LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 31/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are discerned spiritually
First Letter to the Corinthians 02/11-16:”For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God. And we speak of these things in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual. Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are discerned spiritually. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on July 30-31/2019
Religious Leaders Call for Respecting the Foundations of Coexistence
Hezbollah Denies Using Lebanon's Port for Arms Smuggling
Kataeb Party Warned that Current Crises Are Contrived to Cover-up Failure
Kataeb Official Slams Authority's Irresponsibility
Mashrou' Leila Gig Called Off over 'Bloodshed' Fears
Top Religious Leaders Call for Unity in Christian-Islamic Summit
Jumblat Meets Hariri as Arslan Reportedly Rejects PM's New Initiative
Bassil Slams 'Threats' to Resort to Rule of Sectarian Majority
Allouch: Hariri Doesn’t Plan to Resign, Lebanon in a Political Crisis
Report: Ibrahim ‘Devising’ New Initiative to Resolve Qabrshmoun
Jreissati: Aoun Won’t Appeal Budget
Hariri Praises Role of Female Ministers: To Adopt Women's Rights Laws in Parliament
Mustaqbal Slams Attempt to Impose 'Conditions' on Premiership

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 30-31/2019
Israel Expands its Targets against Iran in Iraq, Syria
Saudi Arms Sales to Proceed as Senate Fails to Override Veto
Iraq says ex-governor embezzled $10 mln in aid for displaced
Macron, Rouhani hold talks over Iran-US tensions
Sudanese rally against deadly crackdown on student protest
Washington denies it plans to quit nuclear test ban treaty
Sanders, Warren take center stage as 2020 Democratic debates enter second round
Dubai Ruler's Wife Seeks UK Forced Marriage Protection Order for
Algeria's Army Chief Rejects Pre-Conditions for Talks
Iraq Says ex-Governor Embezzled $10 Million in Aid for Displaced
Deported from Turkey, Syrians Return to Unfamiliar Country

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 30-31/2019
Israel, U.S. working to upgrade UNIFIL’s mandate to weaken Hezbollah/Jerusalem Post/July 30/2019
Systematic Discrimination: Christians Under Egyptian Rule/Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine
Twenty Years Under King Mohammed VI (Part 1): Domestic Developments/Sarah Feuer and Reda Ayadi/The Washington Institute//July 30/2019
For once, Trump is right — China is well past the development stage/
Frank Kane/Arab News/July 30/2019
Religious education could improve US’ foreign relations/Kerry Boyd Anderson/Arab News/July 30/2019
Palestinian unity crucial in light of Abbas’ gamble/Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/July 30/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on July 30-31/2019
Israel, U.S. working to upgrade UNIFIL’s mandate to weaken Hezbollah
Jerusalem Post/July 30/2019
WASHINGTON – Israel and the United States are jointly working to have the United Nations Security Council to upgrade the mandate of the international peacekeeping force based in southern Lebanon, providing it with greater authority in an effort to weaken Hezbollah.
Israel Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told The Jerusalem Post that Israel is working with the US to upgrade UNIFIL’s mandate, specifically to give it the ability to visit and inspect any area in southern Lebanon. Under the existing mandate, UNIFIL cannot enter villages and urban areas unless it first coordinates such visits with the Lebanese Armed Forces. Danon told the Security Council last week that in the 13 years since the war ended, “[we have] yet to receive an accurate picture of the gravity of the situation in southern Lebanon. It is unfortunate that some have chosen to turn a blind eye to the reality on the ground.”Danon added that “UNIFIL must be fully equipped to discharge its mandate and contribute to stability in the region.”Resolution 1701 calls for no sale or supply of arms and related material to Lebanon except as authorized by its government, he pointed out. “It appears, however, that this call for an embargo has been completely ignored.”Israel and the US want to add two clauses to UNIFIL’s mandate. The first would give UNIFIL authority to enter any village or area it would like without restriction. The second would obligate UNIFIL to report if Hezbollah attempts to prevent the international force from visiting a specific location, something not enforced today. “We believe that they should do more, and that they should be more effective,” Danon told the Post. “We think that the mandate should be more specific. Unfortunately, today they are not allowed to enter many areas. Once they’re being blocked from entering a location, the least they could do is to put it in their report, the exact location, and who blocked them. They are failing to do that, and it happens daily.”Israel believes that Hezbollah is storing most of its weapons within residential areas inside homes, hospitals and schools in the nearly 180 Shi’ite villages throughout southern Lebanon, which fall within UNIFIL’s area of operations. Danon said that he respects the work of UNIFIL, and that changing the mandate will allow its personnel to get “better results on the ground.”The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was established in 1978 and beefed up in 2006, after the Second Lebanon War ended with the passing of Security Council resolution 1701. UNIFIL’s mandate is renewed annually in August.

Lebanese Band Mashrou' Leila Concert Cancelled
Kataeb.org/July 30/2019
The concert of the Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila in Byblos is cancelled following widespread uproar over alleged religious and sexual innuendos in the band’s lyrics and videos’ content. The Byblos International Festival Committee issued a statement on Tuesday explaining that it succumbed to the pressure of political figures and Christian groups. “In an unprecedented move and due to successive developments, the committee was forced to cancel Mashrou' Leila’s concert scheduled for Friday, August 9, 2019 to prevent bloodshed and to maintain security and stability,” the statement wrote. “We regret what happened and we apologize to our audience,” it added. Controversy was sparked after the band’s lead singer Hamed Sinno shared an article on Facebook containing an image in which the Virgin Mary’s face had been replaced by that of American pop star Madonna.

Religious Leaders Call for Respecting the Foundations of Coexistence
Kataeb.org/July 30/2019
Lebanon’s spiritual leaders gathered on Wednesday as a shout out for the country’s politicians to preserve national unity and stability amid an ongoing Cabinet stalemate. Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hassan called on President Michel Aoun who is entrusted on the Constitution, the national Charter and the Taif agreement to prevent all that goes against the foundation of co-existence. During the Islamic-Christian summit held in the Druze Spiritual Council's headquarters in Verdun, he also urged the Lebanese to remain steadfast to the constants of co-existence and pluralism. In his turn, Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi affirmed that this summit brings consolation to the people, noting that the country is going through a dangerous phase. “As spiritual leaders, we cannot witness our people’s suffering without taking their side,” the Patriarch said warning that the country is faltering with an increase in poverty levels.
Sunni Grand Mufti Abdl Latif Derian said during the press conference following the summit that the country’s unsettling problems can be resolved under three set of conventions, national unity, co-existence and adherence to the Constitution.
“We are entrusted to protect the Taif accord, the Constitution and co-existence. We are going through numerous dire times which cannot be resolved in debates, bickering and squabbling,” Derian noted.
He pointed out that the country needs prudence and wisdom during this difficult crisis, calling for politicians to embark on institutional work to save the country. Druze leader Sheikh Naim Hasan, Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai, Sunni Grand Mufti Abdl Latif Derian and representatives from other religious institutions took part in the summit.

Hezbollah Denies Using Lebanon's Port for Arms Smuggling
Reuters/July 30/2019
Lebanon’s heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah group on Friday denied using Beirut’s sea port to import arms in response to an accusation by Israel’s United Nations envoy this week. “I completely deny the claim of the Israeli representative in the Security Council that Hezbollah uses the Beirut port to transfer weapons or weapon components into Lebanon,” Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a television speech. He added that the Israeli comments were aimed at bringing multinational forces to impose controls over Lebanon’s sea, air and land borders.
Israel’s U.N. ambassador Danny Danon said on Tuesday that in 2018 and 2019 “Israel found that Iran and the Quds Forces have begun to advance the exploitation of civilian maritime channels”. He said Beirut port “is now the Port of Hezbollah”. Lebanon’s U.N ambassador Amal Mudallali said the accusation was tantamount to “direct threats” to Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure. Iran set up Hezbollah in the early 1980s to battle Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, which ended in 2000. Israel and Hezbollah fought another brief war in 2006 and Israel has called Hezbollah the biggest threat on its borders.

Kataeb Party Warned that Current Crises Are Contrived to Cover-up Failure
Kataeb.org/July 30/2019
The Lebanese Kataeb party on Monday warned that glossing over failures does not serve the country that is suffering from a crisis of governance. “The country is suffering from a crisis of governance that has become open to all possibilities which has led to exacerbated dangers in political, financial and security entitlements,” read a statement issued following the weekly meeting of the Kataeb's politburo, condemning the Cabinet stalemate for over a month. The party demanded to stop politicizing security incidents in the country and to abide by legal and Constitutional procedural regulations which conform to the courts’ jurisdictions. “The one dragging the country into sanctions and international embargo is not proclaiming the truth nor is he boldly challenging transgressions; but rather, he is controlling the decision-making role of war and peace and is venturing the Lebanese in his own ideological conflicts that surpass borders,” the statement slammed. “Rampant illegal arms, to which the Lebanese are paying a heavy price on daily basis, are one of the facets of unlawfulness as it diminishes the stature of the State and the law,” it added, highlighting the need for Hezbollah to lay down its illegal arms.
The party urged transparency and evoked electronic voting (e-voting) in Parliamentary elections. “The expansion of Burj Hammoud and Costa Brava landfills would lead to collective immigration as a result of economic, environmental and health dangers impacting hundreds of thousands of people,” the statement cautioned.

Kataeb Official Slams Authority's Irresponsibility
Kataeb.org/July 30/2019
A Kataeb official stressed that the state officials’ prolonging squabbling and conflicts are evidence to their irresponsibility. “The Cabinet stalemate for over one month is proof to the officials’ apathy to the Lebanese people’s living conditions and that saving and protecting Lebanon from regional conflicts does not fall under their priorities,” a Kataeb source conveyed to Al-Joumhouria newspaper. “The situation must either be solved, since restoring the political settlement is out of the question, or to take drastic measures that are directed at the government’s resignation,” the official added. The source also emphasized that the solution lies in resorting to early Parliamentary elections that would allow the Lebanese people to hold the State officials accountable for their failure, fraudulent performance and lies during the previous Parliamentary elections.

Mashrou' Leila Gig Called Off over 'Bloodshed' Fears
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 30/2019
The organizers of the Byblos International Festival on Tuesday said they have called off the performance of world famous Lebanese rock band Mashrou' Leila to avert any "bloodshed." The gig had been scheduled for Friday, August 9. “In an unprecedented step and as a result of the successive developments, the (organizing) committee has decided to call off the Mashrou’ Leila concert scheduled for the evening of Friday, August 9 to prevent bloodshed and to preserve security and stability, contrary to the practices of some parties,” the organizers said. “We regret what happened and we apologize to the fans,” they added. A senior Maronite church source meanwhile told MTV that the decision aims to "avoid any security disruption that might result from this concert."The decision is "a very rational action," the source added. The cancellation follows online death and violence threats against the band and its fans and calls by Christian groups for the performance to be scrapped. Mashrou' Leila, whose singer is openly gay and whose outspoken Arabic lyrics tackle often taboo social issues, sparked controversy in Lebanon earlier this month. Lebanese Christian clerics called for the band to cancel their August 9, charging that two of their songs -- titled "Idols" and "Djin" -- were offensive to Christians.
There was no immediate reaction from Mashrou' Leila but activists and fans condemned the cancellation as an attack on freedom of expression in the country. "This is a step back for Lebanon, which has always prided itself on embracing diversity and being a center for music, art and culture in the region," said Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. On Monday, dozens of Lebanese held a protest in downtown Beirut objecting to the proposed ban and rejecting attempts by Christian clergymen and some right wing groups to ban the group. "Regardless of our opinion of the songs and the band, we need to defend freedom of expression, because freedom is for everyone and for everybody. The day it stops, it stops for everybody," said writer and director Lucien Bourjeily. Also on Monday, the Catholic Media Center, an authority that works with Lebanese authorities to censor artistic content, reiterated calls for the concert's cancellation. It accused the band of prompting "ideas and actions that are offensive to the faith and its religious symbols."
'Why didn't they apologize?'
The band issued a statement earlier this month saying they "respected all religions and their symbols," and were saddened by "the distortion of the lyrics of some of our songs."They were expected to hold a press conference to issue a formal apology so the concert could go ahead, under an agreement between the Byblos festival and Lebanese authorities. "We tried as much as possible to reach a solution... Why didn't they apologize?" asked the festival's artistic director, Naji Baz. "I'm not sure an apology would have been enough anyway because things got out of control," Baz added. Baz said organizers had no choice but to cancel the concert, which would have attracted a turnout of around 4,000 people. "The situation became hysterical with direct threats being made to the security and safety of the audience and the performers," he told AFP. Mashrou' Leila have often played in Lebanon since forming in 2008 while its members were still students at the American University of Beirut. But it has created waves in the religiously conservative Middle East. They have sparked controversy in Egypt and were banned from performing in Jordan. After a Mashrou' Leila concert in Egypt in 2017, at which members of the audience waved a rainbow flag, Egyptian authorities launched a crackdown on the country's LGBT community.
Religiously diverse Lebanon is one of the Middle East's more liberal countries, but its myriad of recognized sects still wield major influence over social and cultural affairs.

Top Religious Leaders Call for Unity in Christian-Islamic Summit
Naharnet/July 30/2019
Religious and spiritual leaders in Lebanon held a summit on Tuesday at the Druze Council headquarters in Beirut at the invitation of Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Naim Hassan. The National News Agency said participants in the Christian-Muslim summit included Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Grand Mufti of the Republic Abdul Latif Daryan, Vice Head of the Islamic Supreme Shiite Council Sheikh Ali Khatib and Grand Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan beside other religious heads.At the summit opening, Sheikh Hassan said: “Our appeal is a call for responsibility and love. We appeal to the President of the Republic (Michel Aoun) to bring the Lebanese together under the framework of constants and to prevent any attempt to undermine the foundations of the entity based on pluralism and partnership.”“I hope the summit becomes a periodic one, and we all pray for the nation’s salvation,” said al-Rahi. For his part, Mufti Deryan said: “As spiritual leaders we have never differed on the basic fundamentals of the survival of this nation and its continuation, we have always been in contact to solve complex issues under the basic rules of national unity, coexistence and adherence to the constitution and Taef Accord.”

Jumblat Meets Hariri as Arslan Reportedly Rejects PM's New Initiative
Naharnet/July 30/2019
Prime Minister Saad Hariri met Tuesday at the Center House with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and a PSP delegation. A statement issued by Hariri’s office said talks tackled “the general situations and the latest political developments in the country” and that discussions were continued over a dinner banquet. General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim meanwhile met in Khalde with Lebanese Democratic Party chief Talal Arslan to discuss the crisis sparked by the deadly Qabrshmoun incident. According to al-Jadeed TV, Arslan categorically rejected a Hariri initiative carried by Ibrahim.
“Hariri proposed voting in Cabinet on the (issue of referring the) Qabrshmoun case (to the Judicial Council), a demand that will definitely be defeated in Cabinet, after which a vote would be held on the possibility of referring the Choueifat and Qabrshmoun cases adjoined to the Judicial Council, and such a proposal will also fail to pass,” al-Jadeed said. “Accordingly, the Cabinet will resume its work without giving the impression that a camp has defeated another,” the TV network added.

Bassil Slams 'Threats' to Resort to Rule of Sectarian Majority
Naharnet/July 30/2019
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday slammed what he called “threats” to resort to the rule of sectarian majority, in connection with the sectarian controversy over Article 80 of the 2019 state budget. “We have heard threats on the resumption of (the sectarian) counting (of the population) and we had thought that the issue is not something that changes according to political circumstances,” Bassil said after a meeting for the Strong Lebanon bloc. “We will die for each other and for preserving national unity, but when we hear anew remarks about the numbers formula, this means that the formula (of Lebanon) and the National Pact are being questioned,” the FPM chief added. “The result of counting is known and we know where we’ll get, but would this be the Lebanon we know?” he went on to say. He added: “Let no one threaten us with counting, because this threat will turn against those who voice it, seeing as we also have our choices and they’re all patriotic choices that preserve this country.”“We know how to preserve it (the country) and we will not abandon it. Those who talk about numbers and question these principles are the ones seeking to get rid of Lebanon and its formula,” Bassil warned.
The budget article in question “preserves the employment right” of those who succeeded in Civil Service Council exams for a period of six years. The FPM says an agreement had been reached on dropping the article seeing as there would be no “sectarian balance” should those who passed the exams be appointed as civil servants. There are conflicting reports on whether or not the article was officially dropped during parliament’s sessions on the state budget but it was included in the text that was sent to President Michel Aoun for approval.

Allouch: Hariri Doesn’t Plan to Resign, Lebanon in a Political Crisis
Naharnet/July 30/2019
Al-Mustaqbal Movement official and former MP Mustafa Allouch on Tuesday said that Lebanon is paying a dear price for the governmental paralysis, assuring that PM Saad Hariri does not plan to resign from his office.“Lebanon is paying a serious price for the state of paralysis. The political situation has entered a major crisis and the citizen has lost his confidence in the state,” said Allouch in remarks he made to VDL (93.3) radio station. Allouch voiced calls on all political forces to resume the meetings of the cabinet after their halt against the backdrop of the Qabrshmoun incident. He said the “sectarian atmospheres have become very dangerous.”On reports alleging the Premier is inclined to resign from his post, Allouch said: “Until this moment we have not felt that there is a tendency for Hariri to take this step because the consequences of this resignation can not be easily absorbed."

Report: Ibrahim ‘Devising’ New Initiative to Resolve Qabrshmoun
Naharnet/July 30/2019
General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim is reportedly drawing a new suggestion to resolve the Qabrshmoun deadlock that took a toll on the government's work and paralyzed much-hoped-for economic momentum after the budget approval, the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported on Tuesday.
“Ibrahim is coordinating his efforts with President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the parliament and government,” according to unnamed sources speaking to daily. “The proposal may take shape within two days and may be acceptable to both sides, Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblatt and Talal Arslan, the chief of the Lebanese Democratic Party,” they said. The source noted that "the new initiative has nothing to do with what has been said earlier about a five-party reconciliation meeting in Baabda. It is widely accepted and could pave the way for a government session this week or early next week.”Other sources pointed out that another proposal is expected to crystallize in the upcoming hours aiming to delink the meeting of the government from the course of the Qabrshmoun incident.

Jreissati: Aoun Won’t Appeal Budget
Naharnet/July 30/2019
State Minister for Parliament Affairs Salim Jreissati said that President Michel Aoun is going to sign the 2019 state budget and has no plans of lodging an appeal against it, hence appeasing concerns over its fate now that it requires the President’s signing before being put into implementation. “Aoun will sign the state budget, he is not going to lodge an appeal against it. In a letter he plans to address to the Parliament through the Speaker to explain Article 95 of the constitution,” said Jreissati after meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri dispatched by Aoun. The budget was referred to Aoun last week for signing but he abstained because of “confusion” over Article 80, said the Presidency office. The article in question preserves the employment right of those who succeeded in Civil Service Council exams for a period of six years, but they were not hired for “sectarian imbalances.”
Jreissati said he discussed with Berri the ways to solve the issue of Article 80, stressing that Berri is keen on the resumption of government meetings.

Hariri Praises Role of Female Ministers: To Adopt Women's Rights Laws in Parliament
Naharnet/July 30/2019
Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Tuesday called for the adoption of resolutions that would ensure wider participation of women in political and public life and praised the role played by women ministers in the current government. The speech of Hariri came during a press conference held at the Grand Serail with Minister of State for Economic Empowerment of Women and Youth, Violette Safadi, under the title "Let us talk law". Hariri said: “We are working to strengthen women participation in political decision in the Parliament and Council of Ministers so they can get their rights. This is a subject we are still suffering from. Unfortunately, there is still opposition to women's participation in politics because some think that she cannot bear responsibility, but I think otherwise. She can take responsibility for many things and teach politicians how to manage and improve ministries' work, fight corruption and waste.
“The proof is the work of our ministers in the current government, Nada Boustani, Violette Safadi, May Chidiac and Raya el-Hassan, who have managed to change the public's view of women taking over ministerial duties. For example, Minister Boustani, managed to solve a chronic problem in Mansouriyeh and this is a great proof of what I'm saying.”He added: “The Lebanese law must undergo several amendments in this context. This is the responsibility of Minister Violette Safadi, the head of the National Commission for Women, Claudine Roukoz, deputies of Bahia Hariri, Dima Jamali and Rola al-Tabsh and all female deputies in the Parliament. They must all work seriously to achieve this goal. I hope to see a woman as a Prime Minister who can make a real difference in the political decision. What Minister Safadi said today is crystal clear. It is time to stop hiding and to start making decisions without fear of change, or far of assuming great responsibilities. This is a reality. In all political parties in general, a woman is in charge of basic studies in economics, politics, reconstruction, environment and others. There are many women as general managers in the ministries and who constitute a key engine for the work of these ministries. Moreover, all women in my team, work hard and deserve to hold higher positions in the future. The role of women is essential and we must work seriously to strengthen it. I will be supportive of what Minister Safadi said and I will be very responsive to any step in this framework.”
He concluded by saying: “On the subject of nationality we have to overcome the fears and concerns we have, we cannot leave Lebanese women married to foreigners without rights and without the possibility of granting citizenship to their children. In return, a man can give citizenship to his wife after several months of marriage. This situation should not continue, whether we forbid this to both or agree to both. This is no longer acceptable in our time.”

Mustaqbal Slams Attempt to Impose 'Conditions' on Premiership
Naharnet/July 30/2019
Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday slammed what it called an attempt to impose “conditions” on the premiership. In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc voiced regret over “the time that has been wasted since three weeks on attempts to find exits and initiatives” to resolve the political deadlock over the Qabrshmoun incident. “The Lebanese public opinion has become aware of all the stances and the aspects of escalation and obstruction,” it added. “If the national interest requires a speedy resumption of cabinet sessions, the constitutional and national norms necessitate an end to the conditional messages that are being addressed to the premiership,” Mustaqbal said. It added: “For the thousandth time, we stress that the premiership is the only side that has exclusive jurisdiction to call for cabinet sessions, and that it is responsible for preparing the agenda and putting the president in its picture.”Mustaqbal also warned that any call from any political party to “impose” items on the cabinet’s agenda would be “unconstitutional, illegal and aimed at obstructing the government’s work.”Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan has insisted that the issue of referring the Qabrshmoun incident case to the Judicial Council should top the agenda of any cabinet session.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 30-31/2019
Israel Expands its Targets against Iran in Iraq, Syria
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Tuesday, 30 July, 2019
Israel has expanded the scope of its Iranian targets in Iraq and Syria, western diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat amid reports that Tel Aviv carried out an airstrike earlier this month against an Iranian rockets depot northeast of Baghdad. The July 19 attack was carried out by an Israeli F-35 fighter jet, they added. On Sunday, the Ashraf base in Iraq, a former base used by the Iranian opposition People's Mujahedin of Iran, was targeted by an air raid, said sources. The base lies 80 kilometers from the border with Iran and 40 kilometers northeast of Baghdad. The sources revealed that the strikes targeted Iranian “advisors” and a ballistic missile shipment that had recently arrived from Iran to Iraq. Last week, Syria’s Tal al-Hara was struck by Israeli jets. The diplomatic sources said the attack targeted Iran’s attempt to seize control of the strategic hill, located in Daraa countryside in southern Syria. Amid these developments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday that Israel’s US-backed Arrow-3 ballistic missile shield had passed a series of live interception tests over Alaska, casting the achievement as a warning to Iran. Jointly manufactured by US firm Boeing Co, Arrow-3 is billed as capable of shooting down incoming missiles in space, an altitude that would destroy any non-conventional warheads safely. It passed its first full interception test over the Mediterranean Sea in 2015 and was deployed in Israel in 2017. “The performance was perfect - every hit a bull’s eye,” Netanyahu, who doubles as defense minister, said in a statement announcing the three secret tests. Israel views the Arrow-3 as a bulwark against the ballistic missiles fielded by Iran and Syria. Iran has been locked in a spiraling confrontation with the United States over its nuclear program and missile projects. Washington said last week that Iran appeared to have tested a medium-range ballistic missile that flew about 1,000 km (620 miles). Tehran said such tests were for defensive needs. “Today Israel has the capabilities to act against ballistic missiles launched at us from Iran and from anywhere else,” Netanyahu said. “All our foes should know that we can best them, both defensively and offensively.”

Saudi Arms Sales to Proceed as Senate Fails to Override Veto
Naharnet/July 30/2019
The US Senate on Monday failed to prevent the controversial sale of $8.1 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia, after President Donald Trump vetoed congressional resolutions blocking the deal. Despite bipartisan votes this month that served as a rebuke to the president -- and an expression of lawmakers' outrage with the kingdom over Riyadh's role in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year -- the effort to override Trump's third use of his veto powers since taking office fell well short. Trump sought approval for 22 separate sales of aircraft support maintenance, precision-guided munitions and other weapons and equipment to countries including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates at a moment of heightened tensions in the Middle East. Critics said the arms sales would aggravate the devastating war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading a US-backed coalition in a battle against the Iranian-supported Huthi rebels, and which the UN said has triggered the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Trump's administration took the extraordinary step of bypassing Congress to approve the sale in May, as his administration declared Iran to be a "fundamental threat" to the stability of the Middle East. Senate Democrat Ben Cardin said that by not blocking the sales, Republicans "abdicated their constitutionally mandated responsibilities" to conduct oversight. "We have both a legal and moral obligation to make certain that US weapons are not used to repress human rights or perpetrate violence against innocent civilians," Cardin said. Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, pointed to a Saudi artillery attack earlier Monday in northern Yemen that medics said killed 13 civilians, including two children.

Iraq says ex-governor embezzled $10 mln in aid for displaced
AFP, Baghdad/Tuesday, 30 July 2019
Around $10 million in aid for the displaced in northern Iraq’s Nineveh province, where ISIS was based, has been embezzled by its fugitive ex-governor, the country’s anti-corruption commission said on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the Integrity Commission told AFP that its investigators had uncovered “invoices from developers in Iraqi Kurdistan.”But, he added, “no receipt was found” for these debited sums, which were meant for the rehabilitation of two hospitals in the northern metropolis of Mosul, capital of Nineveh.Many of the province’s inhabitants are still displaced as public services have not been fully reestablished. Currently, 1.6 million Iraqis are still crowded into camps for the displaced, of which 40 percent are originally from Nineveh, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A total of 11.3 billion Iraqi dinars ($9.4 million) had been allocated to the Provincial Council by the Ministry of Migration and Displaced, according to the commission. “It has been debited and doesn’t appear in any provincial authorities’ bank accounts or in the Provincial Council funds,” he said. “It was transferred to Kurdistan,” an autonomous region where the sacked governor of Nineveh, Nawfel Akoub, is thought to be in hiding, along with several other officials wanted by Baghdad. He has been on the run since a ferry sank in Mosul on Mother’s Day in March, killing 150 people. In April, the commission said that more than $60 million of public funds were diverted by officials close to Akoub from Nineveh’s budget of $800 million. Graft is endemic across Iraq, which ranks among the world’s worst offenders in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index. Since 2004, a year after the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, almost $250 billion of public funds has vanished into the pockets of shady politicians and businessmen, according to parliament.

Macron, Rouhani hold talks over Iran-US tensions
AFP, Paris/Wednesday, 31 July 2019
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday spoke with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani and reiterated his call for a de-escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States, the Elysee said. “It is France’s role to make every effort to ensure that all parties agree to a break and open negotiations,” the French presidency said. The 2015 deal over Iran’s nuclear program has begun to unravel since US President Donald Trump announced Washington was pulling out of the agreement last year and reimposed sanctions, to the dismay of European allies. France, Britain, and Germany were among the key players in the pact. Macron had a “long” discussion with Rouhani during the French leader’s annual holiday at his summer retreat, the medieval fort of Bregancon on France’s Mediterranean coast, the Elysee said. Macron “recalled the need to initiate a de-escalation of tensions,” it added. Paris has engaged in intense diplomacy seeking to solve the current tensions, with Macron’s foreign policy advisor Emmanuel Bonne twice visiting Tehran. Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to visit Macron in Bregancon in mid-August ahead of a G7 summit in Biarritz which will present “new opportunities to discuss the Iranian issue”, according to the Elysee.

Sudanese rally against deadly crackdown on student protest
The Associated Press, Cairo/Tuesday, 30 July 2019
Thousands of Sudanese students joined protests across the country Tuesday condemning the violent dispersal of a demonstration the day before that left four high school students dead. The killings reignited tensions between the pro-democracy movement behind the protests that toppled President Omar al-Bashir in April and the military council that has ruled since then. The two sides had been set to hold talks on Tuesday to finalize a power-sharing agreement, but those were postponed after the killing of the students. Security forces opened fire on a demonstration by teenage students in the city of Obeid on Monday. At least five people were killed, including four students. Protest leaders say they were killed by security forces, while local authorities say they have launched an investigation. The military condemned the violence. Tuesday’s marches were called by the Sudanese Professionals Association, which spearheaded the uprising that began in December and eventually toppled al-Bashir. The umbrella group is part of a larger coalition, known as the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, that is negotiating with the military over a transition to civilian rule. Videos posted online showed thousands of students in school uniforms, with schoolbags on their backs, marching Tuesday in the streets of Khartoum and other places. One video showed students in the capital waving Sudanese flags and chanting slogans such as: “Free revolutionaries, we will continue our way forward.” Authorities canceled school nationwide starting Wednesday and until “further notice,” the state-run SUNA news agency reported. Officials in North Kordofan, where Monday’s shootings took place, suspended classes shortly after the violence and imposed a nightly curfew in parts of the province. The protest coalition and the military council had been set to meet Tuesday, but protest leader Nour al-Din Salah said his side pushed the meeting to Wednesday following the latest violence. “A delegation from the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change has traveled to the city of Obeid... The delegation includes the main negotiators,” Salah said. Both sides agreed on the outline of a power-sharing deal earlier this month but remain divided on several key issues, including whether military commanders should be immune from prosecution for violence against protesters. Last month, security forces violently dispersed the protesters’ main sit-in outside the military headquarters in Khartoum, killing scores of people and plunging the fragile transition into crisis. The two sides returned to talks later that month after intense pressure from the United States and its Arab allies.

Washington denies it plans to quit nuclear test ban treaty
Reuters, Geneva/Tuesday, 30 July 2019
The United States, which plans to exit a major arms control agreement later this week, denied a Russian accusation on Tuesday that it was also planning to quit the international treaty that bans the testing of nuclear weapons. A Russian envoy told a disarmament conference in Geneva that Washington intended to quit the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) on the pretext that Moscow was violating it first. “It would appear that through propaganda around false claims about Russia’s compliance there are attempts to prepare international opinion for a US exit from the CTBT and then to blame Russia again for everything,” Russia’s deputy envoy in Geneva, Andrey Belousov, told the Conference on Disarmament. Washington called the suggestion “crafty, Soviet-like propaganda”.The United States has signed but not ratified the CTBT. It complies with the treaty’s prohibition on nuclear explosions by observing a unilateral moratorium on testing, which US President Donald Trump’s administration has said will continue. Belousov was speaking days before the deadline for a US withdrawal from another nuclear pact, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). The United States is set to pull out of the INF accord on Aug. 2, saying it needs to develop its own warheads to deter Moscow. Russia says it is fully compliant and blames Washington for orchestrating the US withdrawal. “I can say quite firmly that that kind of trick will not work again,” Belousov said.
US Ambassador Robert Wood said Russia’s record of violating treaties was a well-established pattern. “I have to respond to the sort of crafty, Soviet-like propaganda that was espoused earlier during the session by our Russian colleague,” Wood said. “We’ve made very clear that we will abide by our nuclear testing moratorium.”The United States and its NATO allies say that in order to comply with the INF treaty, Russia needs to destroy its SSC-8 ground-launched cruise missile, which Washington says violates the treaty ban on land-based missiles with a range of 500 km to 5,500 km (300-3,400 miles). Wood said it was entirely up to Russia whether US withdrawal went ahead on Aug. 2, but Russia had made very clear that it had no intention to take the steps Washington demands.
“We see no reason to believe that Russia is going to come back into compliance,” he told Reuters. “They need to decide whether they want to get back into the existing arms control architecture or not. It’s really up to them.” Belousov said Washington was aiming for an unlimited increase in strategic potential, including offensive nuclear capacity and defensive missile defense components. “The USA is thus seeking to gain an enormous military advantage over its military, political and economic rivals,” Belousov said. “We may be on the eve of a new era when all of the previous achievements of arms control and non proliferation are set back to zero,” he said, adding that it was difficult to censure US behavior because of its allies’ support.

Sanders, Warren take center stage as 2020 Democratic debates enter second round
Reuters, Detroit/Tuesday, 30 July 2019
Progressive allies Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren headline the first night of the second Democratic presidential debates on Tuesday, with eight other contenders aiming for a breakout performance that could propel them into the top tier of the White House race. The first of two debates on back-to-back nights will give Warren and Sanders, old friends who have been battling for second place in opinion polls behind front-runner Joe Biden, a chance to draw some contrasts between their progressive policies even though they have promised not to attack each other. The other candidates on stage in Detroit on Tuesday, including Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, former congressman Beto O’Rourke and US Senator Amy Klobuchar, will be aiming for the sort of post-debate surge that US Senator Kamala Harris enjoyed after a strong performance in the first Democratic debate in Miami last month.
Harris got a bump in the polls when she confronted Biden over his past opposition to forced busing and comments about working with segregationists. She and Biden, the former vice president, will renew their rivalry on the second night of the debate on Wednesday. The crowded field of about two dozen candidates is vying for attention and financial support in the race for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in 2020. The two nights in Detroit could be the last chance for many of the lower-tier contenders to debate on the national stage, as the Democratic National Committee will double its fundraising and polling requirements to qualify for participation in the next debates in September and October. With Harris showing the political value of a well-placed punch in last month’s debate, fireworks are expected on both nights. “Be prepared for a fight. The time to play it safe is over,” said Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis, a former adviser on the White House campaign of John Edwards. “If the last debate proved anything, it’s that if you play it safe, you make yourself vulnerable - or you disappear.”
Warren and Sanders, who serve together in the US Senate, appeared on different nights in last month’s debates. Warren, the only top-tier contender on stage the first night, emerged with new momentum after going largely unscathed and showing off her array of progressive policy proposals. Sanders was mostly sidelined on the next night, standing placidly by as Biden and Harris leaned across him to spar over race. Warren’s steady rise in the polls, fueled by stealing support from Sanders on the left, will put pressure on him to find some way to reclaim the grassroots energy that came so easily in the 2016 campaign, when he was Hillary Clinton’s only competition. Warren and Sanders insist they are friends, not rivals, and will not turn on each other for their own political gain. But most of the other candidates on stage will be more moderate and more desperate, making it likely the race’s two leading progressive could be targeted for their ambitious proposals like universal healthcare and free college tuition.

Dubai Ruler's Wife Seeks UK Forced Marriage Protection Order for
Naharnet/Agence France Presse /July 30/2019
The estranged wife of the ruler of Dubai has applied for a UK forced marriage protection order relating to their children, a London court heard Tuesday. Princess Haya, 45, a wife of 70-year-old United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, has applied for the order, as well as for wardship of their children, and a non-molestation order relating to herself, the High Court heard. The couple are locked in a legal battle in London over the welfare of their two children. At a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, judge Andrew McFarlane allowed media to report that Princess Haya, a Jordanian royal, had made the applications. The court also heard that Sheikh Mohammed has applied to the High Court for the summary return of the children to Dubai. Distinct from arranged marriages, forced marriages, in UK law, are those without the full and free consent of both parties.
A forced marriage protection order can be used to help someone who is being forced into marriage or who has been subjected to one, according to the government's official leaflet on the orders. They can be applied for by the person in question, a relevant third party or anyone else with the permission of the court. Applications must include details of how the applicant wants to be protected by the court, with the leaflet giving the example of stopping a person from being taken out of the UK to enter into a marriage without consent.
Foreign media excluded
After a previous hearing held in private in London, the couple issued a statement relating to the nature of the case. "These proceedings are concerned with the welfare of the two children of their marriage and do not concern divorce or finances," it said. It said the preliminary case management hearing would "deal with issues relating to how to proceed to a final hearing to determine the welfare issues." Judge McFarlane -- who presides over the family division of the High Court of England and Wales -- decided Tuesday that only accredited journalists with media based within the jurisdiction of England and Wales were allowed to sit in on the proceedings. Reporters from media organizations not based in the UK were in attendance but were told they could not hear the proceedings. Princess Haya is a daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan and a half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan. The princess was in court for the proceedings while Sheikh Mohammed was not. She left the court accompanied by her lawyer Fiona Shackleton who represented Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, in his divorce from Diana, princess of Wales. Sheikh Mohammed is being represented by Helen Ward, who acted for Guy Ritchie in his divorce from pop star Madonna and for former Formula One motor racing supremo Bernie Ecclestone in his divorce. A small anti-Sheikh Mohammed demonstration took place outside the courts complex.The two-day preliminary hearing is set to continue on Wednesday.

Algeria's Army Chief Rejects Pre-Conditions for Talks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 30/2019
Algeria's powerful army chief Tuesday ruled out accepting any pre-conditions to launching talks to end the country's political crisis, saying there was "no more time to lose". Algerians have taken to the streets every Tuesday and Friday since February demanding political change, leading to the ouster of veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika on April 2. But efforts to move towards new presidential elections have bogged down as protesters have continued to demand the departure of key regime figures and an overhaul of the North African country's political system. "There is no more time to lose," said army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah during a speech to a ceremony, which was broadcast on the television, slamming what he called "pre-conditions which amount to diktats". A seven-member committee has been set up tasked by interim President Abdelkader Bensalah with discussing arrangements for the next election, after Bouteflika resigned following two decades in power. But the protest movement has been calling for some measures to be taken before any dialogue can start including the release of people arrested in connection with the demonstrations.The protesters also want fewer police to be deployed during the weekly demonstrations,  and have called for the lifting of blockades put in place every Friday to impede the rallies at the entrances to Algiers. Bensalah had said he was open to "studying" the demands. But Salah on Tuesday slammed "poisonous ideas... notably the call to widen the number of detainees, wrongly said to be held for their opinions" and stressed the independence of the judiciary. The police deployment put in place "for the security of the marches was a measure taken in the interest of the people," he added, insisting the rallies must be properly organised "to avoid them being infiltrated."An already delayed presidential election set for July 4 was postponed after the only two potential runners -- both little known -- had their candidacies rejected.

Iraq Says ex-Governor Embezzled $10 Million in Aid for Displaced
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 30/2019
Around $10 million in aid for the displaced in northern Iraq's Nineveh province, where the Islamic State group was based, has been embezzled by its fugitive ex-governor, the country's anti-corruption commission said Tuesday. A spokesperson for the Integrity Commission told AFP that its investigators had uncovered "invoices from developers in Iraqi Kurdistan".  But, he added, "no receipt was found" for these debited sums, which were meant for the rehabilitation of two hospitals in the northern metropolis of Mosul, capital of Nineveh. Many of the province's inhabitants are still displaced as public services have not been fully reestablished. Currently, 1.6 million Iraqis are still crowded into camps for the displaced, of which 40 percent are originally from Nineveh, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). A total of 11.3 billion Iraqi dinars ($9.4 million) had been allocated to the Provincial Council by the Ministry of Migration and Displaced, according to the commission. "It has been debited and doesn't appear in any provincial authorities' bank accounts or in the Provincial Council funds," he said.  "It was transferred to Kurdistan," an autonomous region where the sacked governor of Nineveh, Nawfel Akoub, is thought to be in hiding, along with several other officials wanted by Baghdad. He has been on the run since a ferry sank in Mosul on Mother's Day in March, killing 150 people. In April, the commission said that more than $60 million of public funds were diverted by officials close to Akoub from Nineveh's budget of $800 million. Graft is endemic across Iraq, which ranks among the world's worst offenders in Transparency International's annual Corruption Perceptions Index. Since 2004, a year after the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, almost $250 billion of public funds has vanished into the pockets of shady politicians and businessmen, according to parliament.

Deported from Turkey, Syrians Return to Unfamiliar Country
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 30/2019
Still reeling from his sudden deportation from Turkey with just the clothes on his back, Mohammad Hassan stood in the arrivals hall at a border crossing in northern Syria unsure what to do next. "I left Syria seven years ago," said the 22-year-old. "I don't know anything about this country."
He was among dozens to queue up one morning last week to register with officials at the Bab al-Hawa crossing -- many in complete disbelief. During Hassan's years of exile, Syria's landscape changed dramatically. With no say in the matter, he has just been bussed into the country's last opposition bastion of Idlib, administered since the start of the year by jihadists. His home city of Aleppo to the east has been under regime control since 2016, making it near impossible for him to return to the former rebel stronghold. "My family are in Aleppo but I can't go there," he said, looking dejected in a black jacket and baseball cap.
Regime forces have detained young men in areas they have retaken with Russian backing since 2015, and forced others to join President Bashar al-Assad's army.
- 'They lied' -
Syria's eight-year conflict has killed more than 370,000 people since it started in 2011, as well as displacing millions at home and abroad. Some 3.5 million Syrian refugees live in Turkey alone, the United Nations says. Hassan used to live in Istanbul, where authorities are leading a crackdown on unregistered migrants. They have arrested 6,000 -- including Syrians -- over the past two weeks, the interior ministry said last Wednesday. Critics have raised concern over reports that hundreds of Syrian refugees have been deported, after being forced to sign consent forms in Turkish they do not understand. Hassan said he tried several times to get a temporary residency permit, but was refused. "In Istanbul they've stopped issuing them to Syrians," he said. Without the right "temporary protection" permit, he was stopped and arrested. After more than a week in jail, Hassan was presented with a wad of papers to ink with a finger, which he was told would allow him to stay in Turkey legally.
"They lied to us," he said. Instead, "we were shocked when the next morning they loaded us on buses and sent us back to Syria." The crackdown has alarmed human rights campaigners. "Turkey claims it helps Syrians voluntarily return to their country, but threatening to lock them up until they agree to return, forcing them to sign forms, and dumping them in a war zone is neither voluntary nor legal," said Gerry Simpson, an associate director at Human Rights Watch. Bab al-Hawa crossing spokesman Mazen Alloush said Syrians were being deported daily. Most had tried to illegally cross the border, but others were residents sent home for not having the right papers, he said. More than 4,400 Syrians have been sent back via Bab al-Hawa this month, he said. At a press conference in Istanbul on Thursday, Syria's exiled opposition said it had received assurances from Turkish authorities that Syrian "families would not be deported to Syria".But Anas Abdah, the head of the Syrian National Coalition, called on all Syrians in Turkey to settle their status with the authorities.
- 'No family' -
Inside the arrivals hall in Bab al-Hawa, Luay Mohammed, 23, said he was still in shock after being bussed back in the middle of the night. "I have no idea how I will start over" in Syria, said the young man, back in his home country for the first time in four years. After waiting in line, he finally reached his turn at the counter, leaning in to hear the official registering his details on a computer behind the perforated glass. Muhammed had been detained in Turkey's southern city of Antalya, where he worked in a restaurant, he told AFP. Around a week ago, he had rushed a friend injured in a fight with locals to hospital on his motorbike, only to find the police waiting. "They took us to the police station," he said, before they were transferred to a jail containing around 350 foreigners. "They took us back to Syria in the middle of the night," he said. Hassan said he would try to travel east to his home city of Manbij. But that too is complicated. The northern city is now under the control of a military council allied to Syria's Kurds, who are seen by Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxies as "terrorists". And even if he did find ajob, he would be without his family. "My family isn't in Syria," he said. "Two of my brothers are still in Turkey."

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 30-31/2019
Systematic Discrimination: Christians Under Egyptian Rule
ريموند إبراهيم: التمييز الممنهج ضد المسيحيين بظل النظام المصري
Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/77149/%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%85%d9%88%d9%86%d8%af-%d8%a5%d8%a8%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%87%d9%8a%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%aa%d9%85%d9%8a%d9%8a%d8%b2-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85%d9%85%d9%86%d9%87%d8%ac-%d8%b6%d8%af-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%85/
Coptic Solidarity (CS), an international human rights organization devoted to ameliorating the plight of Egypt’s indigenous inhabitants—the Christian Copts—recently published a comprehensive report on why the Egyptian government systematically discriminates against its Christian citizens: in a word, shari‘a, or Islamic law. According to CS:
The Egyptian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and criminalized discrimination based on religion. Yet, the second article of the Constitution states that “Islam is the religion of the state…and the principles of Islamic shari‘a are the main sources of legislation.” These statements are antithetical since shari‘a repudiates religious freedom. Since it is founded on the non-equality between a Believer (a Muslim) and a Non-believer (and also between men and women), it actually proscribes discrimination and persecution of minority faiths. The Egyptian government cannot implement contradictory principles. Since all the constitutional articles are to be interpreted in light of and in submission to Article 2, shari‘a always takes precedence and is the primary form of institutionalized discrimination by the Egyptian government (emphasis added).
The rest of CS’s report is devoted to substantiating these claims, beginning with the stark contrast between the government’s beneficent approach to mosques and its draconian approach to churches: “The Egyptian government does not apply a single law equally for the building and repair of mosques, churches, and synagogues.”
In late 2016, for example, the Egyptian government boasted about opening 10 new mosques every week and allotting several billion Egyptian pounds to opening thousands more. Similarly, Al Azhar “the main authority in theology and Islamic affairs,” is entirely subsidized by the government (13 billion Egyptian pounds, USD $726 million, in 2018).
On the other hand, every Christian place of worship in Egypt is supported by its (often impoverished) congregation, with no governmental aid; moreover, “the Egyptian government has ordered the shuttering of multiple churches in direct contravention of law”; and whereas “the Egyptian government appoints Imams and pays their salaries, Christian and other minority faith leaders receive no government compensation.”
As for the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Sheikh Ahmad el-Tayeb—Egypt’s de facto supreme authority on all things Islamic—CS offers an important corrective:
The [International Religious Freedom] report … mentions that senior US officials met with the Sheikh during the past year as well as meetings with Pope Francis in the Vatican. Coptic Solidarity has spoken with officials who have participated in some of these meetings. It is clear that many of these officials believe that el-Tayeb is being honest in the conversations, and truly wants to promote religious freedom. This is a dangerous misconception, because el-Tayeb has been shown repeatedly to deliver one message to his Western audience that supports human rights and religious freedom, while simultaneously preaching an opposing message to his Arabic-speaking audience in Egypt and the Middle East. The US government will not make real progress in these meetings or events towards greater religious freedom without understanding the Sheikh’s intentional deception.
In regards to family law and governmental registration of faith, CS notes that:
Every Egyptian must have their faith listed on their ID card. The only options are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and now a dash for Baha’i. The Ministry of Interior [MOI] determines which faith is listed on an individual’s card, preventing any indication of conversion unless converting TO Islam. If a child is born to a mixed family with a Muslim parent, they are registered as Muslim regardless of the faith they practice. If a parent converts to Islam after a child is born, the MOI immediately changes the child’s faith to Muslim in their database. A Christian man is forbidden from marrying a Muslim woman unless he converts to Islam. A Muslim man may marry a Christian woman. If a married man leaves Islam, his marriage to a Muslim woman is immediately dissolved. In the case of divorce with a mixed-faith marriage, the Muslim parent will always get custody of children.[…] Any individual may convert to Islam and have their faith on their ID changed. If one converts away from Islam, the MOI will not change the faith on their ID card. In this way, converts and their children will continue to be listed as Muslims, subjected to shari’a, and forced to study Islam in public school despite not being Muslim.
Concerning Egypt’s “blasphemy law,” which is officially meant to prevent the denigration of all “Abrahamic” faiths, a disproportionate amount of cases are brought against Christians: 41 percent of all blasphemy cases in 2016 were against Copts, though the Egyptian government estimates them to be under ten percent of the population. The remainder of cases was brought mostly against secular or moderate Muslims who criticized or even questioned Islam. Conversely, the majority of Muslims who publicly denigrate Christianity and Judaism—including on television, radio, or via loud mosque speakers—are rarely prosecuted.
As for discrimination in the employment sector, although there are 34 cabinet ministers in Egypt, only one is Christian, Nabila Makram, minister of Immigration and Expatriate Affairs; she “has virtually no duties in her portfolio, making it a token appointment,” observes CS, before adding: “In the past there used to be two, occasionally three, Coptic ministers in each cabinet; however, this ‘tradition’ was disrupted by President el-Sisi four years ago.”
Other examples include “a Coptic judge [who] was reportedly denied a promotion to the Administrative prosecution due to her faith; a Muslim colleague who objected to the discrimination against her was fired.” Similarly, “A Coptic military conscript, Matthew Habib, was murdered in his unit and officials ruled it a suicide. Over the past few years, over a dozen such cases were revealed, with no credible explanation from the military authorities.”
Regarding “collective punishment”—when Muslim mobs rise against Christian communities over the alleged shari‘a infraction from one of their numbers (for example, “blasphemy”)—and the “reconciliation sessions” that follow, CS elaborates:
The use of these community sessions to settle “disputes” are utilized when Muslim mobs attack Copts and their properties. It is a way of circumventing police reports, legal charges, and justice for Coptic victims. Copts are typically pressured to retract statements and charges in exchange for “protection” in their villages, or for the release of imprisoned Copts. During these incidents of communal violence when Muslim mobs attack Copts, their homes, and churches, local police typically arrest both Copts and Muslims, despite culpability. The arrested Copts are used as bargaining chips to assure Coptic cooperation.
Such extrajudicial approaches ensure the ongoing targeting of Christians: “Impunity for crimes against Copts, their homes and businesses, and churches has been a major factor in continued and increasing attacks on Copts.” As one of several examples, CS cites the case of Souad Thabet,
an elderly Coptic woman who was stripped naked, beaten, and paraded through her village, Karm in Minya, by a mob of about 300 Muslim villagers on May 20, 2016. The attack was based on mere rumors that her son was having an affair with a Muslim woman. After the incident, Egyptian authorities dropped the case against three of Ms. Thabet’s attackers due to “lack of evidence,” despite many witnesses. Then in February of 2017, the case was reinstated, only to be suspended on March 17 when the court recused itself. As of this writing, Ms. Thabet’s attackers still have not been fully prosecuted or sentenced.
In summary, as long as all laws are subject to interpretation by shari‘a—which itself discriminates between believers and non-believers—the Egyptian government will continue to discriminate against Christians. It is because of Article 2, says Adel Guindy, founding president and current board member of CS, that:
Freedom of belief is one-way: anybody can convert to Islam (freely or not) but the opposite is illegal;
Freedom of worship is nominal: anybody can build a mosque, prayer halls are abundant everywhere including in administrative offices, and Muslims are free to worship anywhere; but building a church requires a hard-to-get permit, and it’s illegal for a group of Christians to pray in a house;
Christianity and Judaism can be ridiculed on a daily basis in mosques and across the state-owned media, but any critique – however mild – of Islamic tenets is criminalized;
The state finances from taxpayers’ money (including non-Muslims) Islamic education, preaching, (worldwide) proselytizing, and building and running mosques, while the opposite is unthinkable.
As for what the United States can do to help ameliorate the plight of Egypt’s Christians, CS offers the following sound conclusion:
Were the US government to raise these issues of systematic discrimination and hold the Egyptian government to account for this discrimination against religious minorities, it could provide the requisite incentive to achieve greater equality for Copts, and a departure from their lives as second class citizens in their homeland.

Twenty Years Under King Mohammed VI (Part 1): Domestic Developments
Sarah Feuer and Reda Ayadi/The Washington Institute//July 30/2019
America’s oldest Arab ally has made significant economic progress since 1999, but grievances regarding social issues and political reform continue to pose a challenge.
This PolicyWatch is the first in a two-part series assessing key developments during King Mohammed’s reign to date. Read Part 2, which examines foreign policy issues.
On July 30, Morocco’s fifty-five-year-old ruler Mohammed VI will commemorate twenty years on the throne. In 1999, he inherited a kingdom of twenty-eight million citizens facing considerable socioeconomic challenges, including a lack of basic necessities in rural areas, high poverty, a labor market and GDP too reliant on agriculture, and unemployment hovering around 14% nationally and nearly double that among youths. Moreover, his father’s four-decade reign had been marked by severe political repression and human rights abuses, albeit capped by a controlled opening of the political system and civil society shortly before succession.
In the twenty years since then, Morocco has made significant strides in several areas of economic and human development. At the same time, Mohammed has largely adopted his father’s preference for limited political openings, eschewing the deeper liberalization many hoped he would introduce. In the coming decades, Morocco’s ability to remain a stable exception to the chaotic regional rule will likely depend on the viability of this implied bargain.
SCHOOLS, SOLAR PANELS, AND SUFIS
Mohammed’s scorecard includes a number of noteworthy economic achievements. Morocco’s GDP rose from $42 billion in 1999 to $110 billion by 2017 (in 2017 U.S. dollars); economic growth, while still beholden to variable weather effects on agriculture, has averaged 3-4% annually, with the IMF recently predicting an improved economic outlook in the medium term; and the country now ranks second in the region after the United Arab Emirates on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index. Signaling a shift from his father, Mohammed invested in Morocco’s long-neglected north early on, one result of which was Tanger Med, the largest port on the Mediterranean Sea and in all of Africa.
Additional bright spots have appeared in school enrollment, women’s advancement, and poverty reduction. In 1999, fully one-third of primary-age children were not attending school. Following a series of reforms, primary school enrollment now stands at 97%, with the biggest gains among young girls. In 2004, the monarchy reformed the code of family law (mudawanna), granting women the rights to divorce, child custody, and self-guardianship while raising the minimum marriage age to eighteen. Poverty has fallen substantially since 1999, when roughly 16% of the population and 30% of rural inhabitants were living at or below the poverty line; today those figures are 4% and 19%. Notwithstanding their higher poverty rates, nearly 100% of rural communities now have access to electricity, compared to only 18% in 1999.
Following the push toward mass electrification, Morocco embarked on a major renewable energy development project, partly to reduce its reliance on hydrocarbon imports and partly to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. One result has been the development of the Noor solar power plant, the largest such complex in the world and one that could ultimately make Morocco an energy exporter to Europe and Africa.
The kingdom is also a regional outlier in its approach to countering Islamist extremism. Four years into Mohammed’s reign, Morocco was rocked by the worst terrorist attack in its history, with twelve suicide bombers blowing themselves up at various tourist and Jewish sites in the capital, killing thirty-three civilians. The attack prompted the king—who as “Commander of the Faithful” is also the country’s chief religious authority—to launch comprehensive reforms such as bringing mosques and Islamic schools under tighter state control, stripping religious education curricula of extremist content, promoting Sufism and other streams of Islam believed to promote moderation, and establishing an imam training academy for students from North and West Africa and, increasingly, Europe.
These reforms have not immunized the kingdom from homegrown extremism, as attested by the estimated 2,000 Moroccans who joined the Islamic State and other jihadist groups in Syria between 2012 and 2016. Still, through a blend of heightened security measures and religious reforms, the country has evidently contained the threat of extremism better than most of its regional peers.
GRADUALISM OR GRIDLOCK?
If the Casablanca attack fueled a push to counter religious extremism, it also slowed the momentum toward political liberalization implied in Mohammed’s pledge to rule differently than his father had. After a series of early initiatives distributed approximately $185 million to over 16,000 victims of King Hassan II’s so-called “Years of Lead,” many expected civil liberties to expand under his son. But the 2003 bombings spurred a sweeping antiterrorism law that human rights groups condemned for enshrining an overly broad definition of terrorism and enabling the government to obstruct ostensibly peaceful political activity. Today, press freedom and other civil liberties remain restricted, and Morocco’s Freedom House ranking of “partly free” hasn’t budged in twenty years.
Frustration with the pace of reforms boiled over in 2011, against the backdrop of “Arab Spring” uprisings throughout the Middle East. In response to nationwide protests demanding greater political rights and an end to corruption and high unemployment, Mohammed organized a constitutional referendum and called for new elections. The main results of these initiatives were partial empowerment of the legislative branch, formal recognition of minority ethnic identities, and a new parliament dominated by the Justice and Development Party (PJD). This mildly Islamist party, with roots in the Muslim Brotherhood, had been active in Morocco’s political landscape for decades and had long since dropped its formal opposition to the monarchy. (The country’s other main Islamist organization, al-Adl wal-Ihsan, advocates eliminating the monarchy and is thus banned.)
At the same time, the 2011 constitution reserved considerable powers for the king, and his allies have since built new parties to counteract the PJD. The resulting dynamic largely reproduced the contours of a political system long familiar to Moroccans: a monarchy unwilling to cede much power governs alongside (or, rather, above) political parties that are unable to advance shared legislative goals. A decentralization program was initiated to grant more discretion and responsibility to regional governments, but the process has largely stalled. Meanwhile, corruption remains rampant; youth unemployment, a driving factor behind the 2011 protests, stands at 22% nationally and 43% in urban areas, a sobering figure given that nearly half of Morocco’s 34 million citizens are under age twenty-four; economic inequality, as reflected in annual measures of Morocco’s Gini coefficient, remains at pre-1999 levels or worse; and access to decent healthcare and education is limited.
Such conditions fueled a series of protest movements in the years following Morocco’s “Spring.” In 2016-2017, mass demonstrations broke out in the traditionally restive Rif region after a local fishmonger was crushed to death by a garbage truck as he sought to retrieve his confiscated catch. More than 150 protestors were arrested in the ensuing crackdown on the al-Hirak al-Shaabi movement, whose leaders are currently serving twenty-year jail sentences. In 2018, an unprecedented boycott targeted three of the kingdom’s leading companies in protest of longstanding links between business and political elites. Notably, two of the companies are run by individuals with known ties to the palace.
According to the latest Arab Barometer poll, 49% of Moroccans want rapid domestic change (the highest percentage of any Arab country polled), and 70% of adults under age thirty wish to emigrate. Adequately addressing the frustrations behind such figures will be a central challenge for Mohammed as he enters his third decade of rule.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR WASHINGTON
The United States has a clear interest in helping Morocco preserve its relative stability, particularly given the uncertainties gripping Algeria next door. That stability largely depends on Rabat’s ability to continue implementing reforms in a way that reduces the drivers of social unrest while avoiding the chaos and authoritarian regression seen elsewhere in the region. Washington can boost the kingdom’s chances of success by more actively engaging it in the development arena.
Targeted U.S. assistance has already yielded substantial results under Mohammed VI. For example, a five-year Millennium Challenge Corporation grant of $697 million in 2008-2013 reportedly facilitated Morocco’s poverty reduction efforts. A second MCC “compact” of $450 million went into effect in 2017, rightly targeting job creation and land productivity. But the Trump administration has repeatedly sought to reduce its annual aid package, perhaps reasoning that Morocco’s relative calm obviates the need for assistance. Given the kingdom’s ongoing economic woes and growing indicators of social frustration, the administration should reconsider this stance.
One area that warrants greater attention—and to which Rabat would be especially receptive—is investment in Morocco’s private sector. Specifically, the Trump administration should consider creating a Moroccan-American Enterprise Fund, based on the highly successful model established by previous administrations with various Eastern European allies. Such a fund would spur much-needed private-sector growth in the kingdom and could even create opportunities for joint business ventures with American firms.
Of course, any engagement with Morocco will be hampered to the extent that Washington’s diplomatic presence remains limited. Accordingly, sending an ambassador to Rabat remains an urgent priority.
Sarah Feuer is an associate fellow with The Washington Institute, where Reda Ayadi was a research assistant from 2018 to 2019.

For once, Trump is right — China is well past the development stage
Frank Kane/Arab News/July 30/2019
Many people do not always see eye to eye with Donald Trump on trade policy, and that is an understatement.The US president has made confrontation over trade his weapon of choice in international relations, and the list of countries that have felt the sharpness of his Twitter account is long — China, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and the EU. He has fallen out with virtually every member of the G20 over some aspect of trade. The World Trade Organization (WTO), the body that has overseen global commerce for the past 24 years, has been on the receiving end of some of the most vitriolic White
House tweets. It is easy to see why he upsets so many. Trump’s first response in any situation where he feels commercially aggrieved, is to reach for the tariff shotgun and fire off a series of financial penalties at the alleged guilty party. He sees it as protecting the US’s position as a leading trading nation as part of the “America first” policy.
The critics — and they are numerous — point to the damage done to global trade, and in turn the global economy which has thrived for the past couple of decades on a freer international commercial system. Domestic critics in the US — and again they are numerous — highlight the farcical situation whereby Trump is having to spend federal funds to compensate American producers — farmers in particular — for losses they have sustained as a result of his confrontational policies. China, it seems, can live quite happily without soybeans from Illinois, but farmers in the soybean state cannot live without the income China used
to provide them.
China is no longer a developing country, and it is time the rule book was rewritten to reflect that reality. There are many such absurdities in Trump’s approach, but there is one aspect of his policy that even his harshest critics must, reluctantly, find themselves agreeing with: The archaic system whereby the WTO accords some countries “developing” status, with various privileges and benefits attached.The main developer advantage is the ability to protect indigenous industry by levying tariffs and quotas on imported goods, which the WTO and the developers themselves say is essential for them to build strong domestic economies in the face of more efficient global competition from advanced economies and their powerful exporters. Such a system was arguably appropriate when the WTO set it up in 1995, but the world now is a very different place. In particular, the rise of China has changed the dynamics entirely. Last week the White House set out its case against the inclusion of China as a developer, and implicitly against the whole WTO structure. “Nearly two-thirds of WTO members have been able to avail themselves of special treatment and to take on weaker commitments under the WTO framework by designating themselves as developing countries,” the president said.
His real target, of course, is China, with which he is locked in an apparent life-and-death struggle over trade. China is a huge trading power, ranked second only to the US in terms of economic power and number one in the world by exports and foreign investment. Trump is right when he says it is crazy to call China a “developing power.”The main reason why China justifies its developing status is because of its comparatively low level of GDP per capita. While it is number two to the US in aggregate economic power as measured by GDP, that has to spread an awfully long way in a population of 1.4 billion. Annual income per head of population, measured by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), amounts to only $18,000, putting China between the Dominican Republic and Azerbaijan. For comparison, the average American earns $62,000 a year, with the average Saudi on around $55,000, says the IMF.
There has to be some way of ironing out what the White House calls “this outdated dichotomy,” but it is difficult to see how it can be done within the existing WTO framework. The organization is facing calls for reform, not just from Trump, but from many of the most powerful voices in the international community. The G20 in Osaka backed a joint resolution for WTO reform “with a sense of urgency.” So, while Trump’s abrasive style often merely rubs people up the wrong way, for once he has hit on an important truth: China is no longer a developing country, and it is time the rule book was rewritten to reflect that reality.

Religious education could improve US’ foreign relations
Kerry Boyd Anderson/Arab News/July 30/2019
The Pew Research Center last week publishedthe results of a December survey looking at Americans’ knowledge of various religions. When given 32 basic questions about a variety of religions, the average respondent answered fewer than half correctly.
To some extent, this is unremarkable. According to the Pew Religious Landscape study, based on a different Pew survey, more than 70 percent of Americans identify as Christian. In the religious knowledge survey, Americans scored higher answering questions about Christianity than about other major world religions. It is natural that, in a Christian-majority country, Americans know more about Christianity than they do about other religions. In many countries, most people probably know more about the majority religion than they do about other faiths. However, given the diversity of American society and the particular US role in global affairs, Americans’ knowledge of other religions — or lack thereof — is worth examining.
The survey identified several factors that were correlated with higher knowledge of various religions. Unsurprisingly, Americans with more education tended to score higher. While general educational level seems to be the most important factor, Americans who had taken a world religions class were more likely to know basic facts about a variety of faiths. Another important factor was personal interaction with people of other faiths; the survey found that Americans who personally know people from several different religious backgrounds tended to know much more about a range of religions.
One important finding is that greater knowledge of religions other than one’s own has a strong tendency to lead to more positive perceptions of other religions. The survey found that Americans who had broader knowledge of multiple religions had significantly more positive perceptions of Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, atheism and mainline Protestantism than those who lacked knowledge (this analysis excluded respondents who were members of those faiths). While the difference was smaller, people with more diverse religious knowledge also had more positive perceptions of Islam, Catholicism and Mormonism. The one exception in the survey was evangelical Protestantism, which received more negative ratings from people with broad knowledge of religions than from people with less knowledge.
The survey also found that many Americans overestimate the size of the US Jewish community, the US Muslim community, or both. Pew’s Religious Landscape study found that Jews are only 1.9 percent of the US population, with Muslims at 0.9 percent, followed by Buddhists and Hindus at 0.7 percent. Often, overestimating the size of a religious minority would have little practical consequence. However, at a time when some right-wing figures are warning about growing numbers of Jews and Muslims — as seen at the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, where demonstrators chanted “Jews will not replace us,” and in multiple examples of right-wing activists alleging that Muslims are infiltrating the government and trying to impose Shariah law — it matters if many Americans have an inflated sense of these minorities’ numbers.
The very small size of Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu communities in the US, relative to the wider population, limits the opportunities for other Americans to have personal interactions with members of these faiths. This is especially true for Americans who do not live in cities. Many Americans assume they know about Judaism because they have learned about the Old Testament, but they often lack any knowledge of the way that 21st century Jewish Americans live and worship. The Pew survey found that a majority of Americans know that Makkah is the holiest city for Muslims and that Ramadan is an Islamic holy month; however, many Americans’ knowledge of Islam is informed primarily through media coverage of extremist variations of political Islam and of warfare in the Middle East.
Greater knowledge of religions other than one’s own has a strong tendency to lead to more positive perceptions of other religions.
Americans’ knowledge and perceptions of different religions have implications for society and foreign policy. From a social perspective, Americans’ views of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism shape the environment in which Americans belonging to those faith groups live their lives.
It has long been clear that religious views affect US foreign policy. Christian affinity for the “Holy Land” and Judaism is one of several reasons behind traditional US support for Israel. Negative views of Islam, which existed prior to but were strongly reinforced by the 9/11 attacks, have created challenges for US relations with many Muslim countries. Traditional American distaste for atheism and outrage over the persecution of Christians played an important role in anti-Soviet sentiments during the Cold War.
The Pew survey, combined with other studies on the connections between public religious views and foreign policy, suggest that education on world religions and programs designed to offer person-to-person interactions, such as interfaith programs, would improve Americans’ understanding of a variety of religions. Such efforts could facilitate improved relations with other countries, both by producing a larger cadre of foreign policy professionals with knowledge of religions and a voting public with better informed — and likely more positive — views of other countries’ religions.
*Kerry Boyd Anderson is a writer and political risk consultant with more than 14 years’ experience as a professional analyst of international security issues and Middle East political and business risk. Twitter: @KBAresearch

Palestinian unity crucial in light of Abbas’ gamble
Osama Al-Sharif/Arab News/July 30/2019
President Mahmoud Abbas detonated a political bombshell last Thursday, but barely anyone noticed. The 84-year-old Palestinian leader announced that he was suspending all agreements with Israel, adding that a committee will be formed to carry out that decision. Top Palestinian Authority (PA) aides said the decision includes everything that came as a result of the Oslo Accords, signed in Washington some 26 years ago, including the highly sensitive security coordination. Israel is yet to respond officially to Abbas’ move.
Little else has been mentioned about the decision. The committee is yet to be formed, let alone meet. No one really knows what the “halting,” “suspending” or “freezing” of the agreements really entails or what fallout is expected. The decision, which was welcomed by various Palestinian factions, including Hamas in Gaza, was taken in retaliation for Israel’s demolition last week of scores of Palestinian homes and buildings in an area close to East Jerusalem that is under the PA’s administration. The US foiled a vote to rebuke the Israeli action at the UN Security Council, adding to Palestinian frustration.
So Abbas finally made a decision that he has been threatening for months. Last year, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Central Council decided to suspend the Oslo agreement and similar motions were adopted by the Palestine National Council and Fatah’s Revolutionary Council. But Abbas hesitated before executing these decisions.
It is difficult to ascertain what comes next. The PA’s very existence is tied to the Oslo Accords and its survival as a Palestinian entity depends on scores of agreements and understandings with Israel. In addition to the security coordination, Israel collects taxes in areas under its control and delivers the money to the cash-starved PA. For months now, the PA has refused to receive such funds because Israel was deducting millions of dollars that it says were to be given to the families of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails or those killed by Israel and accused of terrorism.
Also crucial to the survival of the PA, which is the largest employer of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, is the so-called Paris Protocol, which regulates all economic ties between the PA and Israel. The sad reality is that, after all is said and done, the PA stands to lose the most from the suspension of agreements with Israel at this stage.
The sad reality is that the PA stands to lose the most from the suspension of agreements with Israel at this stage.
Abbas needed to think his decision through carefully because the suspension of the Oslo Accords delivers a fatal blow to the PA itself. Short of disbanding the PA, declaring the West Bank and Gaza as Occupied Territories and demanding the implementation of UN resolutions, his move will not be taken seriously by Israel and the rest of the world. It is a heavy price to pay, but after years — no, decades — of Israeli disregard of its commitments under Oslo, the PA has turned into a vassal organ of Israel; maintaining occupation if not legitimizing it.
An early test of Abbas’ decision will appear soon. The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah cannot move without Israeli permissions. President Abbas himself cannot travel outside the PA’s area without approval. Far more complicated will be the effect of such a move on the majority of Palestinians. Almost all daily transactions — birth and death certificates, the issuing of passports, land registration and others — are done in coordination with Israel. Halting that coordination will deny Palestinians access to basic civil services.
The decision also casts doubts on the prospects of holding fresh legislative elections and complicates the legal status of Abbas himself, as a president whose term expired almost a decade ago. And it provides no real alternatives to the possible collapse of the PA.
When efforts to restore Palestinian unity and reconciliation are bogged down, it helps serve Israeli interests at a time when Benjamin Netanyahu is battling to win a new term as premier while threatening to annex parts of the West Bank and wage a painful campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
The question now is why did Abbas suspend rather than abrogate the agreements with Israel? The straight answer is that he is not serious about taking such a move and he hopes that Israel and the US will rush to salvage the ailing accord. But, if his gambit backfires, he will find himself in a humiliating position: Having to restore security coordination and seeking ways to save the PA. His options do not look good and he may have painted himself into a corner.
The Palestinian president needs to act quickly and find ways to restore Palestinian unity at any cost. Hamas too should realize that it can no longer sustain the status quo in Gaza and that, for the Palestinian national cause to survive this difficult test, both sides must find common ground and accept the need to compromise.
*Osama Al-Sharif is a journalist and political commentator based in Amman. Twitter: @plato010