LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 06/15

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Bible Quotation For Today/You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all
Second Letter to the Corinthians 03/01-06: "Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we?You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ towards God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Bible Quotation For Today/The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.
Luke 10/01-07: "After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, "Peace to this house!"And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house."

LCCC Latest analysis, editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 05-06/15
Iran’s toxic deal is not a legacy Obama should leave/Andrew Bowen/Al Arabiya/July 05/15
Is Turkish military intervention in Syria rational/Sinem Cengiz/Al Arabiya/July 05/15
Our Desperate Attempts to Reject Torture/Diana Moukalled/Asharq Al Awsat//05 July/15
ISIS rushes reinforcements to Egypt. Its next targets: The Pyramids and Sphinx/DEBKAfile/05 July/15

LCCC Bulletin itles for the Lebanese Related News published on July 05-06/15
Lebanon's Tripoli biomedical entrepreneur, Ziad Sankari recognized by President Obama
Kidnapped boy, Ricardo Jaara refusing to eat until he’s freed
Hezbollah seen backing Aoun’s street protests
Rai urges Christians of the Levant to stay in the region
Two Men Freed after Brief Abduction in Bekaa
Report: Captors Demand $100K Ransom to Free Child Nabbed from Amchit
Report: Developments in Syria's al-Zabadani Have Nothing to Do with Lebanon
Report: Aoun's Street Action to Launch after Cabinet's Session Thursday
Sami Gemayel Calls for 'National Gathering to Establish New Lebanon' after Election of President
Hizbullah, Syria Regime Forces Enter Rebel Bastion Zabadani
Report: Salam's Cabinet Will Not Be Toppled by Protests or Politics
Bou Saab: FPM Committed to Tackling Appointment of Army Chief during Next Cabinet Meeting
‘We must not destroy Lebanon over one post': Amal MP
Lebanon's Kurds march in solidarity with Kobani
Akkar residents worry as ISIS inches closer

LCCC Bulletin Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 05-06/15
Netanyahu: What's happening in Iran talks is a breakdown, not a breakthrough
Iran unviels new far reaching domestic radar system
Kerry: Iran nuclear talks ‘could go either way’
Syria regime forces enter rebel bastion Zabadani
Syrian activists, economists push to use Turkish lira in Aleppo’s rebel-controlled areas
ISIS attacks power plant in Hasakah, in northeast Syria
Airstrikes hit ISIS targets in Syria stronghold
U.N. envoy in Yemen to discuss ceasefire
Egyptian army kills 25 militants in Sinai
Kuwait Mulls Charging more than 40 over Mosque Bomb
Greeks defy Europe with overwhelming ‘No’ vote
Greece votes on high-stakes bailout referendum

Jehad Watch Latest links for Reports And News
Nigeria: Muslim murders 5 with jihad suicide bombing in church
Islamic State in Nigeria murders nearly 200 in 48 hours
Schoolgirl who fled UK to join the Islamic State mocks victims of Tunisia jihad massacre
60% of women in one Iranian province have undergone FGM
UK convert to Islam linked to France beheading and jihad attack in Indonesia

Kidnapped boy, Ricardo Jaara refusing to eat until he’s freed
Philip Issa/The Daily Star/ Jul. 06, 2015
AMCHIT, Lebanon: A 6-year-old boy who disappeared from in front of his building in the coastal town of Amchit over the weekend told his father that he is refusing to eat until he is set free. The captors of Ricardo Jaara are demanding a $250,000 ransom for his release, the boy’s family told The Daily Star. The captors reportedly told the family to deliver the money “when [they] have it,” according to the boy’s uncle, Bassam Saade. They contacted them from a Syrian number. The boy’s whereabouts are still unknown. Some media reports suggested that the boy was being held on the Syrian-Lebanese border in the north. The boy was allowed to speak briefly with his father by phone. He told him he was refusing to eat, according to the family.
Ricardo’s father immediately flew in from Kuwait, where he is an engineer. He was not available to speak to reporters, and Ricardo’s mother refused to speak as well. Saade suspects the captors had some information about the family and had planned the operation in advance. “They [the captors] must be connected to someone in the area. For someone to come and kidnap your son in front of your building in this way is unbelievable. There’s something suspicious here. Someone must have been giving the captors information,” Saade told The Daily Star. Ricardo and his mother returned Friday from a two-week-long stay in south Lebanon, where they had been visiting family. At around 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Ricardo went down to feed cornflakes to the family’s half-dozen chickens, as he likes to do, and collect any eggs. When he didn’t return to the apartment after a quarter-hour, they began to look for him. “We started calling everyone. We looked around the building, looked in any well and tank in case he fell in somewhere. We checked the stores nearby. The last thing we expected was that he was kidnapped. He disappeared, along with the chickenfeed he had with him.” The captors called the family three hours later and demanded $250,000 ransom. The parties remained in contact by phone Sunday. The Internal Security Forces are questioning the doorman, who is Syrian, and his family. Investigators were still at the apartment Sunday afternoon. An ISF spokesperson refused to comment for fear of jeopardizing the boy’s safety.
Selim Jaara, another one of Ricardo’s uncles, said, “We have a lot of faith in the security forces, and in God, most of all.”
The Jaaras live in a modest building in a residential part of Amchit. There is nothing to distinguish their building from the neighbors’.Ransom kidnappings in Lebanon have occurred more frequently since the war in Syria deteriorated in 2012. An engineer was kidnapped near Beirut in January this year, and held for a $39,000 ransom. The ISF later arrested two of the captors.But the kidnappings have mostly struck in the Bekaa Valley. Captors received a $600,000 ransom for a financier they kidnapped from the Bekaa in 2012. In 2014, a family paid captors several hundred thousand dollars to secure the release of their relative, a Kuwaiti national, who was also kidnapped in the Bekaa.
As part of a nationwide security plan, the government sent a security force of 2,000 personnel to sweep through the Bekaa Valley in February this year. They had arrested 156 people by mid-month. Ricardo is a bright and sociable boy, according to his family. “He’s very smart and clever,” Saade said. “He is very sociable and he likes to go up and talk to people.”“He’s not the kind that runs away, he’s not shy,” a visibly distressed Selim said. “And maybe this is his point of weakness. If someone comes to talk to him, he won’t run away. On the contrary, he might get close and talk. It’s something we consider positive, but in this case, it’s negative.” Ricardo’s grandmother says he is very mature for his age. “He’s successful at school. He’s well-behaved. He has a rich character, like his father. He’s collected. If his friends call for him to play, he’ll say ‘Wait, I have to ask Mama for permission,’” Malika Douma Brahim said.“I hope they [the captors] treat this child compassionately, if they have children or mercy or pity. It’s unbelievable – haram,” Saade said.

Lebanon's Tripoli biomedical entrepreneur, Ziad Sankari recognized by President Obama
Alexis Lai/The Daily Star/ Jul. 06, 2015
BEIRUT: “We want to empower pioneers like Ziad Sankari,” U.S. President Obama said in a speech on global entrepreneurship in May. “Today he’s improving the way we respond to cardiac incidents, which will have enormous ramifications not just in places like Lebanon but potentially all around the world,” Obama continued. “So, thank you, Ziad, for helping to save lives.”The high-level shoutout was all the more impressive, as the Tripoli native, who will turn 30 this year, was one of just five entrepreneurs highlighted.
The core product of Sankari’s company, CardioDiagnostics, is a 120-gram device that offers real-time, continuous analysis of the wearer’s heart ECG to detect arrhythmias (irregular beatings). While CardioDiagnostics began operations two and half years ago, Sankari traces his inspiration to losing his father to a heart attack at age 17.
“I wanted to create a technology to monitor heart patients 24/7, [with] an alert system if something happens,” he told The Daily Star. “The vision was there after my father’s death, but I didn’t know how to get to it.” More pieces of the puzzle fell into place after he won a Fulbright scholarship to attend graduate school in the United States. Earning two master’s degrees in engineering at Ohio State University, Sankari researched signal processing; specifically, how to analyze the brain’s ECG signals to detect problems.
“It became clear that you can take an idea from just a concept ... all the way to the market,” said Sankari, who got involved with the business school’s technology entrepreneurship institute.
His team won the institute’s business plan competition for their product measuring tissue oxygenation – useful in wound care diagnostics. Their venture went on to attract close to a $1 million in investment, though Sankari left early on due to conflicting visions.
“After I left, I was like, why don’t we start CardioDiagnostics with [signal processing applied to the heart] and put it into a device for everyone to be able to wear such a technology – portable, wireless, 24/7 ECG monitoring.” The device would be a diagnostic tool for doctors who suspected their patients suffered from arrhythmias.
Having garnered the core technical and business skills for his idea, Sankari returned to Lebanon in 2011. “I was trying to ... figure out how we can start the company from here.” The next step was to develop the hardware. He turned to the Qatar Foundation’s “Stars of Science,” a televised science innovation competition. The intensive five-month program “provided an incredible abundance of resources in terms of expertise, access to technology and manufacturing,” he recalled, crediting it for supporting his creation of a prototype. His second-place winnings of $150,000 were not enough to start his company though.
Sankari spent the next nine months refining his business plan and trying to raise funds to no avail. “It was a bit premature at that time in Qatar to raise technology venture capital,” he said. “I was so frustrated because I wanted to create something from the region.”
Meanwhile, he received a boost from another U.S. State Department program – winning first prize at the prestigious Global Innovation through Science and Technology entrepreneurship competition. “GIST was very credible ... afterward, we got a lot of people potentially interested in funding us,” including one that would prove to be decisive.
In late 2012, when Sankari was preparing to return to the U.S. to try raising funds, he was invited to meet with Lebanon’s Berytech Fund. “I was thinking, if I couldn’t raise equity in the wealthiest country by a GDP-per-capita standard, would it be possible in Lebanon?”
“The cardiologist [who helped Berytech evaluate his plan] was saying, ‘I always wondered why they didn’t have such a thing in the U.S.,’” Sankari recalled. “The next day, they called us to come take the check. We started with a bit more than half a million dollars in investment.”Funding woes solved, the venture, headquartered in Lebanon, was nonetheless “a very bumpy ride.”“When we started [in 2013], we had serious problems with the infrastructure, mainly the Internet ... We had difficulty calling the U.S. [with Skype] and sustaining our relationship with potential customers and suppliers.”“But the biggest challenge has been talent acquisition,” Sankari said, citing great difficulty in finding talented engineers with a strong work ethic and sense of ambition. “The mentality [in Lebanon] is really geared toward safe employment that does not necessarily challenge you but is going to reward you sufficiently.” Even though CardioDiagnostics offered higher salaries, several candidates ultimately declined to join it because the work was much more demanding.
Sankari had set up his office in Tripoli, hoping to create job opportunities in his hometown. He “soon realized things [could not] scale up without moving to Beirut.” There, he finally found a few engineers up to his standards. Today he has around a dozen staff in Beirut, and contracts with 24/7 monitoring centers and business development professionals in the U.S – the key market for LifeSense Arrhythmia.
The pocket-sized box, which is wired to three electrodes on the chest, is continuously worn for up to 30 days, which is a sufficient period to detect most types of arrhythmias. The heart’s ECG data is analyzed 24/7 inside the device and any abnormalities trigger an alert at monitoring centers. The centers will also review the data and produce reports for cardiologists.While reading ECGs is nothing new, CardioDiagnostics’ intellectual property is “making sense of that data, creating easy monitoring techniques and continuous, real-time analysis,” through algorithms, analytics and signal processing techniques.
As with all cardiac-monitoring devices, LifeSense Arrhythmia is FDA-approved only for nonlethal arrhythmias, which do not require immediate medical attention, but can lead to fatal conditions if untreated. For example, atrial fibrillation may cause clots that could travel to the brain and result in a stroke.Patients do not purchase the device; they rent it from their doctor or a monitoring center upon professional recommendation, and pay for up to 30 days of a monitoring center’s services. In the U.S., this is fully insured, thanks to a well-established arrhythmia monitoring industry.
While the device has hundreds of users in the U.S., Sankari said it has just tens in Lebanon. The overall user fee for the device and monitoring services is a few hundred dollars, but only 48 hours of monitoring is covered by insurance. CardioDiagnostics, who runs its own day monitoring center in Beirut, will ramp up to 24/7 monitoring operations once the device gains traction in the Middle East. It recently signed distribution deals in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The company is “almost breaking even” and will soon seek to raise about $9-10 million through venture capital in Lebanon and the U.S. It is also readying a new device for release next year. LifeSense Ischemia is a wireless patch designed for extended monitoring of heart attack patients, who have a particularly high risk of a recurrent attack after hospital discharge. Sankari also has a third product in mind, after realizing that heart ECG monitoring data reveals users’ waking hours, stress levels and food consumption. He envisions a device to help healthy people stay healthy; for example, through smartphone alerts about their real-time calorie consumption. He believes his startup was highlighted by Obama not only because of his involvement with U.S. State Department programs, but because “it was able to scale up very quickly, it has a very particular story, and ... [I took my] words into action.”While LifeSense Arrhythmia isn’t intended to detect life-threatening conditions, he noted that U.S. monitoring centers reported three cases in which alerts led them to call for emergency services.“I come from one of the poorest cities on the Mediterranean ... and I was able to turn [my father’s death] into drive and motivation to create a company that ... can literally actually save lives.”

Hezbollah seen backing Aoun’s street protests
Hussein Dakroub| The Daily Star/July 06/15
BEIRUT: Hezbollah appears to be backing the Free Patriotic Movement’s street protests as MP Michel Aoun prepares to mobilize his supporters this week against the government for refusing to address the issue of military and security appointments, a senior March 8 source said Sunday. The source dismissed as “baseless” media reports that Hezbollah was not happy with Aoun’s escalatory moves against the Cabinet for passing a decree last week before discussing the appointment of senior military and security officers.
“These are tendentious rumors aimed at undermining the understanding between Hezbollah and Gen. Michel Aoun,” the source said, referring to the 2006 memorandum of understanding signed by Aoun and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, which eventually turned into a strategic political alliance between the two sides.
“Hezbollah is aware of any steps or decisions taken by Gen. Aoun. These steps are taken in understanding with Hezbollah,” the source said. He added that Aoun’s decision to resort to street protests was based on his vision and analysis of the political situation.
According to the source, Aoun had discussed with Hezbollah officials escalatory measures, including street protests, he might take to regain what he terms “Christian rights” in the country’s power-sharing system.
“It is Gen. Aoun’s right to take any step for what he sees as the restoration of rights to their real owners,” the source said.
Asked whether Aoun’s planned street protests would affect the country’s stability, which Hezbollah has persistently said it is keen on preserving, the source said: “Gen. Aoun’s street protests will be peaceful. The Future Movement’s ministers are pushing Aoun for a bitter choice.”
“Prime Minister Tammam Salam, backed by the Future Movement’s ministers, is refusing to include the issue of security appointments on the Cabinet agenda as demanded by the FPM,” the source said.
Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas, who is close to Salam, rejected Aoun’s resort to street protests, saying all political parties can also mobilize their supporters in the street.
“The threat to take to the street is unacceptable. All parties have supporters to mobilize in the street,” Derbas told MTV Sunday. “Under the circumstances Lebanon is experiencing today, this method cannot be used.”
Responding to Aoun’s call to restore “Christian rights,” he said: “Entering the game of ‘where are the Christian rights’ might lead to others to enter the game of ‘where are the rights of other sects.’”
Derbas added that the FPM ministers’ objection to the Cabinet agenda was unprecedented.
Salam has scheduled a Cabinet meeting for next Thursday despite the conflict that erupted with the FPM’s ministers after the government passed a decree, ignoring the issue of military and security appointments.
Aoun threatened to take action shortly after the Cabinet, in its first session last Thursday in nearly a month, passed a proposal allotting $21 million to help export agricultural and industrial products by sea.
The FPM chief said his group has commenced preparations for street protests in Mount and north Lebanon. “The Christians in the Levant are being eliminated by the sword, and some want to eliminate us in politics,” Aoun told supporters from south Lebanon at his Rabieh residence Saturday.
“This is why we started preparing for popular movements and demonstrations in the districts of Mount Lebanon, Baabda and Koura,” he added.
Asked how far can Aoun go in his planned street protests against the government, Speaker Nabih Berri was quoted as saying by visitors at his Ain al-Tineh residence Sunday night: “Gen. Aoun is the son of the [political] system. I don’t think he will tamper with it.”
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law, vowed to defend the Christian right to partnership by force.
“If we are faced with a difficult choice, we will take our right to partnership by force,” Bassil said in a speech during a development meeting in the northern district of Batroun Saturday.
He also pledged to defend the president’s powers inside the Cabinet with “our nails and teeth.”
“We are entrusted with the president’s powers. We will defend them with all our strength inside the Cabinet. ... We represent the presidency and we will not allow anyone to touch it,” Bassil said.
Minister of State for Administrative Development Nabil De Freij said no one can impose his opinion on the prime minister concerning the Cabinet agenda. “The situation is heading for a major explosion if the obstruction of the Cabinet’s work continued as it is happening today,” De Freij from the Future Movement told the Voice of Lebanon radio station.

Rai urges Christians of the Levant to stay in the region
Antoine Amrieh/The Daily Star/Jul. 06, 2015/DIMAN, Lebanon: Christians will remain rooted in their land, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai said in a weekend speech, as he urged members of the community to hold onto their faith. “Knowing Jesus, believing in him and loving him, is the source and strength of our message,” he said. Rai, who arrived at his summer residence in Diman Sunday, made the remarks during a Mass for participants in the first “Maronite Youth Global Forum.” The forum targeted Maronite youth from the diaspora, who met with Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil on the final day of the event. “The aim of our message is to plant Jesus’ peace in the heart, in the family, in society and in the nation. Christians cannot forget that they are the bearers of a message in Lebanon and the countries of the Middle East. The Christian message started from our land [and spread] to the whole world,” Rai said. He said it was an important and difficult mission to carry such a “tough” message, especially “in a dismissive world whose face needs to be changed.” “From this sacred valley [Qadisha] and from the mountain of the Cedars, we renew our commitment to Christians and to the Maronite message entrusted to us,” Rai said. “[It] reminds us that we are rooted in Lebanon and in the Levant.”Rai put forward a similar message Saturday on a visit to the Mar Mansour Church in Naqqash. “There’s no fear. The storm will pass,” he said. The visit was part of Rai’s tour of the monasteries and dioceses of coastal Metn. “What’s important is to remain rooted in faith and not to give up.”The patriarch also visited the Dbayyeh Palestinian refugee camp as part of his tour, and criticized the lack of action by the international community on the Palestinian issue.“I carry huge [sorrow] in my heart for the tragedies that our people are living, and you are a part of them,” he said.

Two Men Freed after Brief Abduction in Bekaa
Naharnet/July 05/15/Unknown assailants on Sunday briefly kidnapped two people in the eastern Bekaa region, reported the National News Agency. The abductees were identified as Hassan Ali Hashish, 27, and Fadi Hamad, 29. They were eventually released in the afternoon, according to several TV networks. LBCI television said the two were freed in the al-Taybeh plain area. Earlier on Sunday, NNA said that the abduction took place as Hashish, owner of a passenger van, was transporting people from Shtaura to Majdaloun in the Bekaa. His wife Zainab said that she received a telephone call from the assailants from Hamad's phone confirming the kidnapping. Hamad was with her husband. The kidnappers informed Zainab that the hostages would only be released when an individual, who was not identified, is freed from a town near Zahle. Details of this operation and the identity of the individual were not revealed.

Report: Captors Demand $100K Ransom to Free Child Nabbed from Amchit
Naharnet/July 05/15/The interrogation of a Syrian janitor and the members of his family is still ongoing after he was suspected of involvement in the Saturday abduction of the child Ricardo Imad Jaara, LBCI television reported on Sunday. The child was nabbed outside his family home in the Jbeil district town of Amchit, LBCI said. “The captors have once again contacted the family, offering to lower the ransom from $250,000 to $100,000,” the TV network added. “The child briefly spoke to his mother at 4:00 am. He is in good health but has been refusing food,” LBCI said. It said the family received a phone call from “a Syrian number operating on the Syrian network.” “However, there are suspicions that the kidnappers are in the border area between Lebanon and Syria,” LBCI went on to say. The family for its part stressed that it is “coherent” and that the abduction is not related to a family dispute.

Report: Developments in Syria's al-Zabadani Have Nothing to Do with Lebanon
Naharnet/July 05/15/The army has the situation along the Lebanese-Syrian border under control, reassured a military source to the daily al-Mustaqbal on Sunday. It told the daily: “The border is under control and the military is performing its duties to the fullest, leaving no room for the gunmen.” “The developments in Syria's al-Zabadani have nothing to do with the Lebanese borders,” it added. The army thwarted on Saturday the infiltration of armed groups on the outskirts of al-Qaa, Ras Baalbek, and Arsal. It also arrested four gunmen in al-Labweh-Arsal on suspicion of their links to armed groups. Syrian troops backed by members of Hizbullah began a major offensive Saturday under the cover of intense airstrikes to retake a rebel-held mountain resort while opposition fighters retaliated by shelling the capital Damascus. Taking the rebel-held town of Zabadani would tighten Hizbullah's grip on Syrian territories bordering Lebanon and would strengthen the Syrian government's control over of the Beirut-Damascus highway. Zabadani has been held by rebels since shortly after Syria's crisis began in March 2011. The conflict has killed more than 220,000 people and wounded at least a million, according to the United Nations.

Report: Aoun's Street Action to Launch after Cabinet's Session Thursday
Naharnet/July 05/15/The street protests pledged by Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun will kick off “immediately” after Thursday's cabinet session, reported the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat on Sunday. Leading sources from the movement told the daily: “We have not yet set the final date and time of the first popular protest.” “We are seeking wide participation however,” they added. “We are not concerned whether our allies join us or not,” they stressed. “The battle we are waging is one for our existence and we will not back down from it,” the sources declared. “From now on, we will deal with some of our allies according to the files being proposed,” they explained. “We may be allies while tackling one issue and foes while dealing with another,” they clarified. Aoun revealed plans to hold demonstrations in several districts and his son-in-law Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil vowed to take “partnership by force.”“The Christians of the Orient are being eliminated by the sword and they want to eliminate us politically,” Aoun told his supporters in Rabieh on Saturday. “This is why we started preparing for popular movements and demonstrations in the districts of Mount Lebanon, Baabda and Koura,” he said as the delegation from south Lebanon cheered. Aoun, who heads the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, has been recently hinting that his movement is preparing for protests to what he calls attempts by his rivals to end the role of Christians in Lebanon. “We Christians are facing an existential threat because the foxes of Lebanese politics are usurping all the rights and posts of Christians,” he added.

Sami Gemayel Calls for 'National Gathering to Establish New Lebanon' after Election of President
Naharnet/July 05/15/Head of the Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel proposed on Sunday that Lebanon's constitutional system be reexamined following “90 years of a structure that has only deepened sectarianism and divisions among the Lebanese.”He called for holding a “national gathering to establish a new Lebanon” after the election of a new president. He made his suggestion before a popular meet at Beirut's Saifi area on the occasion of the election of a new Kataeb leadership. “Should we experience similar unrest in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Sudan before we finally change the system?” he wondered before the crowd. “It is time to acknowledge that the current constitutional structure we have been governed by for 90 years has only deepened sectarianism and created divisions among the people,” the lawmaker declared to applause. “It is time to open a new chapter in Lebanon. It is time to elect a president and stop forcing the Lebanese to live in degrading conditions,” he demanded. “Such a gathering should be held in Beirut, not abroad, because we should decide our own fate,” he added. “We should decide whether we want a state or not and whether we want a civilized state or not,” said the MP. “We must establish a new democratic state where all people are under the law and where they have the power of war and peace,” Gemayel stated “A state, democracy, and the rule of law are the main components of the new Lebanon,” he continued. “Let us build the Lebanon we want,” demanded Gemayel. “We will not allow anyone to impose change on us by force,” he stressed. Furthermore, he stressed the need to keep Lebanon neutral from regional disputes. “We are fed up of being dragged towards regional conflicts every four or five years,” he said. “It is time that the Lebanese people finally live in peace,” he declared.

Hizbullah, Syria Regime Forces Enter Rebel Bastion Zabadani
Naharnet/July 05/15/Syrian government forces backed by fighters from Hizbullah entered the Syrian town of Zabadani on Sunday in a bid to take the last rebel-held bastion along the Lebanese border. Syrian state television and Hizbullah's al-Manar station announced the advance into Zabadani on Sunday, a day after a major operation against it began. "Heroic army forces in cooperation with the Lebanese resistance took control of the al-Jamaiyat neighborhood in western Zabadani and the al-Sultana neighborhood in the east of the city," state television said. "Operations are continuing with dozens of terrorists killed and wounded." The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime forces and Hizbullah had entered Zabadani and intense clashes were underway in its east and west. Army helicopters dropped at least 22 barrel bombs on the town and were also shelling it heavily, said the Britain-based monitoring group. At least 14 regime forces and Hizbullah fighters had been killed in fighting for the town during the past 24 hours, along with at least 12 rebels.
- Last rebel border bastion - 
Zabadani was one of the first towns to fall into rebel hands, in early 2012, and is now the opposition's only remaining stronghold along the Lebanese border.The town is strategically important for the regime in part because of its proximity to the capital and the highway that runs from Damascus to Beirut. Zabadani has been under siege for more than a year, and most of the civilians have already fled, according to activists. The town is in the Qalamun region, once an opposition stronghold but mostly recaptured by the regime and Hizbullah in a campaign between late 2013 and April 2014. Agence France Presse

Report: Salam's Cabinet Will Not Be Toppled by Protests or Politics
Naharnet/July 05/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam took the decision to schedule a cabinet session immediately after the end of the previous one over his keenness to ensure the productivity of his government, reported the Kuwaiti daily al-Anba on Sunday. “He is keen to preserve its productivity regardless of the obstacles,” ministerial sources explained. “His cabinet will not be toppled by politics or protests,” they added in reference to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun's intention to hold demonstrations in several districts to reclaim the political rights of Christians. “The government will be considered resigned once a new president is elected,” they continued. “This was demonstrated by Speaker Nabih Berri's strong support for the cabinet, along with Hizbullah, whose deputy chief had expressed on Saturday the party's commitment to the government,” said the sources. Al-Anba meanwhile interpreted Salam making his call on Friday instead of the habitual Saturday for cabinet to convene as an act of defiance against Aoun and his demand that the government only tackle the security appointments file during its meetings. Aoun revealed plans to hold demonstrations in several districts and his son-in-law Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil vowed to take “partnership by force.” “The Christians of the Orient are being eliminated by the sword and they want to eliminate us politically,” Aoun told his supporters in Rabieh on Saturday. “This is why we started preparing for popular movements and demonstrations in the districts of Mount Lebanon, Baabda and Koura,” he said as the delegation from south Lebanon cheered. Aoun, who heads the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc, has been recently hinting that his movement is preparing for protests to what he calls attempts by his rivals to end the role of Christians in Lebanon. “We Christians are facing an existential threat because the foxes of Lebanese politics are usurping all the rights and posts of Christians,” he added.

Bou Saab: FPM Committed to Tackling Appointment of Army Chief during Next Cabinet Meeting
Naharnet/July 05/15/Education Minister Elias Bou Saab criticized the adoption of decisions linked to the agricultural sector during the last cabinet session in spite of the absence of Prime Minister Tammam Salam from the meeting, reported the daily al-Mustaqbal on Sunday. He told the daily: “Decisions cannot be taken in such a manner.” “We will tackle this issue during Thursday's cabinet session after I had discussed it with Salam during a telephone call on Friday,” he revealed. Furthermore, the minister said that the Kataeb ministers oppose the adoption of a decision if another component of cabinet objects to it. “Salam himself said during the last session that decisions cannot be adopted if one component rejects it,” said Bou Saab. “How can issues be resolved through such an approach?” he asked. He then stated that the Change and Reform ministers are committed to addressing the appointment of a new army commander during Thursday's government meeting. Free Patriotic Movement ministers backed by their allies Hizbullah and the Tashnag Party have been demanding the discussion of the appointments by the cabinet before any other issue. Bloc chief MP Michel Aoun wants his son-in-law Commando Regiment chief Brigadier General Chamel Roukoz to be appointed army chief. Roukoz's tenure ends in October 2015 while the term of army commander General Jean Qahwaji expires at the end of September. Aoun denied that he had a personal problem with Qahwaji, but that he had objections to his performance. Although the government has so far failed to discuss the appointments, Aoun said the FPM ministers will not resign from the cabinet.

‘We must not destroy Lebanon over one post': Amal MP
The Daily Star/July 05, 2015/BEIRUT: Lebanon must not be destroyed because one political party wants to appoint someone to an official position, an Amal Movement MP said Sunday, amid soaring tensions between the group and its ally, the Free Patriotic Movement.
“We cannot destroy Lebanon for the sake of a job, and we cannot harm Lebanon’s security for the sake of a political position,” MP Hani Qobeisi said in a ceremony organized by his party Sunday. “This is threatening Lebanon as an entity and a state.”His comments come amidst rising tensions between the different political parties represented in the national unity Cabinet, where FPM-affiliated ministers have vowed to prevent any decision to be approved before the appointment of successors to the country’s top security posts.
The party’s chief, MP Michel Aoun, supports his son-in-law and Commando Regiment chief, Brig. Gen. Shaml Roukoz, as a successor to Army commander Jean Kahwagi, whose term expires in September. Although allied with the FPM, the Amal Movement, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, has taken an opposing stance on the matter. After three Cabinet sessions were cancelled by Prime Minister Tammam Salam in light of the dispute, Berri issued a firm call on the FPM to end the “disruption” and allow the Cabinet to resume its work. “What we are witnessing these days is an attack on Arab and Islamic armies’ capacities, which serves Israel,” Qobeisi said. “In light of such chaos, we cannot disrupt Lebanon over a political position... regardless who is demanding it, be it a friend or a non-friend.” Aoun threatened to take action shortly after the Cabinet, in its first session Thursday in nearly a month, passed a proposal allotting $21 million to help export agricultural and industrial products by sea after land routes on the Syria Jordan border were closed. Accusing the Cabinet of surpassing the president’s powers, Aoun warned that the country was heading for an “explosion,” saying his party was preparing for “popular movements and demonstrations in the districts of Mount Lebanon, Baabda and Koura.”“We cannot threaten to put Lebanon’s destiny on the edge of a sword if this or that does not happen,” Qobeisi continued. “We should all work for a stable situation with a healthy political life in order to safeguard the state’s institutions.”

Lebanon's Kurds march in solidarity with Kobani
The Daily Star/ July 05, 2015/BEIRUT: Hundreds of people from Lebanon’s Kurdish community marched in Beirut Sunday in solidarity with their fellow nationals fighting ISIS in northern Syria. Carrying Kurdish flags and pictures of the incarcerated co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party Abdullah Ocalan, demonstrators accused Turkey of supervising ISIS’s massacring of around 150 Kobani residents last week. “Since the liberation of the city of Tal al-Abyad, the Turkish state launched a strong propaganda campaign against the victories of the democratic nation to create ethnic strife between Arabs and Kurds,” a statement by the protestors said. “This proves that the [Turkish] policy of genocide against the Kurdish people goes on... through ISIS’s mercenaries.”They called on the international human rights bodies to “hold the Turkish government accountable for its crimes against humanity and civilians.”

Akkar residents worry as ISIS inches closer
Misbah al-Ali/The Daily Star/Jul. 06, 2015
SHADRA, Lebanon: The golden rays of light seep through the Kina trees lining the highway between Abdeh and the border town of Abboudieh in the north Lebanon province of Akkar. Vast potato and peanut fields are hidden behind the tall trees. On the western side of the highway, toward the sea, lies the abandoned Rene Mouawad airport in Qleiaat. Mohammad Laalaa from the village of Tal Maayan is busy arranging his harvest of potatoes into cardboard boxes before loading them into trucks. He is clearly disinterested in the news of the fighting in neighboring Syria or of the possibility of ISIS taking over the close-by city of Homs, located a few dozen kilometers away from Lebanon’s border with Syria. In fact, what worries Laalaa the most these days is his inability to export his harvest. Since the outbreak of the Syrian war it has become increasingly difficult to transport Lebanese-grown produce to its main markets in the Gulf. Since Jordan closed its border with Syria after the Nassib crossing fell into the hands of rebel groups, fruits and vegetables from Lebanon cannot reach consumers in Jordan or the Gulf. Laalaa’s seasonal profits have shrunk from $10,000 to $2,000, he said.“The plight of farmers is a great one,” he said. “All of our produce is going to waste.”
Laalaa is one of the 500,000 residents of Lebanon’s poorest province. Stretched over 788 square-kilometers, Akkar comprises agricultural fields, tourist attractions, natural reserves and an airport. The district, however, has suffered from long years of neglect, which has increased poverty rates and encouraged mass emigration.Akkar is known for its religious and confessional diversity; while 50 percent of the population is Sunni, the province is also inhabited by Christians and Alawites. The northern district’s villages themselves comprise a mixture of sects which, according to residents, has immunized Akkar against sectarian tensions that became rampant during Lebanon’s 1975-90 Civil War.But the takeover by ISIS of the historical city of Palmyra and reports that the terrorist group has plans to launch an offensive on Homs has stirred fears among Akkar’s Christians and Alawites.
In the villages that line the northern border with Syria, Homs’ Crac des Chevaliers – which was overrun briefly by ISIS in 2013 and later recovered by the Syrian Army – is clearly visible.Christian fears were further exacerbated following the murder in May of Asaad al-Warraq, a prominent businessman from the Christian village of Minyara. Reports emerged that terrorist cells killed Warraq for his role in supplying the Lebanese Army with key information during the 2007 clashes in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared, blamed on the Al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam group. Other reports spoke about Warraq’s role in uncovering terrorist plots to recruit among north Lebanon’s Christian youths.
The slain businessman’s relative Elie Tony al-Warraq was arrested in January in connection with a twin suicide blast that targeted a cafe in Tripoli’s majority Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen. The district’s 650,000 Syrian refugees are another cause of worry to Christians, who voiced fears that some of them might join extremist groups in the event of an ISIS attack. A senior security source in north Lebanon does not entirely dismiss an ISIS threat, but explained that the option of ISIS invading the Akkar region was not a viable one.
“The activation of sleeper cells in Lebanon is a more plausible option,” the source said. These cells will be activated once terrorist groups sense that Lebanese security forces are in a state of disarray, “which is highly unlikely to happen,” according to the source.
The source described reports about ISIS moving to invade the Syrian province of Homs and surrounding areas as “mere speculation.”But the source said Lebanese authorities were well aware that ISIS was looking for an outlet to the sea, and Akkar’s strategic location in addition to the existence of the Renee Mouawad airport, which is only 3 kilometers away from the Syrian border, turns it into much-coveted territory.
In the majority-Alawite village of Haysa, residents speak about security forces in the Wadi Khaled and Tlayl areas recently thwarting arms deliveries ISIS-linked groups. According to Haysa residents interviewed by The Daily Star who wished to remain anonymous, sleeper cells in Akkar will be activated “in due time” in light of the wide “political” support ISIS enjoys in some of the area’s villages. The residents recalled when Fnaydeq Mayor Raed Khaled Taleb distributed sweets when his son died fighting alongside ISIS in Syria.
The residents also do not deny that residents of Akkar’s Alawite villages are arming themselves. “We are the sons of this land and we will defend it with our Sunni and Christian brothers,” one resident said. “We reject ISIS’ rule and we will fight and we won’t flee to Syria or to any other Lebanese area.” The porous nature of the Lebanese-Syrian border, which has never been demarcated, turned it into a suitable environment for smuggling activities. Before the Syrian war, gasoline and home appliances used to be trafficked, but after 2011 the same routes were used to smuggle weapons and fighters. In order to control the flow of weapons and militants along the border, the Lebanese Army has set up a number of posts in border villages like Shadra. Georges Dib is unfazed, wagering on national unity and the Lebanese Army to ward off dangers.
“There is nothing to worry about,” the lawyer said. “Our ties with Wadi Khaled, Mashta Hasan and Mashta Hammoud are thousands of years old and we rely on those ties, on national unity and on the Lebanese Army to protect us. These are our guarantees.”
The 60-year-old Dib, who now lives in Jounieh but visits Shadra on the weekends, noted that he did not leave his village for sectarian reasons but for purely economic ones.
He said terrorist groups are not only a threat to Christians and Alawites, but are a threat to Sunnis as well. “The main objective of ISIS and its ilk is to target models of coexistence like the one we have in Akkar.”
But Father Nectarios Makhoul, the head of the Roman Orthodox parish of Aydamoun-Tlayl, does not share Dib’s optimism. He said Akkar’s Christians and Alawites have “fateful concerns” regarding events in Syria.
“Let’s be frank – both Christians and Alawites are threatened and the dangers should not be downplayed.”He spoke about two “difficult” options if Akkar comes under attack: “We either stay in our land and fight or we leave here and move to safer areas.”
Makhoul said since the outbreak of the fighting in Syria his mind has been occupied with one matter: safeguarding his parish. “It’s a big question you know,” Makhoul added. “I know we need to abide by Jesus’ words and stay in our land and die for it. This is a genuine rendition of our faith.”

Netanyahu: What's happening in Iran talks is a breakdown, not a breakthrough
By JPOST.COM STAFF/07/05/2015/Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday expressed alarm at the emerging nuclear deal between western powers and Iran currently taking place in Vienna. Speaking at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that "what's coming out of the nuclear talks in Vienna is not a breakthrough, it's a breakdown." Netanyahu said that the world powers were conceding more and more with each passing day. The emerging deal "will pave Iran's way to produce the cores of many atomic bombs and it will also flood Iran with hundreds of millions of dollars that will serve it in its aggression and its mission of terror in the region and the world," the prime minister warned. Netanyahu claimed that the emerging deal with Iran was worse than the nuclear deal that had been signed with North Korea which led to Pyongyang obtaining an arsenal of nuclear weapons.

Iran unviels new far reaching domestic radar system
Reuters/Ynetnews/Published: 07.05.15/ Israel News /Iranian Revolutionary Guard hosts ceremony to show off new radar system that can detect aircraft 600 km, place the array in strategic position parallel to Israel. Iran says it has deployed a new domestically built long-range radar system, signalling a strengthening of its air defences as it holds what may be the final days of talks on a nuclear deal with world powers. Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) air defence force, unveiled the Ghadir phased-array radar in Ahwaz city in southwestern Khuzestan province near the Iraq border, state television said late on Saturday. Iran says the Ghadir unit is designed and manufactured entirely inside the country and can detect a plane at 600 km (373 miles) and a ballistic missile at 1,100 km. In comments suggesting the radar can also identify miniature unmanned drone aircraft, Esmaili was quoted by the Fars news agency as saying, "Discovering and tracking micro aerial vehicles (MAV) ... is one of the special qualities of the Ghadir radar system."  Iran has taken steps to develop its air defences after US and Israeli officials warned of possible military action to curtail its nuclear program, and is in discussions to buy the advanced S-300 ground-to-air missile system from Russia. Top US commander General Martin Dempsey in April said the 'military option' against Iran remains intact. The United States and Israel fear Iran is trying to obtain a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Kerry: Iran nuclear talks ‘could go either way’
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News/Sunday, 5 July 2015/U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said that the talks between world powers and Iran on its nuclear program could “go either way” and that the U.S. was “not going to shave anywhere at the margins” on a deal, as the self-imposed deadline for the talks loomed closer. Kerry, who is in Vienna with along world powers to try to hammer out a final deal to tame Iran’s nuclear program ahead of a Tuesday deadline, told reporters in a quick address that “none of us [negotiators from six world powers] content to do something that can’t past scrutiny.” He also struck a conciliatory note between the two sides, saying: “Our Iranian counterparts have been working hard. Everybody is negotiating hard, that’s what makes this difficult.”However, he warned that in the case of Iran not making concessions in exchange for relief on sanctions that have stalled the Islamic Republic’s economy, “Obama has always said we’ve been prepared to walk away.”While they have made some progress on the type of bilateral sanctions relief that Iran may receive, the two sides remain divided on such issues as lifting United Nations sanctions and on research and development using advanced centrifuges. “Many of the issues related to sanctions have been resolved, and there are four or five issues that remain including the important topic of ensuring both sides’ steps correspond to each other and happen at the same time,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by the ISNA agency. Iran, the United States and five major powers, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia, are trying to resolve a more than dozen-year-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, which the big powers suspect aims to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Iran denies this, saying that its program is solely for peaceful purposes such as producing medical isotopes. (With Reuters)

Syria regime forces enter rebel bastion Zabadani
AFP, Damascus/Sunday, 5 July 2015/Syrian government forces backed by Lebanon's Hezbollah movement on Sunday entered Zabadani, the last rebel-held town in the Qalamun region on the Lebanese border, state media said. The advance was also confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, and reported by Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station. "Heroic army forces in cooperation with the Lebanese resistance took control of the Al-Jamaiyat neighborhood in western Zabadani and the Al-Sultana neighborhood in the east of the city," state television said in a breaking news alert. "Operations are continuing with dozens of terrorists killed and wounded," it added. The Britain-based Observatory confirmed that regime forces and Hezbollah had entered the city, adding that army helicopters had dropped at least 12 barrel bombs on the town since Sunday morning. It said at least 14 regime forces and Hezbollah fighters had been killed in fighting for the town over the past 24 hours, along with at least 11 rebels. Hezbollah's Al-Manar television aired what it said was footage of its fighters and Syrian soldiers entering the town. Zabadani is around 20 kilometers north of the capital and was one of the first towns to fall into rebel hands in early 2012. It is the last major opposition position in the Qalamun region, which runs along the border with Lebanon and was once a bastion for the rebels. In late 2013, government forces and Hezbollah began a major campaign to take back the region, culminating in April 2014 with the capture of the ancient Christian town of Maalula. Zabadani has remained a lone holdout in the region, and has been under regime siege for more than a year. Syrian state media announced an official beginning to the government's operation to retake the town on Saturday. Hezbollah is a key ally of the Syrian government and has sent fighters to bolster its forces against an uprising that began in March 2011.

Syrian activists, economists push to use Turkish lira in Aleppo’s rebel-controlled areas
Sunday, 5 Jul, 2015 /Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—Syrian activists and economists have proposed a new initiative to use the Turkish lira as the main currency in liberated areas of Aleppo, following recent gains made by rebels in Syria’s largest city. The initiative calls for Syrians owning more than 10,000 Syrian pounds to change the excess home currency into Turkish lira to be used in rebel-controlled areas of the city. The Association of Syrian Economists said in a recently held conference that they and Syrian activists were putting forward the plan in “order to put economic pressure on the regime of [Syrian President] Bashar Al-Assad in the sense that [a move such as this] would help speed up its downfall.”Proponents of the plan say it will help ordinary people obtain access to basic goods in light of the lira’s stability against the US dollar, compared with the Syrian pound, which is now equivalent to almost 200 dollars. Before the outbreak of the Syrian conflict the country’s currency had for a number of years stabilized at around 50 dollars per pound. The Association said it is putting forward the plan to the interim Syrian government and the country’s internationally recognized opposition group the Syrian National Coalition, which are both currently based in Turkey. A source from the Syrian interim government told Asharq Al-Awsat they had been informed of the proposal but that no moves had yet been made to adopt it. “A group of activists told us of this proposal and we have informed them that it still needs to evolve and undergo evaluation,” the source said. “The [interim] government . . . is still studying this proposal, especially since it behooves us to also discuss it with Turkish officials, because it firstly concerns them.”Meanwhile, Ahmed Ramadan, a member of the Syrian National Coalition’s Politburo, welcomed the proposal and called on the Coalition to adopt it.
“This idea to replace the Syrian currency with Turkish lira was previously put forward by the interim government’s Finance Ministry, but it was not implemented,” Ramadan told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Even though the Coalition has still not looked into the current proposal properly, I personally absolutely support it.” The move has now become necessary, he said, especially since the regime continues to print money which is being exchanged on the black market for US dollars, despite the government’s foreign currency reserves dwindling rapidly. This comes as insurgents have made significant gains in Aleppo in recent weeks, amid gains across Syria’s northern regions. Rebel groups launched an offensive in the city on Thursday, setting off some of the heaviest fighting there since 2012.
On Saturday the rebels launched an attack on the New Aleppo neighborhood “which forms an entry point into the west of the city,” according to Rami Abdulrahman, the head of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which tracks the conflict on the ground through a network of on-the-ground monitors. “This achievement counts as the most prominent strategic gain [for the rebels] in the last two years, in terms of the fight to control Aleppo,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. The city has been heavily contested during the last three years and since 2012 has been divided between government-controlled and rebel-held areas. The decimation in Syria’s once-thriving second city and financial center has led to many of the inhabitants fleeing abroad or to other parts of Syria.
*Nazeer Rida contributed additional reporting from Beirut.

ISIS attacks power plant in Hasakah, in northeast Syria
Reuters, Beirut/Sunday, 5 July 2015/Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) suicide bombers on Sunday blew up an explosive- laden truck near a power plant that serves the northeastern city of Hasakah, the latest attack after their expulsion from most parts of the city, the Syrian army said. State television said a second attack, against a power plant that serves the southern districts of the city, was prevented, but the first had caused "material damage" and led to "casualties". It did not elaborate. The ultra-hardline militants continue to stage lighting attacks inside the city, although they were driven out of some districts after they mounted a major offensive that failed last month. That offensive attempted to capture the provincial capital of the oil and grain producing province of Syria. The city is divided into zones run separately by the government of President Bashar al Assad and a Kurdish administration. The offensive was meant to relieve pressure on ISIS, which has given up significant ground recently to Kurds and some local Arab tribes backing them. The militants lost villages around Ras Al Ayn and the town of Tal Abyad northwest of Hasakah along the Turkish border. The northeastern corner of Syria is strategically important because it links areas controlled by Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Syrian Kurds have also sought to expand their territorial control over a region stretching from Kobani to Qamishili, which they see as part of a future Kurdish state.

Airstrikes hit ISIS targets in Syria stronghold
By Staff Writer | Al Arabiya News/Sunday, 5 July 2015/The U.S.-led coalition said they carried out a series of 16 airstrikes Saturday on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in its Syrian stronghold of Raqqa, according to Agence France-Presse. See also: ISIS teens execute 25 soldiers in Syria’s Palmyra “The significant airstrikes tonight were executed to deny Daesh (ISIS) the ability to move military capabilities throughout Syria and into Iraq,” spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gilleran said in a coalition statement. “This was one of the largest deliberate engagements we have conducted to date in Syria and it will have debilitating effects on Daesh’s ability to move from Raqqa,” Gilleran added. Coalition forces “successfully engaged multiple targets” throughout Raqqa -- the extremists’ de facto capital -- the statement said, destroying ISIS structures and transit routes.The strikes “have severely constricted terrorist freedom of movement,” it added. The announcement came after ISIS released a video showing teenage members executing 25 Syrian soldiers in an amphitheater in the ancient ruins of Palmyra. [With AFP]

U.N. envoy in Yemen to discuss ceasefire
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News/Sunday, 5 July 2015/The U.N. envoy to Yemen arrived in Sanaa on Sunday to discuss a humanitarian pause in the war-torn country as fighting gripped the country’s second city Aden. Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed told reporters at the airport that he was hoping “rapidly to secure a humanitarian truce” which could pave the way for a “peaceful settlement of the crisis which has turned into a catastrophe.”Prior to his arrival to Sanaa, Ahmed was holding discussions with the pro-Hadi government in Saudi Arabia to push for a pause to allow aid into war-ravaged country, sources told Reuters. On Sunday, Saudi-led warplanes bombed the Iran-backed Houthi militia’s positions, killing eight people, while rebel rocket fire killed six, including a child, officials said.
The dead from the Katyusha fire were Somali refugees who had sought shelter in a kindergarten, medics said. Aden was the last refuge of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi before he fled to Saudi Arabia in March and has been a key battleground ever since. In neighboring Lahj province, Hadi loyalists attacked a rebel gathering, killing 11, military sources said. They also attacked the rebel-held Al-Anad air base, Yemen’s largest. Eight rebels and two Hadi loyalists were killed, the sources said. On Saturday, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul Salam said in a post on his Facebook page he had met with Ahmed to discuss the matter, according to Reuters. Earlier this week, The U.S. State Department called for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict during the month of Ramadan to allow international aid groups to deliver urgently needed food, medicine and fuel. The European Union said it supported U.N. efforts to secure a lasting, predictable and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire and demanded that Saudi-led forces ease restrictions on entry of ships to Yemeni ports. On Wednesday, the United Nations declared Yemen a level three emergency, the highest on its scale. The United Nations also warned that more than 80 percent of the country’s population needs aid and the health system faces “imminent collapse.” An Arab coalition has been bombarding the Houthis and allied army units since March in a campaign to restore Hadi to power. More than 2,800 people have been killed in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country since March, according to U.N. figures. (With agencies)

Egyptian army kills 25 militants in Sinai
Staff writer, Al Arabiya News/Sunday, 5 July 2015
Egypt’s military launched air strikes and ground operations that killed 25 Islamist militants in North Sinai on Sunday, security sources said, as the country grapples with an increasingly ambitious insurgency based in the region. Security sources said on Sunday troops killed the 25 militants in villages between the towns of Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah. The army found four militant hideouts and attacked them with Apache helicopters and ground troops. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group’s Egypt affiliate, recently renamed Sinai Province, has killed hundreds of soldiers and police since Mursi’s removal. Though the vast peninsula has long been a security headache for Egypt and its neighbors, the removal of Mursi brought new violence that has grown into an Islamist insurgency that has spread out of the region. On Monday, a car bomb in Cairo killed Egypt’s top prosecutor, the highest-profile official to die since the insurgency began. Egyptian government officials have accused Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood of links to Sinai attacks. The Brotherhood says it is a peaceful movement that wants to reverse what it calls a military coup through street protests. Egypt’s interior ministry said on Sunday it had arrested 12 Brotherhood members who had formed three cells with the intention of carrying out attacks on policemen, soldiers and military and police bases. Also on Sunday, the prosecutors referred to trial 22 people charged with planting bombs near targets including the high court and cabinet buildings, state news agency MENA reported. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has also expressed concern about militants based in neighboring Libya, where Egypt has launched air strikes on ISIS targets.
Gunmen wound four military recruits
Four military recruits were severely injured after unknown gunmen hit a security camp with a mortar shell in the Egyptian border town of Rafah, Al Arabiya News Channel’s correspondent reported on Sunday, citing security sources.
The wounded recruits were transferred to a hospital in Al-Erish, capital and largest city of the restive governorate of North Sinai. Rafah, which borders the Gaza Strip, is around 50 kilometers away from Arish. The security sources also said that they destroyed an underground tunnel in a house located in Taweel al-Ameer, a district in Rafah.They said the owner of the house was arrested to face trial. Militants in the northern Sinai have long battled security forces, but they stepped up their attacks after Islamist President Mohammad Mursi was ousted from power in July 2013.
(With Reuters)

Kuwait Mulls Charging more than 40 over Mosque Bomb
Naharnet/July 05/15/Kuwait is considering charging more than 40 people in connection with a deadly suicide bombing in a Shiite mosque claimed by the Islamic State group, a security official said Sunday. "More than 40 suspects, including a number of women, have been referred to the public prosecution," the official told AFP, requesting anonymity. "Now, it is up to the prosecution whether to press charges against all of them or not," the official said. The Saudi bomber killed 26 people and wounded 227 in the June 26 attack in the capital Kuwait City.Among the defendants are the alleged driver of the bomber and the alleged owner of the house where the driver stayed. Kuwait has a confessionally divided population of around one third Shiite to two thirds Sunni. Last month's attack was the first in the emirate to be claimed by IS, which controls swathes of neighboring Iraq and Syria.Agence France Presse

Greeks defy Europe with overwhelming ‘No’ vote
Reuters/Daily Star/ July. 06, 2015
ATHENS: Voters in Greece resoundingly rejected creditors’ demands for more austerity in return for rescue loans Sunday, backing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who insisted the vote would give him a stronger hand to reach a better deal.
The opposition accused Tsipras of jeopardizing the country’s membership in the 19-nation club that uses the euro and said a “Yes” vote was about keeping the common currency.
With 87 percent of the votes counted, the “No” side had more than 60 percent.
“Today we celebrate the victory of democracy,” Tsipras, who gambled the future of his 5-month-old left-wing government on the vote, said in an address to the nation.
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Sunday night that creditors planned from the start to shut down banks to humiliate Greeks and force them to make a statement of contrition for showing that debt and loans are unsustainable.
On Sunday night’s result, he said that “‘No’ is a big ‘Yes’ to democratic Europe. It’s a no to the vision of Europe an infinite cage for its people. It is a loud yes to the vision of the eurozone as a common area of prosperity and social justice.”
Thousands of government supporters gathered in central Athens in celebration, waving Greek flags and chanting “No, No, No.”
“We don’t want austerity measures anymore, this has been happening for the last five years and it has driven so many into poverty, we simply can’t take any more austerity,” said Athens resident Yiannis Gkovesis, 26, holding a large Greek flag in the city’s main square.
Governing left-wing Syriza party Eurodeputy Dimitris Papadimoulis said that “Greek people are proving they want to remain in Europe” as equal members “and not as a debt colony.” The referendum was Greece’s first in 41 years.
Minister of State Nikos Papas, speaking on Alpha television, said it would be “wrong to link a ‘No’ result to an exit from the eurozone. If a ‘No’ prevails that will help us get a better agreement.”
Tsipras’ high-stakes brinkmanship with lenders from the eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund resulted in Greece defaulting on its debts this week and shutting down its banks to avoid their collapse.
He called the referendum last weekend, giving both sides just a week to campaign.
“Today, democracy is defeating fear ... I am very optimistic,” Tsipras said earlier in the day after voting in in Athens.
European officials had openly urged Greeks to vote against the government’s recommendation. The leaders of Germany and France called for a European Union summit Tuesday to discuss the situation.
“I hope people say ‘Yes,’” European Parliament President Martin Schulz told German public radio.
“If after the referendum, the majority is a ‘No,’ they will have to introduce another currency because the euro will no longer be available for a means of payment.”
Belgian Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt was one of the first eurozone ministers to react to the initial results.
“This likely ‘No’ complicates matters,” he told Belgium’s VRT network, but insisted the door remained open to resume talks with the Greek government within hours.
The vote was held amid banking restrictions imposed last Monday to halt a bank run, with Greeks queuing up at ATMs across the country to withdraw a maximum 60 euros per day. Banks have been shut all week, and it is uncertain when they will reopen. Large lines once again formed at ATMs Sunday.
Daniel Tsangaridis, a 35-year-old Athens resident, said he didn’t expect banks to reopen soon, despite a government pledge that they would do so Tuesday.
“It’s not going to happen in the next 48 hours,” he said. “If the situation improves and we can have a deal, then the banks will open.”
The Syriza party came to power in January after a six-year recession. Since then, the standoff between Athens and its international lenders has grown more bitter, and early signs of some economic growth and recovering employment in Greece have disappeared.
The debt-wracked nation also suffered repeated ratings downgrades and lost access to billions of euros after its existing bailout deal expired last week.
Polls published Friday showed the two sides in a dead heat with an overwhelming majority – about 75 percent – wanting Greece to remain in the euro currency.
“Today, we Greeks decide on the fate of our country,” conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras said. “We vote ‘Yes’ to Greece. We vote ‘Yes’ to Europe.”
The sense of urgency was palpable as Greeks struggled to decipher a convoluted referendum question after being bombarded with frenzied messages warning of the country’s swiftly approaching financial collapse.
Neither result on Sunday, however, would lead to a clear answer on what Greece should do about its overstretched finances.
Greece is no longer in a bailout program since its previous package expired last Tuesday. It now has to negotiate a new one with its creditors that involves even more money for the government and banks and new economic austerity measures.
Despite the Greek government’s assertion that a “No” vote will not lead to a euro exit, most experts agree it would open up more uncertain financial outcomes.
A number of European politicians, including Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the top eurozone official, have said a “No” vote would jeopardize Greece’s place in the 19-nation eurozone. Investors are also likely to believe a “No” win increases the chance of a so-called “Grexit,” where Greece returns to its own old currency.

Greece votes on high-stakes bailout referendum
By The Associated Press | Athens/Sunday, 5 July 2015/Greeks started casting ballots early Sunday in the closely watched bailout referendum, with opinion polls showing people evenly split on whether to accept creditors’ proposals for more austerity in exchange for rescue loans, or defiantly reject the deal. Polling stations are open until 7 p.m. (1600 GMT; noon EST). Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is gambling the future of his 5-month-old left-wing government on the snap poll - insisting that a “no” vote would strengthen his hand to negotiate a better deal with the country’s creditors, and a “yes” would be a capitulation to their harsh demands.The opposition accuses Tsipras of jeopardizing the country’s membership in the eurozone and says a “yes” vote is about keeping the common currency.
Tsipras’ high-stakes standoff with lenders- the European Union and the International Monetary Fund - resulted in Greece defaulting on its debts this past week and shutting down banks to avoid their collapse, and lose access to billions of euros after an existing bailout deal expired.The sense of urgency was palpable all week when Greeks struggled to decipher a convoluted referendum question while being bombarded with frenzied messages of impending doom or defiance. A series of polls published Friday at the end of a frantic weeklong campaign showed the two sides in a dead heat, with an incremental lead of the “yes” vote well within the margin of error. They also showed an overwhelming majority of people - about 75 percent - want Greece to remain in the euro currency. Aris Spiliotopoulos, a 22-year-old who is launching his own tourism start-up, said he believes the vote is about whether Greece choses to stay among the club of nations that uses the euro as their currency and ultimately whether the country opts to stay in the European Union itself. “I am voting ‘yes’ because I believe that my future and even my kids’ future, in twenty or thirty years from now, is in the eurozone and the European Union,” Spiliotopoulos said on the eve of the referendum.
Gym teacher Alkiviadis Kotsis said he is voting “no” because the country and its people simply can’t take more austerity. “No matter how many loans you take, you cannot get by if you don’t produce things. You can’t do anything,” he said.
No matter the referendum result, Tsipras faces a tough road ahead, fraught with uncertainty about whether he will be able to deliver an improved bailout agreement.
Yale University political science professor Stathis Kalyvas said the Greek government will face daunting challenges no matter which way the vote goes. In case of a “no” win, Kalyvas said the Greek government could be confronted with the refusal of other eurozone countries to negotiate a better deal because of their distrust of Tsipras. A “yes” win won’t mean a road to the negotiating table strewn with roses either, but would likely usher in a new government with a shot at negotiating an improved deal, Kalyvas said. He said if the European Union wants to keep Greece in the eurozone, it will have to come up with “a very generous plan” since the cost of the crisis has shot up to unanticipated levels. That was borne out by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who told daily Bild on Saturday that future negotiations between Greece and its creditors will be “very difficult,” because the country’s economic situation has worsened dramatically in recent weeks.
Schaeuble repeated the German government’s position that for a community like Europe to work, all countries need to abide by the rules. Meanwhile, Greece’s Finance Minister Yianis Varoufakis launched a salvo at other eurogroup nations, accusing them of holding out on a bailout deal to allow bank coffers to run dry so they could spring a “vile ultimatum” on the government to accept what he called a humiliating deal. Writing in the Saturday edition of daily Kathimerini, Varoufakis said other eurogroup members rejected Greece’s “honorable” counter-proposals and insisted on extracting “humility.”Varoufakis said accepting the creditors’ terms would be a “permanent condemnation” while rejecting it would offer the “only prospect for recovery.”With speculation swirling on the referendum’s impact on Tsipras’ government, Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis denied media reports that he would accept to lead a new “grand coalition” government.“The country has a prime minister who will have an even stronger popular mandate and support. I will serve this mandate on my part,” he said in a statement.

Iran’s toxic deal is not a legacy Obama should leave
Andrew Bowen//Sunday, 5 July 2015/Al Arabiya
Naïve optimism has enveloped the “final” hours of talks between Washington and Tehran on a nuclear agreement. In pursuit of a legacy defining achievement, President Obama has put everything on the line to secure a deal at the expense of both Washington’s allies and the U.S.’ long-term strategic interests in the Middle East. While there has been a vociferous amount of criticism about these negotiations from the beginning, this criticism in Washington at times has been misplaced. It’s not so much that a nuclear deal in it of itself is a poor strategic objective, as many of his critics would argue. More so, President Obama lost control of the negotiating process from the beginning.
A poorly negotiated deal
The final agreement, likely to be reached next week in Geneva, is a deeply, flawed deal. Instead of negotiating consistently from a position of strength, the U.S.’s repeated concessions have empowered Iran to gain concessions that the White House in the past said were deal breakers. Taking advantage of Washington’s use of setting artificial negotiating deadlines, Tehran has repeatedly gone on the offense drawing these negotiations into the final hours to see whether the P5+1 would blink first. In most cases, Washington blinks and the terms of the agreement are further watered down. At the same time, the U.S. missed repeated opportunities to try to deter Iran’s broader regional behavior. Believing that such issues would derail the talks or extend them longer, Obama has chosen to isolate the talks from these complexities and has allowed Iran to pursue its regional goals without any real threat of sanction, diplomatic pressure, or credible military deterrence. Once such an agreement is signed, Obama will effectively remove any economic ability to constrain Iran’s behavior in the region and at the same time, sign off on an agreement that will allow Iran to achieve a nuclear weapon in over a decade, if Khamenei’s regime doesn’t cheat on the terms before. As this negotiating process has shown, not once has Tehran shown any real substantive interest in a long-term nuclear free Gulf, better relations with its neighbors, or critically, improving relations with the U.S.
A weakened U.S. position
Washington has too quickly accepted these terms. As much as Obama has argued for engaging the U.S.’s opponents, this engagement strategy has too often been driven by naïve optimism, political vanity, and the absence of a well-defined strategy. In doing so, engagement has become the strategy itself and America’s long-term position in the region and globally is arguably less secure. Taking advantage of Washington’s use of setting artificial negotiating deadlines, Tehran has repeatedly gone on the offense
The White House has received criticism for its Middle East policy for being too reactive, inconsistent, lacking strategy, or at times, purely misjudgment and incompetence. This criticism hasn’t been fair, but a credible case can be made that Obama has both misjudged what America’s role in the Middle East should be and has exercised as a result, American power in pursuit of a strategy that has weakened America’s position. By pulling so quickly out of the Middle East in pursuit of a domestic policy agenda, Obama looked away as Iran further expanded its strategic position in the region at the expense of the U.S. and its regional allies. The nuclear deal’s sanction relief allows Tehran to further pursue that course and Iran’s senior leadership has shown no credible signs that they are planning to alter such a course.
While there is a short-term convergence of interests between the U.S. and Iran in stabilizing Iraq, Iran’s behavior in Syria and Iraq has been less to do at times with defeating ISIS as it is to do with consolidating their influence, including holding their line of control from Beirut to Damascus and ensuring that Iraq remains a Shiite predominant weakened state dependent on Tehran. By supporting the insurgency in Yemen, Iran equally has shown its lack of interest in even finding areas of cooperation with the Gulf States. Believing that Iran can be a partner in the region for stability is pure naivety.
Arc of instability and new U.S. leadership
Instead Tehran’s behavior has helped create an arc of instability in the Middle East, which has long-term implications for the stability of the region, Europe, and the wider Indian Ocean, and for global energy markets. These actions also have severely constrained and endangered America’s allies in the region and arguably, leaves the U.S. in a more weakened position to respond to these challenges. With geopolitical power shifting to the Indian Ocean, Obama in his “pivot” to Asia has arguably left the U.S. less prepared to confront the challenges of the 21st century. The nuclear deal, on these terms, isn’t a legacy a President should leave. Obama still has an opportunity to correct course, but it’s hard to see at this point whether that course will be corrected before he leaves office.

Is Turkish military intervention in Syria rational?
Sinem Cengiz/Al Arabiya/Sunday, 5 July 2015
In the 1990s, the Middle East, for Turkey, was the major source of its security concerns – just like it is today. Turkey’s strained relations with its neighboring countries and the PKK threat originating from these countries pushed Turkey to adopt a security-orientated approach by pursuing policies prioritizing military means and balancing threats with alliances. During those times, due to Damascus’ support of the PKK, Turkey and Syria were at the brink of war. Turkey threatened to invade Syria with sharpening of the rhetoric of Turkish leaders and the increasing deployment of Turkish troops for war. However, such a war didn’t happen after the signing of the Adana agreement between two countries in 1998. In recent days in Turkey, we once again find ourselves in a discussion about possible military intervention in Syria with a change in the rules of engagement, a sharpened rhetoric from Turkish leaders, and differing scenarios regarding the creation of a buffer zone, amid several unverified media reports regarding Turkey’s preparation for intervention.
Will Turkey really occupy northern Syria? Who will be the target of the Turkish troops: Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorists, or the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) – a Syrian affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is listed s a terrorist organization by Turkey, or the Bashar al-Assad regime? What would be the main aim of such a move?
Fertile ground
Needless to say, Syria is more than a quagmire today. It has become fertile ground for foreign fighters and several countries playing proxy war cards. The civil war in the country has been so complicated that it has become so hard to understand who is cooperating with who. There are several reports suggesting there is cooperation between the PYD and the Assad regime, while others say ISIS is cooperating with Assad and some accuse Turkey of aiding ISIS. One could list several questions and scenarios on the possible Turkish intervention; however, I would say that the worst thing for the country is to drag itself into a war full with uncertainties and risks. Syria in 1998 was a completely different Syria from today. In 1998, Turkey's intervention was a threat to the existence of the regime, but today, the Syrian regime considers Turkey's intervention as a factor in the continuity of its power, or in other words, a factor to ensure its survival. Moreover, such an intervention would also give opportunity to other groups to ensure their survival. We once again find ourselves in a discussion about possible military intervention in Syria with a change in the rules of engagement
Will it be rational for Turkey to invade Syria now? No, as a state Turkey feels threatened by the situation in its south; however it has no rational reason for unilateral intervention, whether to form a buffer zone or not, in Syria at the moment. Also, Turkey is not under direct attack from the Syrian side, nor is the political situation in Ankara ready to decide on such a critical decision. Even presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın announced that intervention would not be rational. "To interpret our border security measures as 'Turkey is going to war'... is not very rational. A country has a natural right to protect its borders," he said, adding that Turkey would not take any "unilateral steps" and would continue to act in line with the international community in efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis. Without giving further details, Kalın also noted that Turkey already had the necessary legal justification for moves that would preserve its border security.
On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan chaired a National Security Council meeting, which voiced concern about a 'terrorism' threat from across the border. Days after Erdoğan stated that Turkey would never allow the formation of a Kurdish state along its southern borders, several reports circulated in the media stating that government was considering creating a buffer zone in Syria with 110 km long and 33 km deep from the Jarablus to Azaz.
Although the creation of a buffer zone may seem to be an advantage for Turkey, as it will prevent Kurdish cantons from Kobane to Afrin to join up and will allow the creation of refugee camps; refugees will gather on the Syrian side of the border and will be protected by the Turkish side. Such a move is unlikely as it would require a major military operation, more importantly a strong international backing. The threat of intervention seems to be a show of strength by Turkey to Kurds in Syria and a signal to the countries that support Kurdish advances which may lead to the creation of a Kurdish autonomous region along Turkish border. In any case, if Turkey would decide for such a move would mean an intervention to a foreign country; without using proxies but directly deploying its troops. Such a move carries disquieting risks and Turkey may face problems on multiple fronts.
Threats
Firstly, if Turkey enters Syria, ISIS, which will be against the Turkish intervention, would be the greatest threat it will face. A terrorist organization proficient in suicide attacks may consider Turkey and Turkish citizens as a target. Such a scenario is scary enough when taking into consideration the fragile political and economic situation in Turkey. Secondly, such a Turkish move may cause serious diplomatic troubles with Iran and Russia, two staunch supporters of the Syrian regime, which is also expected to react to Turkish intervention.
Also, Turkey has not totally been in agreement with its NATO ally, the U.S., which supports the Kurdish forces in Syria against ISIS, over the buffer zone issue. The two sides differ over the aim and target in the Syrian crisis. While for Washington, ISIS is the main problem, for Turkey, in addition to ISIS, the PYD and the Assad regime are the problems. Thirdly, such military action would have economic implications. Military expenditures is another factor that makes such an intervention further risky. Also, sending troops to Syria would be a tough ordeal for the Turkish administration as Syria now is like a dark tunnel. This is one of the main reasons for the reluctance of the Turkish army regarding such an intervention. Lastly, the Turkish public does not seem to be supportive of Turkish involvement in the Syria crisis. The war with Syria would make no sense when taking into account all the risks.

Our Desperate Attempts to Reject Torture
Diana Moukalled/Asharq Al Awsat/Saturday, 4 Jul, 2015/This month is dedicated to a global media campaign against torture. Documented testimonies, investigations, articles and videos of survivors from across the world are being broadcast on alternative media platforms and websites in an attempt to exert more pressure on the parties who engage in torture practices. Voices opposing torture can be heard everywhere. However, these violent practices have not come to an end in the Arab world, nor will they soon. In the Arab region torture is often sponsored by the state authorities. Do you remember a young Egyptian man named Khaled Said who was tortured to death and whose death was one of the sparks that triggered the Egyptian revolution? Do you remember the children of Dera’a who mobilized the crowds after their fingernails were pulled out by the Syrian regime? Screams emerging from Arab prisons have become a distinguishing mark of our region. We were deluded into thinking that the uproars which erupted in 2011 would force people who have been silent about Arab prisons to speak out. However, this did not happen as deaths increased and torture and brutal murders became a daily occurrence. So, what can a campaign against torture achieve? For us, the citizens of the Middle East, it seems that efforts such as media and human rights campaigns to fight torture are an urgent need. Blood has been shed for years, to the point where we can see this blood on our pillows and we can hear the screams of those being tortured in our sleep. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is trying to break the monotony of decapitation videos and is producing new videos in which it resorts to drowning and exploding the bodies of prisoners. The torture of a Syrian boy to death pained us all as the soldier who brutally beat him up clearly said: “I want to kill him even if they expel me from the army.” Expulsion from the Syrian army is the maximum penalty a child torturer and murderer can receive. In fact, most torturers escape punishment even when a punishment is imposed. However, this circle of brutality includes both, torturers and those who cheer for them. People are not united over rejecting torture. In fact, they condemn it according to the identities of the tortured and the torturer. A leaked video showing Islamist detainees being tortured at Roumieh Prison has sparked controversy in Lebanon. Many thought the ones being beaten up are affiliated with ISIS and thus deserve this torture and pain. Similar views have been echoed in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other places. People have yet to decide their stance on insulting, inflicting pain and humiliating the rival’s body.
The identity of the tormented determines whether we condemn or celebrate their suffering. We are confronting regimes and militias who have been raised amidst this brutality. Therefore, the global campaign against torture seems of no significance and is rather met by a wry smile by some. There are needs and obstacles to address before we realize the extent of our need to reject killing, humiliating and inflicting pain on others even if they are guilty, and we will always find excuses to justify our acceptance of such violations.

ISIS rushes reinforcements to Egypt. Its next targets: The Pyramids and Sphinx
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 5, 2015/The Islamic State is rushing reinforcements to Egypt from Libya and Iraq for its battle with Egyptian forces in northern Sinai, which went into its fifth day Sunday, July 5, and other offensives, debkafile’s intelligence and counter-terror sources report. After sustaining hundreds of casualties, both sides claim to have won the upper hand but the tenacious struggle is not over. An Islamist manpower pool is provided by Egyptian extremists who crossed into Libya in the past and settled in bases around Benghazi. Last week, ISIS summoned them to take up positions in Cairo and the Suez Canal and wait for orders to go into action. They crossed back with the help of smugglers. Those rings, dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood underground, with branches controlled by Hamas and Hizballah, bring illicit weapons and ammunition supplies to Sinai from Libya via Egypt.
President Abdel Fatteh El-Sisi is therefore obliged to earmark substantial military and intelligence resources for defending the Suez Canal and Cairo – more even than the Sinai front.
The other source of jihadi reinforcements is Iraq, They use another branch of the smuggling network which carries them through southern Jordan to the Gulf of Aqaba where they are picked up by smugglers’ boats and ferried across to the eastern coast of the Sinai Peninsula.
The IDF had more than one reason for its decision last Wednesday to close to traffic Rte 12, Israel’s main southern highway, which runs parallel to the Egyptian border up to Eilat: It was a necessary precaution lest ISIS turned its terrorists and guns against Israel from next-door northern Sinai. The other reason was to deter the Islamists coming from Iraq from trying to transit Israel and reach Sinai with the help of Bedouin smugglers operating on both sides of the Israeli-Egyptian border.
Our military sources estimate that some 1,000 jihadists are directly engaged in the North Sinai battle with the Egyptian army, but add that they could quickly recruit supplementary fighting manpower from Bedouin tribes near the warfront who already play ball with the terrorists.Egyptian tacticians have strictly limited the army action on this front to air and helicopter strikes and local ground and armored forces. They are focusing on defending three Sinai enclaves, the northern district around Sheikh Zuweid, El Arish port and Rafah, and Sharm el-Sheikh in the south, to pin ISIS forces down in those places and prevent them from fanning out into areas controlled by the big Bedouin tribes.
When President El-Sisi visited the troops in northern Sinai Saturday, July 5, he disclosed that only one percent of the Egyptian army of 300,000 men was assigned to Sinai. He indicated that his army was perfectly capable of wiping out the Sinai terrorist threat in no time if all its might were to be thrown into the fray. This strategy leaves ISIS with free rein in central Sinai. However, El-Sisis, like his predecessor Hosni Mubarak, is not prepared to go all out against ISIS in its “dens” any time in the near future, because he needs all his military resources and assets he can muster to defend the capital Cairo and the Suez Canal. Neither the Islamic Army nor the Muslim Brotherhood or any other radical Islamists make any secrets of their next plans. ISIS has announced that it is setting its sights on Egypt’s pyramids, the Sphinx of Giza, and the country's unique historic monuments in general, after its savage vandalism and looting of other precious world heritage sites. In a new message released Friday, July 3, a number of radical Islamist leaders, including the ISIS “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, told their followers that the destruction of Egypt’s national monuments, such as the pyramids and the sphinx, was a “religious duty” that must be carried out by those who worship Islam, as “idolatry is strictly banned in the religion.”
This message has sharply ratcheted up the jihadist element of ISIS military confrontation with Egypt to a higher, more inflammatory level.