be vigilant for any suspicious acts, she said: “We are all responsible for the safety of the country and the citizens. Each one of us must be a watchman.”Ghazi Zoaiter, Minister of Public Works and Transport, visited the scene of the explosion and said: “Lebanon is being targeted by the terrorists, but today al-Qaa has paid the price on behalf of all Lebanese. Strengthening the army's capabilities is necessary.”“The terror operation in the town of al-Qaa should only make us more strong and convinced of the national unity which must be above all considerations,” said MP Talal Arslan in a tweet. Monday's deadly attack struck al-Qaa, a predominantly Christian village nestled in a hilly border area that has been shaken by violence since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011. At least four suicide blasts hit the village before dawn, media reports said. Nine people were killed, including four suicide bombers, and 15 others were wounded. A statement from army said at least four soldiers were wounded in the string of attacks, which the National News Agency reported took place at 10 minute intervals.

The Fallout in Lebanon from Syria's Conflict
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/A string of suicide bombings early Monday killed at least five people near Lebanon's border with Syria, in an area shaken by violence since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011. The military support of Hizbullah for Syrian President Bashar Assad, who hails from the Alawite branch of Shiite Islam, has worsened existing sectarian and political tensions in Lebanon. Lebanon also hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees, an enormous strain for a country with a population of just four million.Following is a timeline of the fallout in Lebanon from the Syrian conflict:
Clashes in Tripoli
June 17, 2011: Deadly clashes erupt in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli between Sunni Muslim supporters of rebels who rose up against the Damascus regime and Alawite supporters of Assad. Tripoli was the scene of frequent outbreaks of violence between Sunnis and Alawites in 2012 and 2013, before the army deployed troops there in October 2014.
Assassinations
October 19, 2012: Lebanese police intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan, an opponent of the Syrian regime, is killed by a car bomb in Beirut along with seven other people. The attack is blamed on the Damascus regime by the Lebanese opposition and analysts.
December 2013: An aide to former premier Saad Hariri, Mohammed Shatah, hostile to the Syrian regime and to Hizbullah, is killed in a car bomb attack in Beirut that costs seven lives.
Hizbullah sides with Damascus
April 30, 2013: Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledges that his group is fighting in Syria in support of Assad. June 5, 2013: The Syrian army backed by Hizbullah retakes from rebels the key town of Qusayr, near the Lebanese border. Hizbullah, adopting a crucial role in the conflict, has since sent thousands of fighters to help regime forces against rebels and jihadists.
Deadly attacks
August 23, 2013: Twin car bombs against Sunni mosques in Tripoli kill 45 people.
November 19, 2013: A double suicide attack claimed by an al-Qaida-linked group targets the Iranian embassy in southern Beirut, killing 25 people. February 19, 2014 : Two suicide car bombs target an Iranian cultural center in southern Beirut, killing 11 people. It is the ninth attack in a Hizbullah stronghold since July 2013.November 12, 2015: Twin blasts claimed by the jihadist Islamic State group kill at least 44 people on a busy shopping street in the southern Beirut suburb of Burj al-Barajneh, a Hizbullah stronghold.
Hizbullah military chief killed
May 13, 2016: Hizbullah announces the death of its military commander in Syria, Mustafa Badreddine, in a blast near Damascus airport.
Suicide bombings near border
June 27, 2016: A string of suicide bombings kills at least five people at al-Qaa, a predominantly Christian village home to one of several border posts separating Lebanon and Syria.

Al-Rahi Urges Officials to 'Spare Lebanon More Tragedies' after al-Qaa Blasts
Naharnet/June 27/16/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged unity in the wake of the deadly suicide blasts that rocked the eastern border town of al-Qaa, calling on Lebanese officials to “spare Lebanon more tragedies.”On a pastoral visit to the United States, the patriarch expressed his “extreme sorrow over the bombings that the hand of terror carried out once again on Lebanon's soil and in the dear town of al-Qaa.”“It is a town of peace, love and coexistence and its sons have once again rescued the lives of a lot of innocents,” he added. Calling on citizens to “return to their national unity and solidarity to confront the terrorist schemes that are being plotted against Lebanon,” al-Rahi urged Lebanese officials to “shoulder their national responsibilities in order to spare Lebanon more tragedies.” The patriarch also saluted the army and the security forces, urging “further support for them at all levels.”Al-Qaa is a predominantly Christian village nestled in a hilly border area that has been shaken by violence since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011. At least four suicide bombers hit the village before dawn, a military source has said. "The first attacker knocked on one of the homes in the village, but after the resident became suspicious, he blew himself up," the source said. He said three other suicide attackers detonated their own explosives as people began gathering to treat the wounded. The site of the blasts lies on a main road linking the Syrian town of al-Qusayr to Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. Lebanon's army has fought off jihadist factions along the frontier and has sought to clamp down on local cells operating in the area. In August 2014, the army clashed with militants from the Islamic State group and al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, in the border town of Arsal.

Army calls on Qaa locals to avoid any sort of gathering
Mon 27 Jun 2016/NNA - The Lebanese Army Command - Orientation Directorate - issued on Monday the following statement: "Tonight at 22:30, a series of suicide bombings rocked Qaa village and led to the injury of a number of citizens. Therefore, the Army Command calls upon the locals of Qaa village not to gather anywhere in the said region. We also urge them to abide by the security measures imposed by the LAF, for their own safety."

Red Cross: Eight wounded in Qaa night blasts
Mon 27 Jun 2016/NNA - Lebanese Red Cross Secretary General, Georges Kettaneh, said the explosions that shook Qaa village this evening have left behind eight wounded.

Baalbek governor imposes curfew on displaced Syrians
Mon 27 Jun 2016/NNA - Baalbek-Hermel governor Bachir Khodr issued a curfew decision against Syrian refugees residing in Qaa and Ras Baalbek, in the wake of the repetitive blasts rocking Qaa village.

Hariri meets Emir of Qatar
Tue 28 Jun 2016/NNA - Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri met on Monday evening with Emir of Qatar Tamim Ben Hamad Ben Khalifa Al Thani. Hariri is currently in Qatar to partake in an Iftar upon the invitation of Qatari Foreign Minister Mohamad Ben Abdel Rahman Ben Jassem Al Thani.

Bassil: For a president who represents the people
Tue 28 Jun 2016/NNA - Minister of Foreign Affairs Gebran Bassil highlighted the importance of electing "a presidnet that is capable of representing the people; a president with a clear agenda."Bassil made this remark from Koura, while meeting with partisans of the Free Patriotic Movement in the region.

Qassem Says Saudi Arabia Blocking Solutions in Lebanon
Naharnet/June 27/16/Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem on Monday accused Saudi Arabia of blocking political solutions in Lebanon and the election of a new president. “The reason behind the presidential vacuum is that local political forces are awaiting foreign instructions, especially a Saudi decision,” said Qassem during a Hizbullah educational ceremony. “Saudi Arabia is keeping Lebanon in the waiting zone and it is not agreeing to any solutions that are in Lebanon's interest. It sends orders and its people here repeat like parrots,” Hizbullah number two added. “Hizbullah and its allies have clarified how the solution must be reached and if they agree on the solution's roadmap a president can be elected tomorrow and state institutions will start functioning again,” Qassem went on to say. He added: “They are confused and are criticizing each other while their front is fragmented and they are incapable of taking a decision.” Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 and Hizbullah, the Free Patriotic Movement and some of their allies have been boycotting the electoral sessions at parliament, stripping them of the needed quorum. Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, who is close to Saudi Arabia, launched an initiative in late 2015 to nominate Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh for the presidency but his proposal was met with reservations from the country's main Christian parties as well as Hizbullah. Hariri's move was followed by Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's endorsement of his long-time Christian foe, FPM founder MP Michel Aoun, for the presidency after a rapprochement deal was reached between their two parties. The supporters of Aoun's presidential bid argue that he is more eligible than Franjieh to become president due to the size of his parliamentary bloc and his bigger influence in the Christian community.

Qahwaji Says al-Qaa Attack Won't Affect Army's Anti-Terror Resolve
Naharnet/June 27/16/Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji paid an inspection visit to the Bekaa border town of al-Qaa on Monday, in the wake of dawn suicide blasts that killed five civilians and wounded 15 people including army troops. “Qahwaji inspected the scene of the suicide bombings and instructed the military units to boost their security measures at all border crossings and to pursue any suspected militants inside the country,” an army statement said. The army chief later visited the municipality building where he met with Greek Catholic Archbishop of Baalbek Elias Rahal and several MPs and dignitaries from the region. The commander “extended condolences to the families of the martyrs and wished speedy recovery for the wounded, hailing al-Qaa and the rest of the border towns as Lebanon's first line of defense in the face of terrorism,” the army statement added. “The army has full determination and capacity to continue fighting this terrorism, whose brutal crimes do not differentiate between one sect and another,” Qahwaji said. “Any act of terror, regardless of its magnitude, cannot at all affect the army's decisive determination to fight terror and protect Lebanon and its stability,” the army chief reassured. Al-Qaa is a predominantly Christian village nestled in a hilly border area that has been shaken by violence since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011.At least four suicide bombers hit the village before dawn, a military source has said. "The first attacker knocked on one of the homes in the village, but after the resident became suspicious, he blew himself up," the source said. He said three other suicide attackers detonated their own explosives as people began gathering to treat the wounded. The site of the blasts lies on a main road linking the Syrian town of al-Qusayr to Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley.
Lebanon's army has fought off jihadist factions along the frontier and has sought to clamp down on local cells operating in the area. In August 2014, the army clashed with militants from the Islamic State group and al-Nusra Front, al-Qaida's affiliate in Syria, in the border town of Arsal.
 

Hizbullah Slams 'Politicians who Justify Terror' after al-Qaa Blasts
Naharnet/June 27/16/Hizbullah on Monday condemned the dawn suicide bombings that rocked the northeastern border town of al-Qaa, lashing out at countries that “offer support” for “these terrorist murderers” and “some Lebanese politicians who launch justifications and excuses.”“This crime is a new result of the terrorist, obscurantist thought that is spreading in the region like a plague and which has started to pose a major risk to its people,” said Hizbullah in a statement. “It threatens Lebanon and its people without differentiation and regardless of sects and affiliations,” the party warned. The bombings are also “the product of the clandestine and public support that is being offered by some countries and entities in the region and the world to these terrorist murderers in terms of arming, media assistance and political protection,” Hizbullah added. It called for “combating this takfiri thought forcefully through exposing its goals and plots and preventing its spread and proliferation, unlike what is being done by some politicians and their entourage in Lebanon.”These politicians “are conducting the biggest misinformation campaign to conceal the ugliness of this malicious thought,” Hizbullah charged. “They are launching political statements that are full of justifications and excuses in a bid to cover up for the atrocities that are being committed by these terrorists,” it added. Al-Qaa and the nearby Ras Baalbek are the only two towns with a Christian majority in the predominantly Shiite Hermel region, where Hizbullah holds sway. The group has sent thousands of its fighters to Syria to bolster President Bashar Assad's forces against rebels and jihadist extremists trying to topple him. Several deadly bombings have targeted Hizbullah's strongholds in the eastern Bekaa region and Beirut's southern suburbs since the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011. Most of the attacks were claimed by extremist groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State.The attacks killed scores of civilians and wounded hundreds.

Salam Calls for Army Support to Thwart 'Evil' Schemes
Naharnet/June 27/16/Prime Minister Tammam Salam denounced on Monday the bombings that killed several people in the northeastern town of al-Qaa, and stressed that the only way to confront assaults is by backing the Lebanese army and security forces in their fight against terrorism. “This terrorist attack is a proof that our stability is targeted by the evil forces of darkness and the only way to enforce it is by standing united behind our army and security forces in their battles against terrorism,” said Salam in a statement. “The facts revealed by this crime, whether in terms of the number of culprits or the method of implementation, show the evil nature of the schemes planned for Lebanon and the size of the danger threatening the country at a difficult stage at the internal and regional levels,” added the PM. He stressed the importance of maintaining the “utmost vigilance to thwart these schemes.” Monday's deadly attack struck al-Qaa, a predominantly Christian village nestled in a hilly border area shaken by violence since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011. At least four suicide blasts hit the village before dawn, media reports said. Nine people were killed, including four suicide bombers, and 15 others were wounded. A statement from the army said at least four soldiers were wounded in the string of attacks, which the National News Agency reported took place at 10 minute intervals.

Kaag Condemns Suicide Bombings in Al-Qaa
Naharnet/June 27/16/United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag strongly condemned on Monday the four suicide bombings that targeted the northeastern town of al-Qaa, her press office said.“Kaag strongly condemned the four suicide bombings that took place at dawn this morning in the northeastern Lebanese border town of al-Qaa, which killed five civilians and injured several others,” said the statement. “The Special Coordinator expressed her profound condolences to the families of the victims and wished a quick recovery to the injured. She noted that terrorist acts, anywhere in the world, constitute one of the most serious threats to international peace and security,” it added.Commending the courage and commitment of the Lebanese Armed Forces and security forces, Kaag called for “sustained international support to enhance their capacity in the face of security challenges, including the terrorist threat, in Lebanon and along its borders.” The Special Coordinator stressed the need for those responsible for terrorist acts to be brought to justice, and reiterated that the international community continues to stand by Lebanon. The Special Coordinator is expected to brief the UN Security Council on 7 July in New York.

Lebanese TV host arrested in Egypt, to be deported
By Staff writer Al Arabiya English Monday, 27 June 2016/Lebanese TV host Liliane Daoud was arrested by Egyptian police at her home in Cairo on Monday and transported to the airport for deportation, local media reported. Daoud’s arrest comes after she announced on Twitter on Monday that she ended her contract with Egyptian private news channel ONTV after joining it in June 2011. Her lawyer, Ziad el-Elaimy, known to be a left-wing Egyptian lawyer, said police stormed Daoud’s house and forced her to leave without allowing her to make any phone calls. Daoud's show was among very few TV programs aired on Egyptian television that used to give a platform to political opposition figures to speak freely on air, according to Ahram Online. The popular TV channel was acquired in May by Egyptian businessman Ahmed Abu-Hashima.

Both Before And After Lebanese Bank Bombing, Hizbullah Supporters Incited Against Banking Sector And Central Bank Governor, Threatened Further Escalation That Would Impact Country's Future
By: E. B. Picali/MEMRI/June 27/16
Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No.1258
Introduction
On June 12, 2016, shortly after 20:00, while Beirut residents were breaking their Ramadan fast, an eight-kilogram bomb went off outside the headquarters of BLOM Bank,[1] one of Lebanon's leading banks, wounding two people and damaging the building. In light of the intensive conflict in the last month between Hizbullah and Lebanon's banking sector – chiefly Lebanon's central bank and several other banks, including BLOM Bank – over the implementation of U.S. sanctions against Hizbullah,[2] suspicion immediately fell upon this organization. Lebanese media and politicians, as well as citizens on social media, claimed that the bombing was a message to BLOM Bank that it must stop implementing the U.S. sanctions, and some – including the Al-Mustaqbal daily[3] and bankers[4] – blamed Hizbullah for it. Many of the comments on social media were posted under the hashtag "Hizbullah is bombing the banks."[5] Criticism was also directed at Hizbullah's supporters, including the pro-Hizbullah Al-Akhbar daily, who were accused of inciting against the banks and against central bank governor Riad Salameh in the days prior to the bombing.
Indeed, the days before the bombing saw a harsh campaign, bordering on incitement, against Salameh and against Lebanese banks, especially BLOM Bank, by Lebanese pro-Hizbullah activists and by Al-Akhbar. The latter accused BLOM Bank of being so eager to implement the U.S. sanctions that it exceeded the U.S. requirements.
Hizbullah, for its part, did not condemn the bombing and in fact refrained from commenting on it at all. Al-Akhbar, on the other hand, denied that it was inciting against the banks and stated that Hizbullah was not responsible for the bombing. However, even after the bombing the daily continued to publish articles threatening "a further escalation [of the clash] between these banks and Hizbullah" which would impact the country's future as well as foreigners in Lebanon, including the UNIFIL forces stationed there.
In a June 24 speech, Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah repeated the accusation that some Lebanese banks were being over-enthusiastic in implementing the sanctions and warned that this could harm Hizbullah members and supporters.
In a June 16, 2016 interview on the Lebanese LBC channel, former Lebanese minister Wiam Wahhab, known as a Hizbullah supporter, said that in Lebanon it is Lebanese laws that should apply, not those of the U.S. Congress.
This report reviews the incitement against the banks by Hizbullah supporters and by Al-Akhbar both before the bombing and after it.
The BLOM Bank headquarters after the bombing (image: albawaba.com, June 16, 2016)
'Al-Akhbar' Article On Day Before Bombing: 'Hizbullah Supporters Demand Taking Punitive Measures Against The Banks'
In the two days before the bombing, the pro-Hizbullah daily Al-Akhbar published articles stating that BLOM Bank was being "over-enthusiastic" in implementing the U.S. sanctions.[6] An article by Hassan 'Aliq published the day before the bombing, titled "Hizbullah to Banks and to [Central Bank Governor] Salameh: Stop Conspiring [against Us]," contained implicit threats against Salameh and against various banks, especially BLOM Bank. It said: "Whoever follows politics in our country can hear Hizbullah leaders saying loud and clear that the struggle against America's 'banking mandate' [over Lebanon] is no less important than the struggle against those who wish to harm the resistance and [disarm it of] its weapons. 'Aliq added, "Hizbullah's MPs, ministers and officials refuse to say [how the struggle should be waged], but the people's rage has its consequences. The public of Hizbullah's [supporters] has begun demanding to take punitive measures against the banks that want to implement the hostile American agenda... Some of the [pro-]resistance public is demanding that Hizbullah publish a black list of banks that harbor secret hostility towards the resistance, so that [people] can punish them for their actions [of closing the accounts of Hizbullah members and associates]. Some [people] propose to boycott [the banks] and withdraw deposits [from them], and call to pressure the banks that are conspiring [against Hizbullah]. Others propose more painful measures – from holding demonstrations and sit-ins in front of banks that wish to harm the [pro-]resistance public to holding protests that will keep the banks from opening [for business]... If Hizbullah is forced into an open conflict, there will be no choice but to [voice] these calls, which are [already] widespread on social media, as part of an organized [campaign]."
Later in the article 'Aliq quotes sources in the Hizbullah-led March 8 Forces as saying that BLOM Bank is one of the banks that are "going too far in implementing the racist sanctions, [even] exceeding the American requirements." According to these sources, "Hizbullah wants the banks and the central bank governor to stop conspiring [against it] and stop deceiving it." They stressed that Hizbullah is not demanding to take "harmful" measures against the banks, only "measures to protect the social and economic security of the Lebanese people."
'Aliq even called on Hizbullah "to do more than just deter those responsible for the banking sector," saying: "This sector, which is constantly amassing wealth, needs someone to stand up to it, in days of peace just like in days of war, and Hizbullah, which is part of the parliament and the government, must break its silence, starting today."[7]
Threats Against Central Bank Governor, BLOM Bank Posted On Social Media In Days Before Bombing
A campaign of verbal attacks and even threats against the Lebanese banking sector was also evident on social media in the days before the bombing, especially in the 24 hours that preceded it. Hizbullah supporters on Facebook and Twitter directed harsh words at central bank governor Riad Salameh and various banks, especially BLOM Bank. For example, on the evening before the bombing (June 11), the pro-Hizbullah "Dahiya" website posted on its Facebook page (Facebook.com/da7ye ) a photo of Salameh with the caption: "Your existence is an insult to the homeland."
Another post on this Facebook page, from June 12, accused "some banks" of being more radical than the American law itself and blacklisting people not mentioned by the Americans.
Yet another post on this Facebook page, which was reposted on the website of the Kataeb party, said: "Beware the BLOM Bank, which bragged about closing [accounts] and restricting [them]!! #[This banks is] more Israeli than Israel."[8]
The Al-Mustaqbal daily reported on a threatening tweet posted two days before the bombing by Pro-Hizbullah Journalist Ghassan Jawwad. He wrote: "Hizbullah will soon [say]: A curse upon you, upon America and upon the banks. Beware the anger of patient [men]!"[9]
Hizbullah supporters on social media launched a "Riad Salameh Go Away" hashtag, which they appended to many messages against him. One of the posts featured a "list of shame" that included BLOM Bank, Salameh and the Association of Banks in Lebanon.[10]
'Al-Akhbar': Hizbullah Not Behind Bombing; We Are Not Inciting Against Banks But Voicing Legitimate Criticism, And Will Continue To Do So
Immediately after the bombing, the social networks were flooded with messages blaming Hizbullah for it and accusing Al-Akhbar of causing it through its incitement. The Al-Mustaqbal daily, affiliated with the March 14 Forces, as well as several Lebanese bankers, soon joined this criticism and accusations, while Hizbullah chose to remain silent, ignoring both the bombing and the allegations against it.
Al-Akhbar, on the other hand, rushed to defend itself and Hizbullah. On June 13, 2016, the day after the bombing, the daily published two articles, one unsigned and the other by the chairman of its board of directors, Ibrahim Al-Amin, both of which denied the allegations against Hizbullah and the daily. The first article stated that Hizbullah was currently in conflict with several banks that had decided to implement the U.S. sanctions against it in order to "throttle" it and its institutions, but "some [other] element decided to enter the picture by carrying out a bombing against BLOM Bank, in order to implicate the resistance and thereby hobble it." The article suggested that ISIS or Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) were behind the bombing, since ISIS fighters imprisoned in Lebanon had admitted to planning bombings against "non-military institutions and in crowded areas" in Beirut, and since the Lebanese Military Intelligence had indeed received information several days before the bombing that JN was planning terror attacks in a certain part of the capital. According to the article, this information had led to several foreign embassies, including the Canadian one, as well as the UN headquarters in Lebanon, to warn their staff to take precautions and stay away from that part of Beirut.[11]
Al-Akhbar board of directors chairman Ibrahim Al-Amin wrote: "[Those who] jump to conclusions will naturally point the finger at Hizbullah, [just] because Hizbullah accused the [BLOM] bank of excessive enthusiasm in complying with the American demands to implement the economic sanctions on the resistance, and of hastening to implement the American law... There will also be those who accuse other [elements] of being behind the attack, or of paving the way to it – like, for example, the accusations that Al-Akhbar incited against the banks, and particularly against BLOM bank, as part of its criticism of how the government and this bank dealt with the recent American law...
"A party like Hizbullah has no interest in doing something [that is, carrying out a terror attack] that would [only] justify the [American] law… Likewise, the organization knows very well that such operations will not stop the implementation of the American law... In this matter, Hizbullah, like the rest of the Lebanese, wants the truth exposed, more than anyone else...
"With regard to the accusations of incitement by the press, particularly Al-Akhbar... ever since the daily was founded 10 years ago, we have paid the price for our criticism of the political class and of the destructive policy of the March 14 Forces. They have always accused us of conducting incitement against forces and individuals who were targets of terror attacks. Nevertheless, we do not think that we should stop our mission, that is, of criticizing a mistaken policy...
"Al-Akhbar's criticism of the banks does not only stem from [these banks'] attempt to harm Hizbullah on the pretext of implementing the American law. [The paper] has always taken stands disliked by the banks, whether regarding their general policy from which they benefited, or by revealing corruption cases connected to their work. With regard to our criticism of how BLOM Bank is acting in the matter of implementing the American law, this is professional criticism, and includes anyone involved in measures that are ultimately aimed at hobbling the resistance. This criticism will continue, and it is completely uninfluenced by what happened. No attack here or there will stop the necessary argument about the banks' policy and actions concerning the American sanctions – otherwise we [in Al-Akhbar] will yet arrive at the accusation that the [banking] sector is behind the attack, with the aim of shutting people up."[12]
Threats Against Banks, Governor, Al-Mustaqbal Stream, And Lebanese Government Continue Even After Bombing
Even after the bombing, and after the accusations against Hizbullah, Al-Akhbar continued to publish articles supporting Hizbullah's demands and threatened a harsh response and dangerous escalation from it if it they were not met.
Al-Akhbar: BLOM Bank Capitulated, Hizbullah Demands That Banks Circumvent Sanctions
The day after the bombing, the Association of Banks in Lebanon met, and later released an announcement condemning the attack on BLOM Bank that stated, inter alia: "The banks operate in a most professional manner and in the framework of the regulations that are common in global markets, and in Lebanon they are subject to the laws of the land and to the directives of the [central] bank of Lebanon, with the aim of preserving the interests of all Lebanese citizens."
Al-Akhbar, which in several articles published prior to the bombing had said that BLOM Bank had been quite enthusiastic in its implementation of the sanctions, going beyond what was required by the governor, interpreted this announcement as capitulation on the part of BLOM and other banks, and as a withdrawal from their previous "enthusiasm" in implementing the sanctions, which, according to the paper, had been manifested in the closure of accounts whose owners were not included in the American sanctions list, of their own accord, without waiting for approval by the central bank, as noted in the governor's instructions."[13]
At the same time, another Al-Akhbar article stated that even this capitulation on the part of the banks following the bombing – that is, their agreement to wait for the governor's approval before closing the accounts of people who are not on the sanctions list – was not going to satisfy Hizbullah. The organization, it said, was demanding that they circumvent sanctions on bank accounts whose owners actually are on the list. A June 16, 2016 article in the paper quoted sources in the Hizbullah-led March 8 Forces as saying, "Clearly, there is only one door leading to a solution [to the crisis]: The U.S. sanctions list is not sacred and the central bank governor and the banks must find the appropriate ways to circumvent it, where the national need requires it."[14]
Even After Bombing, Al-Akhbar Threatens Al-Mustaqbal Stream And The Future Of The Country, Saying: There Will Be Further Escalation
On June 14, 2016, two days after the bombing, Al-Akhbar published another article that warned that "if some of the banks do not understand that they must be neutral" in the matter of the U.S. sanctions, then "we will witness a further escalation [of the clash] between these banks and Hizbullah, which considers itself bound to defend the economic security of its public. In this clash, the biggest loser will necessarily be the Lebanese banks."[15]
Al-Akhbar Article Warns Al-Mustaqbal Against Supporting Sanctions: It Will Have Repercussions for Lebanon's Future
Al-Akhbar's implied threats were also directed at the Al-Mustaqbal faction, Hizbullah's political rival. On June 17, 2016, Al-Akhbar columnist Hiyam Al-Kossayfi wrote about Al-Mustaqbal's "enthusiastic" support for the sanctions against Hizbullah, while warning of the repercussions this could have for the entire country: "Some people are reminded today of the events of 2005 [the assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri], and of what came later, and also [of the events] of May 7 [2008, i.e., Hizbullah's armed takeover of parts of Lebanon],[16] and all the repercussions [of these events], including the bombings and assassinations..." Al-Kossayfi urged the Al-Mustaqbal faction not to delude itself that the U.S. law would harm Hizbullah's status in Lebanon, and warned it of the organization's possible reaction, which would not only affect the relations between Al-Mustaqbal and Hizbullah and "the internal struggle between those who defend the [U.S.] law and those who oppose it," but would impinge on "the future of Lebanon... the regime, and the role and status of the state."[17]
Al-Akhbar Board Chairman: Hizbullah Is The Only Force That Can Fill The Vacuum If The State Collapses
In his article from June 13, Al-Akhbar board chairman Ibrahim Al-Amin even threatened that Hizbullah might take over most of Lebanon. He speculated that the U.S. is plotting to undermine Lebanon's regime and bring about the collapse of the state, and declared that, in such a situation, Hizbullah – thanks to its military and economic abilities and its strong ties with Iran – would be the only force capable of undertaking the role of the state in large parts of the country. He wrote: "In the current state of affairs, Hizbullah may be the only force capable of best filling the vacuum that would result from the collapse of the state. This organization and the large public that supports it together form a financial force that can provide employment to nearly 1,000,000 Lebanese citizens. [I refer] not only to party members and the employees in [Hizbullah's] institutions, but to people who sell consumer products – from veils, automobiles, phones, milk and flour to weapons. Hizbullah also has close ties with Iran, and within a few months Iran can launch large-scale projects to supply electricity, water and public services to everyone living in Hizbullah's areas of influence.
"If the West thinks that the economic crisis will bring about the collapse of the [Lebanese] state and its institutions, Hizbullah is the only force that has the security and military capabilities to take over large parts of Lebanon. Thanks to its alliances [with other forces in the state,] its [area of] influence will expand to include most of Lebanon, except for a few regions..." Asking, "What will be the fate of the banking sector itself?", Al-Amin answered that it will lose its independence and much of the wealth it has amassed.
Al-Amin concluded: "Some people need a pinch to the ear, not to the arm, in order to understand that they cannot plunge the entire country into madness... as happened after the assassination of Rafiq Al-Hariri. [These people] will find it difficult to force us to respect them, for they have decided to capitulate to an external [force] that has never brought us anything but trouble."
Al-Akhbar Board Chairman Implicitly Threatens UNIFIL, Other Foreigners in Lebanon
In this article Al-Amin also directed implicit threats at UNIFIL and at other foreign nationals in the country. He asked: "[After Hizbullah takes over the country], what shall we do with some 14,000 foreigners living in Lebanon, including the soldiers and officers of UNIFIL, diplomatic staff, workers in the business, media and academic sectors, and the workers of international organizations and NGOs? What will the Western [intelligence] apparatuses operating in Lebanon do, not only against Hizbullah but also for their agents in Syria?..."[18]
Hassan Nasrallah: We Will Not Let Our Public Be Harmed; Hizbullah's Funds Come From Iran
In a June 24, 2016 speech marking 40 days after the death of Hizbullah leader Mustafa Badr Al-Din, Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah reiterated his organization's position on the U.S. sanctions, warning against their implementation and stating that they harm Lebanon's sovereignty and large sectors of the Lebanese public. He also repeated his claim that the sanctions would not harm Hizbullah, admitting for the first time that all of Hizbullah's funds come from Iran and adding that the money, just like the organization's missiles, does not come from the banks and therefore no law can prevent it from being transferred.
He stressed that Hizbullah's public is starting to suffer because some Lebanese banks, "more American than the Americans," have exceeded the American requirements by closing accounts of organizations and charities that do not even appear on the U.S. sanctions list, just because figures involved with them have family ties with Hizbullah members. Nasrallah said that this infuriates Hizbullah, and added: "We will not allow any measures that harm our members and our public." He stated that his organization was open to dialogue aimed at finding solutions and admitted that such talks were currently taking place between the sides, but that this did not imply "any consent to the [U.S.] law on our part." He also accused unnamed "Lebanese figures" that they had visited Washington and incited the Americans to pass the sanctions law.[19]
Three days after Nasrallah's speech, Al-Akhbar board chairman Ibrahim Al-Amin wrote in an article that former Lebanese prime minister and Al-Mustaqbal faction head Sa'd Al-Hariri had transferred to the Americans, "either directly of via his functionaries in state and private financial institutions," names of figures he wanted added to the sanctions list "on the grounds that they finance Hizbullah's activity."[20]
Pro-Hizbullah Former Lebanese Minister Wiam Wahhab: Boycott Banks That Implement Sanctions, Switch To Euros
In a June 16, 2016 interview on the Lebanese LBC channel, former Lebanese minister Wiam Wahhab, known for his pro-Hizbullah positions, called on all supporters of the March 8 Forces to boycott the banks that implement that U.S. sanctions and start using euros instead of dollars. He also said that in Lebanon it is Lebanese laws that should apply, not those of the U.S. Congress.
http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/9283.htm

* E. B. Picali is a research fellow at MEMRI.
Endnotes:
[1] Called the Lubnan wal-Mahjar Bank in Arabic.
[2] See MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1248, As Lebanon's Banks Begin To Implement U.S. Sanctions Against Hizbullah, Hizbullah Criticizes Banking Sector, Warns Of Chaos In Lebanon And More 'Actions Against The American Takeover Plan', May 17, 2016; MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6452,
London-Based 'Al-Sharq Al-Awsat': Lebanese Government Paying Salaries Of Hizbullah MPs, Ministers In Cash To Bypass Potential American Sanctions, May 31, 2016.
[3] See articles from June 13, 14, 2016.
[4] See Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 14, 2106.
[5] Twitter.com/hashtag/%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87_%D9%8A%D9%81%D8%AC%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%81?src=hash.
[6] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 10, 11, 2016.
[7] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 11, 2016.
[8] Kataeb.org, June 12, 2016.
[9] Al-Mustaqbal (Lebanon), June 14, 2016.
[10] See e.g., Facebook.com/Tansikeyah/photos, June 11, 2016.
[11] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 13, 2016.
[12] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 13, 2016.
[13] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 14, 2016.
[14] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 16, 2016.
[15] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 14, 2016.
[16] This refers to violent clashes that broke out on May 7, 2008, when Hizbullah took over large parts of Beirut, the Mount Lebanon region and the north of the country; paralyzed the airport and seaport; burned the studios of media networks affiliated with its political rivals, who were then in power; and besieged public institutions and government offices, as well as the homes of anti-Syrian Lebanese figures. At least 81 people were killed in these clashes and some 250 were wounded. See MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No.436, A Clean Sweep: Amal, Hizbullah Take Much of Beirut in Redux of Hamas' Gaza Takeover, May 9, 2008.
[17] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 17, 2016.
[18] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 18, 2016.
[19] Alahednews.com.lb, June 24, 2016.
[20] Al-Akhbar (Lebanon), June 27, 2016.27, 2016

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 27-28/16

Erdogan Apologizes to Putin over Downed Jet, Says Kremlin
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/The Kremlin said Monday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had apologized to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Ankara's downing of a Russian military jet in Syria last year that shattered ties. "The head of the Turkish state in his message expressed his sympathy and deepest condolences to the family of the dead Russian pilot and said sorry," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added that Erdogan's written note said he wanted to do "everything possible for the restoration of the traditionally friendly relations between Turkey and Russia."
The Kremlin, which had repeatedly demanded an official apology for the November 24 incident, then released a statement citing Erdogan as saying Ankara "never had the desire and the intention" to down the Russian Su-24 warplane. "I want to once again express my sympathy and deep condolences to the family of the dead Russian pilot and I say sorry," the statement quoted the Turkish leader as saying. Turkey's downing in November of the warplane on its border with Syria -- where Moscow is flying a bombing campaign in support of long-standing ally President Bashar Assad -- sparked an unprecedented crisis in the two nations' relations. Ankara had argued that the Russian plane strayed into its airspace and ignored repeated warnings, but Russia insisted it did not cross the border and accused Turkey of a "planned provocation." The countries are on opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, with Ankara backing rebels fighting to topple Assad while Moscow is one of his last remaining allies. The downing of the plane sparked a bitter war of words between the two strongman leaders with Putin calling it a "stab in the back" and accusing Erdogan of involvement in the illegal oil trade with the Islamic State group. Erdogan said at the time he wanted to meet Putin in person but the Kremlin blanked the proposal and the pair have not spoken since. In response to the jet incident, Moscow slapped a raft of economic sanctions on Turkey, including an embargo on many Turkish food products and consumer goods. Russia also halted charter flights between the two countries, stopped the sale of package holidays in Turkey and scrapped its visa-free regime for Turkish visitors. According to the Kremlin, Erdogan also said in his message that authorities were probing a Turkish national allegedly responsible for the downing of the jet.Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported that Turkish militia fighter Alparslan Celik -- who Moscow had accused of killing pilot Oleg Peshkov as he parachuted to the ground after his plane was shot down -- was released from prison on Monday. In a sign that ties could be set to warm, a Turkish foreign ministry source told AFP that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had accepted a Russian invitation to attend the Black Sea Economic Cooperation meeting in Sochi on July 1.

Israeli, Turkish Leaders Laud Deal to Restore Ties
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/Israeli and Turkish leaders on Monday lauded a deal reached at the weekend to restore ties after six years of acrimony over a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that his country's maritime blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip would remain following the agreement, though Turkey obtained aid concessions for the Palestinian enclave. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that "to this end, our first ship loaded with over 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid will leave for Israel's Ashdod port on Friday."
Yildirim also noted Israel's commitment to pay $20 million in compensation over the 2010 raid that killed 10 Turkish activists, in exchange for all claims against Israeli soldiers being dropped. Netanyahu pointed to the economic benefits for Israel, with his country in search of regional customers for gas exports and talk of a potential pipeline to Turkey. Speaking in Rome after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Netanyahu described the agreement as having "immense implications for the Israeli economy". "I mean positive, immense implications," he said.Kerry also hailed the deal as a "positive step", while U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, on a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, called it a "hopeful signal for the stability of the region." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas spoke by phone overnight, with the Turkish leader explaining the agreement's main points, a statement from the Palestinian presidency said. Erdogan also met with Doha-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal on Friday in anticipation of the agreement.After the deal is signed on Tuesday, the approval process will start in both countries and the Turkish premier said Ankara would appoint an ambassador to Tel Aviv within weeks.
'Spitting in our face'
Previously close relations between Israel and Turkey were downgraded significantly after Israeli commandos staged a botched pre-dawn raid on the six-ship flotilla in May 2010 as it tried to run the blockade on the Gaza Strip. Nine activists aboard the Turkish-owned Mavi Marmara ferry were killed, with a 10th person later dying of his wounds. Both sides have been pushing to complete the deal in recent months, with Israel in search of a potential customer for its offshore gas exports and NATO member Turkey wanting to restore its regional clout, analysts say. The United States has also pushed for the two countries to resolve the dispute as it seeks cooperation in the fight against extremists from the Islamic State group. Within Israel, the deal was given a mixed response, with one newspaper quoting a soldier from the Mavi Marmara raid as saying "it's nothing less than spitting in our face.""We were sent to stop a terrorist flotilla. That was the mission," Maariv quoted the anonymous soldier as saying."How is it possible today to pay compensation to terrorists who tried to murder us on board the ship? What message does that send to the rest of the troops?"
Compromise on blockade
Two of Turkey's key conditions for normalization -- an apology and compensation -- were largely met earlier, leaving its third demand, that Israel lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip, the main obstacle. Reports in recent days described a compromise on the issue. Under the reported terms of the deal, Israel will allow the completion of a much-needed hospital in Gaza, as well as the construction of a new power station and a desalination plant for drinking water. Turkey's aid to Gaza would also be channeled through the Israeli port of Ashdod rather than sending it directly to the Palestinian enclave, the reports said. Turkey has also committed to keeping Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, from carrying out activities against Israel from its country, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Sunday. Hamas would continue to be able to operate from Turkey for diplomatic purposes, the paper said. Netanyahu has also come under pressure within Israel not to agree to the deal if it does not include provisions for Hamas to hand over four missing Israelis, including the remains of two soldiers presumed dead and two civilians believed held alive by Hamas in Gaza. An Israeli official said on condition of anonymity that Erdogan agreed to instruct "all relevant Turkish agencies to help resolve the issue of Israel's missing citizens."

Gaza sea blockade to remain after Turkey deal: Israel
AFP, Jerusalem Monday, 27 June 2016/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday his country's maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip would remain in place following a deal with Turkey to normalise relations. Netanyahu made the comments in Rome, broadcast live in Israel, after Israel and Turkey agreed on a highly anticipated deal to end years of acrimony and restore ties.Relations soured after a deadly 2010 Israeli raid on an aid flotilla seeking to run the blockade on Gaza. "The second thing the agreement gives is continuation of the maritime security blockade off the Gaza Strip coast," Netanyahu said. "This is a supreme security interest for us. I was not prepared to compromise on it." Israel has fought three wars with Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2008, including a devastating 50-day conflict in the summer of 2014. Israel says the blockade is necessary to keep out material that could be used for military purposes in the strip run by Islamist movement Hamas. At the same time, UN and aid officials have warned of deteriorating conditions in the Palestinian enclave, which has one of the world's highest unemployment rates. Part of the deal reached with Turkey reportedly involved a compromise in which Israel will allow the completion of a much-needed hospital in Gaza, as well as the construction of a new power station and a desalination plant for drinking water. Turkey's aid to Gaza would be channeled through the Israeli port of Ashdod rather than sending it directly to the Palestinian enclave, the reports said.

Turkey PM Says Israel to Pay $20 mn Compensation for 2010 Raid
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/A breakthrough Israel-Turkey deal following six years of acrimony will see Israel pay $20 million (18.14 million euros) in compensation for a deadly 2010 commando raid, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Monday.The deal will also see the two countries exchange ambassadors "as soon as possible", Yildirim told a press conference in Ankara.

Netanyahu Says Sea Blockade on Gaza to Remain after Turkey Deal
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday his country's maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip would remain in place following a deal with Turkey to normalize relations. Netanyahu made the comments in Rome, broadcast live in Israel, after Israel and Turkey agreed on a highly anticipated deal to end years of acrimony and restore ties. Relations soured after a deadly 2010 Israeli raid on an aid flotilla seeking to run the blockade on Gaza. "The second thing the agreement gives is continuation of the maritime security blockade off the Gaza Strip coast," Netanyahu said. "This is a supreme security interest for us. I was not prepared to compromise on it."Israel has fought three wars with Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2008, including a devastating 50-day conflict in the summer of 2014. Israel says the blockade is necessary to keep out material that could be used for military purposes in the strip run by Islamist movement Hamas. At the same time, UN and aid officials have warned of deteriorating conditions in the Palestinian enclave, which has one of the world's highest unemployment rates. Part of the deal reached with Turkey reportedly involved a compromise in which Israel will allow the completion of a much-needed hospital in Gaza, as well as the construction of a new power station and a desalination plant for drinking water. Turkey's aid to Gaza would be channeled through the Israeli port of Ashdod rather than sending it directly to the Palestinian enclave, the reports said.

Second Day of Clashes at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/Palestinians and Israeli police clashed at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound for a second day straight on Monday, with Islamic officials accusing Israeli authorities of breaking a tacit agreement on access during Ramadan. Young Palestinians threw stones at Israeli police who deployed at the site, while security forces fired tear gas and sponge-tipped bullets, AFP journalists reported. Calm later returned to the site, considered sacred to both Jews and Muslims and where clashes regularly occur. A number of injuries were reported by Palestinian media, though the Red Crescent had not provided any figures. Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said police intervened to allow visits to the site to continue without further incident after "having obtained information on masked youths" taking up positions in the mosque overnight and blocking its doors. Islamic officials say Israeli authorities are allowing non-Muslim visitors into the compound in breach of a tradition which allows only worshipers to enter during the last 10 days of Ramadan. The 10 days, which began on Sunday, are the most solemn for Muslims and the period attracts the highest number of worshipers to the site. Typically non-Muslims, including Jews, are allowed to visit the site during set hours, but cannot pray there to avoid provoking tensions. The site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, is located in east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognized by the international community. A statement from the Waqf, the Jordanian foundation that oversees the site, and Jerusalem Muslim spiritual leaders said Israeli authorities were "breaking a tacit agreement in place for years in a bid to show that they are the ones who have the final say at al-Aqsa and not the Waqf."Jordan also denounced what it called "Israeli violations" of rules at the site and said it had been in contact with Israeli officials on the issue. Similar clashes had broken out on Sunday, with the Palestinian Red Crescent saying it took seven Palestinians to an east Jerusalem hospital for treatment of injuries from sponge-tipped bullets, tear gas and beatings. Police said that officers at the Old City site on Sunday arrested four masked youths "who were disrupting visits on the Temple Mount" by non-Muslims.

Bahrain Jails 5 Shiites, Revokes Their Citizenships
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/Bahrain on Monday jailed five Shiites on charges linked to "terrorism" and revoked their citizenships, the prosecution said, as authorities in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom crack down on the opposition. Three defendants were found guilty of joining the clandestine "al-Mukhtar Brigades" Shiite group, possession of weapons for use in "terror" attacks and assaulting police, a prosecution statement said. The criminal court sentenced each to 15 years in jail and stripped all three of their Bahraini citizenships, the statement said, adding that one of them is a fugitive on the run in Iraq. The same court also jailed two alleged members of the outlawed Wafa Islamic Movement to 10 years and three years respectively after convicting them of taking part in a "terrorist" bombing carried out by the group, the prosecution said, adding that their nationalities were also revoked. The verdicts were the latest in a series of rulings meted out against members of Bahrain's Shiite majority by the authorities, who are also pushing court proceedings to dissolve the main opposition al-Wefaq group. Scores of Shiites have been jailed over accusations of involvement in violence since a protest against the regime of the ruling al-Khalifa Sunni dynasty was crushed in March 2011, a month after it erupted. Protesters still frequently clash with police in Shiite villages outside the capital, Manama. Authorities have stripped at least 261 Bahrainis of their citizenship since 2012, according to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, including the Gulf state's Shiite spiritual leader Sheikh Issa Qassem. Activists have said that those losing their nationalities are usually given a one-year passport and a travel ticket to get to their destination.

UN Chief Ban Says Israel-Turkey Deal 'Hopeful Signal' for Region
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday welcomed a deal between Israel and Turkey to normalize relations after years of acrimony, calling it a "hopeful signal for the stability of the region.""I welcome today's announcement of the normalization of relations between Israel and Turkey," Ban told journalists as he met Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince in France for talks
Staff Writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 27 June 2016/Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed with French President Francois Hollande on Monday the latest developments in the Middle East and ways the two countries can cooperate during an official visit to Paris. The deputy crown prince and Hollande reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries during an hour-long meeting at the Élysée Palace, the official residence of the French president.Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in a press briefing after the Saudi deputy crown prince’s meeting with Hollande that France had reaffirmed its support to the kingdom’s Vision 2030. Hollande also said the impact of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 would be evident across the region, Jubeir added. Saudi Arabia and France will sign several agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the Saudi deputy crown prince’s visit to Paris, according to Saudi ambassador to France Khaled al-Anqari. “The visit will further bolster the historic relations between the two countries,” he said while emphasizing that these solid and strategic relations are based on mutual respect and promotion of common interests, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Al-Anqari noted that the Saudi-French political positions and views are identical towards most of the global issues, particularly with regard to the Middle East issues. Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with French President Francois Hollande at the Élysée Palace. (Supplied)
The deputy crown prince will also meet French Prime Minister Manuel Valls at the government headquarters. Later on, he is scheduled to meet with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. The 3rd edition of the Saudi-French Business Opportunities Forum will also be held on the sidelines of the high-profile visit.Several business leaders and economic experts from both the countries will attend the forum, which is aimed at exploring more avenues of investment opportunities in both the countries. France is the Saudi Arabia’s third largest foreign investor and the top oil importer from the Kingdom.

Clashes Intensify in Yemen, Killing 41
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Shiite rebels raged Sunday on several fronts, killing 41 people, officials said, as U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in Kuwait to push forward peace talks. The Iran-backed Huthi rebels pressed ahead with attempts to advance towards the strategic al-Anad airbase, in the southern province of Lahj, a military official said.The rebels and their allies of forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh captured the area of Qubaita, on the frontier between Lahj and Taez province. Eleven rebels were killed when warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition bombed them in Qubaita and Kirsh, the official said. Also along the frontier between Lahj and Taez, five rebels and three government soldiers died in clashes triggered by a rebel attempt to advance in the Waziya area, a source in loyalist militia said. Six other soldiers were killed in clashes in the flashpoint city of Taez, where rebels attacked an army base, a military official said. Meanwhile, nine rebels and seven soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours in clashes in northern Yemen, after rebels attacked loyalists in Nahm, northeast of the capital Sanaa, a military official said.
Clashes have continued despite a U.N.-brokered ceasefire that entered into effect on April 11 and paved the way for peace talks in Kuwait. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived late Saturday in Kuwait to meet representatives of the rebels and the government in a bid to push forward talks that have made no headway after two months.The Huthis overran the capital in late 2014 before moving into other parts of Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March last year. The United Nations says more than 6,400 people have been killed in Yemen since then, mostly civilians. The fighting has also driven 2.8 million people from their homes and left more than 80 percent of the population in need of humanitarian aid.

Jordan Court Charges 21 with 'Terrorism'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/A Jordanian court on Sunday charged 21 people with carrying out "terrorist acts" after their arrest in an operation against jihadists in the country's north in March, a prosecutor said. The State Security Court accused them of committing "terrorist acts that led to deaths," making explosives and possessing weapons, the official Petra news agency quoted the court's chief prosecutor as saying. The agency did not say when their trial would begin. In March, Jordan announced it had foiled a plot by the Islamic State jihadist group to carry out attacks in the kingdom in an operation in the city of Irbid. IS had being planning to target "civilian and military sites," the authorities said, adding seven jihadists were killed and around 20 arrested in the operation. Two deadly attacks targeting security forces rocked the kingdom this month. On Tuesday, a suicide bomber killed seven soldiers in an area where thousands of Syrian refugees are stranded near the Syrian border. The bombing came two weeks after a gunman, who was later arrested, killed five Jordanian intelligence officers in a Palestinian refugee camp north of the capital. Jordan is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.

CIA weapons for Syrian rebels ‘sold to black market’
Reuters Monday, 27 June 2016/Weapons shipped into Jordan for Syrian rebels by the Central Intelligence Agency and Saudi Arabia were stolen by Jordanian intelligence operatives and sold to arms merchants on the black market, the New York Times reported, citing American and Jordanian officials. Some of the stolen weapons were used in a shooting in November that killed two Americans and three others at a police training facility in Amman, according to a joint investigation by the New York Times and Al Jazeera. A Jordanian officer shot dead two US government security contractors, a South African trainer and two Jordanians at a US-funded police training facility near Amman before being killed in a shootout, Jordanian authorities had said in November. The training facility was set up on the outskirts of the capital, Amman, after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq to help rebuild the shattered country’s postwar security forces and to train Palestinian Authority police officers. The weapons used in the shooting had originally arrived in Jordan for the Syrian rebel training program, the paper reported, citing American and Jordanian officials. Theft of the weapons, which ended months ago after complaints by the American and Saudi governments, has led to a flood of new weapons available on the arms black market, the New York Times said. Jordanian officers who were part of the plan “reaped a windfall” from sale of weapons, using the money to buy iPhones, SUVs and other luxury items, according to the paper, which cited Jordanian officials. The CIA could not be immediately reached for comment.

Libya PM Says Only United Military Can Defeat IS
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 27/16/The head of Libya's unity government said Sunday that only a united military bringing together all the country's armed factions would be able to defeat the Islamic State group. "We are convinced that the only way to end this organization (IS) is through a united military command that brings together all Libyans from every region of the country," Prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj told AFP in a written response to questions. Forces loyal to Sarraj's U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have been fighting since mid-May to oust IS from Sirte, 450 kilometers (280 miles) east of the capital Tripoli. Backed by the international community, the GNA set up base in Tripoli at the end of the March but has struggled to assert its control over all of Libya. It has backing from some military units and armed groups mainly from western Libya. But forces based in eastern Libya, including local militias and units of the national army loyal to a controversial general, Khalifa Haftar, have not joined with pro-GNA fighters in the battle against IS. Loyalist fighters made significant early advances in the battle to take Sirte, but the offensive has slowed in the face of a fierce IS counter-attack. Sarraj said a key reason for the slowdown was care that pro-GNA forces were taking for some 30,000 civilians estimated to still be inside the city. "Victory is only a matter of time. We hope it will come very soon," Sarraj said. Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 uprising that ousted and killed strongman Moammar Gadhafi, with the country awash in weapons and rival factions vying for power. IS took advantage of the chaos to seize control of Sirte, Gadhafi's hometown, in June last year.

Iran: Criminal orders to execute three Arab minority political prisoners; call to save their lives
Monday, 27 June 2016/NCRI/The judiciary of the religious fascism ruling Iran has condemned to death three young political prisoners from Hamidiyeh of Ahwaz (southern Iran). The names of these prisoners, from the Arab minority, are Qais Obaidavi, 25, B.A. in Law, his 20-year-old brother Ahmad Obaidavi, and their cousin Sajjad Obaidavi, a law student. They are charged with so-called “Moharebeh (enmity against God)” and “corruption on Earth.”In order to intensify the atmosphere of intimidation, especially among the Arab minority, the mullahs’ inhumane regime has announced in advance that these prisoners will be hanged in public. Since the time they were arrested, these inmates have faced severe tortures and pressures in solitary confinement at the detention center of Ahwaz Intelligence. In fear of the Hamidiyeh people’s reaction to this criminal order, the mullahs’ regime has forced the families of these prisoners to leave their homes in Hamidiyeh. The Iranian Resistance calls on the United Nations, its member states, and international human rights organizations to condemn these inhumane orders and to take immediate measures to save the lives of these political prisoners. Political and economic relations with this regime should be conditioned upon the improvement of human rights in Iran, especially a halt to executions. Otherwise, in the midst of a growing number of executions, any relations with and assistance to the religious fascism ruling Iran has no meaning other than persuading it to continue and intensify the gross and systematic violation of human rights in Iran. Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/June 25, 2016

José Bové MEP declares support for Iranian Resistance led by Maryam Rajavi
Monday, 27 June 2016/NCRI/José Bové, a prominent Member of the European Parliament from France, has declared his solidarity with the major “Free Iran” gathering that is to take place in Paris on July 9. In a video message, aired by the Iranian opposition satellite channel Simay-e Azadi, Mr. Bové said that while the French president, François Hollande, last week welcomed the Iranian regime’s foreign minister, 270 Members of the European Parliament “of all political persuasions signed a statement with a clear message condemning the mullahs and supporting democracy and reiterating that we should not be dealing with this dictatorship.”“How can we today accept a regime that imprisons, prosecutes and executes thousands of women, journalists, union activists, and youths? The people are forced to keep silent. How can we accept that our democratic and secular country deals and trade with such regimes?”“That is why I protest today. I ask all supporters of Maryam Rajavi and the Iranian Resistance to participate in the major gathering held on July 9 to support a democratic and secular Iran.”“Today, more than ever, the world needs a democracy which is transparent and secular, and that is why I am supporting the Iranian Resistance,” he added. The major gathering of Iranians and their international supporters in Paris on July 9, which will be attended by hundreds of senior political dignitaries, parliamentarians, human rights and women's rights activists and religious leaders from the United States, Europe, and Islamic countries, will bring together international support for the cause of democracy and freedom in Iran.

Political prisoner writes to UN about abuses in Iran
NCRI/Monday, 27 June 2016/Iranian political prisoner, Hassan Sadeqi, who is currently behind bars in Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in Karaj, north-west of the Iranian capital, has written an open letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council protesting the authorities’ refusal to allow him to visit his wife imprisoned in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.
The following is the text of his letter:
To the UN Human Rights Council,
I, Hassan Sadeqi, a political prisoner of Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison in Karaj, write this letter to talk about my current condition. As I was schedulled to visit my wife imprisoned in Evin Prison, one of the prison guards, named Mohammadreza Shojai, arbitrarily prohibited my visitation with my wife. When I asked about the reason he said that there is a court order prohibiting you from visiting your family. I asked him to show me the court order which has been issued for me and he refused to show it, saying that he is not permitted to do so. I asked him how is it possible that a court order is issued for me while I am not permitted to know about its content.
However he was explicitly lying and there was no such court order, the judicial structure is so ignorant and abusive that a low-ranking official could have arbitrarily imposed punishment and harassment to the prisoners. It is worth noting that my wife and I are sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment individually since we were charged with supporting the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran [PMOI or MEK]. The only hope for our children is their monthly visitation with us. In such circumstances, the political prisoners are not allowed to make phone calls. Although my children and I were accorded with the basic rights of human life for ourselves to have at least a phone call, by all means, they arrested my son because of making the effort to contact us and now we have all been prohibited from visitations. Indeed, the pressures and the violation of rights stem from a corrupt hierarchy, repression and systematic tortures that go on in prison. Torturing and harassing prisoners have become the norm. As a political prisoner whose basic rights have been violated; I want you to tell us what to do in the current situation when no justice exists.
Hassan Sadeqi
Gohardasht (Rajai Shahr) Prison, Karaj
A major gathering of Iranians and their international supporters in Paris on July 9, which will be attended by hundreds of senior political dignitaries, parliamentarians, human rights and women's rights activists and religious leaders from the United States, Europe, and Islamic countries, will bring together international support for the cause of democracy and freedom in Iran. The “Free Iran” gathering will in particular highlight the plight of Iran’s political prisoners who are suffering continuously at the hands of the mullahs’ regime.

Italian human rights figure expresses solidarity with Iranian Resistance
Sunday, 26 June 2016/NCRI - Former Italian lawmaker Elisabetta Zamparutti has expressed her solidarity with the major gathering of Iranians and their international supporters in Paris on July 9 titled “Free Iran.”In a video message aired by the Iranian opposition satellite channel Simay-e Azadi, Ms. Zamparutti, Treasurer of Hands Off Cain, also condemned the mullahs' regime for carrying out mass executions in Iran, exporting terrorism and murdering the people of Syria in complicity with dictator Bashar al-Assad. She urged Western governments to recognize the Iranian Resistance as a “reliable alternative” to the mullahs’ regime. Mrs. Zamparutti added: "We will participate in the major convention held annually by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in Paris. The Italian delegation and those from other countries will attend the event. I believe that it is time for Western governments to recognize the Iranian Resistance as a reliable alternative to the fanatical and misogynist regime ruling Iran."The major gathering of Iranians and their international supporters in Paris on July 9, which will be attended by hundreds of senior political dignitaries, parliamentarians, human rights and women's rights activists and religious leaders from the United States, Europe, and Islamic countries, will bring together international support for the cause of democracy and freedom in Iran.

Fmr Palestinian chief justice shows solidarity with ‘Free Iran’ gathering
Sunday, 26 June 2016/NCRI - Sheikh Taysir al-Tamimi, the former chief justice of Palestine, has sent a video message of solidarity to the upcoming “Free Iran” gathering which will be held in Paris on July 9. In his message, broadcasted by the Iranian opposition satellite channel Simaye Azadi, Sheikh al-Tamimi condemned the mullahs’ regime in Iran for mass executions and in particular for its export of terrorism and complicity with Bashar al-Assad in the mass killing of Syrian people. In his message Sheikh al-Tamimi said: "As we know, tens of thousands of people in Iran have been tortured, imprisoned and killed by the Velayat-e Faqih (clerical) regime. Assad and the mullahs' regime have agreed to suppress and kill their people in autarchy. Yet, the people of Iran and Syria are united as brothers against the oppression by the mullahs' and Assad's regime, and by God's will these autocratic regimes will collapse and the people of Iran and Syria will celebrate their victory.”“The mullahs' regime believes that its survival is dependent on the survival of Assad's regime and equally that the destruction of Assad's regime would mean its destruction as well. Therefore, the mullahs’ regime kills their people and spreads war to the entire region. They want to impose their tyranny and oppression while they are afraid of justice and democracy. They believe if the people score a victory, their regime will definitely collapse.”“I say that the meeting to be held in Paris will demonstrate the readiness of the Iranian's Resistance, the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI or MEK), to overthrow the mullahs' regime. The Iranian people, themselves must rule their country with liberty and democracy. As I heard Maryam Rajavi's speech about the massive rise of Iranian people outside of Iran in solidarity with the people of the world. I am certain that she supports women’s rights by citing the verses of the Quran and quotes of the Prophet Muhammad. As she mentioned, the God Almighty emphasizes in the Quran that women are the counterpart of men and this is what Maryam Rajavi has promoted while on the other hand the Velayat-e Faqih relies on terrorism, murder and fundamentalism, and the fundamentalist groups that kill people everywhere have their roots in the regime of the Velayat-e Faqih," he added.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 27-28/16

Will the Terrorization of Egypt’s Christians “Never Stop”
Raymond Ibrahim/June 27, 2016
Originally published by Gatestone Institute under the title, “Egypt: New Attacks on Christians.”
In a chronically familiar scene, angry, rioting Muslims in Egypt burned down around 80 Christian homes on June 17. In the words of one of the victims, Moses Zarif,
On Friday afternoon, after noon prayers, a large number of Muslims gathered in the front of the new house of my cousin because a rumor had spread in the village that it would be turned into a church. They were chanting slogans against us: “By no means will there be a church here” and “Egypt will remain Islamic!”
On June 17, 2016, rioting Muslims in Egypt attacked Christians and their property, and burned down Christian homes.

According to the report, rioting Muslims beat the two cousins, attacked the building, destroyed all construction materials, and threw rocks at any Christian trying to intervene. Then they “turned their wrath on the Christian homes adjacent to the building, hurled rocks, looted houses and set fire to any Christian property in their wake.”
When the local priest heard what was happening, he rushed to the scene — only to be attacked while in his car; the Muslims climbed on it, stomped on it, and damaged it. Currently the Christians of al-Bayda village, where the incident took place, have no church. They have to walk four miles in Egypt’s sweltering heat to attend another church. The Arabic-language news show, “Behind the Scenes,” played short video clips of the incident as it transpired, made by phone cameras. The Muslim mob, which appears to have consisted of hundreds of people surrounding the building, included veiled women and children. There were shouts of “Allahu Akbar!”; women in hijabs clapped and whistled and ululated. At one point, almost in unison, the mob can clearly be heard chanting, “We’ll burn the church, we’ll burn the church.”
As usual, Egyptian TV reported the one-sided attacks from the Muslim majority on the Christian minority as “clashes.” After arriving, the police stood back and allowed the mob to continue destroying the house and setting more Christian homes and vehicles on fire. The Muslims then performed their afternoon prayers outside those Christians’ homes they had not destroyed — with loudspeakers pointed at their doors.
“No one did anything and the police took no pre-emptive or security measures in anticipation of the attacks,” said Anba Makarios, a representative of the normally diplomatic Coptic Christian church of the incident. Instead, a report notes that, In the end, police arrested six Muslim men, all of whom were released that evening, and six Christian men, who were released on the following day. The police station in Amirya charged the six men with erecting a building without permit and holding prayers without permission. Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this latest attack on Egypt’s Christian minority is that every detail of it has been repeated over and over in countless other incidents.
Violent riots and attacks on Christian homes and property, at the mere mention that a Christian church might be built or just renovated, are commonplace in Egypt (see here for several recent examples).
Last year Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi agreed to build a memorial church in the village of Al-Our, which was home to 13 of the 21 Christians beheaded in February 2015 by the Islamic State in Libya. The families of the victims still live there. In response, Muslim mobs from the village rose in violence on April 3, 2015. There they also shouted that they would never allow a church to be built, and that “Egypt is Islamic!” Molotov cocktails and stones were thrown at another Coptic church, cars were set ablaze — including one belonging to a relative of one of the those Christians decapitated by the Islamic State — and several people were injured.
Even tents used by churchless Christians for worship are not spared.
Collective punishment — punishing all Christians for the real or imagined offense of one Christian — is common (as documented here). It is the reason that 80 Christian homes are torched on the rumor that one Christian might be turning his home into a church. Last month in Egypt, a 70-year-old Christian woman was stripped naked, beaten, and paraded in the streets of her village by a mob of 300 Muslim men. The woman’s son was rumored to be romantically involved with a Muslim woman — a relationship strictly banned by Islam. All these attacks take place on took place on a Friday: the one day of the week when Muslims meet in mosques to pray and hear sermons — possibly whipping them up against all things “infidel,” Christians chief among them. The attack on the church had the bonus of occurring during Ramadan as well, when pious Muslims become even more radical and intolerant of uppity Christians who dare to build churches.
During the coverage of this attack, Dr. Mona Roman, the host of “Behind the Scenes,” said: Throughout Egypt, we are accustomed to seeing Muslims laying out their carpets and praying wherever they want, and no one bothers them. Why must Christians be so hounded for trying to worship, prevented from building churches or even meeting in homes? Where is this equality we often hear about? She concluded by asking what must be on the mind of every Christian in Egypt: “We all know the authority of Egypt’s government, that whenever it intends on doing something, it does it. How long will these acts continue with impunity – or will they never stop?”

When Hate is Promoted by Religious Leaders, Why Blame the Followers?
Raheel Raza/Gatestone Institute/June 27/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8309/abdullah-hakim-quick
Imam Abdullah Hakim Quick then goes on to connect being gay with Zionism -- his anti-Semitic sentiments at their best. All this while standing at a pulpit. If this is not a crime of hate, then what is? Does this imam have nothing positive to speak about in his sermon, besides spreading the Islamist agenda of hate and bigotry?
For years we have warned of the messages of hate emanating from the pulpit. We have spoken of the two different messages being given -- one to the public and one in private.
Why then do we act surprised when the Omar Mateens of the world take up arms and ruthlessly gun down an entire group of gays? This is what they are being taught by the likes of Imam Quick. They are acting out the hate that has been instilled in their minds and hearts.
In the aftermath of the bloodbath created by Omar Mateen at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, a plethora of opinions, ideas and causes have been spoken about. At the same time, a very disturbing picture about a specific aspect of this hateful ideology of Islamists has emerged. In my opinion, there is no doubt that Mateen was an Islamist influenced by the jihadist agenda of fanatic hate for the gay communities.
For those of us reform-minded Muslims who have been battling the rise in radical Islamist agendas for the past decade, this development is no surprise. In our declaration, we say right at the top:
"We reject bigotry, oppression and violence against all people based on any prejudice, including ethnicity, gender, language, belief, religion, sexual orientation and gender expression."
Why did we include this line in our message? Because we know of the hate that is directed towards the LGBTQ communities in Muslim lands. In Iran, thousands of gays have been executed; in Afghanistan, the Taliban bury them alive; in Saudi Arabia they are liable for death, and in other Muslim countries they are persecuted and abused if they admit to the preference.
One can always say that this is happening out there someplace else. We in North American pride ourselves on freedom of expression and tolerance towards those following a different lifestyle. We would never expect hate against others to be promoted in a liberal democracy.
However, not everyone in Canada thinks as we do. In our own hometown of pluralistic Toronto, hate against the LQBTQ community is alive and well.
Abdullah Hakim Quick is a Toronto imam who writes on his website:
"I have always stood against racism and ethnocentrism. I have been a lifelong advocate of women's rights and for decades have encouraged the empowerment of young people. I pioneered the first social service agency for Muslims in Toronto, Canada (I.S.S.R.A.) whose doors were open to all -- rich and poor, Muslim and non-Muslim, gay or straight. As a counselor I learned first-hand of the terrible violence inflicted upon gay people by bullies and I publicly spoke out against it...."
Yet in a YouTube video, the same Imam Quick says:
"... they said 'What is the position of Islam on homosexuality?' -- they asked me this. This is a newspaper, right. So I said 'Put my name in the paper. The position is death.' And we cannot change Islam."
Furthermore, Quick goes on openly to ridicule the Toronto gay community known as Salaam Canada. Many of them are my friends and I respect them. They have suffered at the hands of Islamists and felt they were safe in a city like Toronto. Not so anymore, and my heart goes out to them.
Abdullah Hakim Quick, a Toronto imam, makes a speech where he gives his answer to the position of Islam on homosexuality: "The position is death." (Image source: TIFRIB video screenshot)
Mr. Quick then goes on to connect being gay with Zionism -- his anti-Semitic sentiments at their best. All this while standing at a pulpit. If this is not a crime of hate, then what is? Does this imam have nothing positive to speak about in his sermon?
The point is that not only is he lying on his website, but he is spreading the Islamist agenda of hate and bigotry. He is also spouting an opinion that is not in the Quran. While the Quran (like other Abrahamic scriptures) does not condone homosexuality, there is no injunction to kill gays. However, because he is an imam and an imam is supposed to be knowledgeable, no one challenges him. Therefore, his opinion on gays (derived from sharia and concocted hadeeth perhaps) is that death is the solution for gays.
He's not the only one. Not long ago, Florida religious scholar Shaykh Farrokh said gently but with conviction in a speech "death is the sentence. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Death is the sentence." He goes on to explain that killing gays is an act of compassion.
Why then do we act surprised when the Omar Mateens of the world take up arms and ruthlessly gun down an entire group of gays? This is what they are being taught by the likes of Imam Abdullah Hakim Quick. They are acting out the hate that has been instilled in their minds and hearts.
For years, we have warned of the messages of hate emanating from the pulpit. We have spoken of the two different messages being given -- one to the public and one in private. Well, we live in a world where the two are meshed and the culprits need to be exposed. It is time Muslims knew what their religious leaders are saying and promoting from the pulpit.
Is this what we want our youth to hear? If not, what are we doing about it?
**Raheel Raza is President of The Council for Muslims Facing Tomorrow, and co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Pope Francis: The Good Shepherd Now Must Protect His Sheep
Lawrence A. Franklin/Gatestone Institute/June 27/16
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8337/pope-francis-protect-flock
Pope Francis might review the decisions of former pontiffs who once organized resistance against existential threats to Judeo-Christian Civilization. Several of his predecessors seized the initiative whenever a weak or divided Europe appeared incapable of defending itself.
Pope Francis also could author an encyclical condemning radical Islam. This would be wholly within the purview and tradition of the Papacy. Such an encyclical would mirror in significance Pope Pius XI's "Mit Brennender Sorge" (With Burning Anxiety) which condemned the racist supremacy doctrine of the Nazis.
Some of the passages in Pius XI's "Divini Redemptoris" (The Divine Redeemer) could also serve as appropriate criticism of various tenets of extremist Islam. One example: "Communism aims at upsetting the social order and undermining the very foundation of Christian civilization." Another: "Entire peoples find themselves in danger of falling back into a barbarism worse than which oppressed the greater part of the world at the coming of the Redeemer (Roman Empire)."
It was uplifting to hear Pope Francis denounce the genocide of the Armenians in Turkey last week and remind the world that it must never again happen.
The Vatican has several other options to meet head-on the challenge of Islamic extremism. Pope Francis could capitalize on his widespread popularity to combat Jihadi aggression by word, pen, and sword. He might also review the decisions of former pontiffs who once organized resistance against existential threats to Judeo-Christian Civilization. Several of his predecessors seized the initiative whenever a weak or divided Europe appeared incapable of defending itself.
Pope Francis could begin his review with Pope Saint Leo the Great. In 452 A.D., he rode out of Rome on horseback to meet Attila the Hun, persuading him not to invade the Eternal City.
Pope Francis (left) could begin his review of the actions of former pontiffs with Pope Saint Leo the Great (right). In 452 A.D., Leo rode out of Rome on horseback to meet Attila the Hun, persuading him not to invade the Eternal City.
Pope Francis could then study the statecraft of Saint Pope Pius V, who helped establish the Holy League in March 1571. This alliance – of Venice, Spain, the Republic of Genoa, the Papacy, and Austrian Hapsburg military contingents – pooled their maritime military assets to fight an overwhelmingly superior Ottoman fleet.[1] If the Turks triumphed, the entire Mediterranean Sea would be theirs. However, on June 7, 1571, the Holy League destroyed the Turkish Navy in the waters of the Gulf of Corinth, southwest of Greece.[2] The Vatican judged the victory, a miracle. This unexpected naval triumph certainly seemed a providential response to the prayers of tens of thousands of sailors and soldiers kneeling on the decks of their vessels.
Pope Francis could also consult the speeches and letters of Pope Urban II, whose solemn and inspirational oratory catalyzed the Knights of Europe to defend the Holy Land's sacred sites. Urban's urging of Europe's professional warrior class "to take up the Crusader Cross" was Christendom's response to Islam's often predatory policy against Christian pilgrims.
In addition, places important to Christians everywhere were being destroyed by the Seljuk Turkish Empire. Anti-Christian pogroms became so intense that, in 1095, the Orthodox Emperor of Constantinople Alexius Comenius I appealed to Pope Urban to send forces to tame the Turks. Urban took up the challenge, calling the Council of Clermont in 1095. He urged European knights to sanctify their violent inclinations in defense of their fellow Christians.
The first of seven Crusades embarked for the Holy Land later that same year, capturing Jerusalem on July 14, 1099. This movement was the beginning of Europe's counterattack, after several centuries of Muslim Conquests of former Christian lands. After hundreds of years of occupation, violence, and slave-like servitude, Christians had become a threatened species in lands once the first to embrace Christianity.
Pope Francis also could author an encyclical condemning radical Islam. This would be wholly within the purview and tradition of the Papacy. Such an encyclical would mirror in significance Pope Pius XI's "Mit Brennender Sorge"[3] (With Burning Anxiety) which condemned the racist supremacy doctrine of the Nazis. This encyclical criticized National Socialism's excessive emphasis on the priority of the state over the sovereignty of God. Somewhat ironically, the encyclical was authored by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who two years later, became Pope Pius XII. He was the Pontiff often criticized for not confronting the Nazis strongly enough, while mass murder occurred in German concentration camps during World War II.
Far more effective was Pius XI's condemnation of Communism in his "Divini Redemptoris"[4] (The Divine Redeemer). This encyclical challenged the suppression of human rights, class warfare, and materialism. Some of its passages could also serve as appropriate criticism of various tenets of extremist Islam. One example: "Communism aims at upsetting the social order and undermining the very foundation of Christian civilization."[5] Another: "Entire peoples find themselves in danger of falling back into a barbarism worse than which oppressed the greater part of the world at the coming of the Redeemer (Roman Empire)."[6]The Holy Father could seize the opportunity to address the plague of Muslim violent extremism in Islamic education -- as did Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb, head of the Egypt's Al-Azhar University -- the leading center of learning for Sunni Islam, in Februray 2015 -- on an international stage, as he did regarding climate change at a UN General Assembly Meeting also in 2015.
Another international opportunity could be a Vatican call for a convocation of world religions at Assisi, the site of three past such assemblies.[7] Just as dramatic a maneuver, having the potential to revive the ghosts of Christian Europe, would be a Papal address to a plenary session of the European Union. The rarity of such an event would rivet the attention of the continent's political elite. A more emphatic gesture would be a request by the Pope to address a meeting of NATO. Such a move would demonstrate the gravity which the world's most powerful religious institution views the Muslim threat to supplant Greco-Roman ideals and Judeo-Christian values. These initiatives could serve as teaching moments, where the Vatican could detail past instances when an aggressive Islamic thrust threatened to swallow Christian realms. Francis could easily sketch out the jihads of history. He could demonstrate how "we" have seen all this before: outside the Gates of Vienna,[8] in the mountains of the Pyrenees,[9] and the blood-soaked isles of the Mediterranean.[10]
He could challenge Islamic leaders to institute specific reforms which would root-out theological justification for violent and intolerant behavior. He could call upon Muslims of good will to summon their courage to recapture their faith. He could help moderates by suggesting changes in Islam which would be welcomed by both many Muslims and by Western civilization. Pope Francis might host periodic working sessions with moderate Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. These sessions may serve as an opportunity to build a better, more trusting relationship between Christendom and the Islamic World. At these convocations, the Vatican could urge Muslim scholars to "re-open the gates of Ijitihad [independent questioning, reasoning]," to review certain martial passages of the Koran. Nevertheless, the bugle must be sounded without hesitation. The tone must not be tentative. It must be decisive in word, speech, and deed.
The Good Shepherd now must protect his sheep, saving civilization in the process. The Holy Father must assume the role of Supreme Pontiff, indeed, Leader of the West. Like the Prophets of old who counseled Israel's Kings in times of danger, the Pope can don the mantle of spiritual guide of the West and urge its leaders to summon up the courage to fight and the will to endure.
*Dr. Lawrence A. Franklin was the Iran Desk Officer for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. He also served on active duty with the U.S. Army and as a Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, where he was a Military Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Israel.
[1] "The Papal States" by Marino Berengo "Italia" Other elements included the naval forces of Sicily, Sardinia, Duchy of Savoy, Naples, the Knights Hospitaller.
[2] New World Encyclopedia "Battle of Lepanto."
[3] "Mit Brennender Sorge" was published 10 March 1937, when it was read from the pulpit of every Catholic Church in Germany on Passion Sunday, before the beginning of Holy Week.
[4] Catholic Directory: Encyclical "Divini Redemptoris"
[5] Text of "Divini Redemptoris"
[6] Ibid.
[7] The first of these sessions was called by Pope John Paul II, the second by Pope Benedict and the third by Pope Francis.
[8] The Ottoman Turks mounted two major assaults on Vienna, the capital city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the Hapsburg Dynasty. These failed attacks occurred in 1529 and 1683. The first assault was led by Sultan/Caliph Suleiman the Magnificent. The second attack was led by Kara Mustapha Pasha. This assault was halted on the night of 11 September by the arrival of Christian/Catholic forces led by King John Sobieski of Poland and France's Duke of Lorraine.
[9] Charles Martel (Charlemagne) defeated the invading Muslim armies at Poitiers, France in 732, following the Islamic victories in the mountains between Spain and France.
[10] For most of the 1500s Ottoman Turkey and Catholic Spain and Portugal struggled for control of the key islands in the Mediterranean Sea: Cyprus, Crete, Rhodes and others.
© 2016 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Iran rejects speculation on shift, divisions over Syria
Week in Review/Al-Monitor/June 27/16
Zarif, Soleimani reportedly on same page on Syria
Ali Hashem reported that a recent reshuffle of senior officials at the Iranian Foreign Ministry does not signal a shift in Iran’s approach to Syria.
The changes, announced June 19, include former ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari being appointed deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, succeeding Hossein Amir-Abdollahian; Amir-Abdollahian being named adviser to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, with perhaps some special envoy responsibilities; and Bahram Ghassemi taking over as head of the Public and Media Diplomacy Center as well as becoming the new ministry spokesman.
The reshuffle follows the designation of Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as being responsible for political and military strategy in Syria, including coordination with Syria and Russia.
As Hashem explained, “the ongoing war in Syria is no longer a matter of regional security. The conflict now has direct effects and implications for Iran's national security.”
Changes matter, but Iran’s national security decision-making may be more institutionalized than most observers acknowledge. A senior Iranian diplomat told Hashem, “Iran’s foreign policy goes through four levels of decision-making. It starts with the supreme leader, then the Supreme National Security Council, then the government and finally the Foreign Affairs Ministry.” Zarif said on June 22, “There’s no bigger insult to the Islamic Republic than to claim that the change of an official is because of this or that person.”
Hashem explained that alleged differences over Syria between Zarif and Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, as reported here by Laura Rozen, may be more division of labor than struggle for influence.
“Zarif and Soleimani are national icons to many in Iran. The former negotiated the landmark nuclear agreement, and the latter has overseen the frontiers of his country’s zones of influence, reaching all the way to the Mediterranean. Now that both men are dealing with the same file, each from his own position of responsibility, the question of whose line of thinking will be adopted has been raised,” Hashem wrote.
“In direct response to such queries, Zarif said in the Netherlands on June 23, ‘There is consensus over Syria in Iran,’ adding that he has had discussions with Soleimani about Syria and that they both agree that the crisis needs a political solution. Indeed, Iran has for years expressed consistent support for a political solution while rejecting the immediate departure of [Syrian President Bashar al-]Assad. In this vein, one senior Iranian official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, ‘There has been no change in our position [on Syria].’ He added, ‘We have been saying the same thing since we presented the four-point plan. We should not focus on individuals, because it prevents a solution, but we need to focus on institutions and constitutional reform and allow the Syrian people to make their own choice,’” Hashem concluded.
Russia losing patience with US in Syria
Russian officials, frustrated by US accusations of violations of the cessation of hostilities in Syria, may be rethinking Russia's approach to Syria, according to Maxim Suchkov.
Suchkov quoted Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military’s general staff, on Moscow’s increasing exasperation with Washington: “We are in full compliance with our obligations to maintain the cease-fire and ensure national reconciliation in Syria. … For three months we’ve been sending positioning data of [the Islamic State (IS)] and [Jabhat al-Nusra] to the Americans, and our US partners are still undecided where there are opposition forces and where there are ‘turncoats’ from international terrorist organizations.”
Suchkov explained that these and other statements “reflect a broader disappointment within Moscow. Russian media and mainstream commentators have until now focused primarily on the battle for Raqqa, but more knowledgeable pundits and decision-makers are tacitly concerned that the events in Syria are not running the course Moscow initially charted. No doubt, IS is largely seen by most parties as an enemy that cannot be compromised with under any circumstances. But as far as the US presence in the area is concerned, some Russian reporters compare it to the ‘run for Berlin,’ meaning Russia and the United States are desperately trying to ensure their own forces seize the city first.”
Suchkov continued, “Russian military experts were skeptical that Raqqa was ever a real goal for Assad, who devoted more effort toward capturing Tabqa to gain a foothold for further offensives. It is clear that plan hasn't been working well so far: IS recaptured large chunks of the territory from Syrian forces in Raqqa and other areas, while the opposition forces maintained their control as well. All of this makes the future of Assad and his army more uncertain. And Moscow's own uncertainty is growing over what it largely sees as Washington starting to pursue a more delicate policy.”
Russia is especially wary of the US-backed offensive in Manbij, which is backed primarily by Syrian Kurdish forces, which allows access to a transit route for opposition groups to receive assistance via Turkey. Suchkov explained that this would allow US-backed opposition fighters to take Azaz and eventually Afrin.
The Russian rethink is concentrated on how to assist Syria to take Aleppo and Idlib, which could turn the tide of battle as well as the political negotiations in favor of the Syrian government. “Moscow’s even greater concern,” Suchkov wrote, “is whether Washington will support Ankara in transferring additional resources into these areas. If that should happen, Russia fears Syria could lose some territory. So the Kremlin is desperately trying to devise an adequate counterplan. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's visits to Iran and Syria can be viewed as part of this effort. Or Russia might use its more traditional approach of recruiting former US allies from the cohort of rebel opposition groups. Both moves are understandable — Moscow wants to coordinate efforts with its tactical allies to make its policies more effective and, at the same time, secure its influence within opposition groups when and if they become part of the transition process in Syria. There’s a reasonable concern in Moscow that this might not be enough: Assad’s commanders have been making some grave mistakes on the battlefield while the opposition forces are stretching out government troops and hitting ‘army-free’ areas.”
De Mistura seeks US, Russia “critical mass” on Syria
UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura flew to Washington after meeting with Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin last week in advance of a UN Security Council meeting on Syria on June 29, Laura Rozen reported.
De Mistura is seeking to develop a US-Russian consensus on steps to prevent a further erosion of the cessation of hostilities and resume political negotiations.
Rozen quoted the UN Syria envoy as saying, “Don’t forget that the cessation of hostilities took place when the Russian Federation and the United States agreed on something, and that produced a critical mass. We are looking for the same type of critical mass on the beginning of the political transition, and we can help. We are helping, but we need that one.”
De Mistura and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had met with Putin on the sides of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last week. Putin told reporters after the meeting, “I agree with the proposals of our partners, primarily our American partners that suggest … considering the possibility of bringing representatives of the opposition into existing power structures — for instance, the government. … It is necessary to think about what powers this government will have. Many of our partners are saying that Assad should go. Today they are saying no, let’s restructure governing institutions in such and such a way, but in practical terms it will also mean his departure. But this is also unrealistic. Therefore, it is necessary to act carefully, step by step, gradually winning the confidence of all sides to the conflict.”
 

The US loses its moral high ground over Syria
Raghida Dergham/Al Arabiya/June 27/16
The White House looked weak as it defended President Obama’s policies in Syria, in response to the strongly worded memorandum sent by 51 US diplomats calling for the “calculated use” of long-range weapons and airstrikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, arguing that the “status quo in Syria will continue to present increasingly dire, if not disastrous, humanitarian, diplomatic and terrorism-related challenges.”The moral rationale for taking steps to end the deaths and suffering in Syria, after five years of brutal war, is evident and unquestionable, the memo said. The memo’s harsh tone and allusion to “the moral rationale” compelled the White House to go on the defensive, raising impossible questions to justify its policies. The White House asked “what was the alternative” or “show us another option”, phrases that seem to be at the heart of the Obama doctrine and the lexicon of the administration. The White House’s message is clear and unchanged: The White House will not intervene militarily against the regime in Damascus. Its main battle today is against the ISIS and not Bashar al-Assad. Therefore, the Obama administration is trying to wash its hands clean of the moderate Syrian rebels represented by the High Negotiations Commission (HNC), and implicitly agrees with Russia on replacing the rebels with Kurdish and tribal forces on the ground that make up the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighting ISIS primarily rather than the regime. This trend coincides with international inaction in the Security Council and the UN at large, where the Syrian question has been effectively reduced to one of refugees and humanitarian crisis requiring focus on the delivery of aid, away from political considerations and accountability for the crimes and atrocities being committed in Syria. The Geneva Communique that spoke of a transitional process handing over full executive power to a new governing council has been aborted.
The Vienna Process
The Vienna Process midwifed by Russia has fulfilled its objectives and stopped where Moscow wanted it to. The members of the Security Council have retreated into empty statements and bowed down to the dictates of Russian-Iranian policies without a “Plan B”. The UN secretary general swallowed his words about seeking accountability, and submitted to the will of the Russian-American duo with regard to managing the Syrian tragedy without protesting. Thus the UN lost its moral leadership by relinquishing the principle of accountability and its values. It accepted to be the blunt instrument by which the Geneva Communique was bashed, and hid behind its weakness when another deadline for a political process (August 1) approached, on which the UN is supposed to launch a political process albeit less firm than the one launched by the Geneva Communique. Its only excuse is that the US and Russian leaderships had had long lost their moral compass in Syria before the UN followed suit. From the beginning, it was clear that prolonging this military approach without accountability, while using terrorism as a pretext to avoid reform, would lead to the growth of more terrorism in Syria
This week, the number of refugees and displaced persons in the world reached 65 million. Syria has a large share of this figure with more than 10 million refugees and displaced persons. The UN has long since stopped counting the number of those killed in Syria, but unofficial estimates put the number at over 400,000, all killed in just five years, since protests demanding reforms erupted in Syria, before the regime decided to respond with a brutal military crackdown. From the beginning, it was clear that prolonging this military approach without accountability, while using terrorism as a pretext to avoid reform, would lead to the growth of more terrorism in Syria at the hands of both the regime and its opponents, as well as those who decided to turn Syria into a magnet for terrorists to drive them out of their own countries – i.e. away from US, Russian, and other cities. When it comes to involvement in Syria, no one at all is innocent.
The failure of this line of thinking became clear, however, as terror attacks struck Europe and the US, and could strike Russia at some point. Now, however, US, Russian, and European leaders believe the priority is for war on ISIS in Syria and Iraq. It was in Iraq where terrorists were lured away from US cities, as then-President Bush had suggested. In Iraq, the collapse of the Iraqi army began when the US decided to dismantle it based on a deliberate political decision by the Bush administration. The Iraqi army was among the strongest Arab armies and represented a threat to both Israel and Iran. The Iraqi army was the strongest in the Arab-Israeli strategic equation, and at the time, the decision by Syria to join the war on Iraq and destroy the Arab weight in this equation was stunning. Thus, the dismantling of Arab armies began with the Iraq war, benefiting both Israel and Iran, which will never forget the Gulf support for Iraq during the Iraq-Iran war even though it has forgotten the US role in support of Saddam in the same war.
In Iraq today, militias like the Popular Mobilization control the military arena, replacing the army. The army pretends to be coherent, even as tribal fighters join the wars on terror, against al-Qaeda and ISIS. The same situation exists in Syria. Iranian-run militias control the military arena, undermining the army. Russia is furious because it prefers the army to the militias, but has found itself on the losing side as Iran insists on the militias at the expense of the army. What matters most for Russia is that no Islamists should replace the regime in Damascus. From the outset, Russia moves against the Arab Spring because it opposed the rise of Islamists to power. Russia backed Bashar al-Assad because it assumed that the alternative is the rise of Islamists to power. Russia has also insisted on not excluding Assad from running again for the presidency, because it refuses for Syria to fall into Islamist hands, and has clung to the term “secularism” at all costs because it would not allow the new Syria to be ruled by Islamists.
Moscow’s point of view
Therefore, Russia and the Unites States agree today on supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). From Moscow’s point of view, the SDF are a secular alternative to other rebels in Syria represented in the HNC. And for Washington, the SDF are the only force able to fight ISIS effectively on the ground.
The Obama administration was a backer of the rise of Islamists to power in the early days of the Arab Spring, in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. The administration of President Putin in Russia pushed back against this bid, until they converged in Syria. Moscow then gradually co-opted Washington, though differences remain over Turkey and Egypt. Moscow is committed to a strong relationship with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, who is intent on preventing the Muslim Brotherhood from participating in power in Egypt. For its part, Washington is opposed to el-Sisi’s excesses, but it is trying to mend relations with Egypt which have been damaged by Obama’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned former President Morsi. Putin, meanwhile, has an overt animus with Turkey, whose president Erdogan is considered the godfather of the Muslim Brotherhood and the model of the Islamist rise to power. Obama is fond of the Turkish model that he believed was good for the whole Sunni world, before he was forced to reassess this position. Informed sources familiar with the situation in Syria say that Washington and Moscow seem to have a minimum agreement on the SDF, which comprise Kurds and Arab tribes, and that European and American advisors on the ground are there to help these forces against ISIS primarily. The SDF comprise minorities and do not have in their ranks any Salafist or jihadist groups. These forces seem to be the alternative being prepared to replace Syrian rebels represented in the HNC, backed by Turkey, Saudi, Qatar, and others.
The question among these circles is: Are the Syrian rebels associated to the HNC aware of the US-Russian convergence against them, especially as the SDF is leading key operations in the Aleppo countryside and moving to liberate Raqqa. Do they have any option since they do not receive the military support they need to retake the initiative and restore their momentum? And what are the prospects of Saudi and Turkish resistance to these developments? Diplomatically and at the level of negotiations, there is a near de-facto discarding of the Syrian opposition through the silence of UN envoy De Mistura regarding the political process that was supposed to start on August 1. This is happening by overemphasizing the cessation of hostilities and the delivery of aid, both of which issues leads to nothing politically noteworthy. Moscow won its bet. It has turned the battle away from toppling the regime toward toppling the opposition, by toppling the Geneva Communique and the commitments of the Vienna Process. It is now working to ensure the survival of the regime and its president until further notice.
Putin and his military and diplomatic teams delivered on what they pledged to him. Putin never hid his intentions, although he played the Assad card from time to time to appease US calls for his departure. Russia was clear in everything it has said and done, unlike Obama’s administration, which vowed, hesitated, then backtracked before fully colluding. Now it is on the defensive. Spokesperson for the White House John Earnest, in response to the memo by the US diplomats, defended the administration’s position saying it would be difficult to avoid full-scale war in the event of using military power against the Assad regime. He said: “I think what it means is it means that we should direct the force of the United States military against the Assad regime.
And I think there are a lot of questions that are raised about that. First of all, how do you do that without harming innocent civilians? Second of all, I’m not sure exactly what legal authority the President would rely on to do something like that. And, three, it seems like a slippery slope. Does that just mean that there’s one round of missile strikes and then we spend a month trying to negotiate again, and if nothing happens, do we launch more missile strikes? Or then do we have to steadily ramp up the military engagement? And at what point does that stop? It’s hard to imagine where that stops — that that somehow stops short of a war against a sovereign nation that is being backed by Russia and Iran.”
John Earnest’s response is nothing short of astounding. There can hardly by any response that insults the intelligence of 51 US diplomats more than his defence of Obama’s failed policy. In truth, the response exposes the US’s Syria policy for its lack of any moral high ground, which is perhaps why the US diplomats protested, because they do not want their country to lose its international moral standing. No such protests would have been possible from Russian or UN diplomats. But the US cannot be reduced to a president, administration, or policy. We should at least credit the US diplomats for being bold enough to tell their president: You have failed us morally and humanly.
**This article was first published in Al-Hayat on Jun. 25, 2016 and translated by Karim Traboulsi.

Greater Kurdistan – the dream and reality
Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/June 27/16
Only candor was new in Mr. Masrour Barzani’s call for partitioning Iraq after liberating Mosul. The President of the Kurdistan Region Massoud Barzani’s son and chancellor of the Region’s “Security Council” justified his declaration by citing the failure of federalism in Iraq. Many Kurdish nationalist leaders, indeed, have diligently worked throughout Kurdish-inhabited areas, extending from western Iran to northwest Syria – including northeast Iraq and southeast Turkey – for a ‘Greater Kurdistan’, despite the fact such an entity never existed as one unified and integrated polity at any point in Kurdish or Middle Eastern history. Even when some efforts succeeded from time to time in founding principalities and mini-states – the most recent of which is Iraqi Kurdistan – such as the “Republic of Mahabad” in Iran and the Baban Principality in Iraq, several obstacles have prevented the creation of a greater Kurdistan. Firstly, the wide spread of Kurdish communities within the boundaries of vast empires, and later, nationalist modern states that had no interest in tolerating secessionist ethnic or sectarian entities within their boundaries. Secondly, a high percentage of Kurds assimilated and fully integrated in the societies where they settled for centuries, especially in major cities like Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo and Baghdad. Thirdly, Kurdish areas are predominantly land-locked, a fact that has minimised the chances of them enjoying active support from foreign powers. Even when such support was provided, as was the case of the Soviet backing of Mulla Mustafa Barzani – the father of Massoud and grandfather of Masrour –, it was conditional and temporary. Fourthly, natural resources in Kurdish areas – oil in Iraq, Iran and Syria; and water in Turkey – have been too precious to let go for the countries where Kurds have lived.
Fifthly, the dream of ‘Greater Kurdistan’ is also inhabited by non-Kurdish minorities quite fearful of rampant Kurdish nationalism now hell-bent on partitioning the present states of the Middle East. The Kurds have had a bloody history with their Assyrian (Nestorian Christian) neighbors, past and present sensitivities and animosities with the Turks and Turkmen, friction and bad blood with Arab and Turkish nationalisms, and bad experiences with Iran which crushed its Kurdish secessionist movement and assassinated one of the Iranian Kurds’ foremost leaders Dr. Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou (1989).
The Kurds are now benefiting from the belief of some Western powers led by the US, that realistic global political consideration has diminished the need to keep the present political borders in the Middle East
Regional partition?
Today, all Kurdish reserve and caution regarding regional partition plans is out of the window. Kurdish ‘nationalists’ are candid and over-confident about what they desire and do so thanks to favourable regional and international circumstances. First and foremost, is the existential animosity now for all to see between a frustrated and confused Arab world, whose frustration and confusion are engendering nihilist self-destructive extremist movements, and an aggressive expansionist Iranian regime engaged in sowing the seeds of conflicts, tending and exploiting them in the Arab world either under the slogan of “exporting the (Khomeinist) revolution” or the pretexts of guarding the Shi’ite “holy shrines”. Then, there is the current crisis between Sunni Arab states opposed to ‘political Islam’ and Sunni ‘Islamist’ Turkey ruled by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Thus, between Sunni Arabs vs ‘Shi’ite Iranian animosity, and anti Islamist Arabs and “Erdoganist” Turkey, and the ensuing devastation and chaos they have visited on Iraq and Syria, Kurdish ‘nationalists’ have decided to grab the moment, believing it may be a rare golden opportunity not only to fulfil a great dream, but also to avenge a bitter past.
In the meantime, internationally, the Kurds are now benefitting from the belief of some Western powers led by the USA, that realistic global political consideration has diminished the need to keep the present political borders in the Middle East. The taboo had already been broken in Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and elsewhere after September 11th 2001 and the emergence of al-Qaeda and ISIS.
One may also admit that many of the Middle Eastern entities have failed, after around 100 years of drawing their maps, to nurture genuine citizenship and build proper sold state establishments. Iraq and Syria are being torn apart, Lebanon is disabled, Yemen is in turmoil, and religion-clad extremist terrorism is threatening the very existence of Jordan, whether in the form of ‘Islamist’ ISIS, “Biblical” Israeli settlers or “pro-Transfer” groups. Furthermore, decades after the preoccupation of USA-led Western democracies with promoting the slogans of freedom, democracy and human rights as opposed to Soviet principles of right to self-determination, anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism; all the above have been proven as empty slogans, nothing more, nothing less. As we see today, freedoms are non-existent, democracy has not been experienced and human rights unheard of; and on the other side, the region’s entities are subservient to others, colonialism has returned under new faces and techniques, and ugly and aggressive regional imperialisms are undermining the whole Middle East. That the Kurds should enjoy the right of self-determination is a matter that must be beyond doubt or argument. However, they must not be allowed to deprive others of their rights too; otherwise they would be doing exactly what they have for so long claimed their oppressors have done to them. Double standards, historical revisionism and forgery, tactical exploitation of external support to crush potential dissent, and severing ties of neighborly relations and ditching co-existence, are not the right ingredients required to build a future independent Kurdistan. One can easily sense the above whenever one listens to some Kurdish commentators on Arab satellite TVs talking with arrogance and over-confidence about the battles raging in northern Syria, giving Kurdish names to towns in mixed areas, promising that the Kurdish militias will keep hold of any territory they liberate from ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and refusing any discussion on the identity of Kirkuk or what would become of Mosul.
Actually, what has been taking place in the countryside of Hassakah, Raqqa and Aleppo Provinces, and attempts to connect the Kurdish Afrin enclave (northwest corner of Syria) to the rest of Syrian-Turkish borders’ areas in order to create Western Kurdistan – or Rojava – at the expense of Arab and Turkmen towns and villages in Azaz, El-Bab and Manbij districts, have nothing to do with the right of self-determination. A future ‘Kurdistan’, if it is to exist, must provide a peaceful co-existential example to the whole Middle East, not an ‘alien creation’ imposed on the region by ephemeral international calculations.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Jun. 25, 2016.

Brexit and the Arab Spring: an uncanny resemblance
Faisal J. Abbas/Al Arabiya/June 27/16
‘Brexit’ bears too much resemblance to the ‘Arab Spring’ - and unfortunately – this is not meant in a good way. In fact, in terms of both pretext and the handling of the surprising outcome, there is just so much in common, that one can’t but fear that the same disastrous aftermath of the 2011 Arab revolutions will - inevitably - also be replicated in Europe. First - as recently noted by Patrick Cockburn in The Independent - protesters in both cases “attributed far too many of their country’s troubles to the regime they were trying to overthrow”. Indeed, so many voters actually believed that by simply leaving the EU, Britain will magically become great again… just like the Muslim Brotherhood sought to convince frustrated Egyptians that “Islam is the solution” to all their political, social and economic woes. Then came the intense demonizing of political opponents. Just like you were accused of treason in Arab countries (either by the government if you were for the revolutions, or by the revolutionaries if you were with the government) Britons who argued for ‘remain’ were tainted un-patriotic, despite their rational that staying within the EU is actually better for Britain. Of course, Friday’s shocking win of the ‘Brexit’ camp made the situation much more complicated, and much more similar in truly unexpected ways! Protesters in 2011 demanding Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak leaves (L) and a campaigner for the Leave Campaign protesting in London's Hyde Park earlier this month
Voters actually believed that by simply leaving the EU, Britain will magically become great again… just like the Muslim Brotherhood sought to convince frustrated Egyptians that “Islam is the solution
‘Leaderless-Revolutions’
Following the disastrous outcome of the 2011 revolutions, several intellectuals argued that the Middle East was simply “not ready for democracy”. “The Arab Spring would have succeeded in Europe, where the masses are educated and opposition leaders would have had plans for the day-after,” observers would argue as they criticized the ‘leaderless-revolutions’ which saw our already-troubled region descend into further chaos and conflict. It turns out, however, that Europeans -- or at least Britons in this case -- are not proving to be any better. As the British Pound plummeted to its lowest value in thirty years, UK media outlets (including ones which sensationally promoted leaving the EU) began reporting how ‘Brexit’ will negatively affect people, and many of those who voted ‘leave’ are now regretting their choice, stating that they were not fully aware of its impact. Of course, while we – in the Middle East – blame lack of education and lack of democratic tradition for what proved to be wrong choices, the same doesn’t necessarily apply in Britain’s case. The UK’s issue seems to be the lack of leadership on all-fronts, which is something many of us in the Middle East can relate to. On one hand, you have Brexit campaigner and UKIP leader Nigel Farage back-tracking on a previous campaign pledge that leaving the EU would secure 350 million GBP for the country’s National Health Service (NHS).
UKIP’s Nigel Farage on Good Morning Britain admits NHS promise was a mistake
On the other hand, Brexit leaders seem to have admitted they didn’t have a post-referendum plan, arguing that this was the government’s responsibility. However, Prime Minister David Cameron – now being labelled a historic and disastrous failure - has announced his resignation in response to the referendum which, to start with, was seen by many as an unnecessary gamble in its own light. The UK’s Labor Party is having its own Middle East moment, with leader Jeremy Corbyn refusing to step down, despite facing votes of no confidence from his own back-benchers
This all means that the UK is now, technically, facing unprecedented upheaval - including the potential departure of Scotland, which has voted to remain in the EU - without an affective head of government (HELLO, LEBANON!).
In parallel, the UK’s Labour Party is having its own Middle East moment, with leader Jeremy Corbyn refusing to step down, despite facing votes of no confidence from his own back-benchers.
What comes next?
You guessed it right: just as the Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia, created copycat movements across the region, we are now witnessing far-right parties in France, Holland and Germany calling for similar referendums. Finally, no major disaster would be complete without its fair share of conspiracy theories; this brings us to yet another similarity between the Arab Spring and Brexit: both major events were apparently “orchestrated” by the United States and Israel in a bid that serves their own interests! Indeed, according to recent comments by Iraqi Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, the United States and its “spoiled son” Israel, have “conspired to bring down the EU”, just like they sought to do with the Middle East. However, Sadr did get one thing right in his statement when he argued that the British government was “in an ivory tower” and “very distant” from what the people it represents wanted; this is something which we thought only us, Arabs, suffered wrong. Apparently, we were wrong!

UK’s EU exit could spill disunity in Britain and Europe
Mohamed Chebarro/Al Arabiya/June 27/16
The Brexit vote has hit all parties concerned in the UK, European Union, and the wider world with a deafening bang. It has even been described as a hasty couple’s decision to separate after 43 years of marriage. The decision has been made and the pain felt, yet the devil lies in the details.
How to divide the assets, the house, the dog, the music collection? What about custody of the kids and paying the expenses for lawyers or any future maintenance fee? The list usually gets longer by the day and at some point a feeling of regret surfaces, we shouldn’t have allowed matters to get this far.
In the UK-EU affair, post exit decision, matters are showing signs not too dissimilar from the couple metaphor. Like every marriage, relations have been bumpy throughout. However, early indications reveal that the “pro-leave” campaigners did not fathom the implications of their campaign. They did not lay down ways to keep Britain working and the kingdom united and the people reassured that there would be life for Britain after the EU. The decision to exit the EU triggered Scottish calls for a referendum this time to exit the UK and remain in the EU.
UK prime minister David Cameron was quick to concede defeat, and announced his resignation, hence throwing the ball into the Brexit camp to handle the exit talks with an EU leadership that is bent on making UK pay despite many diplomatic statements. But this could be the least that should worry the journalist and writer turned politician Boris Johnson who is tipped to take over the Conservative leadership from Cameron and also the government. Johnson’s legitimacy as the head of government will be wobbly as he did not run and win a UK general election. The EU and the UK’s political establishment should use the British vote to leave to review the EU project and its tenets and remind politicians that EU was formed so that faith reign over fear
Many believe that the Conservatives party post Brexit is divided and might not be able to rally behind Johnson’s one clause manifesto, which is to negotiate the terms for a speedy and smooth exit from Europe. At the same time, the opposition Labor party in the UK is not stable and it is unlikely that, with its present leadership, will be able to convince voters to win a general election. Even if it did so, then it is unlikely to want to lead to clean up a mess created by the Conservatives.
EU after Brexit
The EU after Brexit will never be the same again. The Union is being questioned, the super state project is under the spotlight as voices from extreme right exclusionist parties become vocal in many European hinterlands. And this is easy considering the underperforming EU economies and an over exaggerated fear of migration on the future of the Union. Like in any marriage separation friends of the couple stay quiet and not confound the grave situation that will one way or another affect them too. EU commission has called for speedy talks and maintains that exit is irreversible. Such slogans further the divide among many member states. Deciding a separation is one thing but containing its reverberation is another. International financial markets fell sharply following the announcement of Brexit results and are not likely to correct unless steps are taken to shape in a reassuring way the next phase and lessen the impact of this divorce on the UK and the EU. Like in any divorce the world of the couples will not resemble their marriage days. And as is the case with a classic divorce, no one is ready for the day after. The UK, just like the EU, did not prepare a plan B. But what is true is that UK’s unity, and its political and economic stability, seems to be at stake. This is regardless of the anti-migration rhetoric and dubbing Europe a monster bent on stealing hard-earned UK workers’ pay and their taxes. For the EU and the UK’s political establishment should use the British vote to leave to review the EU project and its tenets and remind politicians that EU was formed so that faith reign over fear. It was meant for inclusion to replace exclusion and to prove that united we are stronger on political, economic and social fronts. That’s a message lost in many UK and EU edicts and policies that has rarely noticed citizens’ life of every day.

Israel and Turkey have reconciled, now what?
Ben Caspit/Al-Monitor/June 27/16
The teams of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan finally agreed today on the details of a bilateral reconciliation agreement. But why didn't this happen three years ago? On March 22, 2013, US President Barack Obama left Israel after a successful three-day visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah. At the time, the United States and Israel were exerting considerable efforts to ensure the visit’s success. It was supposed to mark a turning point, setting Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a new and better path. It was intended to turn back the four disastrous years that preceded it.The cherry on top was presumed to be the last few minutes of the visit. After considerable softening by the Americans, Netanyahu was supposed to call Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to apologize for the Mavi Marmara incident, in which Israeli naval commandos killed 11 Turkish citizens, who tried to break through Israel’s blockade of Gaza three years earlier, in May 2010. Obama was set to play the patron of this conversation, which would take place within hearing of a special media trailer installed at Ben Gurion Airport, just moments before Air Force One was scheduled to take off for home.
In the runup to that phone call, everything that could go wrong did, including Israeli telephone technicians not being able to get through to the Turkish leader’s office. Obama and Netanyahu were forced to wait several long minutes until Erdogan finally got on the line. That’s how it has been all along in this soiled and fickle relationship between the two former allies. In the end, the phone call took place, Netanyahu apologized and Obama was convinced that Turkish-Israel reconciliation was right around the corner.
The problem is that more than three years have passed since then. The two sides dragged their feet, pushing off the final closure of their reconciliation for as long as possible. They pondered and struggled with the painful acceptance that despite the mutual antagonism, neither country had a choice: Israel and Turkey need each other, now more than ever. Both Erdogan and Netanyahu preferred to hold their noses and ignore the background noises and the rumblings in their bellies by pursuing normalization and renewing diplomatic relations between the two countries. The alternative was worse.
No one in Israel was fooled. The relationship would never be what it once was. A close military and intelligence alliance between the two countries is no longer possible. The Turkish army is not what it once was; Erdogan stripped the Turkish generals of their authority and made them subject to his Islamic government. The chance that Israeli air force pilots would be allowed to fly “reconnaissance missions” over Turkey’s eastern border with Iran still tends toward zero. Even the tight and prolific intelligence cooperation that was once par for the course between the two nations would not repeat itself.
What we should expect is an ad hoc partnership based on common interests, shared suspicions and the kind of bargaining that one would expect to find in the Turkish bazaar. Israel and Turkey are equally worried about Iranian influence in Syria. They both share the same concerns regarding an Iranian Shiite state pressed up against the border fence on the Golan Heights and Idlib. Having many fronts and challenges to deal with, Erdogan had to cut his losses and reduce the number of unnecessary fronts. The one he opened against Israel was the most superfluous of all. And so, he climbed down from his tree, taking with him his demand that Israel lift its naval blockade of Gaza. That being said, he did receive a candy in return, with the possibility of sending goods to the Gaza Strip through the Israeli port in Ashdod, and of developing projects in Gaza. This is a win-win situation, at least as far as Israel is concerned. These kinds of projects would make life easier for Hamas and reduce the overall pressure in Gaza. This, in turn, could postpone the next Hamas-Israel round of fighting.
For its part, Israel was forced to swallow quite a few bitter pills. It apologized and committed itself to paying some $20 million in compensation for something that every Israeli considers a pure act of terror by the Turkish government. It is enabling the Hamas command center to remain in Istanbul, and it made no progress in getting back the bodies of two Israeli soldiers — Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were killed during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014 — still held by Hamas.
It is true that as a last-minute gesture, Erdogan sent Netanyahu a letter in which he committed himself to doing what he can to see the two corpses returned to Israel, along with two other Israeli citizens who disappeared in Gaza. This letter was sent following a secret visit by the director of Israel’s Mossad, Yossi Cohen, to Ankara about a week ago.
Nonetheless, that letter is far from consolation for the families of the missing soldiers. On June 26, they launched an open campaign against the government, the first since their loved ones fell in Operation Protective Edge.
No country is as sensitive to the fate of its soldiers as Israel, regardless of whether they are alive or dead. Shaul and Goldin fell in Operation Protective Edge, and their bodies were seized by Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces declared them casualties, even though their bodies were not found in the field. They relied instead on forensic evidence collected at the site of the fighting; they were declared dead despite the absence of bodies, with the agreement of the chief rabbi of the IDF. The families conceded to this and even sat shiva, the seven-day Jewish period of mourning, for their lost sons. The government’s leadership had hoped that by doing this, they could “skip” the stage in which a public campaign is launched to return the soldiers, just as happened with Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Hamas and only returned after five years in captivity, in 2011.
This hope held strong until news of the reconciliation agreement between Israel and Turkey made the news. The fact that Israel allowed the Turks to send supplies to Hamas without receiving the bodies of its missing soldiers in return enraged the soldiers’ families.
On June 26, a protest tent occupied by the Shaul family was set up outside the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem. The family of Goldin shared similar feelings. Goldin was the nephew of former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who opposed reconciliation with Turkey all along. His successor, Avigdor Liberman, is not thrilled about the reconciliation either, but he is forced to show restraint. Liberman promised that he would not obstruct the agreement, during his discussions with Netanyahu over his appointment as defense minister.
The reconciliation began with no celebrations whatsoever. It was treated as a necessity, practically imposed on the two leaders. There is no joy at this wedding, but there is no alternative either.