LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

January 12/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 03/31-36/:"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath."

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
Second Letter to the Corinthians 11/18.22-30/:"Since many boast according to human standards, I will also boast. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman I am a better one: with far greater labours, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 11-12/17
A blow to Iran reformers as Trump presidency looms/Reuters/Jerusalem Post/January 11/17
Iran Steps Up Threats to Israel, U.S./Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/January 11/17
The UN Holocaust: More Lies and Treachery on the Way/by Yves Mamou/Gatestone Institute/January 11/17
Does the Anti-Nepotism Statute Preclude Trump from Appointing Kushner/by Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/January 11/17
How a terror tale unfolded in Riyadh/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/January 11/17
Barack Obama’s successes and failures/Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi/Al Arabiya/January 11/17
Israeli occupation in the dock as much as Sergeant Azaria/Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/January 11/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on January 11-12/17
399 truce violations by Assad regime and Iran militias in 11 days
Opposition denies claim army has entered Wadi Barada
72 countries to attend Mideast peace summit in Paris
Syria Peace Talks in Astana Set for January 23
Fresh Syria Raids as Moscow Sets January 23 Peace Talks
Trump Admits Russia Hacked Democrats, Says U.S. 'Created' IS by Leaving Mideast 'at Wrong Time'
Zimbabwe First Lady Denies Seizing Properties of Lebanese Businessman
Bailed murder suspect kills six in Iran rampage
Iraqi forces retake 80% of eastern Mosul
Op-Ed: Will Rafsanjani's Death Trigger Iran Regime Upheaval?
Babak Zanjani's Astronomical Theft With Complicity of the Iran Regime's Leaders
Parliamentarians Call to Save Political Prisoner Ali Moezzi in Iran
Iran Regime Allocates Public Budget To "Increase Missile Production and Defense Capability"
Iran: Family's Concerns Regarding Disappearance of Political Prisoner Ali Moezzi

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 11-12/17
Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani: Aoun best choice as President
Aoun Meets Qatar's Emir after Concluding SA Visit
Hariri Dubs Aoun's Visit to SA 'Historic', Chairs Cabinet Meeting
Hariri Orders Measures to Keep Birds Away from Airport as Jumblat Warns of 'Disaster'
Man Held in Masharii al-Qaa for Smuggling Syrians into Lebanon
8,000 Fake Liquor Bottles Seized in Zouk Mikael
Shorter Urges 'Technical Reforms, Women's Quota' in Upcoming Elections
Berri Says 'Time Running Out,' Election Law Must be Endorsed
Aoun: Iran Ties Won't Impact Saudi Relations
Mustaqbal Says Jumblat's Approval on Election Law Crucial
Judge Hassan Hamdan orders immediate closure of Costa Brava landfill
Jumblatt calls to remove waste dumpster near airport
Zoayter visits Egypt for talks over agricultural cooperation prospects
Syrian national apprehended in Bar Elias after murdering sister in law
Khoury, Kaag tackle cooperation prospects
Baalbeck, Hermel MPs warn emptying refugee wastewater in region environmental hazard
Report: MEA Plane Makes Emergency Landing after Fistfight On Board

Links From Jihad Watch Site for on January 11-12/17
Austria: Muslim migrants pretended to be children, swindled $105,000 in benefits
Birmingham, UK: Historic tree to be cut down, replaced with concrete barriers to protect city from jihad
Women’s March on Washington partners with Hamas-linked CAIR
Spain: Muslim screaming “Allahu akbar” opens fire in supermarket
US Catholic bishops hold “dialogue” with Hamas-linked group to engage in “advocacy in support of Muslim community”
Hugh Fitzgerald: Introducing François Fillon (Part III)
Scotland: Anglican Cathedral Epiphany service features Qur’an reading denying Jesus is Son of God
AFDI video: US Citizenship and Immigration Services says fake Syrian passports OK
Raymond Ibrahim: A Hate to Kill and Die for
Daniel Greenfield Moment: Israel Must Kill the Two State Solution
Morocco bans burqa for security reasons

Links From Christian Today Site for on January 11-12/17
Rex Tillerson Grilled Over Question Of Christians In Middle East
Donald Trump Brands Russia Sex Allegations 'Phony Stuff' And 'Fake News'
North Korea Heads Surge In Christian Persecution Worldwide, Dramatic Rise In India
'God Works All Things Together For Good': Nigerian Pastor Whose Church Was Burned Down By Boko Haram
Millennials Believe Britain Is No Longer A Christian Country – But They Still Think Religion Matters
'God Will Use Us Well': The Profound Faith Of Barack Obama
Why Dylann Roof Should Not Be Executed
God Is Love': Casey Affleck Echoes Denzel Washington's Words During Golden Globes Award Acceptance Speech
I Still Feel Like I Had To Do it': Dylann Roof Gets Death Penalty For Charleston Church Massacre
Controversy Over Cathedral Koran Reading Deepens With Denial That Jesus Is Son of God
No Home For 'Homeless Jesus' Statue In Westminster

Latest Lebanese Related News published on January 11-12/17
Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani: Aoun best choice as President
Wed 11 Jan 2017/NNA - Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, said that Lebanon has entered a new phase after the presidential elections, seeing the election of General Michel Aoun as a President as the best choice because "President Aoun will lead the country to the safe seashore."President of the Lebanese Republic, General Michel Aoun, in the context of his first day visit to Doha, met with Qatari Emir Tamim at the Qatari Emiri Divan and agreed with him on revitalizing meetings for the higher joint committee between both countries under the chairmanship of the prime ministers of Lebanon and Qatar. Tamim underscored the national role played by Lebanese security apparatuses to preserve stability and security in Lebanon, saying that such matter "encouraged a lot of Qatari families to visit Lebanon during feasts."He voiced his country's readiness to contribute in implementing developmental projects in Lebanon, indicating Qataris' enthusiasm to invest in Lebanon. President Aoun, for his part, highly appreciated the Lebanese Qatari relation, saying that it must be boosted at all levels. Aoun also recapped the accomplished Lebanese military operations against terror.Aoun hoped that Qatar would press restless efforts in favor of unveiling the fate of Lebanese soldiers, Bishops Boulos Yazigi and Yohanna Ibrahim and journalist Samir Kassab, with the Emir promising to continue exerting efforts in this regard until reaching fruitful results.
President Aoun invited Emir Tamim to visit Lebanon.

Aoun Meets Qatar's Emir after Concluding SA Visit
Naharnet/January 11/17/President Michel Aoun held talks on Wednesday with Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Doha, in the presence of Lebanese and Qatari delegations, the National News Agency reported. Aoun and his accompanying delegation have concluded a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia and flew to Qatar on Wednesday as part of the President's Arab tour, and to meet the invitation of Qatar's emir, NNA said. Qatar's Emir and Aoun, later held a closed meeting after which al-Thani said: “Lebanon has begun a new phase after the election of a president,” as he hailed Aoun's election “because he will lead Lebanon to safety,” he said. “Lebanon has been able to overcome all obstacles. It was stronger than the circumstances surrounding it,” added the Emir. He continued and said: “I hope that President Aoun's visit is a prelude for an exchange of visits between the two countries.”Aoun responded, conveying thanks for the “warm reception” and praising the “bilateral relations between the two countries, which must be strengthened in all areas.”
Aoun extended an invitation to the Emir to visit Lebanon . Sources close to the Lebanese delegation, told LBCI that al-Thani has vowed to follow up on the file of the Lebanese servicemen abducted by the IS. Qatar has extended assistance in the thorny file when it helped mediate with the abductors over the release of the servicemen who were kidnapped during clashes with the Islamic State terror group and al-Nusra Front in Arsal in 2014. Aoun began his Arab tour on Monday where he arrived in Riyadh with a delegation of ministers. It is his first trip to the kingdom since his election in November ended a two-year deadlock between Iran- and Saudi-backed blocs in the Lebanese parliament. The ministers of foreign affairs, education, finance and information who were accompanying Aoun, met with their Saudi counterparts "to find some fields of cooperation." Aoun and King Salman bin Abdul Aziz agreed to hold talks on restoring a $3-billion military aid package, opening a "new page" in relations, a Lebanese official source said. "The blockage is lifted," said the official in the delegation of Aoun, who held talks over lunch with King Salman in the Saudi capital. In February, the kingdom halted the $3-billion (2.8-billion-euro) military aid package to Lebanon to protest what it said was "the stranglehold of Hizbullah on the state". The program would see Riyadh fund the transfer of vehicles, helicopters, drones, cannons and other military equipment from France, which has been seeking to boost arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

Hariri Dubs Aoun's Visit to SA 'Historic', Chairs Cabinet Meeting
Naharnet/January 11/17/The cabinet convened at the Grand Serail on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and in the absence of the ministers accompanying President Michel Aoun in his trip to Saudi Arabia and Qatar which Hariri described as "historic," the National News Agency reported. “The cabinet has set a new vision to discuss the issue of displaced Syrians, and agreed some amendments to the committee related,” said Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury after the meeting, speaking on behalf of Information Minister Melhem Riachi who accompanies Aoun. The cabinet emphasized the need to adopt a “strategy to find a solution for displaced Syrians in Lebanon along with those residing in it,” added Khoury. Lebanon hosts approximately 1.5 million Syrian refugees which amounts to around one in five people in the country. At the beginning of the meeting, Hariri described Aoun's trip to Saudi Arabia as “historical and successful by all standards,” and hailed relations between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. Aoun arrived in Qatar Wednesday where he met with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Than after concluding a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia where he met with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz. Aoun arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday on his first foreign trip since taking office, starting an Arab tour.He is accompanied by a large ministerial delegation comprising the ministers Jebran Bassil (foreign affairs), Marwan Hamadeh (education), Ali Hassan Khalil (finance), Yaaqoub al-Sarraf (defense), Nouhad al-Mashnouq (interior), Pierre Raffoul (presidency affairs), Melhem Riachi (information) and Raed Khoury (economy).

Hariri Orders Measures to Keep Birds Away from Airport as Jumblat Warns of 'Disaster'
Naharnet/January 11/17The issue of birds that threaten flight safety at the Rafik Hariri International Airport returned to the spotlight on Wednesday as Prime Minister Saad Hariri ordered measures to keep the birds away and MP Walid Jumblat warned of a possible “disaster.”After talks with Hariri that followed a cabinet session, Public Works and Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos said the premier instructed the Council for Development and Reconstruction during the meeting to “do everything necessary to push birds away from the airport's vicinity.”The setting up of a garbage landfill in the Costa Brava near the airport has largely contributed to increasing the number of birds, mainly seagulls, in the area. The nearby al-Ghadir River also attracts birds to the area. Fenianos said Hariri also asked the energy and water minister and the head of the CDR to “take immediate measures" at al-Ghadir River to "fend off this threat to flight safety.”According to the minister, Hariri ordered increasing the number of auditory repellents in the airport's vicinity and at the Costa Brava landfill. Fenianos also reassured that according to reports from the airport authorities, “there has been no real threat to flight safety,” noting that the auditory bird repellents “have proved effective.” “Addressing the mouth of al-Ghadir River is an essential stop to end the problem,” he added. Earlier in the day, Jumblat had called for “pushing the garbage landfill away from Beirut's airport to avoid a disaster.” “We were about to witness the disaster yesterday,” he tweeted. According to LBCI television, a Middle East Airlines plane had encountered “a large group of birds” as it was touching down Tuesday on the airport's western tarmac. “This tarmac has been temporarily put out of use pending a solution to the birds issue,” LBCI added.

Man Held in Masharii al-Qaa for Smuggling Syrians into Lebanon
Naharnet/January 11/17/Agents from Hermel's State Security department arrested Wednesday the Syrian Mohammed Hindi al-Alaywi, 39, in the border area of Masharii al-Qaa, state-run National News Agency reported. The man is accused of “smuggling Syrians carrying no identification documents into Lebanon,” NNA said. “His Mercedes car was seized and he will be referred to the competent authorities,” the agency added.

8,000 Fake Liquor Bottles Seized in Zouk Mikael
Naharnet/January 11/17/More than 8,000 bottles containing fake alcoholic beverages were confiscated Wednesday in the Zouk Mikael area, the Finance Ministry said.
“Lebanese Customs Administration agents raided a warehouse in Zouk Mikael's Dahr Sarba area that contained more than 8,000 bottles of fake whiskey and vodka bottles that were ready for distribution, in addition to some substances that are used in the manufacturing process,” the ministry announced in a statement. “The bottles were seized as Syrian national Daniel B., who was in charge of the illegal activity, was arrested,” the statement said. “He is being interrogated under the supervision of the competent judicial authorities,” the statement added.

Shorter Urges 'Technical Reforms, Women's Quota' in Upcoming Elections
Naharnet/January 11/17/British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter on Wednesday called for “technical reforms” and a women's quota in the country's next parliamentary elections. “This was my first meeting with Speaker (Nabih) Berri since the confirmation of the new Cabinet and Prime Minister. It was an excellent opportunity to discuss the political momentum in the country and the hopes that this government can deliver reforms which will boost the economy and provide tangible benefits for the Lebanese people,” Shorter said after the talks in Ain el-Tineh. “Parliament has a key role to play, both in scrutinizing and enabling these reforms, and I welcome its reactivation following the election of the President and appointment of the Prime Minister,” he added. Shorter and Berri also discussed the upcoming, “long awaited,” parliamentary elections. “Whichever law they are held under, I hope that key technical reforms such as pre-printed ballot papers will be implemented to ensure modern, transparent elections,” the ambassador said. “I also hope to see concrete measures to increase women’s participation in parliament, and I welcome Speaker Berri’s calls for a women’s quota in this regard. But I should stress that this does not apply to parliament alone, and I hope and expect that we will see more women in the next cabinet too,” the ambassador added. He also stressed that the UK stands ready to work with the government and parliament of Lebanon to continue delivering “much-needed assistance which has already benefited Lebanese up and down the country.”

Berri Says 'Time Running Out,' Election Law Must be Endorsed
Naharnet/January 11/17/Speaker Nabih Berri voiced calls on Wednesday for a speedy agreement on a new election law, as he assured that the parliament will hold “intensive legislative meetings.”“Time is running out. We are required to complete a new election law as soon as possible,” Berri said during his weekly meeting with MPs.The Speaker voiced fears that parties calling for the replacement of the current 1960 law, would be secretly supporting it. Political parties are bickering over amending the current 1960 election law which divides seats among the different religious sects. The current parliament has failed to amend the law, and has extended its mandate twice amid criticism. New elections are scheduled for May 2017. “The parliament will witness an active workshop, intense legislation and supervision. We will hold accountability sessions for ministries,” added Berri. The Speaker is expected to call for a legislative mission in less than ten days, said LBCI.

Aoun: Iran Ties Won't Impact Saudi Relations
Associated Press/Naharnet/January 11/17/Lebanese President Michel Aoun said after a visit to Saudi Arabia that his country's close ties to the kingdom's archrival Iran should not impede relations with the wider Arab world. "We have normal relations with Iran," which "shouldn't be a barrier in the face of normal relations with the Arab world," Aoun said in remarks published by the pan-Arab and Saudi-run Asharq al-Awsat newspaper on Wednesday. Iran is a longtime supporter of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which represents much of Lebanon's Shiite community and has a military capability rivaling that of the army and police. Aoun, whose Christian party is allied with Hezbollah, said Iran's support for the group "could continue indefinitely."Saudi Arabia halted a $3 billion arms deal with Lebanon in February and banned Saudis and other Gulf nationals from traveling there after what the Saudis described as Beirut's failure to condemn attacks on Saudi missions in Iran by demonstrators angered by the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Weeks later, Lebanon abstained from an Arab League vote branding Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Hezbollah is fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces in Syria, while Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries support the rebels. Aoun said he discussed the arms deal with Saudi officials, without elaborating. He said "the decision about the return of the tourists has been taken," which means a "return to normal relations."Aoun flew from Saudi Arabia to Qatar on Wednesday, said QNA, the official Qatari news agency. Aoun was elected in October after a 29-month vacuum in the country's top post. Lebanon's political factions are deeply divided, with some, like Aoun's party and Hezbollah, aligning with Iran, and their opponents siding with Saudi Arabia. In December, the parliament approved a national unity government headed by Lebanon's top Saudi ally, Saad Hariri. He endorsed Aoun, ending the deadlock.

Mustaqbal Says Jumblat's Approval on Election Law Crucial
Naharnet/January 11/17/Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury of al-Mustaqbal Movement emphasized that the party will not endorse an electoral law that does not meet the consent of the Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat, An Nahar daily reported Wednesday.“We will not approve any law that does not meet Jumblat's approval,” assured Khoury in an interview to the daily. “We are approaching an agreement on the suggestion proposed by Speaker Nabih Berri. We are still holding discussions on the matter with the PSP and the Lebanese Forces,” added the Mustaqbal minister. Speaker Nabih Berri has proposed a hybrid electoral law under which 64 MPs would be elected under the winner-takes-all system and the other 64 under the proportional representation system. Khoury assured that Mustaqbal does not mind to adopt Berri's suggestion, he said: “We do not mind. But the major hurdle lies in the distribution of seats in the majoritarian and the proportional. The rule for seat distribution must be unified, and the same standards must be adopted in all districts and provinces.”Mustaqbal's stance came after a similar position declared by the Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea on Tuesday, appeasing Jumblat's fears of the endorsement of an election law that would diminish his role and share in the parliament. Hizbullah has repeatedly called for an electoral law based on proportional representation but other political parties, especially al-Mustaqbal Movement, have rejected the proposal and argued that the party's controversial arsenal of arms would prevent serious competition in regions where the Iran-backed party is influential. Mustaqbal, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party have proposed a hybrid electoral law under which 68 MPs would be elected under the winner-takes-all system and 60 MPs under the proportional representation system. The country has not voted for a parliament since 2009, with the legislature instead twice extending its own mandate. The 2009 polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next elections are scheduled for May 2017.

Judge Hassan Hamdan orders immediate closure of Costa Brava landfill
Wed 11 Jan 2017/NNA - Mount Lebanon urgent affairs Judge, Rashid Zeineddine, on Wednesday ordered the immediate closure of Naameh landfill because trash has been attracting seagulls, a thing which poses a threat to air navigation at Beirut International Airport.

Jumblatt calls to remove waste dumpster near airport
Wed 11 Jan 2017/NNA - Democratic Gathering bloc's chief, MP Walid Jumblatt, upped calls in a tweet on Wednesday to remove the waste dumpster near Beirut airport "to avoid a disaster."

Zoayter visits Egypt for talks over agricultural cooperation prospects
Wed 11 Jan 2017/NNA - Agriculture Minister, Ghazi Zoayter, visited Egypt on top of a delegation of representatives of the agricultural sector and specialists from the ministry for talks over Lebanese agriculture affairs and agricultural cooperation prospects between Lebanon and Egypt. In this framework, Minister Zoayter met with his Egyptian counterpart Issam Fayed, whereby the two sides discussed the operational plans for achieving economic complementarity and exchange of expertise between the two countries in a bid to develop the agricultural sector. Zoayter stressed the dire need for "achieving economic complementarity among Arab countries to achieve self-sufficiency in the Arab world," underlining "the need for a unified political vision of the Arab nation."Minister Fayed, for his part, deemed economy the gateway to remove political obstacles among the Arab countries, saying his Country looks forward to further cooperation with Lebanon.

Syrian national apprehended in Bar Elias after murdering sister in law
Wed 11 Jan 2017/NNA - The Internal Security Forces' Information branch apprehended on Wednesday a Syrian national who had gunned down his sister-in-law, a 38-year-old woman, during a family dispute, a statement by the Internal Security Forces said.Meanwhile, investigations remain underway with the assassin under the supervision of the concerned judicial authorities.

Khoury, Kaag tackle cooperation prospects
Wed 11 Jan 2017/NNA - Culture Minister, Ghattas Khoury, received on Wednesday afternoon at his office at the Antiquities General Directorate the Special Representative of the United Nations in Lebanon, Sigrid Kaag, with the pair reportedly discussing cooperation prospects with international organizations, and means of bolstering civil peace in Lebanon. Talks also dwelt on joint projects between the ministry and the United Nations, in a bid to support stability and promote the role of young people who are in need of direct care from the Ministry of culture to dissociate them from conflicts. Minister Khoury later met with Support Fund Council board members, with talks touching on tax collection issues and other standing matters.

Baalbeck, Hermel MPs warn emptying refugee wastewater in region environmental hazard
Wed 11 Jan 2017/NNA - Baalbek and Hermel MPs on Wednesday sounded the alarm on emptying Syrian refugee wastewater in the region, warning that this quandary might lead to an environmental catastrophe if not thrashed out swiftly and properly.
The MPs held concerned ministries and security forces responsible for this calamity and requested of both sides to instantly halt this "environmental crime."This statement came in response to a huge number of complaints that had been lodged by north Baalbek residents about tens of tanker trucks carrying wastewater from Arsal refugee camps and emptying it in spacious and bare land. "This is a health and environmental hazard, not to mention that it's a threat to groundwater and wells. It also dangerously affects Al-Assi River in Labweh," a statement by the region's MPs read. 

Report: MEA Plane Makes Emergency Landing after Fistfight On Board
Naharnet/January 11/17/A Middle East Airlines plane en route from Beirut to London made an emergency landing Wednesday at Istanbul's airport after a fistfight erupted between two passengers, a media report said. The passenger Z. A. Sh. got into a dispute with an air hostess before assaulting her, which prompted another passenger to rise to her defense and engage in a fistfight with the first passenger, LBCI television reported. The plane's captain then decided to land in Istanbul and police was called in to arrest the assaulter, the TV network added. “He is being interrogated while the plane is awaiting a decision to depart Istanbul,” LBCI said.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on January 11-12/17
399 truce violations by Assad regime and Iran militias in 11 days
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 11 January 2017/Syrian regime forces and Iranian militias have committed 399 violations of the ceasefire agreement after 11 of its implementation. The ceasefire agreement in Syria, sponsored by Russia and Turkey, has come to the end of its second week, with ongoing violations being committed by the Syrian regime and their allied- militias, according to the Syrian National Coalition statement. According to a statement issued by the coalition, the violations took place in the southern countryside of Aleppo, Wadi Barada in the countryside of Damascus, and the outskirts of Hama and Daraa, with 271 dead, including 25 women and 34 children, without counting the casualties in ISIS-controlled areas. The National Coalition called on the Security Council and other parties to stop the attacks immediately and punish the perpetrators. Syrian opposition are expected to participate in meetings on Wednesday in Ankara regarding the truce and participation in the upcoming Astana talks. Russia, which is committed to ensuring the cease-fire on behalf of the regime, has threatened to take all the necessary actions to eliminate what they called the ‘terrorists in Damascus’, pointing out that the regime’s control over the region has reached its final stage. The Russian official also pointed out that the recent period has seen the expulsion of opposition fighters from the Latakia province, in addition to opening the main road linking the capital to the north of the country, saying that the Air Force dramatically changed the course of the war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu agreed on Tuesday on the need to observe a ceasefire in Syria while continuing to fight “terrorist groups”, Russia’s foreign ministry said. The call came at a time when Russian experts are preparing for the meeting with Turkey in Ankara to discuss a cease-fire, ahead of the forthcoming meeting in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, at the end of this month.

Opposition denies claim army has entered Wadi Barada
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 11 January 2017/Pro Assad Syrian TV channel announced that the regime and the opposition reached an agreement concerning the necessity to send maintenance teams to the Barada Valley to refurbish the waterworks that feed the capital, Damascus. The governor of Rif Damascus stated that the opposition fighters and the Syrian regime agreed on having maintenance workers enter to Ain al-Fijah in the Barada Valley, which was denied by the Syrian armed opposition.
The FSA engaged in violent attacks against the Assad forces and the Hezbollah militias on a number of axes in the Barada valley. This comes in the twentieth day of the military campaign led by these parties to control the region. The Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office in Rif Damascus declared that the latest attack ended without any progress for the forces of the regime and the Hezbollah militia. The hostile attacks blasted the region with more than 500 rockets and mortars. The Barada Valley siege targets about 100 thousand civilians living under continuous threat and shortages of basic materials. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation declared that the finale stages of emancipating Damascus from the grasps of terrorism is approaching. Sources close to the Syrian opposition interpreted the statement as an effort to legitimize the military operation targeting the Barada Valley. The United Nations stated that 5.5 Million people in Damascus are deprived of water, because of the ongoing battles between the regime and the opposition. Jan Egeland, chairman of the working group on humanitarian assistance to Syria in the United Nations, declared in a news conference in Geneva that it is hard to know who is responsible for the situation. Egeland conveyed: “In Damascus alone, 5.5 million people have been deprived of water or have received very little, because the Barada valley resources are unusable due to the fighting, sabotage, or both.” The UN estimated that 4 million people from the capital and its suburbs are affected by water cuts since December 22nd. 

72 countries to attend Mideast peace summit in Paris
Associated Press/January 11/17/ French authorities are expecting 72 countries to attend Sunday's Middle East peace conference in Paris — but not Israel or the Palestinians. Government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said Wednesday both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been invited to come to France after the conference to be informed of its conclusions. Netanyahu has declined the invitation — saying only direct negotiations will produce a solution. Abbas is expected to visit the French capital at the end of the week on the sidelines of the conference. It was unclear whether he would meet French President Francois Hollande. Participants will include U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry. France wants "to restart the (negotiation) process at a moment when it has been largely abandoned," Le Foll said.

Syria Peace Talks in Astana Set for January 23
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 11/17/Talks on Syria's political future will take place in Kazakhstan's capital Astana on January 23, a source in the Russian foreign ministry confirmed to AFP on Wednesday. "At this time there is no indication that the meeting will be postponed. The date of January 23 is set," the source said of the negotiations to be hosted by Russia and Turkey between the Syrian government and rebel groups.

Fresh Syria Raids as Moscow Sets January 23 Peace Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 11/17/Syrian warplanes launched strikes in several parts of the country on Wednesday despite a fragile truce, a monitor said, as Russia confirmed a January 23 date for new peace talks. The negotiations, to be held in the Kazakh capital Astana, are intended to build on a ceasefire in effect since late December, brokered by regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey. The truce has brought quiet to large parts of the country, but has been threatened by continuing violence, particularly near the capital Damascus. Overnight and into Wednesday, government warplanes hit opposition areas in the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib, as well as the Eastern Ghouta region near the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The overnight strikes in Idlib, in the northwest of the country, targeted positions belonging to former al-Qaida affiliate Fateh al-Sham Front, which is not party to the ceasefire, the Observatory said.The strikes on the town of Taftanaz killed three rebels from an Islamist group allied to the jihadists, the Britain-based monitor said. An AFP correspondent in the town saw a building that had totally collapsed in the attack. The White Helmets, a rescue service operating in rebel areas, spent hours clearing debris with picks and hammers. On Wednesday morning, government air strikes also hit Eastern Ghouta, the Observatory said. The rebel-held region has been hit by artillery fire during the truce, but the air strikes, which killed a woman and wounded nine other people, were the first since the start of the ceasefire, the monitor said. The Observatory also reported clashes and air strikes in the Wadi Barada region, which has seen some of the most serious violence since the truce went into effect on December 30.
January 23 peace talks
The rebel-held region some 15 kilometers (10 miles) northwest of Damascus is the main water source for the capital, but supply has been cut since December 22. Some 5.5 million people in Damascus and its suburbs are suffering water shortages as a result, the U.N. says. The government accuses rebels, among them Fateh al-Sham, of deliberately cutting the supply. The rebels say regime strikes damaged pumping facilities and deny that Fateh al-Sham, previously known as al-Nusra Front, has forces in the area. Fateh al-Sham and its jihadist rival the Islamic State group are excluded from the truce, and President Bashar Assad's government has said it plans to "liberate" Wadi Barada despite the deal. "The role of the Syrian army is to liberate that area in order to prevent those terrorists from using that water in order to suffocate the capital," Assad told French media on Monday. On Tuesday, the regime sent reinforcements to Wadi Barada, the Observatory said, without providing further details. On Wednesday, however, state television said a deal had been reached with rebels to allow repair crews to enter the region "in the coming hours."The delicate ceasefire has held in other parts of the country, though rebels and Turkey have warned the fighting in Wadi Barada could threaten the planned Astana talks. A Russian foreign ministry source said on Wednesday that the talks were scheduled for January 23, a date previously floated by Turkish officials. "At this time there is no indication that the meeting will be postponed. The date of January 23 is set," the source said, adding that work was underway to compile a list of participants. Regime ally Iran is also helping to organize the talks, which are the latest bid to find a political solution to the nearly six-year-old civil war that has killed more than 310,000 people.

Trump Admits Russia Hacked Democrats, Says U.S. 'Created' IS by Leaving Mideast 'at Wrong Time'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 11/17/President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday flatly denied "phony" explosive allegations about ties with Russia and lurid behavior on a trip to Moscow that have tainted his election victory and threatened to engulf his presidency.
Just over a week before Trump takes office, the United States has been rocked by unsubstantiated claims that his aides colluded with the Kremlin to win the election -- and that Russia has compromising sexual material on Trump. "I think it's a disgrace that information would be let out," Trump said, training fire on media outlets that published the allegations and the intelligence agencies who he suggested may have leaked it. "It's all fake news. It's phony stuff. It didn't happen," he said in his first press conference in nearly six months. "It was a group of opponents that got together, sick people, and they put that crap together." It "was released by maybe the intelligence agencies, who knows, but maybe the intelligence agencies, which would be a tremendous blot on their record," Trump said, later saying it was "disgraceful."On Twitter, he decried a political "witch hunt" against him and asked: "Are we living in Nazi Germany?"
'No dealings with Russia'
The U.S. intelligence community has concluded Moscow interfered in the November election in a bid to tip the race in Trump's favor. Intelligence chiefs last week also presented America's incoming 45th president, as well as current President Barack Obama, with a two-page synopsis on the potentially embarrassing but unsubstantiated allegations involving Russia, according to CNN and The New York Times, who cited multiple unnamed U.S. officials with knowledge of the meeting. The Kremlin has dismissed the dossier -- drawn up by a former British intelligence agent hired to do "opposition research" on Trump during the presidential campaign and published by U.S. media outlet BuzzFeed -- as a "total fake" aimed at damaging bilateral ties. Trump spokesman Sean Spicer turned his fire on BuzzFeed. "It's frankly outrageous and highly irresponsible for a left-wing blog that was openly hostile to the president-elect's campaign to drop highly salacious and flat-out false information on the internet just days before he takes the oath of office," he said, introducing Trump. Trump later called BuzzFeed "a failing pile of garbage" and warned they would "suffer the consequences." "I have no dealings with Russia. I have no deals in Russia. I have no deals that could happen in Russia, because we've stayed away. And I have no loans with Russia," Trump then said. Even before the allegations surfaced widely in U.S. media on Tuesday, Trump's Republican allies have become increasingly uneasy about Russia's role in the election, with calls for an independent investigation growing. The issue threatens to sap legitimacy from the Trump administration before it even enters the Oval Office. Trump fanned the flames by again downplaying Russia's influence in the outcome of the election and defended his openness towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.  "As far as hacking, I think it was Russia, but I also think we've been hacked by other countries, other people.""If Putin likes Donald Trump, I consider that an asset, not a liability, because we have a horrible relationship with Russia," Trump said. "I don't know that I'm going to get along with Vladimir Putin. I hope I do. But there's a good chance I won't."
The dossier
Without corroborating its contents, BuzzFeed published a 35-page dossier of memos on which the synopsis presented to Trump is based. The memos, which had been circulating in Washington for months, describe sex videos involving prostitutes filmed during a 2013 visit by Trump to a luxury Moscow hotel, supposedly as a potential means for blackmail. They also suggest Russian officials proposed lucrative deals in order to win influence over the real estate magnate. Trump was reportedly informed of the existence of the dossier -- and its salacious details -- last Friday when he received a briefing from U.S. intelligence chiefs on alleged Russian interference in the presidential election. The classified two-page synopsis reportedly included allegations that there was a regular flow of information during the campaign between Trump surrogates and Russian government intermediaries, which a Trump aide denied. On Wednesday, Trump would not comment on the classified briefing, but did say he had read some of the information "outside of the briefing," without specifying which parts. "The Kremlin does not have compromising information on Trump," Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov telling journalists. The Kremlin spokesman called the dossier a "total fake" and "an obvious attempt to harm our bilateral relations." No more rule book No other U.S. president-elect in modern times has waited so long to go formally before the media, considered important to shore up public accountability, yet Trump has reveled in ripping up the rule book. During his last press conference -- before the election -- he invited Russia to hack his Democratic opponents. As for the rise of the Islamic State terrorist group, Trump said: "This administration created ISIS by leaving (the Middle East) at the wrong time."The New York billionaire, never previously elected to office, has preferred to make off-the-cuff statements, punch out incendiary tweets and call out anyone who dares cross him -- from Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep to an Indiana union leader. While he has conducted one-on-one interviews with select media and taken questions from reporters in informal settings, his performance at the press conference will be scrutinized, as polls show his already bleak approval ratings deteriorate further as the clock ticks down to inauguration day on January 20.

Zimbabwe First Lady Denies Seizing Properties of Lebanese Businessman
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/January 11/17/Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe has denied seizing three properties from a Lebanese businessman who she claims duped her in a messy $1.35 million diamond ring deal. President Robert Mugabe's wife was taken to court by Zimbabwe-based Jamal Ahmed who says she allegedly seized three of his properties late last year, demanding he pay back the money for a ring she later decided she did not want.  In court papers seen by AFP on Wednesday, Grace Mugabe stated that Ahmed's properties were being guarded by police officers who were investigating him for alleged crimes. "I therefore deny forcibly taking over the said properties," she stated. "The police are not my agents. They are state officers who enforce the law and investigate unbecoming behavior. This is why they are protecting these properties." Grace Mugabe said she bought the ring from family business proceeds and that it was a gift from her husband for their 20th wedding anniversary on August 20 last year. Ahmed alleged that Grace Mugabe, who is known for her love of jewelery and extravagant shopping trips abroad, placed an order for the ring in April 2016 through his wife who lives in Dubai. Grace Mugabe says she was sent pictures of several stones to make a choice but never had the ring delivered. "I smelt a rat," she said, according to court papers. The first lady "then refused to take delivery of the diamond and instead demanded a full refund."Ahmed said he had offered to repay the money in installments, just to avoid trouble, but in court papers Grace disputed his claim that he had so far paid back $150,000 (143,000 euros). She said he has paid $120,000. Ahmed who is not currently in Zimbabwe, claims to have received threats from officials from Zimbabwe's spy agency -- the Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) as well from Grace and her son Russell Goreraza from her first marriage. She has denied the allegation. This is not the first time Grace Mugabe has been involved in controversy. In 2011 she was caught in a spat over a $1-million truck deal with South African businessman Ping Sung Hsieh.  Grace, 51, married Mugabe in 1996. She now heads the ruling ZANU-PF party women's wing. She has said that she has the right to rule the country like any other Zimbabwean and is now seen to be among those angling to replace her husband.

Bailed murder suspect kills six in Iran rampage
 AFP, Tehran Wednesday, 11 January 2017/A murder suspect freed on bail killed six people including a policeman and three family members in a shooting rampage Wednesday in central Iran, media reported. The 26-year-old entered two houses in Arak and shot eight people with a Kalashnikov, killing five of them instantly, ISNA news agency quoted the city’s prosecutor as saying. A sixth victim later died in hospital and another was in critical condition, he added. The first house targeted was the home of a police officer who had arrested the man last year on charges of complicity in a murder. The officer, his sister, mother and brother were all killed while another family member was hospitalized. The suspect then went to the house of the victim who he and two others are accused of killing last year and shot dead his parents. Their son was also injured. The shooter is still on the run but his brother, who allegedly accompanied him in the rampage, has been arrested, the prosecutor said. The gunman had been released on bail of two billion riyals ($50,000) on January 1. Gun violence is rare in the Islamic republic and offenders face severe punishment.

Iraqi forces retake 80% of eastern Mosul
AFP, Mosul, Iraq Wednesday, 11 January 2017/Iraqi forces have retaken at least 80 percent of east Mosul from the ISIS militant group, the spokesman of the special forces spearheading the campaign said on Wednesday. “I think you can say that we have retaken 80 to 85 percent” of the eastern side of Mosul, Sabah al-Noman, spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS), told AFP in the city. Tens of thousands of troops launched a huge offensive to retake Mosul, ISIS’s last major bastion in Iraq, and areas around it on October 17. The initial phase of the offensive saw a variety of forces retake significant swathes of land in little time but the going has been tough inside the city itself. After a lull in operations, the CTS and other forces stepped up their coordination and, with increased air and advisory support from a US-led coalition, launched a fresh push just before the New Year. Over the past two weeks, Iraqi forces have overrun several districts and reached the Tigris River that runs through the heart of the city for the first time. Combined with the destruction of all bridges over the river, that has made it difficult for ISIS fighters in east Mosul to resupply or escape to the west bank, which they still fully control. The western side of Mosul, which is home to the old city and some of the militants’ traditional strongholds, was always tipped as likely to offer the most resistance.

Op-Ed: Will Rafsanjani's Death Trigger Iran Regime Upheaval?
NCRI /Wednesday, 11 January 2017/The Iranian regime was dealt a significant blow as its former president and top mullah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani died of a heart attack on Sunday, according to an article which was published on Tuesday by Al Arabiya English.
Known for his influential role in shaping the regime’s politics following the 1979 revolution, Rafsanjani will leave a power vacuum in his wake as he dies less than four months prior to crucial presidential elections, Iranian dissident Heshmat Alavi wrote on the Al Arabiya English website.
During the past 38 years Rafsanjani maintained a top role in the regime’s measures of domestic crackdown, export of terrorism and extremism abroad, and pioneering Iran’s effort to obtain nuclear weapons through a clandestine program, the article said, adding:
“The death of Rafsanjani, one of the pillars of the religious fascism ruling Iran and its balance factor collapsed, and the regime in its entirety is closer now to its overthrow,” said Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
Following the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, during which he served as Parliament Speaker and deputy commander of armed forces, Rafsanjani became president from 1989 to 1997. After eight years of the so-called “reformist” Mohammad Khatami’s presidency, Rafsanjani tried to run for office again in 2005, but fell short to firebrand Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
More recently Rafsanjani has been known for his fierce rivalry with Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and mentoring the so-called “moderate” Iranian President Hassan Rowhani.
There is no doubt Rafsanjani was part and parcel to the religious establishment in Iran, especially considering his close ties to the regime founder Ruhollah Khomeini, who died in 1989. However, the pro-appeasement camp in the West believed him to be a “pragmatic conservative” willing to mend fences with the outside world, especially the US.
The Expediency Council
While Rafsanjani’s power had waned considerably in recent years, his last post was head of the Expediency Council, a body assigned to apparently resolve conflicts between the regime’s parliament (Majlis) and the Guardian Council. The latter is an ultra-conservative entity with close links to Khamenei, known mainly for vetting all candidates based on their loyalty to the establishment before any so-called elections.
Rafsanjani again sought to participate in the 2013 elections as a “reformist” candidate, only to be disqualified by the Guardian Council. Angered at being spurned, Rafsanjani responded by denouncing the measure as ignorant.
In line with his jockeying with the regime’s Supreme Leader, Rafsanjani decided to place his weight behind Rowhani after the latter assumed power as president in 2013.
 Parallel to his political endeavors, Rafsanjani also used his position to carve himself and his family an economic empire from the country’s institutions and natural resources in the past decades.
 The family empire
 “One brother headed the country’s largest copper mine; another took control of the state-owned TV network; a brother-in-law became governor of Kerman province, while a cousin runs an outfit that dominates Iran’s $400 million pistachio export business; a nephew and one of Rafsanjani’s sons took key positions in the Ministry of Oil; another son heads the Tehran Metro construction project (an estimated $700 million spent so far),” states a 2003 Forbes analysis.
 The report also alludes to the billions cached in Swiss and Luxembourg bank accounts by the Rafsanjanis. Despite portraying himself as an adequate broker to the West, Rafsanjani was on par with his “hardline” counterparts in suppressing dissidents, namely members and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the main opposition group that first blew the whistle on Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program.
 “Four rulings are a must for the [PMOI]: 1- Be killed. 2- Be hanged. 3- Arms and legs be amputated. 4- Be separated from society,” Rafsanjani said back in 1981. He also played a presiding role in the 1988 massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners.
 During his tenure as president, Rafsanjani is said to have directed numerous assassinations of dissidents abroad, including renowned human rights advocated Dr. Kazem Rajavi, former Iranian ambassador to Italy Mohammad Hossein Naghdi and Iranian Kurdish leader Abdulrahman Ghassemlou.
 Rafsanjani has also been indicted for his role in the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires that left 85 killed and hundreds wounded.
 Rafsanjani has through four decades of mullahs’ rule in Iran played the role of the regime’s No. 2 figure and a balancing element, always securing the regime’s higher interests. His death will significantly weaken the mullahs’ regime in its entirety and will trigger major upheavals across the regime’s hierarchy. If past is any indication, the mullahs will most likely resort to further violence and the export of terrorism and extremism to prevent this newest crisis from spiraling out of control.
 Heshmat Alavi is a political and rights activist. His writing focuses on Iran, ranging from human rights violations, social crackdown, the regime's support for terrorism and meddling in foreign countries, and the controversial nuclear program.

Babak Zanjani's Astronomical Theft With Complicity of the Iran Regime's Leaders
NCRI /Wednesday, 11 January 2017/On the eve of the clerical regime's sham elections, government factions in Iran have intensified the scope and depth of their power struggle to grasp presidency, disregarding social tragedies as grave sleepers, poverty, addiction and unemployment that have frustrated and fed up the populace. There is not a single day when the regime officials do not expose the other faction's stories of plundering, corruption and betrayals. In the meantime, the unraveling of the story of Babak Zanjani's getting away with $3 billion which implicated virtually all the regime's top officials in this unprecedented embezzlement has turned into a quagmire that is devouring this crumbling regime.
 Babak Zanjani has plundered a stunning amount of the nation’s assets through his coordination and connections with both factions of the regime including Ali-Akbar Rafsanjani, Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Hassan Rouhani, as well as the regime’s suppressive entities, particularly the IRGC. This is why he received the Top Job Creator Award from Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami.
 Babak Zanjani is a flunky of Khamenei’s office and the IRGC who played a key role in selling millions of oil barrels, laundering of billions of dollars of the country's revenues and circumventing sanctions by the US, EU and the UN Security Council during Ahmadinejad’s presidency to save the regime's bankrupt economy.
 Although Babak Zanjani earned his incredible wealth under Khamenei, the scandal's going public compelled Khamenei to order a show trial for Babak Zanjani, seizing his personal bank accounts and affiliated companies in the first step. The next step would be to execute Babak Zanjani to prevent further revelation of his case his ties to Khamenei, his office and the IRGC in his astronomical embezzlements.
 On March 6, 2016, the Iranian regime's Judiciary found Babak Zanjani guilty of corruption on charges of "money laundering", "forgery of documents and bank statements" and "forging bills of exchange" based on a 227-page indictment, and sentenced him to death.
 Rafsanjani-Rouhani faction is against this procedure. So, to neutralize Khamenei’s plan, they have demanded the details of the $3-billion state theft. They further want the support of Khamenei-backed entities and the Judiciary for Babak Zanjani to be revealed in public.
 In the meantime, activating this issue would help cover-up the embezzlements by the Executive Branch's ministers and authorities.
 In an attack on Khamenei and the Judiciary, Rouhani said, “In the case of Babak Zanjani and his colleagues, some $2.7 billion was embezzled which adds up to nearly $3.5 billion with its interest. One wonders how this massive amount of money was given to an individual and where the money is now?” (Rouhani's official website, January 3, 2017)
 He had previously said, “With so many monitoring systems in the country… how is it possible that a massive $3-billion fraud happen in the previous government… How can one person steal $3 billion on his own? What were his connections? Who helped him? Who were the partners? What were their ranks? How were both oil and property placed in the hands of one man? How was hundreds of millions of dollars, besides oil, placed at his disposal? Where is the money that was given to this gentleman? Who contributed to him, in the beginning of this case? I suggested that this man be turned in to the Ministry of Intelligence so that the information on this case would be thoroughly clarified and refined, then it could be turned in to the Judiciary. For whatever reason, however, this idea was not realized." (The state-run TV News Network, December 28, 2016)
 In response to these attacks, Kadkhodaie, a spokesman for the Khamenei-backed Guardians Council implicitly threatened to disqualify Rouhani for the presidential elections. He reiterated that in every round of presidential elections, the incumbent president is thoroughly and carefully examined and there is no guarantee that any president is qualified for a second round. (The state-run daily Entekhab, January 4, 2017)
 Mullah Sadeq Larijani, Khamenei’s Judiciary Chief, also zoomed in on the relationships between Hassan Rouhani and other government officials with Babak Zanjani. He threatened to arrest and prosecute them in order to stifle their voice. He said, "Babak Zanjani has said that he has contributed billions of dollars to the election ca mpaign of the President (Rouhani); to preserve people's dignity and avoid creating discord, we did not pursue many people. You say that we should look behind the curtains; we have no problems; we will summon everyone that he has mentioned and arrest them if necessary, to clarify the issue. We are also looking forward to see where the money of the Presidential Office is spent."
 Sadeq Larijani went on to focus on Rouhani government officials' failure to cooperate with the Judiciary and said: “The more important issue is that the money was given to him (Babak Zanjani), in the form of foreign currencies through the Central Bank and foreign banks. With the presence of the representatives of the Judiciary, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Intelligence, and the IRGC Intelligence, three trips were made to Malaysia, Tajikistan and Turkey to follow up this story. The traces of the money given (to Babak Zanjani) are easily at the disposal of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The government must be accountable. We have complaints... You must find out where and to which country did Nikou Company (which is affiliated with the National Oil Company) send these foreign currencies?.. It has been three years that we have been telling these to the government but they do not listen." (The state-run Pars News affiliated with the IRGC – January 2, 2017).
 Meanwhile, Larijani acknowledged the cover ups in this case and said: "I can’t open up what these obstacles were. There are obstacles and issues within ministries and security apparatuses that will be explained in its due course. In 2013 and 2014, more than 30-40 joint meetings were held between the Prosecutor, the Deputy Minister of Intelligence, the IRGC Intelligence, and the Central Bank, and the data obtained from these investigations were continuously studied and monitored … in due course, the spokesman of the judiciary will announce the findings."
 Mullah Eje’ii, the Judiciary spokesman and first deputy minister, attacked Rouhani’s faction by saying, “How much money is needed for the election campaign of one person? Certainly more than 20 billion. Well, tell us where did this money come from?” He added, “During the past few days, some individuals have been arrested who had debts of 600 billion and 1000 billion and unfortunately I cannot name them… Why don’t you clarify these? Why don’t you clearly announce the government's debts to the Central Bank and the banks' debts to the government?”
 Mullah Nasser Moussavi Largani, a Member of Parliament from Khamenei’s faction, said: “If Rouhani is after clarity, why doesn’t he clarify all the issues about his brother Hossein Fereidoun? If Babak Zanjani is a criminal, and the previous government had encouraged him, why has Rouhani given him an appreciation award? Why has Rafsanjani, who is a staunch enemy of the previous government and Ahmadinejad, had a meeting with Babak Zanjani?” (The state-run Fars News Agency – January 6, 2017)
 Rafsanjani, the president of the Expediency Council, assailed Khamenei and his faction and described them as hatemongerers because of their attacks on Rouhani. Referring to a portion of the theft carried out at the highest levels of the clerical regime, he said, “One wonders how they wasted $700-800billions of oil revenues.” (The state-run Entekhab daily – January 4, 2017)
 Babak Zanjani, who calls himself a “soldier of Velayat” and a “Bassiji in the economic front”, was able to quickly go up the ladder of usurping the public's wealth by relying on his connections to the regime leaders and suppressive organs and became one of the country's major investors. He invested tens of billions of dollars of plundered national assets in 70 companies and organizations including several banks, airlines, passenger terminals, sports clubs, and in various countries including Malaysia, the UAE, and Tajikistan. Babak Zanjani boasts of having saved 17.5 billion Euros of Iranian oil revenue through more than 9000 deals and financial transactions as part of his services to the regime. The US Treasury department has blacklisted Babak Zanjani for the said deals. (The state-run ISNA news agency – August 31, 2013). In Turkey, he is also accused of cooperation with Reza Zarrab, who was arrested for bribery and smuggling foreign currency and gold.
 In another effort, he purchased 138 state-owned factories from the Social Security during the transfer of Iran's sanctioned oil revenue. In this deal dated December 17, 2012, it was agreed that up to 4 billion Euros of the stocks of the Social Security organization be handed over exclusively to Babak Zanjani’s company which included the Islamic Republic Airlines, Khuzistan Steel Factory, Isfahan's Mobarakeh Steel Factory, Homa hotels, Ghadir Petrochemical Company, Tabriz Petrochemical Company, NITC, the Islamic Republic of Iran's shipping, as well as the Pasargad, TAT, Parsian banks, etc. While 30% of the Iranian people sleep with empty stomachs and scores of homeless poor are forced to sleep in the graves, Babak Zanjani wears a $30,000 watch and rides a $180,000 Mercedes Benz. (The state-run Iran Economist – April 2, 2014) The highest officials of the Iranian regime are now in trouble for being involved in the plunders carried out by Babak Zanjani. Saeed Mortazavi, the master henchman in charge of the tragic killing of students in Kahrizak Prison in 2009, was a partner of Babak Zanjani in plundering the assets of the Social Security Organization when he chaired the organization. Babak Zanjani is also a close and old friend of Hassan Mir-Kazemi, one of the ring leaders of the armed plainclothes agents who suppressed and killed protesting youths during the 2009 uprising. Defending this criminal, Zanjani said, “It really wasn't his fault; he only did his professional job and during the 2009 problems, he also had a weapon because of his responsibility, and nothing special happened.” (The BBC Persian service – March 6, 2016)

Parliamentarians Call to Save Political Prisoner Ali Moezzi in Iran
NCRI /Wednesday, 11 January 2017/ Parliamentary Committees of “Friends of Free Iran” in various European countries including Sweden, Romania, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Estonia in separate letters to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zied Ra’ed Al-Hussein, urged him to take action for the safety of political prisoner, Ali Moezzi, who was kidnapped by Gohardasht prison officials on January 4 and transferred to an unknown location. In their letters, the Parliamentary Committees emphasized that kidnapping a prisoner form prison is a new form of suppression and barbarism by the mullahs regime ruling Iran and this regime has increased the intensity of repression, arrests and imprisonment of the protestors and discontented people in order to contain the explosive atmosphere of the society and prevent eruption of popular anger against the tyranny, poverty, and corruption. Copies of the letters were also sent to Mr. António Guterres, the U.N. Secretary General, and Ms. Asma Jahangir, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, as well as to Amnesty International. Earlier, Parliamentary Committees in the U.K., Germany, Australia, Canada, and Italy issued various statements and letters demanding safety for the political prisoner Ali Moezzi and clarification about his fate.

Iran Regime Allocates Public Budget To "Increase Missile Production and Defense Capability"
NCRI /Wednesday, 11 January 2017/While education, construction and developmental, and health service systems as well as a number of other civil services are facing shortage of funds in Iran, and according to the regime officials even the adopted development budget is not realized more than a few percent, Iran regime’s parliament agreed to increase military spending in the coming years. Under this decision, it was agreed to increase annual military spending from 2% to 5% in the total budget under the framework of the sixth program.
On Monday, January 9, Iranian regime’s Parliament adopted several provisions of the sixth program legislation, the so-called development legislation, according to which the government is required to take action to “Develop and Increase Missile Production Capability.” In addition, Members of the Parliament obliged the government in their meeting on Monday to allocate every year “at least five percent of the public budget resources” to “Increase Defense Capability.” According to state-run ISNA news agency, during the review of the sixth development program legislation, this bill was adopted by 173 votes in favor. Guardian Council must now vote for the bill to legalize it. It should be noted that the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 requires Iran regime to “avoid from any activities related to ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, including the use of technology related to missiles, for eight years after the nuclear agreement and first day of JCPOA implementation.” Earlier, Ban Ki-moon, (former) U.N. Secretary General, in a report to the Security Council member states, urged them to oblige Iran regime to avoid Ballistic missiles tests.

Iran: Family's Concerns Regarding Disappearance of Political Prisoner Ali Moezzi
NCRI /Wednesday, 11 January 2017/Al Arabiya television reported on Monday, January 9: “The Iranian regime’s security forces have transferred political prisoner Ali Moezzi, a supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK), from Gohardasht Prison to an unknown location and there is no news about his condition and whereabouts. According to international human rights organizations and the families of this political prisoner, it is feared that Mr. Moezzi is being tortured and even killed.”Hejrat Moezzi, daughter of this political prisoner, told Al Arabiya that her family is extremely worried about the fate of her father who disappeared last Wednesday, January 4. According to Ms. Moezzi, neither the security nor judicial authorities provided any information about the reason for the transfer of Mr. Moezzi and his whereabouts. “My father was first arrested in 2008 after I and my sister joined the PMOI. He was detained for three years in prison. In June 2011, he was arrested once again despite being released a few months earlier and sentenced to four years imprisonment. He was supposed to be released after his prison term ended in December 2015, but the prison officials held him in prison one more year by making a new case against him,” Ms. Moezzi added. Hejrat Moezzi believes that her father has been taken for interrogation because of the positions he had taken inside the prison particularly the letters he had written condemning the Iranian regime’s crimes in Aleppo against Syrian people and also letters condemning mass execution of political prisoners in the 1980s. “I urge all human rights organizations and activists to be the voice of the oppressed political prisoners and put pressure on the mullahs’ regime ruling Iran to stop executions and violation of freedom of expression,” she said. Futhermore, a number of parliamentary officials in Europe including the “Friends of a Free Iran” inter-group in the European Parliament and several Parliamentary Committees from various countries have demanded clarification of the fate of Ali Moezzi and his immediate release. 

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on January 11-12/17
Analysis: A blow to Iran reformers as Trump presidency looms
Reuters/Jerusalem Post/January 11/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/11/reutersjerusalem-post-analysis-a-blow-to-iran-reformers-as-trump-presidency-looms/
ANKARA - The death of former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani deprives Iran's reformers of a powerful ally, boosting anti-Western hardliners before a presidential election which will determine how open Tehran is to the world.
The loss of Rafsanjani's skills as a factional power-broker also means rivalries in Iran's unwieldy dual system of clerical and republican rule could grow unchecked, testing the stability of the system.
His death on Sunday heightens concerns for reformers at a time when morale is rising among hardliners because of Donald Trump's election as US president. They believe Trump will adopt tough policies hostile to Iran and that this will undermine reformers' attempts to build bridges with Washington.
"Rafsanjani was a key equilibrating power in Iran's complex political system," said a senior Iranian official who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
"His absence as a counterweight against hardliners could harm the moderates and the establishment altogether," the official said by telephone.
Rafsanjani, a pragmatist who favored liberal political and economic policies, died of a heart attack aged 82. He was buried on Tuesday.
Rafsanjani was a companion of the Islamic Republic's late founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and one of the pillars of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Following Khomeini's death, he played a role in the selection of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, Iran's most powerful figure.His death removes an important ally behind the scenes of fellow pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani, who is expected to seek re-election in May.
Rouhani's election win in 2013 and his success in ending the more than decade-long nuclear dispute with the West have weakened the hardliners.
If the hardliners regain the presidency, they would be expected to tighten restrictions on social and political freedoms.
A close aide said Rafsanjani had "always acted as a go-between whenever political infighting intensified and could harm the Islamic Republic."
"No one has his political and revolutionary credentials to replace him ... his death has created a major political vacuum in Iran," Tehran-based political analyst Saeed Leylaz said by telephone.
This could enable Khamenei to tighten his grip on the governing hierarchy. Although Khamenei is suspicious of the West, he tries to stay above politics by balancing the interests of his hardline allies and their political rivals.
EMPOWERING HARDLINERS
As Supreme Leader, Khamenei inherited powers that include command over the armed forces and the ability to appoint many senior figures, including the heads of the judiciary, security agencies and state radio and television.
"The leader will be extra careful to avoid any involvement in political infighting ... But he will give his full support to enforcement of the revolutionary ideology," a former official who is close to Rouhani said by telephone.
 Under Iran's system of "velayat-e faqih," or rule by a religious jurist, the supreme leader has vast power and should stay above the day-to-day political fray.
Vocal on both domestic and foreign policy initiatives, Rafsanjani called for open policies at home and abroad and supported the moderate opposition that disputed the result of 2009 presidential election which Khamenei had validated.
 "His over 50 years of friendship with the leader gave him a unique position to express his ideas and procure equilibrium when political infighting intensified ... his loss is a blow to the moderate camp," said his aide. "His absence will radicalize the atmosphere."
 Rafsanjani, with a political career spanning over half a century, held most of the top positions in Iran's political structure including parliamentary speaker, armed forces commander and president from 1989 to 1997.
 Analyst Meir Javedanefar said that "sooner or later, competing hardliner and moderate forces will reach a near equilibrium."
 "As without it, the ensuing imbalance could undermine the stability of the Nezam (establishment). This is a scenario which all supreme leaders would want to avoid, be they Khamenei or his successor," said Javedanfar, a lecturer at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya in Israel.
 CRUCIAL ELECTIONS
 Most analysts say Rafsanjani's death is a political blow to the pragmatist-moderate coalition, as he was the leading force behind Rouhani's election win.
 "This will weaken Rouhani, who has also failed to deliver his other promises like boosting the economy," said Jamshid Pajouyan, a professor at Iran's Allameh Tabatabai University.
 Gary G. Sick, an American academic and Middle East affairs analyst, said the outcome of the election depended on Rouhani's "ability to persuade Iranians that they are better off with the nuclear agreement ... and that he is capable of defending Iran's interests better than any alternative choice.
 Many ordinary Iranians have lost faith in Rouhani because he has not been able to improve the economy despite the lifting of sanctions in January last year under the nuclear deal reached with six major powers in 2015. The deal curbed Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of most sanctions.
 Activists and rights groups say Rouhani's focus on improving relations with the West and bolstering the economy have prevented him from delivering his campaign promises of easing of social and political restrictions.
 "I am sorry for Rafsanjani's death but I have to think about my children. The life is so expensive. The prices are going up every day," said government employee Mohammad Hosseinzadeh.
 "Rouhani promised so many things but ... look at us. We are poorer than before. But I will still vote for him because we have to choose between bad and worse."
 Trump, a Republican, said during his election campaign that he would abandon the nuclear deal. He will be inaugurated on Jan. 20
 "A hostile US policy will be favored by hardliners. They will pressure Rouhani even if he wins the vote. It means he will be in office but not in charge," said analyst Hamid Farahvashian.
 Fearing economic hardship might cause the collapse of the establishment, Khamenei gave his blessing to the deal. But he has criticized the failure of the agreement to deliver swift economic improvements.
 Partly because of remaining unilateral U.S. sanctions, major European banks and investors are holding back from doing business with Iran despite lifting of many sanctions.

Iran Steps Up Threats to Israel, U.S.
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/January 11/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2017/01/11/majid-rafizadehgatestone-institute-iran-steps-up-threats-to-israel-u-s-a/
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9750/iran-threats-israel-us
"En Sha'a Allah [God willing], there will be no such thing as a Zionist regime in 25 years. Until then, struggling, heroic and jihadi morale will leave no moment of serenity for Zionists." — Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, September, 2015.
"If the Supreme Leader's orders [are] to be executed, with the abilities and the equipment at our disposal, we will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes." — Ahmad Karimpour, a senior adviser to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' elite unit, the Quds Force.
Iran is also attempting to intimidate Donald Trump from taking a tough stance against Iran. Trump ought to be wary of falling into Iran's tactical game of fear-mongering. For Iran, US concessions and silence in the face of Iran's threats mean weakness and fear. On the other hand, when Iran sees that the US is taking a robust stance and that the military option is always on the table, Tehran retreats.
As long as Iran's Supreme Leader is alive and as long as the ruling clerics preserve the political establishment, Iran will maintain the core pillars of its foreign policies and revolutionary principles: these are anchored in anti-Israeli, anti-American and anti-Semitic politics. Iranian politicians across the political spectrum totally agree on these fundamentals.
Iran's threats against Israel and the US are becoming bolder and louder. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is now repeatedly threatening Israel's annihilation relatively soon.
According to Iran's Press TV, Khamenei recently stated:
"The Zionist regime -- as we have already said -- will cease to exist in the next 25 years if there is a collective and united struggle by the Palestinians and the Muslims against the Zionists."
In addition, Iranian officials are warning President-elect Donald Trump that if he makes any wrong move, it would lead to a World War, wiping Israel from the face of earth and destroying the smaller Gulf states.
Iranian leaders are adopting their classic tactics and strategy of threatening in advance -- and frequently -- probably to obtain concessions, push the next US administration to pursue policies of appeasement, and, more importantly, to drive the US to abandon Israel.
In addition, through anti-Israeli and incendiary statements, Khamenei and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are inciting Palestinians and the Muslim world to use violence against the Israeli nation. As a result, Khamenei heightens even further his anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic sentiments. Many who follow his beliefs consider it their Islamic duty to fulfill his policies, religious doctrines and prophesies.
Ahmad Karimpour, a senior adviser to the Revolutionary Guards' elite unit, the Quds Force, previously said that Iran is ready to follow Khamenei's orders once the leader gives the green light. According to the semi-official Fars News Agency, Karimpour said, "If the Supreme Leader's orders [are] to be executed, with the abilities and the equipment at our disposal, we will raze the Zionist regime in less than eight minutes."
In order to project himself as the leader of the Muslim world (both Shia and Sunni) and to mobilize opposition to Israel and the US, Khamenei reaffirmed the Islamic Republic's support for groups that stand against Israel and America:
"Despite being engaged in certain regional issues, the Islamic Republic has always announced explicitly that Palestine is the number one issue in the Muslim world and has fulfilled its obligations in this regard."
Iran's leader then went on to lash out at the United States as "the most arrogant [power] and the Great Satan."
Khamenei is correct that his generals and he have previously threatened Israel's destruction.
In July 2016, the deputy commander of the (IRGC) warned that Iran possesses tens of thousands of missiles outside Iran to hit Israel. According to Iran's state-owned news agency Tasnim, General Hossein Salami pointed out:
"Hezbollah has 100,000 missiles ready to hit Israel to liberate the occupied Palestinian territories if the Zionist regime repeats its past mistakes... today, the grounds for the annihilation and collapse of the Zionist regime are (present) more than ever."
In addition, Khamenei has already published a 9-point plan on how to destroy Israel. In September 2015, he called on violence and jihad against Israel, until it is completely destroyed:
"En Sha'a Allah [God willing], there will be no such thing as a Zionist regime in 25 years. Until then, struggling, heroic and jihadi morale will leave no moment of serenity for Zionists."
Beside exploiting people's grievances and inciting violence against Israel, Khamenei primarily relies on Hezbollah, Hamas and the IRGC to pursue his anti-Israel agenda.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah, previously disclosed that Iran is lifeline of Hezbollah. In a speech broadcast by the Shiite party's Al-Manar TV station, he said:
"We do not have any business projects or investments via banks... We are open about the fact that Hezbollah's budget, its income, its expenses, everything it eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets, come from the Islamic Republic of Iran. We have no money in Lebanese banks, neither in the past nor now. We do not transfer our money through the Lebanese banking system.... We totally reject this [U.S.] law until the Day of Judgment. ... Even if the law is applied, we as a party and an organizational and jihadi movement, will not be hurt or affected".
Nasrallah also insisted that, "as long as Iran has money, we have money... Just as we receive the rockets that we use to threaten Israel, we are receiving our money. No law will prevent us from receiving it."
Notably, there are no differences across Iran's political spectrum when it comes to opposing and threatening Israel. Moderates, reformist, principalists [in Farsi, Osolgarayan: ultra revolutionary and conservatives] and hardliners all pursue the core anti-Israel pillar of the Islamic Republic's foreign policy.
The so-called moderate Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, said previously:
"The Zionist regime (Israel) is a regional base for America and the global arrogance ... Disunity and discord among Muslim and terrorist groups in the region ... have diverted us from the important issue of Palestine... We stand with the dispossessed Palestinian nation."
Iranian leaders believe that arming groups and people who oppose Israel is critical. Khamenei tweeted that "I announced and it will absolutely happen that, just like #Gaza, the #WestBank must also be armed..."
Iran is also attempting to intimidate Trump from taking a tough stance against Iran. Trump ought to be wary of falling into Iran's tactical game of fear-mongering. For Iran, US concessions and silence in the face of Iran's threats mean weakness and fear. The fact is that whenever the US surrenders to Iran's threats, Iranian leaders become louder and bolder in their threats. On the other hand, when Iran sees that the US is taking a robust stance and that military option is always on the table, Tehran retreats.
Finally, at least as long as Iran's Supreme Leader is alive, and as long as the ruling clerics preserve the political establishment, the Islamic Republic of Iran will maintain the core pillars of its foreign policies and revolutionary principles: these are anchored in anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-Semitic politics. Iranian politicians across the political spectrum totally agree on these fundamentals.
**Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, political scientists and Harvard University scholar is president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He can be reached at Dr.rafizadeh@post.harvard.edu.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The UN Holocaust: More Lies and Treachery on the Way?
by Yves Mamou/Gatestone Institute/January 11/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9730/un-holocaust-treachery
The launch of this diplomatic attempt to gut Israel will start on January 15, in Paris, at a "peace conference" -- which should immediately be postponed a week.
"Led astray from their primary mission, these organizations [such as the United Nations] have become tools of corruption or terrorism, reinforcing global Islamic power... Their latest resolutions do not only confirm the victory of jihadism and illiteracy: they also express the success of the years of effort made by this post-war Europe that continues to destroy, defame and delegitimize the Jewish State in the name of Islamic justice." — Bat Ye'or, prizewinning historian.
With a UN now run as if it is the universal caliphate, assisted mostly by dictators and despots, it is hard to see much good ever coming from it. No one has yet been made accountable for the $100 billion "oil for food" scandal, and peacekeepers still dole out food to children in exchange for sex.
"The beginning of this long journey dates back to 1967, in France... Europe rushed to adopt the French position in 1973 and, along with the OIC, planned political measures designed to destroy the Jewish State by denying its sovereign rights and its cantonment on an indefensible territory. Resolution 2334 is now the icing on the cake of this policy, which forms the basis for a Euro-Islamic policy..." — Bat Ye'or.
All freedom loving nations would be wise to abandon the UN, or, second-best, defund it. Sadly, that is the only language the UN seems to understand. Countries imagining that in Donald Trump they have another pushover, watch out. You will be in for quite a shock.
Israel, this tiny country in the heart of Middle East, has become the new target of diplomacy-abuse at the United Nations, headed by the Americans, the Europeans (mainly France) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- 57 Islamic states plus "Palestine", which at the moment forms the largest bloc at the UN.
On December 23, 2016, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2334, which effectively sets the boundaries for the Palestinian state at the 1949 armistice lines. The Arabs had previously refused to accept the armistice line as a border, presumably because agreeing to it might preclude the Palestinians from trying to get the rest of "Palestine", defined by them as "from the river [Jordan] to the sea [Mediterranean]" -- meaning all of Israel. Just look at any Palestinian map -- It is identical to the shape of the entirety of Israel.
According to Res. 2334, not only are Jewish settlements are illegal, overnight, effectively making their Jewish residents criminals, but the Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City -- the heart of Judaism for nearly 4,000 years and the seat of Christianity for more than 2,000 years -- are now grotesquely considered "occupied territory".
As Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer noted:
"It's as if the U.N. passed a resolution declaring Mecca and Medina to be sovereign Jewish or Christian territory. It's absurd. It's an insult to the intelligence of the world and is supremely damaging to the Israeli claim to its own holy places."
Krauthammer then wondered why the resolution included East Jerusalem, site of the Old City and the western retaining wall of the Temple Mount -- all that is left of the Jews' Second Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., and at which Jews pray every day. Hmm. As Res. 2334 rejects Res. 242's founding assumptions that peace can only be negotiated between belligerents, could it be that President Obama and the US administration, along with the Islamists, dictators, and many of Europe's Islamized leaders who now populate the UN, are planning to declare a Palestinian State, presumably with East Jerusalem as its capital at a UN Security Council meeting scheduled for January 17, three days before Obama leaves office? We sincerely hope to be proven wrong.
A vote at the UN Security Council (illustrative). [Image source: U.S. State Department]
Regrettably, the US-UN-OIC assault on Israel clearly seems to be the second prong of outgoing US President Barack Obama's lame duck campaign against Israel -- part of a larger plan to displace much of Israel, including its heart, the Old City of Jerusalem, with an Islamic state. Already, on October 13, 2016, another branch of the United Nations, UNESCO, falsely declared the site of Judaism's two ancient temples, Islamic sites.
Before that, in 2015, UNESCO also falsely declared two ancient Biblical Jewish sites, Rachel's Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs, "Islamic sites" -- despite Islam not even having historically existed until hundreds of years later in the seventh century.
The vote was unanimous, except for the US, which, after orchestrating and nurturing the entire assault, demurely abstained and then tried to deny that the US was behind it.
The denial played out like a bad film in which the wife hires a hit-man to kill her husband, and then tells the judge she is innocent because at the time of the murder she was having her hair done.
Secretary of State John Kerry's "candid thoughts" on December 28, 2016, tried to disguise the Obama Administration's treachery -- the US abstaining instead of opposing Res. 2334 -- with a lot of fake-friendly advice. But according to Kerry, the "interests of the United States" were not aligned anymore with the interests of Israel. Why is that? Because of settlement policy:
"We've made countless public and private exhortations to the Israelis to stop the march of settlements. In literally hundreds of conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu, I have made clear that continued settlement activity would only increase pressure for an international response. We have all known for some time that the Palestinians were intent on moving forward in the UN with a settlements resolution, and I advised the prime minister repeatedly that further settlement activity only invited UN action."
So because of the State of Israel's settlement policy, the interest of the United States is now to weaken the diplomatic position of Israel, and make the only free, open, pluralistic democracy in the region a pariah among other nations and every Israeli in the area a potential criminal or a potential target for a general boycott. Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick said:
"...contrary to what has been widely argued, 2334 does not strengthen the boycott of 'settlements.' 2334 gives a strategic boost to the boycott of Israel as a whole.
"2334 calls on states 'to distinguish in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.' Since no Israeli firms make that distinction, all Israeli economic activity is now threatened with boycott. Tnuva is an 'occupation' dairy because it supplies communities beyond the 1949 lines with dairy products.
"Bank Hapoalim is an 'occupation' bank because it operates ATM machines in post-1967 neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
"Fox clothing chain is an 'occupation' chain because it has a store in Gush Etzion. And so on and so forth.
"Resolution 2334 gives Europe and its NGOs a green light to wage a complete trade and cultural boycotts against all of Israel."
Kerry finished his speech by enumerating six principles for peace, supposedly based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed equivalent swaps (but of course leaving Israel with nothing much to swap); recognition of Israel by the Palestinians as a Jewish state; help to solve the refugee issue; internationalization of Jerusalem as a capital for two countries; viable borders for Israel; end of the conflict and all outstanding claims. These "principles" can only be considered a monument to hypocrisy. These "simple" goals contradict resolution 2334. Why should Palestinians agree to land swaps if settlements have already been declared illegal?
Alarmingly, we probably have not yet seen the end of this mess yet. A third stage of this anti-Israeli rocket is in preparation and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has good reasons to think "that the United Nations Security Council could take fresh action against Israel during a meeting on January 17, three days before US President Barack Obama is slated to leave office".
France has protested that it is "not planning" an Israeli-Palestinian UN resolution, but of course that leaves other countries -- perhaps New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia or Senegal again -- to "help out"? The launch of this diplomatic Holocaust will start on January 15, in Paris, at a "peace conference"; it should immediately be postponed for at least a week.
Otherwise, at the initiative of France's equally lame duck, President François Hollande, an international conference will gather the foreign ministers of some fifty States to drive Israel to a fictitious "peace with the Palestinians". But one thing is for sure: All these diplomats can elaborate a resolution of their own, to be put forth by another hit-man, perhaps presented by France or Sweden or another "real friend" of Israel. And the United States can again disingenuously save face by abstaining.
Soon after Kerry's speech, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May distanced the UK from Washington on Kerry's condemnation of Israel, in comments that appear to be designed to build bridges with the incoming Trump administration. Britain's ambassador, Sir Kim Darroch, has even said he hopes it will emulate the rapport between Margaret Thatcher and her US counterpart Ronald Reagan. It would be magnificently Churchillian or Thatcherian if May were to veto any further UN hijinks.
With a UN now run as if it is the universal caliphate, assisted mostly by dictators and despots, it is hard to see much good ever coming from it. No one has yet been made accountable for the $100 billion "oil for food" scandal, and peacekeepers still dole out food to children in exchange for sex. If the US separately wants to fund the World Health Organization as a spin-off, for example, that is always an option.
The UN does not solve the refugee problem; instead the UN perpetuates it, noted the great Soviet dissident, Natan Sharansky.
The UN also does not prevent or resolve world conflicts, instead, it seems to perpetuate them - take Syria, Iraq, the Sudan.
As the prizewinning Middle East historian Bat Ye'or recently wrote about the UN and UNESCO:
"Led astray from their primary mission, these organizations have become tools of corruption or terrorism, reinforcing global Islamic power. But let us not forget that those who vote are Heads of State, fully conscious and responsible individuals, motivated by interests and ideologies that are often criminal and not all of which represent the opinions of their people whom they tyrannize, including those from European 'democracies'. Their latest resolutions do not only confirm the victory of jihadism and illiteracy: they also express the success of the years of effort made by this post-war Europe that continues to destroy, defame and delegitimize the Jewish State in the name of Islamic justice. The beginning of this long journey dates back to 1967, in France.... Europe rushed to adopt the French position in 1973 and, along with the OIC, planned political measures designed to destroy the Jewish State by denying its sovereign rights and its cantonment on an indefensible territory. Resolution 2334 is now the icing on the cake of this policy, which forms the basis for a Euro-Islamic policy to merge in all EU political and social sectors, as well as in promoting globalism and the enforcement of the UN's supranational decision-making powers."
All freedom-loving nations should, unfortunately, abandon immediately before laws are made for them next -- or, second-best, at least de-fund it. Sadly, that is the only language the UN evidently understands.
On February 5, the US House of Representatives voted 342-to-80 to condemn the UN vote, with 100 Democrats joining the Republicans. Countries imagining that in US President-elect Donald J. Trump they have another pushover, watch out. You will be in for quite a shock.
Yves Mamou is a journalist and author based in France. He worked for two decades for the daily, Le Monde, before his retirement.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of

Does the Anti-Nepotism Statute Preclude Trump from Appointing Kushner?
by Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/January 11/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9751/trump-kushner-nepotism
The controversy over President-elect Trump's expected appointment of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, raises serious constitutional issues regarding the separation of powers. Congress, which holds the purse strings, may have the power to withhold the salary of a relative who the president wants as an advisor. But it is doubtful whether Congress has the constitutional power to preclude the president -- who heads the executive branch -- from appointing whomever he chooses as a White House advisor. This is because the separation of powers limits the authority of any one branch to dictate to another branch how it shall conduct its government business. Accordingly, the Supreme Court of the United States does not feel bound by Congressional enactments regarding the recusal of judges for conflict of interest, or other rules of ethics enacted by Congress to constrain its judicial activities. The question of when one branch intrudes on another is often a matter of degree, but each branch guards its independence jealously.
This constitutional issue may never reach the courts for three reasons. First, no one may have standing to challenge such a presidential appointment, especially if taxpayer money is not being spent on his salary. Second, the anti-nepotism statute can reasonably be interpreted to preclude only the payment to relatives and not any pro bono service they may render. Third, the statute can be, and has been, interpreted as not applying to White House staff.
There are two relevant provisions of the anti-nepotism statute that was enacted following President John Kennedy's appointment of his brother Robert to be Attorney General. The first prevents "public officials" from promoting a "relative" "to a civilian position in the agency in which he is serving or over which he exercises jurisdiction or control." [1] The second provides that "[a]n individual appointed... in violation of this section is not entitled to pay."[2] There is an apparent conflict between these two provisions since the first appears to provide for an absolute prohibition against the appointment of relatives, whereas the second provides that if the relative is appointed he cannot be paid.
In interpreting this poorly drafted statute, a court would have to decide whether Congress intended to prevent the only evil of relatives being paid for jobs for which they have been appointed by their kin, or whether Congress was actually trying to prevent presidents from seeking the advice and council of relatives. A court considering this statute, in the context of a constitutional argument based on separation of powers, might well interpret it narrowly to preclude only the payment of salaries. It might also find it inapplicable to White House staff members, who are not part of any "agency." Indeed, one court, in considering Hillary Clinton's appointment by her husband to direct the White House campaign for health care, suggested that the statute did not apply to White House advisors.[3]
Courts generally interpret statutes, particularly those that are as unclear as this one, in a manner that avoids difficult constitutional questions. So I am relatively confident that President-elect Trump's appointment of his son-in-law Jared Kushner to be a senior adviser in the white house will not be successfully challenged.
Nor should it be, as a matter of sound policy. Surely our chief executive should have the power to surround himself with anyone he believes, rightly or wrongly, can render sound advice. There are, of course, risks in the appointment of relatives. It would be more difficult for the president to fire his son-in-law -- the husband of his daughter and father of his grandchildren -- than it would be to fire a non-relative. But that is a factor any president should take into account in hiring a relative. I see no great institutional dangers in allowing such appointments and I do see institutional dangers in prohibiting them.
No statute could, of course, preclude a president from seeking and relying on the advice of relatives. The only question is whether the relative can receive a formal -- and in this case non-paying -- appointment. There are advantages to a formal appointment: it requires the appointee to avoid conflicts of interest; and it promoted visibility and accountability.
So let the president appoint his son-in-law to this important position as senior advisor and let's all hope, for the benefit of the country, that it is wise decision. History has certainly judged President Kennedy positively for appointing his brother as Attorney General. The two of them worked closely together to end the Cuban missile crisis, to promote civil rights, and to carry out other policies that benefitted the entire nation. The statute should be amended to permit the appointment of relatives, while maintaining the prohibition on the government paying them. That would avoid the evil of financially motivated nepotistic appointments, while preserving the benefits of allowing presidents to choose advisors who they believe will be loyal and beneficial in serving the country.
Alan M. Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus and author of "Taking the Stand: My Life in the Law and Electile Dysfunction."
[1] 5 U.S. Code § 3110 (b) - Employment of relatives; restrictions.
[2] 5 U.S. Code § 3110 (c).
[3] Association of American Physicians & Surgeons (AAPS) v. Clinton, 997 F.2d 898, 915 (D.C. Cir. 1993).
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

How a terror tale unfolded in Riyadh
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/January 11/17
Elimination of two wanted terrorists – Tayea Salem Yaslam al-Sayari and Talal Samran al-Saadi – in Riyadh few days ago highlighted the story of Saudi struggle against terror groups. Tayea, who prepared explosive belts, was a student on a scholarship program.
He gave up education and joined his brother Motea in ISIS. Talal did the same and joined his brother Fahd whose activity launched the major Saudi assault against al-Qaeda groups and their recent breed, the ISIS.
Officially, Saudi Arabia’s war against terrorism began 14 years ago, in March 2003. This was after security forces unearthed a house from where al-Qaeda was operating. The house, which served recruitment and storage purposes, was located in al-Jazira neighborhood of Riyadh. A huge explosion happened there killing al-Qaeda member Fahd, who was then 29 years old.
This explosion exposed al-Qaeda’s evil designs and came as a response to all those who had any doubts about the extent of al-Qaeda plans to set up an extensive terror network across the country. This is where it all began. It was followed by a confrontation between Saudi security forces and the society, which was shocked by these developments. Operations began against al-Qaeda terror cells which were mostly formed of Saudi “sahwi” youths and dangerous commanders from Yemen, Iraq, Kuwait, Morocco, Egypt and other countries.
It is time to establish “real” research centers to examine this problem as it truly as and not as some preachers think it is. These centers must analyze this ideology’s intellectual, media and social manifestations
A new approach
In May 2003, in a new approach adopted by the state to deal with terror groups, Saudi authorities revealed the first list of suspected terrorists. Thus came a list of 19 names and it included dangerous men such as the first founder of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia Yusef al-Ayeri, his successor Abdulaziz al-Muqrin, Saleh al-Awfi, Khaled Hajj, a dangerous Yemeni al-Qaeda member, and others.
Five days later, a terrorist group which included five men from those on the list raided three residential compounds in Riyadh using booby-trapped cars. The attacks, which took place in May, 2003 in east of Riyadh, later came to be known as al-Hamra and Granada attacks.
Subsequent developments took dangerous dimensions and the most recent has been the killing of Talal and Tayea in the al-Yasmeen neighborhood of Riyadh. A lot has been written in the media and said during religious sermons since the launch of operations to neutralize terror outfits. However, the ideology has only expanded and branched across the world.
I think it is time to establish “real” research centers to examine this problem as it truly as and not as some preachers think it is. These centers must analyze this ideology’s intellectual, media and social manifestations. These research centers must take matters seriously and they must work hard and be patient while performing their duties. The beginning of the healing process is the accurate understanding of the disease.
**This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on January 11, 2017.

Barack Obama’s successes and failures
Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi/Al Arabiya/January 11/17
President Barack Obama will soon vacate the Oval Office after having served two terms and staying in power for eight years. Undoubtedly, it is not easy to pass judgment on the achievements he has made or to decide how important they are at the present time. However, Obama’s failures will be a subject of long debate among many.
Some will say that these failures are few compared with Obama’s many accomplishments while others will blow the whole matter out of proportion and say that the failures have outweighed and obliterated Obama’s successes.
Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize around eight months after being elected president of the United States. The Nobel Prize committee did not award him the prize as recognition of concrete achievements but for the promising achievements he was going to make. Usually, the prize is awarded to persons who have excelled and made great achievements in their fields. But for Obama, the situation was different.
It was undoubtedly a great accomplishment, if not a miracle, so to speak, for an African-American to be elected president of the United States for the first time in the country’s history. Despite the fact that we live in an age of technology, not miracles, Obama won the election and became president in 2009. Who would have thought that something like this could happen in a society that is controlled by white people and where black people are not treated equally?
Born to a Kenyan father and a white American mother, Obama was raised by his maternal grandparents. He excelled at his studies and earned prestigious college degrees from the best American universities. He served as a law school professor and was able to prove that he had what it takes to be a candidate of the Democratic Party and later the 44th US president.
Despite the failures of the Obama administration in the Arab and Muslim world, he was able to pull off a number of initiatives, and in the final analysis, history will place him among the most successful US presidents
US economy
The consequences of the legacy of former US president George W. Bush were heavy and filled with crises. The effects of Bush’s presidency took the American economy, and the global one for that matter, down. During his era, the economy hit rock bottom. However, Obama succeeded in reducing the unemployment rate, reviving the auto industry, and driving corporate taxes down. Reducing such taxes created job opportunities in the market. Obama also cut the budget deficit.
Obama’s main achievement on the national level is clearly Obamacare. The main objective of it is to provide medical healthcare services to the majority of Americans at a lower cost. Obama’s predecessors were unable to reform the healthcare system. Obamacare was enacted despite Republican opposition and Trump threatened to repeal it if he won the election.
But Trump later said that he would not cancel it, but would introduce amendments to it. After all, the Republicans do not have any other alternative at present. Moreover, over 20 million Americans who benefit from Obamacare will not forget this achievement.
As far as US foreign policy is concerned, Obama made some promises but totally failed to fulfill them. He could not stop Israel from building settlements in the Palestinian territories and he failed to resolve the Palestinian issue and reach a two-state solution for the Palestine-Israel conflict. Although he expressed his deep affection for Israel several times, just like his predecessors had done, he could not build strong relations with the Israeli prime minister.
Obama promised to close Guantanamo Bay but he failed. However, he reduced the number of inmates who were held there without being brought to trial. He also failed to stop the enactment of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) although he opposed it and vetoed it. Two thirds of Congress voted to override his veto.
Diplomatic successes
Obama’s successes include his historic visit to Cuba and his efforts to end the American embargo on that country that was imposed over half a century ago. His visit to Myanmar following the end of military rule there and signing business agreements with local officials was another success. Nevertheless, he failed to exercise pressure on the Myanmar government to end genocide and ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims.
Obama also visited Vietnam as part of his administration’s strategy to focus on the East. As a result, the visit made China angry. Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, the city that was completely destroyed when Americans dropped an atomic bomb on it, is another feat. It was the first time an American president visited the city while he was still in power. But Obama never apologized to the Japanese people; he only said in a speech that he wished that we had a nuclear-free world.
Another success was the nuclear agreement with Iran. Obama said the agreement would prevent Iran from producing and manufacturing nuclear weapons. However, President-elect Trump said that he would tear up the agreement and then later said that he would amend some of its articles.
Despite the failures of the Obama administration in the Arab and Muslim world, he was able to pull off a number of initiatives, and in the final analysis, history will place him among the most successful US presidents.
*This article first appeared in the Saudi Gazette on January 11, 2016

Israeli occupation in the dock as much as Sergeant Azaria
Yossi Mekelberg/Al Arabiya/January 11/17
In front of a packed courtroom last week, an Israeli military court convicted Sergeant Elor Azaria, an Israeli soldier, of the manslaughter of a Palestinian militant. He shot the wounded Abdel Fattah al-Sharif at point blank range, killing al-Sharif, who had attacked other Israeli soldiers with a knife only minutes earlier, but was shot by them.
The court rejected the soldier’s version that al-Sharif posed any threat while he was lying bleeding on the ground. This case would never have reached an indictment, let alone a conviction, had it not been for the presence of a human rights researcher from the Israeli organization B’tselem, who recorded this gruesome extrajudicial killing.
Anyone with any common sense and decency would have understood that the only logical conclusion to this footage was indictment, which would most likely lead to a conviction of at least manslaughter. Instead of responding with universal embarrassment and condemnation, this act found wide support within the right wing forces in Israel and their leaders in government.
Not only was an Israeli soldier in the dock, but the entire Israeli occupation and the control of the lives of almost five million Palestinians for nearly 50 years. This killing should not have caught anyone by surprise, considering the ample evidence of similar gross violations of Palestinians’ human rights.
According to B’etselem’s spokesperson Roy Yellin, in recent years there have been 719 cases of bodily harm, ranging from injuries to fatalities, which potentially merited indictment. However, the Israeli authorities turned a blind eye.
Split society
The split in the reaction to the case of Sgt. Azaria is indicative of the divisions within the Israeli society, vis-à-vis relations with the Palestinians, and an example of how the occupation has changed Israeli society, for the worse, beyond recognition. It has also exposed how vulnerable the supremacy the rule of law is in Israel and the preeminence of populist-nationalist politicians in the country’s politics.
Interestingly enough, it was the very highest echelons of the Israeli military, including the Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkot, who were quick to distance themselves from Sgt. Azaria’s behavior. For them it represented a complete breakdown in discipline which if allowed to prevail is bound to compromise the professionalism of the army, would make their daily tasks more difficult, and may end in the army becoming no more than a militia-like entity.
It is mind boggling that a leader of whatever political persuasion would argue that unless the country allows war crimes to occur, it loses its ability to defend itself
The corollary of this was for them to allow the courts, and the courts only, to decide whether Azaria was guilty or not. On the other hand politicians from the right wing coalition, including Prim Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leaders of the settlers, reacted diametrically opposite. For them it became an opportunity to increase their popularity among their political supporters, portraying this law breaker soldier as a hero.
Ministers ignored due process, declaring the innocence of Azaria even before any indictment was filed. One minister, in her typical hysterical and inciting manner, threatened that a conviction would harm the ability of the Israeli military to defend Israel, and would lead to youth avoiding serving in combat units.
It is mind boggling that a leader of whatever political persuasion would argue that unless the country allows war crimes to occur, it loses its ability to defend itself. The calls to pardon the soldier, even before the length of sentence has been decided, undermine the country’s judiciary system and make a mockery of the country’s democratic character. This is in addition to a wave of vile incitement against the judges in this trial and the Chief of Staff following the verdict.
Victimizing an entire nation
Those in the political system or among the settlers, who are quick to defend the soldier’s horrific act, are legitimizing the unlawful harming of Palestinians. The entire occupation is based on victimizing an entire nation in the name of Israel’s alleged security and ideological needs. It is based on scaring the whole population into submission.
Daily humiliation at checkpoints; breaking into and searching houses in the middle of the night; confiscating land and preventing people from traveling freely and earning their livelihood; are just a few examples of the daily hardships suffered by Palestinians in the West Bank. And yes, in a civilized society even an assailant has rights. When al-Sharif was incapacitated by the soldiers his fate should have been decided by the courts and not by a mob trial.
The military establishment should bear responsibility for allowing soldiers to be exposed daily to the influence of some of the most extreme settlers. In the case of Hebron, the scene of the killing of al-Sharif, the messianic and most racist of settlers are allowed to indoctrinate soldiers who serve there and even give them gifts. While Palestinians are put on trial for the most minor of offences, some soldiers and settlers are getting away, literally at times, with murder.
The judges were explicit in their verdict that what Sgt. Azaria did was a criminal act, breaking the law in complete disregard of military orders. What the court could not say is that the social discourse within Israeli society makes these acts permissible, even desirable. It is an atmosphere that does not perceive Palestinians as equal human beings entitled to the same rights even on their own land.
When the occupation becomes the norm and the subjugation of millions of people to its whims a daily routine, there will always be those that will see this as consent, even encouragement, to actions such as the one condemned in court last week. However, condemnation and putting the soldier behind bars without rethinking the root causes of this is meaningless.
Those who defend shooting an injured person, who poses no threat, at this point are destroying any semblance of democracy in Israel and its legal justice pillar. Not only is it morally abhorrent, but it also becomes a main source of radicalization among Palestinians. In the process it also deepens the frictions within Israeli society, bringing it to a breaking point.