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Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 07/45-53: "Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, ‘Why did you not arrest him?’ The police answered, ‘Never has anyone spoken like this!’Then the Pharisees replied, ‘Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law they are accursed.’ Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, ‘Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?’ They replied, ‘Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.’Then each of them went home,

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection
Letter to the Romans 12/09-21: "Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 18-19/15
Sulaiman Franjieh announces candidacy for Lebanon president/Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf Newsa/December 18/15
Friend of Syria’s Assad announces candidacy for Lebanese presidency/Josh WoodéThe National/December 18/15
Could Sleiman Franjieh end Lebanon’s wait for a president/Josh Wood/The National/December 15/15
A Hizbullah Recruiting Push Covers Its Deeper Role in Syria/Naharnet/Associated Press/December 18/15
Canada and international community call on Iran to improve its human rights record/December 18/15
Will Iran end the death penalty for drug smuggling/Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
But ISIS Kills More Muslims Than Non-Muslims!/Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/December 18/15
When All Else Fails, Erdogan Calls Israel/Shoshana Bryen/Gatestone Institute/December 18/15
Will The West Ease The Sanctions Even Though Iran Is Not Meeting Its JCPOA Obligations/A. Savyon and Y. Carmon/MEMRI/December 18/15/
Turkey's unhealthy democracy/Riada Ašimović Akyol/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
Has Bibi given up his battle against Iran nuke deal/Mazal Mualem/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
How one Iranian TV show is breaking censorship boundaries/Masoud Lavasani/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
Egypt's cash for votes scandal/Ismael El-Kholy/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
Five years on, have things changed in Tunisia/Christine Petré/Al-Monitor/December 18/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on December 18-19/15
Minor Earthquake Shakes Bekaa
Lebanese Boy Orphaned by Dahieh Blasts Fulfills Dream of Meeting Ronaldo
Mustaqbal on Hizbullah's Stance from Islamic Coalition: Lebanon Not Attached to Party's Allies
Salam Meets Berri, Calls Cabinet to Meet Monday to Address Trash Exportation
Jumblat Hails Franjieh's 'Frank' Interview
Abou Faour Says 'Settlement' Making 'Progress' after Franjieh's Remarks
Shorter Meets Moqbel, Announces UK Support to Establish and Equip 4th Land Border Regiment
Asiri: Those Questioning Islamic Coalition Have Misunderstood its Purpose
Report: Army Waiting Political Decision before Taking Stance on Islamic Coalition
Salam Receives Invitation to Syria Donors Conference in London
Report Says Telecom Data Implicated Yaaqoub in Hannibal's Case as Supporters Stage Protests
Sulaiman Franjieh announces candidacy for Lebanon president
Friend of Syria’s Assad announces candidacy for Lebanese presidency
Could Sleiman Franjieh end Lebanon’s wait for a president?
A Hizbullah Recruiting Push Covers Its Deeper Role in Syria

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 18-19/15
Obama Says Assad Must Go for Peace in Syria as Draft U.N. Resolution Calls for January Talks
Suspected Russia Raids Kill 32 Civilians in North Syria
Two Ballistic Missiles Fired at Saudi from Yemen as Loyalists Take Provincial Capital
World Powers Bring Syria Peace Plan to U.N.
Riyadh-based Syria Grouping Says No Direct Assad Talks
Off Syrian Coast, Russian Warship Backs up Air Campaign
Report: German Secret Service in Talks with Syrian Spies
Syria's Assad: Focus on Regime Change a Barrier to Peace
New Kurd-Arab Alliance Seeks Role as Player in Syria Talks
Turkey Says Close to Deal with Israel on Normalization
Neighborhood Tensions Push Turkey to Israel Rapprochement
Israeli Troops Kill Two Palestinians in West Bank, Gaza Unrest
Yemen Rebels Snub Meeting on 4th Day of Peace Talks as Truce Teeters
African Union Agrees in Principle to Send Troops to Burundi

Links From Jihad Watch Site for December 18-19/15
Kuwait Airways cancels NY-to-London flight rather than allow Israeli passengers
Federal judge rebukes Hamas-linked terror org CAIR
SB jihadi’s mid-massacre message released: “We pledge allegiance to Khalifa”
Robert Spencer in PJ Media: “I’m a Christian and I LOVE the Qur’an”
Ahmadi Muslim spokesman claims foes of jihad responsible for suspicion of Islam
Minnesota: “Forget about us harboring a terrorist in our home,” FBI “terrorized us”
California: Muslim indicted for trying to aid jihad terror group
NY: Muslim pizzeria owner admits to recruiting for the Islamic State
India: Muslim accused of sexually assaulting 4-year-old girl blames her for enticing him
Pennsylvania: Muslim teen charged with supporting the Islamic State
San Bernardino jihadi and friend plotted campus and freeway jihad attacks
Obama: No “specific and credible information about an attack on our homeland”

Minor Earthquake Shakes Bekaa
Naharnet/December 18/15/A small tremor struck the eastern region of the Bekaa at dawn on Friday, reported Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3). It said that a 3.2 magnitude quake did not pose any risk to the area. No injuries or damage were incurred in the incident.

Lebanese Boy Orphaned by Dahieh Blasts Fulfills Dream of Meeting Ronaldo
Naharnet/December 18/15/Lebanese toddler Haidar Mustafa, 3, has fulfilled his dream of meeting Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, 36 days after losing his parents in the Bourj al-Barajneh bombings. Haidar arrived Friday in the Spanish capital Madrid and was welcomed by Cristiano at the airport. He was then accompanied by the Portuguese footballer to the club's headquarters, where Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez hugged him and gave him a Real Madrid shirt with Haidar printed on its back. Haidar then attended the club's Christmas lunch. He is also expected to watch Real's training session on Saturday and the team's match against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. Some of the pictures posted on social networking websites showed the boy crying during his meeting with Cristiano. The boy had expressed to reporters his desire to meet with Real Madrid's superstar when he was receiving treatment in hospital in the wake of the blasts. A social media campaign was then launched to help Haidar meet Cristiano under the hashtag #CristianoMeetHaidar.The suicide bombings, among the worst in years, left 44 people dead and 240 others wounded. The attacks were claimed by the jihadist Islamic State group.

Mustaqbal on Hizbullah's Stance from Islamic Coalition: Lebanon Not Attached to Party's Allies
Naharnet/December 18/15/Al-Mustaqbal movement criticized Hizbullah's objection on Lebanon's participation in the Islamic Alliance formed by Saudi Arabia saying that the party's stance implies that it rejects an Islamic coalition to fight the Islamic State and al-Qaida only leaving room for “Iran's participation in Arab civil wars.”“Only one thing can be understood from the statement issued by Hizbullah at this critical stage in the history of the region. It only means that the party objects to the formation of an Islamic coalition to fight the IS and al-Qaida, including arguments for the continuation of Arab civil wars and giving legitimacy for the Iranian participation in these battles,” said the statement. “It is not surprising that Hizbullah takes a sharp negative stance from the formation of a broad coalition to combat terrorism especially that this announcement was issued by Saudi Arabia, which the party has hostility towards and wastes no opportunity to criticize,” it added. Expressing astonishment at the fact that Hizbullah did not only object to the participation of Lebanon, but also slammed the initial approval of PM Tammam Salam to the Saudi request. “Suddenly, Hizbullah has come to realize that similar decisions require cabinet and parliament approvals. We wish that the party had realized these constitutional and legal demands years ago when it gave itself the right to bring soldiers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to train its armed members in Bekaa and other regions without the state's approval.”The statement concluded by saying that “Lebanon is first and foremost an Arab state and a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It will never be a state attached to the axes desired by Hizbullah and its foreign references.”Saudi Arabia unveiled on Tuesday a coalition of 35 countries from across the Islamic and Arab world that is aimed at confronting “terrorism.”The announcement that Lebanon joined the alliance sparked objections in the country, with some officials saying that they were not informed of such a measure. Salam was informed of the step and defended it on Wednesday, saying: “I am entitled as premier to take a preliminary decision on Saudi Arabia's invitation to take part in this alliance, especially since cabinet is not holding sessions.” Hizbullah on Thursday expressed “deep doubts” about “the motives and objectives” that pushed Saudi Arabia to announce the formation of “an Islamic anti-terror military coalition.”

Salam Meets Berri, Calls Cabinet to Meet Monday to Address Trash Exportation
Naharnet/December 18/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam called on cabinet to hold a session on Monday in order to address Lebanon's waste management file and later held talks with Speaker Nabih Berri. The session will be held on Monday afternoon and it will tackle the exportation of the trash. Discussions between various concerned officials led to an agreement to export the waste after months of debate. Salam emphasized after meeting Berri that the cabinet meeting will be strictly dedicated to the trash file. "We hope to clean the country and hope that this cleanliness will carry on to other pending affairs," he stressed to reporters. Al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Friday that two companies have been chosen to tackle the issue. Their identities have not yet been revealed in anticipation of the discussions that will be held during cabinet's upcoming meeting. There are estimates that costs will range around 200 dollars per ton of trash. This will include the cost of transporting the waste from Lebanon to the target country. A deal will be signed once all legal and financial documents are available and it will cover a period of 18 months. Lebanon was plunged in a waste management crisis following the closure of the Naameh landfill in July with officials failing to find an alternative to it. This has consequently led to the pile up of the garbage on the streets throughout the country and with experts warning of the environmental and health hazards of the prolonged crisis.

Jumblat Hails Franjieh's 'Frank' Interview
Naharnet/December 18/15/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat praised on Friday the interview given by Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman Franjieh, deeming his remarks as “realistic.”He said via Twitter: “His interview was frank and steered away from the empty political slogans of some officials.”He also lauded Franjieh's “practical approach” on various issues. “The joining of opposing forces in obstructing the presidential elections is harming Lebanon's stability, institutions, and economy,” he added. Franjieh gave a much anticipated television interview on Thursday during which he announced his candidacy for the presidency. He addressed a number of issues, most notably ties with his ally in the March 8 camp, Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun, who is also a presidential candidate. Franjieh's nomination alongside Aoun has drawn speculation of differences between the two officials. The Marada leader described on Thursday his ties with the lawmaker as “abnormal,” and that they have been that way for two years. Franjieh emerged as presidential candidate as part of an initiative launched by Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri aimed at ending the political deadlock in Lebanon. Lebanon has been without a president since the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor. Ongoing disputes between the rival March 8 and 14 camps over compromise candidate have thwarted the polls.

Abou Faour Says 'Settlement' Making 'Progress' after Franjieh's Remarks
Naharnet/December 18/15/Health Minister Wael Abou Faour declared Friday that the proposed presidential settlement has started to make "one progress after another," a day after Marada Movement chief MP Suleiman Franjieh officially announced his nomination for the presidency. “The presidential settlement is still on the table and we salute the reconciliatory tone that MP Suleiman Franjieh showed during his TV interview,” Abou Faour, who is close to Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, said. “The stances that he voiced yesterday were a clear evidence that this settlement has not collapsed, although some parties are claiming that it is teetering,” the minister added. He however noted that the suggested initiative “requires extra efforts from both the March 8 and March 14 camps,” urging them to engage in “further deliberations and consultations.” “Franjieh's declaration of his presidential nomination will give this initiative and settlement a new momentum and Walid Jumblat will continue exerting efforts for the success of this settlement,” Abou Faour added. “We are making extra endeavors and there are a lot of confidential contacts that confirm that this proposed settlement is making one progress after another,” the minister revealed. He also pointed out that “some parties who had voiced inflexible stances have started dealing with this initiative in a positive approach.” Jumblat had met with al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri in Paris in the wake of a similar meeting between the former premier and Franjieh.
The PSP leader met later in Beirut with the Marada Movement chief and he has been described by media reports as one of the architects of the proposed settlement. The initiative appeared to be on the verge of collapse in recent days after it drew reservations from the country's main Christian parties – the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Forces and the Kataeb Party. Hizbullah is also reportedly insisting on the nomination of Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun. 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 alliances over a consensual candidate have thwarted the polls.

Shorter Meets Moqbel, Announces UK Support to Establish and Equip 4th Land Border Regiment
Naharnet/December 18/15/British Ambassador Designate Hugo Shorter called on Minister of Defense Samir Moqbel at the ministry, to formally announce a $10 million UK support package for the establishment and equipping of a fourth Land Border Regiment (LBR) in what will be the latest phase of the UK’s “train and equip” partnership with the Lebanese army. Shorter said after meeting the minister: “I am proud to announce that the UK will support the Lebanese army in establishing a fourth land border regiment.” “This will further secure the remaining 100km stretch of Lebanon’s border and complement the outstanding work of the Army’s three existing land border regiments,” he explained according to a UK embassy statement. The fourth LBR will have state of the art communications equipment and cameras, mobile observation platforms, border watchtowers and Land Rovers to help secure and mobilize LAF positions along the border. “We are proud to help the brave men and women of the Lebanese army who are protecting Lebanon’s stability during this difficult time in the region,” continued the ambassador. “We recognize that Lebanon continues to face great challenges, including from terrorism and the spill over of the Syria conflict. We are determined to stand by Lebanon’s side as it continues to defend its sovereignty and secure its stability and prosperity,” he stressed. “It was inspiring to see the courage of the land border regiments who are on the frontline securing and protecting their country’s borders,” he said. For his part, Moqbel welcomed the UK’s ongoing support and assistance to the Lebanese army, saying it has shown “high levels of competence at an important, indeed crucial time for Lebanon which is being targeted by terrorists.” He added that the army is crucial in fighting terrorism. The meeting with Moqbel followed Shorter’s first visit to the LBR in Chadra a day earlier where it all began to see firsthand the success of the Lebanese army’s project to secure the country’s borders. He was accompanied by various military official and British Defense Attache Lt. Col. Chris Gunning. In Akkar, Shorter was briefed by senior officers on how the LBRs are identifying, deterring and interdicting activities by illegal armed actors. This activity has enormously reduced cross-border smuggling and secured the livelihoods of communities in the area. This new funding will conclude the UK's $50 million “train and equip” program to establish and strengthen the land border regiments, which is the largest part of the kingdom's support program to the Lebanese army. The Lebanese army's Land Border Regiments have been operational since 2013. They are charged with detecting, deterring, and disrupting border attacks against Lebanon, and gaining the trust of local border communities. They have stopped shelling from Syria. They are repelling daily attacks by the Islamic State. Working with the Intervention Brigades, they stopped a 2014 attack in August 2014 in the northeastern border town of Arsal - breaking the IS's “unstoppable” narrative. They continue to be the Lebanese State’s eyes, ears, and first responders across 75 percent of the Lebanon-Syria border. The UK’s Strategic Defense and Security Review, released last month, announced: “We will also increase our support to Lebanon to reinforce its security”.

Asiri: Those Questioning Islamic Coalition Have Misunderstood its Purpose
Naharnet/December 18/15/Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri questioned on Friday how some sides have made “quick assumptions” over the Islamic coalition, saying that they have jumped to conclusions over the issue. He said: “Those who have criticized the alliance have misunderstood its purpose and made unrealistic analyses.”“The decisions of Saudi Arabia stem from its convictions and keenness on the Arab and Islamic ummahs,” he stressed. “No side imposes dictates on the kingdom, while others are counting on suspicious agendas that seek to fragment the countries in the region and create sectarian incitement,” noted the ambassador. “Lebanon is among the countries that suffer from and combat terrorism,” Asiri remarked. “The fight against terrorism can take several forms, such as the military one and the adoption of moderate religious speech,” he continued. He also highlighted the role of the media, education, and social development in combating terror. “Is it possible for Lebanon to abandon any one of these means, which are among its strengths, in its battle against terrorism?” he wondered. “Saudi Arabia respects Lebanon's sovereignty, independence, and freedom and it does not need to prove this,” he stated. “We question however some of the sides that have criticized the decision of the kingdom to include Lebanon in the Islamic alliance when these same sides are accused by the Lebanese public of violating Lebanon's national sovereignty and usurping its state's decision-making power,” Asiri said. Saudi Arabia unveiled on Tuesday an alliance comprised of 35 Arab and Islamic countries aimed at combating terrorism. Lebanon has been included in the coalition even though some officials complained that they were not informed of such a measure. Prime Minister Tammam Salam was informed of the step and he blessed it, saying that he takes decisions that favor Lebanon. He added however that he made a preliminary approval over the issue, which will be later tackled at cabinet. Hizbullah on Thursday rejected the call to join the coalition, saying: “This step violates the Constitution, the law and all applicable norms in Lebanon.”It blamed the Saudi Arabia for the proliferation of “the terrorist and extremist thought” in the world, accusing it of “maintaining its support for this ideology.”"Saudi Arabia has practiced state terrorism in Yemen and it is backing the terrorist organizations in Syria, Iraq and Yemen," the party charged, while adding that Salam's decision on the matter is not binding.

Report: Army Waiting Political Decision before Taking Stance on Islamic Coalition
Naharnet/December 18/15/An invitation to attend a meeting on the recently announced Islamic coalition will be made soon and Lebanon will be among those invited, reported As Safir newspaper on Friday. The invitation will be addressed to the Defense Ministry, which includes the Army Command, to name who will represent it at the meeting that will likely be held by the end of next week in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. Concerned sources told As Safir that the army will decide its “next step” in light of what officials decide on the matter. Politicians are divided on whether to join the Islamic coalition. Prime Minister Tammam Salam had given Saudi Arabia Lebanon's preliminary agreement to take part in the alliance without informing other powers, which drew their criticism. Hizbullah on Thursday rejected the call to join the coalition, saying: “This step violates the Constitution, the law and all applicable norms in Lebanon.” It blamed Saudi Arabia for the proliferation of “the terrorist and extremist thought” in the world, accusing it of “maintaining its support for this ideology.”"Saudi Arabia has practiced state terrorism in Yemen and it is backing the terrorist organizations in Syria, Iraq and Yemen," the party charged, while adding that Salam's decision on the matter is not binding. Saudi Arabia unveiled the alliance, which includes 34 Arab and Islamic countries, earlier this week. It is aimed at combating terrorism.

Salam Receives Invitation to Syria Donors Conference in London
Naharnet/December 18/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam received on Friday an official invitation to the upcoming Syria Donors Conference taking place in London on February 4. A delegation from co-host countries Germany, Kuwait, Norway, the UK, and the United Nations represented by British Ambassador Hugo Shorter, German Ambassador Martin Huth, Norwegian Deputy Ambassador Ane Jorem, Kuwaiti Consul Ahmed El Sabti and U.N. Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon Philippe Lazzarini, handed the letter to the Prime Minister. Following the meeting Shorter delivered a statement on behalf of the delegation: “We met this morning with Salam to extend an invitation to the upcoming Syria Donors Conference that the UK is co-hosting on 4 February 2016.”“The United Kingdom, Kuwait, Germany, Norway and the U.N. are gravely concerned about the plight of the Syrian people and the impact of the protracted crisis on regional host communities,” he added. “We will accelerate our efforts – directly and with the international community - to support Lebanon, whose government and people have shown such generosity in hosting huge numbers of refugees. It is important that the international community matches this generosity,” said Shorter. “As we have said before, a political solution to the Syria crisis is desperately needed, so that the conditions can be created for the safe return of refugees to their country. But as the international community works towards that, we must do more to protect and provide for the millions of vulnerable Syrians inside Syria and across the region,” added the ambassador. “With this conference, we want to identify longer term approaches and funding, which will help to create education and opportunities for the millions affected across the region – for both refugees and citizens of host countries,” he stated. The Syria Donors Conference in London will also pave the way for a broader discussion about how the international community responds to protracted crises, in advance of the UK, U.N. and World Bank High-Level Forum on Forced Displacement in Protracted Crises later in 2016 and the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May.

Report Says Telecom Data Implicated Yaaqoub in Hannibal's Case as Supporters Stage Protests
Naharnet/December 18/15/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq informed on Thursday the gatherers at the Mustaqbal Movement and Hizbullah dialogue session of the complicity of former MP Hassan Yaaqoub in the recent abduction of Hannibal Gadhafi, the son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, reported As Safir newspaper on Friday. He said that the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau has “a lot of information and evidence that implicate the former lawmaker in the crime.” An arrest warrant will be issued against him on Friday, he revealed. An Nahar daily said on Friday that telecommunication data implicates Yaaqoub and other accomplices in the abduction. As Safir said that Yaaqoub was confronted with a Syrian woman who allegedly acted as a liaison between him and Hannibal's kidnappers in Syria, but he denied that he knew her. Moreover, it reported that he “took advantage of the license given to him by Syrian authorities a long time ago to allow his convoy to cross the 'military route' between Lebanon and Syria without inspection”, which allowed the transportation of Hannibal without incident. Yaaqoub was detained on Thursday after being interrogated for more than seven hours. Supporters and relatives of the ex-MP staged several protests on Friday to demand his release. They blocked the vital airport road near the Great Prophet Hospital for around an hour and a half before rallying outside the Justice Palace where they slammed what they called his "arbitrary arrest." The protesters later staged a sit-on outside State Prosecutor Samir Hammoud's house in Beirut's Wata el-Msaitbeh. “We urge the state prosecutor to reevaluate my brother's case before things go out of control and to avoid any dangerous repercussions,” a brother of Yaaqoub said at the sit-in. He had earlier claimed that the detention occurred after a "political cover" was provided. The ex-MP is the son of Sheikh Mohammed Yaaqoub – one of two companions who disappeared together with AMAL Movement founder Imam Moussa al-Sadr in 1978 during a trip to Libya. Then Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi was indicted in Lebanon in 2007 over the disappearance of al-Sadr and his associates and many parties in Lebanon accused the slain Libyan strongman of abducting or even killing the three men. Hannibal Gadhafi was kidnapped last Thursday at the hands of an armed group. Conflicting reports had emerged on whether he was kidnapped inside Syria or inside Lebanon. Hannibal Gadhafi is married to Lebanese lingerie model Aline Skaff. He was among a group of family members -- including Moammar Gadhafi's wife Safiya, son Mohammed and daughter Aisha -- who escaped to neighboring Algeria after the fall of the Libyan capital Tripoli. The Lebanese judiciary on Monday remanded Hannibal in custody after accusing him of withholding information about al-Sadr's disappearance

Sulaiman Franjieh announces candidacy for Lebanon president
Joseph A. Kechichian/Gulf Newsa/December 18/15
Beirut: As anticipated by Al Nahar newspaper a few days ago, the leader of the Marada Movement, deputy Sulaiman Franjieh, formally announced his candidacy for the position of president of the republic on Thursday evening during a scheduled interview on “Kalam Al NAS with Marcel Ganem” on the LBCI channel.The chequered interview, which showed a highly agitated Franjieh grabbing the microphone and constantly repeating himself, drew praise from the Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt. The Druze chieftain apparently orchestrated the “candidacy” and persuaded the former prime minister and March 14 leader Saad Hariri to launch the initiative in an attempt to end the political deadlock by nominating a candidate from the rival March 8 bloc.
Jumblatt praised the interviewee, opining that Franjieh was “realistic” and wrote on his Twitter account: “His interview was frank and steered away from the empty political slogans of some officials.”
Friday morning commentators in various newspapers were evenly divided, some dismissing Franjieh’s “practical approach” to bring opposing forces together as little more than entertainment, while others saw merit in his efforts to lift the obstruction that prevented presidential elections.
Ironically, the Marada leader used carefully tailored words to refer to his longtime ally and designated March 8 candidate, Michel Aoun. “I leave an opportunity for General Aoun [to reach the presidency], but I am a candidate too, yes. I am present,” Franjieh insisted, though his “I consider myself and Aoun as one in this plan” confused much more than it elucidated. In fact, he revealed that while he spoke with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Speaker Nabih Berri that he would meet with Hariri in Paris, he chose not to inform Aoun, which spoke volumes. He did not know, or did not share any insights if he did, as to whether Nasrallah or any other Hezbollah official, or Berri or any Amal Party representative informed Aoun of the trip and the discussions with Hariri.
Aoun, more than anyone else, was livid when he heard the news not only because he insisted the presidency was his, but also because he sensed the March 8 alliance was ready to work around him. Recent Hezbollah affirmations that Aoun remained the group’s sole contender failed to appease the general while Franjieh’s determination to pursue a presidential bid angered him as well. It was remarkable that Aoun has not uttered a single word in public ever since Franjieh’s availability was floated.
Throughout the interview, Franjieh insisted he was not competing with Aoun, but that his candidacy offered a fresh opportunity to bring the presidential crisis to an end although commentators were unanimous that tensions between the two men ran high.
In the haste to settle the presidential deadlock, few provided insights on Franjieh’s policies, especially his openly pro-Syrian preferences, even if the candidate affirmed that his “history is known.” He insisted he would not serve as a puppet for the March 14 movement and that he might well oppose policies espoused by the alliance. He provided the example of the latest Saudi anti-terror coalition and confirmed that he would oppose it. “I say that Saudi Arabia is backing terrorists [in Syria] that Hezbollah is fighting. How can I be with them (Saudi Arabia)?” he intoned.
When Ganem asked about Franjieh’s presidential platform, one word was uttered: “electricity.” “I no longer want to dream of Lebanon in a political [way.] I want to dream of Lebanon with 24/7 electricity. If I want to build a house, I don’t want to have to worry about hooking up [battery backup systems] and electricity generators ...,” he said. The reference to 24/7 electricity targeted Foreign Minister Jibran Basil, Aoun’s son-in-law, who repeatedly promised full power when he was in change of that sector though conditions worsened. The avowal and the remedy were indicative of what preoccupied Lebanese elites, which avoided fundamental constitutional challenges between various groups that rejected and delegitimized each other, with no signs of any meaningful changes in the foreseeable future.

Friend of Syria’s Assad announces candidacy for Lebanese presidency
Josh WoodéThe National/December 18/15
BEIRUT// After Lebanon’s parliament failed to elect a president for the 33rd time, it seemed as though Sleiman Franjieh’s chances at winning the job had dimmed.
This was despite previous cautious expectations that a consensus had formed around him. But the controversial politician, who is a close friend of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, showed resilience late on Thursday, formally announcing his candidacy for the presidency just a day after the failed vote in parliament. For weeks, Beirut had been abuzz with talk of a plan that would see Mr Franjieh, a 50-year-old Maronite Christian, become president and former prime minister Saad Hariri return to power.
Though various politicians and groups had publicly voiced their support for the plan, however, before Thursday Mr Franjieh had remained silent on the subject.
With Mr Hariri a Sunni whose Future Movement party leads Lebanon’s anti-Syria alliance, such a plan would represent a major attempt at rapprochement between Lebanon’s main political blocks, which are split over support or opposition to Syria’s government. If successful, it would end the country’s 18-month-long presidential vacuum.
By an unwritten agreement made at the outset of Lebanon’s independence in 1943, the president must be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni and the speaker of parliament a Shiite. The agreement was designed to ensure that none of the country’s sects can dominate the government. But Mr Franjieh faces stiff opposition from two other Christian leaders who have their eyes on the vacant presidential palace. One is Samir Geagea, the leader of the Lebanese Forces, who is believed to have commanded a brutal 1978 attack on the Franjieh family mansion that saw Mr Franjieh’s parents and baby sister slaughtered. The other is Michel Aoun, an 80-year-old former warlord whose Free Patriotic Movement, as an ally of Hizbollah, is technically on the same side as Mr Franjieh.
Much of what Mr Franjieh said on Thursday seemed to be aimed at assuaging fears that his aspirations were threatening the cohesion of the Hizbollah-led pro-Syria political alliance, known as March 8. “Today more than ever before, I consider myself a presidential candidate,” he said, according to Lebanese media. “But I will let General Aoun take his chance,” he added, announcing his candidacy on a Lebanese talk show. “If Gen Aoun does not have a plan B, Hizbollah has a plan B. But this does not mean abandoning Aoun,” he said. “We are waiting and we will not sidestep Hizbollah or Gen Aoun. We have said from the beginning that if Aoun had a chance, we will be with him.”
Despite the portrayal of his candidacy as a backup plan, Mr Franjieh called his relationship with the general “abnormal” as of late and said that he would go ahead with plotting his own bid. He also said that his candidacy had been coordinated with Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Mr Franjieh’s bid has raised fears of splits within the March 8 alliance as it has appeared to turn Hizbollah’s two Christian allies into rivals. Gen Aoun is in a marriage of convenience, rather than an ideological alliance with Hizbollah and has been seen as willing to secure the presidency and power for his party at all costs.
Gen Aoun has spent much of this year trying to build up the power and support that would allow him to be installed as president. But so far, his spirited attempts have failed. His supporters have staged a number of protests, at times violent, criticising Lebanon’s lawmakers for failing to prioritise the selection of a new president. All the while, Gen Aoun has been instrumental in blocking parliament’s attempts to elect a new president.
To be elected president, a candidate must secure a two-thirds majority vote in the 128-seat parliament. If no candidate can secure two-thirds, a candidate needs only a simple majority to win in a second round.In the initial round of voting in April of last year, Mr Geagea led with 48 votes. But since then, MPs from Gen Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement and Hizbollah have boycotted parliament sessions aimed at finding a president, stalling a second vote as the former warlord jockeyed for power. On Wednesday, parliament attempted to meet to elect a president, but as in previous attempts, the session was adjourned as there were not enough MPs in attendance to meet quorum. For all three major candidates, deal-making across the political divide seems to be the only legitimate way to win the presidency. But while Mr Franjieh’s election would represent a major breakthrough for Lebanon’s divided political parties, his pro-Syria stance could stoke dissent.
Since the conflict in neighbouring Syria began nearly five years ago, Lebanon has pursued a policy of disassociation, well aware of the strong emotions its neighbour stirs here. Syria occupied parts of Lebanon from 1976 to 2005 and its troops were only forced out of the country after mass protests following the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, Saad Hariri’s father. Today, the Syrian government is either adored or hated by Lebanese, depending on whose side they are on. Despite the policy of disassociation, Lebanon’s government has at times been accused of supporting the Syrian government, most notably by segments of the Sunni community. Pro-rebel Sunnis have been angered by the Lebanese military allowing Hizbollah to operate freely along the Lebanon-Syria border, and aid the Syrian government.
Militant Sunnis have also battled Syria’s allies in Lebanon at times over the course of the war and crossed over the border to join the ranks of rebel and extremist groups. In his interview on Thursday, Mr Franjieh did not shy away from his support for Syria’s government and his friendship with Mr Al Assad. “I will not allow anyone to interfere in my relations with president Assad,” he said. “President Assad will not demand from me anything against Lebanon.” Asked about his platform, Mr Franjieh chose a less divisive topic: Building the country’s broken infrastructure and ailing economy. “I no longer want to dream of Lebanon in a political way. I want to dream of Lebanon with 24/7 electricity, with employment opportunities, that seeks investors,” he said.
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Could Sleiman Franjieh end Lebanon’s wait for a president?
Josh Wood/The National/December 15/15
BEIRUT // For more than 18 months, political gridlock and ceaseless bickering has left Lebanon without a president. In a country where politicians cannot come to an agreement on the most basic things, such as how to get rid of the rubbish that has piled up in the capital’s streets for months, choosing a president from the small pool of Christian former warlords, military officers, businessmen and feudal leaders who are eligible for the post and command political clout is a tall order.
Parliament has met 32 times so far to try and fill the power vacuum and convenes again on Wednesday to consider the latest candidate – the divisive Sleiman Franjieh, an ally of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.
Mr Franjieh, a 50-year-old Maronite Christian, was proposed for the post last month as part of a deal that would see former prime minister Saad Hariri, a Sunni who adamantly opposes the Syrian government, return to power. The deal quickly won the backing of several powerful leaders and the Maronite Church, as well as the blessings of Saudi Arabia and France. Under a sectarian power-sharing agreement established at independence in 1943, Lebanon’s president will always be a Christian, its prime minister a Sunni and its speaker of parliament a Shiite. Despite the initial momentum behind Mr Franjieh’s candidacy, the bid has stalled in recent days. His election remains a possibility, though obstacles surrounding his run underscore the difficulties a sharply divided Lebanon faces in ending the presidential vacuum.
Mr Franjieh’s life, career and political leanings were largely shaped by one bloody night in Lebanon’s 15-year-long civil war. In 1978, when Mr Franjieh was just 13, his immediate family was massacred at their mansion in the northern town of Ehden after a rival Christian militia launched what was meant to be a decapitation strike against his father’s Marada Movement. In a war where atrocities were abundant, the Ehden massacre still stood out for its brutality, with fighters not even sparing Mr Franjieh’s three-year-old sister Jihane and, by some accounts, forcing his parents to watch her execution. By a stroke of luck, Mr Franjieh was not at home when the attackers came.
Samir Geagea, now head of the powerful Lebanese Forces party and a man who has been seen as long eyeing the presidency, is believed to have commanded the attack in Ehden. Suddenly orphaned, Mr Franjieh was brought to Syria by relatives and became close friends with Bashar Al Assad’s older brother Basel, who was being groomed for the presidency until his 1994 death in a car accident. That relationship paved the way for his close ties with Syria’s rulers that remain strong today. At 17, Mr Franjieh became the commander of the Marada Movement and its militia. With Lebanon already split politically over Syria’s civil war, Mr Franjieh’s candidacy adds to the controversy.
If he took the presidency “it would have the potential of radicalising the Sunni community and polarising the Christian one”, said Sami Nader, director of the Beirut-based Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs. “Because at the end of the day, Franjieh has always been perceived as somebody who is close to the Assad regime.” Since Syria’s civil war began, Lebanon’s leaders have maintained a policy of disassociation from the conflict and been careful not to take sides.
The election of an openly pro-Assad president could rile Lebanon’s Sunni community, large segments of which have been sympathetic to Syria’s mostly Sunni rebels. At times during the conflict, Sunni militants in Lebanon have fought against pro-Syria groups here and have also streamed across the border to join Free Syrian Army units and extremist groups. On the other side, Lebanon’s Shiite Hizbollah movement has sent its fighters into Syria to support Mr Al Assad.
“It is a fact that when he [Mr Franjieh] is president, he has to open up to the 14 of March camp,” said Mr Nader, referring to Lebanon’s anti-Syria alliance, which is led by Mr Hariri’s Future Movement, the main Sunni political party in Lebanon.
With support from Mr Hariri and Saudi Arabia, the plan to put Mr Franjieh into the presidency seems to be an attempt at a compromise with Lebanon’s pro-Syria parties, but that in itself is not enough to quell opposition to his election.
Mr Franjieh also faces significant opposition from the country’s main Christian political parties: the Phalange, the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement. While the Phalange and Lebanese Forces are in the anti-Syria camp, the Free Patriotic Movement is an ally of Hizbollah – just as Mr Franjieh’s Marada Movement is. However its leader, Michel Aoun, has thus far been unable to secure the necessary support to become president. Mr Aoun’s movement and other pro-Syria groups have boycotted parliament sessions aimed at finding a new president, forcing meetings to be adjourned over a lack of quorum.
Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has reportedly told Mr Franjieh that Mr Aoun – his group’s more powerful Christian ally – remained its first choice for the presidency. Both of Hizbollah’s Christian partners vying for the presidency puts it in a difficult position. “While it might seem that Hizbollah has a simple task of choosing between its two main Christian allies, it is also probably the easiest and fastest way to lose one of them,” said Ramez Dagher, a Lebanese political blogger. Under Lebanon’s constitution, a president is elected by a two-thirds majority in the country’s 128-member parliament. If no candidate can secure two-thirds of the vote, a second round of voting is held in which a candidate needs only a simple majority.
Mr Geagea of the Lebanese Forces led after an initial round of voting in April last year, securing 48 votes. Fifty-two MPs submitted blank ballots. He needed only 65 votes in a second round to become president, but parliament has not been able to muster a quorum since. Finding a president in Lebanon depends more on careful deal-making and negotiations than popularity. All of the top contenders for the post are former warlords, strong-headed men with significant baggage and lingering vendettas from the civil war decades ago. All face major hurdles in their quests to be elected. Without a deal cut – or a new candidate thrown into the ring – paralysis will continue.
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A Hizbullah Recruiting Push Covers Its Deeper Role in Syria
Naharnet/Associated Press/December 18/15
At tightly guarded facilities in south Lebanon, men as young as 17 undergo training by Hizbullah on weapons and anti-insurgent tactics before being sent to Syria to fight alongside President Bashar Assad's forces, according to an Associated Press report published on Friday. Hizbullah has been conducting a large recruitment drive, a sign of how the war in Syria has become perhaps the most intense conflict the group has waged. Its losses in Syria -- now more than 1,000 killed – are approaching the toll incurred by the group in 18 years of fighting the Israeli occupation of south Lebanon in the 1980s and 1990s. That conflict earned Hizbullah its reputation as Lebanon's strongest armed force.The recruitment, drawing from Lebanon's Shiite community, is even more important now as Hizbullah expands its involvement in Syria, engaging in battles deep inside the country and trying to take back rebel-held territory. "Hizbullah is both battle-weary and battle-hardened," said Bilal Saab, a resident senior fellow for Middle East Security at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security. "Hizbullah has lost many men in Syria, but it has also acquired new skills. It is overstretched, but it can operate in multiple terrains."
With strong financial and military backing from Iran, Hizbullah has been able to step up its role in Syria even while maintaining the political domination in Lebanon that it has held for several years. "Hizbullah is not weaker than the time they joined the war in Syria," said Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese general.
About 3,000 Hizbullah fighters are in Syria, roughly 15 percent of the group's main fighting force, said Jaber, who heads the Middle East Center for Studies and Political Research in Beirut and closely follows Hizbullah. It also has about 30,000 fighters it could mobilize if needed. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 1,005 Hizbullah fighters have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011, compared with 1,276 killed fighting the Israeli occupation, which ended in 2000. During the 34-day war between Hizbullah and Israel in 2006, 1,200 people were killed in Lebanon. Lebanon says most of those killed were civilians, while Israel says 600 of the dead were Hizbullah militants. The group recruits from Lebanon's Shiite population, believed to make up about a third of the country's 4.5 million people. It finds no shortage of volunteers, since Shiites have rallied around Hizbullah even more than in the past, seeing it as the community's protector amid a wave of bombings and suicide attacks by Sunni radicals against mainly Shiite areas in Lebanon since 2013. Hizbullah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has depicted the war in Syria as a fight against Sunni extremists whom he called an "existential threat."
Sunni militants fighting for the Islamic State group and al-Qaida's branch in Syria known as al-Nusra Front consider Shiites to be heretics, referring to them by the derogatory term "rawafid," or "rejectionists," and openly call for the destruction of Shiite shrines. Hizbullah's al-Manar TV often shows video encouraging Shiites to join the fight against "takfiris," a term for Sunni extremists meaning "those who declare others infidels."In May, Nasrallah said in a speech that Hizbullah could "declare general mobilization to all people. I say we might fight everywhere." Several south Lebanon residents whose relatives are fighting in Syria or have undergone training told The Associated Press that an intense recruitment campaign has been underway. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about Hizbullah's operations, which are kept largely secret. At three camps in southern Lebanon, thousands of volunteers aged 17 and up have undergone training in recent years, particularly since 2013, when the bombings took place and Syrian militants held ground near the Syrian border, the residents said.
The training lasts 60-90 days. Fighters in the past were prepared for more conventional warfare against Israel, but today they are trained for street battles and counterinsurgent tactics to deal with rebels, the residents said. Also joining the training are a small number of Shiites from other Mideast and Asian countries who came to Lebanon to study at Shiite religious institutions, the residents said. Once in Syria, the fighters wear pro-government National Defense Forces camouflage uniforms and are asked to speak with a Syrian dialect so they don't attract attention. Some elite fighters get more than $2,000 a month for being in Syria, a very good salary by Lebanon's standards. "My nephew has been fighting in Syria for two years," one of the residents said. "He comes to take some days' rest in Lebanon before going back."Hizbullah offers benefits that also motivate volunteers. The children of fighters get free education until they graduate from university. If a fighter is killed, his family continues to receive a stipend; if he is wounded, he is treated for free in the group's hospitals. Hizbullah first began sending fighters to Syria in 2012 to help protect Shiite shrines near the capital of Damascus. In May 2013, the group went in full force and captured the strategic central town of Qusayr near the border with Lebanon, a three-week battle that cost the group nearly 100 fighters, according to pro-Hizbullah media. In the following months, it cleared rebels from most of the towns near the border, sharply reducing the number of bombings in Lebanon. "We have pushed the strategic threat away from Lebanon and we want to remove the danger from Syria because this strengthens our stability in Lebanon," said Mohammed Raad, who heads Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc, during a rally in November marking the death of a Hizbullah fighter killed in Syria. "When we fight in Syria, we are defending ourselves and strengthening our security."
Since Russia began giving air cover to Assad's forces and their allies, Hizbullah fighters have been vital to the government's push to capture rebel-held areas in Latakia, Idlib and Aleppo provinces. On Wednesday, they helped government forces capture the strategic Noba Mountain in Latakia province.
But the battles come at a high cost, especially with the group losing some of its most experienced commanders. Hardly a day passes without al-Manar TV showing a funeral of Hizbullah fighters, their coffins draped with the group's yellow flag. Hizbullah does not release numbers of the dead, who they say were "martyred while performing their jihadi duties." Hassan Hussein al-Hajj, a top Hizbullah commander, was killed in October while fighting in Idlib province. His replacement, Mahdi Hassan Obeid, was killed there hours after al-Hajj was buried in his south Lebanon hometown.
In May 2014, military commander Fawzi Ayoub also was killed in Syria. Ayoub, known as Abu Abbas, was a dual Lebanese-Canadian citizen who was wanted by the FBI on charges of trying to use a forged U.S. passport to enter Israel. Hizbullah officials vow to continue fighting militants from al-Nusra Front as well as the Islamic State group in areas bordering Lebanon. "We are bent on ending the terrorist takfiri presence on our border, no matter what the sacrifices are," said Nasrallah, in a speech in June.

Obama Says Assad Must Go for Peace in Syria as Draft U.N. Resolution Calls for January Talks
Naharnet/Agencies/December 18/15/World powers seeking to end Syria's nearly five-year war agreed Friday on a draft U.N. resolution that calls for formal peace talks and a ceasefire to be launched in early January. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was to chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council at 4 pm (2100 GMT) to vote on the measure following a meeting of the 17 foreign ministers on the Syria crisis. The United States, Russia and the other three permanent Security Council members - France, Britain and China -- had sought U.N. endorsement to highlight international unity on the way forward in Syria. The draft text, obtained by AFP, states that the "only sustainable solution to the current crisis in Syria is through an inclusive and Syrian-led political process that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people." The measure draws heavily on statements agreed during previous talks in Geneva and Vienna by calling for an "inclusive transitional governing body with full executive powers" in Syria. It asks the United Nations to bring the Syrian government and the opposition to the table for formal negotiations on a political transition "with a target of early January 2016."
Assad's fate
The draft resolution, however, does not touch on one of the most contentious issues in the peace effort: the fate of Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Ahead of the council meeting, U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed the U.S. stance that Assad must leave power during his Washington year-end news conference.
"I think that Assad is going to have to leave in order for the country to stop the blood(shed), for all the parties involved to be able to move forward in a nonsectarian way," Obama said. "He has lost legitimacy in the eyes of the country."Obama said Assad's remaining in power, after having chosen to "slaughter" his people rather than pursue an inclusive political transition, "is not feasible.""As a consequence, our view has been that you cannot bring peace to Syria, you cannot get an end to the civil war unless you have a government that it is recognized as legitimate by a majority of that country. It will not happen," he said. He said Kerry's efforts in New York offered "an opportunity, not to turn back the clock -- it's going to be difficult to completely overcome the devastation that's happened in Syria already -- but to find a political transition that maintains the Syrian state, that recognizes a bunch of stakeholders inside of Syria and hopefully to initiate a ceasefire." He said such a ceasefire "won't be perfect, but allows all the parties to turn on what should be our number one focus and that is destroying Daesh and its allies in the region."Daesh is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group, the jihadist movement that now controls large parts of Syria and Iraq, and claimed responsibility for the terror attacks in Paris November 13.
More than 250,000 people have died since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011, and millions more have fled their homes. The New York talks were the first meeting of the so-called International Syria Support Group since Saudi Arabia gathered a coalition of Syria rebel groups to form an opposition negotiating team. Jordan's foreign minister said he was finalizing a list of terrorist groups in Syria that will be excluded from the talks, along with the blacklisted Islamic State group and the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front. "The initial work has been done. Now I think that there will be follow-up meetings," said Nasser Judeh, adding that countries had submitted between 10 and 20 names each. Under the Vienna process, there would be a six-month political transition period once a ceasefire began -- but the rebels have demanded that Assad step down immediately.
Russia has dismissed this idea and Kerry admitted this week in Moscow that it was a "non-starter."Kerry traveled to Moscow this week to assure the Syrian leader's key ally Russian President Vladimir Putin that Washington is not seeking "regime change" in Syria.In New York, the top U.S. diplomat sought to reassure Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir that the United States is not going soft on Assad.
Unrealistic timetable
The diplomatic balancing act aims to keep both Moscow and Riyadh on board as big powers aim to build momentum for peace talks and a ceasefire. Syria's main opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said however that achieving a ceasefire by January 1 was unrealistic and demanded that Russia halt air strikes as part of that truce. Najib Ghadbian, the SNC's envoy to the United Nations, said opposition groups need "a month or so" to prepare for political talks that would begin in tandem with a ceasefire. On the eve of U.N. talks, Assad warned in an interview with Dutch television that misguided efforts to bring about regime change would make the conflict "drag on." Under a deal struck last month in Vienna, government and rebel negotiators would have six months to form a transitional government and 18 months to organize national elections. Assad, in his interview with Dutch television, turned sarcastic when asked whether he was comforted that Washington's stance on his departure was seemingly softening. "I was packing my luggage. I had to leave, but now I can stay," he said. Aside from the hosts, the New York meeting brought together Britain, the UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, China, Egypt, Germany, France, Iran, Iraq and Italy.The European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League were also represented.

Suspected Russia Raids Kill 32 Civilians in North Syria
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/Suspected Russian air strikes have killed 32 civilians, half of them women and children, in three areas in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said warplanes bombarded Raqa, the Islamic State group's de facto Syrian capital, as well as the towns of Azaz and Al-Bab in Aleppo province, on Thursday. Six children and 11 women were among the dead, and dozens of people were wounded, the Britain-based monitor said. The toll in Raqa also included two rescue workers, according to Abdel Rahman, but he said no suspected militants were killed in the three areas that were hit. Russia has been conducting an intense air war on armed opposition groups throughout Syria for nearly three months. But its campaign has been criticised by the West and by rebels for targeting non-jihadist groups and incurring civilian casualties. The Observatory says it distinguishes between strikes carried out by Syrian, Russian and U.S.-led coalition aircraft based on flight patterns indicating whether planes took off from inside the country, as well as the type of planes and ordnance used. It identifies those killed through its broad network of activists, medical workers at local hospitals, and fighters on the ground. According to Abdel Rahman, Russian strikes since September 30 have left 1,900 people dead, including 635 civilians. The toll includes 526 IS jihadists and 739 other opposition fighters, including Islamists and rebels. More than 250,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011.

Two Ballistic Missiles Fired at Saudi from Yemen as Loyalists Take Provincial Capital
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/Yemeni forces and allied tribes captured Friday the capital of the northern Jawf province, the second rebel town to fall in 24 hours as a ceasefire appears to have collapsed, tribal sources said.News of Hazm's fall came as the Saudi-led coalition that has fought rebels for months said two ballistic missiles were launched from at Saudi Arabia from Yemen. Troops loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and allied tribesmen seized Hazm after making significant gains in Marib, to the immediate south of Jawf, the sources said. On Thursday, Yemeni troops captured the northwestern town of Haradh after crossing over from Saudi Arabia where they had been trained and equipped. About 1,000 soldiers were involved in the operation to take the town, a military official said, adding that "intensive fighting took place in Haradh."He said dozens of renegade troops allied with the Iran-backed Huthi Shiite rebels had been killed. Riyadh said that one missile fired Friday was intercepted by the kingdom's air defenses, while the other hit an area of desert east of the Saudi city of Najran. It did not mention any casualties. A spokesman of troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh acknowledged firing two ballistic missiles. But contrary to the coalition claim of shooting down one missile over Marib, Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman said a Tochka missile targeted a base for "mercenaries" in Marib.He said another missile, Qahir 1, targeted an assembly point for "aggression forces" in Najran, adding that the missiles were launched in "retaliation" for violations of the truce by the coalition. Clashes have been frequent along the Saudi border, where rebel strikes have killed more than 80 people since March, when the coalition campaign against the rebels began. The fragile ceasefire has been repeatedly violated since it took effect on Tuesday to coincide with U.N.-sponsored peace talks being held behind closed doors in Switzerland, and the coalition warned that it was close to abandoning it.

World Powers Bring Syria Peace Plan to U.N.
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/The world powers most implicated in Syria's civil war met Friday to renew efforts to bind Bashar Assad's regime and its rebel foes into a ceasefire and peace talks. Convened by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, 17 foreign ministers gathered at a New York hotel. Later, they were to head across the city to the United Nations and seek the support of the Security Council for their plan to achieve a political settlement to the almost five-year civil war. The New York talks are the first meeting of the International Syria Support Group since Saudi Arabia gathered a coalition of Syria rebel groups to form an opposition negotiating team. If the ministers give their support to Saudi Arabia's planned rebel delegation, pressure will mount on Russia to bring its ally Assad to the table for talks on a political transition.
"Here in New York we will be seeking to harmonize as much as possible the opposition position with what we discussed in Vienna," German Foreign Minister Frank Walter-Steinmeier said. Under the Vienna process agreed last month, there would be a six month political transition period once a ceasefire began -- but the rebels have demanded that Assad step down immediately. Russia has dismissed this idea and Kerry admitted this week in Moscow that it was a "non-starter."
"The most important task is to move forward towards a real ceasefire," Steinmeier added, in a broadcast by his ministry. Aside from the hosts, the ISSG meeting brought together Britain, the UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Lebanon, Jordan, China, Egypt, Germany, France, Iran, Iraq and Italy.
The European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Arab League were also represented. Kerry traveled to Moscow this week to assure the Syrian leader's key ally Russian President Vladimir Putin that Washington is not seeking "regime change" in Syria. And in New York, the top US diplomat has sought to reassure Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir that the United States is not going soft on the Syrian strongman. The high-stakes diplomatic balancing act aims to keep both Moscow and Riyadh on board as the ISSG aims to build momentum for peace talks and a ceasefire to start as early as January 1. On the eve of U.N. talks, Assad warned in an interview with Dutch television that misguided efforts to bring about regime change would make the conflict "drag on." He argued that only backers Russia and Iran -- not the West -- were ready to resolve his country's nearly five-year conflict. If a ceasefire can be reached in Syria's four-and-a-half-year-old civil war, then Syrian troops, Russia and a US-led coalition can focus their fire on the hardline jihadist Islamic State group. Under a deal struck last month in Vienna, government and rebel negotiators would have six months to form a transitional government and 18 months to organize national elections.
Questions remain
But several questions still hang over the process. Will Assad and his foreign backers Russia and Iran agree to sit down with rebel groups they routinely denounce as "terrorists"? And, will the rebels and their foreign backers countenance talks with a regime that has slaughtered thousands of its own citizens with barrel bombs and poison gas? Even if a ceasefire is possible, who would monitor it? And who would lead the fight against the IS group and others, such as al-Qaida's al-Nusra Front, left outside of the peace process? U.S. diplomats concede that the plan is ambitious and that success is not certain, but they hope that Russia and Saudi Arabia will cajole their rival Syrian allies to the table. President Vladimir Putin, they reason, will not want to see the Russian forces he sent to Syria to shore up Assad's beleaguered regime bogged down in an open-ended conflict.Meanwhile, the threat of Islamic State group attacks and waves of Syrian war refugees spilling out from Syria into the Middle East and Europe has concentrated minds in other foreign capitals.
'I was packing'
Assad, in his interview with Dutch television, turned sarcastic when asked whether he was comforted that Washington's stance on his departure was seemingly softening. "I was packing my luggage, I had to leave, but now I can stay," he said. More than 250,000 people have died since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011, and millions more have fled their homes. On Friday, British-based watchdog the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights alleged that a Russian air strike in support of Assad's forces had killed 32 civilians in northern Syria.

Riyadh-based Syria Grouping Says No Direct Assad Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/A Riyadh-based Syrian opposition grouping preparing for possible talks with the Damascus regime said Friday it will not talk to President Bashar Assad himself. "We're not entering any negotiation until all the points in 'Geneva 1' are applied, which is that Assad and his government must not be in power, the transitional period has to be without him and he must be tried for his crimes," said Riad Hijab, a former Syrian prime minister who defected in 2012. He was referring to international talks on Syria's future held that same year in Switzerland. "Either that, or no negotiation," Hijab told reporters, following his election as general coordinator for a High Committee set up at unprecedented talks last week in the Saudi capital to unify political and armed Syrian factions. The future of Assad is a key issue in efforts to end Syria's nearly five-year-old conflict that has left more than 250,000 dead and forced millions from their homes. Western- and Arab-backed rebel groups have insisted the Syrian leader step down immediately. Internal opposition groups disagree, as do Assad's main backers Tehran and Moscow. About 100 representatives of the main Syrian political opposition and armed factions agreed in Riyadh to negotiate with the regime but insisted he step down at the start of any political transition. The Islamic State jihadist group which has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq, and the al-Qaida affiliated al-Nusra Front were excluded from the Riyadh meeting. Kurdish fighters were also left out. The Riyadh gathering came after top diplomats from 17 countries -- including backers and opponents of Assad -- agreed in Vienna on a roadmap for Syria. It would see a transitional government set up within six months followed by elections within 18 months. It calls for negotiations between the opposition and Assad's regime to start by January 1.

Off Syrian Coast, Russian Warship Backs up Air Campaign
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/Captain Alexander Shvarts watched on as the iron covers whirred open on the air defense system aboard the Russian navy's Mosvka missile cruiser off the Syrian coast. "This system can fire up to twelve missiles at any one time," Shvarts said Thursday during a highly choreographed press tour of the ship arranged by the Russian defense ministry. "The range is around 70 kilometers (43 miles)." The Moskva -- flagship of Russia's Crimea-based Black Sea Fleet -- is the largest warship the Kremlin has sent to support its bombing campaign in the war-torn nation. It is patrolling some 10 nautical miles (13 kilometers) offshore in the eastern Mediterranean, Until about three weeks ago, the Soviet-era craft, built in 1983, was further out to sea providing protection for ships delivering supplies for the Russian base on land. But after a Turkish F-16 fighter blasted a Russian jet out of the sky along the Syrian border it was ordered closer to shore to help ward off any future attacks on Russian planes bombing across Syria. "Now our main task is to provide air cover for the Russian base at Hmeimim in Syria and for the Russian planes carrying our their tasks over the country," Shvarts said. Russia has bolstered its bombing campaign in Syria from the water -- firing cruise missiles from a submarine in the Mediterranean earlier this month and from warships in the Caspian Sea far to the east. The Moskva, however, is designed primarily to take out other vessels at sea and aircraft in the sky and has not used any of its fierce array of weaponry in the Syrian operation. That includes Vulkan missiles, designed to sink other warships. They can be armed with nuclear warheads, although there are none currently on board. "It would be like shooting sparrows with a cannon," military spokesman Igor Konashenkov told AFP during a tour of the ship. "These are just not the right weapons to use to hit our targets in Syria." After the downing of its jet by Turkey Moscow also rushed its latest S-400 air defense system to the Hmeimim base in Syria. That system has a range and capacity that far outstrips the weaponry on board the Moskva, meaning the ship may not have much strategic necessity. But by dispatching a key warship like the Moskva -- with its crew of some 500 -- the Kremlin seems to be making a clear statement of strength. During the press tour for some few dozen journalists from Russia, Syria and international outlets -- the first of its kind to a ship involved in the Syria operation -- the military proudly showed off the bristling array of hardware on board. The huge gun turrets swiveled back and forth and rocket systems were primed for the cameras. "Overall, including the Moskva, we have 11 vessels in this area involved in the operation, including landing ships, smaller missile boats and supply craft," said Commander Oleg Krivorog. Now the Moskva remains roving up and down the coast of Syria -- and it does not look like it will be returning to its home port of Sevastopol any time soon. "We are waiting now for a rotation and to receive new crew," Captain Shvarts told AFP as he bid farewell to the journalists. "As for any date on the end of our mission, that I am not going to talk about."

Report: German Secret Service in Talks with Syrian Spies
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/Germany's foreign intelligence service BND has resumed cooperation with the Syrian secret service in the fight against Islamist extremists, according to a newspaper report Friday. The BND declined to comment on the report by Bild daily which comes as Berlin and other Western governments shun official cooperation with Syrian President Bashar Assad over his regime's abuses. The mass-circulation daily, citing unnamed "informed sources", said BND agents had been traveling regularly to Damascus for talks with their Syrian counterparts and that the service wanted to reopen an office there. The BND told AFP that it only informs the government and a parliamentary oversight panel of "operative aspects" of its work, and a spokeswoman for Chancellor Angela Merkel also declined comment at a press conference. Bild said the aim of the contact was to exchange information on Islamist extremists and to open a channel of communication in the event of any potential crisis, such as a German Tornado pilot being shot down over territory held by jihadists.Germany has deployed Tornado surveillance aircraft and other non-combat military support to the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group, which controls wide areas of Syria and Iraq. Merkel has argued the world must seek a diplomatic solution to the Syrian conflict to end the killing there, to better focus on fighting IS, and to reduce massive refugee flows to Europe. But she has repeatedly stressed that this must not include cooperation with Assad, who, she said, "keeps dropping barrel bombs on his own people", and whose regime was the main cause of the refugee exodus.

Syria's Assad: Focus on Regime Change a Barrier to Peace
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/Syria's conflict could be over in less than a year, but misguided efforts to bring about regime change will make it "drag on," Syrian President Bashar Assad said late Thursday. In an interview with Dutch television station NPO2, the embattled leader said only regime backers Russia and Iran -- not the West -- were ready to resolve Syria's nearly five-year war. "None of them, only Russia and Iran and their allies, and the other countries that support politically the Syrian government... but not the West, no one in the West is ready," Assad said, speaking in English. His remarks came on the eve of the third round of global talks in New York between 17 countries, including Russia and Iran, aimed at resolving the conflict. But Assad said the war could be over in less than a year "if the responsible countries take actions against the flood" of foreign fighters flocking to Syria. "But the problem is that they are still supporting them on daily basis... because they want the solution, what they called a political solution, to be ended with the changing of this state," Assad said. "So, that's why it will drag on."He also suggested that the model of local ceasefires was working across Syria, after an agreement overseen by the United Nations brought the last rebel-held neighbourhood of the iconic central city of Homs under government control. "We made negotiations with a group of those in order to go back to their normal lives, to give up their armaments, and to have amnesty, and it worked, and this is a real solution on the ground now," Assad said. Still, he said, "all of them are terrorists."Syria's government refers to all of its opponents, including unarmed activists, as "terrorists."Assad's relaxed manner turned to sarcasm when asked whether he was comforted that the West's stances on his departure were seemingly softening. "I was packing my luggage, I had to leave, but now I can stay," the thin president said sardonically. More than 250,000 people have died in Syria's war, which began with demonstrations against Assad but evolved into a brutal conflict after a government crackdown.

New Kurd-Arab Alliance Seeks Role as Player in Syria Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/Empowered by an effective fighting force on the ground, a newly-formed Kurdish-Arab alliance in Syria is working to position itself as a player in any future peace negotiations with Damascus. Top international envoys gathered in New York on Friday to push towards a resolution to Syria's nearly five-year war and discuss the formation of an opposition delegation for talks with the regime. Although less than three weeks old, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) is keen to secure a role in that delegation. The SDC's speedy rise to prominence comes from its links to the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters battling jihadists in northeast Syria. The SDF is dominated by the powerful Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD). Since October, the SDF has pushed back Islamic State group fighters from swathes of land in Hasakeh province -- with the help of air strikes from the U.S.-led coalition. And in early December, Kurdish, Arab and other political figures gathered at a two-day conference inside Syria to create the SDC as the political branch of the SDF.It is the SDF's "military weight," Syria analyst Thomas Pierret told AFP, that has made the SDC a force that cannot be ignored in peace talks.
SDC 'cannot be overlooked'
The SDC's formation coincided with a landmark meeting of representatives from Syria's armed and political opposition in Saudi Arabia. The Riyadh conference saw anti-regime factions agree to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar Assad while insisting he must step down at the start of a transition period. They created a 33-member "supreme committee" to select members of a future negotiating team. But the meeting in Riyadh excluded both the PYD and the YPG, whose relations with most Arab rebel groups have been tense. Activists and opposition factions accuse the YPG of cooperating with government troops and of ethnic cleansing of Arabs in areas under Kurdish control. But according to a political figure close to the talks in New York, Russia and the United States are considering the SDC's inclusion in an opposition team. "The Americans found in the Riyadh conference a step forward, but it wasn't enough," the source said. Moscow and Washington will discuss "a united delegation with members of the Riyadh conference and the SDC" in New York, he added. Samir Nashar, a member of the opposition National Coalition, told AFP of "unconfirmed pieces of information" that a Russian-American agreement would see PYD head Saleh Muslim and SDC co-chair Haytham Manna join the opposition team.
Syria Kurds dominate council
"The SDC is a new voice that cannot be overlooked," Manna told AFP by telephone from France. "We are ready to discuss with the Riyadh body, as a part of the opposition, either to create a joint delegation or to find a path forward," he said. "The SDC is not an alternative for any of these, but is the nucleus of a democratic, secular front that aspires for a state of law."Manna himself pulled out of the Riyadh talks in protest at the participation of Islamist groups. The veteran dissident said the SDC sought a Syria "that has separation of powers, sets limits for the relationship between religion and state, and sees all men and women as equal citizens."But the SDC's real power, according to analysts, stems from its military branch -- in particular, the seasoned fighters of the YPG. Manna's participation in the council serves "to provide it with Arab and moderate opposition credentials," analyst Thomas Pierret told AFP. Despite his experience, Manna's "political weight is insignificant compared to the PYD's proto-state," he said. Syria expert Fabrice Balanche said: "For the Kurds, who are the essential component of the SDC, the council is a way to have a relationship with the West."

Turkey Says Close to Deal with Israel on Normalization
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/Turkey and Israel are nearing agreement on a deal to normalize ties after positive progress was made on Ankara's key demands in closed-door negotiations, a Turkish official said on Friday. Israeli officials had the day earlier revealed that Israel and Turkey in secret talks in Switzerland had reached "understandings" to normalize ties that were downgraded following the deadly 2010 Israeli commando raid on a Turkish aid ship headed for the Gaza Strip. A senior Turkish government official, who asked not to be named, told reporters that progress had been made on Turkey's key demands of lifting the blockade on the Gaza Strip and compensation over the 2010 raid. "We are close to a final framework" for a deal on the normalization of ties, said the official. "There is tangible, positive progress."The official emphasized that no final agreement had yet been signed but said Ankara hoped the two sides would come to a final accord soon."We hope it will not last long" before there is an agreement, said the official. The official did not confirm Israeli media reports that Turkey will prevent senior Hamas operative Salah Aruri from entering its territory and acting from there. "We did not discuss specific names. If Israel has that demand it will be discussed," said the official. Once the normalization was agreed, individual issues could be discussed such as Turkey importing gas from Israel, added the official.

Neighborhood Tensions Push Turkey to Israel Rapprochement
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/ Seeking to make up for drastically worsening ties with neighbors Iran and Russia as well as bolstering its energy security, Turkey is moving to restore full relations with Israel after falling out more than five years ago. NATO member Turkey was for years seen as the main Muslim ally of Israel, but ambassadors were withdrawn following the deadly storming by Israeli commandos in 2010 of a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza. But in a surprise announcement, Israeli officials said Thursday that initial understandings had been agreed with Turkey at secret talks in Switzerland on normalizing ties. Turkish officials said no agreement on reconciliation had yet been reached but confirmed for the first time that the discussions were making progress. The talks -- led by Mossad chief Yossi Cohen for Israel and Turkey's powerful foreign ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu -- have also been accompanied by a conspicuous change in tone from Turkey's outspoken President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan, a stout defender of the Palestinian cause, in July 2014 was accusing Israel of "keeping Hitler's spirit alive" over its offensive in the Gaza Strip that summer -- incendiary comments that infuriated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But this week he said: "We, Israel and the Palestinians and the region have a lot to win from a normalization process."
'Changing dynamics' -
The about-turn has come amid a drastic worsening of ties between Turkey and Russia following Ankara's downing of a Russian warplane over Syria on November 24, which has wrecked several joint cooperation projects including on energy. In a rapidly-changing regional context, mainly Sunni Muslim Turkey's relations with mainly Shiite Iran -- Israel's arch foe -- are deteriorating as Tehran assists Syrian President Bashar Assad, who Ankara wants ousted. "During the past few years, we heard a number of times that Turkey and Israel were about to mend their relations, but each time the process collapsed," said Marc Pierini, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe. "This time around, there are a number of reasons for both countries to make a fresh effort," he told AFP. He said Turkey was confronted with "a largely stalled Middle East policy... It needs some real positive news."Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu coined the phrase describing Turkish foreign policy as "zero problems with neighbours", a comment that is now roundly mocked as Ankara faces troubles on almost all its borders amid the Syrian civil war. With President Vladimir Putin in no mood for forgiveness, the dispute with Moscow is of major concern for Ankara, which relies on Russia for over half its natural gas imports. Despite delays, Israel is set to become an important supplier of natural gas once its 18.9 trillion cubic feet Leviathan gas field begins production, a development Turkey is closely watching. "Israeli gas could be a serious game changer while Turkey is having problems with its biggest gas supplier Russia," said Ozgur Altug, chief economist of BGC partners in Istanbul. Verda Ozer, foreign policy commentator at the Hurriyet newspaper, said the sudden progress was due to "the changing dynamics in the region and the new balance of power". "The gas dispute with Russia and joint energy projects that could be halted forced Ankara to seek alternatives," she wrote Friday.
'Tangible progress' -
According to Israeli officials, the start of talks on gas exports to Turkey is a one of the key points in the plan for a deal on normalizing ties. Israel will also compensate victims of the 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara ship that left 10 activists dead, but Turkey will drop all legal proceedings over the issue, according to Israel. Meanwhile, Turkey will prevent senior Hamas operative Salah Aruri from entering its territory. The reconciliation is not yet a done deal. A senior Turkish official said Friday the two sides had not signed an agreement but were nearing a final framework. "There is tangible, positive progress," said the official.
Relations were damaged but never entirely broken. Trade doubled in the period from 2009 to 2014, while Israeli tourists are again returning to Turkey. The reconciliation will also please the European Union, NATO and above all the United States, which in 2013 brokered an Israeli apology for the Mavi Marmara incident but not a final deal. Pierini said that in 2016 Turkey could also be seeking "good news" on ending the four-decades division of Cyprus and the dispute with Armenia over whether Ottoman-era killings constituted genocide.

Israeli Troops Kill Two Palestinians in West Bank, Gaza Unrest
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/Two Palestinians tried on Friday to run down Israeli police and soldiers in the occupied West Bank, with one attacker shot dead and the other wounded, Israeli officials said. And in the Gaza Strip, soldiers shot dead a Palestinian and wounded dozens more in border clashes, the Gaza health ministry said. Near the village of Silwad, northwest of the West Bank city of Ramallah, a man was killed as he tried unsuccessfully to steer his vehicle into a group of border police and soldiers who were engaged at the time in a clash with Palestinians, police said. A statement said that the Israeli forces saw him coming and took cover behind a concrete barrier, escaping injury."They opened fire at the terrorist... He was declared dead at the scene," the statement said. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian protester and wounded another 41 people during clashes along the border with Israel, the Palestinian health ministry said. Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP that Mahmud al-Agha, 20, was killed, while 31 of the wounded were hit by live fire and the other 10 by rubber bullets. A wave of violence has claimed the lives of 122 on the Palestinian side, 17 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean since the start of October. Many of the Palestinians killed have been attackers, while others have been shot dead by Israeli security forces during clashes. Earlier Friday in the West Bank, a Palestinian driver tried unsuccessfully to run down Israeli security forces before he was shot, wounded and arrested, police said. "A Palestinian terrorist... drove at speed toward police and soldiers in an attempt to ram them," before his vehicle hit a concrete pillar and he got out and ran toward them, shouting, police said. "A guard fired at his lower body and wounded him," it said, adding that he was treated at the scene and placed under arrest. Police said the guards had first fired warning shots in the air and ordered the man to stop. The incident occurred at the Qalandiya checkpoint, near Ramallah and close to Qalandiya refugee camp, where soldiers on Wednesday shot dead two Palestinians who tried to ram their cars into troops in separate attacks.
Journalists tear-gassed
An AFP journalist at the scene of the Qalandiya incident said the wounded Palestinian could be seen sitting on a stretcher as security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse journalists. The site is close to the family home of 14-year-old Hadeel Awwad, shot dead by an Israeli policeman after stabbing and wounding a man in a Jerusalem market last month. Israeli authorities finally released her body on Friday to enable the family to bury her and ahead of the funeral young Palestinians hurled stones at soldiers, who responded by firing tear gas. In the southern West Bank, soldiers shot a Palestinian in the head, seriously wounding him, during clashes near the flashpoint city of Hebron, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. Palestinians have grown frustrated with Israel's occupation, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership, while international efforts to restore calm have so far failed.

Yemen Rebels Snub Meeting on 4th Day of Peace Talks as Truce Teeters
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/Yemen rebels taking part in peace talks in Switzerland snubbed a meeting early Friday, a member of the opposing government delegation said, as a fragile ceasefire appeared to be crumbling on the ground. "A meeting was scheduled this morning. We waited for them and they did not show up," said a member of the delegation representing Yemen's government at the U.N.-sponsored talks in the small northwestern town of Magglingen. "Last night, they already expressed reservations," he told AFP, requesting anonymity. He stressed though that the rebels had not announced they were pulling out of talks, and might still turn up for a new session scheduled Friday afternoon. In Geneva, U.N. spokesman Ahmad Fawzi dismissed questions over whether the rebels were boycotting the talks, insisting Friday's meeting had been scheduled to start late to allow participants the possibility to partake in Friday prayers. Asked how long the talks would continue, Fawzi said "it is totally unpredictable," pointing out that the open-ended talks had been expected to go on for at least a week, "but they could end at any time." He stressed that U.N. special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed "is working very hard to bring the sides closer together on substantive issues."Yemen's more-than-year-long conflict has pitted local forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi's government against Shiite Huthis and renegade troops still loyal to wealthy ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Since Saudi-led airstrikes against the rebels began in March, some 6,000 people have died and another 28,000 have been injured, according to U.N. figures. Since the peace talks opened in Switzerland Tuesday, journalists have been held at bay and the U.N. has requested that the rival delegations refrain from making any comments to the media. But the U.N. announced a first breakthrough in the talks Thursday, saying the sides had agreed to "allows for a full and immediate resumption of humanitarian assistance" in the flashpoint Yemeni city of Taez. That statement also said issues on the agenda over the coming days would include developing a plan for a sustainable ceasefire and the release of prisoners. A source within the rebel delegation, which represents both the Iran-backed Huthi Shiite rebels and renegade troops still loyal to wealthy ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, told AFP the delegation had not agreed on all the points discussed. Word that the talks were struggling in Switzerland came as the fragile ceasefire on the ground that began simultaneously with the talks on Tuesday appeared to fall to pieces. Yemeni forces and allied tribes on Friday captured the capital of northern Jawf province, the second rebel town to fall in 24 hours.News of the seizure of Hazm came as the Saudi-led coalition that has fought rebels for months said two ballistic missiles were launched from Yemen towards Saudi Arabia.

African Union Agrees in Principle to Send Troops to Burundi
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 18/15/The African Union has agreed to send troops to stop violence in Burundi, a senior official said Friday, after talks in which the 54-member bloc warned it would not allow "another genocide". The move comes as international alarm grows over spiraling violence in the tiny, landlocked nation which has been mired in bloodshed since April, sparking concern it was sliding towards civil war. The AU's Peace and Security Council (PSC) "took a decision yesterday to send troops to protect civilians," senior AU official Bonaventure Cakpo Guebegde told AFP. "These troops will be under the banner of the East African Standby Force (EASF)."No decision has been made on the potential size of any force, which would require the agreement of Burundi, or a vote by AU presidents before any deployment is approved. Earlier this week U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was dispatching an envoy for urgent talks to end the crisis, warning that the country was "on the brink of a civil war that risks engulfing the entire region." And on Thursday, the U.N.'s top rights body agreed it would send a team of independent experts to Burundi to probe widespread abuses there. Burundi descended into bloodshed in April when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his intention to run for a controversial third term, which he went on to win in July. Nkurunziza is an ex-rebel and born-again Christian who believes he has divine backing to rule. Earlier this month Ban said that deploying U.N. peacekeepers was an option to quell the violence but recommended that a U.N. team be first sent to help bolster dialogue. Burundi has so far dismissed proposals for any peacekeeping force. "We have two options: we send troops with Burundi government consent, or we wait for African Union heads of states' consent, which means that two-thirds at least should agree," the AU's Guebegde said. He said the number of troops to send had "not been fully determined yet" and could not comment on whether Bujumbura had reacted to the proposal. "Our favorite option is to reach an agreement with Burundian government," he said. AU security council chief Smail Chergui said there was "a very clear message" from Thursday's meeting: "The killings in Burundi must stop immediately." At the talks, ministers were briefed on "contingency planning" on the military capabilities of its regional EASF force without giving further details. The 10-nation EASF includes Burundi itself, and is one of five AU regional bodies with a mandate to boost "peace and security". It has never deployed and is currently a force in principle only. "Africa will not allow another genocide to take place on its soil," the PSC said on Twitter during Thursday's meeting. AU rights investigators this week returned from a fact-finding mission to Burundi expressing "great concern" after witnessing some of the heaviest fighting in the troubled country for months. The AU team said they had reports of "arbitrary killings and targeted assassinations" as well as arrests, detentions and torture. Their concerns have been widely echoed. At a special session in Geneva on Thursday, the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously decided to urgently send investigators to the central African country to investigate widespread rights abuses. U.N. rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said the country of around 11 million, which has seen more than 220,000 flee the violence, was "on the very cusp of civil war". The upsurge in violence has raised fears of a return to civil war, a decade after the end of a 1993-2006 conflict between rebels from the Hutu majority and an army dominated by minority Tutsis, which left 300,000 people dead.

Canada and international community call on Iran to improve its human rights record
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2015/12/18/canada-and-international-community-call-on-iran-to-improve-its-human-rights-record/
December 18, 2015 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today welcomed the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the resolution on the situation of human rights in Iran.
The resolution, presented by Canada and 44 other co-sponsors to the UN General Assembly, reiterates international concern that Iran continues to ignore its commitments and to disregard its obligations under international human rights law and its own domestic law.
Working in concert with a cross-regional group of countries, Canada has played a leading role on the United Nations General Assembly resolution on the human rights situation in Iran since 2003. Action at the UN, including through this resolution, has helped maintain international attention on the human rights situation in Iran.
Through this resolution, the international community continues to encourage meaningful and lasting human rights reform in Iran. This includes calling for concrete action to address the most serious human rights violations in Iran.
The text of the resolution acknowledges the steps that Iran has begun to take to lessen human rights violations in specific areas, such as increasing access to minority-language education and strengthening services for victims of domestic violence. However, the human rights situation remains grave and has even worsened in some respects, with violations outweighing these modest reforms.
Quotes
“The adoption of this resolution, presented to the UN General Assembly by Canada and 44 other co-sponsors, demonstrates that Canada and the international community remain deeply concerned about Iran’s human rights record. We call on the Government of Iran to implement its human rights obligations to ensure the full enjoyment of human rights for all people in Iran.
“The text of the resolution reflects both the areas where human rights violations continue and those areas where Iran is taking steps to improve the human rights situation. The resolution serves as a powerful signal to human rights defenders and the Iranian people that Canada and the international community stand with them.”
- The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Quick facts
Iran continues to execute more individuals per capita than any other country in the world.
Between January 1 and September 15, 2015, at least 694 individuals were reportedly executed. Iran continues to impose the death penalty to juvenile offenders, and does so without recourse to adequate fair trial standards.
Persecution of religious and ethnic minorities persists in law and in practice.
Freedom of expression, assembly and association are restricted through the use of harassment, intimidation, prosecution and detention.
Gender-based discrimination in matters of civil, political, social, cultural and economic rights continues to overshadow the advances Iran has achieved in women’s education and health.
Associated links
October 2015 report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Secretary-General’s September 2015 report on human rights in Iran
UN Third Committee resolution on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Contacts
Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
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Will Iran end the death penalty for drug smuggling?
Arash Karami/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
Iran, which executes more people per capita than any other country in the world, is taking preliminary steps to reduce the use of the death penalty in drug-related cases, although many believe it will be difficult to implement such a change. Iran's staggering number of drug-related executions in the country is on pace to exceed 1,000 for 2015, according to the UN investigator for Iran, Ahmed Shaheed. In July, Iran officially announced the executions of 246 people, but Amnesty International placed the number then at 694. The Iranian parliament's website reported Dec. 8 that 70 MPs signed on to a bill to eliminate the death penalty for nonviolent drug smuggling in the country. Many activists and Iranians on social media welcomed the news. On the other hand, officials who spoke to Shargh Daily in a Dec. 17 article said change will take time and face stiff opposition. There are 290 members of parliament.
Mohammad Ali Asfanany, a member of parliament’s Judicial and Legal Committee, told Shargh there have been no sessions devoted to the issue since the proposal was presented. Asfanany seemed skeptical that anything will be done soon, saying, “Entering this issue, we must be observant of sensitivities because this is a very difficult task.”Asfanany said an expert review and more discussions are needed to answer all the questions of those opposed. “We’re at the beginning of the path and must not rush," he said. In an interview with the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency, Mir-Hadi Gharaseyyed Romiani, also a member of parliament’s Judicial and Legal Committee, said some prisoners could be released and some could have lengthy sentences reduced or removed. “Iran has paid a heavy price in its fight preventing the transit of drugs to Europe, and most of the executions are related to this issue,” Gharaseyyed Romiani noted. Iranian officials seem divided over this issue depending on their agency. Saeed Safatian, former director for treatment at Iran Drug Control headquarters, told the Health and Treatment News Agency on Dec. 16 he is in favor of ending the death penalty in nonviolent drug cases. He challenged the penalty's value, saying the number of traffickers has increased while the law has been in effect. Ali Moayedi, Iran’s anti-narcotics police chief, however, argued against the proposal, saying laws decreasing the punishment for drug smuggling have "opened the path for drug smugglers.”Mohammad Javad Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Human Rights Council, who usually spends considerable time countering allegations from the UN’s Shaheed, said that if the bill is passed, “80% of the executions will go away.”

But ISIS Kills More Muslims Than Non-Muslims!”
Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/December 18/15
With the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, or IS), an old apologia meant to exonerate Islam of violence has become prominent again. Because ISIS is killing other Muslims, so the argument goes, obviously its violence cannot be based on Islam, which bans Muslims from killing fellow Muslims in its name.
This point is always stressed whenever Islamic jihadis commit massacres in the West. Speaking soon after the San Bernardino terror attack that left 14 dead, U.S. president Obama, who earlier insisted that the Islamic State “is not Islamic,” elaborated:
ISIL does not speak for Islam. They are thugs and killers, part of a cult of death… Moreover, the vast majority of terrorist victims around the world are Muslim (emphasis added).
Similarly, after last November’s Paris terrorist attack, which left 129 people dead, the UK’s Independent published an article titled, “Paris attacks: Isis responsible for more Muslim deaths than western victims.” And the Daily Beast argued that, “Before the Paris horror, ISIS was killing Muslims on a daily basis. We Muslims despise these crazy people more than anyone else does…. But the number one victim of this barbaric terror group is Muslims. That’s undisputed.”
Along with distancing Islam from violence—real Muslims are not supposed to kill other Muslims in the name of jihad—this argument further clouds the issue of who is the true victim of Islamic terrorism: Why talk about the Muslim slaughter of non-Muslims—whether Western people in Paris or California, or Christian minorities under Islam—when it is Muslims who are the primary victims most deserving of sympathy?
Yet this argument is flawed on several levels. First, the Islamic State does not view its victims as Muslims. Indeed, mainstream Sunni Islam—the world’s dominant strand of Islam which ISIS adheres to—views all non-Sunnis as false Muslims; at best, they are heretics who need to submit to the “true Islam.”
This is largely how Sunnis view Shias and vice versa—hence their perennial war. While Western talking heads tend to lump them together as “Muslims”—thus reaching the erroneous conclusion that ISIS is un-Islamic because it kills “fellow Muslims”—each group views the other as enemies. (It’s only in recent times, as both groups plot against the West and Israel, that they occasionally cooperate.)
Overall, then, when Sunni jihadis slaughter Shias—or Sufis, Druze, and Baha’i, lesser groups affiliated with Islam to varying degrees—they do so under the same exact logic as when they slaughter Christian minorities, or European, American, and Israeli citizens: all are infidels who must either embrace the true faith, be subjugated, or die.
In fact, that ISIS kills other “Muslims” only further validates the supremacist and intolerant aspects of Sunnism, which is hardly limited to ISIS. Just look to our good “friend and ally,” Saudi Arabia, the official religion of which is Sunni Islam, and witness the subhuman treatment Shia minorities experience.
But what about those Sunnis killed during the Islamic State’s jihad? These are rationalized away as “martyrs”—collateral damage—destined to enter Islam’s paradise. Indeed, the topic of fellow Sunnis being killed during the jihad has been widely addressed throughout the centuries. It received a thorough analysis by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in his essay, “Jihad, Martyrdom, and the Killing of Innocents” (The Al Qaeda Reader, pgs. 137-171). After delineating how three of the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence—Hanafi, Shafi‘i, and Hanbali—do not forbid the accidental or inevitable killing of Muslims during the jihad, Zawahiri concluded:
The only thing mujahidin [jihadis] are specifically required to do, should they knowingly kill a Muslim [who is intermixed with the targeted infidels], is make atonement. Blood money, however, is a way out of the dispute altogether. Payment should be made only when there is a surplus of monies, which are no longer needed to fund the jihad. Again, this is only if their [Muslims] intermingling with the infidels is for a legitimate reason, such as business. And we assume that those who are killed are martyrs, and believe that what the Sheikh of Islam [Ibn Taymiyya] said about them applies: “[T]hose Muslims who are accidentally killed are martyrs; and the obligatory jihad should never be abandoned because it creates martyrs.”
But what of those Sunnis whom ISIS intentionally kills? Here the jihadis rely on takfir, the act of one Sunni group denouncing another Sunni group of being kafir—that is, non-Muslims, infidels, whose blood can be shed with impunity. Takfir has existed alongside Islam almost from its inception, beginning with the khawarij (Kharijites)—who ritually slaughtered Muslims for not following the letter of law—and was/is the primary rationale used to justify jihad between different Sunni nations and empires.
In short, to Sunni jihadis—not just ISIS, but al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Hamas, et al—non-Sunni peoples are all infidels and thus free game. As for fellow Sunnis, if they die accidentally, they are martyrs (“and the obligatory jihad should never be abandoned because it creates martyrs”); and if fellow Sunnis intentionally get in the way, they are denounced as infidels and killed accordingly.
The argument that ISIS and other jihadi organizations kill fellow Muslims proves nothing. Muslims have been slaughtering Muslims on the accusation that they are “not Islamic enough” from the start: So what can the open non-Muslim—such as the Western infidel—expect?
In the end, it’s just jihad and more jihad, for all and sundry.
http://www.raymondibrahim.com/2015/12/17/but-isis-kills-more-muslims-than-non-muslims/

When All Else Fails, Erdogan Calls Israel
Shoshana Bryen/Gatestone Institute/December 18/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7069/turkey-israel-relations
Erdogan came to office in 2003 with a policy of "zero problems with neighbors," but has since led Turkey to problems with most, if not all, of them.
Turkey's foreign policy choices and current crises have combined to make Erdogan reach out to Israel for help.
Israel has weighed the price and found it acceptable: Israel will pay Turkey $20 million; Turkey will expel the Hamas leadership from Istanbul and will buy Israeli gas.
The restoration of relations with Israel is less a political reconciliation than an admission of the utter bankruptcy of Turkey's last five years of diplomatic endeavor.
The announcement of the restoration of Israel-Turkish relations should be seen in the context of Turkey having nowhere else to go.
Turkey's relations with Israel have been strained, to put it mildly, since 2010 when, through a non-profit organization, Turkey funded the 2010 Gaza Flotilla aimed at breaking the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
After a bloody confrontation, which ended in the deaths of nine Turks, Turkey demanded that Israel be tried in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and subjected to UN sanction. The ICC ruled that Israel's actions did not constitute war crimes. In addition, the UN's Palmer Commission concluded that the blockade of Gaza was legal, and that the IDF commandos who boarded the Mavi Marmara ship had faced "organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers," and were therefore required to use force for their own protection. The commission, however, did label the commandos' force "excessive and unreasonable."
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had already in the past show hostility towards Israel. Already in 2009, then Prime Minister Erdogan denounced Israel's President Shimon Peres publicly at the Davos World Economic Forum. "When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill. You know very well how to kill." When Hamas was thrown out of Damascus, Erdogan invited Hamas leaders Khaled Mashaal and Ismail Haniyeh to put the terrorist organization's "West Bank and Jerusalem Headquarters" in Istanbul.
Speaking at the Paris rally in January 2015, after the murderous attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices and the terrorist murder of four Jews in a kosher supermarket, Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, "Just as the massacre in Paris committed by terrorists is a crime against humanity, Netanyahu... has committed crimes against humanity." Erdogan, speaking in Ankara, said he could "hardly understand how he (Netanyahu) dared to go" to the march in the French capital. Just last month, Davutoglu told an audience, "Israel kneels down to us."
Not exactly.
Turkey's foreign policy choices and current crises have combined to make Erdogan reach out to Israel for help. Erdogan came to office as Prime Minister in 2003 with a policy of "zero problems with neighbors," but has since led Turkey to problems with most, if not all, of them. Alon Liel, former Director General of the Israeli Foreign Ministry said, "Turkey didn't do very well in the last five years in the region. Turkey needs friends."
That is an understatement.
Turkey helped Iran evade international sanctions, but has since fallen out with the Islamic Republic of Iran over its support of Syria's Bashar Assad. A Muslim Brotherhood supporter, Erdogan was close to Egypt's former President, Muslim Brotherhood member Mohamed Morsi, and has been an outspoken adversary of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Turkey was and remains a conduit for arms and money for various parties to the Syrian civil war. The U.S. has demanded that Erdogan seal Turkey's border with Syria, which he has not done. Turkey also has bombed Kurdish fighters; deployed its forces to Iraqi territory and declined to remove them; and sold ISIS oil on the black market. There are allegations that the Turkish government knew sarin gas was transferred to ISIS across Turkish territory. In November, Turkey shot down a Russian military jet, in the biggest move down the current slide of Turkish-Russian relations, which began when Vladimir Putin stepped in to prevent the collapse of Syria. [This is on top of historical animosity between Turkey, the successor to Muslim Ottoman rule, and Russia, the self-proclaimed defender of the Christian Orthodox Church.]
Russia, furious at the downing of its plane, instituted a series of economic sanctions against Turkey, the most important of which is suspension of the TurkStream project, designed to boost Russian gas exports to Turkey. Turkey is the second-largest importer of Russian gas, after Germany.
As a corrective to all of Turkey's "problems with neighbors," Erdogan raised the possibility of renewed relations with Israel -- which is currently finalizing the mechanism for developing large offshore natural gas fields. Erdogan told Turkish media last week that normalization of ties with Israel would have benefits for Turkey. Insisting that Israel must still end the blockade of Gaza (not happening), apologize, and pay reparations for the flotilla, Erdogan nevertheless made clear his desire for progress -- or at least for Israeli gas.
Which way will Turkish President Erdogan go on Israel?
Left: Erdogan (then Prime Minister) shakes hands with then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, on May 1, 2005. Right: Erdogan shakes hands with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on January 3, 2012.
It's not as if Turkish-Israel relations were ever entirely severed. Since the flotilla confrontation, Turkey-Israel trade doubled in the past five years, to $5.6 billion. While arms deals signed prior to 2010 have been put on hold, trade in civilian chemicals, agricultural products, and manufactured goods has increased. And, in one of those "only in the Middle East" stories, Turkish businesses have been shipping goods to Israel by sea, then trucking them across the country to Jordan and beyond, in order to avoid having to ship overland through Syria.
The basis for increased trade, including gas sales, is there, and Israel has weighed the price and found it acceptable. Israel will pay Turkey $20 million; Turkey will expel the Hamas leadership from Istanbul and will purchase Israeli gas.
After entering office in 2003, Erdogan offered Turkey as a model for democratic governance in a Muslim country. President Obama called him one of the foreign leaders with whom he was most comfortable. But Turkey's was always a double game. The restoration of relations with Israel is less a political reconciliation than an admission of the utter bankruptcy of Turkey's last five years of diplomatic endeavor.
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Will The West Ease The Sanctions Even Though Iran Is Not Meeting Its JCPOA Obligations?
By: A. Savyon and Y. Carmon/MEMRI/December 18/15
Introduction
With the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors' closure, on December 15, 2015, of Iran's PMD (Possible Military Dimensions) dossier, the JCPOA is now back on track for the implementation that began on Adoption Day, October 18, 2015.
It is now Iran's turn to meet its JCPOA obligations, which include removing nine tons of low-level enriched uranium from the country, dismantling centrifuges so that only 6,000 active ones remain, pouring concrete into the core of the nuclear reactor at Arak in a way that will prevent it from being used for producing plutonium, adopting the Additional Protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and more.
Once the IAEA confirms that Iran has done this, Implementation Day will be declared; under it, the lifting of some of the sanctions on Iran and the suspension of others will take place, as promised by the U.S. and European countries on October 19, 2015.
However, at this point, Iran is providing only a show of making progress in its implementation of its obligations. Inactive centrifuges are being transferred from site to site, and not a single active centrifuge has yet been dismantled. Iran has reached agreements with Russia to store its enriched uranium, and documents have been signed with the superpowers for changing the designation of the Arak reactor. But so far Iran has actually met none of its obligations.[1]
Holding back Iran's implementation is the October 21, 2015 letter from Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to Iranian President Hassan Rohani setting nine new conditions that must be met first.
According to various reports, Iran is holding contacts with the U.S. vis-à-vis implementation of the JCPOA. On November 29, 2015, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif announced that the U.S. must do its part, that is, lift the sanctions, even before Iran meets its obligations – expressly contradicting the JCPOA.[2] Zarif also announced, upon his arrival in New York on December 17, 2015, that there is a possibility that he will meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry "for discussions on the implementation of the JCPOA."[3]
Could The U.S. And Europe Ease Or Lift Sanctions Even If Iran Does Not Meet Its JCPOA Obligations?
U.S. representatives have given no indication that the sanctions will be eased or lifted if Iran does not meet its obligations under the JCPOA. However, in his December 15, 2015 statements, when he presented his PMD report to the IAEA Board of Governors, IAEA secretary-general Yukiya Amano hinted at such a possibility. He said: "First, Iran needs to complete the necessary preparatory steps to start implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed with the E3/EU+3 countries. JCPOA Implementation Day will occur when the Agency has verified that Iran has implemented measures specified in that agreement. I will inform the Board promptly when the Agency has verified that the preparatory steps have been completed [emphasis MEMRI's]."[4]
The term "preparatory steps" does not appear in the JCPOA. It is not reasonable to suppose that the West would be satisfied with mere "preparatory steps" on Iran's part instead of full implementation of its obligations before sanctions are eased.
It should also be noted that Amano said on the same occasion: "All parties must fully implement their commitments under the JCPOA."[5]
At this stage, it is unclear whether Amano's use of the words "preparatory steps" instead of the words "fully implement... commitments under the JCPOA" represents intentions on the part of the U.S. administration; it could be nothing more than a general statement. This will become clear in the near future.
In the meantime, in his December 16, 2015 address to the nation, Iranian President Rohani effusively praised the JCPOA and Iran's gains under it, and stated that in "January" the sanctions on Iran would be lifted.[6]
However, "January" is not a reasonable time frame. Iran would not succeed in completing all its tasks in such a short time, and IAEA would certainly not be able to submit a report verifying it had done so by then.
*A. Savyon is Director of the MEMRI Iran Media Project; Y. Carmon is President of MEMRI.
[1] MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 1209, Power Struggle Between Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei's Ideological Camp And Rafsanjani's Pragmatic Camp Intensifies – Part I: Khamenei Blocks Iran's Implementation Of The JCPOA, December 11, 2015.
[2] See Zarif's statements in MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis No. 1209, Power Struggle Between Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei's Ideological Camp And Rafsanjani's Pragmatic Camp Intensifies – Part I: Khamenei Blocks Iran's Implementation Of The JCPOA, December 11, 2015.
[3] ISNA (Iran), December 17, 2015. It was also reported that secret talks were held in Oman in November 2014 between U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Atomic Energy Agency of Iran (AEAO) director Ali Akbar Salehi, on the possibility that Kazakhstan would be the country to which Iran would sent its enriched uranium, instead of Russia. The Wall Street Jopurnal, December 8, 2015.
[4] Iaea.org/newscenter/statements/introductory-statement-board-governors-67, December 15, 2015.
[5] Iaea.org/newscenter/statements/introductory-statement-board-governors-67, December 15, 2015.
[6] President Rohani said: "I announce to the Iranian people that in January the sanctions will be lifted; thus, one of the 11th government's election promises to the people will be kept, the sanctions will be lifted from the feet of the Iranian economy, and the way will be opened for more cooperation with the world." President.ir (Iran), December 16, 2015.

Turkey's unhealthy democracy
Riada Ašimović Akyol/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
Last week, professor Ali Carkoglu from Koc University and professor Ersin Kalayciglu from Sabanci University released the results of their study titled “Citizenship in Turkey and in the World: 2014 ISSP Research Report." The study was conducted with support of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, as part of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) implemented in 43 countries.The results are based on answers from face-to-face interviews with 1,509 respondents in 58 Turkish provinces, conducted between Feb. 13 and April 6.
As the concept of citizenship is at the core of democracy, this study — which sought to find answers on questions related to the respondents’ own understanding of citizenship — contributes important information on the state of democracy in Turkey. The survey's questions were based on topics related to the relationship between the state and the individual on subjects such as paying taxes, obeying the law, voting in elections, participating in civic organizations, tolerating differences and interpersonal trust.
One of the most striking results of this study is the remarkably high percentage of respondents (76%) who saw voting as a very important part of being a good citizen. Among all ISSP participant countries, Turkey rates the highest in this regard. Similarly, alongside the United States (73%) and Japan (72%), Turkey shows the highest rates of respondents (73%) who claim that full payment of taxes is another essential element of good citizenship.
Moreover, respondents cited respecting the law, showing tolerance of differences, and aiding others who are less well-off as other important elements of being a good citizen, according to their own understanding of the idea. Overall, it turns out that the survey participants from Turkey understand “good citizenship” in a pretty idealistic way. This could be a sign of what is known as "social desirability bias" in social science, because contradictory responses to other questions showed intolerance instead. For example, a large number of respondents said it was not acceptable to allow public meetings of groups perceived as different or threatening. In addition, while citizens in democracies have rights, they also have responsibilities that require their participation in politics and civic life. In these terms, as this study shows, the situation in Turkey differs significantly from established democracies that are participants of the ISSP, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and countries in Scandinavia.
For example, the results place Turkey as among the countries with the least participation in political life. Only 12% cited membership in a political party; only 10% said they had participated in a political demonstration at least once and 72% of respondents said they would not participate in one; only 14% said they have signed a petition. Furthermore, 89% of respondents said they were not a member of any trade union, whereas for the purpose of comparison, the same number in developed democracies such as Finland, Denmark and Sweden is below 40%. Surprisingly, 93% of respondents said that they were not part of any religious organization, which is 51% in ISSP countries. Similarly, 88% of Turkish respondents are also not a member of any sports or hobby club or cultural association, and 91% were never a member of a voluntary organization. All these results show passive citizenship, or rather almost nonexistent civilian participation in civic society. No wonder everyone shuns organized activities regardless of their nature; the very word “orgut,” which stands for organization, carries a historically sinister meaning in Turkish, generally implying illegal, criminal activity.
Besides such staggeringly low figures of political participation, there is also very little interaction among individuals. Considering that in a typical workday, the majority of respondents said they have contact with zero to four people, and the next biggest group of respondents said they only have contact with five to nine people, the difficulty of forming common ties, social networks or alliances with other citizens becomes even more obvious. Consequently, the majority of people that Turks interact with on a daily basis are only their relatives, friends or acquaintances. Unsurprisingly, for years, various studies place Turkey among the countries with the lowest interpersonal trust in the world. In this study also, only 1.5% of respondents — so almost no one — said that in general people could always be trusted, and only 13% stated that people could be trusted in general. Three out of four, or 75%, of respondents stated that if someone was unfamiliar to them this did not work in their favor, and only 7% believed that people were always trying to be honest. Hence, if citizens in Turkey have no trust in one another, and rarely mix with strangers, if at all, it becomes more understandable how, for a large majority of people in Turkey, voting remains the main or only political activity.
When it comes to politicians and their activities, 51% of survey respondents believe that politicians favor their personal interests over the public benefit. On a similar note, 18% of respondents stated that almost every public servant is involved in some sort of corruption, and 33% stated that many people were involved in corruption. About 22% stated that a small group of people was corrupt, while 3% said that no one is corrupt in the field of public service. Citizens of other countries gave similar responses to this question, but considering the huge government corruption scandals that were made public in December 2013, it is striking that almost half of Turkish citizens either were not affected by this or did not believe in the corruption allegations. One of the possible reasons for such an outcome could be the power of the media. Citizens should be informed about public issues and be able to express their opinions, but the majority of people in Turkey (78% of those surveyed) gets their news from television. In this regard, Carkoglu said, “The media’s highly partisan coverage does not bode well for the ultimate fate of the country’s democracy.”
Ultimately, when it comes to the question of overall effectiveness of democracy in Turkey, around 40% of respondents believe democracy works well, while another 40% think the exact opposite, reflecting Turkey's political polarization. This finding is in contrast to ISSP participant countries that are established democracies. While Sabanci University says that there has been "significant improvement (9%) in this perception compared to a decade ago," much still needs to be done to keep the numbers about the positive perception about democracy going up.
In general, this survey confirmed voting as a major political activity in Turkey, where otherwise everyone seems to only mind their own business, seek individual benefits and interact with familiar or similar individuals. In such a distrustful society, democracy can’t stay healthy. More paranoia and polarization and excessive politicization of society will not help. As long as there is a crushing fear of state as an authority that punishes rather than serves, more nurtured civic values and encouraged political participation in Turkey will remain mere wishful thinking.

Has Bibi given up his battle against Iran nuke deal?
Mazal Mualem/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
On July 14, just hours after six world powers signed the nuclear deal with Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a press conference. In dramatic fashion, he announced, “The world is a much more dangerous place today than it was yesterday.” He went on to warn, “The leading international powers have bet our collective future on [the] deal,” because Iran will now have the capacity to build an enormous nuclear arsenal. He concluded his statement with a threat and a promise: “Israel is not bound by this deal with Iran because Iran continues to seek our destruction. We will always defend ourselves.”
On Dec. 15, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a statement that it was ending its investigation into Iran's nuclear program because there was no evidence that Tehran had continued its research on the development of nuclear weapons after 2009. Considering Netanyahu's dramatic press conference less than six months ago, one question comes to mind: Why is Israel, at least officially, content to issue a relatively low-key response to the IAEA’s decision to end its investigation into whether Iran had either developed or attempted to develop nuclear weapons? After all, Tuesday’s statement effectively sealed the case opened 12 years ago in response to suspicions that Iran was actively trying to obtain nuclear weapons for military purposes. The United States congratulated the IAEA for its decision.
If one were to rely on Netanyahu’s previous statements and his decadelong international struggle against Iran’s nuclear program, the decision should be viewed as nothing less than Israel’s worst nightmare. Beginning in the mid-2000s, when he served as leader of the opposition, and later, during three terms as prime minister, Netanyahu made stopping Iran’s nuclear program his primary objective, putting the issue on the international diplomatic and political agenda. He brandished this accomplishment proudly, when sanctions were still in place, and issued veiled and open threats that Israel might even attack Iran to defend itself and prevent a “second Holocaust.”
For years, Netanyahu hardly delivered a speech that didn't mention the Iranian bomb, regardless of whether he was speaking overseas or to an Israeli audience. Now, however, he seems to be letting an important statement by the IAEA from its Vienna headquarters slip right by. His government’s only official response has been a statement by the Foreign Ministry that there are still “serious doubts” about Iran's nuclear program. Over the past few years, Israelis have grown accustomed to receiving high doses of information about the Iranian nuclear bomb. It was regularly splashed across the headlines. In this instance, however, Israelis are not being given the kind of explanation they have come to expect in response to the recent development. It hasn't been forthcoming from the prime minister or even from the defense minister. Neither of them is prepared, it seems, to look the public squarely in the eye and explain the significance of the IAEA's decision. Neither of them has made any mention of how Israel intends to respond. There's certainly been no insinuation that the military option remains on the table. That would have been de rigueur just a few months ago.
Obviously, no one expects Netanyahu to disclose state secrets concerning military preparedness. Still, Israelis might expect a brief update at the very least from someone who spent more than a decade intimidating them with tales of their impending destruction and who regarded the nuclear deal with Iran as a milestone on the route to that terrifying scenario.
As to be somewhat expected, when the prime minister isn’t focused on the Iranian issue, the media and political establishment tend to ignore it. Netanyahu is not only the best political player in Israel today, he also has the sharpest instincts when it comes to using the media to his advantage to spin events. Luckily for him, none of his political rivals has been sufficiently astute to attack him over the IAEA decision, which in fact is a resounding defeat for him. Thus, Netanyahu reaps the benefits of the political system’s failure to understand or take an interest in the latest developments.
What, in fact, caught Netanyahu's interest in the days following the IAEA decision to close the case against Iran? On his very active Facebook page, Netanyahu had plenty of time to tell Israelis about his visit to the Southern Command, during which he inspected “our forces’ readiness,” on the day of the IAEA's announcement. He went on to say that he found the forces well prepared, adding that they were acting methodically and aggressively against Hamas in Gaza. He later took the time to attack Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for his ongoing incitement (so claimed Netanyahu) and for fabricating propaganda. There was not a word about the Iranian bomb.
In another post that same day, Netanyahu told his followers about “something you won’t hear about in the press.” He was referring to the United Nations' annual Human Development Index, which ranked Israel the 18th most advanced country in the world in 2014. It had been 19th in the previous index. Netanyahu crowed, “This is further evidence that the policies of the governments I headed have led to an improvement in the quality of living in Israel.” Ok, but what about the international community's other important decision, which ushers in a new era for Iran and opens the country up economically? Israelis didn’t hear a word about that from their prime minister. It is quite possible that Netanyahu is waiting for another opportunity to bring up the IAEA, but it is more likely that he has simply gotten everything he can out of the Iranian issue. He recognizes that Iran is no longer on the international community’s agenda, that the nuclear deal is already part of US President Barack Obama’s legacy and that a unilateral attack by Israel is no longer a viable option. In addition, Netanyahu has in the meantime succeeded in creating new, alternative threats to Israel’s security, the foremost being the Islamic State. He assumes the tangible threat of terrorism nearby will cause Israelis to forget about Iran, and of course, he is right. The Iran file has been closed. No one in Israel seems interested in it anymore.

How one Iranian TV show is breaking censorship boundaries
Masoud Lavasani/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
In the 1980s, the main form of home entertainment in Iran consisted of two TV channels and two radio stations. For those who were tired of watching or hearing news about the ongoing war with Iraq and sanctions, there was only one source of entertainment: old movies from the time of former Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Despite the danger of being arrested and having to pay a fine or go to jail, people continued to watch videos by renting smuggled and banned VCRs. Media expert Dr. Fereydoun Ahmadvand told Al-Monitor, “One of the reasons videos became so popular among people and ultimately forced a retreat in the State’s position was the need for diversity and the desire to hear several voices and have cultural pluralism, which did not at all exist in Iran during the years of war.”Home video entertainment is still one of few escapes from the Islamic Republic’s radio and television monopoly. In this vein, many believe that the TV series "Shahrzad," produced by the private sector and distributed mainly through supermarkets, has transformed the boundaries of official censorship in Iran. To be clear: "Shahrzad" is a local, legal production. Its license is issued by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which is operating under the supervision of President Hassan Rouhani, and not the state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
Some reports in Persian-language media sources have argued that "Shahrzad" is indicative of important political developments in recent years. They believe the series has caught those behind Iran’s censorship off guard — with censors perhaps not realizing its significance. "Shahrzad" is centered on a love story between two university students and narrated in a historical setting. The story takes place in the early 1950s, amid one of the most important events in the Middle East at that time: the nationalization of Iran’s oil industry. The Aug. 19, 1953, coup d’état that ousted then Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh is also highlighted, raising additional interest among Iranians. Although the story unfolds in the context of Mossadegh’s historic efforts to nationalize Iran’s oil industry, many believe that the series is only an excuse to discuss something that is timeless.
However, the truly astonishing aspect of "Shahrzad" is none of the above. A high-budget TV series was a few years ago commissioned to coincide with the anniversary of the reign of the Pahlavi dynasty. Taking years to produce, the first of the 80 episodes of “The Puzzle of the Shah" have been aired on Iranian state television so far. This series tries to depict all those associated with Iran’s former ruler as corrupt. Despite the millions of dollars spent on its production, “The Puzzle of the Shah" is considered a failure.
Mohammad Reza Adineh, a filmmaker and former manager at Iran’s Visual Media Institute, offered Al-Monitor some insight into why shows produced by the private sector are gaining ever greater success: “Comedies and some social taboos like AIDS and extramarital relations were among controversial topics that were not dealt with in Iranian television, thus enabling this media to become a success. Through supermarkets, they turned these CDs into something that became a part of every family’s shopping basket, just like bread and milk.”
Ahmadvand, the media expert, expanded on the reasons why state-sponsored TV series tend to underperform: “IRIB is continuously using the same common clichés in its programs and insists on repeating them too. Despite the efforts of all the committed producers in IRIB, its closed administrative framework — which dictates specific themes to the artists — has literally choked their creativity over the years.” He added, “If there was private television in Iran, or the restrictions placed on artistic productions like cinema were removed, we would witness better quality work in a more competitive atmosphere.”
The theme song of "Shahrzad," which makes reference to opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi’s house arrest, its love story and its socio-political script, have all helped the series find its way into the homes of Iranians. Composer Behzad Raeisi told Al-Monitor, “'Shahrzad’s' theme song was different in the original version. The final version was rewritten in collaboration with its screenwriter and director Hassan Fathi. The references made to the house arrest and heart ailments [of Mousavi] may have been added to the song at that time. Otherwise, singer Mohsen Chavoshi’s report card shows there has never been a social-political theme in his works.”Mousavi supporters have even recently made a music video with this theme song. Such insinuations, however, have raised sensitivities among many conservatives in Iran. Conservative media sources have engaged in soft criticism of "Shahrzad," all of which have so far been technical and artistic. Yet, the latter has nevertheless sparked rumors that the conservatives will likely cause problems for those behind "Shahrzad" in the end.
Indeed, the criticisms have gone as far as producer Gholamreza Mousavi claiming that billion-rial home video entertainment series are not cost-effective, and that the intention of those who invest in such series and have no artistic background is to launder money. Hadi Razavi, one of the two investors behind "Shahrzad," has dismissed these remarks, and says he is certain that the series will be a financial success. There is another important dimension to "Shahrzad." Adineh, the filmmaker, told Al-Monitor, “The fact that the policies of the Ministry of Culture are different from those of IRIB, how its review apparatus functions in a different manner, and the flexibility shown by the government in some areas in order to gain support for it are perhaps not without their effect on the production of more diverse series.” In this vein, journalist Panah Farhadbahman argues in favor of one of the reasons behind the success of "Shahrzad": "On the one hand, the different monitoring entity in this media as opposed to the IRIB, and the lower level of sensitivity that has until now been shown toward home video entertainment compared to radio, television and cinema ... has caused home entertainment productions to have a different … tone, from dialogues, to storylines, to the actors’ wardrobes.”Indeed, most experts appear to stress on the need for today’s young Iranian society to have several voices in culture and the arts. This may be why a series like "Shahrzad" has been successful while other costly, state-sponsored TV series are not receiving the welcome they could.

Egypt's cash for votes scandal
Ismael El-Kholy/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
CAIRO — The Egyptian parliamentary elections, held in two phases during the months of October, November and December, were marred by numerous accusations of bribery.The Parliamentary Elections Observatory, affiliated with the Maat Foundation for Peace Development and Human Rights, documented bribes made to voters to cast ballots for particular candidates. A report issued by the foundation Nov. 24 during the second phase of the parliamentary elections stated, “The electoral process was marred by financial and in-kind bribes paid to voters to cast their votes [for a particular candidate]; a phenomenon that was observed in the majority of districts to varying degrees.” Maat released video footage showing voters lining up and taking cash to vote for a candidate in Bulaq district in Cairo. The website of Al-Wafd Party also reported Nov. 22 on electoral bribes offered by one of the candidates in Hadaiq al-Qubbah district. The portal said, “The electoral vote price reached up to 150 EGP [Egyptian pounds],” around $19. Ayman Akil, the director of the Maat Foundation, told Al-Monitor, “We reported dozens of cases of bribery during the two electoral phases and we filed about 200 reports to the High Elections Committee.” Medhat al-Sherif, a member of parliament for Masr Al Jadidah and al-Nuzha, told Al-Monitor, “While bribes may be the reason behind the victory of some candidates, they are few in number. Some districts disqualified candidates who paid bribes and made exaggerations in their electoral campaigns.”“As the number of voters decreases, bribes become more influential. When I was running in the elections, there were brokers offering to pay money to voters to cast their ballot in favor specific candidates, both partisans and independents,” he said.
Akram Elfi, a political researcher in parliamentary affairs who closely followed up on the election, told Al-Monitor that in his view bribes had no significant influence during the parliamentary elections, arguing that other factors determined the results. He sid that “the lower the number of seats contested by candidates, the less the influence of electoral bribery.”Elfi said, “In Upper Egypt, electoral bribery had a very weak impact since tribal society rejects bribery as a shameful act.” According to his estimate, some “6% of MPs made it to parliament by direct electoral bribery. Parties, however, did not resort to bribery, even if some candidates of some parties individually resorted to this maneuver.”The Free Egyptians Party (FEP), which was founded by Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, won more parliamentary seats than any other party, finishing with 65. Essam Khalil, FEP’s acting chairman, attributed the party’s success to the fact that it is “institutionalized and fights the electoral battle by using scientific methods.” During a phone call made to Hona Al-Asimah (This is the Capital) program airing on CBC satellite channel Nov. 22, the head of Al Wafd Party's operations room, Mamdouh Riyad, accused the FEP of paying electoral bribes during the second electoral phase. Shehab Wajih, a spokesman for the FEP, told Al-Monitor, “We have heard accusations of bribery, but we did not get involved in this matter. There is no single piece of evidence that proves that one of the party's candidates paid an electoral bribe. On the contrary, the party was combating this problem during the two electoral phases.”He added, “During our monitoring of the elections, we found that other candidates had paid electoral bribes, but most of those who used this maneuver did not make it to the parliament.” In statements made to EgyNews in early December, Judge Omar Marwan, a spokesman for the High Elections Committee, said, “We referred a number of facts relating to cases of electoral bribery to the public prosecutor to take the appropriate legal measures.”Marwan did not announce the total number of cases of bribery during the two electoral phases and did not respond to Al-Monitor’s request for comment about the matter. On whether electoral bribery represented a threat for the new parliament and could lead to the disqualification of some MPs, Elfi said, “There is no threat, simply because no one has evidence and it is difficult to legally prove electoral bribes. No bribing party, bribed party or intermediary will ever confess.”

Five years on, have things changed in Tunisia?
Christine Petré/Al-Monitor/December 18/15
SIDI BOUZID, Tunisia — It’s been five years since Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire outside the municipal building in Sidi Bouzid, a small town in the heart of Tunisia. While his act had profound international repercussions at the time, some residents say little has changed in their town. Fed up with a lack of economic opportunity and years of harassment by corrupt police, street vendor Bouazizi made a desperate cry for help on Dec. 17, 2010, and died 18 days later in a hospital. His act led to protests that helped oust President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, paving the way for an immediate and fairly peaceful democratic transition. It also helped inspired a whole region to stand up against dictatorships in the Arab Spring. But for the vegetable sellers in Sidi Bouzid, little has changed for the better. “We earned more before the revolution,” said Abdelassalam Bouazizi, a relative of Mohamed. They used to work side by side selling vegetables and fruit. In his opinion, the situation was better during Ben Ali’s administration. Then, at least, there were more customers and he had a higher income. Today, he earns just enough money for a day’s food. A block down the road from Abdelassalam Bouazizi’s cart, Wahid Slimani has been selling vegetables for three years. He and his brother, who live in the village of Hiehriya, travel the 12 miles (19 kilometers) to Sidi Bouzid to sell peppers, potatoes and tomatoes. But customers are few these days, he said. Slimani doesn’t approve of Bouazizi’s act because under Islam, suicide is considered a sin. He also is disappointed that despite the upheaval, not enough has changed. “We need another revolution,” he said.
Yet Slimani admits he was able to vote in the country’s first free and fair elections, which were held Oct. 23 and Oct. 26, 2011, followed by the presidential vote on Nov. 23, 2014. Voting is important, he said, a duty. He also notes that he can speak more freely now since Ben Ali was ousted.
To some, however, freedom of expression comes with dangers. Abdelassalam Bouazizi told Al-Monitor he wanted to talk about his relative, but hesitated. Looking around cautiously, he mumbled, “Not here, not now. Maybe later, in private.” There are too many eyes and ears at the market, he explained worriedly. The past five years have seen little economic progress. Unemployment, a long-term problem, stands at slightly more than 15% now. It was 13.3% in 2009 and 14% in 2010, according to CIA World Factbook figures. Hmaidia Mahjoub sells vegetables on the same street where Mohamed Bouazizi spent his last moments before setting himself afire. Mahjoub said he used to have a good job with a Swiss construction company. He had a car and earned 1,500 dinars (about $742) a month. Today he is struggling to make ends meet, as the company left Tunisia at the time of the revolution. On a normal day he brings in $5 to $10, barely enough to cover his monthly rent of $150 and support his stay-at-home wife and two children. “The economy hasn’t improved,” he said. Mahjoub has fewer customers. He said he sells roughly five to 10 pounds of vegetables per day, while before he could sell as many as 20 pounds. He must also pay about $1.50 a day to rent the vegetable cart. “Then there are the so-called taxes,” he said. The “taxes” are bribes to the police to let them stay where they are. They are not technically allowed to sell vegetables on the pavement, but there is no other place to go. Vendors who refuse to pay are harassed and have their scales or fruit confiscated, he explained. These are some of the same problems Mohamed Bouazizi was facing when he set himself on fire. Though the vegetable sellers’ situation seems gloomy, there could be a solution on the horizon. A market space is under construction, and vendors will be able to rent space and keep their business under a roof. Each vendor will need to pay a yet-undetermined fee in rent. Seller Lamin Saidi, who said he doesn’t expect to be charged much, is looking forward to moving. The space, funded by the European Union, should be finished in early February. “It’s a good solution for the vendors,” said a passerby. The space will protect them from the sun and wind, he explained. However, if remains to be seen if the market space will protect sellers from the culture of corruption.

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