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Bible Quotations For Today

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 05/27-32: "After this Jesus went out and saw a tax-collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’And he got up, left everything, and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax-collectors and others sitting at the table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, ‘Why do you eat and drink with tax-collectors and sinners?’ Jesus answered, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance."’

Each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
Letter to the Ephesians 04/01-07: "I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 04-05/15
What’s Known is More Dangerous than the Unknown/By Ahmad El-Assaad/December 03/15
Saudi Arabia Sanctions Hezbollah Officials/David Andrew Weinberg/Foundation for Defense of Democracies/December 04/15
The “deal of shame”/Why did the prisoner saw between the Lebanese state and Jabhat al-Nusra enrage some Lebanese citizens/Myra Abdallah/Now Lebanon/04 December/15
Anatomy of a defeat/Why Michel Aoun should only blame himself/Michael Young/Now Lebanon/December 04/15
Muhammad in Medina: from Refugee to Conqueror/Raymond Ibrahim/December 04/15
Israel Holds Firm to Red Lines in Syria Despite Russian Presence/David Daoud/Foundation for Defense of Democracies/December 04/15
Is US preparing to crack down on IRGC/Julian Pecquet//Al-Monitor/December 04/15
Will Iran play peacemaker between Russia, Turkey/Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 04/15
Will Iranians watch Saudi-financed Persian TV/Mahmoud Pargoo/Al-Monitor/December 04/15
Why Bibi used Paris climate talks to focus on terrorism, not the environment/Rina Bassist/Al-Monitor/December 04/15
How Cameron defeated Assad’s logic on Syria/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/December 04/15
Chicken-and-egg question over Syria: Assad or ISIS first/Mohamed Chebarro/Al Arabiya/December 04/15
Who Is Stealing Palestinian Land/Khaled Abu Toameh/gatestone institute/December 04/15
Fatah Knives and ISIS Knives: Palestinian Child-Sacrifice/Bassam Tawil//gatestone institute/December 04/15
Leader of Egypt's winning party outlines what's next/Mohammad Khalil/Al-Monitor/December 04/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on December 04-05/15
Report: Ban Urges an End to Presidential Vacuum
Hollande Telephones Franjieh one Day after Meeting Hariri
Maronite Bishops: Election of President Must be Product of Thorough Discussions
Sami Gemayel Asks Franjieh to Meet Kataeb 'Halfway' as Bassil Says FPM Holds Onto Its 'Freedom in Choosing President'
Hariri Heads to Riyadh as Saniora Says he is 'Serious about Franjieh's Presidential Nomination'
Trash File Loses Spotlight, Shehayyeb Confirms Progress is Imminent
Report: Hizbullah Still Committed to Aoun as Presidential Candidate
Saudi says it hopes Lebanese presidency filled soon
Reports: Army Arrests Terror Suspects on Zalka Highway
What’s Known is More Dangerous than the Unknown
Arab Organization Blocks al-Manar's Broadcast via Arabsat
Trash File Loses Spotlight, Shehayyeb Confirms Progress is Imminent
Saudi Arabia Sanctions Hezbollah Officials
David Andrew Weinberg/Foundation for Defense of Democracies/3rd December 2015
The “deal of shame”/Why did the prisoner saw between the Lebanese state and Jabhat al-Nusra enrage some Lebanese citizens?
Myra Abdallah/Now Lebanon/04 December/1
Anatomy of a defeat/Why Michel Aoun should only blame himself
Michael Young/Now Lebanon/December 04/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 04-05/15
Ottawa Public Library book tells Muslims in West to be at war with host country
December 4, 2015 /Robert Spencer
Pro-IS News Agency Says 'IS Sympathizers' Staged California Attack
Reports: California Female Shooter Pledged Allegiance to IS during Attack
Germany approves anti-ISIS military action in Syria
Israel arrests suspects over Duma arson attack
Syrian regime raids near Damascus kill 35 civilians
Kerry: Syria government, rebels could cooperate vs ISIS before Assad goes
Israeli officials brush off Trump remarks ‘stereotyping’ Jews
Female Kurdish militant killed in police raid in Istanbul: reports
Hollande visits aircraft carrier off Syrian coast
Deadly molotov attack hits Cairo nightclub
Trump plans to visit Israel and meet Netanyahu
Obama: Extra U.S. forces will help ‘squeeze’ ISIS
Russia ‘expands air base’ near Homs in Syria
Iraq dubs foreign ground troops as ‘act of aggression’
I’m part of ISIS: Dutch arrest Syrian teen asylum seeker

Report: Ban Urges an End to Presidential Vacuum
Naharnet/04 December/15/U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated that it is crucial for the Lebanese to end the 18-month vacuum at the top state post voicing hopes that the current dialogue in that regard reaches fruition, An Nahar daily said on Friday .“The presidential post has been vacant for 18 months now. I knew about the dialogue taking place in that regard. I sincerely hope that the political situation is normalized as soon as possible, but the most important thing is to encourage reconciliation,” said Ban in an interview to the daily. On the rapprochement between political figures to elect a president and the settlement that highlighted the nomination of Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, he said: “I have known of a dialogue in that regard but first and foremost they (the political figures) should end the political vacuum. They have not been able to elect a president.” Franjieh has emerged as a new unofficial presidential candidate as part of a greater political settlement aimed at resolving Lebanon's political deadlock. The initiative first made the light in wake of a meeting held by Franjieh and al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri a few weeks ago. His possible nomination drew the ire of Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea and MP Michel Aoun, who are both nominated for the post. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

Hollande Telephones Franjieh one Day after Meeting Hariri
Naharnet/04 December/15/Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh received a telephone call on Friday from French President Francois Hollande in light of the political settlement that saw a possible nomination of the lawmaker for the post of the presidency. The phone call lasted for almost fifteen minutes, said LBCI. It comes a day after a meeting between al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri and Hollande took place in the French capital. After the Paris meeting the French president stressed the necessity to end the vaccum in Lebanon, saying: “It is crucial that the presidential crisis ends.” There has been a flurry of political talks in the country that followed a Paris meeting between Franjieh and Hariri. The meeting sparked intense speculation that the two leaders agreed to the nomination of the Marada chief for the presidency. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

Maronite Bishops: Election of President Must be Product of Thorough Discussions
Naharnet/04 December/15/The Maronite Bishops Council condemned on Friday the ongoing vacuum in the presidency, noting however that “serious efforts” have been launched to resolve the issue. It said after its monthly meeting: “The deadlock should be resolved through thorough discussions and consultations due to the importance of the presidential post.” Recent efforts have been kicked off to end the vacuum, amid the emergence of Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh as a new presidential candidate. After the bishops' meeting, Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi remarked: “We support the election of a president as soon as possible to preserve our dignity.” Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls. The Maronite Bishops Council also hailed the release of the servicemen who were held hostage by the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front. “We thank all who helped ensure their safe return,” they stated, while hoping that the remaining hostages, held by the Islamic State, will also be freed. The servicemen were kidnapped in the wake of clashes between the army and al-Nusra Front and IS in the northeastern border town of Arsal in August 2014. All 16 of the hostages held by al-Nusra Front were released on Tuesday. Nine hostages still remain and they are held by the IS.

Sami Gemayel Asks Franjieh to Meet Kataeb 'Halfway' as Bassil Says FPM Holds Onto Its 'Freedom in Choosing President'
Naharnet/04 December/15/A meeting was held Friday in Bkirki between Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil and Kataeb Party leader MP Sami Gemayel. Gemayel had first arrived in Bkirki along with Kataeb's former minister Salim al-Sayegh. Bassil joined the talks around an hour later. It was not immediately clear if the tripartite meeting was prearranged. “Our stance has been clear from the very beginning. We do not base our national policies on personal ties or sentiments and we do not have complexes towards any figure,” Gemayel said after leaving the meeting. “We have national constants that we cannot renounce,” he emphasized. “Let's be clear: nothing can force the Kataeb Party to vote against its historic beliefs and constants and the candidate who wants to win Kataeb's support must meet us halfway,” Gemayel added. He noted that contacts are underway with Franjieh to explore if a common ground can be reached. “We won't elect any candidate whose rhetoric only represents a part of the Lebanese. No one can oblige Kataeb to endorse a candidate whose rhetoric contradicts with its stances. Accordingly, we will put aside our personal ties with Franjieh and his previous rhetoric,” Gemayel went on to say. He revealed that Kataeb officials “are meeting once every two days with Franjieh's team to explore the possibility of securing the election of a president.” “It is not the time for selfishness and it is unacceptable to build policies on personal political ties and ambitions. It is a time for thinking about Lebanon and the presidency in order to give positive signals,” Gemayel said. “We will support any national or Christian consensus and we call on Bkirki to play its full role in this regard,” he added. In a terse statement, Bassil for his part said that the FPM “holds onto its freedom in choosing a president and an electoral law.” “We need to fill the country's top post with a figure who represents Christians and the Lebanese,” he said. “We are dealing with this stage with deep caution,” he added. The talks follow an overnight meeting in Bkirki between al-Rahi and Franjieh. Franjieh's chances to reach the Baabda Palace have recently made a dramatic surge in the wake of a Paris meeting between him and al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri. Hariri has also met in the French capital with Gemayel and Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat. The Paris meetings and the flurry of political talks in Lebanon have sparked intense speculation that Franjieh is on the verge of becoming the country's new president.

Hariri Heads to Riyadh as Saniora Says he is 'Serious about Franjieh's Presidential Nomination'
Naharnet/04 December/15/Head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri traveled on Thursday night to the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh to carry out further discussions on resolving the presidential deadlock in Lebanon, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Friday. Mustaqbal bloc chief MP Fouad Saniora meanwhile declared that Hariri is in fact “serious about the nomination of Marada Movement head MP Suleiman Franjieh as president.” “We should not however read too much into things,” he warned. “We are all taking part in the consultations over the presidency, whether among the Mustaqbal Movement or the March 14 coalition,” he stressed. Saniora said that Hariri had not officially declared Franjieh as a presidential candidate, “but discussions to that end are being carried out.”Asked about whether Hariri will once again be appointed prime minister, the lawmaker replied: “We are currently addressing the election of a head of state.”“Once we complete these discussions, other steps will fall into place,” he continued. “Hariri has the right to nominate himself for the premiership, but parliament is the one who ultimately chooses who should form a government,” said the former PM. Franjieh has emerged as a new unofficial presidential candidate as part of a greater political settlement aimed at resolving Lebanon's political deadlock. The initiative first made the light in wake of a meeting held by Franjieh and Hariri a few weeks ago.Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

Mashnouq: Arsal is Occupied, but We Should Avoid Being Dragged into Syrian Conflict
Naharnet/04 December/15/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq hailed on Friday the General Security on its success in releasing the 16 servicemen who were being held by the extremist al-Nusra Front, acknowledging that the northeastern border region of Arsal is “occupied”. He said in a press conference after meeting General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim: “The region of Arsal is occupied and our main policy is to avoid being dragged into the Syrian conflict.” The servicemen were released on Tuesday through a Qatari-sponsored deal that included a prisoner swap that saw the release of inmates from Lebanese and Syrian jails. Footage of the exchange showed images of armed Nusra Front members freely roaming the Lebanese area of Arsal. Speaker Nabih Berri on Wednesday condemned such images, saying that the country's sovereignty has been violated. Mashnouq added: “The army and our main concern is to avoid being dragged into the Syrian conflict. It is easy to launch a military campaign in Arsal, but we choose not to do so.” “We thank God that we have so far not been dragged into the neighboring war,” he continued. Furthermore, he revealed that there are over 120,000 Syrian refugees in the Arsal region. “We should work more on reinforcing our internal unity,” he noted. The minister stressed: “Protecting our country lies in a healthy political scene and ensuring the safe return of the remaining servicemen.” The servicemen were abducted in the wake of clashes with the Nusra Front and Islamic State group in August 2014. The Islamic State continues to hold nine hostages. “We will spare no effort to ensure their release,” declared Mashnouq.

Trash File Loses Spotlight, Shehayyeb Confirms Progress is Imminent
Naharnet/04 December/15/Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb confirmed on Friday that progress has been made in the waste management file and that contacts are ongoing in that regard, al-Liwaa daily reported. “Major and tangible progress has been reached in finding a solution for the trash file,” Shehayyeb told the daily refusing to give further details. He only added that “meetings continue in order to determine things. Based on the outcome and the progress made then we will present the file to the cabinet.”Shehayyeb's appeasing comments came after the four-month long trash crisis, that saw a number of solutions hampered for different reasons, lost the media's attention despite the health hazards it entails. The latest political and security developments linked to the nomination of Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh for president and the release of the Arsal soldiers have cast their shadow on the worsening trash crisis. On Thursday, the latest reports on the thorny trash file said that PM Tammam Salam was handed a number of studies tackling the exportation of garbage in Lebanon. It said that the committee concerned with tackling this file will deliver to him a technical, administrative, and legal reports on the matter. Since the closure of the Naameh landfill in July, Lebanon has been battling a trash crisis that left the streets, valleys and river beds swarming with piled garbage. Several solutions to end the crisis were suggested but they were all hampered.

Report: Hizbullah Still Committed to Aoun as Presidential Candidate
Naharnet/04 December/15/Hizbullah has not abandoned Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun as the presidential nominee of the March 8 alliance in spite of all the reports of the potential candidacy of Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh, reported al-Joumhouria newspaper on Friday. It said that Hizbullah's stance on Aoun “has not changed.” A delegation from the party had relayed this position to the MP when it offered its condolences to him over the death of his brother earlier this week. The delegation told Aoun: “We support you and stand by you.” “You are our nominee as long as your candidacy still stands,” added the delegation according to al-Joumhouria. Franjieh has emerged as a new unofficial presidential candidate as part of a greater political settlement aimed at resolving Lebanon's political deadlock.The initiative first made the light in wake of a meeting held by Franjieh and Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri a few weeks ago. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended in May 2014 without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over a compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

Saudi says it hopes Lebanese presidency filled soon
By Reuters, Beirut Thursday, 3 December 2015/Saudi Arabia acks a Lebanese proposal that would result in Suleiman Franjieh becoming president of Lebanon after an 18-month presidential vacuum, and hopes it will happen soon, the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon said on Thursday. “The initiative is a Lebanese one, not a Saudi one, and we bless it and we encourage a result from the dialogue underway among the Christian leaders,” Ali Awad Asiri said in a televised news conference. Asked whether Saudi Arabia could support Franjieh, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Shiite group Hezbollah, Asiri said that as long as the candidate was Lebanese and picked by Lebanese, he would have Saudi blessing regardless of affiliation.

Reports: Army Arrests Terror Suspects on Zalka Highway
Naharnet/04 December/15/The army arrested Thursday four terrors suspects after intercepting their van on the Zalka-Beirut highway, media reports said. “An army intelligence patrol intercepted a white van this afternoon on the Zalka-Beirut highway, arresting its four passengers after closing the road for several minutes,” MTV said. “According to unconfirmed information, the Lebanese and Syrian detainees are involved in terrorist activities, especially ties to the Islamic State group,” the TV network added. LBCI TV meanwhile said that the four suspects came from the northern region of Akkar and that they had been placed under surveillance by the Intelligence Directorate for a period that preceded their arrest. “According to preliminary investigations, two of the group turned out to be very dangerous fugitives,” it added. Dozens of suspects were arrested across the country in recent weeks. The massive crackdown followed an IS suicide bombing in the southern Beirut suburb of Bourj al-Barajneh that killed 44 people and wounded around 240 others.

What’s Known is More Dangerous than the Unknown
By Ahmad El-Assaad* December 03, 2015
The option of the “unknown”, subject of much intimidation, might just be less dangerous for Lebanon, than entrusting the presidency to a person well known for his loyalty to Syria and his support to Hezbollah and its political orientation.
The option of the “unknown” might be better than premeditatedly, and consciously, throwing the country in the lap of the Syrian regime; which difficult internal situation would be an additional motive to hang on to Lebanon and its decision-making and power centers.
14 March’s decision to adopt Sleiman Frangieh’s candidacy is actually as if getting the Syrian regime to once again cross to Lebanon, via the bridge of “Jisr Al-Shughoor”.
Truth of the matter is, that giving such a gift to a decaying regime is exactly what Frangieh called reaching rock-bottom. There is no greater evil; this is worse than the most horrible thing that could be used for intimidation to promote the settlement.
No matter how many guarantees, pledges and comprehensive packages are talked about, they all remain insufficient, given the fact that the Syrian regime and its allies are the best at repudiating pledges, eluding guarantees, and poking holes in every package, draining them of all the contents.
What is more dangerous than the unknown, is not knowing the Syrian regime, its intents and greed, as well as its ability to divert every situation to its benefit. The fact that it is preoccupied with its internal issues is no reason for reassurance, because putting its grip over Lebanon might be the chance this regime is looking for, the breath of air it is yearning for, and, as Frangieh said, “the last chance” – not for Lebanon of course, but for Bashar Assad.
LOP General Chancellor.

Arab Organization Blocks al-Manar's Broadcast via Arabsat
Naharnet/04 December/15/The Arab League-affiliated Arab Satellite Communications Organization has blocked the broadcast of al-Manar television via the Arabsat satellites, the Hizbullah-owned TV network announced on Friday. “In the latest step in the policy of muzzling voices … the Arabsat company has blocked the al-Manar channel, after the company's offices were moved from Lebanon to Jordan,” al-Manar said in its evening news bulletin. The Arab Satellite Communications Organization, often abbreviated as Arabsat, is an Arab League-affiliated satellite operator headquartered in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In an apparent jab at the kingdom’s rulers, al-Manar said it “was not silenced by Zionist aggression and will not be silenced by Jahelite malice.” The channel's headquarters was continuously struck by missiles during the 2006 war between Hizbullah and Israel. Despite the attacks, the TV network remained on air, broadcasting from undisclosed locations. Al-Manar also vowed Friday to maintain the same coverage of the events in the Palestinian territories, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. In remarks to al-Manar, Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said Lebanese authorities have not been informed of Arabsat's decision, calling on the Telecom Ministry to follow up on the issue through the judicial channels. The foundation of the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat) dates back to the end of the 1960s. On April 14, 1976, Arabsat was formed under Arab League jurisdiction. Saudi Arabia was the main financier of the new organization due to its expanded financial resources as a result of the oil-boom period and Riyadh housed Arabsat's headquarters. All Arab League states except for Comoros are shareholders of Arabsat. Lebanon has 3.8% of the shares whereas Saudi Arabia holds 36.7%.

Trash File Loses Spotlight, Shehayyeb Confirms Progress is Imminent
Naharnet/04 December/15/Agriculture Minister Akram Shehayyeb confirmed on Friday that progress has been made in the waste management file and that contacts are ongoing in that regard, al-Liwaa daily reported. “Major and tangible progress has been reached in finding a solution for the trash file,” Shehayyeb told the daily refusing to give further details.He only added that “meetings continue in order to determine things. Based on the outcome and the progress made then we will present the file to the cabinet.”Shehayyeb's appeasing comments came after the four-month long trash crisis, that saw a number of solutions hampered for different reasons, lost the media's attention despite the health hazards it entails.The latest political and security developments linked to the nomination of Marada leader MP Suleiman Franjieh for president and the release of the Arsal soldiers have cast their shadow on the worsening trash crisis. On Thursday, the latest reports on the thorny trash file said that PM Tammam Salam was handed a number of studies tackling the exportation of garbage in Lebanon. It said that the committee concerned with tackling this file will deliver to him a technical, administrative, and legal reports on the matter. Since the closure of the Naameh landfill in July, Lebanon has been battling a trash crisis that left the streets, valleys and river beds swarming with piled garbage. Several solutions to end the crisis were suggested but they were all hampered.

Saudi Arabia Sanctions Hezbollah Officials
David Andrew Weinberg/Foundation for Defense of Democracies/3rd December 2015
http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/david-weinberg-saudi-arabia-sanctions-hezbollah-officials/
Saudi Arabia’s state news wire announced sanctions last Thursday on twelve Hezbollah officials for alleged involvement in the group’s regional activities, particularly its military intervention on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. The Saudi measures represent a partial step towards Riyadh bringing its terror sanctions list in line with Washington’s and come amidst a broader Saudi effort to pressure Iran’s most important proxy group. However, the measures also call attention to some glaring shortcomings in the kingdom’s counterterrorism efforts.
The vast majority of individuals designated last week by Riyadh were already sanctioned by the U.S. government.
Adham Tabaja, Hussein Ali Faour, Qasim Hajij, and their businesses – a real estate firm and auto-repair center – were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in June. According to a 2011 CNN report, Muhammad Yusuf Mansour served time in an Egyptian prison for leading a Hezbollah cell and planning attacks there. In 2013, Treasury sanctioned him and Mohammed Kawtharani, alleging that Kawtharani headed Hezbollah’s Iraq activities and was responsible for several attacks on U.S. soldiers.
Treasury sanctioned Ali Mousa Daqduq in 2012 after he was freed from Iraqi prison despite protests from Washington, which blamed him for killing American forces in Iraq. Four other individuals sanctioned by Riyadh last week were also designated by the Treasury in July on charges of providing operational or financial support to Hezbollah’s military efforts in Syria.
The new sanctions follow several other Saudi steps this year to target Hezbollah leaders. In May, Saudi Arabia sanctioned two Hezbollah commanders whom the U.S. had also sanctioned in 2013. In August, Saudi Arabia also announced it had captured the military commander of Hezbollah’s Saudi branch and mastermind of the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing that killed 19 American military personnel.
Yet the credibility of Saudi Arabia’s recent anti-Hezbollah sanctions could be undermined if the kingdom continues to drag its feet on other counterterrorism measures.
For example, Saudi Arabia has been providing safe haven and failing to pursue legal action against two Yemenis on U.S. sanctions lists accused of providing significant material or financial support to al-Qaeda.
Moreover, last week’s announcement indicated that the new Saudi sanctions were based on a royal order used in March 2014 to designate Hezbollah’s branch “in the kingdom,” but not the group’s Lebanese core or other regional branches. Also excluded were other terrorist groups that primarily target Israeli civilians, such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Saudi Arabia’s latest Hezbollah sanctions are a step in the right direction, but the kingdom continues to give other terror groups a free pass.
**David Andrew Weinberg is a senior fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies.Follow him on Twitter @DavidAWeinberg

The “deal of shame”/Why did the prisoner saw between the Lebanese state and Jabhat al-Nusra enrage some Lebanese citizens?
Myra Abdallah/Now Lebanon/04 December/15
Why did the prisoner saw between the Lebanese state and Jabhat al-Nusra enrage some Lebanese citizens?
After being detained by Nusra Front for almost 16 months, the Lebanese servicemen kidnapped in Arsal in August last year were finally released and returned to Lebanon on Monday this week after a deal was made between Jabhat al-Nusra and the Lebanese state, facilitated by Qatar. Prior to this date, a number of negotiations had taken place but to no avail. The majority of Lebanese people were certainly happy about the return of the servicemen, congratulating the Lebanese state and the negotiators for their victory. The servicemen themselves not only thanked Lebanese authorities and Qatar, but also Jabhat al-Nusra militants for treating them decently. These statements, in addition to the deal itself and the number of Nusra demands the state had to agree to enraged a number of Lebanese citizens — particularly Hezbollah supporters — who disagreed with the terms of the deal. Head of Parliament Nabih Berri described as “a sovereignty scandal” what Hezbollah supporters consider a “deal of shame.”
“Hezbollah’s supporters objected on the first day, before knowing that Hezbollah was involved in the deal, too,” analyst Ali al-Amin told NOW. “When it became public that Hassan Nasrallah also played a role in setting the deal, some of Hezbollah’s supporters changed their position and started praising Nasrallah’s role in preserving the dignity of the servicemen and of Lebanon.” The day the servicemen were released, a large number of Lebanese citizens — mainly Hezbollah supporters — objected to it, circulating on social media the video that was circulated shortly after the servicemen were detained. In the video, the kidnapped, crying, call on their colleagues in the security services to split from the Lebanese Army and on their parents to come together and go to Tripoli to fight the LAF. In parallel, another video is being circulated of the ceremony at the Grand Serail during which one of the released ISF officers thanks the Nusra Front militants for treating them well. “It was a spontaneous social media reaction,” said analyst Qassem Kassir. “It was not organized and does not represent Hezbollah’s position, especially that the party officially stated their agreement on the deal and General Abbas Ibrahim announced that Nasrallah was following up on the deal minute by minute.”
“When the Maaloula nuns were released, the same thing happened,” said lawyer Nabil al-Halabi, who was delegated by the State to negotiate with Nusra. “The Nusra Front considered the detained servicemen to be prisoners of war since the Lebanese Army and Nusra are fighting against each other in Arsal. The media said that the servicemen were kidnapped. However, on a humanitarian and legal level, they were war prisoners. Consequently, Nusra dealt with them according to this reality. They did not torture them; they took care of them and did not let them want for anything. This resulted in creating a bond between them, which is perfectly normal and has happened many times in history.”
Recognizing Nusra’s respectful treatment might have been a way of differentiating itself from ISIS, which does not respect prisoners or civilians. But some Hezbollah supporters worry that if this is so, the international community could remove Nusra’s name from the list of terrorist organizations, which Nusra may be currently trying to do. According to analysts NOW spoke to, the demands of both the Nusra Front and the Lebanese state were rational, and that the deal would have fallen through had they not been. Lebanon had to offer compromises in order to save the servicemen’s lives. “There was a price to be paid. The price the Lebanese state paid in order to bring back the kidnapped servicemen was relatively acceptable, although misunderstood,” said Al-Amin. For example, some Lebanese objected to the fact that the state accepted considering Wadi Hmayed a secured area. “Considering Wadi Hmayyed a secured area angered them because they thought that this would be securing armed men. However, the Lebanese state affirmed that it will only be for civilian Syrian refugees who are living in the Wadi Hmayed camp and not for armed militants; that means taking back the area of Wadi Hmayed to the situation it was in before the servicemen were detained,” Halabi told NOW.
The majority of Lebanese authorities supported the deal, especially Hezbollah, which played a big role in helping Lebanon answer Nusra’s demands. Al-Amin told NOW that since this had been going on for almost a year and a half, the deal was equally important for both Lebanon and Hezbollah, especially that the latter is fighting in Syria, which could be one of the reasons the servicemen were held in the first place. In his statement following the release of the men, General Abbas Ibrahim thanked Hezbollah. “Hezbollah was thanked because it did not object to the release of Joumana Hmayed, who was accused of transporting explosives. It also contributed in the deal due to its good relations with the Assad regime, which resulted in releasing some of the detained women and children who were in Syrian prisons,” said Halabi. Nusra continues to hold three Hezbollah fighters. Halabi told NOW that Hezbollah supporters might have been angry because these men were not included in the deal. “The Lebanese state can’t possibly negotiate for militia members. It is illegal,” he said. “I am not sure Hezbollah wanted to include its militants in the deal. Previously, the party was able to release one of its fighters without the intervention of the Lebanese state. In addition, if Hezbollah wanted to stop the deal, it would have had unrealistic demands,” Kassir told NOW. “The exchange does not mean that Nusra Front is not an enemy anymore, and did not kill army officers before,” Kassir added . “Also, as Ibrahim confirmed, the Lebanese state did not release anyone whose case relates to violating the Lebanese Constitution or whose hands are bloodstained, and this is the most important part of the deal.”

Anatomy of a defeat/Why Michel Aoun should only blame himself
Michael Young/Now Lebanon/December 04/15
To establish his bona fides with Hezbollah and Syria, Aoun began casting doubt on the investigation of Rafik Hariri’s assassination.
Sleiman Franjieh may not be president yet, or perhaps ever, though that is looking less likely by the hour. However, one man who can already start reflecting on his defeat is Michel Aoun. He once again finds himself shunted aside as the political consensus builds around another Maronite for the presidency.
Aoun can only blame himself for his misfortune. At every juncture the general miscalculated, applauded by a herd of supporters with no sense of the realities of Lebanon’s political landscape. Yet many of the people around Aoun are far from being fools, knowing Lebanon quite well. Why the general failed to benefit from their expertise remains a mystery.
Two major mistakes stand out, both of them closely related: Aoun’s reaction to his electoral triumph in the elections of 2005; and his political behavior after 2011, when he helped bring down the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Aoun’s fatal error can be summed up in one sentence: He consciously and repeatedly antagonized the Sunni community, though this was never remotely necessary, undermining the emergence of a consensus around his presidency.
Aoun’s victory in 2005 was a virtual ticket to succeed Emile Lahoud when his mandate ended in 2007. The general was the dominant Christian representative after having poked a finger in the eye of a broad coalition that had sought to contain him.
At that stage Aoun had two paths open before him. He could have chosen to position himself in the middle of the political spectrum, playing March 14 and Hezbollah off against one another, while maintaining good ties with both sides. As the most prominent Maronite Christian, aligned with no one and on good terms with everyone, Aoun simply could not have been circumvented when Lahoud left office. He would have easily earned the support of the Maronite patriarch, and even forced Samir Geagea to go along with him.
Instead, what did Aoun do? In early 2006 he signed a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah, taking sides amid the growing polarization in the country. The irony is that the party had opposed him in the elections of 2005, so this could not be interpreted as payback against his electoral rivals. More damaging, Aoun made the improbable calculation that he could become president against a majority in parliament.
Not that the memorandum of understanding was in itself wrong. However, Aoun should have signed similar documents with the March 14 political groups, as a means of affirming his middle-of-the-road status.
He didn’t do so, and to establish his bona fides with Hezbollah and Syria began casting doubt on the investigation of Rafik Hariri’s assassination. He famously told Marcel Ghanem in March 2006 that since a year of investigations had not reached conclusions about the perpetrators, we had to accept that the Syrian regime may not have been responsible for the killing. Perhaps “fundamentalists” were, Aoun speculated.
One had to wonder what Aoun was thinking. All this did was persuade the March 14 majority at the time that, whatever happened, Aoun had to be opposed at all costs. That’s why in late 2007 Hariri backed the election of Michel Sleiman as president. This took some time to be implemented, but the unanimity around Sleiman carried to the Doha conference in May 2008, and Hezbollah went along with it.
Instead of learning his lesson that Sunni opposition to his presidency would negate any chance of his being elected, Aoun deepened his relationship with Hezbollah. It may have served him well in the cabinet, because the party invariably endorsed his blackmail to ensure his son-in-law would get lucrative portfolios. But it also increased Sunni suspicion of his motives.
And Aoun did not prove them wrong when, in early 2011, he contributed with Hezbollah to bringing down Hariri’s government. So did Walid Jumblatt, but Jumblatt had the good sense to declare himself in the median camp, aligning with Sleiman and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in that way avoiding a break with the Sunnis. Aoun did no such thing, and made it an active part of his strategy to oppose Mikati at every turn. And when the uprising in Syria began in 2011, he openly supported Bashar Assad’s regime and, later, Hezbollah’s intervention.
Things only got worse when Tammam Salam became prime minister. Aoun was a constant headache, caught between efforts to ensure his own election as president and force the government into taking measures benefiting family members.
Most important, Aoun never resolved the contradiction of portraying himself as a legitimate presidential candidate, therefore someone with the national interest at heart, while simultaneously perpetuating a void that was devastating to the country. Aounist rallies became smaller, despite claims to the contrary by the general’s followers, as most Lebanese felt themselves trapped in a dangerous downward spiral.
Aoun naively felt that if things got worse, his chances would get better. Yet such irresponsible brinksmanship only ensured that worried regional and international actors would hurry to find an alternative. They apparently have and because the Saudis had already vetoed Aoun due to his hostility to Lebanon’s Sunnis, he was eliminated from the pot. Perhaps Aoun now regrets the fantastically idiotic demonstration by his partisans last August, when they held up signs equating Hariri and Salam with ISIS.
Some have suggested that Aoun will not survive the setback of seeing Franjieh elected, if that project goes through. No one will lose sleep over that. The general has been a failure for decades, never grasping the fundamentals of Lebanon’s consociational system. A bull in a china shop, he has ignored that even broken china can cause a thousand cuts that end up killing you.
Michael Young is opinion editor of The Daily Star newspaper. He tweets @BeirutCalling.

Ottawa Public Library book tells Muslims in West to be at war with host country
December 4, 2015 /Robert Spencer
It is likely, however, that the Ottawa Public Library wouldn’t dream of carrying any books by alleged “Islamophobes.”
Ottawa-Library-100-Questions-Cover-Rotated-Again
“Ottawa Public Library Books have Islamacist Hate Messages,”
TSEC Network, November 28, 2015
Are Muslims who live in Canada living in a state of war with their host country? Should they see other Canadians as the enemy?
The Ottawa Public Library (St. Laurent Branch) is currently holding books by Mohamed el-Ghazali, one of the most extreme of Islamcist [sic] writers who preaches violence and hate towards non-Muslims and Muslims who do not live according to his extremist view of Islam.
One of the books has the title “One Hundred Questions about Islam.” The book has several insights such as:
If you are a Muslim living in a non-Muslim country, then you are in a state of war against your host country.
If you are a Muslim living in a non-Muslim country, then you are living with the enemy.
Only a caliphate is an acceptable form of government.
If you kill the takfir (non-Muslim/apostate) then you will go to paradise.
Women cannot work. Nor can they leave the home without permission.
You must kill those Muslims who leave the faith.
Christians have no rights and cannot be allowed to construct churches etc.
Of note, a search of books on Islam at the St. Laurent branch revealed more violent texts including others by el-Ghazali. There were no books there that expressed a historical view of Islam nor any books on the modernization of Islam.
It is not known if this book was purchased by the Ottawa Public Library or if it was donated by an individual or a group. An informal conversation with a staff member suggested that books that were donated were subjected to a specific process and were approved for use by staff.
Mohamed el-Ghazali is the author of more than 90 books. He became best known in the press for his public defense of the assassins of Dr. Farg Fouda. Dr Fouda was a secularist who spoke out against Islamacist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood and was killed because of this. El-Ghazali stated at trial that anyone who opposed the full imposition of Islamic law was an apostate and should be killed either by the government or by devout individuals.
El-Ghazali, who died in 1996, was a well respected author in Islamicist circles such as the Muslim Brotherhood. He was a life long friend to the current senior cleric of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusef Qaradawi….

Pro-IS News Agency Says 'IS Sympathizers' Staged California Attack
Sympathizers of the Islamic State group carried out the mass shooting this week in California that killed 14 people and wounded 21, according to the pro-IS Arabic-language news agency Aamaq. "Two sympathizers of the Islamic State attacked a center in San Bernardino, California, opening fire inside the location, killing 14 people and wounding 21," a statement from the agency said. Aamaq is active in IS-run territories but is not considered to be the jihadist group's mouthpiece and does not claim attacks on its behalf. "This operation comes after the bloody Paris attacks, which were carried out by fighters from the state... which caused the killing of dozens, and after a martyrdom-seeking operation on presidential security in the center of the Tunisian capital," it said. Aamaq did not say what the motive was. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday the shooting is now being investigated as an "act of terrorism.""We have uncovered evidence that has led us to learn of extensive planning," David Bowdich, the assistant director in charge of the FBI field office in Los Angeles, told reporters. Later on Friday, FBI Director James Comey said there are no signs that the couple were part of a larger group. "So far we have no indication that these killers are part of an organized larger group or part of a cell. There's no indication that they are part of a network," Comey said. Earlier in the day, U.S. media reports said the female assailant in the shooting had pledged allegiance to the head of the Islamic State group on Facebook.
"At this point we believe they were more self-radicalized and inspired by the group than actually told to do the shooting," one official was quoted as saying by the New York Times. One U.S. official familiar with the investigation said the woman, Tashfeen Malik, had posted her allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Facebook under an account with a different name during the attack, CNN reported. MSNBC quoted another official saying the message was posted "just before the attack."The post has since been deleted from Facebook, the Times said.
'Mind-boggling'
Farook, 28, and Malik, 27, were killed Wednesday in a wild firefight with police hours after the attack -- and relatives were at a loss to explain how the couple who had a baby girl and seemed to be living the "American dream" could have committed mass murder. "I can never imagine my brother or my sister-in-law doing something like this. Especially because they were happily married, they had a beautiful six-month-old daughter," Farook's sister Saira Khan told CBS News. "It's just mind-boggling why they would do something like this."One of Farook's colleagues said he was convinced Malik, who is Pakistani, had radicalized her husband after they met online and married in Saudi Arabia last year. "I think he married a terrorist," Christian Nwadike told CBS News. "He was set up through that marriage." There were reports that Farook may have snapped at his office party following a religious discussion that got out of hand. One witness said he suddenly stormed out of the event, leaving his jacket on his seat, and returned a short while later armed to the teeth and dressed in black military-style gear and a mask, accompanied by his wife. An explosive device was later found at the scene of the shooting, but failed to go off.
Combing through evidence
The landlord of the couple's rented townhouse on Friday opened their home up to reporters and the public who flooded in taking pictures and videos in a surreal scene. A scrum of journalists flooded into the apartment, filming and snapping pictures of the family's possessions. Children's toys could be seen inside the home along with passports, pictures and letters scattered on one bed. It was not immediately clear if the apartment was still considered an active crime scene. Investigators had found thousands of rounds of ammunition at the home, as well as a bomb-making laboratory and 12 pipe bombs. "There was obviously a mission here," said David Bowdich, the assistant FBI director in charge of the Los Angeles office. "We don't know if this was the intended target or if there was something that triggered him to do this immediately."
'Not afraid'
One lawyer for the couple's family said links between Farook and potential terror suspects were "tenuous" at best. "We've met with the FBI and, you know, someone has alluded to the fact that they found something on his computer," one lawyer, David Chesley, told CNN. "He may have talked to somebody who talked to -- or spoken with somebody on the computer who viewed something about ISIS, but it's like, it's so tenuous, there's nothing really there." Authorities identified the couple's victims as six women and eight men ranging in age from 26 to 60. All but two were county employees and colleagues of Farook. Up to 3,000 people attended a vigil Thursday evening in honor of the victims, lighting candles and listening to memorial speeches."This is a tragedy but we must show that we are not afraid," said Dorothy Andrews, 74, who was among those who turned out at the city's San Manuel Stadium.

Reports: California Female Shooter Pledged Allegiance to IS during Attack
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/04 December/15/Investigators believe the female shooter in California, Tashfeen Malik, posted on Facebook during the deadly attack, pledging allegiance to Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, U.S. media reported Friday. One U.S. official familiar with the investigation said Malik had posted on Facebook under an account with a different name. The officials did not explain how they knew Malik was responsible for the post, CNN reported. Malik and her American husband, Syed Farook, burst into a year-end party in San Bernardino, California Wednesday and opened fire on a roomful of Farook's co-workers, killing 14 and wounding 21. "At this point we believe they were more self-radicalized and inspired by the group than actually told to do the shooting," an official told the New York Times, which also reported that Malik had pledged allegiance to IS in a Facebook posting but that there was no evidence the group directed the woman. FBI agents have been combing through cellphones and a computer hard drive left behind by the couple to try to establish a motive for the killings. CNN, quoting officials, earlier said Farook had been in contact with known terror suspects overseas and had become radicalized after marrying Malik in Saudi Arabia last year, although an imam at a local mosque he attended said Farook showed no signs of that. The Times reported that the FBI had evidence Farook had communicated with extremists domestically and abroad a few years ago.

Germany approves anti-ISIS military action in Syria
Reuters, Berlin Friday, 4 December 2015/Germany's lower house of parliament on Friday approved government plans to join the military campaign against Islamic State in Syria. Of the 598 lawmakers who took part in the vote, 445 voted for, 146 against and seven abstained. The mission will include sending six Tornado reconnaissance jets, a frigate to help protect the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, refueling aircraft and up to 1,200 military personnel. Germany will not join countries like Britain, France, the United States and Russia in conducting airstrikes

Israel arrests suspects over Duma arson attack
Reuters, Jerusalem Friday, 4 December 2015/Israel is still trying to gather evidence against far-right Jews arrested for a lethal arson attack in July on a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank, the public security minister said on Friday, playing down prospects of an imminent trial. A police announcement on Thursday that several “youths belonging to a Jewish terror group” were in custody stirred speculation of a breakthrough in the killing of three members of the Dawabsheh family, which had frayed Israeli-Palestinian ties. Eighteen-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was killed in the July 31 blaze in Duma, a village outside Nablus. His father, Saad Dawabsheh, succumbed to the burns he suffered in the fire on Aug. 9, and the baby’s mother, Riham, died in hospital four weeks later. Ali’s four-year-old brother remains in hospital. Details on the case have been kept under wraps by Israel, drawing Palestinian allegations of foot-dragging, while lawyers for the suspects said their clients had been pressured by interrogators to confess. Israeli authorities deny both charges. “There are not many investigations that get as high a priority as the investigation into the murders in Duma village,” Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told Israel’s Army Radio. But he described the suspects as “very, very difficult” to crack because they had often eluded state surveillance. “For example, these are not people who go around with mobile telephones,” he said. “They are people who really live in the hills, disconnected from their close families.” Still, Erdan said, “the Shin Bet (security service) and police made progress in this investigation in recent months and we are doing everything in order that we might also have evidence that would allow prosecution and indictments.”Palestinian anger over the Duma attack has been a factor fueling a wave of street assaults that erupted on Oct. 1, killing 19 Israelis and a U.S. citizen. Israeli forces have killed 100 Palestinians, of whom 61 were identified by Israel as assailants or caught on camera carrying out assaults, while most others were killed in clashes with police or the military.
Israeli leaders pledged after the Dawabsheh toddler’s death to crack down on violent far-right Jewish groups, and the government decided to start detaining without trial Israeli citizens suspected of political violence against Palestinians.

Syrian regime raids near Damascus kill 35 civilians
AFP, Beirut Friday, 4 December 2015/At least 35 civilians were killed and dozens wounded in a series of Syrian regime raids on a rebel stronghold east of Damascus on Friday, a monitoring group said. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, "regime warplanes targeted the towns of Jisreen and Kfar Batna in the Eastern Ghouta region", killing 35 people including six children. The toll has more than tripled from an earlier report of 11 dead. According to the Observatory, those raids left dozens wounded or unaccounted for in the towns of Sabqa, Kafrbatna and Jisreen. Government forces regularly bombard Eastern Ghouta, a populated suburb of Damascus largely controlled by the powerful Jaish al-Islam rebel group. In the southern province of Daraa, four children were killed when the regime bombarded the town of Hara. nd four civilians died in shelling of the town of Sanamayn, 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of Hara. Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman could not specify if that attack was launched by regime or rebel forces. Syria's deadly conflict has taken the lives of more than 250,000 people, and another four million have been forced to flee since it erupted in March 2011.

Kerry: Syria government, rebels could cooperate vs ISIS before Assad goes
By Reuters, Athens Friday, 4 December 2015/U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday it might be possible for the Syrian government and rebel forces to cooperate against Islamic State militants without Syrian President Bashar al-Assad having first left power. However, Kerry said it would be ‘exceedingly difficult’ to achieve this if rebel forces that have been fighting against Assad for more than four years did not have some confidence that the Syrian leader would eventually go. Kerry was asked at a news conference during a visit to Greece whether Assad’s departure was a precondition for Western-backed rebels to cooperate with government troops against ISIS, which has captured a swathe of Syria and Iraq and carried out a string of attacks in other countries. “With respect to the question of Assad and the timing, I think the answer is ... it is not clear that he would have to ‘go’ if there was clarity with respect to what his future might or might not be,” Kerry said. That clarification could come in many forms that would give certainty to the opposition. “But it would be exceedingly difficult to cooperate without some indication or confidence on the part of those who have been fighting him that in fact there is a resolution or a solution in sight,” Kerry added. Otherwise the rebels would feel they were helping and entrenching Assad, which would be completely unacceptable, he said. Russia and Iran, Assad’s main allies, have said it will be up to the Syrian people to decide on Assad’s role at a future presidential election.
Russia has intervened militarily in support of Assad with air strikes against both ISIS and Western-backed rebels, while a U.S.-led coalition of Western and Sunni Arab states has been waging an air campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq. A U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity said Kerry’s message was that Assad “doesn’t have to go right now”, provided there was a clear political transition in prospect, a position Washington has held for months.

Israeli officials brush off Trump remarks ‘stereotyping’ Jews
By Dan Williams Reuters, Jerusalem Friday, 4 December 2015/Israeli officials close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have brushed off remarks by U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump to a Jewish audience that some commentators called offensive. Trump, the Republican front-runner for the 2016 White House race, on Thursday teased Jewish party donors in Washington. “You’re not going to support me even though you know I’m the best thing that could ever happen to Israel,” Trump told the Republican Jewish Coalition. “You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money.”The quip, and Trump’s description of himself as “a negotiator like you folks”, were deemed “offensive stereotypes” by the Times of Israel website. A U.S. affairs analyst for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper described the billionaire property developer’s comments as “blatant Jewish stereotyping”. Israeli government spokesmen did not respond to Trump’s remarks. But two cabinet members from Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party sounded unfazed on Friday. “I think that at the end of the day Donald Trump is known as a candidate whose almost every statement is a provocative statement. So it might be said that the Jews got off cheap compared to his other statements,” Immigration Minister Zev Elkin told Israel Radio. “I don’t think anyone should draw lessons from this or that statement,” Elkin said, adding Israel should stay out of U.S. politics while American Jews “weigh up the various candidates according to what they represent and make a decision”.That view was echoed by Israeli Tourism Minister Yariv Levin, who was interviewed separately about Trump’s remarks. “If this is what he thinks, let him think so. I don’t think it is our business,” Levin told Tel Aviv radio station 102 FM. “There can be disagreements both with (U.S. President Barack) Obama and with Trump and with others, and I can even promise that we will have a great deal of cooperation with whichever president is elected.”In his speech, Trump played up his pro-Israel credentials and Jewish relatives. He drew occasional applause for condemning Obama and Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. But when he wavered in answering a question about whether he would consider Jerusalem the undivided capital of Israel, boos broke out in the crowd. Palestinians want East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in a 1967 war, for their future state.

Female Kurdish militant killed in police raid in Istanbul: reports
By AFP, Istanbul Friday, 4 December 2015/A female suspected member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was killed on Friday in Istanbul in a police operation against militants suspected to be planning suicide attacks, reports said. Counter-terrorism police raided a home in Istanbul’s Sancaktepe district after receiving a tip-off that PKK militants had arrived in Turkey’s biggest city to carry out suicide attacks, Dogan news agency said. A female member of the PKK was killed in the ensuing shootout with police while three other militants were detained, Dogan said. Police also detained 10 suspected members of the radical Marxist Leninist Communist Party (MLKP) in a separate operation in several districts of Istanbul, state-run Anatolia news agency said. The MLKP, an offshoot of the Turkish Communist Party/Marxist-Leninist (TKP-ML) set up in 1994, is a small armed group that seeks to replace Turkey’s political system with a communist regime. It is considered by the Turkish authorities as close to the PKK, which has over the years narrowed its demands from an independent Kurdish state to greater autonomy and cultural rights.

Hollande visits aircraft carrier off Syrian coast
Reuters, Paris Friday, 4 December 2015/President Francois Hollande arrived Friday on France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to meet air crews launching strikes on Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an AFP journalist said. Hollande is expected to give a speech to the crew of the carrier which is off the coast of Syria, three weeks after he declared "war" on the militants after attacks on Paris in which 130 were killed. The carrier, which has 38 warplanes on board, was deployed to the east Mediterranean just days after Islamic State claimed responsibility for attacks in Paris that killed 130 people on Nov. 13. The two-hour visit, scheduled to start at 1400 GMT, comes just two days before the first round of regional elections in which Hollande's ruling Socialist party is expected to be defeated by the conservatives and far-right parties. Hollande's popularity rose to its highest level in three years a poll showed on Tuesday, with voters backing his robust handling of the post-attack period. France was the first country to join U.S.-led air strikes in Iraq and since the Paris attacks it has stepped up its aerial bombing campaign of ISIS in Syria, focusing especially on its stronghold in Raqqa and oil-related targets. Over the last week, fighter jets have struck more than 20 times in Iraq supporting local troop advancements in areas near Baiji, Sinjar and around the city of Ramadi, the French army said on Wednesday. The carrier holds some 1,900 personnel and is accompanied by an attack submarine, several frigates, refueling ships, as well as fighter jets and surveillance aircraft.

Deadly molotov attack hits Cairo nightclub
Reuters, Cairo Friday, 4 December 2015/A Molotov cocktail hurled at a Cairo nightclub has killed 16 people and wounded two on Friday, Egyptian security officials said. Victims of the blast were burned to death or died from smoke inhalation in the establishment. The nightclub, which also acts as a restaurant according to several media reports, was located in a basement and offered no escape routes, officials said. One of the officials said the attacker was an employee who had been fired from the nightclub in the Agouza area in the center of the Egyptian capital, Reuters reported. Extremist militants have claimed a number of bombing and shooting attacks in Egypt, mostly against members of the security forces since the army toppled President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 after mass protests.

Trump plans to visit Israel and meet Netanyahu
AFP, Washington Friday, 4 December 2015/The billionaire Republican frontrunner for president, Donald Trump, attempted to woo Jewish voters Thursday by saying he planned soon to meet Israel’s prime minister in the holy land. “I’m leaving for Israel in a very short period of time,” he told the Jewish Republican Coalition in Washington DC during a campaign stop in which he sought to burnish his Jewish ties. His daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism upon her marriage, as a result is no longer reachable on Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath which is observed from Friday night to Saturday, he said. But despite warm applause and laughter, the tycoon was booed when he stopped short of calling Jerusalem the undivided capital of Israel, saying he first wanted to meet Benjamin Netanyahu. He also parroted stereotypes of Jews, likening himself to many in the room by presenting himself as a good negotiator and the ultimate deal maker. “With us, we have a deal instinct, a lot of us,” he said, claiming that he could put his talents to good use in brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal after decades of conflict. “Is there anybody that doesn’t re-negotiate deals in this room?” he said to laughs. “Perhaps more than any room I’ve ever spoken to. Maybe more,” he added to more laughs and applause. He appeared to make a further crass stereotype about Jews by alluding to his personal wealth and public refusal to accept money from party donors. “You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money,” he told the audience. “You want to control your own politicians, that’s fine.”He said Israel had “given a lot” in the name of peace, and was applauded for saying the Jewish state had not always been given a lot of credit for that. “I don’t know whether or not they want to go that final step, and that’s going to be up to them, but Israel has not been given the credit that they deserve for what they’ve done.” He later told reporters that his meeting with the Israeli premier had been scheduled, but he refused to divulge the exact date.

Obama: Extra U.S. forces will help ‘squeeze’ ISIS
Reuters, Washington D.C. Friday, 4 December 2015/United States President Barack Obama said his decision to send more U.S. special forces to combat ISIS in Iraq is not an indication that the United States is headed for another invasion like the one in 2003 that locked it in a long, violent conflict. Obama has said his strategy to fight the militant group in Iraq and Syria does not include U.S. ground combat troops, but this week, the Pentagon announced it would send a new force of special operations troops. “When I said no boots on the ground, I think the American people understood generally that we’re not going to do an Iraq-style invasion of Iraq or Syria with battalions that are moving across the desert,” he said in an interview with CBS that aired on Thursday. “But what I’ve been very clear about is that we are going to systematically squeeze and ultimately destroy ISIL and that requires us having a military component to that,” Obama added, using a common acronym for the militants. The interview was taped on Wednesday. On Wednesday, U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren said the new force would likely amount to 100, an increase over the 50 announced previously. The addition is the latest effort to boost U.S. military pressure against Islamic State while also exposing American forces to greater risk. Iraq: Foreign ground troops ‘act of aggression’ Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also said on Thursday no foreign ground troops had been requested from any country and that their deployment would be considered a “hostile act”.The statement on Abadi’s official Facebook page came after U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren said a new force of around 100 special operations troops would be deployed to assist in the military campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq.

Russia ‘expands air base’ near Homs in Syria
The Associated Press, Beirut Thursday, 3 December 2015/Russian troops are expanding a military base in central Syria, adding fortifications and developing its runways in a sign they intend to use it as their second air base in the country, Syrian activists said Thursday. The work underway in the Shaayrat air base, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the city of Homs, could also signal Moscow’s intention to step up airstrikes in the country’s central region where the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group is active. Russia has been conducting airstrikes in Syria since Sept. 30, using the Syrian government’s Basel al-Assad air base in the coastal province of Latakia. Su-24 bombers and helicopters take off on daily basis from that base, known by its old name of Hemeimeem, to bomb targets in areas in northern Syria. A base in Homs province would facilitate Russian airstrikes in central Syria. Bebars al-Talawi, a Homs-based activist, and Rami Abdurrahman, director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, both reported on Thursday major Russian activity in Shaayrat. However, they said there was no signs yet of any fixed-wing aircraft in the facility. Al-Talawi said there were reports that Russian weapons, including artillery, have been brought into the base in recent days. He said runways at the base were being expanded, but so far only regime warplanes were using it. Abdurrahman said work has been underway in Shaayrat for several weeks, with Russian troops working on building fortifications and working on the runways. In addition, Russian troops have begun using the T4 military air base, also in Homs province, for Russian helicopters conducting military operations around the ISIS-held towns of Palmyra and Qaraytan in the province. There was no immediate comment from Russian officials. A U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Wednesday that the U.S. has seen Russian military personnel at Shaayrat, but not Russian aircraft. At a separate Pentagon briefing Wednesday, Col. Steve Warren, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, told reporters that the Russians have expanded out from the main base in Latakia and now have “facilities in about four, maybe five different spots in and around the Latakia area.”

Iraq dubs foreign ground troops as ‘act of aggression’
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Friday, 4 December 2015/No foreign ground troops had been requested from any country, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Thursday, describing such deployment as an “act of aggression.”The statement on Abadi’s official Facebook page came after U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren said a new force of around 100 special operations troops would be deployed to assist in the military campaign against ISIS militants in Iraq. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday that the Iraqi government was fully briefed on U.S. plans to deploy American special forces to Iraq, a day after Abadi said that his country did not need foreign ground troops. Kerry added that the Iraqi government was fully briefed on the U.S. plans to send an elite unit to help combat ISIS as announced early this week. In a related story, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Thursday for “one powerful fist” to fight terrorism and accused Western powers of creating “a zone of chaos.” Speaking in his live state-of-the-nation address, Putin called for an end to what he called double standards that hampered uniting global efforts in fighting terrorism. Without naming the United States, he accused Washington and its allies of turning Iraq, Syria and Libya into a “zone of chaos and anarchy threatening the entire world” by supporting change of regimes in those countries. He added: “We must leave all arguments and disagreements behind and make one powerful fist, a single anti-terror front, which would work on the basis of international law under the aegis of the United Nations.” Meanwhile, Kerry warned on Thursday that ISIS would not be defeated by air strikes alone after British bombers made their first strikes on the radical militants in Syria, hitting oil fields that Prime Minister David Cameron says are being used to fund attacks on the West. Kerry said Syrian and Arab ground forces must be found to take on ISIS. (With agencies)

I’m part of ISIS: Dutch arrest Syrian teen asylum seeker
AFP, The Hague Friday, 4 December 2015/Dutch police have arrested a Syrian teen on suspicion of being member of a terror organisation while looking for asylum in the Netherlands, public prosecutors said on Thursday. “An 18-year-old man was arrested in The Hague on Monday after telling fellow asylum seekers that he was a member of ISIS and al-Qaeda,” the public prosecutor’s office said in a statement. The Syrian teen arrived in the Netherlands in October and was living on a boat housing asylum seekers in Zaandam, outside Amsterdam, the statement added. More than 100 Dutch citizens have left the country to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, but Monday’s arrest will be one of the first cases of a refugee being a suspected militant. The teen has appeared in court on terror charges and remains in custody until his next hearing in two weeks’ time, the statement said. Last week, the Netherlands announced it would double the number of beds and shelters for tens of thousands of asylum seekers. As Europe grapples with its biggest flow of migrants since World War II, the Dutch government said an additional 42,500 spaces will be created for new asylum-seekers arriving in the country, of which 10,000 will only be available for three to six months. A further 24,000 places will be created for people whose requests for asylum have already been granted. Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty mainly in the Middle East and Africa have landed on European shores in recent months. A total of about 60,000 refugees are expected to have arrived in the country by the end of the year.

Muhammad in Medina: from Refugee to Conqueror
Raymond Ibrahim/December 04/15
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/islam/muhammad-in-medina-from-refugee-to-conqueror/
William Kilpatrick has written an insightful article concerning the influx of Muslim migrants into Western nations, including America. As usual, when it comes to understanding Islam, one need only look to historical precedents — beginning with prophet Muhammad himself, whose example 98% of all refugees being accepted into the U.S. follow. The key excerpt from Kilpatrick’s article follows:
As concerns the Syrian refugee crisis, Christians are regularly reminded that the Holy Family were once refugees in Egypt. Yes, but the culture brought into the world by the Holy Family is worlds apart from the one introduced six centuries later by Muhammad.
Let’s not forget that the Holy Family were once refugees. But in regard to the present crisis there’s another and perhaps more appropriate analogy to consider: Muhammad and his followers were also once refugees. He and his group of about 100 men, women, and children had long overstayed their welcome in Mecca. According to Muslim chroniclers, they had to flee in order to avoid persecution. Fortunately for Muhammad, the more “enlightened” citizens of Medina extended an invitation to the Muslims to come and live in their city. It is not recorded whether or not they held up large “welcome refugees” banners as is now the custom at European train stations, but they soon enough experienced the kind of regrets that Europeans are now having. Muhammad gradually acquired wealth and converts, and within a half-dozen years he was the master of Medina. Those Medinans who were not exiled or slaughtered were thoroughly subjugated. Muhammad then used Medina as the launching pad for his conquest of all Arabia. Within a century of his death, his followers had conquered nearly half of the civilized world. Moreover, why was Muhammad “persecuted” in the first place, as Islamic hagiography holds? Because he was telling the people of Mecca how to live their lives — that is, by abandoning their gods and traditions and accepting his “revelations,” now known as Sharia. So they drove him out, he was accepted as a “refugee” in Medina, and the rest is history — a history that continues repeating itself till the present day.
For more historical precedents, read “Europe Should Learn Ethiopia’s Islam Lesson,” and see how the African nation’s hospitality to Muhammad’s disciples ended.

Israel Holds Firm to Red Lines in Syria Despite Russian Presence
David Daoud/Foundation for Defense of Democracies/3rd December 2015
Israel reportedly carried out four airstrikes in Syria’s Qalamoun Mountains near the Lebanese border last week, killing eight Hezbollah fighters and five Syrian soldiers, and wounding dozens. The airstrikes, which came two months after Russia launched its aerial campaign in Syria, demonstrate that Moscow’s presence has not hindered the Jewish state’s ability to strike at will in its northern neighbor. On the contrary, the strikes show that the open channels of communication between Russia and Israel, should they be maintained, can allow both countries to pursue their dissonant interests in Syria without coming into conflict. In January 2013, Israel began waging a clandestine, low-intensity war – largely from the air – to enforce its “red line” on Hezbollah exploiting the Syrian war to obtain “game-changing” weapons that would dramatically shift the balance of power in Israel’s next war with the group. The Qalamoun Mountains have become a common location for Israeli strikes because they serve as a hub for the transfer of Iranian weapons to the organization. For its part, Hezbollah has described any strike against its Syrian operations as an attack against the entire “Axis of Resistance” alliance that it shares with Iran and the Assad regime in Damascus.
Russia’s intervention on behalf of the Syrian regime initially complicated matters for Israel. Moscow and Jerusalem have opposing interests in the country – the former is an ally of the Iranian axis, while the latter considers Iran and its proxies to be the most dangerous and immediate threat on its borders. With Russia in Syria, Israel suddenly incurred the risk of accidentally killing Russian personnel while striking Hezbollah in Syria, potentially setting off an international incident. Israel was also fearful that the Russian presence – recently buttressed with the deployment of S-400 anti-aircraft missile batteries – would imperil its pilots entrusted to interdict weapons transfers to Hezbollah. Israel quickly took preemptive action. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot traveled to meet with their counterparts in Moscow in September. There, they conveyed Israel’s red lines on Hezbollah’s weapons transfers and established an unspecified joint coordination mechanism to avoid inadvertent clashes. That mechanism has already paid off. Less than a week after Turkey shot down a Russian plane on the Syrian border, Israel’s defense minister revealed that a similar conflict between Moscow and Jerusalem had been prevented, despite the fact that Russia had several times crossed into Israeli airspace. Meanwhile, Israel’s strikes on Hezbollah targets have continued apace.
Meeting yesterday on the sidelines of a conference in Paris, Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the deconfliction mechanism, and Israeli and Russian military officers were scheduled to meet today to discuss ways to deepen cooperation.
The Kremlin has its hands full with military operations from Ukraine to Syria – and now a diplomatic tit-for-tat with Turkey. Putin has no intention of sparking similar tension with Israel. To that end, it appears that the Moscow has agreed to accept Israel’s red lines in Syria – for now.
**David Daoud is an Arabic-language research analyst at Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Is US preparing to crack down on IRGC?
Julian Pecquet//Al-Monitor/December 04/15
A key panel of Congress is getting closer to slapping new sanctions on Iran's revolutionary guards despite warnings that doing so could undermine the nuclear deal with Tehran.Individual lawmakers over the past few months have introduced several bills encouraging the Obama administration to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization, with little traction so far. But now the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the issue, has begun to coalesce behind the scenes around a similar effort.
"The issue is what's the best way to get at those individuals, those entities that are essentially IRGC-controlled but look for ways to suggest that they're not," said Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., the top Democrat on the committee's Middle East panel. "There are a lot of us who would like to move in that direction ... especially before there is sanctions relief granted under the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]."
A committee aide confirmed that staff-level discussions are ongoing but there’s not yet draft legislation.
Deutch spoke to Al-Monitor following a Dec. 2 full committee hearing looking at how the IRGC is "fueling conflict in the Middle East." During the hearing, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., received the blessing of Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., to distribute his own "discussion draft of a statute aimed at the IRGC" to all members of the committee. "We now have a menu of sanctions that can be imposed against a bank or a company that does business with the IRGC," Sherman told the committee. "It shouldn't be a menu ... but rather an absolute ban on doing business with the United States that then could be lifted with specific licenses, so that a company that does any significant business with the IRGC would lose all access to the US market." Royce himself has urged the administration to keep the pressure on the revolutionary guards, as has the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y. US sanctions on the IRGC for human rights abuses — and the terrorist designation of its military arm, the Quds Force — will remain in place, but many lawmakers want to further crack down on the group's many tentacles in Iranian business. "We'll take our cues from Chairman Royce and ranking member Engel, but everybody's fired up that we need to do more and that certainly looks like the direction we're headed," Middle East panel Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., told Al-Monitor. "It seems to me like everybody's on the same page, sympatico, we understand the threat, let's do it. We're not going to get any leadership from the White House to do it, so we're going to have to act."
President Barack Obama's nominee to lead the Treasury Department's counterterrorism and financial intelligence efforts, Adam Szubin, has testified, however, that the human rights sanctions on the IRGC and its subsidiaries are "just as sweeping" as the terrorism designation Congress is contemplating.
Royce declined to comment about his plans and Engel's office did not respond to a request for comment. "We have yet to see any effective strategy from the administration to push back against the IRGC's regional advances, which have emboldened Iran and undermined our allies," Royce said in his opening statement. "This morning we'll hear from our witnesses on what such a strategy might look like, and how Congress can help."
Engel, for his part, said lawmakers "need to send a clear message that working with Iranian firms linked to the IRGC is risky business."
The issue is heating up as the US prepares to lift so-called secondary sanctions early next year that impact foreign firms and governments — notably in Europe — that are seeking to do business with Iran. While US sanctions on Iran will remain largely in place, critics of the nuclear deal worry that Europe's sanctions against the IRGC are set to expire while its existing sanctions apparatus isn't comprehensive enough to capture all aspects of the IRGC's numerous operations. Republican presidential contender and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has introduced legislation urging the State Department to designate the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), as has House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas. And Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has offered a separate bill requesting the Treasury Department to report on whether the IRGC fits the bill for a terrorism designation. “Designating the IRGC as an FTO will provide another warning for foreign companies considering doing business in Iran," Emanuele Ottolenghi of the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies testified before Ros-Lehtinen's panel in September. He went on to urge Congress to leverage trade talks with Europe to demand a tougher stance on the IRGC.
“Congress should require the trans-Atlantic trade and investment partnership between the US and the EU to stipulate that any European company contracting with Iran must certify that none of the indigenous partners are associated in part or in whole with the IRGC, requiring also that the EU report annually on European investing in Iran, placing it under public scrutiny," Ottolenghi said. "At a minimum, Congress should encourage international corporations to demand an exclusion clause to halt commercial activities with all suspected or designated IRGC.” Two of the witnesses at the Dec. 2 hearing agreed that further sanctions on the IRGC are warranted. Scott Modell, a former CIA officer who now heads the Rapidan Group, said Iran's "main goal has always been to get rid of European sanction."
"If you did do that," Modell said, "you would have an extra deterrent for Europeans to do business with [the Iranians] and that might be an extra way of prying them to change their behavior." And Ali Alfoneh, also of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, recommended targeting IRGC ground forces fighting in Syria. "I would like to punish those entities of the Revolutionary Guard which take part in the war in Syria and we can document their presence in Syria," Alfoneh testified. "Hopefully [this will help the IRGC] understand the price that they are paying for supporting Bashar [al-]Assad's regime."
The State Department's former counterterrorism chief, Daniel Benjamin, broke with the other two. "Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism, and as such it is covered by a wide swath of different sanctions that are extremely comprehensive," Benjamin said. "We have all the instruments we need and I think to do something additional like this would both be unnecessary from a functional standpoint, and from a signaling standpoint I'm not sure that it is precisely what we need at precisely the moment that we want to see an effective implementation of the JCPOA."

Will Iran play peacemaker between Russia, Turkey?
Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 04/15
The downing of a Russian Su-24 fighter jet by Turkey near the Syrian border has put Iran in an uncomfortable position given its close ties with both countries. As Russia and Turkey continue to escalate tensions with new accusations against one another of cooperating with the Islamic State terrorist group, the announcement of unilateral sanctions and the ending of military and economic ties, Iran may try to bring both countries back from the brink.In an article titled “How can Iran mediate between Russia and Turkey?” Shabestan News Agency interviewed an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general and foreign policy analysts to discuss the issue. The article offers various perspectives on how Iran sees its role between the two countries.
Gen. Yadollah Javani, adviser to the supreme leader’s representative to the IRGC, said, “Iran wants to be a mediator between the Russians and the Turks.” Javani was critical of Turkey’s policies in the region, however, saying it “has been a piece of the puzzle of the enemy and played an important role in helping bring about terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.”
Javani envisioned Iran’s mediation as part of a larger role in the region that coincides with America’s declining role, saying, “To create tensions between countries in the region, the United States has attempted to incite Turkey against Russia, and Turkey must realize that the influence of the West in the region has come to an end and Iran’s mediation can be a type of convergence of regional powers.”
Foreign policy analyst Hassan Hanizadeh told Shabestan News Agency that he believes Iran will first attempt to limit the Russia-Turkey crisis to Syria, so that the two countries do not begin to have differences in other parts of the region. He said that Iran’s ultimate goal will be to return the Moscow-Ankara relations back to normal and that if officials from both countries are unwilling, Iran will “take action as a mediator.”
Hanizadeh also said that Iran will try to convince Turkey to decrease “its destructive role in Syria.” Given Turkey’s support of opposition fighters to the Syrian government and reports they seek to create a type of buffer zone on the border, this policy shift by Turkey seems unlikely at the moment.
Conservative analyst and Tehran University professor Mohammad-Sadegh Koushaki was less optimistic and more hard line on Turkey, saying, “It’s unlikely that Turkey has reached the level of rationality to accept Iran’s mediation.” He said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan knew that targeting the Russian plane would cause a harsh reaction. He added that accepting Iran’s mediation would be a rational decision and that Erdogan “has always shown that his actions are rational.”
For Iran, despite being on opposing sides of Syria’s bloody civil war, Turkey has been an important trading partner, with $13.7 billion volume of trade in 2014. Turkey has also helped Iran evade international sanctions the country has been under for their nuclear program. With the international sanctions coming off as a result of the nuclear deal, trade is expected to increase in numerous industries between the countries.
Ties with Russia, however, are much deeper for Iran. In addition to playing a large role in the development of the country’s nuclear program, the two countries are aligned on many geopolitical issues in the Middle East. According to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s foreign policy adviser Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran and Russia have recently “entered a strategic relationship” and their economic and security relations will grow.
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani is the latest official to comment on the Russia-Turkey crisis. On Dec. 1, he called it unfortunate that there is tension between the two countries and said it is harmful to the fight against terrorism. Larijani also praised Russia’s actions in Syria, saying, “If the West had done what Russia is doing against IS, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist groups, we would not have had these regional problems.”

Will Iranians watch Saudi-financed Persian TV?
Mahmoud Pargoo/Al-Monitor/December 04/15
Calls for a stepped up media campaign against Iran have become more common in the Arab press in the past few months. Last week, Saudi outlet Al-Watan published a column by its Iran expert Muhammad Al-Sulami, who urged more active campaigning against the Islamic Republic in the Arab media while lamenting the current media strategies of Persian Gulf states. In October, the London-based online newspaper Elaph, which is owned by an influential Saudi businessman, called on Arab states to finance Persian-language TV channels as a potential response to what it called “Iran’s arrogant behavior” toward Arab countries.“Even if [those TV channels] focus just on the domestic problems of Iran, which are many, the impact on the political behavior of Iran would be clear,” the Elaph article argues. In another instance, Saudi analyst Mubarak Aldujain argued in a comment to Al-Watan that TV broadcasts are not enough and need to be supported by an extensive social media campaign, especially through Twitter, as “marketing windows” for such broadcasts.
Saudi Arabia’s sense of need for a Persian-language media platform is not new. The Saudi-owned news network Al Arabiya launched its Persian-language news site in 2008. Asharq Al-Awsat, an influential London-based newspaper owned by the Saudi royal family, started its online Persian-language service in 2013. More recently, in September, Saudi Minister of Culture and Information Adel al-Turaifi launched the kingdom’s Persian-language TV channel with 24/7 broadcasting during the hajj season. Although the channel stopped operating after the hajj was over, it is expected to resume its activities in the near future. The Al-Arabiya Al-Jadid news site reported in August that the Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information is planning to establish two more satellite TV news channels — one in English and one in Persian — which would operate under the supervision of the Saudi government.
Persian-language media outlets funded by various foreign governments is not a new phenomenon. The BBC’s Persian Service began its radio broadcasts in 1941, followed shortly by VOA Persian Radio in 1942. These media outlets have played an important role in Iran’s social and political scene by providing an alternative channel of information to the Iranian state's broadcasting. Saudi Arabia seems to follow the same model with its expanded focus on Persian-language media. But how successful can the latest Saudi initiative really become?
The main obstacle Riyadh faces in its goal to reach an Iranian audience is its lack of soft power capabilities. Joseph Nye, who first introduced the concept of soft power in political science, famously wrote, “A country may obtain the outcomes it wants in world politics because other countries — admiring its values, emulating its example, aspiring to its level of prosperity and openness — want to follow it.” In the case of Saudi Arabia, it is simply the case that many Iranians do not admire Saudi values nor seek to emulate its example. The dimension of Saudi culture that most Iranians are familiar with, namely Salafism, is not attractive to them. Moreover, many Iranians perceive their cultural heritage and values to be superior to those of Saudis.
This sense of indifference toward Saudi culture stems largely from the fact that the Saudis have never tried to promote their diverse cultural heritage — such as their music, poetry, artifacts and literature — to the world. Instead, Saudi Arabia has been very assertive about creating a purely Salafist image of itself that overshadows all other aspects of its culture and heritage. The country’s political values and foreign policy have the same problem, costing it credibility, attractiveness and moral authority. In contrast, many Iranians feel positively toward Western countries and their cultural heritage. This discrepancy is largely a result of the West’s cultural hegemony over not only Iran but large parts of the world. Many Iranians have grown up with Western culture and admire Western values and seek to emulate them. The influence of Western media in Iran should to a large part be understood in terms of this cultural and historical context. Of note, there is no equivalent context in Iranian history and culture in regard to Saudi Arabia. As apparent in the views of some Saudi analysts, mass media is about more than just news; it is a representative of a lifestyle, culture and way of thinking that provide the sources of its credibility, influence and potential success. Even if the Saudis focus on the very narrow domain of news and current affairs, there still exist obstacles that are difficult to overcome. First, the Persian-language media market is saturated: there are hundreds of news websites and dozens of TV channels inside and outside Iran that provide news targeting an Iranian audience. What can Saudi media add to this existing plethora of outlets that would attract this audience? What news and current affairs or political analysis could Saudi outlets produce that is not already covered by existing Persian-language media? Saudi Arabia is entering a market with tough competition, but with little competitive advantage. Second, considering the current nationalist anti-Saudi sentiment in Iran, it would be extremely difficult for Saudi media outlets to persuade Iranian experts to work with them. Even the Iranian political opposition in exile would have a tough time working with such outlets, regardless of the potential financial gains they may offer.
What if Saudi Arabia resorted to the sectarian card in the media game, seeking to stir anti-government sentiment through outlets targeting Iranian Sunnis? This would also not be anything new. Saudi-financed media organizations have been doing this for a long time through myriad approaches, including satellite TV channels in Persian such as Vesal, Kalemeh and Noor. Despite these efforts, the fact is that such channels have very limited influence in Iran. Iranian Sunnis have been vigilantly trying to dissociate themselves from Salafism to align their demands for civil rights with those of the broader Iranian human rights movement, which is largely secular. In sum, if Riyadh wishes to reach a broader audience in Iran, it needs to augment its soft power. This objective will not be achieved through the creation of more Persian-language media outlets, but through a revision of Saudi Arabia’s core message to reflect more of the art, culture and lifestyle of its people than only its strict Salafist reading of Islam.

Why Bibi used Paris climate talks to focus on terrorism, not the environment
Rina Bassist/Al-Monitor/December 04/15
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Paris on the morning of Nov. 30 and left that evening. Rushing from one meeting to another, he barely had time to make a speech at the COP21 climate conference or hold bilateral talks there with French President Francois Hollande, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the prime ministers of Australia, Japan and Poland. He spoke with US President Barack Obama briefly in the corridor as both men walked to the conference hall, but did not meet with any Arab leader, at least not officially. Israeli diplomats confirmed to Al-Monitor that Netanyahu requested no such meeting. Talking to Israeli correspondents, Netanyahu recounted that he shook hands with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and spoke briefly to some Arab leaders, but refrained from mentioning them by name.The Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris created a new reality. In the hours and days following the attacks, the French leadership had to make up its mind which public events would be maintained and which to cancel. No one envisaged canceling the COP21 climate summit. Too much effort had been invested in organizing it; too many negotiations took place to prepare this international meeting; and too many leaders (147 in all) and journalists (more than 3,000) were about to arrive. Obama and Putin were coming, as was Chinese President Xi Jinping. The climate change conference became, at least partially, a vote of confidence in France's ability to guarantee the safety of all the summit's participants.
Netanyahu's attendance was hardly motivated by interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions or increasing the use of renewable energy. Obama had decided several months earlier that he would take part in the climate summit, and so did the kings of Jordan and Morocco. Putin's decision to arrive was announced on Nov. 8. But the public confirmation of Netanyahu's participation came about a week before the opening day. Israeli diplomatic sources confirm to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the presence of so many heads of state on the backdrop of the Paris attacks either prompted this last-minute decision or tilted the balance toward it.
The prime minister's brief presence was reminiscent of his participation in the historic march in Paris following the January attacks on Charlie Hebdo and Hypercacher. That decision, too, was made at the very last moment. Sources at the Elysée said at the time that Netanyahu informed them of his arrival after the announcement that Abbas was coming to Paris. The Elysée was lukewarm about this visit and viewed Netanyahu's decision to show up uninvited almost as a provocation. The French presidency would have preferred to leave the Israeli-Palestinian conflict out of the march.
Netanyahu's statements after the attacks were received in Paris much like earlier statements by Israeli politicians praising French involvement in fighting Islamic extremists — its military intervention in Mali, for instance. Paris had not considered these words genuine, but self-serving. A French diplomat told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, "Netanyahu does not care about France's battle against extreme Islam in Africa or its airstrikes in Iraq and in Syria. The Israelis are only looking to gain points in the international arena."
Going back to the COP21 summit, Netanyahu's decision to come stirred little reaction in Paris. As the hosts, the French were adamant about keeping the summit focused on the climate negotiations. In fact, France has rejected attempts by Arab countries to include the term "countries under occupation" in the climate agreement. An Israeli diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Arab UN group managed to introduce these words into the draft text, but that the final version will probably not include them.
Netanyahu only partially respected the framework of this international gathering. He divided his three-minute address almost equally between terror and Israeli achievements in the field of environmental protection. The emphasis of his visit, of his bilateral talks, was on battling extreme Islam and other military threats. The COP21 summit supplied Netanyahu with multiple opportunities to present his claim that Israel and the West are partners in the fight against extreme Islam. "Israel is a significant factor in the region and in the world … an important authority on issues such as security and fighting terror, and also in cyberspace," he said in his briefing to Israeli media. He also said that talks he held during the COP21 lunch focused on the shared international fight against terror and Islamic extremism. "They understand that this is a [worldwide] embracing phenomenon. Not just the Islamic State. In Africa, it is also Boko Haram, al-Shabab."
Netanyahu's attitude reflects the minimal interest shown by the Israeli public and media sphere in the COP21 conference and the threat of climate change. Some Israeli pundits even cynically wondered why Obama was spending his precious time at the climate conference in Paris while war was raging in Syria and the Middle East is in turmoil. The Israeli media devoted a few general articles to the summit itself, but there was no real public debate over Israel's commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the need to cut down on private transportation or the possibility of investing more public resources in renewable energy. Evening news broadcasts featured images of Netanyahu at Le Bourget, the COP21 venue, but once Netanyahu returned home, the press practically dropped the issue.
Netanyahu opened his address in Paris by saying, "Both our peoples have long and bitter experience confronting terrorism. This is not surprising, because Israel and France have in common precisely those qualities that the terrorists seek to destroy. … But the terrorists who struck down innocent people in Paris, well, they make the same mistake as their counterparts who strike down innocent people in Israel."
Netanyahu's words clearly demonstrated his priorities. He had come to Paris to show that the battle there against extreme Islam is the same battle Israel is facing. Once home, he devoted his attention to other pressing issues, such as the outline for natural gas resources and benefits distribution. On this topic, too, Netanyahu listens to those who speak his language and won't let environmental considerations stand in his way.

How Cameron defeated Assad’s logic on Syria
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/December 04/15
I recently read a statement by Saudi Arabian diplomat Prince Turki al-Faisal that carries several meanings. He said: “Europe complains of the big number of Syrian refugees. The solution is simple. Take one Syrian refugee, that is Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and you’d be done with the problem of another 10 million Syrian refugees.”This is literally true, because the struggle in Syria is because of Assad. It is also true in general terms, as there are direct solutions, instead of the complicated ones that politicians have sought that are irrelevant to the original problem. Cameron sees that the problem in Syria is in both the Syrian regime as well as terrorist organizations. British Prime Minister David Cameron’s statement calling for supporting the fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and cooperating with them falls within the context of a direct solution. While arguing the case for military action against ISIS, he said there are around “70,000 Syrian opposition fighters – principally the Free Syrian Army – who do not belong to extremist groups and with whom we can coordinate attacks on [ISIS].”He clarified that the majority of the FSA are soldiers that defected from the Syrian army and have nothing to do with extremist ideology.
10-hour debate
Cameron’s statements came during a 10-hour debate in the House of Commons regarding Syria, in which the PM attempted to convince MPs to approve British airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. The debate between the British politicians was a heated one as usual. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad attempted to thwart Cameron’s proposal by granting the BBC an interview that was broadcast the same day as the debate in the House of Commons; however, he failed. Cameron defeated Assad’s logic, and MPs voted for military intervention. His justifications for intervention and vision of a solution are clear. Cameron sees that the problem in Syria is in both the Syrian regime as well as terrorist organizations. As long as fighting ISIS has become necessary for the security of Britain, Europe and the world, the solution is in supporting Syrian nationalists, like the FSA, and this can be the basis of a solution for the Syrian struggle.
Cooperating with Assad will fail
The solution which the Russians resorted to, and which some western governments no longer mind, is cooperating with the Assad regime to fight ISIS. However, this solution will fail as even if, in the best case scenario, it resolves half of the problem and eliminates terrorist groups, it actually maintains the origin of the problem and the major source of tension, namely the regime which has become the Syrian people’s enemy, after it killed 300,000 people, displaced 10 million others and destroyed most cities. Therefore, no matter what they do, terrorism will emerge again as long as the cause is there. What Cameron is calling for is supporting Syrian nationalist powers that are willing to fight terrorists to defend their land, and can establish a new governance that represents all the Syrian people. It’s true that the situation in Syria has become complicated; however, resolving it via the Russian approach of fighting ISIS and letting the Assad regime rule further complicates it. This proposal actually adds fuel to fire. We think the Russians who adopt this proposal, which is similar to Iran’s, will change their stance now that they deal with facts on the ground. Cameron indirectly spoke about this on Wednesday when he said the Russians have also begun to deal with the FSA and to recognize its presence.

Chicken-and-egg question over Syria: Assad or ISIS first?
Mohamed Chebarro/Al Arabiya/December 04/15
The news of the past few days was full of debate over whether the UK should extend its air strikes into Syria in its pursuit of ISIS. After the Paris attacks, Germany and the UK were somehow pushed into action to show solidarity with their ally France. The start of the UK air strikes came just hours after the marathon debate in parliament, in which British MPs finally voted to support David Cameron’s call to action. To have more nations aligned in the resolve to fight ISIS should be welcomed. But in my view the strikes of a few French Rafale and British Tornado jets will do little, as long as they are part of a half-hearted Western strategy on Syria, the situation in Iraq, and the root causes that led to ISIS flourishing in those two countries and beyond. In Syria, it should no longer be a question of which should come first, ISIS or Assad. Just like the chicken-or-egg debate, the answer is clear. Countries led by the U.S. remained idle for much of the past four years, while the Syrian people were calling for the end of the Bashar al-Assad dictatorship and his family’s ruthless 40-year rule.
The old questions
And both before and after the Paris attacks, the questions remain the same. Should we remove ISIS or Assad first - the chicken or the egg? How is it best to alleviate the suffering, and stop regime barrel bombs destroying Syrian cities and people? How to persuade Moscow to be a fair intermediary, and align its efforts with the international community and stop its blind support for Assad, his Iranian allies and crony Lebanese militias? How is it best to slow the influx of refugees in the European Union? Is it by giving Turkey’s Erdogan billions of dollars to control the floodgates, or by finding a quota to distribute the refugees fairly across Europe? Should we close extremist mosques in European cities, and deport dual-nationals to their native countries? Or should we regenerate those European suburbs where extremism and hate crimes flourish along with the poverty and unemployment faced by many second-generation Muslims?
All of these questions are important. But answering them - just like making the resolve to bomb ISIS targets in Syria - will do little to change the situation, unless the world comes together to face the crisis in Syria collectively.
Why Syria?
Undoing the evil brutality of the Assad regime will bring light at the end of the tunnel for the Syrian people, half of whom are displaced. By driving forward a political settlement to the Syrian crisis, there could be an opportunity to reignite a modus vivendi – or agreement to disagree – between the U.S. and Russia.
In so doing maybe the EU would revisit the sanctions against Russia that were imposed after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. Iran too would be tested by the removal of Assad, especially in light of the nuclear deal with the West. Is Tehran a regional player interested in stability, rather than a power prone to lighting the fuse in neighboring countries and then posing as a bona fide fire fighter? Should Assad be removed and Syria’s unity and plurality insured, Saudi Arabia will have more time to continue its long fight against extremists in the heart of its society and the wider Muslim world. And a deal for a united multi-ethnic Syria will appease the Turks, given their worries over the alternative possibility of an Alawite mini-state and Kurdish autonomous region right on its borders. A solution in Syria would also drive further Iraqi reform to share power, and clip back on the sectarian politics that alienate its Sunni Arabs and Kurdish population.
A united front
A lot was said in the UK parliamentary debate. But the words of shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn captured the picture best. In urging the need for air strikes, in defiance of his Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, Benn said the UK is “faced by fascists”, before adding of his own party: “We never have and we never should walk by on the other side of the road.” Benn evoked the values that Western democracies have been spreading for decades, and the importance of defeating ISIS, just as fascism and Nazism were defeated before. And, in my opinion, the quickest way to do that is by finding a solution in Syria that involves the removal of Assad – which, in so doing, would remove the toxic environment in which ISIS spreads. In Syria, it should no longer be a question of which should come first, ISIS or Assad. Just like the chicken-or-egg debate, the answer is clear. A united front and major diplomatic effort or summit is needed to convince everybody that the time has come to do away with the Assad regime, and with it ISIS and all the forces bent on destroying the world as we know it today. Unfortunately, I doubt the Obama administration is likely to produce such leadership. For Putin’s action in Syria has humbled his outlook – making any future meeting on Assad’s fate look even less likely.

Who Is Stealing Palestinian Land?
Khaled Abu Toameh/gatestone institute/December 04/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7002/stealing-palestinian-land
The lands that once housed Jewish settlements were supposed to transform the Gaza Strip into the Middle East's Singapore.
Instead, all the grandiose and ambitious plans went down the drain when Hamas seized control over the Gaza Strip in 2007. Since then, the entire Gaza Strip has been transformed into a base for various Islamist groups, which have used Gaza to launch terror attacks against Israel and threaten Egypt's national security.
By stealing their people's land and distributing it among their followers, Hamas and Fatah are further undermining the Palestinian dream of establishing a proper state based on the principles of democracy, accountability, transparency and the rule of law.
The beleaguered Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, has found an original way to solve its financial crisis. The movement is now planning to pay its unpaid civil servants with former Israeli settlement land in the Gaza Strip.
Abandoned by Israel in 2005 as part of the "disengagement" from the Gaza Strip, the land was supposed to provide a solution to the severe housing crisis in the Palestinian-controlled area. Back then, there was much talk about building new housing projects for thousands of Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli "disengagement" prompted some oil-rich Arab countries to propose plans to help solve the severe housing crisis in the Gaza Strip. The lands that once housed Jewish settlements were supposed to transform the Gaza Strip into the Middle East's Singapore.
Instead, all the grandiose and ambitious plans went right down the drain when Hamas seized control over the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2007. Since then, the entire Gaza Strip has been transformed into a base for various Islamist groups. In addition to suppressing and intimidating the local population, these groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other jihadi militias, have used the Gaza Strip to launch terror attacks against Israel and threaten Egypt's national security on the other side of the border.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), which was ousted from the Gaza Strip by Hamas, has since failed to provide any kind of assistance to the 1.8 million Palestinians living there. Today, it is clear that the PA's chances of returning to the Gaza Strip are zero. The Palestinian Authority is, in fact, lucky still to be in power in the West Bank.
Were it not for the presence of the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority would have collapsed long ago and Hamas leaders would be sitting today in the office of PA President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
Several attempts during the past few years to end the dispute between Abbas's ruling Fatah faction and Hamas have failed to bridge the wide gap between the two parties. For now, it appears that Palestinians will have to live, for many more years, with the reality that they have two separate states -- one in the West Bank and another in the Gaza Strip.
Last year's "reconciliation" agreement between Fatah and Hamas, which resulted in the formation of a Palestinian "national consensus" government, came at a time when the Islamist movement was facing its worst financial crisis. This crisis was the direct result of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi's relentless war on Hamas and other terror groups in the Sinai Peninsula.
Hamas leaders were hoping that the "reconciliation" accord with Abbas would at least help them solve the issue of tens of thousands of their civil servants in the Gaza Strip who have not received salaries for more than a year. In other words, the cash-strapped Hamas was hoping that the new "national consensus" government, headed by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, would pay salaries to tens of thousands of Hamas employees. The money, of course, was supposed to come from the U.S. and the EU countries that continue to fund the Palestinian Authority.
However, Abbas has since refused to pay the Hamas employees for two reasons. First, he knows that such a move would invite American and EU sanctions against his government. Second, Abbas fears that once he pays salaries to the Hamas civil servants, he would be empowering the Islamist movement and helping it further tighten its grip on the Gaza Strip.
After months of failed negotiations between Abbas and Hamas to solve the crisis of the unpaid civil servants, the Hamas authorities decided to lay their hands on 1000 dunams (247 acres) of land -- part of which once housed the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip -- and distribute them among its employees.
The controversial decision, which is being denounced by many Palestinians as "the biggest land theft," was taken by members of the Palestinian Legislative Council during a meeting in Gaza City last week.
Ziad al-Thatha, a senior Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, explained that the confiscated land would soon be distributed among civil servants who have not received salaries for more than a year. He said that the seized land would also be used to cover the debts of several municipalities in the Gaza Strip.
Another top Hamas official, Salah Bardaweel, defended the decision by arguing that the Palestinian Authority had also previously seized 7000 dunams (1729 acres) in the Gaza Strip for its own interests.
So what Hamas is actually saying is: If the Palestinian Authority was able to steal large portions of land in the Gaza Strip in the past, there is no reason why Hamas too should not have a taste of the cake.
At least they agree on one thing: Confiscating land.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (right) shakes hands with Hamas's leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, during negotiations in 2007 for a short-lived unity government. (Image source: Palestinian Press Office)
The Palestinian Authority and many Palestinians have expressed shock over Hamas's decision to compensate its employees with parcels of land. But besides strongly condemning the move by Hamas, Abbas and his lieutenants in Ramallah know that there is nothing they can do to prevent the land-grab.
The Palestinians are once again paying a heavy price for the continued power struggle between Fatah and Hamas and failed leadership -- both in the West bank and Gaza Strip. By stealing their people's land and distributing it among their followers, Hamas and Fatah are further undermining the Palestinian dream of establishing a proper state based on the principles of democracy, accountability, transparency and the rule of law.

Fatah Knives and ISIS Knives: Palestinian Child-Sacrifice
Bassam Tawil//gatestone institute/December 04/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6995/palestinian-child-sacrifice
Instead of educating our children, as they do in the West, to be part of the Startup Generation, we follow the lead of darkest Africa, where children are armed with assault rifles and sent out to kill other children.
If the Palestinians really want to pick a fight with Israel, why do they send children to fight a "holy war" instead of fighting it themselves, like men?
The only difference is that the members of ISIS go out themselves to kill; the Palestinians send their young. Why are these not "war crimes"?
We sacrifice our sons and daughters in the name of Allah, as though Allah were a pagan statue with an altar and had to be appeased with the blood of children.
Here, the Islamists want to "liberate" Jerusalem from the infidel Zionist-Crusader occupation. Next, they want to "liberate" occupied Spain, once Muslim Andalusia, and return it to the bosom of Islam. After that, they want to occupy the Vatican and establish the Islamic Emirate on the ruins of Christianity.
Recently, more and more young Palestinian men, women and children have left their homes and gone off to stab Israelis. Palestinian Authority (PA) officials claim our children make this decision independently and that no one sends them to carry out terrorist attacks. But in reality, every Palestinian knows that behind these supposedly "independent," "spontaneous" attacks there is organized, deliberate incitement, some from politicians and some from fatwas [religious opinions] issued by clerics.
One such cleric, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, sits far away in the safety of Qatar and sends Palestinian children to their deaths. The mosques and schools in the Palestinian Authority and the Gaza Strip, as well as their social media, often unashamedly exploit Palestinian children – perhaps emotionally a bit lost, and who long for admiration for a grand, "heroic act" in a grand romantic "cause."
Tragically, as Israeli forces often do not let such attackers get away, many murders these children commit also end up as needless "passive" suicides.
Our perverted leaders do not only encourage young Palestinians to commit murder. When these children are killed in the act of committing murder, both the PA and Hamas claim that that Israelis "executed" them. They then call our kids martyrs (shuhadaa), glorify them and turn them into role models for other loser kids. Then they pay their families enormous bonuses.
They send minors to do their dirty work, while knowing full well they will likely be killed by the Israeli security forces. How can we justify this to ourselves? What have we allowed to happen to the good minds that Allah gave us? Whatever happened to our sense of morality?
It is agonizing to see how these youngsters are turned into bargain basement castoffs. It is child sacrifice by a cynical Palestinian leadership that fosters a dark culture of murder and death.
If the Palestinians really want to pick a fight with Israel, why do they send children to fight a "holy war" instead of fighting it themselves, like men?
No good has come -- or is even expected to come -- from these deaths on either side. Has the situation of Al-Aqsa mosque "improved?" Is it no longer "in danger?"
The problem is, Al-Aqsa mosque never was in danger. There were also never were any poison-resistant rats, supposedly released by Israelis, as claimed by the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, to drive Arab residents of Jerusalem out of their homes. As one Arab reporter dryly wrote, "It is not clear how these rats were taught to stay away from Jews, who also happen to live in the Old City." There was also never any chewing gum supposedly laced with an aphrodisiac by the Israelis to corrupt our men and women. Has one meter of Palestinian land ever been liberated? Are the Jews really fleeing "in terror" from Israel? On the contrary, the Jews of Europe are fleeing to Israel. Ironically, while the Jews seem divided and at each other's throats, we have only been driving them closer together.
Somehow, the Israelis always seem to overcome the abductions, suicide bombers, murders and general terrorism we Palestinians throw at them. They never retreat; they advance.
There are, then, two jobs that seem urgent. First, we need to decide, and quickly, if we really want another armed conflict with the Israelis. Second, we really need to get our kids away from our killing fields. Anyone who sends young people -- many of them probably with emotional problems -- to kill and to be killed, is a murderer himself and will be destroyed in the end.
Palestinian society seems to be regressing towards the dark era of the jahiliyyah, before Islam brought us into the light. Instead of educating our children, as they do in the West, to be part of the Startup Generation, we follow the lead of darkest Africa, where children are armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and sent out to kill other children. We have become no better than the Iranians, who sent children, armed with plastic "Keys to Paradise," to dismantle land mines during the Iran-Iraq War. Why are these not "war crimes"?
Every day, our children drink from the poisoned well of the internet and learn how to behead and crucify and slit throats. We return to the jahiliyyah and sacrifice our sons and daughters in the name of Allah, as though Allah were a pagan statue with an altar, and had to be appeased with the blood of children. That is roughly the situation of Palestinian terrorism today. Those who neglect the education of their children need to remember that unprotected girls who today leave their homes without their parents' knowledge to go stab an Israeli today, might tomorrow bring dishonor to their home. Such a society will not frighten the Jews or anyone else. We will probably end just up raising throat-cutting fundamentalists and destroying ourselves.
We live in a sick society now, in which the laws of self-preservation demand murder and vengeance. On holidays, our children watch as we slaughter sheep, so they become accustomed to the use of knives, slit throats and flowing blood. They see videos of live people burned and drowned in Iraq and Syria. They see ISIS. Nothing shocks them. In the West, the death of a household pet, even a goldfish, brings a child to near collapse. Our kids watch sheep screaming in their last agony, and do not bat an eyelash
Islam forbids the killing of women, children and the aged, but the Palestinians receive fatwas from radical Islamists telling them to murder them anyway -- as long as they are Jews, even infants. "Tomorrow they will be soldiers," Palestinians say.
Fatwas such as this distort and twist the very foundation of our Islam in sending children to their deaths. Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and ISIS -- all the radical terrorist organizations -- festered in and grew out of the same Muslim Brotherhood Petri dish. The knives of the Palestinians are no different from the knives of ISIS. They behead children, journalists, impoverished workers and other innocent victims -- all in the in the name of Allah, and then go to carry out terrorist attacks throughout the rest of the world. The only difference is that the members of ISIS go out themselves to kill; the Palestinians send their young.
Anyone who thinks he is constructing the future of Palestine on the backs of child murderers is not only on the way to destroying Palestinian society, but on the way to hellfire as well.
The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.a.w.) and his companions also beheaded infidels -- but that was in the seventh century. There are more and more voices of devout Muslims calling for reform.
Just last week, the distinguished author, Professor Ibtihal Al-Khatib of the Kuwait University, said on television, "If we do not reform ourselves, we will become extinct. Nations which stick to principles that are at odds with the progress of civilization will come to an end. Such nations will not survive. Any attempt to justify or to legitimize terrorism is a terrorist idea; the idea and the act are equally dangerous."
Al-Khatib's statement instantly showed her to be light years more advanced than U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who idiotically blurted out that some terrorist attacks had "a legitimacy... a rationale." For this pronouncement, he was roundly and befittingly ridiculed. The excuses the terrorists find to justify murdering the innocent are infinite in number, unlimited in depravity, and they corrupt our societies.
These voices calling for reform often are held back by those who fear that their power, influence and golden jobs -- held only thanks to your zakat [tithe] -- might then be under threat. Most of us do not like to lose comforts and conveniences. Many Muslims still do not want to give up having slaves -- not only in Mauritania, but at the top tiers of the Muslim community.
But there is no justification for terrorism. The French, who so easily justify terrorism against Jews in the Middle East, now face the same situation at home. The only surprising thing is that they were surprised.
The picture of global Islamic terrorism is coming into focus. Here, the Islamists want to "liberate" Jerusalem from the infidel Zionist-Crusader occupation. Next, they also want to "liberate" occupied Spain, once Muslim Andalusia, and return it to the bosom of Islam. After that, they want to occupy the Vatican and establish the Islamic Emirate on the ruins of Christianity, as they did in heir "Golden Age" when they captured Constantinople, the capital of Byzantium.
While the Jews excel at improving agriculture, winning Nobel Prizes, inventing life-saving medicine, founding startups and in general advancing cutting-edge global science and technology, we Palestinians, hurtling back toward jahiliyyah, have given the world nothing but terrorism and death.
Even before the Palestinian Abdullah Azzam became Osama bin Laden's mentor, the Palestinians were waging a global terrorist campaign. Palestinian terrorism got into gear in the 1970s. In May 1972, passengers on the ground in Israel's Lod Airport (now Ben Gurion International Airport) were massacred. In September 1972, they slaughtered Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. In May 1974, they slaughtered Israeli children in Maalot. In 1976, they hijacked an Air France plane on its way from Tel Aviv to Paris, and singled the Jewish passengers out. In 1978, on the Israel's Coastal Road, they massacred civilians in a bus. In 1985, they hijacked the ship, the Achille Lauro, on its way from Egypt and threw a 69-year-old, wheelchair-ridden invalid "heroically" overboard.
The list goes on and on -- from suicide bombings in buses, cafés, hotels, kindergartens, shopping centers, and discotheques, most often targeting the civilian population -- to today's current wave of attacks on Israelis on the streets, in their cars and at worship.
And now what? Our Palestinian leaders defend these underage knife-wielders by explaining that they try to kill Jewish civilians because of the "occupation," or because "Al-Aqsa mosque is in danger" -- false claims finally put to rest by a Palestinian poll last week.
Even as our children are manipulated into killing themselves, there are still Fatah leaders, such as Abbas Zaki, a senior activist in the Fatah organization, who delude themselves into thinking there is some benefit to be gained from another useless intifada or from ending security coordination with Israel. He and those like him might do well to recall that, as most Palestinians know perfectly well, security coordination with Israel is first and foremost in their interest. It keeps the Palestinian Authority from collapsing: it protects our leaders from assassination at the hands of Hamas, as was the fate of Fatah leaders in the Gaza Strip. It is the only guarantee we have of the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state.
We also might do well to remember the results of the first two intifadas. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Palestinians died, but the Israelis did not move a meter. We carry out terrorist campaign after terrorist campaign, and the violence gets us nowhere and brings us nothing -- not from Israel and not from the international community. If we really want to have our Palestinian State, we can have it tomorrow. All we have to do is change our image as terrorists.

Leader of Egypt's winning party outlines what's next
Mohammad Khalil/Al-Monitor/December 04/15
CAIRO — The Free Egyptians Party (FEP), a liberal party established in the wake of the January 25 Revolution by Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, came in first place in the first stage of the parliamentary elections, held Oct. 17-28, after securing 41 seats. According to preliminary results from the second stage that took place between Nov. 21 and Dec. 2, the party also dominated this round, reportedly securing an additional 65 seats. Al-Monitor spoke with the FEP’s acting President Essam Khalil, who revealed the party’s agenda in the parliament, and discussed legislative priorities and the party’s stance toward calls for the amendment of the current constitution.
Khalil repudiated claims that the party is trying to take over the parliament in order to control the country, denying that the party resorted to the sectarian vote to win.
The text of the interview follows:
Al-Monitor: How was the FEP able to secure a victory in the first round of parliamentary elections?
Khalil: The FEP’s secret of success for winning the first round is that we have been preparing for the elections for over a year now. We have carefully selected the candidates who would represent the FEP in the elections. To this end, we collaborated with the Egyptian Center for Public Opinion Research (Baseera) to conduct a poll in all constituencies and find the most popular candidates who also met the party’s standards of popularity, good reputation and hard work in each constituency.
Al-Monitor: Last year saw many crises and a series of resignations, notably including the FEP’s former President Ahmad Said (Sept. 19, 2014), after which Osama al-Ghazali Harb was appointed in his place. Did that affect the party’s plan in the elections?
Khalil: Well a crisis is usually a problem that leads to failure. However, the party emerged victorious in the first round of elections, which means it was not affected and we shall forge ahead to achieve our goals.
Al-Monitor: In the 2012 parliamentary elections, the party came in fourth following a coalition with the Egyptian Bloc, while the Freedom and Justice Party — the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood — came in first place. Has the absence of political Islam made room for the FEP to gain advantage?
Khalil: The absence of political Islam from the elections was irrelevant to our success. Back in the 2012 elections, the party had been newly formed and was only three months old, which explains these results. But with time, we have gained much experience in politics and the party succeeded in reinforcing its presence in Egypt.
Al-Monitor: Some claim that the FEP did not succeed thanks to its cadres and accuse the party of bribing non-members to stand as candidates after persuading them to run for the elections under the FEP banner.
Khalil: There’s no such thing as bribing a candidate. This discourse serves no other goal than fighting our success in the elections. Many candidates refused to join the party and opted for running in the elections independently. We used to suggest that the candidates join two years prior to the elections so that they engage in party activities and get the opportunity to learn about the principles. The majority of candidates currently assume senior and executive positions in the party. As for relying completely on party cadres in the elections, the process takes years.
Al-Monitor: How do you respond to allegations suggesting that the party is using the sectarian vote by relying on the votes of the Copts, especially after the emergence of a voice recording leaked in late October 2015 attributed to Bishop Boula, bishop of Tanta, calling on the people to vote for the FEP?
Khalil: We did not totally rely on the sectarian vote, as our Muslim candidate faced an independent Coptic candidate in a run-off in one of the constituencies, and the result was in our favor. However, we refuse to categorize our candidates according to religion because we believe in citizenship. We also avoid categorizing voters in the same manner. A successful candidate is one who can garner the majority of votes in his or her respective constituency regardless of religious views.
As for Bishop Boula’s leaked voice recording and his call for voting for the FEP, further details concerning the context of the leak are needed to understand the reasons behind this call. In fact, the Coptic Church never interferes in the election process, let alone that it is very hard to influence Egyptian voters in the aftermath of the January 25 Revolution. Furthermore, the party’s popularity stems from its belief in separating religion from politics. Therefore, how can we abandon the main reason behind our popularity?
Al-Monitor: What would be on top of your legislative agenda should the party win the majority in the second stage?
Khalil: The party’s priorities in the parliament consist of approving the laws that were enacted during President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Counselor Adly Mansour’s terms following the June 30 Revolution. This will be to prevent further disruption in the country. We will also propose laws related to administrative structuring within the government as well as laws on investment and anti-corruption laws.
Al-Monitor: What is your response to the accusations against the party, claiming the founder and funder, the famous businessman Naguib Sawiris, wants to control the parliament in order to be able to control the state and impose his agenda on the Egyptian government?
Khalil: Mr. Sawiris is a patriotic businessman who supports the party financially and ideologically. He is not looking to control the parliament to control the state as some would like to suggest. He is an internationally renowned businessman who enjoys great economic clout in the world. He established the party because he felt the urgency to help the country stand on its feet again and protect the national economy to serve Egyptians and eradicate poverty.
Al-Monitor: Will the party call for a government change?
Khalil: We have not reached a final decision regarding the current government. But we will give it the chance to present its program in the parliament, and accordingly, the party will decide whether to give it trust or not.
Al-Monitor: Is the party planning on forming a new Cabinet if it wins the majority?
Khalil: The constitution dictates that we cannot form a Cabinet alone. But we would like to participate in any future government so that we could implement the party’s principles and national agenda.
Al-Monitor: What is your position concerning calls to amend the present constitution?
Khalil: I’m surprised by these calls, because the constitution has yet to fully come into effect. How can we demand an amendment in this case? But should there be any articles that require amendment, then we don’t mind as long as the goal serves the greater good of the country.
Al-Monitor: Does the party plan on allying with any political power in the parliament?
Khalil: The picture will be much clearer after the elections, but I think the future parliament will not see full coalitions, as existing ones are based on common political interests. In other words, if the FEP concurred with another party on a specific law, then there will certainly be room for alliance and coordination about it.
Al-Monitor: The party participated in the For the Love of Egypt list to compete for the seats elected on the closed-list system. Will the party remain in the For the Love of Egypt coalition after the elections and within the parliament?
Khalil: We participated in For the Love of Egypt list because it sought to represent marginalized groups such as women, Copts and the youth. However, the list does not have a clear agenda and it is only a coalition between parties and public figures. Therefore, it is hard to determine our stance toward [remaining in the list] now.
Al-Monitor: What is the fate of the For the Love of Egypt list, which won the first stage of the elections?
Khalil: According to the constitution, member parties should form an independent parliamentary committee, but nothing is clear yet.
George Mikhail
Contributor, Egypt Pulse
**George Mikhail is a freelance journalist who specializes in minority and political issues. He graduated from Cairo University in 2009 and has worked for a number of Egyptian newspapers.

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