English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For December 30/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

#elias_bejjani_news
 

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Bible Quotations For today

When you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go you and take you where you do not wish to go
John 21/15-19: “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’John 21/15-19: “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my lambs.’ A second time he said to him, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ He said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep.’ He said to him the third time, ‘Simon son of John, do you love me?’ Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go.’ (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, ‘Follow me.’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 29-30/2020

Health Ministry: 2298 new Covid-19 cases, 21 deaths
President Aoun signs laws on extending Zahle electricity contract, granting tax exemptions and suspending banking secrecy
Hackers allegedly leak account information, budget data of Hezbollah’s Qard al-Hasan
PM Diab questions fate of unexploded ammonium nitrate from Beirut port
PM Diab: Lebanon can stretch reserves for subsidies another six months
Hassan Says Airport, Country Won't be Shut Down after Holidays
Diab Says ‘Was the First to Open Doors for Judge Sawwan’
FBI Found Port Blast Caused by 500 Tons of Fertilizer, Says Diab
Fuel Distributors Say Gasoline Crisis Resolved
Scuffles after Student Protesters Try to 'Storm' AUB
Geagea Meets Shea: Solution for Crisis Begins with Early Elections
Abiad Warns of Sharp Increase in Virus after Holidays
US dollar exchange rate: Buying price at LBP 3850, selling price at LBP 3900
Rahi receives Aridi
Minister of Health, World Bank representative tackle participations to secure vaccine, equip hospitals
Akar tours Army brigades: Trust in military institution guarantor of Lebanon

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 29-30/2020

US will not be held hostage to ‘nuclear blackmail’: Pompeo
Gulf countries are projecting optimism about next summit despite Doha’s lukewarm attitude
Morocco lays groundwork for liaison office in Israel
Western pressure invigorates Turkey-Russia rapprochement
Russia, Turkey to Develop Military Ties despite U.S. Sanctions
Britain, Turkey sign free-trade deal
Turkish Court Rules Jailing of Top Rights Defender Lawful
Gaza militants hold joint exercise under shadow of Soleimani
EU Chiefs to Sign Brexit Trade Deal Wednesday
Rights Groups Demand Release of Arrested Palestinian DJ
Gaza Forces Fire Rockets to Mark Israel Conflict Anniversary
Six Dead as Strong Quake Strikes Central Croatia
Nashville Bomber Left Hints of Trouble, but Motive Elusive
U.S. 'Concerned' on Saudi Activist Sentence
Brother Says Saudi Activist's Trial 'Politically Motivated'
Alarm over health of German woman held in Iran since October
Syria: One dead, 3 soldiers injured due to Israeli missiles fired at Damascus
Iran to resume gas flows to Iraq after agreement reached on unpaid bills
 

Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 29-30/2020

The Powerful Implications of Israel’s Successful Missile Defense Test/Jacob Nagel and Jonathan Schanzer/Newsweek/December 29/2020
International Criminal Court election could facilitate reset with US/Orde Kittrie/FDD/December 29/2020
Qatar’s confused calculations complicate reconciliation task/Omar Ali al-Badawi/The Arab Weekly/December 29/2020
As the domestic challenges continue, the Iraqi PM attempts a regional outreach/Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/December 29, 2020
Bibi for Prime Minister? No, For President/Daniel Pipes/Newsweek/December 29, 2020
Palestinians: An International "Peace" Conference to Displace Israel/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/December 29, 2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on December 29-30/2020

Health Ministry: 2298 new Covid-19 cases, 21 deaths
NNA/Tuesday 29 December 2020
The Ministry of Public Health announced, on Tuesday that 2298 new Coronavirus cases have been reported, thus raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 175118.
It also indicated that 21 deaths were also registered during the past 24 hours.

President Aoun signs laws on extending Zahle electricity contract, granting tax exemptions and suspending banking secrecy
NNA/Tuesday 29 December 2020
The President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, signed today three laws bearing numbers 198, 199 and 200, dated December 29, 2020. Law 198, extend the implementation of Law No. 107/2018, to consider the operational contract between the EDL and Zahle Electricity Company S.A.L. functional. Law 199 aims to extend some time limits and grant some exemptions from taxes and fees. As for Law 200, it stipulates suspending the provisions of the Banking Secrecy Law issued on 3/9/1956 for a period of one year. The Parliament approved the three laws in its session, held on Monday, December 21st. These laws shall take effect upon their publication in the Official Newspaper. -- Presidency Press Office

Hackers allegedly leak account information, budget data of Hezbollah’s Qard al-Hasan
Rawad Taha/Al Arabiya English/Tuesday 29 December 2020
A group of hackers hit Al-Qard al-Hassan, the financial and banking arm of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group, leaking the names and information of people it alleged had accounts with the US-sanctioned, Beirut-based NGO. The group, called “Spiderz”, published lists of borrowers and depositors in each branch of the association, which functions as Hezbollah’s central bank in Lebanon and one of its primary financing sources and money laundering. Leaked data included details related to the value of loans, the repayment rates, personal information about borrowers, the branches’ budgets, and the institution’s budget for the years 2019 and 2020. The data also showed Al-Qard al-Hasan had accounts in a number of local Lebanese bank. A Lebanese financial expert told Al Arabiya English the leaked data may expose financial institutions in Lebanon to US sanctions, for having commercial ties with Al-Qard al-Hassan. In 2007, The US Treasury Department had sanctioned Al-Qard al-Hassan for providing financial support to terrorist organizations. The hack allegedly showed Al-Qard al-Hasan Foundation’s accounts in several Lebanese banks, including Jamal Trust Bank, which was sanctioned by the US in 2019 due to its financial cooperation with Hezbollah and Al-Qard al-Hasan.
What is Al-Qard al-Hasan?
The NGO, whose name in Arabic translates to “benevolent loan,” is not a bank, nor a financial institution, and is not subject to the Lebanese monetary and credit law. It has no legal or financial relationship with the Central Bank of Lebanon. Yet, Al-Qard al-Hasan is considered one of the most prominent economic pillars of Hezbollah. It is managed outside the Lebanese economic banking system and is not subject to the Lebanese “cash and credit” law. To more than 200 thousand borrowers, the institution gives financial loans in dollars in exchange for mortgaging gold or placing similar amounts in value. Earlier this year, Al-Qard al-Hassan installed multiple ATMs in areas controlled by Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut, in a clear violation of Lebanon’s fiscal law. The ATMs allow those who receive direct payments from Hezbollah, and those who benefit from the institution’s loans, to withdraw cash in either Lebanese lira or US dollars without any restrictions.

PM Diab questions fate of unexploded ammonium nitrate from Beirut port
Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 29, 2020
BEIRUT: An FBI probe into the Aug. 4 explosion at the Beirut port found it was caused by 500 tons of ammonium nitrate, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Tuesday. Diab, who quit following the blast that killed more than 200 people and inflicted billions of dollars in damage, earlier said that more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored at a port hangar for years. Diab said he was surprised that “the security services, who were aware of the existence of 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate in one of the hangars of the Beirut port, did not raise this issue during 20 sessions held by the Supreme Defense Council before the explosion took place on Aug. 4.” He added: “From 2014 to the present day, none of the members of the Supreme Defense Council informed the Lebanese president, who is the head of the council, about the existence of this substance.”Diab revealed in an interview after months of silence that “an opening was made in Hangar 12, where the ammonium nitrate was stored.”
He said: “The amount of ammonium nitrate that exploded was estimated by the FBI report to be 500 tons. Does anyone know when and who made an opening in Hangar 12? And where did the 2,200 tons go? Who is the owner of the ship that shipped it? And how did it enter the port of Beirut seven years ago? Who allowed it in? And who has been silent about that for so long?”He added: “Did any Lebanese know what ‘ammonium nitrate’ means before Aug. 4? The first official report I received about the substance stored in the port was on July 22. I was informed of it through three different pieces of information over a period of two hours on June 3. I first received information from the security services by chance, informing me that there was 2,000 kg of explosives in the port, so I immediately requested to arrange a visit to the port on June 4. “During the security preparations for my visit, it became clear that there was different information from what I first received — I was informed that it weighed 2,500 tons and not 2,000 kg and that it was not TNT but nitrate, which we did not know anything about. When we searched on the Internet, we found out that it is chemical fertilizer. The third piece of information I received was that this substance has been in the port for seven years and is not new, so I asked to complete the investigation to visit the port and find out more.”He continued: “I received the report on July 22, and suppose I visited the port on June 4 and inspected Hangar 12, I would have sent a letter to the security officials who already knew about the matter for seven years. And if I had a feeling that there was danger in the port, I would have spoken immediately to the president, and I was not to cover this crime.”Diab said that the charges issued against him by the judicial investigator of the Beirut port blast, Judge Fadi Sawan, have hurt him deeply. He said: “I came from the beginning to fight corruption but was deemed corrupt in the end because I did not visit the port.”
Meanwhile, the caretaker prime minister hinted that the country could go into full closure after New Year’s Eve, fearing an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. He said that the number of cases to date is acceptable, adding that if there is an increase in infections arriving from abroad, flights will be suspended. Diab announced his rejection of the removal of state subsidies for basic materials. However, he supported rationing “because the rich should not benefit from the subsidies that should only target the needy.”He said: “I asked the governor of the Banque du Liban to provide the amount remaining at the bank for subsidies, and we heard from the media that we have $2 billion, which must suffice for at least six months until we find other solutions. I sent a suggestion to the parliament regarding the issuance of the financing card, and the decision must be shared by the caretaker government, Parliament, and the central bank.”Diab pointed out that there is a complete system of corruption in Lebanon. “There is an interconnected political, financial, and economic system, and if the forensic audit uncovers the sources of corruption — as will happen in auditing the accounts of the Banque du Liban, then we can say that we are on the right judicial path, not by destroying public property, as happened on the street, which does not serve the revolution or the demands of the Lebanese people.”
Diab’s speech coincided with protests carried out by students of private universities on Bliss Street outside the campus of the American University of Beirut (AUB). The students protested the university’s decision to adopt the Lebanese banks’ dollar exchange rate, which is 3,900 Lebanese pounds, while the official price is 1,515 pounds, meaning that the tuition fees will more than double.The angry students blocked Bliss Street for some time while riot police took security measures to protect the university. The protesters chanted “down with capitalism” and “the AUB has become military barracks.”
 

PM Diab: Lebanon can stretch reserves for subsidies another six months
Reuters/Tuesday 29 December 2020
Lebanon can ration $2 billion in reserves left for subsidies to last six more months, the caretaker prime minister said on Tuesday, as the country’s financial meltdown raises fears of rising hunger. Lebanon’s worst crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war has crashed the currency and sent inflation soaring. A looming end to subsidies has triggered UN warnings of “social catastrophe”..In an interview with Reuters, Hassan Diab also said Western officials had told him there was “an international decision” not to help Lebanon because of Iran-backed Hezbollah’s role the country. Diab said he only learned there was $2 billion in foreign reserves left for subsidies from TV comments Central Bank Governor Salameh made last week. “I had asked him several times. Nothing official was received,” he said. Diab said the amount was higher than anticipated and would last “six months if we apply rationing”.A central bank spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Diab, who took office a year ago with Hezbollah’s backing, resigned in August over public fury at the port explosion that killed 200 people that month. His cabinet has since served in a caretaker role. One of the biggest non-nuclear blasts on record, the disaster piled hardship on Lebanese already sinking into poverty. As dollar inflows dried up, the central bank has drawn on foreign reserves to subsidize three key commodities - wheat, fuel and medicine - and some basic goods. Diab, who cited dangerously low reserves when he declared Lebanon’s default this year, said he hoped for agreement by February on a plan to cut subsidy spending while supporting the poor.
“It’s not you,” it’s Hezbollah.
He said the cabinet sent parliament a week ago a report laying out four scenarios to replace subsidies with ration cards for 600,000 Lebanese families, or more than 2.5 million people. The import-dependent country has an estimated population of six million, including at least a million Syrian refugees. One of the options in the report included scrapping subsidies on fuel and wheat, but not flour, to give families $165 a month instead. It also cited “a need to ask for aid from donor states ... because 2021 will be a tough year”. Politicians, bickering for months over seats in the new government, have met rebuke, including from the World Bank, for failing to chart a way forward. The central bank and the state have traded blame for the economic collapse. In response to criticism that nearly a year had gone by without a plan, Diab said his government had since faced multiple crises. Foreign donors have made clear they will not bail out the state unless it launches reforms to tackle decades of graft, a root cause of the crisis. Gulf monarchies that once came to Lebanon’s rescue have also grown alarmed by Hezbollah’s expanding influence. “They said it to me, the Americans and the Europeans: ‘it’s not you’ ... but there’s an international decision to stop helping Lebanon,” Diab said. “Because they have a problem with Hezbollah.” Along with three ex-ministers, Diab has faced charges of negligence over August’s explosion but has since declined to be questioned, accusing the investigating judge of overstepping his powers. The US FBI said in October it had reached no firm conclusion about what caused the blast. Earlier on Tuesday, Diab’s office quoted him as saying the FBI probe had revealed that only 500 tons of ammonium nitrate had detonated out of the 2,750 tons stored unsafely at the port. “Where did the (rest) go?” he said without answering his question.

Hassan Says Airport, Country Won't be Shut Down after Holidays
Naharnet/December 29/2020 
Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan announced Tuesday that authorities will not shut down Beirut’s airport or lock down the country after the holidays despite an expected spike in coronavirus cases.
“As for the debate over the issue of shutting down the country and the airport after the holidays, we say that as a result of the previous experiences, we have reached a conclusion that it is necessary to rein in pandemic outbreaks in areas where there exist specific numbers of infections,” Hassan said after talks with caretaker PM Hassan Diab.“We would then track, address or lock down those areas, in addition to enforcing mask-wearing and the implementation of strict measures by security forces,” he added. As for the issue of the new coronavirus mutations that have been discovered in several countries, the minister said new virus variations “have spread in more than 12 nations across the world and the measures that are being implemented are the same with Covid-19.”“What is being said about the shutdown of the airport is out of the question. What should be endorsed is the implementation of the Health Ministry’s measures regarding arriving travelers and residents,” he added, while admitting that “Lebanon will clearly record a surge in infections after January 10.”

Diab Says ‘Was the First to Open Doors for Judge Sawwan’
Naharnet/December 29/2020
Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Tuesday said he was the first to open doors for investigation into the Beirut port blast, noting his “constant” calls during his time in office to fight corruption. Diab said he was the “first to open the door for (the lead investigator into the port blast) Judge (Fadi) Sawwan in the port explosion investigation,” asking “was it because I did not go down to the port that I became corrupt?” he asked. Diab stressed that his “conscience is clear, I abide by the Constitution. Let Judge Sawwan send any indictment against me to the Parliament,” he said, adding that he has “no interference in the judiciary,” and knows no alternative for Sawwan nor does he give any name to substitute him. He spoke about the reasons that made him change his mind and not go down to the port when he was told about the presence of ammonium nitrate. “I did not go down to the port because I received three different pieces of information in a matter of two hours,” he said, meanwhile “the Higher Defense Council held 20 meetings and not a single person raised his hand to report the presence of ammonium nitrate while they knew,” emphasized Diab.
The PM wondered: “Do you see common sense that the indictments made by Sawwan did not mention a single name of a judge or security (figure), but did indict a PM? Earlier in December, Diab declined to be interrogated by the prosecutor in charge of the Beirut port blast investigation. Diab and three former Cabinet ministers were charged by Sawwan with negligence in the massive Aug. 4 blast that killed over 200 people, injured thousands and caused widespread destruction in the capital. The explosion was caused by the ignition of a large stockpile of explosive material that had been stored at the port for six years with the knowledge of top security officials and politicians who did nothing about it. Diab has rejected the charges as “politically targeting” the position of prime minister and accused Sawwan of violating the constitution and bypassing parliament. He also said he had already given the prosecutor all the information he has during an initial questioning session as a witness in September. After that, Sawwan has paused the probe for 10 days, following legal challenges to his authority by the same senior officials he accused of negligence that led to the blast.

FBI Found Port Blast Caused by 500 Tons of Fertilizer, Says Diab
Agence France Presse/December 29/2020
Lebanon's outgoing premier Hassan Diab said Tuesday that an FBI investigation into the August 4 explosion at the Beirut port found it was caused by 500 tons of ammonium nitrate. The caretaker prime minister, who resigned in the wake of the blast that killed more than 200 people, had previously said that more than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer had been stored haphazardly at a port warehouse for years. But a report by the U.S. domestic intelligence agency, which aided Lebanon in the probe, said that less than a quarter of that amount had exploded, Diab told reporters during a briefing. "The FBI report revealed that the amount that exploded is only 500 tons," he said. "Where did the (other) 2,200 tons go?" he asked. Nearly five months after the blast, little light has been shed on the circumstances that led to Lebanon's worst peacetime disaster, which is widely blamed on decades of negligence and corruption by the country's ruling elite. The slow pace of the investigation has sparked outrage at home and fueled distrust among international donors, whose support is much needed if Lebanon is to stand a chance of surviving its deepest economic crisis in decades. Lead investigative judge Fadi Sawwan this month charged Diab and three former ministers over the explosion in the first set of indictments against politicians. He charged them with "negligence and causing death to hundreds and injuries to thousands more" in the first such official indictment against a prime minister in office in Lebanese history. The blast probe has since been suspended after two of the charged ministers called on Sawwan to be replaced. Lebanon's top Court of Cassation must rule on their request before investigations proceed. The investigation had led to the arrest of at least 25 suspects, including the chief of the port and its customs director, but not a single politician.

Fuel Distributors Say Gasoline Crisis Resolved
Naharnet/December 29/2020
Lebanon’s gasoline crisis has ended and the problem of bank credits is being resolved, a representative of the country’s fuel distributors said on Tuesday. “Ships have started unloading their cargo,” Fadi Abu Shaqra said in a phone interview with the National News Agency. “Gasoline was distributed today to fuel stations and distribution will continue tomorrow in a wider manner,” he added, hoping that all gas stations will have sufficient gasoline stocks by New Year’s Eve. Media reports had said that some fuel distributors had halted gasoline deliveries to stations due to insufficient stocks as the government prepares to lift subsidies on basic materials, including fuel. Four oil ships moored off the Lebanese coast had refrained from unloading their cargo due to the failure of the Banque du Liban to open credits for them, Abu Shaqra had told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Tuesday. On Tuesday, Lebanese rushed to petrol stations to fill their vehicle tanks. But some stations were not meeting customers’ needs as others limited the purchases to 20 liters.

Scuffles after Student Protesters Try to 'Storm' AUB
Naharnet/December 29/2020
Scuffles erupted Tuesday between student protesters and security forces outside the American University of Beirut on Bliss Street. The National News Agency said security forces “pushed the protesters away from the university’s buildings after they tried to storm it.” The protesters later moved to the university’s seaside entrances. Earlier this month, riot police also scuffled with students protesting a decision by top universities to adopt a new dollar exchange rate to price tuition -- equivalent to a major fee hike. Security forces fired tear gas near AUB during that protest to disperse protesters who were trying to approach the main gate. Students responded by throwing water bottles and other objects at riot police blocking their path. The protest came in response to a decision by AUB and the Lebanese American University (LAU), another top private institution, to price tuition based on an exchange rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds to the dollar. The nosediving currency is still officially pegged at around 1,500 pounds to the greenback. The move has prompted fears that other universities could follow suit, potentially leading to an exodus of students from private institutions while public universities remain underfunded and overstretched. Over the past year, the Lebanese pound has lost up to 80 percent of its value on the black market. Universities have struggled to adapt to the de facto devaluation as prices nationwide have soared. Commercial banks have halted dollar transactions and restricted withdrawals of Lebanese pounds, in moves that have starved many of their savings. According to the United Nations, more than half of Lebanon's population is now living in poverty.

Geagea Meets Shea: Solution for Crisis Begins with Early Elections
Naharnet/December 29/2020
Head of the Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea on Tuesday met with U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea at his residence in Maarab and discussed the political developments in Lebanon and the region. Geagea stressed during the meeting that staging early parliamentary elections would help solve the crisis in Lebanon.“There is no hope in the current ruling authority, the only solution for Lebanon’s crisis begins with staging early parliamentary elections,” said Geagea. The LF chief-Shea meeting took place in the presence of head of the economic and political department at the embassy, ​​Janet Cole, and Geagea’s advisor for foreign relations, Elie Khoury. On the ongoing investigations into Beirut’s port blast, Geagea said “as a result of political interference, the local probe is facing a lot of difficulties,” urging for an international probe.

Abiad Warns of Sharp Increase in Virus after Holidays
Naharnet/December 29/2020 
Head of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital Firass Abiad on Tuesday warned of rising virus rates after the holidays after the first case of new COVID-19 strain was detected. “What is most annoying about the current increase in Covid patients in our Emergency department is the fact that a large part of it is a result of a deliberate decision by some to prioritize either short term economic benefits, or short-lived pleasures, over public safety,” said Abiad in a tweet. “How can we then ask owners of private hospitals to expand their bed capacity and risk financial ruin if they are not compensated on time? Why would they answer to calls of duty and responsibility to a society where many are knowingly behaving recklessly? Why should they care?” he asked. Abiad emphasized: “But remember, two wrongs don’t make a right. Hospitals, facing a sharp rise in Covid cases after the festivities, should do the right thing. Expanding bed capacity and accommodating the critically ill will be much needed in January and February as we wait for the vaccine.”He said the RHUH (the main public hospital treating COVID-19 patients in Lebanon) “is currently finishing its fifth expansion. Eight additional Covid ICU beds will bring our total to 50. A Covid dialysis unit was opened this week. Additional staff have been recruited for support. Hopefully, our staff and patients can safely pull through this month. “February will bring the much awaited vaccines. Healthcare workers, elderly patients, and those with comorbidities will have an opportunity to receive much needed protection. Some have warned against the vaccine. I wish they had warned against the reckless behavior instead,” he concluded.

US dollar exchange rate: Buying price at LBP 3850, selling price at LBP 3900
NNA/December 29, 2020
The Money Changers Syndicate announced in a statement addressed to money changing companies and institutions Tuesday’s USD exchange rate against the Lebanese pound as follows:
Buying price at a minimum of LBP 3850
Selling price at a maximum of LBP 3900

Rahi receives Aridi
NNA/December 29, 2020

Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi received Tuesday in Bkerki former minister Ghazi Aridi, who conveyed to his host holiday greetings of Progressive Socialist Party leader, Walid Jumblatt. Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Aridi hoped the prelate would succeed in convincing the concerned sides of prioritizing Lebanon's best interest, as well as of reaching a government lineup that would satisfy the Lebanese.

Minister of Health, World Bank representative tackle participations to secure vaccine, equip hospitals
NNA/December 29, 2020
Caretaker Minister of Public Health, Hamad Hassan, met this Tuesday with the Regional Director of the Mashreq Department at the World Bank Group, Saruj Kumar, whereby it was agreed on the World Bank's contribution in securing the Pfizer vaccine, and the possibility of securing a donation that covers the vaccine more comprehensively for residents on Lebanese soil. The Minister of Health referred to "the importance of the existing cooperation with the World Bank to serve Lebanese citizens and the communities hosted by Lebanon," underlining "the technical and logistical support that the World Bank can provide to the national committee charged with overseeing the distribution of the vaccine, so as to ensure transparency." Discussions also featured high on the steps taken to equip government hospitals with additional beds. Minister Hassan indicated in this context that "the increase in the number of coronavirus infection cases requires speed in planning, decision-making and vigorous support to ensure transparency and effectiveness in the implementation of measures." In turn, Kumar described the meeting as "very good", praising "the strong partnership that exists with the Ministry of Public Health," noting that "the ministry's support in responding to the coronavirus pandemic is one of the areas of cooperation." "The World Bank, which provides support to bring in personal protection gears, is also working to equip hospitals with intensive care rooms to provide care for critically ill people," he added. "The meeting dealt with the World Bank’s support for Lebanon to purchase the Pfizer vaccine and secure it primarily for medical workers who are on the front lines," Kumar went on to say. "The country is passing through a very difficult phase and I have assured the Minister of Public Health of the World Bank's full cooperation in facing the pandemic. We are here to offer support and help, and that will continue through the new year."

Akar tours Army brigades: Trust in military institution guarantor of Lebanon
NNA/December 29, 2020
Deputy Prime Minister and caretaker Minister of Defense, Zeina Akar, made an inspection tour of a number of Lebanese Army units and brigades, visited the Naval Forces base, and made a stop at the port of Beirut where she placed a wreath of flowers at the memorial of the martyrs who fell in the port explosion.The Minister of Defense delivered statements during her tour, confirming that "the Lebanese Army has proven - five months after the painful explosion - that it is up to the responsibility entrusted to it, and that it has carried out all the tasks assigned to it to the fullest." "The Army has answered to the call of duty to protect and assist the citizens. It has preserved security and stability in the country, in light of the demonstrations and the difficult economic and living conditions, exacerbated by the repercussions of the port explosion," she went on, stressing that "confidence in the military institution is the guarantee for the establishment of Lebanon."
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 29-30/2020

US will not be held hostage to ‘nuclear blackmail’: Pompeo
Arab News/December 29, 2020
LONDON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington would not be held hostage to “nuclear blackmail” by the Iranian regime in a tweet on Tuesday. Pompeo tweeted a video titled “US Policy on Iran Sanctions, Explained” with which he also said Iran had “sown instability and terror” since coming to power in 1979 and continuted to threaten the US and its allies. “The Trump administration didn’t accept the status quo and reimposed sanctions, initiating a campaign of maximum pressure. America will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail,” he added. In the video, State Department spokeswoman Geraldine Gassam Griffith said Tehran had, for decades, been the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism and continued to funnel money and weapons to proxies around the Middle East, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. Griffith also said that Iran had carried out assissnations on five continents and attacks on vital installations such as Saudi oil facilities and Iraqi bases. Referencing the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, which President Trump pulled the US out of in 2018, Griffith also said the deal had given Iran access to $150 billion to fund its proxies. With Tehran continuing its malign behavior, the spokeswoman said Washington had no choice but to restore strict sanctions and maximum pressure on the Iranian regime.

Gulf countries are projecting optimism about next summit despite Doha’s lukewarm attitude
The Arab Weekly/December 29/2020
KUWAIT--The optimistic statements issued by more than one Gulf official are spreading a positive atmosphere regarding the forty-first Gulf summit, which Saudi Arabia is scheduled to host in early January. Much of the talk about this summit was dominated by the topic of ending Qatar’s crisis with the Arab quartet. The row started in June 2017 after accusations were levelled at Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt for maintaining ties to extremist groups and pursuing policies on Turkey and Iran that run counter to the security of the region and threaten the stability of its states and peoples. On Monday, Nayef al-Hajraf, Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, expressed his optimism that the upcoming Gulf summit would contribute to further “supporting and strengthening the system of the Gulf Cooperation Council and moving forward with it,” stressing the keenness of the Gulf leaders on holding the summit despite the exceptional circumstances. Commenting on the online summit preparatory meeting held by the GCC foreign affairs ministers and coordinated by Bahrain, Bahraini Foreign Affairs Minister Abdul Latif al-Zayani made an indirect reference to the efforts led by Saudi Arabia to reconcile Qatar with the boycotting countries, saying that Manama has “full confidence in the role of Saudi Arabia in preserving the cohesion of the Cooperation Council and healing the Gulf rift.” The optimistic tone about a Gulf summit that would end the crisis of Qatar with its Gulf neighbours seems to have overlooked the difficulties that began to loom in the path of the desired reconciliation. Qatar was less enthusiastic, if not totally cold, towards the reconciliation issue. Its lack of enthusiasm was evident in the absence of the Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani from the virtual meeting of the GCC foreign ministers in Manama. Qatar was instead represented by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan al-Muraikhi. Observers of Gulf affairs saw this move as prelude to lowering the level of representation in the Gulf summit, while others considered it an expression of a Qatari position on Bahrain, which hosted the meeting. The latter, and during the recent period of persistent talk about progress towards achieving Qatari-Gulf reconciliation, was the target of hostile campaigns by Qatari media, along with the United Arab Emirates. Doha had also accused some Bahraini fishermen of trespassing in Qatari territorial waters. At another time it accused Bahraini jets of penetrating Qatari airspace. Doha went as far as lodging a complaint in this regard against Manama with the UN Security Council.
Gulf political sources went on to explain Qatar’s inappropriate response to the Gulf initiative aimed at clearing the atmosphere and paving the way for reconciliation, which is in itself of vital interest for Qatar, by the fact that Doha is trying to exploit Saudi flexibility and work out a reconciliation made to its measure and that of its ally Turkey. Ankara is said not to favour Qatar’s full return to the Gulf fold. Doha is also seen as trying to transform the path of reconciliation from a collective path that includes all boycotting countries to a separate Saudi-Qatari bilateral path, and thus split, to the delight of Ankara, the Arab Gulf front, which is standing up to religious extremism and terrorism. The four countries boycotting Qatar recently showed flexibility in resolving the dispute after mediations made by Kuwait, which was later joined by the administration of US President Donald Trump and the Sultanate of Oman, while Saudi Arabia seemed to be particularly keen in its efforts to reconcile Qatar with its neighbours. Analysts say this may have encouraged Doha to try to win it over, without including the rest of the boycotting countries. Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are slated to meet January 5 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The attendance by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of the summit would constitute a tangible sign of rapprochement. In light of recent developments, the most important of which is the Qatari media stance towards its Gulf neighbours, as well as Qatar’s intended lowering of its representation at the Manama meeting of the GCC countries’ foreign affairs ministers, it appears that the chances of achieving a comprehensive Gulf-Qatari reconciliation are rather slim. Doha could be merely seeking for now to calm things down while waiting to see what regional and international changes bring.
The coming GCC summit is of particular importance this time. Gulf attention seems focused on making the meeting a success, especially as it takes place in exceptional circumstances characterised by economic difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the oil prices crisis. There are also changing international conditions, including the inauguration of a new US administration and what it implies in terms of American policies towards the region, especially regarding Iran, whose behaviour constitutes a source of concern for the Gulf countries. On Monday, Nayef al-Hajraf conveyed in person King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s invitation to attend the 41st edition of the GCC summit to the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. He was quoted by the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) as saying that this summit comes in exceptional circumstances, during which the world is witnessing the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic on various aspects of life. The GCC Secretary General added that the preparations for the summit, despite the circumstances and precautionary measures, reflect a full belief in the importance of the event. Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs Zayani expressed his country’s hope for a “successful Gulf summit, in the presence of the leaders of the GCC countries.”In an implicit reference to the Qatari crisis issue, the minister stressed “the necessity to end regional conflicts and disputes by peaceful means and in accordance with international conventions and the principles of good neighbourliness.”In light of the negative signals emanating from Qatar recently, the Gulf, Arab and international political circles began lowering the ceiling of their expectations about the Gulf crisis with Qatar, expecting the coming Gulf summit in Saudi Arabia to witness, at best, the signing of an initial draft outlining the principles for new foundations for the reconciliation of Qatar with the boycotting countries as a whole or with just Saudi Arabia as a first step.

Morocco lays groundwork for liaison office in Israel
The Arab Weekly/December 29/2020
JERUSALEM--Moroccan officials are in Israel laying the groundwork for the opening of a liaison office in the Jewish state, a source familiar with the matter told AFP on Monday. The Moroccan “technical” team landed on Sunday, days after the North African kingdom and Israel signed a US-sponsored normalisation agreement in Rabat, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The team was expected to remain in the country for a few days and would be followed at a later date by a larger delegation, the source added, without providing further details. Morocco is the third Arab nation this year to establish or resume ties with the Jewish state under US-brokered deals, while Sudan has pledged to follow suit. Morocco had closed its liaison office in Tel Aviv in 2000, at the start of the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Four bilateral deals were signed last week between Israel and Morocco, centring on direct air links, water management, connecting financial systems and a visa waiver arrangement for diplomats. Morocco and Israel on Monday also discussed prospects for industrial cooperation and partnership in five sectors. “This morning, I conducted remote discussions with my Israeli counterpart, Amir Peretz, on the prospects for bilateral industrial cooperation,” Moroccan Industry Minister Moulay Hafid Elalamy tweeted. The sectors identified include textiles, food industries, applied research in industry, green technologies and renewable energy, he added. Last Friday, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he had invited Moroccan King Mohammed VI for a visit during a phone call. While welcoming the resumption of relations with Israel, the King said Morocco’s position regarding Palestine remains unchanged. The kingdom has North Africa’s largest Jewish community of about 3,000 people, and Israel is home to 700,000 Jews of Moroccan origin.

Western pressure invigorates Turkey-Russia rapprochement
The Arab Weekly/December 29/2020
MOSCOW --The visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to the Russian capital Moscow showed that ties between Turkey and Russia have become more potent despite divergent interests on various Middle East files, including the conflicts in Syria and Libya. The two countries’ strong ties and tendency towards rapprochement come amid increasing Western pressure on Turkey to reduce its regional and international expansion and curb its involvement in more than one country in the Middle East and Africa. In a sign of Moscow’s defiance of the West, particularly the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Moscow and Ankara’s military cooperation would not be deterred by US sanctions on Turkey for acquiring a Russian missile defence system.
US sanctions
Washington this month punished Turkey for buying Russia’s S-400 air defence system, imposing rare sanctions against a NATO ally. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the time told Cavusoglu that the American sanctions were intended to prevent Russia from receiving substantial revenues from the sale. On Tuesday, Cavusoglu visited Moscow for talks with Lavrov, who told reporters, “we have confirmed our mutual intention to develop military ties with Turkey.” He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin appreciated Turkey’s determination to “continue cooperation in this area despite continuing illegitimate pressure from Washington.”Cavusoglu said the US sanctions against Turkey were “an act of aggression against our country’s sovereign rights,” adding that Ankara would not give in to pressure. “We prefer to solve all issues including that of the S-400 through negotiations,” Cavusoglu said in comments translated into Russian. “After introducing the sanctions the US announced it favours dialogue. We’ve never been against dialogue,” the Turkish foreign minister added. Cavusoglu, however, stressed that Turkey’s relations with Russia are not an alternative to its ties with NATO and the European Union. Turkey last year took delivery of the $2.5 billion system, defying warnings that such military cooperation was incompatible with NATO and would let Russia improve its targeting of US stealth planes.
On different sides
Although Russia and Turkey are rivals in several conflicts, including Libya and Syria, Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan seek to maintain good relations. The two countries are jointly monitoring a Russian-mediated truce over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region after a six-week war between Armenia and Azerbaijan that claimed more than 6,000 lives. Tensions between the two nations had risen over Nagorno-Karabakh while the fighting was ongoing, with Russia accusing Turkey of deploying Syrian fighters to combat Armenian forces in the contested region. Earlier this month, Turkish police briefly arrested two Russian journalists in Istanbul for allegedly filming a drone production unit without permission. In Syria, Moscow and Ankara have backed different sides. Late on Sunday, Russia said it had sent more military police to an area in northern Syria where Turkey-backed fighters have clashed with Kurdish forces near a strategic highway patrolled by Russian and Turkish troops. Battles between Turkey-backed fighters and Kurdish forces broke out near the town of Ain Issa in northern Syria earlier this month. The town Ain Issa sits along the M4 highway that links major Syrian cities and where Russian-Turkish patrols usually take place. Turkish forces and their Syrian insurgent allies seized territory in the region in an offensive last year against the Kurdish YPG militia which holds swathes of north and east Syria. The Russian defence ministry said in a statement it had sent more military police to the area on Sunday. Moscow, whose warplanes also patrol the area, also called on both sides to stop shelling each other and to de-escalate. It said it had not detected shelling from Turkish-backed fighters in the last 24 hours.

Russia, Turkey to Develop Military Ties despite U.S. Sanctions
Agence France Presse/December 29/2020
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Moscow and Ankara's military cooperation would not be deterred by US sanctions on Turkey for acquiring a Russian missile defence system. Washington earlier this month punished Turkey for buying Russia's S-400 air defence system, imposing rare sanctions against a NATO ally. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the time assured Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that the American sanctions were intended to prevent Russia from receiving substantial revenues from the sale. On Tuesday Cavusoglu visited Moscow for talks with his counterpart Lavrov, who told reporters that, "we have confirmed our mutual intention to develop military ties with Turkey". He added that President Vladimir Putin appreciated Turkey's determination to "continue cooperation in this area despite continuing illegitimate pressure from Washington." Russia last year delivered the S-400 system to Ankara ignoring warnings that it is not compatible with Turkey's membership in the NATO alliance. Although Russia and Turkey are rivals in several conflicts including Libya and Syria, Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintain good relations. The two countries are jointly monitoring a Russian-mediated truce over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region after a six-week war between Armenia and Azerbaijan that claimed more than 6,000 lives. But tensions between the two had risen over Nagorno-Karabakh while the fighting was ongoing, with Russia accusing Turkey of deploying Syrian fighters to combat Armenian forces in the contested region. Earlier this month Turkish police briefly arrested two Russian journalists in Istanbul for allegedly filming a drone production unit without permission.
 

Britain, Turkey sign free-trade deal
The Arab Weekly/December 29/2020
LONDON--Britain on Tuesday announced it had signed an £18.6 billion ($25 billion, 20.5 billion euro) trade deal with Turkey that “lays the groundwork” for a more comprehensive post-Brexit agreement in the future. Ahead of the signing, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it would be “our most important agreement since the customs union deal” which Turkey struck with the European Union in 1995. Given Turkey’s status in the EU customs union, Britain had to wait until it finally agreed to a trade deal with Brussels last week before it could finalise the terms of the agreement with Ankara. Major win for automotive manufacturers
The British government called the deal with Turkey, which largely replicates the current trading relationship, a “major win for UK automotive, manufacturing and steel industries.”The agreement “paves the way for a new, more ambitious deal with Turkey in the near future, and is part of our plan to put the UK at the centre of a network of modern agreements with dynamic economies,” said Trade Minister Liz Truss. Preferential tariffs will be maintained for the 7,600 UK businesses that export goods to Turkey, protecting supply chains for automotive manufacturers based in Britain. US auto giant Ford welcomed the announcement, with its European president Stuart Rowley calling it “extremely significant.”Ford’s Dagenham factory in London exports much of its diesel engine production to the Ford Otosan joint venture in Turkey, where the engines are fitted into Ford Transit vehicles. “Given that Ford and Ford Otosan business constitutes more than 10 percent of the total trade volume between the UK and Turkey, this trade agreement is extremely significant for us and will help to secure jobs in both countries,” Rowley said.
Important trade relationship
Tuesday’s deal is the first to be announced since British Prime Minister Boris Johnson secured a new trade agreement with the European Union last week. The trade relationship between London and Ankara was worth $25.25 billion in 2019 and the UK is Turkey’s second-largest trading partner after Germany. Britain has now signed trade agreements with 62 nations following its 2016 decision to leave the EU. Andy Burwell, director at business lobby group CBI, said Turkey’s deep trading relationship with the EU meant an agreement was “complicated.” But the “pace at which the deal has been finalised… shows the strength and depth of the relationship,” he said.

Turkish Court Rules Jailing of Top Rights Defender Lawful
Agence France Presse/December 29/2020
Turkey's Constitutional Court on Tuesday rejected leading rights defender Osman Kavala's appeal for an immediate release, ruling that his detention for over three years without a conviction was lawful. A respected figure in international circles, the 63-year-old's case is seen as a bellwether on the state of political freedoms under Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's rule, which has seen many of his opponents jailed on terror-related and other charges. Kavala has remained in prison despite being acquitted in February in connection with 2013 anti-government protests. He was immediately re-arrested and jailed in February on fresh charges of espionage and involvement in a failed 2016 coup against Erdogan. The next hearing is scheduled for February 5 of next year. The Constitutional Court's general assembly ruled by an 8-7 margin that Kavala's detention did not violate his rights to liberty and security, a court spokesman told AFP. The formal reasoning for the ruling is expected to be published in one to two months. The Parisian-born businessman was a founding member of philanthropist George Soros' Open Society Foundation in Turkey and headed Anadolu Kultur -- a group that promoted cross-cultural ties through the arts at the time of his arrest. In a court appearance this month, Kavala rejected the charges, telling the presiding judge: "I have opposed military coups my entire life and have criticised the army's interference in politics."
Erdogan anger
Kavala would be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of trying to overthrow the constitutional order. The espionage charge carries an additional 20 years in jail.
The European Court of Human Rights first called for Kavala's "immediate release" in December 2019. Erdogan branded Kavala the "red Soros of Turkey" a few days after he was first detained upon landing in an Istanbul airport from Gaziantep in the southeast in October 2017. In a bid to repair Turkey's global international image in the middle of a deep economic downturn, Erdogan last month pledged to push through judicial reforms that secured broader independence of the courts. But he also took personal aim at Kavala, saying he was responsible for the 2013 protests -- even after being cleared of involvement in court. "We can never be with financiers of Gezi events," Erdogan said, referring to demonstrations against plans to demolish a park in the heart of Istanbul that snowballed into nationwide protests. "We can never be with Kavalas," Erdogan said. US academic Henri Barkey is being tried in absentia alongside Kavala in the new trial. The accusations against Barkey stem from a conference he organised about Iran on an island off Istanbul at the time of the 2016 coup attempt. The charge sheet alleges Barkey used the event as cover to coordinate the putsch with Kavala. Barkey told AFP this month that the charges against him were "a travesty of the first order".

Gaza militants hold joint exercise under shadow of Soleimani
The Arab Weekly/December 29/2020
GAZA--An array of Palestinian militant groups launched rockets into the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip on Tuesday at the start of what they called their first-ever joint exercise, which Israeli media described as a show of force sponsored by Iran. Gaza is run by Hamas and also home to other militant groups, including Islamic Jihad. The exercise was announced on behalf of a joint command set up by the groups in 2018. Eight rockets streaked through a cloudless sky in Gaza towards the Mediterranean after Abu Hamza, spokesman for Islamic Jihad, delivered a speech launching the drill. It will include land and coastal exercises described by the groups as a test of their preparedness for any future confrontation with Israel. Israeli media said the drill was organised by the militants’ sponsors in Tehran to demonstrate risks Israel could face if Iran comes under US or Israeli attack in the waning days of the Trump administration. On the eve of the exercise, a large portrait of Iranian military commander General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed last January in a US attack in Iraq, was erected along Gaza’s main coastal road. Tensions between Iran and Israel have risen since the November 27 assassination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Iran has blamed Israel for his death; Israel has neither confirmed nor denied a role. Tuesday’s Gaza missile display did not trigger any sirens in Israel, whose drones keep a close eye on Gaza and which employs a sophisticated missile interception system. Due to last 24 hours, the exercise included fighters from Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and smaller armed groups.

EU Chiefs to Sign Brexit Trade Deal Wednesday
Naharnet/December 29/2020 
EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel will sign the post-Brexit trade deal agreed with Britain on Wednesday at 9:30 am (0830 GMT), officials said. After that the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement is expected to be taken to London, where UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will add his signature. European Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant tweeted that the signature would be an "important moment". In a statement, the Commission said the deal would be implemented on only a provisional basis, as there has not been time for the EU parliament to vote on it. But, with the UK parliament due to ratify the text later on Wednesday, this should be enough to head off the threat of a no deal divorce on January 1. If Britain had left the EU single market at the end of the year without a trade deal, renewed tariffs and quotes would have damaged cross-Channel trade.
As it is, there will still be a return to a customs and regulatory border after a half-century of close integration, and some level of disruption. But both sides hope the deal, a hard-fought compromise after ten months of intense negotiations, will form a stable basis to build a new, looser partnership.

Rights Groups Demand Release of Arrested Palestinian DJ
Agence France Presse/December 29/2020
Rights groups on Tuesday demanded that Palestinian authorities free a woman disc jockey arrested after a dance event at a Muslim religious site near the West Bank city of Jericho. Palestinian Authority police arrested Sama Abdulhadi, 30, on Sunday, the day after she performed at Nebi Mussa, the traditional burial place of Moses under Islamic tradition. Ammar Dweik, director of the Independent Palestinian Commission for Human Rights, said that she was remanded in custody on Tuesday for a further 15 days. Her family said in a statement that an application for bail was rejected.
She is considered by many to be the first Palestinian woman to have become a professional disc jockey and Israeli daily Haaretz called her the "Palestinian Techno Queen." Dweik, whose organization was founded by the PA, said that Abdulhadi had official permission for the event at Nebi Mussa. "We asked today for her release because her arrest is not logical," he told AFP. "She had received an authorization from the ministry of tourism." "Nebi Mussa is not only a religious site but also a tourist site," he said. "If electronic music was not appropriate for it, the ministry should not have given its authorization." Video of the event posted on social media showed men and women dancing together at the gathering, sparking public anger and accusations of desecration of the site, where there is a mosque. The event, one comment on Twitter said, "is really disgusting. It is an insult to the three (monotheistic) religions."
"How dare a bunch of liberal Palestinians party at the Nebi Mussa mosque?"At one point, men entered the site and pushed participants out. The event also took place despite coronavirus restrictions in force in the West Bank. At the request of Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, a commission of enquiry was set up "to determine what happened at Nebi Mussa."Shawan Jabarin, general director of Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, slammed the "arbitrary arrest" which he said was aimed at satisfying a section of Palestinian opinion. Asked by AFP for comment, police said the case was in the hands of the government. A government official said that he could not comment as the issue was subject to the ongoing commission of enquiry.

Gaza Forces Fire Rockets to Mark Israel Conflict Anniversary
Agence France Presse/December 29/2020
Palestinian armed groups staged military exercises in Gaza on Tuesday, including firing rockets into the sea, to mark the anniversary of the start of the 2008 conflict with Israel. The demonstrations were scheduled to last several hours and involve about 10 groups in the Israeli-blockaded Palestinian enclave, said a spokesman for the Al-Quds Brigade forces, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad. The goal of the exercise, the first of its kind, is to "strengthen the skills of combatants" and demonstrate the "unity" of armed groups in Gaza, added the spokesman, whose face was almost entirely covered by a traditional headscarf. Hamas, the Islamist group that has controlled Gaza since 2007, was also taking part. Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV showed rockets being fired from the strip on Tuesday into the Mediterranean Sea. Israel's army said a projectile device was launched from Gaza overnight Monday to Tuesday, but that it did not cross into Israeli territory. Israel did not immediatly retaliate to that launch with airstrikes, as it typically does when rockets fired from Gaza enter Israel. The drills also come days after Hamas accused Israel of launching strikes that damaged a children's hospital. Israel, which said it carried out the weekend airstrikes in response to rocket fire from Gaza, denied that its missiles hit the hospital. In December 2008, Israel launched "Operation Cast Lead" to stop Palestinian rocket fire into Israel. It ended with a ceasefire in January 2009, after 1,440 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. Hamas and Israel fought two further conflicts, in 2012 and 2014. A fragile truce has broadly held in recent months, despite rocket fire from Gaza which is generally followed by retaliatory Israeli air strikes. Poverty rates in Gaza, which hovered around 50 percent before the coronavirus pandemic, are thought to have increased since Hamas imposed lockdown measures to limit transmission.

Six Dead as Strong Quake Strikes Central Croatia
Agence France Presse/December 29/2020
Search efforts for survivors stretched into the night Tuesday after a powerful earthquake killed at least six people in central Croatia, tearing down rooftops and piling rubble in the streets. The tremors were felt as far afield as Vienna but the damage was concentrated in and around Petrinja, a town some 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Croatia's capital Zagreb. The "search for the survivors in the ruins continues", the interior ministry said late Tuesday, as the European Union announced that more help was on its way. Among the dead was a young girl in Petrinja and five people in a nearby village, Croatian police said, adding that around 20 people were injured, six of them "seriously".As rescue teams shoveled away bricks and debris, many in Petrinja were afraid to return home in fear of aftershocks. "All the tiles in the bathroom are broken, all the dishes fell out," Marica Pavlovic, a 72-year-old retired meat factory worker, told AFP of the damage to her apartment. "Even if we wanted to, we can't go back in, there is no electricity," she said, huddled with others in a downtown park, wrapped in blankets. Some people opted to spend the night in their cars or stay with relatives in other cities, while others were offered accommodation in a military barracks. The European Union's Crisis management chief, Janez Lenarcic, said the bloc was preparing aid for member state Croatia. "At the moment, mostly winter tents, electric heaters, sleeping beds and sleeping bags are needed as well as housing containers", Lenarcic wrote on Twitter, adding that he would personally visit Petrinja on Wednesday.
Two quakes
Earlier in the day Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said containers would be brought in to house those whose homes were still risky. "It is not safe to be here, that's clear as day now," Plenkovic said as he took stock of the wreckage in Petrinja, which is home to some 20,000 people. While officials were assessing the scale of the destruction, Petrinja's mayor Darinko Dumbovic said a kindergarten was among the buildings that collapsed from the force of the quake. Luckily, it was empty at the time. "The city is actually a huge ruin," Dumbovic told national radio earlier in the day. "We are saving people, we are saving lives. We have dead people, we have missing people, injured people... it is a catastrophe." The earthquake, which hit around 1130 GMT according to the US Geological Survey, rattled Petrinja and the surrounding area just a day after a smaller earthquake struck in the same vicinity, causing some damage to buildings. Josip Horvat, a 44-year-old artist, said he was fixing a friend's chimney that had been damaged the previous day when Tuesday's tremor struck. "I grabbed the gutter and I was just praying to God that it ends as soon as possible," he told AFP. Tuesday's quake also shook the capital Zagreb, where panicked residents gathered in the streets as the shocks tore the tiles off roofs. The tremors reverberated across neighbouring countries, including Serbia and Slovenia, which as a precaution shut down the Krsko nuclear power plant it co-owns with Croatia. Zagreb is still rebuilding the damage from a 5.3-magnitude quake that struck in March, the most powerful to hit the capital in decades. The Balkan region lies on major fault lines and is often hit by earthquakes.

Nashville Bomber Left Hints of Trouble, but Motive Elusive
Associated Press/December 29/2020
In the days before he detonated a bomb in downtown Nashville on Christmas, Anthony Quinn Warner changed his life in ways that suggest he never intended to survive the blast that killed him and wounded three other people.
Warner, 63, gave away his car, telling the recipient that he had cancer. A month before the bombing, he signed a document that transferred his longtime home in a Nashville suburb to a California woman for nothing in return. The computer consultant told an employer that he was retiring.
But he didn't leave behind a clear digital footprint or any other obvious clues to explain why he set off the explosion in his parked recreational vehicle or played a message warning people to flee before it damaged dozens of buildings and knocked out cellphone service in the area. While investigators tried to piece together a possible motive for the attack, a neighbor recalled a recent conversation with Warner that seemed ominous only in hindsight. Rick Laude told The Associated Press on Monday that he saw Warner standing at his mailbox less than a week before Christmas and pulled over in his car to talk. After asking how Warner's elderly mother was doing, Laude said he casually asked him, "Is Santa going to bring you anything good for Christmas?"Warner smiled and said, "Oh, yeah, Nashville and the world is never going to forget me," Laude recalled. Laude said he didn't think much of the remark and thought Warner only meant that "something good" was going to happen for him financially. He was speechless when he learned that authorities had identified Warner as the bomber.
"Nothing about this guy raised any red flags," Laude said.
As investigators continued to search for a motive, body camera video released late Monday by Nashville police offered more insight into the moments leading up to the explosion and its aftermath. The recording from Officer Michael Sipos' camera captures officers walking past the RV parked across the street as the recorded warning blares and then helping people evacuate after the thunderous blast off camera. Car alarms and sirens wail as a police dispatch voice calls for all available personnel and people stumble through downtown streets littered with glass. David Rausch, the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, said authorities hope to establish a motive but sometimes simply cannot. "The best way to find motive is to talk to the individual. We will not be able to do that in this case," Rausch said Monday in an interview on NBC's "Today" show. Investigators are analyzing Warner's belongings collected during the investigation, including a computer and a portable storage drive, and continue to interview witnesses as they try to identify a potential motive, a law enforcement official said. A review of his financial transactions also uncovered purchases of potential bomb-making components, the official said. Warner had recently given away a vehicle and told the person he gave it to that he had been diagnosed with cancer, though it is unclear whether he indeed had cancer, the official said. Investigators used some items collected from the vehicle, including a hat and gloves, to match Warner's DNA, and DNA was taken from one of his family members, the official said.
The official could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Warner also apparently gave away his home in Antioch, Tennessee, to a Los Angeles woman a month before the bombing. A property record dated Nov. 25 indicates Warner transferred the home to the woman in exchange for no money. The woman's signature is not on that document. Warner had worked as a computer consultant for Nashville real estate agent Steve Fridrich, who told the AP in a text message that Warner had said he was retiring earlier this month. Officials said Warner had not been on their radar before Christmas. A law enforcement report released Monday showed that Warner's only arrest was for a 1978 marijuana-related charge. "It does appear that the intent was more destruction than death, but again that's all still speculation at this point as we continue in our investigation with all our partners," Rausch said. Officials have not provided insight into why Warner selected the particular location for the bombing, which damaged an AT&T building and wreaked havoc on cellphone service and police and hospital communications in several Southern states. By Monday, the company said the majority of services had been restored for residents and businesses. Forensic analysts were reviewing evidence from the blast site to try to identify the components of the explosives as well as information from the U.S. Bomb Data Center for intelligence and investigative leads, according to a law enforcement official who said investigators were examining Warner's digital footprint and financial history. The official, who was not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity, said federal agents were examining a number of potential leads and pursuing several theories, including the possibility that the AT&T building was targeted. The bombing took place on a holiday morning well before downtown streets were bustling with activity. Police were responding to a report of shots fired Friday when they encountered the RV blaring a recorded warning that a bomb would detonate in 15 minutes. Then, for reasons that may never be known, the audio switched to a recording of Petula Clark's 1964 hit "Downtown" shortly before the blast.

U.S. 'Concerned' on Saudi Activist Sentence
Agence France Presse/December 29/2020
The United States has voiced concern over Saudi Arabia's imposition of a prison sentence on prominent activist Loujain al-Hathloul, in a low-key response as President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration vowed a firm stance on human rights. Hathloul, 31, a long-time campaigner for women's right to drive in the ultra-conservative kingdom, was sentenced to five years and eight months for terrorism-related crimes -- a partially suspended sentence that will allow her release within months. Senior US leaders did not comment but the State Department's deputy spokesman, Cale Brown, said the United States was "concerned by reports" of her sentence. "We've emphasized the importance of free expression and peaceful activism in Saudi Arabia as it advances women's rights," Brown wrote on Twitter. "We look forward to her anticipated early release in 2021."Jake Sullivan, who will take over as national security advisor when Biden is sworn in on January 20, by contrast called the sentence "unjust and troubling."  "As we have said, the Biden-Harris administration will stand up against human rights violations wherever they occur," he tweeted. President Donald Trump is a close ally of Saudi Arabia who has hailed the oil-rich kingdom's purchases of U.S. weapons, shared hostility to Iran and recent gestures toward Israel. Trump refrained from harsh action even after a US-based writer, Jamal Khashoggi, was killed and dismembered in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate following his critiques of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Amid outrage over Khashoggi's death and Saudi Arabia's devastating military campaign in Yemen, Biden during the campaign vowed a re-evaluation of the relationship with the kingdom. Hathloul was convicted of cooperating with entities criminalized in the kingdom's anti-terrorism law. Her sister, Lina al-Hathloul, said that she would be released in approximately two months as she has already been jailed since May 2018.

Brother Says Saudi Activist's Trial 'Politically Motivated'
Agence France Presse/December 29/2020
The trial of Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul is "politically motivated", her brother told AFP, after the campaigner was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for terrorism-related crimes. "We are completely disappointed with this verdict. It's showing that there is no way we can get justice from a sham trial... The trial from day one has been politically motivated," said Walid al-Hathloul, who is based in Toronto.

Alarm over health of German woman held in Iran since October
AFP/Tuesday 29 December 2020
The daughter of a German-Iranian woman held in Iran since October warned on Tuesday that her mother’s health is deteriorating and called for her immediate release. Nahid Taghavi was arrested at her Tehran apartment on October 16 after years fighting for human rights in Iran, in particular for women’s rights and freedom of expression, according to the human rights group IGFM. According to Taghavi’s daughter Mariam Claren, the 66-year-old architect is being held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison. “I am alarmed for two reasons: her state of health... and the fact that her detention keeps being prolonged,” Claren told AFP. Taghavi’s health is “deteriorating rapidly” according to her brother, who lives in Iran and has been allowed phone calls with his sister, Claren said in a statement on Monday. Taghavi suffers from Type 2 diabetes, Claren said, with her symptoms worsening “after 73 days in solitary confinement in Evin prison and the stress of 73 days of interrogations”.She is now taking the diabetes medication metformin but without further treatment she could suffer “kidney damage, nerve problems, heart attack and stroke,” Claren said. “Enough is enough. She has to be released immediately and unconditionally,” she said. Germany’s foreign ministry said in October that it was aware of the arrest of a German-Iranian woman in Iran, but did not name the detained citizen. “There have been several arrests of German-Iranian dual nationals in the past –including most recently in October 2020, often without comprehensible reasons,” it said in an online update of a travel warning in November. A foreign ministry source told AFP on Tuesday it was continuing to seek consular access to those affected.

Syria: One dead, 3 soldiers injured due to Israeli missiles fired at Damascus
Rawad Taha/Al Arabiya English/Wednesday 30 December 2020
One person was killed and three soldiers were injured as a result of "Israeli aggression" in the Damascus countryside, Syria's state news agency SANA reported on Wednesday, quoting a military source. "Israel carried out a rocket attack from northern Galilee targeting our air defenses in the Nabi Habeel area in the Damascus countryside. Our air defenses intercepted some of the rockets which resulted in the death of one person, injured three soldiers and caused material losses," SANA said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported Israeli strikes targeted Syrian air defense headquarters and sites of Iranian militias in Damascaus' countryside. Syrian State TV, Al-Ikhbariyah, reported that the "Israeli missiles" could be seen in Lebanon's airspace. This comes days after Syria's military reported confronting “Israeli aggression” after midnight on Thursday in the Masyaf area in the Hama countryside, adding that Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles and downed most of them. Masyaf is a significant military area for Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime that includes a military academy and a scientific research center. Israel has struck targets there several times in the past. Israeli jets regularly violate Lebanese airspace and have often struck inside Syria from Lebanese territory. But the Christmas Eve flights were louder than usual, frightening residents of Beirut who have endured multiple crises in the past year, including the catastrophic August 4 explosion at the city's port that killed over 200 people and destroyed parts of the capital. That explosion resulted from the detonation of a stockpile of ammonium nitrates that was improperly stored at the facility. In the past few years, Israel has acknowledged carrying out dozens of airstrikes in Syria, most of them aimed at suspected Iranian weapons shipments believed to be bound for Hezbollah. In recent months, Israeli officials have expressed concern that Hezbollah is trying to establish production facilities to make precision guided missiles.

*With The Associated Press

Iran to resume gas flows to Iraq after agreement reached on unpaid bills
Reuters/Tuesday 29 December 2020
Iran will resume normal gas flows to Iraq from Wednesday after reaching an agreement with Iraq over unpaid bills, a spokesman for Iraq’s electricity ministry said. Iran’s state gas company said on Monday it had slashed supplies to neighboring Iraq over arrears of more than $6 billion. Iraq’s electricity ministry said the cuts placed Baghdad and other cities at risk of serious power shortages. An agreement was reached on Tuesday during a meeting between Iran’s Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian, who is visiting Baghdad, and Iraqi counterpart Majid Mahdi to resume normal gas flow rates as of Wednesday evening, spokesman Ahmed Moussa told Reuters.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 29-30/2020

The Powerful Implications of Israel’s Successful Missile Defense Test
Jacob Nagel and Jonathan Schanzer/Newsweek/December 29/2020
The Israeli Missile Defense Organization and U.S. Missile Defense Agency announced earlier this month the successful completion of a series of tests of a multilayered missile defense system using the David’s Sling, Iron Dome and Arrow systems.
Under the auspices of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the tests simulated a variety of advanced threats, including low-altitude cruise missiles, long-range ballistic missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and more. The tests integrated multiple interception systems, using a single command and control node to build a picture of the threats in real time, while deploying each individual interception system to operate independently. Success was not a foregone conclusion: There are significant technological and operational differences between these systems, such as maneuverability, range and cost. But the tests proved the systems can work simultaneously.
For Israel, this was the first time all three of its missile defense layers worked simultaneously, demonstrating interoperability and enabling Israel to leverage each specific system’s comparative advantages. It was a major milestone in Israel’s capabilities to defend itself against current and future threats.
Missile defense represents an important pillar of Israel’s new national security strategy. Investments in missile defense have enabled the Jewish state to protect itself, by itself. The now-proven success will encourage Jerusalem to continue its missile defense-related research, development and production with an eye toward new capabilities against future threats. These capabilities will also provide an edge at sea. Israel’s navy participated in the missile defense tests. Its Sa’ar 6-class corvettes will soon be equipped with a special naval version of Iron Dome and eventually a version of David’s Sling, along with other air defense systems, to protect natural gas rigs against low-altitude cruise missiles and medium-range threats.
During the recent tests, Israel also tested the ability to integrate its tactical laser system—still in development—as an alternative to Iron Dome interceptors for lower-tier threats. These systems are not yet ready for primetime; still, Israel has made notable progress in the field.
The recent tests were a clear message to Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah. Israel demonstrated for the first time its ability to intercept a salvo of precision-guided munitions (PGMs), which the Iranian proxy has endeavored to stockpile in recent years. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) last year identified PGMs as the most lethal conventional threat facing Israel, second only to Iran’s nuclear program. In recent years, Israel has consistently targeted PGMs that Iran has tried to smuggle through Syria into Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have declared a zero-tolerance policy for attempts to acquire what it calls “game-changing weapons.” Israel’s ability to intercept PGMs adds teeth to this policy.
Moreover, Netanyahu’s new National Security Strategy makes clear that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the state of Lebanon will not be immune from retaliation if PGMs are launched at Israel. Indeed, Israel communicated its willingness to strike terrorist patrons, including critical infrastructure in Lebanon and Tehran. The recent test also sends a message to Israel’s most important ally, the United States. U.S. interests are increasingly vulnerable to Iran’s growing arsenal of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial systems and rockets. Repeatedly, Iran and its regional proxies have used these weapons to attack U.S. personnel and partners in the Persian Gulf, exposing dangerous gaps in American defense. Finding fast and practical solutions to fill those gaps should be an urgent U.S. priority. Proven Israeli technology can help.
The commander of U.S. Central Command, General Frank McKenzie, testified that Iran’s inventory of 2,500 to 3,000 ballistic missiles constitutes the primary threat facing the United States and its allies in the Middle East. Iran has not yet achieved intercontinental ballistic missile capability. Washington should thus focus on Iran’s short- to mid-range threats. This includes Iranian PGMs and new variants of combat drones, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) “Fotros” long-range attack drone. The drone is capable of flying for 30 hours and has a range of 1,250 miles, posing a threat to U.S. forces across the Gulf and parts of Europe.
The threat to the United States from Iran’s short-range weapons is particularly apparent in Iraq. Since May 2019, Iran-backed militias have launched dozens of rocket attacks against U.S. military, diplomatic and commercial targets in Iraq. On January 8, days after a U.S. drone strike killed Iran’s top IRGC general, Qassem Soleimani, Iran launched a direct attack on the U.S. military, launching short-range missiles at two Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops. And the U.S. embassy in Baghdad was again targeted this month.
Unfortunately for Washington, the current American Patriot systems are at best only a partial solution to such threats. Even the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 enhanced missiles are far less capable against PGM rockets, advanced drones and cruise missiles. After Israel’s recent missile defense tests, Washington has little choice but to look closer at Israel’s two proven air defense systems: Iron Dome and Skyceptor interceptors. Though Iron Dome was not developed originally to defeat drones and cruise missiles, the recent tests demonstrate the system’s ability to do just that. In 2018, with congressional urging, the U.S. Army opted to purchase two Iron Dome batteries. Those systems are now being assessed by the Pentagon. Recent upgrades and proven capabilities make it an attractive option for additional investments.
The second U.S.-Israeli technology requiring serious consideration is the Skyceptor interceptor. Based on the Stunner interceptor developed for David’s Sling, and tested successfully during last week’s test, Skyceptor can be fired from Patriot batteries. It was specifically designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles and low-altitude, maneuverable cruise missiles and drones.
In Washington, bipartisan support for Israeli missile defense is strong. Indeed, Washington has already invested billions of dollars in support of Israeli missile defense over the span of decades. These investments have paid off for Israel. It may now be time to see whether they can pay off for forward-deployed U.S. forces in the Middle East and beyond. It may also be time for closer cooperation on research and development for other advanced technologies that can benefit both countries.

*Brigadier General (Res.) Jacob Nagel is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a visiting professor at the Technion Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. He previously served as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s acting national security advisor and head of Israel’s National Security Council. He was also the former deputy director of the Israeli Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development.

*Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is senior vice president for research at FDD. Follow him on Twitter @JSchanzer. FDD is a nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.

International Criminal Court election could facilitate reset with US
Orde Kittrie/FDD/December 29/2020
The ICC was created as a court of last resort for prosecution of the most serious international crimes, in cases where countries were unable or unwilling to investigate themselves. However, the current ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, has chosen to pursue politicized investigations of the US and Israel, two non-members of the ICC, for alleged war crimes which they have both thoroughly examined. The ICC is based in the Hague and funded predominantly by European governments. Many European officials slammed the Trump administration for imposing financial sanctions on Bensouda (and one of her aides) in response to Bensouda’s moves against the U.S. and Israel. The Biden administration will differ from the Trump administration only over how, not whether, the US should oppose the ICC investigations of the U.S. and Israel. These ICC investigations have been rejected as illegitimate by former Obama Administration officials in charge of ICC and detainee issues and by over 330 Members of Congress from both parties, as well as by the Trump Administration. As a result, any fundamental reset of U.S. relations with the ICC will depend on how the next ICC prosecutor chooses to handle the two investigations.
Bensouda is reaching the end of her non-renewable nine-year term. Her replacement was to be elected by the 123 ICC member countries at their meeting this week. The election was, at the last minute, postponed for at least a month, reportedly because the ICC member countries could not reach the hoped-for consensus on a candidate.
As a non-member, the US doesn’t have a vote in the ICC election. However, in recent years, European countries – led by Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain – have provided more than half of the ICC’s budget. Many of them have military personnel, stationed abroad, who could be negatively impacted by precedents set during an ICC prosecution of U.S. or Israeli troops. They should use this extra month to build support for a candidate who will clean up the ICC and restore it to its core mission.
Bensouda’s politicized investigations of the US and Israel have not been the only problematic aspects of her tenure as the ICC prosecutor since 2012 and as its deputy prosecutor from 2004 to 2012. Since the ICC began in 2002, it has spent some $2 billion to achieve a paltry eight convictions (just four of them for major crimes).
The recently-published final report of an Independent Expert Review of the ICC, commissioned by the ICC member states, criticized the ICC’s current pursuit of too many cases, including some with “limited feasibility” and insufficient “gravity” (apparent references to the investigations of the US and Israel). The Review concluded that “the current situation is unsustainable having regard to the limited resources available.”The Independent Expert Review also notes that the ICC is plagued by bullying and sexual harassment. In a 2018 survey, half of ICC staff said they had been victims of discrimination, sexual harassment, or other abuse. “In the experts’ assessment,” said the Review, “there is a general reluctance, if not extreme fear, among many staff to report any alleged of misconduct or misbehaviour by . . . a senior official. The perception is that they are all immune.”
Bensouda’s replacement should refocus the ICC on its core judicial mission, reset its relations with the U.S., and remedy the ICC’s own serious management problems. In contrast, the election of at least one of the leading candidates would make a US-ICC reset impossible, boxing Biden in even before he takes office. The worrisome top candidate is Fergal Gaynor, currently a leading external advocate of the ICC cases against the US and Israel. A Gaynor victory would inevitably accelerate the cases.
The stakes in this little-noticed ICC election are high for both US and Israeli security. The Military Coalition, representing more than 5.5 million current and former US service members, has warned that the ICC investigation of alleged U.S. war crimes relating to Afghanistan “could lead to the arrest, prosecution, and detention of American military personnel and veterans in foreign countries.” Meanwhile, the Israeli government has reportedly prepared a list of several hundred current and former Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and alternate prime minister Benny Gantz, who could be subject to arrest abroad if the ICC moves forward against Israel.
Leading American officials and experts have opposed the investigations as illegitimate for several reasons. Bill Lietzau, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Policy under Obama, has described how a dozen different US government investigations thoroughly reviewed the allegations, currently before the ICC, that military or CIA personnel tortured detainees. According to Lietzau, the US investigated “every allegation of abuse for which there is credible information” and “no country has ever self-investigated or self-reported its detention policies and practices more than the United States.”
In addition, former Ambassador Stephen Rapp, who served as Obama’s ICC point person from 2009 to 2015, asserted that the allegations against U.S. personnel in Afghanistan are not legally admissible in the ICC because “the U.S. had undertaken domestic accountability processes” and “the allegations against Americans did not reach the gravity threshold.” The ICC charter specifies that a case is “inadmissible” when “the case is not of sufficient gravity.”
In the separate ICC case involving Israel, Bensouda has claimed ICC jurisdiction over alleged Israeli war crimes because they occurred in the Palestinian Authority, which has purported to join the ICC as a state. However, Rapp and former Ambassador Todd Buchwald, Rapp’s successor as Obama’s ICC point person, made a detailed joint submission to the ICC in March 2020 in which they explained why the Prosecutor’s reasoning that Palestine qualified as a “state” under the treaty was “fundamentally flawed.” Several European and other governments, including Germany’s, made similar submissions asserting that the ICC “does not have jurisdiction” to proceed against Israel in this case.
In May 2020, 262 House members from both parties asserted that the ICC does not have “legitimate jurisdiction” in the two cases and urged that the ICC “cease its politically motivated investigations into the United States and Israel.” That same month, 69 Senators from both parties asserted that the ICC does not have “legitimate jurisdiction” in the Israel case and opposed that case’s “dangerous politicization of the Court. The ICC recently closed its examination of alleged war crimes by UK personnel, on the grounds that the UK carried out its own “genuine” investigations of the allegations. A similar halt to the ICC investigations of the U.S. and Israel is necessitated by their own robust investigations, and consistent with the Independent Expert Review’s assessment that the ICC’s current pursuit of too many cases with “limited feasibility” and insufficient “gravity” is “unsustainable”.
Such a halt is essential if the ICC is to once again benefit from the invaluable cooperation which it received from the US during the Obama administration. This cooperation, pivotal for several of the ICC’s rare successes, included a US vote at the Security Council to refer the situation in Libya to the ICC, transferring a Congolese ICC indictee from U.S. to ICC custody, and the US offering rewards for information leading to the arrest of other ICC indictees. In light of the bipartisan American view that the ICC investigations of the US and Israel are illegitimate, it is hard to imagine the Biden administration resuming such cooperation so long as the investigations continue.
The ICC has strayed far from its worthy founding objectives. The close US allies who are its leading funders should seize the opportunity, provided by the upcoming ICC election, to clean up the ICC and restore it to its core mission.
**Orde Kittrie is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. He is also a law professor at Arizona State University, and previously served as a US State Department attorney. Follow him on twitter @Ordefk. FDD is a nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.

Qatar’s confused calculations complicate reconciliation task
Omar Ali al-Badawi/The Arab Weekly/December 29/2020
Is it possible to speak of Gulf reconciliation and the end of the Qatar crisis? There have been recent signs that reconciliation is increasingly likely. Statements exchanged between parties to the crisis indicate that reconciliation between Qatar and the Arab boycotting quartet could be comprehensive and not, contrary to some speculation, bilateral, limited or non-final.
Despite the positive atmosphere, Doha continues to play a dangerous game on the path to the success of the mission, and its media machine is showing incongruent and suspicious behaviour that may complicate the envisaged solutions to re-establish relations. Whether this is to show that Qatar is not enthusiastic about reconciliation and that it can do without it, or as a continuation of its policy to split the ranks of the Arab quartet, these tools have lost their influence and effectiveness, especially since they did not stop Qatar from moving behind the scenes to press for an end to the boycott, insisting for allies and friends to mediate on its behalf an exit from the impasse.
Riyadh represented the rest of the Arab quartet in talks with Qatar, despite the latter’s claims that discussions were merely about bilateral reconciliation. Thus, Doha continues in its endeavour to break up the cohesion of the quartet’s collective position in the hope of achieving a split in its ranks, a result it has not been able to achieve over the past three years, but still insists on trying to obtain in the final yards of the race.
The unity of the Gulf and its cohesion in the face of emerging dangers are the keywords in Riyadh’s agreement to proceed on this path. Last week, the Saudi Press Agency released a report that carried signs of an imminent agreement to end the dispute with Qatar. Titled “Historically, the Kingdom is supportive of the unity of the Gulf ranks,” the report renewed Riyadh’s commitment to its duty on the basis of the bond of brotherhood, religion and common destiny during the 41-year lifespan of the Gulf system in place, which has become an essential Arab, Islamic and international strategic dimension.
The Saudi position is supported and encouraged by its Gulf partners. UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash wrote on Twitter: “The administration of this file by the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a source of confidence and optimism, and from Riyadh, the capital of the Gulf decision, we take steps, God willing, to strengthen the Gulf dialogue towards the future.”
Political circles are eagerly awaiting the next Gulf summit scheduled for January 5 in Riyadh, in the presence of GCC state leaders. The summit will be the first stage of a solution to the crisis by opening the doors for frank dialogue and serious disclosure based on the six principles agreed upon at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries in Cairo on July 5, 2017.
The road ahead, however, is still long and perhaps even thorny and full of details that the parties hope to overcome despite all the obstacles that Doha has already begun to put in place to mine the path and impede its progress.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser al-Muhammad al-Sabah previously announced that “negotiations have taken place and resulted in a final agreement, and thus this agreement will be followed by practical steps to embody it on the ground,” stressing that the summit “will bless this agreement and call for continued efforts by the (concerned) states to establish and implement it on the ground.”
The Arab quartet is looking for real commitments on the part of Doha to end its trickery and its persistence to turn around and return matters to square one.
Washington too played a role in completing the mediation step in partnership with Kuwait, perhaps with the aim of raising the level of guarantees to what would be agreed upon and preventing any later turnarounds, like what had happened in 2014.
The extraordinary conditions afflicting the region, the naval fleets on high alert in the region, joint military exercises, missiles roaming the skies of Yemen, Iraq and Syria and the harbingers of a particularly tough confrontation with Iran all seem to be among the keys to the forthcoming reconciliation.
Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah said that the GCC summit would be an opportunity to examine the situation in the region, especially that “we are going through political circumstances whose difficulty and sensitivity everyone understands.”
Since announcing the boycott and confronting Qatar with the truth and the toll caused by its negative behaviour in the region, which went beyond adopting a so-called original policy to embarking on an agenda of tampering with the security of its neighbours and deliberately implicating the region in uncharted territories, the frequency of the negative Qatari role in a number of files decreased. This development might be due to Doha’s increasing preoccupation with dealing with the outcome of its crisis and the conditions for its own cohesion. At one point of the talks in 2019, Qatar offered to completely abandon its support for the Muslim Brotherhood.
Qatar also reduced the frequency of its disingenuous proposals and decreased its efforts to influence local societies of the Gulf states through its ideologically-laden divisive propaganda.
There is no guarantee that we will not witness another setback on the path to end the crisis, in light of the confusion that Doha faces. Turkey, for example, made a poisoned statement about the growing news of a likely Gulf reconciliation. So, in light of Doha’s full association with Ankara, Qatar seems set to adopt an approach that will, in one way or another, provoke the anger of its neighbours. Tehran did the same as its officials encouraged the resolution of the crisis, despite their constant warning to Doha against using its soil as a launch-pad to attack and target Iran. This is just an example of what Qatar has wrought by entangling itself in complicated agendas and losing bets.

As the domestic challenges continue, the Iraqi PM attempts a regional outreach
Talmiz Ahmad/Arab News/December 29, 2020
Just as Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi was trying to grapple with his country’s economic woes by implementing a 23 percent devaluation of the national currency on Dec. 19, the first since 2003, he received a rude reminder that the issues originating from the US assault on his country 17 years ago have not gone away. On Dec. 20, a barrage of rockets was fired near the US embassy compound. The Iraqi government blamed an “outlawed group,” while the US blamed militants affiliated with Iran and held the latter responsible.
Tehran called the strikes “unacceptable,” rejected all allegations of responsibility and called on the US to desist from “dangerous adventurism.” The US promptly sent a submarine armed with guided missiles to the Gulf, along with two cruisers, one of them equipped with 154 land-attack cruise missiles.
As the region remains fearful of a regional conflagration, the Iraqi prime minister faces several problems. There is no likelihood of economic recovery any time soon in his country: the economy is expected to contract by 11 percent this year, while the draft budget is looking at a deficit of $45 billion next year. With oil prices projected to hover around $40 throughout next year, there is no prospect of an economic upturn in the near future.
Domestic resentment about this economic situation has found expression in an unexpected area: Iraq’s Kurdistan region. Civil servants there began publicly protesting on Dec. 2, angered by the non-payment of their salaries for several months. Government buildings and properties belonging to political parties were set on fire, and security forces used live ammunition to control rioting. Nine people were killed during five days of violence and nearly 60 were injured. Iraq’s Kurds have had to endure internecine conflicts as well, including two rounds of fighting this month between regional Kurdish groups. In one incident, on Dec. 13, fighters from the Turkish-origin Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), who have enjoyed sanctuary in Iraq since the early 1990s, exchanged fire with their Iraqi hosts. The latter have come to resent the presence of their brethren from across the border because it has led to regular Turkish military retaliation that has caused heavy casualties. In the other conflict, fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) based in Syria exchanged fire with Iraqi kin attempting to sneak into Iraq and join PKK cadres in the mountains.
Despite these domestic issues, Al-Kadhimi is pushing ahead with plans for elections in June 2021. But his election law, which provides for smaller, one-member constituencies, raises the prospect of a revival of sectarian politics.Iraq’s diverse problems affirm that the physical and political damage caused to the country by the US assault and occupation will take much more time to be repaired. On Nov. 27, maverick politician Muqtada Al-Sadr made it clear that he is a candidate for prime minister by calling on his dedicated supporters to demonstrate in a number of cities against corruption. They clashed in Nasiriya with street protesters who have been demanding sweeping political reforms, leaving seven people dead and dozens injured.
On Dec. 2 Al-Sadr went further, calling for the restoration of what he called the “Shiite Home” through an “honor pact” to handle various aspects of the forthcoming election, including campaigning and opposition challenges. Observers saw this as an attempt to revive the Shiite-Sunni-Kurd political triumvirate that has defined Iraqi politics since 2003.In the face of serious opposition Al-Sadr publicly back-tracked, explaining that his call was an “ideological” and not a “political” appeal. Fears remain, however, that sectarian venom could still be used to poison the country’s politics.
Given the diverse challenges at home, Al-Kadhimi has had little choice but to seek the understanding and support of his neighbors. The Arar border crossing, which opened at the end of November, offers the prospect of substantial trade and investment from Saudi Arabia. Iraqi officials have enthusiastically repaired the road-transport links and worked out the administrative and security arrangements required for the effective use of the crossing and its hinterland.
Egypt has emerged as another partner in Iraq’s economic revival, with Egyptian construction and building-materials companies spotting opportunities to work in the energy, housing, transport and industrial sectors, while the nation enjoys the benefits of buying Iraqi oil at discounted rates. The Iraqi contractors’ union says the country needs more housing, medical, railway, fertilizer and leisure facilities, with the total value of the work estimated at about $100 billion.
On Dec. 17 Al-Kadhimi visited Turkey for his long-awaited meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two leaders identified PKK activities as detrimental to the interests of both countries but, given the inaccessible terrain they occupy and the local support they enjoy, it is not clear whether Iraq has the capacity to expel these militants. Therefore Turkey’s military incursions will continue. Future meetings could result in more progress taking bilateral relations forward, including the opening of a second border crossing, a revival of the oil pipeline from Kirkuk to Ceyhan on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, and expanded road and rail links. Iraq’s diverse problems affirm that the physical and political damage caused to the country by the US assault and occupation will take much more time to be repaired. However Al-Kadhimi’s quiet but systematic approach to domestic issues, and his well-considered regional diplomatic engagements, suggest that the country could already be on the path of recovery.
*Talmiz Ahmad is an author and former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE. He holds the Ram Sathe Chair for International Studies at Symbiosis International University in Pune, India.

Bibi for Prime Minister? No, For President
Daniel Pipes/Newsweek/December 29, 2020
http://www.danielpipes.org/20104/bibi-for-prime-minister-no-for-president
From the moment I met Benjamin Netanyahu, I liked him. On a personal level, we have had sporadic but good relations over nearly forty years. We first met in 1983, when he was deputy chief of mission at the Israeli embassy in Washington and I worked at the State Department. Over the decades since, I came to admire him for his many accomplishments.
But it's time for him to go.
Netanyahu's became Israel's youngest-ever prime minister in 1996. His tenure had its ups and downs. Visiting him a month into his first premiership, I wrote appreciatively that he "glowed and looked to the future." That glow dimmed during his weak and amoral first prime ministry, to the point that in 1999 I wrote an exposé of his failed Golan Heights policy and reluctantly rooted for his opponent to win the election. Things improved in 2003-05, when Netanyahu served as Israel's minister of finance. His economics training gave him the skills and confidence to make unpopular but much-needed changes, which to this day benefit Israel. By his second time as prime minister, happily, Netanyahu had matured. He governed with a moral compass, provided real leadership and impressed the Israelis sufficiently to win reelection a remarkable five times between 2013 and 2020. Will March 2021 make it six?
We stayed in touch over the years. He even took the time to send me a generous condolence note and to call me after my father died in 2018. So, I emphasize, my issue with him is neither political nor personal. Rather, it comes down to two problems: a frantic avoidance of criminal lawsuits and the alienation of allies. Netanyahu's opponents, unable to bring him down electorally, have resorted to multiple lawsuits to end his political career. Granting that Netanyahu skated near the legal limits, Alan Dershowitz convincingly argues that his "fate belongs in the hands of voters, not investigators or the courts." However, even presuming his innocence, Netanyahu's desperate efforts to avoid or at least minimize the impact of the court cases harms the country.
Netanyahu's personal priorities, not the party's nor the country's, now drive Israeli domestic politics, with baleful implications for the economy, public health and civic trust. For example, during frenzied attempts to form a government in June 2019, the prime minister made underhanded offers to members of opposition parties and considered a coalition with the anti-Zionist Joint List. Also, to ensure the loyalty of the Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) parties, he grants them undue influence over Israeli society, at the expenseof the country's cohesion.
If Netanyahu does not deserve his legal woes, the alienation of allies is undoubtedly of his own making. The political class mistrusts him and resents the government being subordinated to his personal interests. The "Anyone But Bibi" slogan represents this sentiment. Former colleagues in the Likud Party—Naftali Bennett, Moshe Kahlon, Avigdor Liberman and Gideon Sa'ar—have become his avowed political enemies and abandoned Likud in anger to found their own rival parties.
Most devastating, however, was Ze'ev Elkin's very recent denunciation of Netanyahu, delivered as Elkin announced he was departing Likud to join Sa'ar's fledgling party. For a decade, Elkin had served as Netanyahu's confidant, filling myriad key roles for him from coalition chairman to Russian translator with Vladimir Putin. In a stunning revelation, Elkin accused Netanyahu of "destroying Likud" by turning it into a "Byzantine court" and a personality cult. He indicted Netanyahu for making false promises to "friends, allies, activists and ordinary citizens."
Ze'ev Elkin announces his resignation from the Likud party and his joining Hope party, Dec, 23, 2020. Reluctantly, this analyst concludes that it's time for Netanyahu to move on. He's already Israel's longest-ever serving prime minister. His optimism and vision serve as his legacy, as do his economic savvy and his resolve versus enemies of the Jewish state. His vote of thanks should be election as the next president of Israel in half a year. As one 71-year-old to another, I note the great talent of Israel's younger generation and urge my friend Bibi to give it the chance it deserves.
*Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East Forum. © 2020 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved.

Palestinians: An International "Peace" Conference to Displace Israel
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/December 29, 2020
While Abbas is talking to the international community about his desire to achieve a peaceful settlement alongside Israel, his Fatah faction is sending messages to the Palestinians that glorify the "armed struggle" against Israel and that promise a "revolution until victory" -- meaning replace Israel.
The poster chosen by Fatah to celebrate the January 1, 1965 anniversary of the first terrorist attack against Israel depicts a map of "Palestine" superimposed over the entire state of Israel.
It is important to note that Fatah is one of the groups forming the Unified Leadership of the Palestinian Resistance. When the Palestinians talk about "resistance," they are referring to actions such as throwing rocks and firebombs at soldiers and settlers, as well as stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks.
Abbas has long been dreaming of a multi-party conference that will impose a solution on Israel. He does not want to hold direct negotiations with Israel.
Abbas claims to the international community that he just wants to establish a Fatah-controlled Palestinian state next to Israel, with the help of the UN, Russia, China, and the European Union.... He does not want Biden and other world leaders to hear the messages of violence that Fatah is spreading (in Arabic), including his pledge to "liberate Palestine."
What Fatah is saying in Arabic is infinitely more important than what Abbas writes in a letter to the UN secretary-general or to any world leader.... Failure to call out the Palestinians for their self-contradictory messages will not advance any cause of peace, but, on the contrary, only further embolden Palestinians to carry out more terrorist attacks and thwart the way to peace.
If Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is sincere about holding a peace conference, he first needs to order his Fatah lieutenants to stop inciting violence against Israel and urging his soldiers and citizens to "liberate Palestine.
The Palestinian ruling Fatah faction has just celebrated the 56th anniversary of the launching of its first terrorist attack on January 1, 1965 by promising, in Arabic, to continue the fight to do away with Israel. On that day, Fatah terrorists attempted to bomb Israel's National Water Carrier.
Meanwhile, Fatah's leader, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, is trying to persuade the Arab countries and the rest of the international community to pressure Israel to return to the negotiating table with the Palestinians. He is arguing that he is just seeking to establish an independent Palestinian state next to Israel.
While Abbas is talking about his desire to achieve a peaceful settlement alongside Israel, his Fatah faction is sending messages to the Palestinians that glorify the "armed struggle" against Israel and that promise a "revolution until victory." The messages, featuring masked gunmen, praise Fatah for launching its first terrorist attack and threaten that the "war [against Israel] will begin from Palestine."
A video published by Fatah on December 21, 2020 features Palestinians in military uniform taking an oath to "remain loyal to Palestine and to work toward its liberation."
Moreover, the poster chosen by Fatah to celebrate the anniversary of the January 1, 1965 terrorist attack against Israel depicts a map of "Palestine" superimposed over the entire state of Israel. Attached to the map is a Russian-made Kalashnikov rifle, the Palestinians' longtime favorite weapon for carrying out attacks against Israel.
The poster makes it abundantly clear that Fatah does not believe Israel has a right to exist. Note, please, that this is the same Israel next to which Abbas claims he wants a Palestinian state. By stating in the recent video that Fatah will continue to work toward the "liberation of Palestine," the organization is actually saying that, like its Islamist rivals in Hamas, it too seeks the elimination of Israel.
While Abbas and the Palestinian leadership are talking about the need to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Fatah is continuing to encourage Palestinians to engage in violent attacks against Israelis as a way of persuading them to leave. Posters featuring masked Palestinians throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers and "settlers" are routinely published on Fatah-controlled media outlets. The blunt message behind these images is that Palestinians should continue their "violent resistance" against Israel by targeting soldiers and settlers.
In addition, Abbas, who says he wants to resume the peace process with Israel, last week mourned the death of Abdel Rahim Malouh, Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and described him as a "big national fighter who spent his life defending the cause of his homeland and people." Malouh, who died of natural causes, was one of the founders of the PFLP, the second-largest terrorist group forming the PLO. (Abbas's Fatah is the largest group.)
The PLO, founded in 1964 with the purpose of the "liberation of Palestine" through armed struggle, consists of several organizations, including Fatah, PFLP, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Palestinian People's Party, Palestinian Liberation Front, Arab Liberation Front, As-Sa'iqa, Palestinian Democratic Union and Palestinian Popular Struggle Front.
Fatah, PFLP and DFLP each has its own armed wing that is responsible for launching terrorist attacks against Israel.
Fatah's armed wing, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US and Israel. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, together with the PFLP's armed wing, Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades, has claimed responsibility for several suicide attacks against Israel since September 2000.
The PFLP, founded in 1967 by terrorist leader George Habash, is strongly opposed to any peace process with Israel. The group, famous for having carried out aircraft-hijackings in the late 1960s and early 1970s, does not believe that Israel has a right to exist.
On its official website, the PFLP identifies itself as "a political, militant party that works to educate, organize and lead the Palestinian masses toward restoring their national rights... on the road to liberating the entire Palestinian land." The PFLP also says it "practices all forms of political, intellectual, peaceful, economic and violent struggle, including the armed struggle."
On December 24, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority held a full military funeral for Malouh, whose group has advocated "armed struggle" against Israel and opposed all peace negotiations with Israel, including the 1993 Oslo Accord.
By honoring and praising this terrorist leader, Malouh, Abbas is sending a direct message to his people that terrorists who kill Israelis are heroes and "martyrs." In this way, Abbas is presenting Malouh as a role model that the Palestinians should admire and in whose footsteps they should follow. Abbas is, additionally, legitimizing the PFLP and making it look as if it is an important player in the Palestinian arena.
On the same day that the PFLP leader was brought to burial, a group called the Unified Leadership of the Palestinian Resistance called on Palestinians to "escalate the popular resistance" against Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank. It is important to note that Fatah is one of the groups forming the Unified Leadership of the Palestinian Resistance. When the Palestinians talk about "resistance," they are referring to actions such as throwing rocks and firebombs at soldiers and settlers, as well as stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks.
By joining the call for launching these violent attacks against Israelis, Fatah is again showing that its actions run counter to Abbas's public statements, especially regarding the need to resume peace negotiations with Israel.
Meanwhile, at the same time as Fatah is promoting violence and urging Palestinians to continue the fight against Israel "until the liberation of Palestine," Abbas and other Palestinian officials are saying that they are looking forward to working with the incoming US administration of presumptive President-Elect Joe Biden to achieve peace on the basis of a two-state solution. The Palestinian leadership is also saying that it hopes a Biden administration will support Abbas's initiative to convene an international conference for peace in the Middle East early next year.
Abbas has long been dreaming of a multi-party conference that will impose a solution on Israel. He does not want to hold direct negotiations with Israel. Instead, he wants a United Nations-sponsored conference, with the participation of Russia, China and the European Union, with the hope of putting pressure on Israel to withdraw to the indefensible pre-1967 armistice lines that include east Jerusalem.
While Abbas is telling the world that, with the help of the UN, Russia, China, and the European Union, he wants to establish a Fatah-controlled Palestinian state next to Israel, he is not telling the world that Fatah is celebrating the anniversary of its first terrorist attack against Israel. He apparently does not want Biden and other world leaders to hear the messages of violence that Fatah is spreading (in Arabic), including the pledge to "liberate Palestine."
The Biden administration needs to pay close attention to the Palestinians' parallel messages. The Biden administration also needs to take note of the ongoing glorification by Abbas and Fatah of terrorists such as the deceased PFLP leader, Malouh. What Fatah is saying in Arabic is infinitely more important than what Abbas writes in a letter to the UN secretary-general or to any world leader.
If Abbas is sincere about holding a peace conference, he first needs to order his Fatah lieutenants to stop inciting violence against Israel and urging his soldiers and citizens to "liberate Palestine."
At the end of the day, young Palestinians listen to what Fatah is saying in Arabic, not to the messages Abbas sends world leaders in English. Failure to call out the Palestinians for their self-contradictory messages will not advance any cause of peace, but, on the contrary, only further embolden Palestinians to carry out more terrorist attacks and thwart the way to peace.
*Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
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