English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For August 07/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.august07.20.htm

News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to enter the LCCC Arabic/English news bulletins Achieves since 2006

Bible Quotations For today
Who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge him before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God
Luke 12/06-10: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. ‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 06-07/2020
Lebanon's Cancer is the Terrorist Hezbollah, with all its Official & Political Trojans/ Elias Bejjani/August 06/2020
Macron Vows to Help Mobilize Aid for Lebanon after Devastating Blast, Warns on Reforms
Macron Meets Aoun, Berri, Diab, Urges 'Fast, Transparent' Blast Probe
Macron Urges Int'l Probe into Beirut Blast, Promises Aid Conference
Macron's Moment amid Cheering Crowds in Devastated Beirut
Macron Inspects Gemmayze, Mar Mikhail, Urges 'Political Deal', New 'System'
IMF Urges Lebanon to Break Reform 'Impasse' after Port Disaster
'Good Chance' of Finding Beirut Survivors, Says French Rescue Team
Britain's Royal Navy Will Help Beirut Prepare to Rebuild its Port
Lebanon Coronavirus Cases Peak after Deadly Blast
Jumblat Urges Int'l Probe, Says Won't Let FPM, Hizbullah Control Parliament
China Sending Medical Team to Beirut after Blast
U.S. Army to Send Supplies to Blast-Devastated Beirut
What Political Fallout from the Lebanon Blast?
Statement by the The Canadian Prime Minister on the fatal explosion in Lebanon
KSrelief Supports Lebanese Medical Teams to Help People Affected by Beirut Port Explosion
Lebanon's Diaspora Mobilizes in Wake of Blast
Cyprus Police Question Man over Links to Beirut Chemicals Cargo
Lebanon Customs Chief Says Govt. Told of Danger
UK PM Johnson: We Will Focus on the Needs of Lebanon People
IDF officers simulate war with Hezbollah
Hezbollah Will Not Escape Blame for Beirut/Hussein Ibish/Bloomberg/August 06/2020
Hezbollah stockpiled chemical behind Beirut blast in London and Germany/Lahav Harkov/Jerusalem Post/August 06/2020
The real tragedy for Lebanon is Hezbollah's continuing stranglehold
New Jewish fundraising campaign launched following Lebanon blast
Beirut explosion highlights danger of Hezbollah’s guided munitions
Qatari royal family member authorized arms supply to Hezbollah - dossier
Israel offers medical aid to Lebanon, response is silence/“It’s a shame that people will die for no reason.”
Who is sending aid to Beirut? Dozens of countries send planes and medics
Lebanese Journalist Nader Fawz Flays State Officials Over Beirut Blast: Their Hands Are Stained With The Blood Of The Victims, They Must Be Ousted And Held Accountable
Iranian, Lebanese Experts On Iranian TV: We Cannot Rule Out The Possibility That The Beirut Explosion Was A Deliberate Act; Israel, America Stand To Gain From This
Lebanese Journalist Jerry Maher: Hizbullah, Lebanon's Corrupt Political System To Blame For Beirut Port Explosion
French President Macron in Lebanon: Aid will not go to corrupt hands
Mother of Disasters in Lebanon/Salman Al-Dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/August,06/2020
Reclaiming the Lost City, Beirut/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/August,06/2020
From Gamal Abdel Nasser to Hassan Diab/Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/August,06/2020

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 06-07/2020

Pompeo Says U.S. to Seek UN Vote on Iran Arms Ban Next Week
US Administration Proposes Demilitarized Zone in Libya’s Sirte, Jufra
Russia Makes Humanitarian Call to Save Syria
Kadhimi Takes Measures Against Those Responsible for Delaying Baghdad-Beirut
Beirut Tragedy Reinforces Yemeni Fears of Similar Disaster at Safer
Arab-Kurdish Conflict Feared East of Euphrates, SDF Official Warns
Jordan Government Vows to Confront Attempts to Stir Instability
Egypt and Greece Sign Agreement on Exclusive Economic Zone
Nile Dam Mediator Urges Talks to Continue
Cyprus Police Question Man over Links to Beirut Chemicals Cargo
Canada providing humanitarian assistance in response to Beirut explosion
 

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 06-07/2020

EU Issues Its First-Ever Cyber Sanctions/Annie Fixler and Trevor Logan/FDD/August 06/2020
Destruction of Iranian Nuclear Facility Should Remind Democrats of Israel’s Unique Value as an Ally/John Hannah/FDD/August 06/2020
Palestinians: We Support China's Muslim Concentration Camps/Khaled Abu Toameh Gatestone Institute/August 06/2020
John Nomikos on Turkish Threats to Greece/Marilyn Stern/Middle East Forum Webinar/August 06/2020
Europe Has a Weak Dollar Problem/Marcus Ashworth/Bloomberg/August,06/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on August 06-07/2020

Lebanon's Cancer is the Terrorist Hezbollah, with all its Official & Political Trojans

 Elias Bejjani/August 06/2020
All proposed solutions for solving the Lebanese devastating ongoing crisis will fail if Hezbollah's Occupation is not totally eradicated for ever, all its puppet Trojans the officials & Politicians are fired and the UN Resolution 1559 implemented

Macron Vows to Help Mobilize Aid for Lebanon after Devastating Blast, Warns on Reforms
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday promised aid to blast-stricken Lebanon but reassured angry citizens reeling from a lethal explosion that killed 145 people that no blank cheques will be given to its leaders unless they enact reforms.
Speaking at a news conference at the end of a dramatic visit to Beirut, Macron called for an international inquiry into the devastating explosion that generated a seismic shock felt across the region, saying it was an urgent signal to carry out anti-corruption reforms demanded by a furious population.
Dozens are still missing after Tuesday's explosion at the port that injured 5,000 people and left up to 250,000 without habitable homes, hammering a nation already staggering from economic meltdown and a surge in coronavirus cases.
A security source said the death toll had reached 145, and officials said the figure was likely to rise. Macron, paying the first visit by a foreign leader since the explosion, promised to help organize international aid. But he said a fully transparent international investigation into the blast was needed, and that the Lebanese government must implement economic reforms and curb corruption.
"If reforms are not carried out, Lebanon will continue to sink," Macron said after being met at the airport by Lebanese President Michel Aoun. "What is also needed here is political change. This explosion should be the start of a new era."
He told reporters later in Beirut that an audit was needed on the Lebanese central bank, among other urgent changes, and that the World Bank and United Nations would play a role in any Lebanese reforms. "If there is no audit of the central bank, in a few months there will be no more imports and then there will be lack of fuel and of food," said Macron. Earlier, wearing a black tie in mourning, Macron toured the blast site and Beirut's shattered streets where angry crowds demanded an end to a "regime" of Lebanese politicians they blame for corruption and dragging Lebanon into disaster. "I guarantee you, this (reconstruction) aid will not go to corrupt hands," Macron told the throngs who greeted him.
"I see the emotion on your face, the sadness, the pain. This is why I’m here," he told one group, pledging to deliver "home truths" to Lebanon's leaders.
He told reporters later at the French ambassador's residence, where a French general declared the creation of the state of Lebanon exactly 100 years ago, Macron said it was no longer up to France to tell Lebanese leaders what to do.
But he said he could apply "pressure", adding: "This morning, many people told me, 'Bring back the mandate'. In a way you are asking me to be the guarantor of the emergence of a democratic revolution," he said. "But a revolution cannot be invited, the people will decide. Do not ask France to not respect your sovereignty."
Meltdown
The government's failure to tackle a runaway budget, mounting debt and endemic corruption has prompted Western donors to demand reform. One man on the street told Macron: "We hope this aid will go to the Lebanese people not the corrupt leaders." Another said that, while a French president had taken time to visit them, Lebanon's president had not.  At the port, destroyed by Tuesday's giant mushroom cloud and fireball, families sought news about the missing, amid mounting public anger at the authorities for allowing huge quantities of highly explosive ammonium nitrate, used in making fertilizers and bombs, to be stored there for years in unsafe conditions. The government has ordered some port officials be put under house arrest and promised a full investigation.
"They will scapegoat somebody to defer responsibility," said Rabih Azar, a 33-year-old construction worker, speaking near the smashed remains of the port's grain silo, surrounded by other mangled masonry and flattened buildings. A central bank directive seen by Reuters later and confirmed by the bank said it had decided to freeze the accounts of the heads of Beirut port and Lebanese customs along with five others. The directive, dated Aug. 6, from the central bank special investigation commission for money laundering and anti-terrorism efforts, said the decision would be circulated to all banks and financial institutions in Lebanon, the public prosecutor in the appeals court and the head of the banking authority. With banks in crisis, a collapsing currency and one of the world's biggest debt burdens, Economy Minister Raoul Nehme said Lebanon had "very limited" resources to deal with the disaster, which by some estimates may have cost the nation up to $15 billion. He said the country needed foreign aid. Offers of medical and other immediate aid have poured in, as officials have said hospitals, some heavily damaged in the blast, do not have enough beds and equipment.
Many Lebanese, who have lost jobs and watched savings evaporate in the financial crisis, say the blast is symptomatic of political cronyism and rampant graft among the ruling elite.
‘Crooks and liars’
"Our leaders are crooks and liars. I don't believe any investigation they will do. They destroyed the country and they're still lying to the people. Who are they kidding?" said Jean Abi Hanna, 80, a retired port worker whose home was damaged and daughter and granddaughter injured in the blast. Veteran politician Walid Jumblatt, leader of Lebanon's Druze community, called for an international investigation, saying he had "no trust" in the government to find out the truth. An official source familiar with preliminary investigations blamed "inaction and negligence" for the blast. A Lebanese security source said the initial blaze that sparked the explosion was caused by welding work. People who felt the explosive force said they had witnessed nothing comparable in years of conflict and upheaval in Beirut, which was devastated by the 1975-1990 civil war and since then has experienced big bomb attacks, unrest and a war with Israel. "All hell broke loose," said Ibrahim Zoobi, who works near the port. "I saw people thrown five or six meters." Seismic tremors from the blast were recorded in Eilat on Israel's Red Sea coast, about 580 km (360 miles) away. Operations have been paralyzed at Beirut port, Lebanon's main route for imports needed to feed a nation of more than 6 million people, forcing ships to divert to smaller ports.

Macron Meets Aoun, Berri, Diab, Urges 'Fast, Transparent' Blast Probe
Naharnet/August 06/2020
French President Emmanuel Macron held a meeting Thursday at the Baabda Palace with President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Hassan Diab. Speaking to reporters after the talks, Macron urged “transparent and fast” investigation into the catastrophic explosion that rocked Beirut’s port on Tuesday, killing at least 137 people, injuring around 5,000 and leaving dozens missing while causing massive material damage across the capital. “I spoke to the three presidents very frankly and initiatives must be taken to reform, stop corruption and fix electricity,” the French leader added. He also said that the economic and financial crisis requires “strong political initiatives.”A joint statement issued after the meeting said Aoun stressed “firm determination to identify the causes of this tragedy-crime and those behind it and to hand them the appropriate penalties,” underlining that “this is the priority today.”

Macron Urges Int'l Probe into Beirut Blast, Promises Aid Conference
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/2020
French President Emmanuel Macron Thursday called for an international investigation into the blast at Beirut's port that killed more than 130 people and ravaged entire neighborhoods, costing the country billions. "An international, open and transparent probe is needed to prevent things from remaining hidden and doubt from creeping in," he told reporters at the end of a snap visit to the Lebanese capital. In asking for an international inquiry, he joined calls widely supported in and outside Lebanon for an independent probe, and said French investigators were on their way to Beirut. Even as they counted their dead and cleared streets of debris, many Lebanese were boiling with anger over a blast they see as the most shocking expression yet of their leadership's incompetence. Lebanese authorities said the massive explosion was triggered by a fire igniting 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at Beirut's port. But many questions have been raised as to how such a huge cargo of highly explosive material could have been left unsecured for years. Macron said a French military aircraft carrier was hours away from landing in Beirut with "rescue teams and investigators to take the search and the probe forward."Lebanon's foreign minister had announced on French radio Thursday that an investigating committee had been given four days to determine responsibility for Tuesday's devastating explosion. Yet most of the members of this committee are high-ranking officials who command little trust from the people and many relatives of the blast's victims have been calling for foreign investigators. The cataclysmic explosion, which left an estimated 300,000 people temporarily homeless and injured around 5,000 people, struck when Lebanon was already battling rampant inflation and rising poverty. The International Monetary Fund has offered help but Lebanon's political leaders have balked at the measures the monetary institution is requesting for a rescue package to be approved. To help ease the crisis, an international aid conference for Lebanon would be held "in the coming days," Macron said. He stressed that the aid raised during the conference would be channeled "directly to the people, the relief organizations and the teams that need it on the ground."The French president took a tough tone on the reforms he said were the only thing holding back a massive aid package that could put the ailing country back in the saddle. Speaking of Lebanon's political leaders, Macron said: "Their responsibility is huge, that of a revamped pact with the Lebanese people in the coming weeks, that of deep change."

Macron's Moment amid Cheering Crowds in Devastated Beirut
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/2020
White shirt sleeves rolled up, Emmanuel Macron waded through cheering crowds in the devastated streets of Beirut Thursday where disaster survivors pleaded with him to help get rid of their reviled ruling elite. Doing what no senior Lebanese leader had done since the deadly explosion at Beirut port two days earlier, the French president allowed himself to be thronged by residents of one of the capital's worst-hit neighborhoods. Dozens of people chanting "revolution" and pleading with him for help pressed against his phalanx of bodyguards as he walked through the Gemmayzeh area for around 45 minutes. Long simmering anger against Lebanon's leaders has flared since the blast, which appears to have been caused by negligence and is widely seen as the most tragic manifestation yet of the corruption and incompetence of the ruling class. Some welcomed Macron like a savior, while only a few heckled him, arguing that his mere presence in Lebanon would only serve to legitimize a political system they want to kick out wholesale. "Help us, you are our only hope," one well-wisher shouted as Macron stopped to meet residents, while neighbors applauded from flats with broken windows and crumbling balconies. A woman wearing a face mask and heavy duty gloves cut through the crowd to catch the attention of the French head of state before clenching his hands firmly to make an impassioned plea for help.Under the nervous gaze of his suited bodyguards, Macron hugged her in a prolonged embrace that triggered wild cheers from the crowd.
- 'I understand your anger' -
Throughout the dramatic walkabout, Macron appeared to savor the moment. His moment. The scene was reminiscent of Jacques Chirac's legendary 1996 walk through the Old City of Jerusalem, a moment that came to define his style as a president and contributed greatly to his popularity.
"My home in Gemmayzeh has vanished and the first person to pay me a visit is a foreign president," well-known actor Ziad Itani wrote on social media, telling Lebanese leaders: "Shame on you.""It seems this is more than a visit. What's happening on the streets of Gemmayzeh is historical."Clamoring around Macron, people chanted slogans made popular during the country's October popular uprising, launching insults at the political leaders he was to meet hours later. Macron, when pressed by residents -- some bearing the bandaged wounds of the cataclysmic explosion that disfigured their neighborhood -- vowed to be tough and push for reforms. "I understand your anger. I am not here to endorse ... the regime," Macron assured the crowd. "It is my duty to help you as a people, to bring you medicine and food."One woman implored Macron to keep French financial assistance out of the reach of Lebanese officials, accused by many Lebanese of rampant graft and greed. "I guarantee you that this aid will not fall into corrupt hands," Macron said. He promised to pitch a "new political deal" to the country's leaders, and to press them to deliver sweeping change.
"I am going to talk to them ... I will hold them accountable," Macron said before getting into a black limousine headed for the presidential palace.

Macron Inspects Gemmayze, Mar Mikhail, Urges 'Political Deal', New 'System'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/2020
French President Emmanuel Macron visited shell-shocked Beirut Thursday, pledging support and urging change after a massive explosion devastated the Lebanese capital in a disaster that has sparked grief and fury. "Lebanon is not alone," he tweeted on arrival before pledging Paris would coordinate international relief efforts after the colossal blast killed at least 137 people, wounded thousands and caused billions of dollars in damage. But Macron also warned that Lebanon -- already mired in a deep economic crisis, in desperate need of a bailout and hit by political turmoil -- would "continue to sink" unless it implements urgent reforms. Public anger is on the boil over the blast caused by a massive pile of ammonium nitrate that had for years lain in a ramshackle portside warehouse -- proof to many Lebanese of the deep rot at the core of their state system. Macron visited Beirut's harbormaster blast zone, now a wasteland of blackened ruins, rubble and charred debris where a 140 meter (460 feet) wide crater has filled with sea water. As Macron inspected a devastated pharmacy in Gemmayze, angry crowds outside vented their fury at their "terrorist" leadership, shouting "revolution" and "the people want an end to the regime!"
"Come rule us!" one man yelled at the president. Macron told them he would urge Lebanon's leaders to accept "a new political deal" and "to change the system, to stop the division of Lebanon, to fight against corruption."Macron's visit to the small Mediterranean country, France's Middle East protege and former colonial-era protectorate, was the first by a foreign head of state since Tuesday's unprecedented tragedy. Two days on, Lebanon was still reeling from a blast so huge it was felt in neighboring countries, its mushroom-shaped cloud drawing comparisons with the Hiroshima atom bomb.
'Shock to anger'
"Apocalypse", "Armageddon" -- Lebanese were lost for words to describe the impact of the blast, which dwarfed anything the country had experienced in its violence-plagued history. The deadly explosion left dozens more missing and a staggering 5,000 people wounded, many by flying shards of glass as windows imploded. The death toll was expected to rise as rescue workers keep digging through the rubble. Offering a glimmer of hope amid the carnage, a French rescuer said there was a "good chance of finding... people alive," especially a group believed to be trapped in a room under the rubble. "We are looking for seven or eight missing people, who could be stuck in a control room buried by the explosion," the colonel told Macron as he surveyed the site. Paris has spearheaded international mobilization in support of Lebanon, where flights carrying medical aid, field hospitals, rescue experts and tracking dogs have arrived since Wednesday.
Beirut's governor estimated up to 300,000 people have been left temporarily homeless by the destruction, which he said would cost the debt-ridden country in excess of three billion dollars. According to several officials, the explosion was caused by a fire igniting 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertilizer stored for years in the warehouse. Even as they counted their dead and cleaned up the streets, many Lebanese were consumed with anger over a blast they see as the most shocking expression yet of their leadership's incompetence. "We can't bear more than this. This is it. The whole system has got to go," said 30-year-old Mohammad Suyur as he picked up broken glass in Mar Mikhail, one of the worst-hit city districts.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab and President Michel Aoun have promised to put the culprits behind bars, but trust in institutions is low and few on Beirut's streets held out hope for an impartial inquiry.
- Spontaneous solidarity -
The disaster could reignite a cross-sectarian protest movement that erupted last October and had looked briefly like it could topple what activists consider a hereditary kleptocracy. The euphoria had faded amid grinding economic hardship and the coronavirus pandemic. But since the disaster, social media is once more rife with calls to kick out Lebanon's widely reviled leaders. "Lebanon's political class should be on guard in the weeks ahead," Faysal Itani of think-tank the Center for Global Policy wrote in The New York Times. "Shock will inevitably turn to anger."
Human Rights Watch supported mounting calls for an international probe into the disaster, saying it was "the best guarantee that victims of the explosion will get the justice they deserve".In France, prosecutors have opened a probe into the blast over injuries suffered by 21 French citizens. Amid the gloom and fury, the aftermath of the terrible explosion has also yielded countless uplifting examples of spontaneous solidarity. Business owners swiftly took to social media, posting offers to repair doors, paint damaged walls or replace shattered windows for free. Lebanon's diaspora, believed to be nearly three times the tiny country's population of five million, has rushed to launch fundraisers and wire money to loved ones. In Beirut, much of the cleanup has been handled by volunteers in improvised working groups who bring their own equipment and organize online appeals for help. "We're sending people into the damaged homes of the elderly and handicapped to help them find a home for tonight," said Husam Abu Nasr, a 30-year-old volunteer. "We don't have a state to take these steps, so we took matters into our own hands."

IMF Urges Lebanon to Break Reform 'Impasse' after Port Disaster
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/2020
The International Monetary Fund urged Lebanese officials Thursday to break an "impasse" and move ahead with reforms after a massive Beirut blast devastated the capital and cost the crisis-hit country billions in damages. "It is essential to overcome the impasse in the discussions on critical reforms," said the world body, which has been in talks with the Lebanese government since May over the country's financial crisis. The talks have since hit a wall, with the IMF urging authorities "to put in place a meaningful program to turn around the economy" following Tuesday's explosion, which it called a "disaster."The blast killed more than a 130 people, wounded at least 5,000 others, and left 300,000 homeless, with damage costs estimated to exceed $3 billion. It came as the country was already knee-deep in its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, with runaway inflation and bank capital controls fueling poverty, despair and angry street protests. After Lebanon defaulted on its sovereign debt for the first time in March, the government pledged reforms, and in May started talks with the IMF towards unlocking billions of dollars in aid. Lebanon is seeking more than $20 billion in external funding, including an $11 billion aid package pledged during a Paris conference in April 2018. After 17 meetings, negotiations with the IMF have been on hold since July, as Lebanese officials failed to agree on reform measures or the scale of the country's financial losses. Deadlock is common in multi-confessional Lebanon, where politicians have for decades been accused of cronyism, conflict of interest and corruption.

'Good Chance' of Finding Beirut Survivors, Says French Rescue Team
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/2020
There is a "good chance" of finding survivors of the Beirut port explosion, especially a group believed to be trapped in a room under the rubble, a French rescuer said Thursday. "We are looking for seven or eight missing people, who could be stuck in a control room buried by the explosion," said a colonel leading a rescue team that arrived in Lebanon late on Wednesday. "We think there is a good chance of finding... people alive," he told French President Emmanuel Macron as he surveyed the scene of Tuesday's explosion that killed more than 100 people.

Britain's Royal Navy Will Help Beirut Prepare to Rebuild its Port
Naharnet/August 06/2020
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has authorised the deployment of HMS Enterprise in support of the Lebanese government at this tragic time, the British embassy announced in a statement on Thursday. The Armed Forces will continue to work with the Lebanese government to help the people of Beirut recover. A small team of experts will deploy to the British Embassy in Beirut to help coordinate the UK response ahead of HMS Enterprise's deployment and a further package of support. Defence Secretary said: "At the request of the Lebanese government I have today authorised the sending of HMS Enterprise to help survey the Port of Beirut, assessing the damage and supporting the Lebanese government and people rebuild this vital piece of national infrastructure."

Lebanon Coronavirus Cases Peak after Deadly Blast
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/2020
Lebanon recorded 255 coronavirus cases Thursday -- its highest single-day infection tally -- after a monstrous blast upended a planned lockdown and sent thousands streaming into overflowing hospitals, already struggling to cope. The health ministry figures were reported by the state-run National News Agency, which also announced two new deaths. They bring the total number of COVID-19 infections in Lebanon to 4,604, including 70 deaths since the outbreak first began in February. The pandemic has compounded the woes of a crisis-hit country reeling from a massive explosion that killed more than 130 people, wounded at least 5,000 and left an estimated 300,000 homeless. Tuesday's blast meant many people forgot about their face masks as they crammed into vehicles, sometimes riding with strangers, en route to hospitals which were also damaged by the explosion. Lebanon's hospitals were -- for the first time in months -- overwhelmed with cases other than COVID-19, with some having to turn away the wounded because they were already full. Since the explosion, people have crowded into the hardest hit districts to inspect their damaged homes and businesses, or as volunteers in cleanup efforts. The blast forced authorities to suspend a lockdown that was supposed to last until August 10.

Jumblat Urges Int'l Probe, Says Won't Let FPM, Hizbullah Control Parliament
Naharnet/August 06/2020
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Thursday called for tasking an international panel of inquiry with probing the mega-blast that rocked Beirut’s port, as he stressed that the Democratic Gathering bloc will not resign from parliament.
“We do not whatsoever believe in a local investigation commission and there is total lack of confidence that this government can unveil the truth. That’s why we demand an international investigation commission to unveil the truth,” Jumblat said at a press conference. “The Democratic Gathering led by MP Taymour Jumblat has decided to stay in parliament and it calls for new elections based on a non-sectarian law and individual electorates,” Jumblat added. The PSP leader said the bloc has decided to maintain its presence in parliament “because the resignation of the Democratic Gathering’s eight MPs would allow the Aounist axis and Hizbullah to fully control the legislature.”“We will stay in parliament to try and block any additional laws aimed at seizing the country’s assets,” Jumblat added. He said there should “real control of ports and border crossings,” while urging a “neutral government.”
“This is a hostile government on all levels,” Jumblat added, slamming it as a “ruling gang.”Asked about calls by segments of citizens for the resignation of President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Hassan Diab, Jumblat said: “When the other forces, especially Christians, unite over the demand of Michel Aoun’s resignation, led by (Maronite) Patriarch (Beshara) al-Rahi, we would then join those forces.”“As for Diab, he is a voracious wolf and a nobody,” the PSP leader added.

China Sending Medical Team to Beirut after Blast
Associated Press/Naharnet/August 06/2020
China says it is sending a medical team and supplies to Lebanon in the aftermath of the port explosion that injured more than 5,000 people. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Thursday that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had conveyed a message of condolence to Lebanese President Michel Aoun following the blast, which killed at least 135 people. “As a friendly country to Lebanon, China is willing to continue to provide assistance within its capacity for Lebanon to tide over the difficulties,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. China has long been a major customer for Middle Eastern oil and gas, and in recent years has sought to boost its influence in the area as an alternative to the U.S. and Europe. For many years, China has also contributed soldiers to the United Nations peacekeeping operation in southern Lebanon.

U.S. Army to Send Supplies to Blast-Devastated Beirut
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/2020
The U.S. military is sending shipments of water, food and medicine to Lebanon, it announced Thursday, two days after a massive explosion devastated Beirut and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Deliveries of three C-17 military planes loaded with food, water and medical supplies are "impending," said a spokesman for U.S. Army Central Command chief General Frank McKenzie, without stating when they would arrive. McKenzie said the U.S. was ready to continue providing assistance to the Lebanese during the "terrible tragedy" in partnership with the Lebanese Army, the U.S. embassy in Lebanon and the U.S. international aid agency, USAID, according to the statement. Public anger in Lebanon is on the boil over the blast caused by a massive pile of ammonium nitrate that had for years lain in a ramshackle portside warehouse. It left at least 137 dead and 5,000 injured, and hundreds of thousands of people homeless. Rescuers and families are still searching for dozens more people missing since the blast. The death toll was expected to rise as rescue workers keep digging through the rubble. The blast zone is now a wasteland of blackened ruins, while whole neighborhoods were largely destroyed.
The fallout is expected to cost billions in a small country already plunged into an unprecedented economic and social crisis, battling the coronavirus, and where almost half of the inhabitants live in poverty.

What Political Fallout from the Lebanon Blast?
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/August 06/2020
The colossal explosion that devastated Beirut's port and gutted entire neighbourhoods of the Lebanese capital deals a fresh blow to an already fragile and deeply unpopular government. Lebanon's ruling elite was already under enormous pressure from a protest movement that rejects it as inept, corrupt and beholden to the country's myriad sectarian groups rather than the national interest. With public anger now boiling over the epic destruction caused by a disaster blamed on official negligence, in a country choking from its worst ever economic crisis, what will be the political impact?
- On the government -
Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government, billed as technocratic line-up when it was launched in January, is seen as subservient to the party of President Michel Aoun and his Hizbullah allies. In weeks of talks, the cabinet has failed to reached a deal with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue package for Lebanon, which defaulted on its debt earlier this year. Battling runaway inflation, mass unemployment and rising poverty, the government is already fraying at the edges. This week Nassif Hitti resigned as foreign minister to protest a lack of willingness to tackle much-needed reforms, warning that Lebanon risked becoming a "failed state". Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, argued that "in any other country, the government would resign" after such deadly blasts. "Irrespective of how this explosion came to happen there is absolute criminal neglect."Security officials told AFP that huge quantities of highly explosive ammonium nitrate had been stored for years in a rundown warehouse and that the hazard was known to the authorities. "The catastrophe, while exceptionally severe, is the result of business as usual in Lebanon," Faysal Itani, a deputy director at the Center for Global Policy, wrote in The New York Times. "There is a pervasive culture of negligence, petty corruption and blame-shifting endemic to the Lebanese bureaucracy, all overseen by a political class defined by its incompetence and contempt for the public good."Nonetheless, in the context of extreme geopolitical polarisation in the region, especially between arch foes the United States and Iran, the government's sponsors might seek to preserve it at all costs. "Despite popular anger... a resignation still seems unlikely just now because there is no clear alternative," said Karim Bitar, a professor of international relations in Paris and Beirut.
On the protest camp
An unprecedented nationwide and cross-sectarian protest movement that erupted on October 17 had looked at one stage like it could topple the hereditary ruling elite. The euphoria faded however as change failed to materialise and the combination of economic hardship and the coronavirus pandemic left the popular revolution in tatters. Bitar predicted that Tuesday's tragedy would give the protest camp "a second wind". "The Lebanese will be more determined than ever to make a political class which is corrupt to the bone accountable," he said. But Yahya argued that many among the protest camp could also see the port blast as the last straw that convinces them to leave the country for good, joining Lebanon's massive diaspora.The government announced a two-week state of emergency with immediate effect on Wednesday, which could also foil any plans for mass protests in the short term.
On Hizbullah
The Tehran-backed movement, the dominant political player in Lebanon, appealed for unity and its leader Hassan Nasrallah has postponed a televised address initially slated for Wednesday evening. "They will also be held accountable because they are part and parcel of the governing system," said Yahya. Hizbullah's influence on the running of the port is known to the public and will reflect badly on the organisation, she said. Strangled by US sanctions, the Shiite movement is also bracing for the upcoming verdict in the trial over the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafic Hariri. The main suspects are alleged Hizbullah members and a guilty verdict could further pile pressure at home and abroad on the Iranian proxy, which the US and many other Western countries consider a "terrorist" group. The special tribunal in The Hague handling the case announced on Wednesday it was postponing the verdict, initially due on Friday, to August 18 as a consequence of the deadly port blast. Whichever way the verdict goes, heightened tensions between Hizbullah and Hariri supporters are a risk.

Statement by the The Canadian Prime Minister on the fatal explosion in Lebanon
August 6, 2020
Ottawa, Ontario
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the fatal explosion in Lebanon:
“Canadians were shocked and deeply saddened by the devastating toll of Tuesday’s explosion on the people and city of Beirut, Lebanon. We mourn the tragic deaths of so many people, and wish a full and quick recovery to the thousands who were injured. “We are also thinking of the many who continue to search for friends and family, and who have lost their homes and livelihoods during this extremely challenging time. You are in our hearts, and we are with you. We know that the people of Lebanon will come together and rebuild, as they have before, and overcome this tragedy. “Our two countries share a deep and longstanding friendship, which is rooted in close people-to-people ties. Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese Canadians live in communities across the country. For decades, they have strengthened our country and continue to make significant contributions to Canada today. To help the people of Lebanon, Canada is providing up to $5 million in humanitarian assistance, with an initial $1.5 million going immediately to the Lebanese Red Cross and other trusted humanitarian organizations.
“To the people of Lebanon, Lebanese Canadians, and all those who watched the explosion in shock and horror, worrying about their loved ones and friends: we will always support the people of Lebanon as you work to heal and rebuild your beautiful city. Canada will also work with the international community to keep identifying how we can support urgent needs, and continue to offer emergency support, including medical aid, food, and shelter.
“Friends and relatives of Canadian citizens in Lebanon can contact Global Affairs Canada's 24/7 Emergency Watch and Response Centre by calling 613-996-8885 or 1-800-387-3124, or by sending an email to sos@international.gc.ca. Canadian citizens in Lebanon in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Embassy of Canada in Beirut at 961 (4) 726-700 or berut-cs@international.gc.ca or call Global Affairs Canada’s Emergency Watch and Response Centre at +1 613-996-8885."

KSrelief Supports Lebanese Medical Teams to Help People Affected by Beirut Port Explosion
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) supported on Tuesday Lebanese medical teams and assisted people affected by Beirut port explosion.
Souboul Al Salam Relief Team, funded by KSrelief, went from north of Lebanon to Beirut to assist in the transportation of the wounded. Also, a specialized team from Al-Amal Medical Center, funded by KSrelief, provided emergency health care services in Beirut. Meanwhile, Al-Amal Center said that it had launched a blood donation campaign to meet the need of Beirut hospitals.

Lebanon's Diaspora Mobilizes in Wake of Blast
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
Lebanon's diaspora, estimated at nearly three times the size of the tiny country's population of five million, has stepped up to provide assistance following the massive explosion that laid waste to the capital Beirut. Lebanese expats rushed to wire money to loved ones who lost their homes or were injured in the blast on Tuesday that killed at least 113 people, while others worked to create special funds to address the tragedy. "I've been on the phone all morning with ... our partners in order to put together an alliance for an emergency fund in light of the explosion," said George Akiki, co-founder and CEO of LebNet, a non-profit based in California's Silicon Valley that helps Lebanese professionals in the United States and Canada. "Everyone, both Lebanese and non-Lebanese, wants to help."Akiki said his group, along with other organizations such as SEAL and Life Lebanon, have set up Beirut Emergency Fund 2020, which will raise much-needed money and channel it to safe and reputable organizations in Lebanon. Many Lebanese expats, who almost all have loved ones or friends impacted by the disaster, are also helping individually or have started online fundraisers.
"As a first step, my wife Hala and I will match at least $10,000 in donations and later on we will provide more help towards rebuilding and other projects," Habib Haddad, a tech entrepreneur and member of LebNet based in Boston, Massachusetts, told AFP. He said many fellow compatriots are doing the same, channeling their grief and anger toward helping their stricken homeland, which before the blast was already reeling from a deep economic and political crisis that has left more than half the population living in poverty. "They're asking Lebanese emigrants around the world to try and help," said Maroun Daccache, owner of a Lebanese restaurant in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a country that has an estimated seven million people of Lebanese descent. "I'm trying to help with something but here the business is not very good because of the pandemic. Still, we are much better off than those over there," Daccache said.
'Terrible and heartbreaking'
Even before the tragedy, Lebanon heavily relied on its diaspora for cash remittances but these inflows had slowed in the last year given the country's political crisis.
Expats also usually visit home every summer, injecting much-needed cash into the economy. But the diaspora this year has largely been absent because of the COVID-19 pandemic and many had become increasingly skeptical and reluctant to send aid to a country where corruption is widespread and permeates all levels of society. "People are outraged by the mismanagement of the country and they want to help, but no one trusts the people in charge," said Najib Khoury-Haddad, a tech entrepreneur in the San Francisco area, echoing the feeling of many Lebanese leery of giving money to a dysfunctional government.
"I heard that the government has set up a relief fund but who would trust them?" he added. Ghislaine Khairalla, 55, of Washington DC, said one idea being floated was to pair a needy family in Beirut with one outside the country that could provide a safe and direct source of assistance. "We (the diaspora) are the financial bloodline especially since the economy is not going to recover anytime soon," Khairalla, whose brother's home was reduced to rubble by the blast, said. "And we are lucky to have a kind of stable life here. We are physically outside Lebanon but our hearts and emotions are there."
Nayla Habib, a Lebanese-Canadian who lives in Montreal, said she planned to help in whatever way she can and expressed outrage at reports that the blast was caused by more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the Beirut port, which is located in the heart of the densely populated city. "My God, the state of our country is terrible and heartbreaking," Habib told AFP. "I donated before the blast to a lady that helps feed the poor and I will donate again. "Whatever I give is like a drop in the ocean but it's necessary," she added. "I live in Canada but part of my heart is still there."
 

Cyprus Police Question Man over Links to Beirut Chemicals Cargo
Asharq Al-Awsat/August/06, 2020
Cyprus has located and questioned a Russian man named in multiple news reports as the owner of the ship that carried a cargo of ammonium nitrate abandoned in Beirut and that exploded in a devastating fireball. A Cyprus police spokesman said an individual, who he did not name, was questioned at his home in Cyprus on Thursday afternoon. "There was a request from the Interpol Beirut to locate this person and ask certain questions related to the cargo," the spokesman, Christos Andreou, told Reuters. He said the responses were being passed on to Beirut. He declined to give further information. A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin, 43. Attempts to contact Grechushkin were unsuccessful. Boris Prokoshev, who was captain of the Rhosus in 2013, said the chemicals ended up in Beirut after the ship's owner - who he identified as Grechushkin - told him to make an unscheduled stop in Lebanon to pick up extra cargo.The chemicals, which had been stored at Beirut port for years, exploded on Tuesday in the country's worst peace-time disaster.

Lebanon Customs Chief Says Govt. Told of Danger
Asharq Al-Awsat/August/06, 2020
The head of Lebanon’s customs department said one of the country's main security agencies reported to the Cabinet in the past year about the danger from explosive chemicals being stored at the port.
Badri Daher told The Associated Press on Thursday that State Security had been investigating the stockpile of ammonium nitrate for the past year. He said it raised reports about the danger to the Cabinet, state prosecutor and other state institutions. Security officials were not immediately available for comment.
He confirmed that he sent a letter in 2017 to a judge in which he warned of the “dangers if the materials remain where they are, affecting the safety of (port) employees” and asked the judge for guidance.Daher said he and his predecessor sent a total of six letters but never got a response.
Media reports in the nation of Georgia said the tons of ammonium nitrate that exploded in Beirut originated from the Georgian city of Rustavi, home to a large chemical production plant. The company that operates the plant issued a statement on Thursday that neither confirmed nor denied the provenance of the 2,750 tons of the chemical stored in a Beirut warehouse that is believed to have been touched off by a fire. The ammonium nitrate — a highly explosive component of fertilizers — had been stored there since 2013 despite repeated warnings.
Rustavi Azot said it has been operating the plant “only for the past three years” and was unable to confirm whether the ammonium nitrate was produced in Georgia or in the city of Rustavi.

UK PM Johnson: We Will Focus on the Needs of Lebanon People
Asharq Al-Awsat/August/06, 2020
Lebanese soldiers search for survivors after a massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon,  Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday he was shocked by the blast in Beirut and that Britain would continue to focus on the needs of the people of Lebanon.
“I was absolutely appalled and shocked by the scenes from Lebanon, from Beirut,” Johnson said. “I am sure that the UK will continue to focus on the needs of the people of Lebanon.”Britain is sending a Royal Navy ship to Beirut to help the city recover from Tuesday's devastating port explosion. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the survey vessel HMS Enterprise, currently in Cyprus, will assess damage and help Lebanese authorities prepare to rebuild the port. Britain has pledged a 5 million-pound ($6.6 million) humanitarian support package for Lebanon and says it will send search and rescue teams and expert medical support.

IDF officers simulate war with Hezbollah

Jerusalem Post/August 06/2020
Hundreds of officers are using simulators, virtual reality, and escape rooms to prepare for war with the Lebanese terror group
As the IDF transitions to a more connected and digitized military as part of the “Momentum” multiyear plan, hundreds of officers have completed several brigade and battalion exercises using simulators rather than drills in the field.
Officers from the 401st Armored Brigade as well as from the Givati and Nahal infantry brigades were training when The Jerusalem Post visited IDF Training Command Headquarters at the Julis base near Ashkelon this week to watch as they virtually trained for a future war with Hezbollah.
“It’s like a videogame, but these are real places where troops and officers might go,” said Col. Eliav Elbaz, commander of the brigade’s training base.
Officers experience fighting in simulated urban terrain similar to that of Lebanon, complete with the street they might find themselves walking down and the mosque they might pass when in a village in southern Lebanon, he said.
The latest drill, which ended Thursday, took place over the course of one week, with five fights simulated over the course of four hours followed by a two-hour debriefing.
Keeping with coronavirus restrictions, officers were divided into capsules in different rooms. Platoon leaders and company commanders were in one room, and officers of the Forward Deployed Brigade Headquarters were in another.
The officers train on Elbit System’s B2MTC (Brigade and Battlegroup Mission Training Center), which according to the company provides a “realistic operational picture, enables them to operate a range of assets, compels them to respond to real-time changes and requires them to cope with tactical communications that are realistically impacted by various effects.”The system also mimics the flow of information among all levels of command, which enables the officers to realistically simulate target acquisition and fire functions during complex combat scenarios.
While it might seem like a video game, “if the officer is killed, he’s out,” Elbaz said, adding that the entire drill is documented from beginning to end. That includes visual and audio data of the officers’ choices, and the system can document failures to help during the debriefing, he said.
The officers use simulators and also train in escape rooms that simulate mass-casualty events, such as an anti-tank missile striking an armored personnel carrier, in which they need to figure out how best to handle and clear the scene.
These drills “are not instead of drills in the field,” Elbaz said. “These drills work on the cognitive abilities of the officers when they are in the field. It’s just another platform. Wars are different these days. Before, there weren’t smart systems on guns or tanks. The enemy has also become more technological.”
With tensions high along Israel’s northern borders, “we have to keep training,” he said. “Hezbollah and Syria aren’t stopping because of the coronavirus. It could be that today officers are training in simulators, but tomorrow they might be in Lebanon at war with Hezbollah. We never know. And that’s why we keep training – to be ready.”

Hezbollah Will Not Escape Blame for Beirut
Hussein Ibish/Bloomberg/August 06/2020
When anger replaces sorrow, much of it will be directed at the Iran-backed militia.
As if the Lebanese haven’t suffered enough. For months, they have been caught between an economic meltdown, crumbling public services and a surging pandemic. Now they must count the dead and survey the extensive damage to their capital after two giant explosions on Tuesday.
The blasts, especially the second, were so huge they were reportedly heard and felt in Cyprus. At least 100 people are reported to have been killed — that number will almost certainly rise — and thousands injured. A large expanse of the port and its immediate neighborhood lies in smoking ruin; miles away, streets are full of shattered glass.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government says the explosions were caused when careless welding ignited about 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly combustible material used as fertilizer and for bomb-making. By comparison, Timothy McVeigh used about 2.4 tons of the same chemical in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. The 2015 disaster in the Chinese city of Tianjin was caused by the explosion of 800 tons of ammonium nitrate.
The equivalent of 1,100 Oklahoma City-size bombs could indeed account for the devastation and the reddish mushroom cloud that plumed gaudily over the Beirut port. But it doesn’t mean Lebanese will simply accept that the explosion was an unavoidable, force majeure event.
Assuming the official account holds up, the disaster again exposes the rot that is destroying the country — an especially corrosive mix of corruption, ineptitude and malign intentions.
The ammonium nitrate was apparently seized in 2013 from a Moldovan-flagged ship traveling from Georgia to Mozambique. But someone — who, we don’t yet know — brought it into Beirut; instead of returning, auctioning or disposing of it, the port management inexcusably allowed it to be stored there for years.There are no prizes for guessing who in Lebanon might be interested in keeping such vast quantities of explosive material close at hand. The U.S. Treasury and Israel both believe Hezbollah controls many of Beirut’s port facilities.
Diab, whose government is entirely dependent on political support from Hezbollah and its Maronite Christian allies, has vowed to hold those responsible to account. More than likely, some minor officials will be fingered for permitting improper storage of highly dangerous material.
Iran-backed Hezbollah, with its large and well-armed militia as well as its political hold on the prime minister, has nothing to fear from the state. But it will not escape public opprobrium: Most Lebanese will assume the ammonium nitrate belonged to the militia, for use in Syria and against Israel.
Why the chemicals exploded is another matter, rich with possibilities of conjecture. In the court of public opinion, the usual suspects will be rounded up from the ongoing shadow war between Iran and Hezbollah on one side and Israel on the other. President Donald Trump, who can be relied upon to make everything worse, speculated it was a deliberate attack. This will be picked up and amplified by conspiracy theorists in the Middle East.
But suspicions of Hezbollah’s culpability will intensify on Friday when a United Nations special tribunal for Lebanon that has been looking into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is expected to issue verdicts in cases against four Hezbollah cadres being tried in absentia. The men are in hiding, and have not been seen in years; even if they are found guilty, no one expects them to be handed over. Hariri, remember, was killed in a massive blast.
A guilty verdict would increase domestic pressure on Hezbollah, its allies and the government. When Lebanese have finished mourning their dead, anger will return — the kind that fueled the massive street demonstrations that brought down Diab’s predecessor last October.
Even without the Beirut blasts, the timing of the verdict would have been awkward for Diab, who is struggling to negotiate an economic bailout with the International Monetary Fund: Among the hurdles is Hezbollah’s resistance to the necessary reforms.
Hezbollah finds itself uncomfortably positioned as the principal backer of the government presiding over a thoroughgoing collapse of the Lebanese state and society. It will not easily shake off blame for the Beirut blast, or for the Hariri assassination. Even in this country that has suffered so much and for so long, the latest of Lebanon’s tragedies will not soon be forgotten, nor its perpetrators forgiven.
(Corrects the number of Oklahoma City-size bombs that would equal the size of the Beirut explosion in the fourth paragraph.)
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Hezbollah stockpiled chemical behind Beirut blast in London and Germany
Lahav Harkov/Jerusalem Post/August 06/2020
The Beirut explosion took place at a warehouse that held 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been confiscated from a ship.
Hezbollah kept three metric tons of ammonium nitrate, the explosive thought to be behind the mega blast in Beirut this week, in a storehouse in London, until MI5 and the London Metropolitan Police found it in 2015.
The Lebanese terrorist group also stored hundreds of kilograms of ammonium nitrate in southern Germany, which were uncovered earlier this year.
The Beirut explosion took place at a warehouse that held 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been confiscated from a ship.
The Iran-backed terrorists kept the explosive in thousands of ice packs in four properties in northwest London, according to a report in The Telegraph last year. The ice pack deception tactic was used in Germany, as well.
A source was quoted in The Telegraph saying the ammonium nitrate was to be used for “proper organized terrorism” and could have caused “a lot of damage.”
MI5 arrested a man in his 40s for allegedly planning terrorist attacks, but did not find evidence that the terrorists were planning an attack in the UK.
A foreign government reportedly tipped off MI5 to the explosives stockpile. KAN reported that the Mossad gave the UK the information.
“MI5 worked independently and closely with international partners to disrupt the threat of malign intent from Iran and its proxies in the UK,” an intelligence source told The Telegraph.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a question as to whether Israel helped the UK nab the terrorists.
However, Germany found the Hezbollah explosive stockpiles with help from the Mossad.
The operation and raid on mosques and residents tied to Hezbollah throughout Germany in April came in tandem with a ban on the terrorist group’s activities.
In 2019, the UK banned Hezbollah, making it a criminal offense to support or be a member of the group, carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
Then-home secretary Savid Javid said the Lebanese terrorist group “is continuing in its attempts to destabilize the fragile situation in the Middle East – and we are no longer able to distinguish between their already-banned military wing and the political party. Because of this, I have taken the decision to proscribe the group in its entirety.”
Last week, a cross-party group of UK parliamentarians expressed concern that the UK was not effectively enforcing the ban on Hezbollah.
The letter sent to UK Security Minister James Brokenshire came after he said, in a Parliamentary answer, that the government did not collect data on the number of people in the UK investigated or charged with supporting Hezbollah.
They called on intelligence agencies and the Home Office to collect and regularly review statistics on people who have displayed the Hezbollah flag or other symbols of support, and update the House of Commons on those numbers, in order to assess the effectiveness of the ban.
Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.

The real tragedy for Lebanon is Hezbollah's continuing stranglehold

Jerusalem Post/August 06/2020
Hezbollah would rather the Lebanese people suffer, than let them partake of assistance offered by the Jewish state.
In a symbolic act of human solidarity, Tel Aviv on Wednesday night was to light up its municipality in the colors of the flag of Lebanon, an enemy state.
“Humanity precedes any conflict,” Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai tweeted, explaining the move. “Our hearts are with the Lebanese people in the wake of the terrible disaster that befell them.”
Israel, through both official and unofficial channels, has offered Lebanon more than symbolic gestures in dealing with the devastation caused by the massive explosion at Beirut’s port. Jerusalem was quick to offer the Lebanese government humanitarian aid to cope with the tragedy, including its expertise in search and rescue. Another area in particular where Israel could assist would be in caring for some of the injured in its hospitals.
Salman Zarka, director of the Ziv Medical Center in Safed, offered his hospital’s services. Safed is only 100 kilometers from Beirut. Any country of Lebanon’s size would be hard pressed to cope with a disaster that has left more than 100 dead and 4,000 injured. Add to that the stress placed on the medical system by the coronavirus, and the damage sustained in the explosion by four Beirut hospitals, and there is no way that Lebanon’s hospitals can deal with this alone.
Israel could help, and its hospitals – top in the region – are closer and easier to access than any of the other nearby alternatives in Cyprus or Turkey (Syria is not a realistic option).
Unfortunately, there is almost no chance Lebanon will take Israel up on its offer. And this is a shame, because this could be a game changer. Not only would it help the Lebanese injured, but it also could fundamentally change the poisonous atmosphere between the two neighboring countries.
It won’t happen – even though some of the Lebanese public might wish it would – because Hezbollah, an integral part of Lebanon’s government, would never allow it. Hezbollah wants to destroy Israel, not allow the suffering Lebanese people to partake of its mercies. That would undercut the ground upon which the terrorist organization stands: that Israel is the hated enemy.
Hezbollah would rather the Lebanese people suffer, than let them partake of assistance offered by the Jewish state. This complete disregard for the security and well-being of the Lebanese people is nothing new.
It is this disregard that has enabled the terrorist organization to use Lebanese civilians in south Lebanon as human shields to guard their missiles. For years, Hezbollah has had no compunction about placing rocket launchers in the basements of apartment buildings, knowingly and willfully placing residents of those buildings in harm’s way.
They have also had no problems placing missile warehouses in the middle of Beirut. No one knows for sure what sparked the horrendous blast in Lebanon’s capital on Tuesday, though the Lebanese government has said it was because of the storage of more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate.
Even if that is true, and even if – as some initially thought – it was not a Hezbollah missile silo in the heart of the city that exploded, those storehouses do exist. If not at the port, then nearby. Hezbollah puts them there because it knows Israel would be very reluctant to attack them, precisely because it would cause the type of damage that shattered the city on Tuesday.
“In Lebanon Iran is directing Hezbollah to build secret sites to convert inaccurate projectiles into precision guided missiles,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a speech at the UN in 2018, unveiling intelligence showing where the terrorist group’s missile warehouses were located. “Hezbollah is deliberately using the innocent people of Beirut as human shields.”If, unfortunately, Lebanon will not accept Israel’s offers of aid, at the very least the explosion at Beirut’s port should trigger a real debate inside the country about the risks of allowing a terrorist organization to use its capital city as a giant missile warehouse. Tuesday’s horrendous explosion, and the death and destruction it has wrought, is a tragedy for Lebanon. No less a tragedy is Hezbollah’s commandeering of that country and turning its cities into weapons storage centers that could ignite as easily as that mountain of ammonium nitrate apparently did at Beirut’s port.

New Jewish fundraising campaign launched following Lebanon blast
The aim of the campaign is to raise NIS 1 million for Israeli Flying Aid, a non-profit organization that provides relief for communities stricken by natural distastes or human conflict, according to the organization's website.
By DANIEL NISINMAN/Jerusalem Post/AUGUST 6/2020
Only two days after an enormous explosion wiped out large portions of Beirut's port, killing over a hundred people and leaving thousands with various wound degrees, many in Israel have offered to open their hearts and pockets, seeking to provide aid to the victims.
The latest of these efforts is a fundraising campaign, called "Human Warmth," which appeared on JGive platform.
The aim of the campaign is to raise NIS 1 million for Israeli Flying Aid, a non-profit organization that provides relief for communities stricken by natural disasters or human conflict, according to the organization's website.
Israeli Flying Aid specializes, in particularity, in providing aid to communities in countries which do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
The money "will be directed to lifesaving aid such as medicine, medical supplies and food for the victims," according to the campaign statement on JGive.
Rabbi Dr. Daniel Roth, Director of Moasica - The Religious Peace Initiative, which is engaged in attempts to promote dialogues between senior Jewish leaders and Islamic leaders from around the Middle East who are not generally inclined to recognize the Jewish state, commented on the Jewish aspects of the new initiative: "the campaign is in line with core halachic Jewish values."
Referring to the Babylonian Talmud, Roth added that "when you see your friend's donkey in need, and your enemy's donkey in greater need, you should help the donkey that is in a greater need."
Further alluding to fundamental Jewish texts, Rabbi Roth mentioned Proverbs (Mishlay), in which it says that: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink."
However, not all in the Jewish world believe that this is the right way to act, following on the principle of "the poor of your town come first." But given the scope of the disaster in Lebanon, it is clear why many are inclined to set aside their differences and simply offer a helping hand.
If the campaign is successful, it could be a major step in the direction of building confidence between the two peoples.
Israeli government offered immediate assistance to Lebanon, just several hours after learning about the devastating consequences of the explosion and Lebanon's apparent need for foreign assistance.
Tel Aviv Municipality showed solidarity with the Lebanese people by displaying Lebanon's national flag on the municipality's building facade, a move discredited by many social media users from the Arab world.

Beirut explosion highlights danger of Hezbollah’s guided munitions

Seith J. Frantman/Jerusalem Post/August 06/2020
The terrorist group also has a special terminal at the Beirut Port where it regularly unloads weapons that are shipped to Lebanon from Iran, the ‘Post’ has learned.
In recent years, Hezbollah has been acquiring precision-guided munitions, which make the terrorist group’s arsenal of 150,000 missiles more dangerous. The massive explosion in Beirut that has affected hundreds of thousands of people, injuring thousands and likely killing hundreds, now reveals how dangerous precision-guided weapons could be in the wrong hands.
This threat was made more serious by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s comments in 2016 and 2017, when he threatened to target sensitive facilities in Israel where he claimed gas or ammonium nitrate are stored.
Hezbollah has not only sought to upgrade its rockets with precision guidance to target Israel’s critical infrastructure, but it has placed rocket-launching sites in Beirut, according to recent reports. The terrorist organization also has a special terminal at the Beirut Port where it regularly unloads weapons that are shipped to Lebanon from Iran, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The containers with the weapons are unloaded by Hezbollah operatives and do not undergo customs inspections like regular cargo. The weapons are then stored for periods of time at the port before they are distributed to Hezbollah bases and storage centers across the country.
The dangerous munitions, combined with Hezbollah’s threats to use precision-guided missiles against Israel, may not be linked to the tragic explosion in Beirut. But they reveal the danger Hezbollah poses to the Jewish state and how dangerous its munitions can be to civilian areas.
Regarding Israeli airstrikes in Syria, its “targets are precision-guided munitions [PGMs],” Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, wrote in January at Commentary.
Iran has sought to supply Hezbollah with kits for these munitions. Iran is trying to find more clandestine ways to move the kits to Lebanon. Once in the terrorist group’s hands, the kits – which include circuit boards, fins for rockets and software – can be assembled to integrate with its arsenal.
THE IDF last year revealed how the PGM project has progressed. Iran had been trying to move whole missiles, with the guidance installed, via Syria. “Most of these efforts were prevented by attacks attributed to Israel,” the IDF said.
Tehran then tried to move the kits to Hezbollah and set up factories in Lebanon to convert rockets locally to hide the kits and missiles in Syria on the way to Hezbollah. The IDF published photos of the alleged PMG factory sites in Lebanon last September.
The PGM threat needs to be taken seriously, Uzi Rubin, founding director of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization, wrote in June at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. They can paralyze civilian and military infrastructure and can win wars, he said, adding: “Israel should do everything in its power not only to prevent defeat by them, but to use them to defeat its enemies.”
Once Hezbollah has these weapons, it could launch an operation “firing salvos of precision missiles to paralyze Israel’s air bases,” Rubin wrote. Israel’s air-defense systems, such as Iron Dome and David’s Sling, “will probably be able to destroy most incoming missiles, but not all of them,” he said.
Nasrallah has boasted of the precision of Hezbollah’s missiles. According to foreign reports, Hezbollah attempted to receive GPS “suitcase kits” from Iran in February 2019 for upgrading the precision of its missile arsenal.
We also know that as far back as 2017, Ynet warned that Iran was using the Iran Deal to upgrade the precision of its rockets. These GPS-guided missiles were turning “dumb” rockets into precision munitions. Iran tested them against ISIS, used them against Kurdish dissidents in 2018 and fired ballistic missiles at a US base in Iraq in January. It also sent ballistic missiles to Iraqi militias in 2018 and 2019.
ACCORDING TO the Alma Research Center in July, Hezbollah has 28 launch sites for rockets in Beirut. These sites include Fateh 110 missiles, and “these particular missiles are subject to Hezbollah’s missile-precision project,” the report said. Launch sites are located in southern Beirut, it said.
We need to understand the PGM threat and its links to the tragedy in Beirut as part of the same context. Hezbollah’s hijacking of Lebanon’s government helped cause the corruption, irresponsibility and unaccountability that led to the government’s failure to secure a warehouse full of dangerous ammonium nitrate.
Hezbollah traffics in the same dangerous chemicals, even if this wasn’t linked to this warehouse. It has hollowed out Lebanon to create smuggling networks, and people are fearful to demand accountability regarding things like a warehouse full of explosive material.
The terrorist group has also stockpiled weapons in other places in Beirut. It is building factories to transform rockets into precision munitions. It has threatened to use those rockets against Israeli infrastructure. Nasrallah has said in speeches that he could target Israeli gas storage facilities to harm civilians.
That Hezbollah uses other warehouses to store weapons is known; that it uses them in civilian areas is also well known. Any attempt to challenge Hezbollah has been met with assassinations and threats in Lebanon.
That Lebanon can unload weapons via its own terminal at Beirut Port shows how unregulated its transfer of dangerous weapons has become.
Israel has warned about the PGM threat and Hezbollah’s destabilizing activities. The foreign reports and IDF report last year make clear how serious a threat these weapons have become, as well as the network of illicit storage, corruption and state weakness.

Qatari royal family member authorized arms supply to Hezbollah - dossier

Benjamin Weinthal and Jonathan Spyer/Jerusalem Post/August 06/2020
A dossier provided by security contractor, Jason G., documented the role played since 2017 by a Qatari royal family member in a sprawling terror finance scheme.
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, JONATHAN SPYER/Jerusalem Post/ AUGUST 6, 2020 14:03
Qatar’s monarchy has allegedly financed weapons deliveries to the global terrorist movement Hezbollah, a private security contractor, who claims to have worked for western intelligence agencies as well as a consultant to the Gulf state, has told The Jerusalem Post.
The private security contractor, Jason G., said that he penetrated Qatar’s weapons procurement business as part of an apparent sting operation. He told The Post this week that a “member of the royal family” authorized the delivery of military hardware to the US- and EU-designated terrorist entity Hezbollah in Lebanon. A dossier provided by Jason G. documented the alleged role played since 2017 by a Qatari royal family member in a sprawling terror finance scheme.
The Lebanese Hezbollah organization is an Iranian proxy Shia militia, established by Tehran’s Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Lebanon in 1982. It remains dependent on Iranian finance and support.
Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Sulaiman al-Khulaifi, Qatar’s ambassador to Belgium and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), allegedly sought to pay Jason G. 750,000 euros to hush up the role of Qatar’s regime in supplying money and weapons to the Lebanese Shi’ite organization.
Jason G. said that at a January 2019 meeting with al-Khulaifi in Brussels, the envoy said, “The Jews are our enemies.”
Jason G., who uses an alias to shield himself from Qatari retaliation, said his goal was for “Qatar to stop funding extremists.” The “bad apples need to be taken out of the barrel and for them [Qatar] to be part of the international community,” he added.
Dr. Azmi Bishara an Arab Israeli former parliamentarian who stood accused of aiding Hezbollah in its war against Israel in 2006, found refuge and royal patronage (and immunity from prosecution) in Doha.
In the wake of the new revelations, prominent European politicians this week urged a swift crackdown on Qatar’s alleged support for terror finance and Hezbollah.
Nathalie Goulet, a French senator who led a commission investigating jihadist networks in Europe and authored a report for NATO on terror finance, told FoxNews.com: “We must have a European policy regarding Qatar and especially be careful with its financing of terrorism. Belgium must ask the EU for an investigation and freeze all Qatari bank account in the meantime.”
She continued, “We have to settle a general policy with a special warning and a prudent policy to prevent any financing of terrorism, especially from countries like Qatar or Turkey” that are supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and its dangerous anti-Semitic ideology.
Ian Paisley Jr., a member of the British Parliament who tracks terror finance, said that the Qatari regime conduct “outlined is outrageous and the government both in the UK and Belgium should act decisively. These allegations are very serious, particularly given that the ambassador is ambassador to NATO, and this should be investigated and appropriate action taken.
“Hezbollah are a proscribed terrorist group in Britain and working with them can’t be tolerated. I will tomorrow contact the UK foreign secretary and ask him to investigate these allegations and make representations to the ambassador,” Paisley said.
Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the chief Nazi-hunter for the US human rights organization the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said Qatar’s alleged role in financing Hezbollah terrorists “requires prompt action against those involved and immediate expulsion of the Qatari ambassador.”
According to Jason G., two Qatari charities furnished cash to Hezbollah in Beirut “under the guise of food and medicine.” He named the organizations involved as the Sheikh Eid Bin Mohammad Al Thani Charitable Association and the Education Above All Foundation.
Jason G., who claims to have worked for various intelligence services, said that his dossier was viewed by top German intelligence officials. The German weekly Die Zeit reported last month that Jason G.’s dossier could fetch as much as 10 million euros. This has not been verified by the Post.
Qatar’s financial and charity systems have been embroiled in other alleged terror finance schemes. The Washington Free Beacon reported in June that a lawsuit filed in New York City asserted that Qatari institutions, including Qatar Charity (formerly known as the Qatar Charitable Society) and Qatar National Bank, funded Palestinian terrorist organizations.
The plaintiffs in the case included the family of Taylor Force, an American military veteran killed by the Palestinian Sunni terrorist organization Hamas in 2016.
“Qatar co-opted several institutions that it dominates and controls to funnel coveted US dollars (the chosen currency of Middle East terrorist networks) to Hamas and PIJ [Palestinian Islamic Jihad] under the false guise of charitable donations,” the lawsuit reads.
In 2014, German Development Minister Gerd Müller accused Qatar of financing Islamic State terrorists. “This kind of conflict, this kind of a crisis always has a history.... The ISIS troops, the weapons – these are lost sons, with some of them from Iraq,” the minister told German public broadcaster ZDF.
“You have to ask who is arming, who is financing ISIS troops. The keyword there is Qatar – and how do we deal with these people and states politically,” said Müller.
Then-Israeli ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor, writing in The New York Times opinion section in 2014, termed the energy-rich Qatari monarchy a “Club Med for terrorists.”

Israel offers medical aid to Lebanon, response is silence/“It’s a shame that people will die for no reason.”
Jerusalem Post/August 06/2020
The heads of several Israeli hospitals have reached out to Lebanese officials and the United Nations offering medical support to the country’s wounded.
“It hurts to see the children – little children – crying and injured,” Dr. Masad Barhoum, director-general of Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya told The Jerusalem Post. “People without children – their lives destroyed in an instance. They need medical and psychological help.”
Barhoum, a Christian Arab, speaks Arabic. On Wednesday, he took to social networks and the radio appealing directly in their language to the Lebanese president and prime minister, and even Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, to allow him to help.
Galilee Medical Center is just several kilometers from the Lebanese border and, due to its proximity, the staff has learned to mobilize quickly and to work under emergency conditions. Since 1981, with the outbreak of the First Lebanon War, the hospital has adopted work procedures as a hospital on the confrontation line.
Barhoum said Lebanese citizens could be transferred to Israel via the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and then returned the same way. They would cross at the Rosh Hanikra Crossing, also known as Ras al-Naqoura Crossing.
“The idea is to help them and return them home in peace,” said Barhoum. “We have no agenda, there are no enemies in this situation. As medical professionals, we do not differentiate.”
Barhoum said that no hospital system could stand up to the task of treating so many injured people at one time – estimates are that more than 4,000 are in need of care. This is even more so the situation in Lebanon, where the country is faced with deep economic challenges. He said he reads Lebanese social media posts and he sees the people are angry, confused and even disillusioned. The government, too, is afraid to make the wrong move as the people are watching closely.
On Wednesday, rumors that wounded UNIFIL personnel were being treated at Galilee Medical Center surfaced, but Barhoum said this is not the case, although he expects that this could happen soon. Late Tuesday, UNIFIL reported that a ship from its Maritime Task Force was damaged, leaving some UNIFIL naval peacekeepers injured – some of them seriously.
“UNIFIL is transporting the injured peacekeepers to the nearest hospital for medical treatment,” the statement read.
Ziv Medical Center in Safed has also reached out to Lebanon to help. Late Tuesday, it posted on Twitter that it was “experienced and prepared” to take in wounded.
Hospital head Dr. Salman Zarka said he had been in direct contact with the IDF Northern Command and reached out to the UN to offer assistance.
He told the Post that until 2000, his hospital treated Lebanese citizens on a regular basis.
“Two years ago, a Lebanese woman came to visit us at the medical center,” Zarka recalled. “She told us that she and her mother had received medical care 30 years ago and that she still remembers us and wanted to say thank you.
“A meaningful story like this says that in such incidents, when there are dead and injured, you need to let the medical workers do their jobs and leave politics behind,” he concluded.
Sources in the know said that the UN is considering opening up a field hospital in Cyprus where an international medical team could offer support. Zarka said it is likely that Israeli doctors will join any international delegation.
“If there is an international delegation then Lebanon won’t put any condition that there not be Israelis – that would be absurd,” he said.
The government and UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov have been in contact about Israel’s aid offer, an Israeli official said.
Shortly before press time, a source in UNIFIL told KAN News that Israel is in the advanced stages of talks to transfer specific equipment to Lebanon, although neither Israel nor UNIFIL would confirm the report.
Israel is negotiating sending equipment to detect missing people under collapsed buildings, medical equipment and to treat people who were injured who have foreign citizenship, Israel Hayom reported.
Israel has long provided medical assistance to countries in need.
Prof. Elhanan Bar-On, director of the Israel Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian Response at Sheba Medical Center, spoke to Israel Radio on Wednesday and explained that the Jewish state could offer both nursing care on the border or accept injured patients into Israeli hospitals.
“Of course, sending medical personnel to Lebanon is not practical – there are forces there that could interfere with such an operation,” he said.
When asked how Israeli hospitals could accept more patients when they are challenged with treating coronavirus patients, he said that, “If God forbid there is an earthquake in our area, then everything will change… An earthquake does not recognize coronavirus and it does not recognize borders and fences.”
He added that coronavirus patients are being treated largely in internal medicine wards and not trauma units, so surgical wards are not unreasonably crowded.
“Israel is ready to help,” added Zarka. “It’s a shame that people will die for no reason.”
Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.

Who is sending aid to Beirut? Dozens of countries send planes and medics

Seith J. Frantman/Jerusalem Post/August 06/2020
It is one of the first times since the COVID-19 outbreak that many countries are coming together to do something as an international community.
In the aftermath of the massive explosion that caused more than 130 deaths, injured thousands and displaced many people in Beirut, countries are rallying to provide aid. It is one of the first times since the COVID-19 outbreak that many countries are coming together to do something as an international community.
The following is a list of some of the countries that have provided support so far.
Russia has sent several planes with emergency supplies and exports. The third plane from Russia stopped in Saratov on the way on Thursday. It is an IL-76 with 15 specialists and equipment and a lab for COVID-19 tests. 100 Russian specialists are already on the ground with doctors and rescue workers in Beirut.  French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Lebanon on Thursday to show his support and France’s support. France is the former colonial power and has hundreds of years of cultural, linguistic and religious ties to Lebanon. France has sent several military aircraft with 55 search and rescue personnel and 25 tonnes of medical supplies. These include a third plane that is from the shipping giant CMA-CGM, according to reports.
In Iraq Ayatollah Ali Sistani has called on all countries to help. The head of the Iraqi Red Crescent also announced that a transport plane from Iraq with medical aid was on the way.
A Turkish military aircraft has flown to Lebanon as well. It brought with it aid and search and rescue teams. It left Ankara on Wednesday at the behest of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey said.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has expressed solidarity with Lebanon’s suffering. Iran has offered to treat the wounded from the blast.
Latest articles from Jpost Israel was one of the early countries to offer aid and reports indicate aid may be sent via a third party. In Qatar Al Udeid airbase was a hive of activity as hospital beds, generators and sheet s were put on four cargo planes to be sent to Lebanon Wednesday. Jordan has sent a field hospital, the King said. The hospital will include specialists and staff. Holland sent 67 aid workers, including doctors, and firefighters. The UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson said England is ready to provide support.
Tunisia has sent two military planes with food aid and medical supplies. Poland has set up a camp in Beirut with firefighters and other experts. A team of 36 from the Czech Republic are also on the way. Saudi Arabia has said that Saudi-funded medical teams are on the ground in Lebanon. The UAE has sent 30 tons of medical supplies, according to Hend al-Otaiba and other officials. The Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and armed forces commander are coordinating the support.
Cyprus has said it will accept injured people from Beirut and send medics if needed. China is also sending support and peacekeepers will provide medical aid. Chinese members of UNIFIL will organize an emergency team with nine medical personnel initial reports indicated.

Lebanese Journalist Nader Fawz Flays State Officials Over Beirut Blast: Their Hands Are Stained With The Blood Of The Victims, They Must Be Ousted And Held Accountable
MEMRI/August 06/2020
On August 5, 2020, one day after the massive blast in the port of Beirut, which caused immense devastation and thousands of dead and injured, Lebanese journalist Nader Fawz wrote a scathing column in the Lebanese independent online daily almodon.com in which he blamed the disaster on Lebanon's leadership. He wrote that "Lebanon's serial killers, the ones responsible for its security, its institutions and its decision-making, have completed their series of murders against the people," adding that no curse is bad enough to describe these "murderers" and "bloodsuckers."
Noting that the Lebanese have long since lost all faith in their authorities, but that this explosion was the last straw, he added that the hands of the state officials, chief of them Prime Minister Hassan Diab, are stained with the blood of the victims who died in this explosion, as well as countless other Lebanese who have died of hunger, disease and oppression. These officials, he concluded, must resign and be made to pay for their crimes, whether through the courts or in other ways.
Aftermath of Beirut port blast (source: dailystar.com.lb, August 4, 2020)
The following are excerpts from his article:[1]
"The Lebanese state created a time bomb and planted it in the port of Beirut, an area that all Lebanese, from every region and every sect, and of every political affiliation, visit and see. The state caused its citizens harm through the explosion of chemicals that were stored at the port several months ago [sic.] without the slightest sense of political or human responsibility. Lebanon's serial killers, the ones responsible for its security, its institutions and its decision-making, have completed their series of murders against the people. This time the killing was carried out directly, rather than through economic suffocation or torture that saps the morale. It was planned and premeditated, or at least known in advance. This act of murder was not an isolated incident. It is [part of] a system, part of an organized crime. It is a clear act of murder, a massacre carried out using ammonium nitrate that was stored at the port.
"Beirut port looks as though a meteor struck it, igniting a conflagration and causing shockwaves that were visible to the naked eye before they engulfed us, leaving destruction, fatalities and injuries in their wake. Beirut is a disaster-struck capital, its buildings ruined and its residents homeless. Shop windows were torn from their place and the entire city was reduced to a skeleton. The city had slowly expired over several months [due to the economic crisis]… leaving only a corpse… and then came this blast and destroyed the little flesh that was still clinging [on its bones]. The districts of Al-Gemmayzeh, Badaro and Ras Beirut are now completely devastated. The number of victims is still unknown, but the sight of dust-covered corpses in the port indicates that the number is vast. Some were buried where they stood, others were felled in their offices, in their chairs or in their cars. This blast harmed everyone, the entire city and country.
"The explosion at the port was the last nail in the coffin of Beirut, which died when the [entire] state died, after falling into the hands of the gang that rules it. There are no words to describe the atrocities of this [gang]. They are murderers who shed blood in [times of] war and [times of] peace, bloodsuckers, mutants who have turned into beasts of prey the likes of which nature has never seen. No curse in the book and no expression of evil or corruption is strong enough to describe them. The first thing they did [after the blast] is to contact [one another] to see if they were [all] ok. Some of them even visited one another, while people's body-parts and the contents of houses were still strewn in the streets. The Lebanese state announced a period of mourning for the victims it itself had killed. [Later] the officials will once again attend the funerals of people they murdered.
"The militias never perpetrated such a massacre in 15 years of war that moved from one place to another. The Zionist enemy did not perpetrate such a massacre in 45 years of war and hostility. The criminal Syrian regime did not carry out such a massacre in 30 years of patronage [over Lebanon]. But these militia leaders [of the Lebanese regime] banded together, organized themselves and together perpetrated a crime in the name of the Lebanese state, the greatest crime in the history of Lebanon. [The fact that this crime] was carried out by the Lebanese state… constitutes the final admission that the only recourse left to the Lebanese is to turn to the governments of foreign countries, which may accept them as refugees or immigrants and thereby rescue them. [The Lebanese] are surrounded by an enemy to the south [i.e., Israel] and an enemy to the east and north [i.e., Syria], and [now] their [own] state has detonated the [outlet to] the sea. So they will sit at home and wait for their imminent death.
"There was real hope that the scenario of the blast being caused by an Israeli attack on Beirut port would prove to be correct. The regime and its leaders led us to hope that this massacre had [indeed] been perpetrated by the Israeli enemy. We do not love death or murder, but if it has to happen, we prefer it to be at the hands of an enemy. A murder perpetrated by our own state means that we sit here exposed, easy prey in a field of ceaseless killing where everyone takes aim at our flesh. The Lebanese had already lost all hope in their political parties and authorities, but this last crime was the final proof.
"There was a sad final scene in which Prime Minister Hassan Diab appeared and told the Lebanese people that 'Beirut is bereft and all of Lebanon is a disaster zone.' Diab demanded that the Lebanese join forces and cope with the [horrific] sights as a united nation. Once again, the murderer sits with the victim to console [the victim's] family. Instead of resigning and stepping down, he wrote down a list of demands. The blood of the Beirut victims, whose number [already] exceeds 50, is on his hands and on the hands of the other state officials, as is the [blood of] hundreds of other victims who die every day from disease, hunger and oppression, as well as those who will fall [in the future]: in a few hours, in a week, or later. Responsibility for the August 4 disaster in Beirut lies with the officials, who are busy cutting the people's throats… They are murderers and have to leave now, today, not tomorrow, either the easy way or the hard way. They must pay the price for their crimes, within the law or outside it, in the courtroom or on the street. They are murderers and it is time to oust them, before another massacre or [event] we will mourn takes place."
[1] Almodon.com, August 5, 2020.

Iranian, Lebanese Experts On Iranian TV: We Cannot Rule Out The Possibility That The Beirut Explosion Was A Deliberate Act; Israel, America Stand To Gain From This
MEMRI/August 06/2020
Source: Channel 2 (Iran)
On August 5, 2020, Channel 2 (Iran) aired a discussion about the same-day explosion that took place in the Port of Beirut. Iranian regional affairs expert Hossein Akbari said that America, Israel, and their allies benefit from Lebanon being in a state of chaos. He said that the best-case scenario is that the explosion was a result of negligence, and that in the worst-case scenario, it was a deliberate act. Lebanese analyst Muhammad Shamas said that the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out, and that statements by U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu seem to suggest the involvement of the U.S. or Israel. He also said that there have been reports that planes had been seen in the area of the explosion not long before it took place, and that American planes had been seen off the coasts of Lebanon and Syria.
Hossein Akbari: "From a certain perspective, America, the Zionist regime, and their allies need Lebanon to be in a state of chaos but not entirely disintegrated, so that they can place difficulties before it and its people. They started with Iraq, then went on to Syria, and have even implemented sanctions on us. As they themselves say, they started with a chain of sanctions, with economic pressure, and with creating social crises with regard to the resistance. As for this [explosion] that took place now... Those who benefit from this the most are the Americans, who can apply pressure to the Lebanese people. Neither the [Americans] nor the Israelis have the ability to confront Hizbullah, and they can sense that Hizbullah is growing stronger by the day.
"In the best-case scenario, we could say that their inability to enforce management plans, and to pay attention to this danger... I don't know to what degree they were aware of this danger and threat, and what problems it would cause... In the worst-case scenario, they deliberately cause it in order to pressure the Lebanese people."
Muhammad Shamas: "We can't rule out the possibility that this was an act of sabotage. Who would benefit from such a thing? Especially since we head that yesterday, a few hours after the explosion, Trump said that a few officers had told him that this was an attack, and not a regular explosion. Today, the Pentagon and some American officials have denied this. Six hours after the explosion in Beirut, Zionist regime leader Netanyahu said in a tweet: 'We defend ourselves by various means.' This all seems to indicate what Israel has done... In addition, there have been reports that there were planes in the area 24 hours prior to the explosion. All this arouses suspicion. American planes were seen off the coasts of Lebanon and Syria. So we mustn't rule out the theory that this was a deliberate act, even though there is still no evidence of that."

Lebanese Journalist Jerry Maher: Hizbullah, Lebanon's Corrupt Political System To Blame For Beirut Port Explosion
MEMRI/August 06/2020
Jerry Maher, a Lebanese journalist who is the CEO of Radio Sawt Beirut International, said in an August 5, 2020 show on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) that the same-day explosion in Beirut is a massacre in which Hizbullah is the primary suspect because it uses ports and government facilities to transport weapons. He said that Lebanon’s corrupt political system is also to blame because it has given up on confronting Hizbullah and chooses to serve personal interests at the expense of the Lebanese people.
Jerry Maher: "Unfortunately, today we witnessed a real massacre in Beirut. The primary suspect is Hizbullah, more than anyone else in the world, because Hizbullah uses ports and all the other Lebanese government facilities in order to acquire weapons.
"Hizbullah has been using Beirut's international airport – the Martyr PM Rafic Hariri Airport – for years. It has also used the Beirut port to transport these weapons. Today, nobody but Hizbullah is responsible [for the port explosion]. The corrupt system that allowed this party to use the Lebanese ports for its own objectives is also [responsible].
"No only Hizbullah is responsible – so are the political system, the quotas, and the arrangements that [President] General Aoun and [former] PM Saad Al-Hariri have made with the rest of the leaders of what used to be the March 14 Alliance. They are the ones who have given up on confronting Hizbullah in order to protect their financial, economic, and political gains. Because of their personal interest, we have reached a situation in which nobody dares to criticize Hizbullah. Since 2014, we have not heard a single voice standing up to Hizbullah. Since 2014, it has been forbidden to even say one word to Hizbullah, as if Hizbullah is a religion or a sect not connected to reality or to its country.
"If you criticize their policy, you are 'sectarian.' If you criticize their terror, you are an 'agent,' a 'terrorist,' a 'criminal,' and a 'murderer.' They banish you from the country, they accuse you of incitement, and they threaten to kill you. The political system has given [Hizbullah] everything it wants and has surrendered to it. Unfortunately, today we see the result. We have lost Lebanon, and we have lost everything in this country because of the policies of these fools who supposedly went into politics to serve Lebanon, but instead have served their personal interests, their pockets, and their projects, which they want to advance at the expense of the Lebanese people.
"How can we ask for aid from other countries today while there is a terrorist organization [in Lebanon] threatening the KSA and the UAE? According to an unambiguous statement by [Arab Coalition Spokesman] Colonel Turki Al-Maliki, the missiles that were sent to Yemen and launched against the KSA came from the Beirut port, the exact same place that exploded today."

French President Macron in Lebanon: Aid will not go to corrupt hands

Reuters/Alex Winston/August 06/2020
US, French and German citizens are all reported to have died in the blast as the death toll continues to rise on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron landed in Beirut on Thursday as the first foreign leader to visit since a huge explosion on Tuesday that killed at least 145 people and injured around 5,000.
After visiting the port at the epicenter of the blast, Macron was greeted by crowds in nearby Gemmayze street, one of the most damaged in the city, who shouted chants against the political establishment and endemic corruption.
"I guarantee you, this aid will not go to corrupt hands," said Macron.
He promised to send more medical and other aid to Lebanon, while those around him chanted "Revolution" and "The people want the fall of the regime." Some also chanted against President Michel Aoun as anger rises against Lebanese politicians for a perceived lack of response.
"I will talk to all political forces to ask them for a new pact. I am here today to propose a new political pact to them," he said, shaking hands on roads strewn with rubble and flanked by shops with windows blown out.
Residents, shop owners and volunteers have led clean-up efforts in the popular street of cafes and restaurants, where the blast ripped out balconies and smashed store facades.
Macron was applauded by the crowds in the neighborhood, with chants of "Vive la France! Help us! You are our only hope!"
An online petition on the website of US-based non profit organization Avaaz for France to place Lebanon under French mandate for the next 10 years garnered over 50,000 signatures.
A French citizen, architect Jean-Marc Bonfils, died in the blast, French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot stated on Twitter.
At least one US citizen was killed in the explosion, and several more were injured, the US embassy announced Wednesday night according to the Associated Press.
“We offer our sincerest condolences to their loved ones and are working to provide the affected US citizens and their families all possible consular assistance. We are working closely with local authorities to determine if any additional US citizens were affected,” the embassy said in a statement.
An employee at the German embassy in Beirut also died in Tuesday's blast the German foreign ministry said on Thursday.
"Our worst fear was confirmed. A member of our embassy in Beirut was killed in her home in the aftermath of the explosion," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement.
Several Beirut port officials have been placed under house arrest by the Lebanese government in the aftermath of the blast.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab declared three days of mourning starting Thursday, as early investigations blamed negligence for the explosion at Beirut Port.
It is estimated that as many as 300,000 people have been made homeless after the blast that rocked the Lebanese capital and was felt as far away as Cyprus - 170 km. away.
The cause of the blast is suspected to be the unsafe storage of over 2,750 tonnes of highly explosive ammonium nitrate in a warehouse next to the port. Reports have tried to determine whether the warehouse was connected to the terror group Hezbollah.
The white, crystalline solid had reportedly been stored in the warehouse for six years; customs and port officials reportedly asked several times for it to be removed due to its unsafe nature.
Badri Daher, director-general of Lebanese Customs, told broadcaster LBCI on Wednesday that customs had sent six documents to the judiciary warning that the material posed a danger.
"We requested that it be re-exported but that did not happen. We leave it to the experts and those concerned to determine why," Daher said.
Damage from the blast is expected to run over $10 billion and has placed extra burdens on a country which is already suffering from economic and political crises.
Aid has poured into the troubled Middle Eastern country to help find survivors and with the clean-up process, with Australia pledging an initial $1.4 million, Russia sending several cargo planes of equipment including a mobile hospital, and Israel reaching out to offer medical aid to those injured.
A World Health Organization plane carrying 20 tonnes of supplies landed in Beirut on Thursday morning. The supplies will cover 1,000 trauma and 1,000 surgical interventions for people suffering from injuries and burns resulting from the blast, according to the WHO.
“Our hearts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragic event, as we continue our mission to serve all people in Lebanon with life-saving and essential health care services," said WHO representative in Lebanon Dr. Iman Shankiti. "We are working closely with national health authorities, health partners and hospitals treating the wounded to identify additional needs and ensure immediate support.”
Officials have not confirmed the origin of an initial blaze that sparked the explosion, although a security source and local media said it was started by welding work.
Lebanese officials have stressed that the investigation into the incident is ongoing and the exact cause of the explosion is unclear.
*Tzvi Joffre contributed to this report.
 

Mother of Disasters in Lebanon
Salman Al-Dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/August,06/2020
So many terrorist incidents and explosions took place over the past decades, that only a few remain unyieldingly stuck in our minds. The world remembers very well the images of the nuclear bomb that hit Hiroshima well, as well as the moment the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11. There is no exaggeration in saying that the catastrophic scenes of the explosion in Port of Beirut are no different from them. It will stay on our minds for a long time, not only because of the suffering it left behind as thousands of innocents were killed or injured, but also because it will be a real turning point for this devastated country. The mother of Lebanon’s disasters, not a term used here to repeat the famous phrase, what comes after the bombing will not be the same as what had been before it, but, rather, to say that if the Lebanese are not awakened by the worst disaster in the country's modern history, they will never wake up. If the time has not yet come for ending the vicious cycle that has been ravaging the country for years, it will never come.
How tragic for the Lebanese to wake up to an explosion caused by materials equivalent to 1,800 tons of highly explosive "TNT" that had been stored at a Hezbollah site in an area full of civilians. The Lebanese found out that this extremely dangerous substance had not been stored near the Israeli border to be used in the battle to "liberate Jerusalem", which Hezbollah’s slogans promise. Instead, they had been procured in order to strike the stability of Lebanon and the Lebanese and for regional and international terrorist activity. The huge explosion did not only shake Beirut. It shook the minds of all the Lebanese, making them realize that this is the norm and its opposite is the exception.
What is forthcoming is worse than the explosion at the port so long Hezbollah is imposed as the ruler and leader of the state by the political game, choosing the president, appointing the cabinet, managing it, occupying its ports and deciding its political positions, all with the help of its majority in the representative assembly. On top of all that, it is confronting America, Europe, and the Arab states. What kind of grim future awaits Lebanon then?!
The explosion of almost nuclear proportions that hit the port, shaking the entire country, is not the only disaster. Lebanon’s real catastrophe is its lack of friends. Its Hezbollah controlled government is hostile to everyone and has isolated itself from everyone. No one wants to cooperate with Iranian proxies any longer, so they disengaged and left Lebanon in the dark, waiting for it to become a normal country again. Yet it is hoped that the world saves Lebanon. How can a country that is led by a terrorist party and helps it achieve its project be saved? How are we to deal with a party that is pushing its citizens to their death and playing with their lives to succeed in its endless adventures?
The solution for Lebanon will not be attained through an investigative committee that investigates with everyone but Hezbollah, its tools, and those subservient to it. The solution will not be achieved by waiting for salvation from abroad. Global sympathy, no matter how strong, will be temporary. The prescription for curing Lebanon of its cancer is short: inside before outside. If the Lebanese do not rid themselves of this cancer, which has spread throughout their country, no foreign power will be able to help them.
Facing up to Hezbollah is certainly not easy, and its cost would be high. No one can blame the weaker faction for its inability to defy the more powerful one, but it is one of only two potential scenarios. The other, even harsher and more difficult, is that the country collapses and Hezbollah’s infrastructure collapses with it, after which saving the country becomes less costly than it is currently. Between these two scenarios, each harder than the other, the country will continue to reel from one disaster after another until God puts an end to it. In any case, this means nothing more than an endless series of catastrophes that will only stop once the state stands on the ruins of Hezbollah.

Reclaiming the Lost City, Beirut
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/August,06/2020
As if the winds of painful ends stormed the city. Dead bodies are left on the streets because of lack of space. As some leading hospitals sustained heavy losses and as the scale of the tragedy exceeded the capacity of the firefighters, civil defense, the Red Cross and the medical staff… the lost city, was declared in disaster mode. Beirut woke up to the horrors of a stab unlike anything seen before. This is the day of funerals and they are many… It’s the day to keep searching for the missing and they’re not a few. It’s the day to assess the damage, which is colossal. The blast did not spare ceilings, walls, and façades, nor did it have mercy on places of worship, hospitals, and schools. As if a massive killer decided to finish off the city and shower its people with crushed glass and rubble. Stark death came at the worst moment.
It was no secret that the sun of Lebanon was setting. And that the Lebanese decision-makers did not catch the meaning of the major changes in the region to invent a new role for their country. It was clear that they were delving into other dictionaries.
Lebanon seemed to be heading towards its centenary this year, handcuffed, and devastated. There are those who believe that this small entity, which was built a century ago, was a mistake. The events revealed the lack of a solid base that would guard the map and protect it from foreign appetites and internal adventures.
The Lebanese refuse to admit the declining role of their country, as do those who refuse to acknowledge getting old. They lie to themselves, then the events happen and deny their claims. A country’s roles are not gifts received for free. They are made with effort, patience, good use of experiences, and timing.
In the past few years, Lebanon was no longer a player, whose role is to be taken into consideration. It was no longer a source of danger to others, but rather a source of danger to itself.
The circumstances that gave Lebanon the opportunity to present itself as an open window for the future have changed. It lost its pioneering role. It was no longer a laboratory for the interaction of ideas, but rather closer to a container of explosives. It was no longer an explicit lesson of tolerance, but rather came to confirm the thorny nature of coexistence between differences.
It is no longer the lung, the window, and the island sought by those who are burdened with the weight of censorship in their countries or the distress of their decision-makers. The region has changed but Lebanon remained engaged in futile internal political wars. It is no longer a pioneer in the media, higher education, and hospitalization, nor in the banking sector. In this dilapidated Lebanon, the earthquake erupted, as if the city’s port chose to kill the city and drown with it. After horrific hours, it was revealed that dangerous materials had been left for years in the port. Neglect turned into a massive bomb that was able to silence a nation and end a war.
The Lebanese were trying to confront hunger that persistently knocks on their doors. But death stormed into their houses, bringing the brutal coronavirus and poverty back to the second row. Yesterday’s most painful scenes were those of the parents of the missing. Anxiety and fear turned into horror as time passed without hearing reassurance or clarification. Missing people in a lost capital. This saying is not exaggerated. Years ago, the Lebanese lost their capital. It is no longer the natural center for their decision, coexistence, and unity.
Beirut was lost. It is no longer the Lebanese people’s opportunity and window to progress and freedom.
Beirut became the arena for intimidation and attempts to impose dictionaries and vocabulary in complete disregard for the nature of the country and the city.
General Michel Aoun has failed to enter the palace with a rescue project. He wasted three years of his tenure and of the Lebanese people’s life. He missed the opportunity that he had created at the beginning of the era for a wide rally around him, even from his former opponents.
His advisors did not overcome the ideas of the past decade. They squandered his credit in small wars. The circle of relatives deepened grudges and awakened hatred. The Lebanese revolted against those who stole their money, and the punishment was a bleak government that lacks experience, knowledge and independence, hastening the collapse towards the abyss.
But there’s a silver lining in this disastrous darkness. The Lebanese assets in the banks of Beirut evaporated, but Beirut’s credit in the world’s heart did not evaporate. This is what Arab, Islamic and international reactions have shown. The relationship with Lebanon is one thing, and that with the residents of the Palace and the Serail is another.
Perhaps it is the last chance for General Aoun to restore the minimum necessary for an independent decision and for putting back the country on the right track within the international community rather than dragging it into regional axes.
When the Lebanese decide to regain their capital, they will find in the region and the world those who encourage them to reclaim their modest role in the region and their humble position on the world map.
Before the arrival of visitors and aid, General Aoun should review his policy and his accounts. He must give back to the Lebanese their lost capital; otherwise, history will blame him for its loss.
It is his last chance to save the remainder of his tenure and save the country from disintegration. He must change his approach and reconcile with the facts and the conditions for getting out of the economic abyss.
The lost capital can only be recovered with a serious project for statehood. Only a serious state must govern, hold accountable, punish, reassure, and defend the citizens and the land. The failure to take this path takes the tenure and its master towards painful ends.

From Gamal Abdel Nasser to Hassan Diab
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/August,06/2020
Something unusual happened in Lebanon a few days ago. Hassan Diab became a star of national liberation. From now on, no Lebanese ruler will smile and nod to the foreign "Khawaja”. The era of humiliating oppression is over. The era of dignity begins. Gamal Abdel Nasser's animated phrase, "Raise your head, brother", illuminates our path. Perhaps it is precisely from here, and nowhere else, that we come to understand the deep secret of Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti’s resignation: diplomacy is surplus to the requirements of our relationship with the external world.
Pride and nationalism shape this relationship. This approach has many precedents: Nikita Khrushchev waved shoes in the United Nations. Moammar al-Gaddafi tried to set up a tent there, in the New York open air... These were the pioneers of Easternism, whom we are now imitating as we pack our luggage to head East.
This behavior was indeed neither familiar nor even imaginable: that a first-tier Lebanese official would confront a Western official, even of the fifth tier. What the prime minister has done is shift the paradigm of a country whose rulers have long been described as subordinates who comply with Western dictates.
The blow hit like a sucker punch. Hassan Diab "violently criticized" the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian during his visit to Beirut. He told him that his "information is false", on the situation in Lebanon, describing his visit as "not presenting anything new." Other sources added that he let him hear the following: “I am the head of the government of Lebanon, and I do not allow you to give me instructions on what to do. I am not Saad Hariri and will not take your instructions.”
So, the Lebanese prime minister did not nod at his colonizer in accordance with the former’s inferiority complex with regard to the latter, or that of the black man to the white man. The French mandate ended three-quarters of a century ago. Peoples are liberated and being liberated; liberation is a healing process.
The fact of the matter is that Diab's membership of the national liberation club is very legitimate, as a resistor in his words and positions. However, this club has changed a lot from what it had been when it was established after the Second World War. Initially, its leaders had major projects, regardless of our opinion on their projects. Among them were Jawaharlal Nehru, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Kwame Nkrumah.
In the 1970s, the club's figures were people like Saddam Hussein, Hafez al-Assad and Moammar al-Gaddafi, whose only projects were maintaining power. This constituted the first degeneration of national liberation. But since the 1990s, and after the demise of the Soviet camp, the figures began to lose their thunder and their old age began to take its toll on them. After a while, they began to pass power on to their children, erasing the last remnants of what they symbolized. National liberation - a term that has been tweaked to carry religious, regional or ethnic connotations - has become the task of political parties and organizations, the most important of which, in our region, are Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestine’s Hamas. With this, the second degeneration was upon us.
During this phase, the star was born. That is why those who described him as "the head of Hezbollah’s government" were not mistaken. Under the party’s sponsorship, the experience of turning current President Michel Aoun into a resistor has already been successful. Thus, on his way there, Aoun created a massive shift in Christian politics and sensitivities. Most of them have come to support national liberation and the alliance with Syria’s Assad and Khamenei’s Iran. Now, with Hassan Diab, we are witnessing the second major transformation, the transformation of the premiership from a state institution to an extension of the revolution. Thus, national liberation has become complete, and, with that, Lebanon’s political history and political traditions also changed radically.
As for the leadership, both its heads have become more like a front that surrounds Hezbollah, its job is attaining national liberation (exactly like the National Progressive Fronts that surround the Baath Party in Syria and Saddam's Iraq).
By the way, congratulations to those who revered national liberation and dreamed of Beirut as an Arab Hanoi, and who chanted loudly, for many years, "we die on our feet, not live on our knees." Today, they find in Hassan Diab a man fulfilling their dreams. Generations after generations of young men have believed in what is being given to them today on a silver platter. The “Hayhat min al-thilla (oppression be-gone)” has become the republic’s philosophy, adopting it from Hezbollah on its 100th anniversary.
In all likelihood, history will remember this era, in both its heads, Aoun and Diab, as one in which the sand that had been blurring our vision was cleared. Before this era, we imagined that having a relationship with the world was better than being isolated from it. Prosperity is better than poverty. Satiety is better than hunger. Life is better than death. This reign is teaching us the virtues that had passed us by, we who believed in those blatant and farcical lies told to us by colonialism and orientalists.
Hassan Diab, day by day, is becoming the most prominent activist in spreading this new awareness. Towards pride, march. To the East, march. These are the orders of the day.
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on August 06-07/2020

Pompeo Says U.S. to Seek UN Vote on Iran Arms Ban Next Week
David Waine/Bloomberg/August 06/2020
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said the U.S. plans to hold a United Nations Security Council vote next week in its effort to extend the UN’s arms embargo against Iran.“There are nations lining up to sell weapons that will destabilize the Middle East,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department on Wednesday. “We’re using every diplomatic tool we have in the toolkit.”The U.S. circulated a draft resolution Tuesday that seeks to stop all sales of weapons to and from Iran, according to a copy of the text seen by Bloomberg News. The current ban on arms deals with Iran is set to expire in October under terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement. President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the accord in 2018, but the U.S. is pushing council members to extend the embargo indefinitely. Kelly Craft, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, acknowledged Tuesday that Russia and China are likely to veto any resolution. That could spell a crisis at the world body, with Craft and Pompeo threatening to invoke a “snapback” provision in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal to reimpose all UN sanctions against Tehran. “We are deeply aware that snapback is an option for the United States,” Pompeo said on Wednesday.
The U.S. maintains it can reimpose the sanctions as one of the original participants of the deal, a claim allies and rivals have disputed. “The strategy in a perfect world will always be to have them abstain and obviously not veto” the U.S. resolution, Craft said of Russia and China in an online appearance this week at the annual Aspen Security Forum. “However, let’s be realistic here. Right now the strategy is working with other members of the Security Council” to put China and Russia “in a corner and shine a light on them.” Several diplomats say that France, Germany, the U.K., Russia and China are trying to negotiate a solution that might prevent the U.S. from taking such a step, but that no clear compromise has emerged.
— With assistance by Nick Wadhams

US Administration Proposes Demilitarized Zone in Libya’s Sirte, Jufra
Cairo- Khalid Mahmoud/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
The United States has proposed a “demilitarized” solution in the Libyan cities of Sirte and Jufra and the immediate resumption of oil production, which has been suspended for about eight months. US President Donald Trump’s administration has announced a solution to the Libyan crisis, including the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces’ evacuation of their current locations in Sirte and Jufra and the neutralization of the oil issue from the country’s political and military conflict.
US National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien called on all parties – both those responsible for the current escalation and those working to end it – to enable the National Oil Corporation to resume its vital work, with full transparency, and to implement a demilitarized solution for both cities, respect the UN arms embargo and finalize a ceasefire under the UN-led 5+5 military talks. In a statement published by the White House late on Tuesday, O’Brien said the US is deeply troubled by the escalating conflict in Libya. “We strongly oppose foreign military involvement, including the use of mercenaries and private military contractors, by all sides,” he stressed. “The ongoing efforts of foreign powers to exploit the conflict – for example, by establishing an enduring military presence or exerting control over resources that belong to the Libyan people – pose grave threats to regional stability and global commerce,” the statement read. It added that these efforts undermine the collective security interests of the US and its allies and partners in the Mediterranean region. “Escalation will only deepen and prolong the conflict,” he noted.
O’Brien pointed out that Trump has spoken over the past few weeks with several world leaders about Libya, and it is clear there is no “winning” side.
Libyans can win only if they come together to reclaim their sovereignty and rebuild a unified country, the official stated. As an active, but neutral, actor, O’Brien explained, the US is pursuing a 360 degree diplomatic engagement with Libyan and external stakeholders across the conflict to find a solution that supports Libyan sovereignty and protects the shared interests of the US, its allies, and partners. Trump discussed the need to de-escalate the situation in Libya in recent weeks with French President Emmanuel Macron, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.
Meanwhile, Libyan sources have recently told Asharq Al-Awsat about a possible deal on official resumption of oil production in Libya, in return for Turkey’s exit from the military scene and avoidance of an imminent war in the Mediterranean region.

Russia Makes Humanitarian Call to Save Syria
Moscow – Raed Jaber/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
Russian interests in Syria are no longer focused on resolving the political stalemate or improving the humanitarian conditions of areas deprived of international aid, but is rather focused on the spread of the coronavirus in the war-torn country. The pandemic, according to Russian statistics, has affected around a million Syrians. Moscow, over the last few weeks, announced sending a medical aid convoy to Syria that included equipment used to detect the virus. Russian circles, however, avoided announcing available data about the spread of the virus in Syria as to save face when it comes to the Syrian regime failing to announce the spread of COVID-19 and failing to reveal real data on infections. Remarkably, Russian state media in the past few days reported on the disastrous levels of spread of the virus in Syria. Russian papers reported on correspondents documenting large numbers of infection that weren’t mentioned in the Syrian regime press coverage. This prompted some writers and commentators to assert that Syria "is currently experiencing the biggest humanitarian disaster in its history, and perhaps one of the biggest humanitarian disasters in the world." Diplomat and political researcher Ramy al-Shaar wrote an op-ed that warns that the virus is spreading uncontrollably across Syria and that the number of infections reaches approximately a million with hundreds of deaths.
While the country is experiencing a terrifying humanitarian catastrophe, the pandemic threatens the lives of millions. Al-Shaar writes that Russia is determined to spent magnanimous efforts to dodge a COVID-19 catastrophe in Syria. He also said that dealing with the virus has become a priority because reaching a political settlement according to the UNSC resolution 2254 will be meaningless if millions of Syrians were lost to the virus.

Kadhimi Takes Measures Against Those Responsible for Delaying Baghdad-Beirut
Baghdad - Fadhel al-Nashmi/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has taken punitive measures against all those involved in the delay of a civilian plane departure to Beirut last week. The individuals responsible for the flight's delay include an official in the Transport Ministry and a relative of its Minister Nasser al-Shibli. Kadhimi’s office issued Tuesday a strongly worded statement against “a series of errors, behaviors and failures” in the ministry’s performance. The statement also slammed Shibli for appointing Ali Mohsen Hashem as director of the Iraqi Airways, contrary to the Premier’s instructions not to make any changes to senior positions without his approval. Kadhimi also ordered canceling Hashem’s appointment, returning him to his previous position and referring him to justice on suspicion of delaying the trip. The statement also highlighted the illegal and administratively unjustifiable long delay in the flight heading to Beirut by Ahmed Assem Hussein Bandar, who is Shibli’s relative.Preliminary investigations indicated Bandar’s abuse of his powers, it added. This was not the first time that a close relative of a prominent official has obstructed an Iraqi Airways flight or committed a violation of flight standards. In March 2014, son of the former Transport Minister, Hadi al-Ameri, forced a Baghdad-bound Middle East Airlines plane to turn around 20 minutes after leaving Beirut because he missed the flight. However, it is the first time that the government takes deterrent measures against violators, which has been welcomed by the public.
MP of State of Law Coalition Alia Nassif hailed the measures taken by Kadhimi against Shibli’s violations and breaches. She expressed hope that ministers will be held accountable for their involvement in any “administrative or financial violations.”
“Delaying the plane departure for a minister’s relative is the worst form of administrative corruption and is considered an insult to Iraqi citizens,” she stressed. Shibli, for his part, affirmed that his nephew had nothing to do with the trip delay, noting that he has been subject to media campaign.

Beirut Tragedy Reinforces Yemeni Fears of Similar Disaster at Safer
Aden- Mohammed Nasser/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
The tragedy witnessed by the Lebanese capital Beirut due to the explosion of dangerous material stored in the port of the city raised the fears of Yemenis of a similar disaster taking place in the port of Ras Isa, north of the city of Hodeidah.
Fears are amplified in light of Houthi militias continuing to prevent United Nations teams from accessing and maintaining the derelict oil tanker, Safer. Government and international reports predicted that an explosion at Safer, an oil tanker which is carrying around 1.2 million oil barrels, could lead to a disaster and the shutting down of the Hodeidah port. Hodeidah port is the entry gate for some 70% of imports to Yemen. More so, the environmental impact of an explosion at Safer will take around three decades to resolve. Yemeni political activists, who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat, tied the major destruction caused by the Beirut port blast to the potential disaster at Safer, where corrosion in the platform’s hull has allowed seawater to spill into parts of the tanker. “The similarity lies in the neglect of the Houthi militia, like the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, and the result would be staggering losses that affect both Yemen and Lebanon, countries which have the problem of terror gangs controlled by Tehran,” said the undersecretary of the Ministry of Information in the Yemeni government Abdul Basit Al-Qaidi. “Wherever Iran's militia lands in the region, disaster strikes, and the disaster of the explosion of the Safer oil tanker in the Red Sea is no less dangerous than the Beirut explosion, and its effects will be more like the effects that a nuclear bomb could leave and require decades to deal with if it exploded,” he added. Al-Qaidi warned of the international community neglecting the Safer dilemma and said that Houthis aren’t only being neglectful of the problem at hand but are also dealing with it with malicious intent.

Arab-Kurdish Conflict Feared East of Euphrates, SDF Official Warns
Hasaka - Kamal Sheikho/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
The region might be heading towards an Arab-Kurdish conflict that would affect coexistence, a prominent figure in Syria’s Democratic Forces (SDF) has warned. SDF spokesperson Mustafa Bali accused ISIS elements of assassinating three tribal Sheikhs last week. “After failing to carry out its criminal acts, ISIS resorts to causing Kurdish-Arab strife among regional components.”The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) also denounced the assassination of Sheikh Mutasher Jadaan al-Hafel and the injury of Leader of al-Agaidat tribe Sheikh Ibrahim Jadaan al- Hafel, describing the incident as “cowardly terrorist act.” NES Chairman Abdul Hamid al-Mehbash has offered sincere condolences to the Agaidat tribe on Sheikh Hafel’s “martyrdom,” wishing the tribe’s leader speedy recovery. “We denounce and condemn this cowardly terrorist act, which aims at sowing discord among components,” he stressed, noting that some parties have rushed to point fingers to the NES and its military forces. Unidentified gunmen have assassinated the Sheikh and his diver Daar al-Khalaf on Monday, and injured Sheikh Ibrahim after opening fire on their convoy in the Hawayij village in Deir Ez-Zour’s eastern countryside. Hafel was the third Arab tribal leader to be assassinated after Sheikh Suleiman al-Kassar on July 30 and Sheikh Ali Alwis of al-Baggara tribe on August 1. The Internal Security Forces in Deir Ezzor launched probes and “will not rest until the perpetrators are arrested, handed over to justice and held accountable as soon as possible,” Mehbash stressed. “We will work to bridge the security gaps and confront whoever tries to undermine regional stability.” This terrorist act targets all components of northern and eastern Syria, he added, pointing out that it is a desperate and cowardly attempt to affect the coexistence and brotherhood among peoples to destabilize security. Demonstrations took place against Hafel’s assassination as protesters blocked roads and targeted SDF security checkpoints. The SDF, for its part, announced a partial ban on Shuhail town and launched a massive security crackdown.
In a statement on Wednesday, the SDF said it has arrested a number of terrorists and suspects, noting that some were injured during the operation. It also revealed that two of its elements were killed during the operation

Jordan Government Vows to Confront Attempts to Stir Instability
Amman- Mohammed Kheir Rawashdeh/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh has asserted that the government will fight against anyone who triggers instability and tension in the country. In a press conference on Wednesday, Adaileh commented on the chaos that followed a protest for teachers in Karak (in the south of the country). The chaos led to the injury of seven and the arrest of around 48 people. The minister stressed that the government won’t go easy with anyone who offends the security guards and relevant bodies as they perform their tasks. Any financial, partisan, or syndicate demand won’t be fulfilled using this attitude but through dialogue and acceptance of others, he stressed. Adaileh further noted that there are some practices that contradict with the precautionary measures such as gatherings, as well as holding weddings and funerals. For this, the government and the administrative governors will join efforts to handle the violations strictly. Moreover, Jordan Minister of Interior Salameh Hammad affirmed Tuesday that the government will never tolerate violence against security personnel on their duty. Hammad condemned the incident in Karak, during which police officers were attacked while on their official duty, as "unacceptable".
He explained that the protest that took place this evening in Karak was not limited to teachers, but witnessed the participation of two political parties, activists, and some young people who were "deceived" by them. The country has been witnessing stands by teachers in several provinces demanding abolishing the decision to shut down the syndicate and releasing those arrested – amid a campaign of mass arrests of activists and heads of syndicate branches.
 

Egypt and Greece Sign Agreement on Exclusive Economic Zone
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 6 August, 2020
Egypt and Greece signed an agreement on Thursday designating an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean between the two countries, an area containing promising oil and gas reserves, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said.Shoukry made the announcement at a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias in Cairo. "This agreement allows both countries to move forward in maximizing the utilization of the resources available in the exclusive economic zone, especially promising oil and gas reserves," Shoukry said. In Greece, diplomats said the deal effectively nullified an accord between Turkey and the Government of National Accord in Libya. Last year, those two parties agreed to maritime boundaries in a deal Egypt and Greece decried as illegal and a violation of international law. Greece maintains it infringed on its continental shelf and specifically that off the island of Crete.
"The agreement with Egypt is within the framework of international law," Dendias said. "It is the absolute opposite of the illegal, void and legally unfounded memorandum of understanding that was signed between Turkey and Tripoli. Following the signing of this agreement, the non-existent Turkish-Libyan memorandum has ended up where it belonged from the beginning: in the trash can." His statement came hours after Greece said it is ready to start exploratory talks on the demarcation of maritime zones with Turkey as soon as this month.
Tensions were already high between Greece and Turkey over the exploration of energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean. The NATO members are also at odds over a range of issues from overflights in the Aegean Sea to maritime zones in the eastern Mediterranean and ethnically divided Cyprus.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the exclusive zone designated in the agreement falls in the area of Turkey's continental shelf. It said Ankara considers the agreement null and void, adding that the deal also violates Libya's maritime rights.
In June, Greece and Italy signed an agreement on maritime boundaries, establishing an exclusive economic zone between the two countries. Earlier this month, Egypt said that part of a seismic survey planned by Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean potentially encroached on waters where Cairo claims exclusive rights. Egypt hopes to become a regional energy hub with the rapid growth in Egypt's natural gas supplies. It formed with other countries the so-called Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which aims to develop the region's gas market.
Turkey is not a member of the forum, which also includes Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Italy and Jordan.

Nile Dam Mediator Urges Talks to Continue
Asharq Al-Awsat/August/06, 2020
South Africa, current mediator in a long-running feud over Ethiopia's dam on the Blue Nile, on Thursday urged talks to continue despite threats of suspension and walkout. Egypt on Tuesday called for a halt in the talks while Sudan threatened to withdraw, rattling efforts to calm the dispute. In a statement, South Africa, which as current chair of the African Union (AU) has been acting as mediator, said negotiations were at a "critical phase" and it "encourages the parties to remain engaged". "We would like to urge them to continue to be guided by the spirit of Pan-African solidarity and fraternity, which has characterized the AU-led negotiations process on the GERD," International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor said. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been a source of tension in the Nile River basin ever since Ethiopia broke ground on it in 2011, AFP reported. Egypt and Sudan view the dam as a threat to vital water supplies, while Ethiopia considers it crucial for its electrification and development. "It is important that the parties should display magnanimity and understanding of each other´s interests so as to move the process forward," Pandor said. Tuesday's warnings were issued after a meeting of tripartite technical and legal committees which are seeking an agreement on how the dam should be filled and operated. Sudan's water and irrigation minister, Yasser Abbas accused Ethiopia of shifting its position. Ethiopia, he said, now insisted that the deal on the dam be linked to the wider question of sharing the waters of the Blue Nile. "This new Ethiopian position threatens the negotiations under the aegis of the African Union, and Sudan will not participate in negotiations which include the subject of sharing Blue Nile waters," he warned. According to AFP, Egypt and Sudan invoke a "historic right" over the river guaranteed by treaties concluded in 1929 and 1959. But Ethiopia uses a treaty signed in 2010 by six riverside countries and boycotted by Egypt and Sudan authorizing irrigation projects and dams on the river. Egypt's water ministry, for its part, said Ethiopia's draft proposal lacked substance and contravened guidelines set at an AU summit on July 21. "Egypt and Sudan demanded meetings be suspended for internal consultations," it said.

Cyprus Police Question Man over Links to Beirut Chemicals Cargo
Asharq Al-Awsat/August/06, 2020
Cyprus has located and questioned a Russian man named in multiple news reports as the owner of the ship that carried a cargo of ammonium nitrate abandoned in Beirut and that exploded in a devastating fireball. A Cyprus police spokesman said an individual, who he did not name, was questioned at his home in Cyprus on Thursday afternoon. "There was a request from the Interpol Beirut to locate this person and ask certain questions related to the cargo," the spokesman, Christos Andreou, told Reuters. He said the responses were being passed on to Beirut.
He declined to give further information. A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the man was Russian businessman Igor Grechushkin, 43. Attempts to contact Grechushkin were unsuccessful. Boris Prokoshev, who was captain of the Rhosus in 2013, said the chemicals ended up in Beirut after the ship's owner - who he identified as Grechushkin - told him to make an unscheduled stop in Lebanon to pick up extra cargo. The chemicals, which had been stored at Beirut port for years, exploded on Tuesday in the country's worst peace-time disaster.

Canada providing humanitarian assistance in response to Beirut explosion
August 5, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, announced that Canada is providing up to $5 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the tragic explosion that occurred in Beirut, Lebanon, on August 4, 2020.
This includes an initial $1.5 million going immediately to trusted humanitarian partners on the ground, including the Lebanese Red Cross via the Canadian Red Cross Society, to help meet the urgent needs of people affected by this crisis.
Canada’s contribution will help support emergency medical services and provide shelter, food and other essential items.
Quotes
“Canada stands with the people of Lebanon in this tragedy and we are ready to assist however we can, as I have articulated in my two recent conversations with my Lebanese counterpart. This initial contribution will help meet the immediate, most urgent needs of those devastated by this explosion.”
- François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“The first days of a humanitarian disaster are crucial and Canada is here to help. This funding will provide safe shelter, clean water, medicines and basic necessities for those in need. As a government, we are mobilized to ensure that Canada is there to bring much-needed assistance to the Lebanese population.”
- Karina Gould, Minister of International Development
Quick facts
Through its Middle East engagement strategy, Canada is providing more than $47 million in humanitarian assistance funding for crisis-affected populations in Lebanon in 2020. This assistance includes, among other things, support for access to basic health services and the supply of medical assistance.
Associated links
Canada’s Middle East engagement strategy

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on August 06-07/2020
EU Issues Its First-Ever Cyber Sanctions
Annie Fixler and Trevor Logan/FDD/August 06/2020
The European Union announced its first-ever cyber-related sanctions on Thursday, designating malicious actors from Russia, China, and North Korea. The designations provide an opportunity to bolster transatlantic cooperation to hold accountable hostile actors that use cyber means to threaten global security.
Using a new cyber sanctions framework created in May 2019, Brussels imposed asset freezes and visa bans against six individuals and three entities, including a cyber unit of Russia’s military intelligence directorate, or GRU, and four of its operators. Brussels designated them for attacks on Ukraine’s power grid in 2015 and 2016, the destructive NotPetya attack in 2017, and an attempted attack in 2018 on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which at the time was investigating chemical weapons use in Syria and Russia’s attempted assassination of defector Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom using a lethal nerve agent.
The European Union also designated two Chinese hackers and their employer, Tianjin Huaying Haitai Science and Technology Development Co. Ltd, for their roles in China’s state-backed corporate espionage campaign called Operation Cloud Hopper. Finally, the European Union designated North Korean company Chosun Expo for supporting Pyongyang’s cyber operations, including the 2017 ransomware attack known as WannaCry.
Last week’s sanctions add teeth to European condemnations of significant cyberattacks. Sanctions, the European Union explained, are part of the bloc’s “comprehensive cyber diplomacy toolbox to prevent, deter and respond to malicious behavior.” Washington’s Cyberspace Solarium Commission similarly concluded that cyber sanctions on hostile governments and their operatives “generat[e] credible costs and benefits for norms enforcement,” which “reduce the likelihood and effectiveness” of attacks by changing cost/benefit calculations. For example, the Commission contends, when malicious actors know that they face a unified coalition, “they anticipate that bad behavior is likely to be more severely punished.”
The EU sanctions mirror U.S. efforts to isolate malicious cyber actors from the global financial system. Washington also sanctioned Chosun Expo as well as the same GRU operatives and the GRU itself. Collectively, these U.S. and EU sanctions make it nearly impossible for the designated actors to move money through the formal financial system, and signal that Washington and Brussels have sufficient forensic evidence to defend their attributions in a court of law.
Unlike the European Union, Washington has yet to sanction the Chinese hackers responsible for Operation Cloud Hopper despite having indicted them in December 2018. In fact, despite numerous indictments, Washington has not sanctioned any Chinese cyber operatives working for the Chinese Communist Party. These EU sanctions begin to close that gap. Now Washington should bring its sanctions in line with Brussels’ by designating these Chinese actors.
For its part, Brussels should expand sanctions to include other Russian, Chinese, and North Korean operatives sanctioned or indicted by the United States. In addition, Brussels should ensure that Iranian cyber operatives also come under scrutiny. While Iran has not successfully launched a global operation on the scale of NotPetya, Cloud Hopper, or WannaCry, Brussels will want to send a clear message that Tehran’s attempted cyberattacks on Israeli water infrastructure – and attempted attacks on any critical infrastructure – will result in swift censure.
Moving forward, Washington and Brussels should increase coordination on sanctions and attribution, including through joint sanctions announcements. While unilateral sanctions, particularly U.S. financial sanctions, have a significant impact on their targets, multilateral sanctions have a norm-enforcing benefit and make it difficult for malign actors to exploit differences in sanctions regimes. Likewise, coordinated attribution efforts, as the United States and its allies demonstrated in response to the WannaCry and NotPetya attacks, not only boosts technical cooperation but also signals unity and resolve.
*Annie Fixler is deputy director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation (CCTI) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
*Trevor Logan is a cyber research analyst. For more analysis from Annie, Trevor, and CCTI, please subscribe HERE. Follow Annie and Trevor on Twitter @afixler and @TrevorLoganFDD. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CCTI. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Destruction of Iranian Nuclear Facility Should Remind Democrats of Israel’s Unique Value as an Ally
John Hannah/FDD/August 06/2020
An explosion at the Natanz nuclear complex on July 2 laid waste to the Iran Centrifuge Assembly Center (ICAC), a workshop designed to mass produce thousands of advanced centrifuges for enriching uranium. Satellite pictures strongly suggest that the blast's cause was a powerful bomb placed at a critical juncture inside the facility. Not implausibly, many experts pointed to Israel—not least because “a Middle Eastern intelligence official,” widely suspected to be Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, told the New York Times that Israel was, in fact, responsible. If true, it’s a potent reminder of Israel’s enormous value as a strategic partner of the United States, one that combines the will, capabilities, and tactical skill to confront the region’s most dangerous threats in ways that are largely unrivaled by any other American ally. The point may be particularly worth underscoring in the run up to the 2020 elections, especially for a Democratic Party where support for Israel has seemed increasingly under stress.
The destruction of the ICAC was a significant blow to Iran’s nuclear program. Once deployed, the advanced centrifuges being assembled there would have dramatically reduced the time required to produce enough highly-enriched uranium (HEU) not just for one nuclear bomb, but for a small arsenal. Their mass production would also have made it much easier for Iran to divert a critical number of advanced centrifuges to a covert site, where any rapid breakout to develop nuclear weapons could proceed in secret. With a single exquisitely executed act of sabotage, cloaked in mystery, and avoiding the attendant risks of war associated with an overt military strike, those powerful Iranian cards have now been swept from the table—at least for the time being. Estimates are that the explosion could have set back Iran’s centrifuge program by up to two years.
That’s not to say that the danger has been eliminated, far from it. Deep underground, at a different facility in Natanz and at another in Fordow, several thousand older centrifuges, known as IR-1s, continue to churn outgrowing quantities of enriched uranium under the gaze of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Over the last year, in response to the re-imposition of crippling U.S. sanctions following the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the Iran nuclear deal, Iran has slowly but surely begun violating several of the deal’s restrictions—including on enrichment levels, stockpiles of low-enriched uranium, and research and development on advanced centrifuges. Roughly 1000 next-generation IR-2m centrifuges that were dismantled under the JCPOA could also be available for re-installation, leaving Iran’s breakout time for producing sufficient HEU for one nuclear bomb as low as 3 to 4 months—significantly less than the JCPOA’s 12-month target.
Nevertheless, there’s no question that the risks from Iran’s nuclear program are significantly more manageable without the looming danger posed by the thousands of far more powerful centrifuges that the ICAC was set to produce. The facility’s destruction has almost certainly bought those determined to contain the Iranian nuclear threat important time and space that, before the explosion, were rapidly dwindling in the face of Iran’s JCPOA violations.
A prospective Joe Biden administration, in particular, should take note. Democrats, not without reason, have been signaling their growing alarm about Iran’s renewed nuclear expansion and their eagerness to bring it back into compliance with the JCPOA. In exchange, they have made clear that the United States would also return to the deal—in essence, reversing Trump’s maximum pressure strategy by lifting the crippling sanctions that it has re-imposed since 2018. Doing so, however, would surrender an enormous amount of leverage now in U.S. hands in exchange for little more than going back to a deal that even many of Biden’s aides privately acknowledge is flawed. While Democrats are right that maximum pressure has failed to produce any positive changes in Iran’s malign behavior, it’s also true that sanctions have subjected the Iranian regime to unprecedented economic and political pressures--all exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis--from which it badly needs relief sooner rather than later.
With the Natanz explosion largely removing the immediate threat of a large-scale deployment of advanced centrifuges, a prospective Biden administration might well have more time than it thought before July 2 to address the Iranian nuclear challenge. The ICAC’s destruction may have reduced the urgency for any precipitous rush back into the JCPOA. Instead. Biden could have more room for maneuver to play the sanctions card that Trump would be handing off to him and exploit the Iranian regime’s profound distress to drive a much harder bargain that would ideally not just restore the JCPOA, but begin to address some of its most problematic shortcomings as well—from its soon-to-expire sunset clauses to the failure to constrain Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal.
If, as so many suspect, Israel was behind the explosion, it has both inflicted serious damage on Iran’s nuclear program and strengthened America’s diplomatic position in confronting Iran’s efforts at nuclear blackmail. But more than that, the bombing would also emphatically underscore some of the truly extraordinary capabilities that Israel brings to the table of the U.S.-Israel strategic partnership. The ability to place an agent inside one of the crown jewels of the Iranian nuclear program, much less smuggle in a powerful bomb and detonate it at the point of maximum damage, is an absolutely stunning intelligence accomplishment. It’s not at all clear that there’s another intelligence service in the world, including the United States, that would have been capable of pulling off an operation of such difficulty, danger and daring so flawlessly. Given the downside risks, most probably wouldn’t even have tried.
Of course, it would hardly be the first time. Just two years ago, in an operation no less audacious than the ICAC bombing, Israel spirited out of a Tehran warehouse a huge chunk of what became known as the Nuclear Archive—tens of thousands of pages and more than 150 compact discs detailing the history of Iran’s crash program in the 1990s and early 2000s to develop a small arsenal of nuclear weapons and conceal it from the world. Over the course of two years, a team of Israeli agents—mostly made up of Iranians—operated under the noses of one of the world’s most ruthless and effective security establishments, collecting intelligence, conducting reconnaissance, and planning and expertly executing a James Bond-like break-in, burning through safes with high-powered blow torches, securing the most important parts of the archive, and then getting the treasure trove of the Iranian regime’s most important secrets out of the country without a trace.
These are remarkable success stories that go largely unappreciated by most Americans in part because it’s the sort of brilliant professionalism that people have been conditioned to expect from Israel’s security services. It’s almost taken for granted that a tiny country of 8 million people will on a regular basis undertake operations of enormous risk and danger to confront and contain, if not necessarily eliminate, the Middle East’s most dangerous threat: nuclear weapons in the hands of dictators with a predisposition toward large-scale bloodletting. From the destruction of nuclear reactors in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007 to the Stuxnet cyberattack (in collaboration with the United States) on Iranian centrifuges and the targeted killing of top Iranian nuclear scientists a decade ago, Israel has arguably been the world’s greatest force for keeping at bay the nightmare scenario of a fully nuclearized Middle East.
With Israel’s value as an American ally increasingly up for debate, particularly within the Democratic Party, that is a lesson worth highlighting in an election year. The United States has grown tired of the Middle East. It wants to do less there, not more, and divert resources to containing higher priority threats from great-power competitors like China in the Indo-Pacific and Russia in Europe.
But at the same time, America still has important interests in the Middle East that need to be secured—not least preventing a hostile Iran, born in the crucible of “Death to America,” from dominating the region and wielding nuclear weapons. In that context, what’s the value of a local partner like Israel that has the capabilities, will and competence to take on the burden of serving as the tip of the spear in the shared effort to mitigate such threats? Especially after a two-decade period when the United States spent trillions of dollars and lost thousands of lives directly engaging in military conflicts in the region, a $3.8 billion per year investment in Israel, one of the world’s leading military and intelligence powers that is unabashedly pro-American and prepared to act in defense of U.S. interests, looks like an absolute bargain. The mysterious, but highly fortuitous, destruction of the ICAC, and the significant setback it inflicted on the nuclear program of America’s most dangerous Middle East adversary, should serve as a useful reminder of that essential reality.
*John Hannah, senior counselor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, served as national security advisor to former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Palestinians: We Support China's Muslim Concentration Camps
Khaled Abu Toameh Gatestone Institute/August 06/2020
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas... is saying that he fully supports China's right to hold more than one million Muslims in re-education camps and crack down on human rights activists and journalists in Hong Kong. Yet Abbas, a Muslim, sees no reason why he or anyone else should ask the ICC to launch an investigation into China's "war crimes" against Muslims.
Why have Palestinian leaders chosen to side with China? Money and political support. The Palestinians are hoping that China will replace the US as an "honest broker" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Iran, Egypt, Syria and dozens of other countries that could not tolerate a magical realist novel can live with the mass sterilisation of Muslim women. They will give concentration camps a conniving wink of approval, but draw the line at cartoons in a Danish newspaper." — Nick Cohen, The Guardian, July 4, 2020.
The Palestinians' hate for Israel and the US has blinded them to the point where they are prepared to support the penning up of more than a million Muslims in re-education camps in China. Such a show of support ought to serve as a re-education for the international community about the warped Palestinian perspective of justice.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is indicating that he supports China's right to hold more than one million Muslims in re-education camps and crack down on human rights activists and journalists in Hong Kong. Abbas, a Muslim, sees no reason why he or anyone else should ask the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation into China's "war crimes" against Muslims. Pictured: Abbas meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on July 18, 2017.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) says it is determined to proceed with its request that the International Criminal Court (ICC) launch an investigation against Israel for "committing war crimes" against the Palestinians. The PA is hoping that such a move by the ICC would pave the way for filing "war crimes" charges against several Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While it is seeking to indict Israeli officials for their ostensible "war crimes" against Palestinians, the PA leadership is working to strengthen its relations with China, where more than one million Muslims are being held in detention in re-education camps.
Palestinian leaders have a long record of supporting dictators and autocratic states, including Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, Iraq's Saddam Hussein and the North Korean leader Kim Jon Un. The Palestinian leadership's current support for China's repressive regime is part of a larger pattern. They have proven that they are always ready to support any dictator who openly challenges Israel or the US.
In keeping with that pattern, the PA leaders have also chosen to support China in its repressive measures against the residents of Hong Kong, who have been protesting plans to allow extradition to mainland China. If China has its way, residents of Hong Kong will be exposed to unfair trials and violent treatment in China. There is also fear that China's move will give the mainland greater influence over Hong Kong and allow it to target political and human rights activists and journalists.
At the same time, hardly a day passes without Palestinian officials accusing Israel of committing human rights violations against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
These officials, however, are deliberately ignoring the plight of Muslims in China, most of whom are Uighur, a predominately Turkic-speaking ethnic group primarily from China's northwestern region of Xinjiang.
The detained Muslims have never been charged with crimes and have no legal avenues to challenge their detentions. Often, their only crime is being Muslim.
Last month, PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke over the telephone about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Abbas reportedly "appreciated China's efforts to uphold justice on the Palestinian issue and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the Palestinian people, saying that facts have proved time and again that China is the most reliable friend of the Palestinian people."
Instead of raising the issue of his fellow Muslims persecuted in China, Abbas has backed China's supposedly "legitimate position" on persecuting his co-religionists.
Abbas, in other words, is saying that he fully supports China's right to hold more than one million Muslims in re-education camps and crack down on human rights activists and journalists in Hong Kong. Yet Abbas, a Muslim, sees no reason why he or anyone else should ask the ICC to launch an investigation into China's "war crimes" against Muslims.
Instead of following other world leaders in demanding justice for the residents of Hong Kong, Abbas emphasized during the telephone conversation that the "Palestinian side will continue to stand firmly with China and resolutely support China's just position on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other issues concerning China's core interests."
It was the second time in recent months that Abbas publicly supported China in the Hong Kong crisis. In May, Abbas issued a statement in which he said:
"We reiterate our support to the friendly People's Republic of China's right to maintain its sovereignty against any foreign intervention into its internal affairs and the attempts to destabilize it."
This is the same Abbas who in recent months has been expressing strong opposition to Israel's intention to apply its sovereignty to portions of the West Bank.
On one side, Abbas is voicing support for China's right to impose full sovereignty over all its territories, including Hong Kong, and maintain its territorial integrity. On the other side, Abbas is demanding that the international community impose sanctions on Israel if and when it applies sovereignty over some parts of the West Bank. He is also demanding that, because of Israel's plan to extend Israeli law over parts of the West Bank, the ICC should launch a "war crimes" investigation against Israel.
This double-standard stinks of hypocrisy, as well as a sickening disregard for the people of Hong Kong and the oppressed Muslims in China. Abbas has long been accusing Israel of "oppressing" the Palestinians, but now he is supporting the Chinese regime in its atrocities oppressing his Muslim brothers and repressing the residents of Hong Kong.
Why have Palestinian leaders chosen to side with China? Money and political support. The Palestinians are hoping that China will replace the US as an "honest broker" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Abbas's support for the Chinese atrocities against Muslims, and the oppression of Hong Kong residents is already paying off. The Chinese are now rewarding Abbas by rejecting US President Donald Trump's "Peace to Prosperity" plan for Middle East peace. China has announced that it stands behind the "just cause of the Palestinians," Chinese UN envoy Zhang Jun told the UN Security Council last month. He also pledged that China would back Abbas's call for an international peace conference rather than a peace process headed by the US. "China is a sincere friend of the Palestinian people," Zhang said. "The Palestinian people can always count on China's support for their just cause and legitimate rights."
Ironically, the Chinese envoy, whose country is seeking support for imposing full sovereignty over Hong Kong -- and attempting hostile actions against its neighbors in the South China Sea, India and Taiwan -- spoke out against any pending Israeli plans to apply sovereignty to portions of the West Bank. "It's unsettling that the planned annexation may provoke a new round of tensions," Zhang argued, warning that such a move would constitute a "most serious violation of international law." China is lecturing the rest of the world about conforming to international law?
In addition to the political support, the Palestinians are also expecting China to reward them with millions of dollars in economic aid, as it has already been doing for the past few years.
Last year, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh praised China's "unwavering support" of the rights of the Palestinians, as well as its support to the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including providing generous aid to poor students, infrastructure and the solar energy sector.
By siding with China, the Palestinians have thrown their Muslim brothers and the residents of Hong Kong under the bus in return for money and political backing. The Palestinians are ready to do anything to stick a finger in the eye of the US.
The Palestinians, however, are not the only Muslims to turn a blind eye to the suffering of Muslims in China and Hong King residents.
"[T]he main reasons why Muslims suffer in silence is that the Muslim-majority countries that raged against Rushdie, Jyllands-Posten and Charlie Hebdo have decided to stay silent," noted Observer columnist Nick Cohen.
"They use the idea of Muslim solidarity only when it suits them.
"In July 2019, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and other Muslim-majority states that pose as defenders of the faith helped to block a western motion at the United Nations calling for China to allow "independent international observers" into the Xinjiang region. Iran issues occasional criticisms but wants Chinese support in its struggle against the Trump administration and so keeps its complaints coded. Their hypocrisy is almost funny, if you take your humour black. Iran, Egypt, Syria and dozens of other countries that could not tolerate a magical realist novel can live with the mass sterilisation of Muslim women. They will give concentration camps a conniving wink of approval, but draw the line at cartoons in a Danish newspaper....
"To bring down numbers of the largely Muslim Uighurs of Xinjiang, the China scholar Adrian Zenz reports, the Communists are forcing women to be sterilised or fitted with contraceptive devices."
The Palestinians have chosen not only to remain silent, but to come out in full support of China's concentration camps and its totalitarian regime. Their hate for Israel and the US has blinded them to the point where they are prepared to support the penning up of more than a million Muslims in re-education camps in China. Such a show of support ought to serve as a re-education for the international community about the warped Palestinian perspective of justice.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2020 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.

John Nomikos on Turkish Threats to Greece
Marilyn Stern/Middle East Forum Webinar/August 06/2020
John M. Nomikos, director of the Research Institute for European and American Studies, spoke to participants in a June 5 Middle East Forum webinar (video) to discuss Turkish threats to Greece.
Nomikos described a recent escalation of Turkish provocations against Greece that risk erupting into an armed confrontation. The Turkish Coast Guard has been sending illegal immigrants to flood the Greek islands and the Greek-Turkish border. Turkish intelligence officers have been infiltrating the municipality of Thrace near the Turkish-Greek border to "undermine covertly" the Greek Muslim community's relationship with the Greek government and create unrest.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan has used the Turkish-Libyan Exclusive Economic Zone as cover to illegally encroach on the Greek island of Crete. The zone is the "biggest national security threat to the stability in the Mediterranean region, including Greece, said Nomikos. Erdoǧan announced his intention to begin drilling for oil in the eastern Mediterranean by the beginning of September.
Greece's options in combatting Erdoǧan's "cat and mouse" game of "no peace, no war" are limited. With a population of just 10 million – one eighth that of Turkey – and an economy heavily dependent on tourism revenue, a war would be economically devastating for Athens.
Exacerbating the situation is the neutral stance taken by the General Secretary of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), rather than demanding that Turkey cease its aggressive actions against a fellow member of NATO and respect the stability of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean.
Despite the fact that Greece has been a member of the European Union since 1981, the EU has also taken a position of neutrality, doing little to address Turkey's aggression. The EU's only priority is to avoid dealing with the illegal immigrants Erdoǧan is foisting on Greece, aside from sending "blackmail" money to Turkey to keep the migrants, including possible jihadists among them, from flooding into Europe. The humanitarian crisis is left for Greece to manage, but Europe would be wise to remember that "Greek borders are European borders," said Nomikos.
Nomikos believes the only power with the clout to dissuade Erdoǧan from challenging Greece's national security is the United States. Some important steps toward this end have been taken. The Trump administration's support for the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019 authorizes new security assistance for Cyprus and Greece and lifts the U.S. arms embargo on Cyprus. It also authorizes the establishment of a United States-Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center to facilitate energy cooperation among the United States, Israel, Greece, and Cyprus as a tool for providing stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. With the potentially explosive situation between Turkey and Greece reaching a critical stage, the United States must go further in protecting its interests in the Mediterranean.
Israel is "the only country we can rely on and ask for support."
Given the world's lukewarm response to Turkish aggression, Nomikos said it's likely Erdoǧan will eventually start a war. "He's looking for the right time, and he will attack Greece." Accordingly, Nomikos strongly advocates a military alliance between Greece and Israel, which share "the same national security threat." Israel, he said, is "the only country we can rely on."
*Marilyn Stern is communications coordinator at the Middle East Forum.

Europe Has a Weak Dollar Problem
Marcus Ashworth/Bloomberg/August,06/2020
How much is too much of a good thing? The euro has strengthened 5% versus the dollar this year — a fair reflection of the European Union’s better handling of the coronavirus, not least its historic decision to create a pandemic rescue fund that will involve fiscal transfers from the wealthy north of Europe to the worst-affected countries in the south. US Treasury yields have also fallen closer to zero, bringing them nearer to the euro zone’s negative rates, and America’s growth forecasts are starting to look similar to Europe’s. As such, there’s less reason for investors to keep so many eggs in the dollar basket. The problem for the European Central Bank is that an overly robust currency might seriously hinder the continent’s fragile post-Covid recovery.
The Federal Reserve was struggling with a too-strong dollar at the height of the crisis, but it has successfully managed to contain that and it now looks supremely relaxed with greenback weakness. Fed officials are pushing for more fiscal stimulus and are committed to more monetary action as required. That’s a worry for the ECB, which wants to prevent the euro from appreciating too far or too fast.
The EU has long enjoyed a current account surplus, fueled by its dynamic export sector and helped by a relatively weak euro. But such benign conditions don’t last forever. There’s a global scramble to reboot economies and engineering a weaker currency is one of the obvious tools in the box.
Despite ECB protestations to the contrary, large-scale unconventional monetary action is really all about reining in your currency — hence the regular accusations from President Donald Trump of foreign-exchange manipulation against all countries engaged in quantitative easing. (He’s gone quiet on the subject now that the US is doing the same.) By artificially lowering yields through huge bond-buying programs, the ECB has prompted investors to look elsewhere for returns, thereby keeping the euro’s price contained. But this only works if no one else is doing the same.
The Fed and the Bank of England have noisily gatecrashed the ECB's QE party by cutting rates deeper during the coronavirus crisis and front-loading ever larger amounts of stimulus. This leaves the ECB without any obvious levers to pull on to prevent the euro rising. Even before the crisis, it had negative interest rates and a vast QE program in operation. The Fed and BOE, which still have marginally positive interest rates, have more ammunition left.
Ironically, one of the main reasons for steering clear of the euro — fear about the bloc’s unity — has been removed by the groundbreaking agreement for the 750 billion-euro ($888 billion) pandemic recovery fund. With the European Commission set to issue as much as 200 billion euros of debt next year, at a decent premium over German bunds, there will be liquid bonds available for foreign investors that won’t be punitively negative in yield. Currency valuations ultimately are driven by relative growth expectations and Europe is attracting interest for this reason too. The usual tendency for US growth to exceed Europe’s has moderated during the crisis. It might even reverse. One can hardly complain about Europe’s relatively good performance in handling the pandemic, but this success will be worth less if the continent’s export-led model suffers. The ECB may be near powerless to prevent the euro achieving even greater heights if the dollar weakens much further.