LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
March 05/2019

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 07/18-30: “John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ When the men had come to him, they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” ’ Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. And he answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’ When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who put on fine clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.” I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.’(And all the people who heard this, including the tax-collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John’s baptism. But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves.)”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 04-05/2019
What is The Ash Monday/Elias Bejjani/March 04/19
The Holy Journey Of The Lent/ Elias Bejjani/March 03/19
Aoun Says 'No Immunity for Anyone' in Corruption Battle
Saniora is 'Red Line', Says Daryan from Grand Serail
Geagea Says Parties Need to Show 'Seriousness' on Fighting Corruption
Democratic Gathering MPs Discuss Electricity File with Hariri
Al-Gharib: Sacred Duty to Achieve Consensus over Refugee File
Qaouq: Anti-Corruption Campaign Not for Settling Old Records
Jordan Willing to Exchange Lebanese Water for Electricity
Report: Decisive Position Expected by Aoun on ‘Six-Degrees’ Issue
Meeting at Environment Ministry Tackles Garbage Management in Metn
UK Says Support to UNRWA, Palestinian Refugees to Continue
Lebanon’s Jumblat Defuses Tensions over Druze ‘Entry Permits’ to Syria
$40 Million Spent Yearly on Protective Teams for Lebanese Officials

Litles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on March 04-05/2019
Canadian Network Cancels Muslim TV Show After Jewish Group Complaints
U.S. Deploys THAAD Missile Defense in Israel for Exercise
US Consulate in Jerusalem Closes Monday
2 Palestinians Shot and Killed in Alleged Car Ramming
Lavrov: Memorandum on Idlib Was Not Fully Implemented
Seven Syrian Ministers Added to EU Sanctions List
Syria: Attack Slows on ISIS as Militants Hide Behind Civilians
Al-Jubeir: It is premature to determine the return of Syria to the Arab League
Israel welcomes Vatican move to open Pius XII archives
Aqsa Mosque: Israel Imposes 40-Day Ban on Religious Clerics
Iran Insists Moscow Ties 'Strong', Shrugs Off Israel-Russia Coordination
Shamkhani: Netanyahu’s Futile Visits to Moscow Will not Affect Iran’s Syria Presence
U.S. Warns of 'Swift Response' to Any Threats as Guaido Returns to Venezuela
New Democrat Probe Seeks Docs from Trump Sons, Kushner

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 04-05/2019
Canadian Network Cancels Muslim TV Show After Jewish Group Complaints/Jerusalem Post/March 04/19
Algeria: The Health of the President and Health of the Country/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/March 04/19
Winning the Nuclear Game against Two Giants/Tobin Harshaw/Bloomberg/March 04/19
Analysis/The Plot Against Zarif – and How Iran's Hardliners Failed/Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/March 04/19
Canadian Imam Zafar Bangash: It Is Time To Pick Up The Stones, Stone Homosexuals To Death; Muslims Cannot Coexist With The Jews And The West (Archival)/MEMRI/March 04/2019
Palestinians: No Peace or Reconciliation with the 'Infidels'/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/March 04/19
Cyprus Gas Discovery Could Be an East Mediterranean Game-Changer/Simon Henderson/The Washington Institute/March 04/19

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on March 04-05/2019
What is The Ash Monday
Elias Bejjani/March 04/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/72716/elias-bejjani-what-is-the-ash-monday/
Ash Monday is the first day of Lent and It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God.
On The Ash Monday the priest ceremonially marks with wet ashes on the worshippers’ foreheads a visible cross while saying “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”. Worshippers are reminded of their sinfulness and mortality and thus, implicitly, of their need to repent in time.
Ash Monday (Greek: Καθαρά Δευτέρα), is also known as Clean and Pure Monday.
The common term for this day, refers to the leaving behind of sinful attitudes and non-fasting foods.
Our Maronite Catholic Church is notable amongst the Eastern rites employing the use of ashes on this day.
(In the Western Catholic Churches this day falls on Wednesday and accordingly it is called the “Ash Wednesday”)
Ash Monday is a Christian holy day of prayer, fasting, contemplating one’s transgressions and repentance.
Ash Monday is a reminder that we should begin Lent with good intentions and a desire to clean our spiritual house. It is a day of strict fasting including abstinence not only from meat but from eggs and dairy products as well.
Liturgically, Ash Monday—and thus Lent itself—begins on the preceding (Sunday) night,[2] at a special service called Forgiveness Vespers, which culminates with the Ceremony of Mutual Forgiveness, at which all present will bow down before one another and ask forgiveness. In this way, the faithful begin Lent with a clean conscience, with forgiveness, and with renewed Christian love. The entire first week of Great Lent is often referred to as “Clean Week”, and it is customary to go to Confession during this week, and to clean the house thoroughly.
The theme of Ash Monday is set by the Old Testament reading appointed to be read at the Sixth Hour on this day (Isaiah 1:1–20), which says, in part: Wash yourselves and You shall be clean; put away the wicked ways from your souls before Mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well. Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, consider the fatherless, and plead for the widow. Come then, and let us reason together, says the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, I will make them white as wool (vv. 16–18).
The Holy Bible stresses the conduct of humility and not bragging for fasting: Mathew 06/16-21: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
It is worth mentioning that Ashes were used in ancient times to express grief. When Tamar was raped by her half-brother, “she sprinkled ashes on her head, tore her robe, and with her face buried in her hands went away crying” (2 Samuel 13:19).
Examples of the Ash practices among Jews are found in several other books of the Bible, including Numbers 19:9, 19:17, Jonah 3:6, Book of Esther 4:1, and Hebrews 9:13.
Jesus is quoted as speaking of the Ash practice in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13: “If the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago (sitting) in sackcloth and ashes.

The Holy Journey Of The Lent
 Elias Bejjani/March 03/19
 A true believer is the one who through faith can like Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ turn  the water it into wine, and enjoy genuine happiness that never ends.
 http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/72693/elias-bejjani-the-holy-journey-of-the-lent/
 Lent that is a forty-day period  that starts on the ASH Monday and ends on the Easter Day.
  Lent in principle is a Holy period that is ought to be utilized with Almighty God in acts of genuine praying, contemplation, self humility, repentance, penances, forgiveness, and conciliation with self and others.
 Lent is a privileged time for an interpersonal pilgrimage towards Almighty God Who is the fount of mercy.
 Lent is a Holy pilgrimage Journey in which Almighty God accompanies us far away from the deserts of our human poverty in a bid of sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter.
 During the Lent time Almighty God will be guarding us all the time to strengthen our faith and to open our eye, minds and hearts to see and understand the truth.
 Lent through prayers and repentance we can help ourselves to understand  God's Word with particular abundance.
 During the lent and though meditating and internalizing we learn how to live with the Word of God every day.
 During the Lent we are ought to learn a precious and irreplaceable form of prayer; by attentively listening to God, who continues to speak to our hearts.
 Via the lent we nourish the itinerary of faith initiated on the day of our Baptism.
 The Act of Praying during the lent allows us to talk to Our Holy Father, Almighty God all the time.
 The lent is a crossing journey from all that is a mortal lust of instincts to all that is genuine faith and spirituals through graces of Christ.
 Lent is a journey of spiritual joy and an interaction with the heavenly bridegroom.
 Lent is also a process of liberation from selfishness and hatred.
 Lent is a time of repentance and reconciliation with Almighty God, own self and all others
 Lent is  a 40 day period of contemplation, prayers and all possible acts of charity.
 Lent is a period of taming our own mortal hunger and lust for all that is earthly riches.
 Lent is time for sharing and helping those who are in need.

Aoun Says 'No Immunity for Anyone' in Corruption Battle
Naharnet/March 04/19/President Michel Aoun stressed Monday that there will be no “immunity” for anyone in the fight against corruption. “Some have always thought that the anti-corruption battle is long-forgotten, but it has started, albeit a bit late, and a number of files are being looked into,” Aoun told a delegation from the Maronite League in Baabda. “There is an impetus and resistance against the anti-corruption battle as you have noticed over the past days, but we are determined to win the battle no matter the challenges and our resolve shall not weaken, especially that there will be no immunity for anyone regardless of their position,” the president added. “It will also not involve any discrimination,” Aoun reassured. And stressing “the importance of the public opinion -- which differentiates between the accused and the innocent -- in winning the battle,” the president pointed out that “the inspection and judicial authorities have clear experiences before them and they should perform their duties.”

Saniora is 'Red Line', Says Daryan from Grand Serail
Naharnet/March 04/19/Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, Lebanon's most senior Sunni Muslim cleric, on Monday threw his support behind ex-PM Fouad Saniora in the face of corruption accusations. Daryan voiced his remarks after talks at the Grand Serail with Prime Minister Saad Hariri. “The issue of fighting corruption is important and necessary, as long as we are seeking to establish a just and strong state, but this issue must be addressed within state institutions, because there are inspection and accountability bodies that should perform their job,” Daryan told reporters after the meeting. “Whereas overbidding over this issue or resorting to political campaigns over this file or another file are rejected. On this very issue I voice a clear message: ex-PM Fouad Saniora is a red line, because he is a statesman par excellence who has restored the transparency and credibility of the state's funds,” the mufti added. Referring to Saniora's latest press conference, Daryan said the former premier refuted “all accusations and lies” and was “very successful” in doing so. “Ex-PM Fouad Saniora is a major value and figure in whom we pride ourselves and we will defend him against any unjust accusation,” the mufti went on to say. On Friday, Saniora described the issue of the “missing” $11 billion as a “farce,” as he announced that those “setting up mini-states inside the state” are the real corrupts, in an apparent jab at Hizbullah. At a press conference he held to respond to remarks by MP Hassan Fadlallah, Saniora added that the 11 billion dollars in question were spent on interest hikes, treasury loans for Electricite Du Liban, and wage hikes and recruitment expenses for the armed forces.

Geagea Says Parties Need to Show 'Seriousness' on Fighting Corruption
Naharnet/March 04/19/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Monday said the parties represented in the government should prove that they are “serious” about combating corruption.“The first chapter of the work of the government was not encouraging,” Geagea said, referring to Cabinet's latest session. “Everyone has talked about fighting corruption, but the first chapter of the government's work has indicated that there is no seriousness in this fight,” Geagea added, noting that “the issue of public school teachers and the six degrees was raised from outside the agenda and without the needed files.”
“We burdened the treasury with additional expenses and the majority agreed to grant them the six degrees without knowing who among them succeeded (in qualification exams) and who didn't,” Geagea lamented. He added: “If we have started in this manner, how would the international community believe the Lebanese behavior and grant us the CEDRE loans. I call on President (Michel) Aoun to return the decree and I urge Parliament to shoulder its responsibility.”Noting that reform should start with the electricity and telecom sectors, Geagea warned that “we are not in a situation that allows us to waste any day of the government's tenure.”“The numbers indicate swelling in employment in state administrations. We must address the flaw and end the treasury's deficit, or else we will be headed for disaster,” the LF leader added. “To those who might tell us you have nothing to do with telecommunications we say: we are a political party that is concerned with all sectors in the country,” he went on to say.

Democratic Gathering MPs Discuss Electricity File with Hariri
Naharnet/March 04/19/A delegation from the Democratic Gathering held talks Monday with Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail. The delegation comprised Industry Minister Wael Abu Faour and the MPs Bilal Abdullah and Hadi Abu al-Hosn and a number of advisers and the meeting was held in the presence of former Minister Ghattas Khoury. “Discussions focused on the electricity plan and the delegation briefed the Prime Minister on their views on this subject, particularly in terms of the necessary reforms,” a statement issued by Hariri's office said. After the meeting, Abu al-Hosn said: “We visited the Prime Minister to continue the consultations and confirm the good relations between Mukhtara and the Center House. We discussed the electricity file and it was a deep scientific discussion in the presence of specialists and we agreed on a number of steps.”He added: “The main focus was to act quickly to save the electricity sector from the situation in which it is floundering and the start of the solution would be by implementing the laws. There are laws passed in Parliament, and there is a plan that the Prime Minister seeks to apply.”“We will work together through a joint committee between the two groups and then we will present the recommendations to the Cabinet. The Prime Minister has the desire and intention to form a ministerial committee concerned mainly with the electricity file,” Abu al-Hosn went on to say. “Today, we emphasized the importance of implementing the law, firstly by appointing a new board of directors for Electricite Du Liban, and the regulatory committee for the electricity sector. We will continue the discussion through the joint committee that we agreed on today,” he added.

Al-Gharib: Sacred Duty to Achieve Consensus over Refugee File
Naharnet/March 04/19/State Minister for Refugee Affairs Saleh al-Gharib announced Monday that it is his “most sacred duty” to achieve “national consensus” over the thorny issue of Syrian refugees. “We commit ourselves before the Lebanese to present a comprehensive paper to address the refugee issue,” Gharib said at a press conference for the ministers of the Strong Lebanon bloc. “We will not announce it through the media because we believe that serious initiatives never start through the media,” the minister added. Gharib also revealed that he has carried out “announced and unannounced” meetings over this file. The minister had visited Damascus and met with a Syrian minister over the refugee file prior to the new government's first meeting. The visit sparked controversy between the opponents and supporters of the Syrian regime in Lebanon.

Qaouq: Anti-Corruption Campaign Not for Settling Old Records
Naharnet/March 04/19/Hizbullah central council member Sheikh Nabil Qaouq on Monday said the party is dealing with a “new responsibility in fighting corruption,” noting that its latest campaign is “not meant to take revenge against anyone.”“Hizbullah is addressing a new national responsibility to serve the entire Lebanese, because the State can only be built on the course of reform and through the obligatory path of combating corruption and controlling the next expenditure in the Lebanese government,” said Qaouq at a festival in Tyre. Qaouq said through its course in fighting corruption, the party is not “aiming to take revenge against anyone.”Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah, who is in charge of Hizbullah’s anti-corruption bureau, called recently for a probe into what he claimed were missing state funds amounting to $11 billion dollars. He was indirectly pointing a finger at former PM Fouad Saniora. He submitted financial documents to the judiciary that he claimed could take many people “end up in jail including former prime ministers.”For his turn, Saniora described the issue of the “missing” $11 billion as a “farce,” as he announced that those “setting up mini-states inside the state” are the real corrupts, in an apparent jab at Hizbullah. Saniora said the 11 billion dollars in question were spent on interest hikes, treasury loans for Electricite Du Liban, and wage hikes and recruitment expenses for the armed forces.

Jordan Willing to Exchange Lebanese Water for Electricity
Naharnet/March 04/19/Speaker Nabih Berri met on Sunday in Amman with Jordanian King Abdullah on the sidelines of the 29th Conference of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (APU), where discussions touched on a number of issues including Jordan’s willingness to exchange water for electricity with Lebanon, the National News Agency reported Monday. The two men discussed a joint Lebanese-Jordanian concern regarding the presence of Syrian refugees on their soil and the pressures it poses on both countries. They stressed the need for finding a solution for the refugee crisis taking into consideration the “humanitarian dimension, which requires the return of displaced persons to their country as soon as possible.” Both men had similar positions regarding the need for coordination between Lebanon and Syria and between Jordan and Syria on the return of refugees. Bilateral talks also tackled a number of issues related to mutual relations and cooperation between Lebanon and Jordan in particular, and Arab-Arab relations in general. On the Lebanese-Jordanian relations, Berri highlighted Lebanon’s longtime electricity crisis, to which the Jordanian king expressed readiness to provide Lebanon with electricity in exchange for water. King Abdullah said Jordan has an electricity surplus. Berri, in turn, pointed to Lebanon's surplus water capacity, questioning about the cost of electricity if Lebanon wished to benefit from it, to which the Jordanian King replied: "We welcome this, so you have surplus water and we can exchange electricity for water with you."

Report: Decisive Position Expected by Aoun on ‘Six-Degrees’ Issue
Naharnet/March 04/19/All eyes turn to the Cabinet session to be held this week after earlier heated meetings that saw ministers divided over the file of Syrian refugees return, and the issue of granting a six-degrees adjustment for teachers’ wages amounting to 40 percent increase, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. Shall the Cabinet hold its session at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, unnamed sources told the daily that President Michel is expected to make a “decisive decision on the six-degrees issue.”During last week’s cabinet meeting held at the Grand Serail, parties were divided over the file which garnered the Cabinet vote approval of al-Mustaqbal Movement, AMAL Movement, Hizbullah and the PSP, but was rejected by the Lebanese Forces, Free Patriotic Movement and Marada. The sources said that Article 56 of the Constitution gives the President the right to ask Cabinet to reconsider any decision taken within 15 days from the date of deposition to the Presidency. If the Cabinet insists on the decision or the time limit passed without issuing or returning the decree, the decree is then considered in force and must be published. However, ministerial sources told the daily that the President had not received the decision yet to say his final word. Aoun is expected to study the file, but “there is a possibility that he will reject it especially if it is proven to be unconstitutional,” they added. In 2017, teachers have received wage increase stipulated in the salary scale law but it rejected the six-degrees also stipulated by the law.

Meeting at Environment Ministry Tackles Garbage Management in Metn
Naharnet/March 04/19/Environment Minister Fadi Jreissati held a meeting at the ministry’s premises in the presence of Metn lawmakers where discussions tackled measures to avoid a garbage crisis as the Jdeideh-Bourj Hammoud landfill is nearing full capacity, the National News Agency reported on Monday. The meeting was held in the presence of MPs Hagop Pakradounian, Eddy Abillama, Elias Hankash, Eddy Maalouf and a representative of the municipalities union. The interlocutors discussed the environmental situation in the Metn area and weighed the options in order to avoid a new garbage crisis as the landfill reaches full capacity in July. A suggestion to expand the landfill was met with reservation.

UK Says Support to UNRWA, Palestinian Refugees to Continue
Naharnet/March 04/19/The UK will “continue to support” Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the region through UNRWA and partners, Britain's ambassador to Lebanon said on Monday. Ambassador Chris Rampling was addressing his guests at the Palestinian networking reception he hosted at Dar el Nimer Cultural Center, in the presence of Palestinian Ambassador Ashraf Dabbour. Representatives of Lebanese and Palestinian NGOs, academics and researchers, international donors including from the diplomatic corps were also present. The event was an opportunity to “reiterate the UK’s continued support to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and the region, highlighting the work the Embassy is doing with local and international partners, the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, UNRWA, and many other Palestinians, Lebanese and international donors supporting Palestinian refugees here,” the British embassy said in a statement. Addressing the guests, Ambassador Rampling said: “Our support to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon is made a reality through the commitment of many of you in this room today, through your NGOs, local organizations, and international partners. As well as, of course, the significant sums funded through the UK’s Department for International Development that are spent in Lebanon by UNRWA.”He added: “I am proud both that the UK is a long term supporter of UNRWA and that we stepped up our support last year: providing $84 million in funding.”“Our Embassy is proud to work with young Palestinians in Lebanon, supporting marginalized youth gain access to increased economic opportunities, and develop solutions to governance, service delivery, improving security for all, and helping the most vulnerable including people with disabilities,” Rampling said. Guests also enjoyed the photography and paintings’ exhibition prepared by Palestinian youth.

Lebanon’s Jumblat Defuses Tensions over Druze ‘Entry Permits’ to Syria
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 4 March, 2019/Head of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party Walid Jumblat defused on Sunday tensions in the country in wake of uproar sparked by the Syrian regime’s order that Druze clerics seeking to enter its territory obtain a “mandatory” permit. The former MP had stoked the tensions in a series of tweets last week that had condemned the move. He later deleted them and tweeted Saturday night that he “retracted some comments about heading to Syria.”“To be frank, it does not matter how people go or do not go to Syria,” he added, while expressing his respect to Druze senior cleric Nasserddine al-Gharib.“I hope that comrades and supporters will disregard statements made here and there and that we do not become embroiled in marginal disputes,” he continued. The regime had ordered that Druze clerics seeking entry into Syria obtain a permit with their name. The permit must be signed by Gharib, who is known for his affiliation to Damascus. Jumblat’s consequent uproar prompted tweets in response from other Druze figures in Lebanon, notably MP Talal Arslan and former MP Wiam Wahhab, both known for their support for the regime. Wahhab and Arslan, however, deleted their tweets soon after Jumblat did. Arslan said his move was at the request of Druze clerics.Lebanese critics of the regime said that Damascus’ order recalled its years of hegemony over Lebanon when it directly meddled in its internal affairs.

$40 Million Spent Yearly on Protective Teams for Lebanese Officials
Beirut - Caroline Akoum/ Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 4 March, 2019/The Lebanese state spends yearly around $40 million on protective teams for politicians and security officials, as part of a culture of show-off once a person is given a high-ranking post. Lebanese law allows some officials to have bodyguards for their personal protection. However, this same law legitimizes “corruption” by permitting any person to recruit a security detail or PSD under the pretext of danger to his or her life. The law’s abuse has reached an extent where public figures have turned the persons tasked with protecting their personal security into drivers for their family members or as couriers. According to the law, every former president gets ten bodyguards, while former speakers and prime ministers are allowed to have eight protective team members. Each current minister and deputy gets four bodyguards, while 164 judges are each entitled for one PSD. The wife of a late president gets two bodyguards while the heads of religious sects residing in Lebanon are entitled for six PSDs. However, former Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and Researcher at Beirut-based Information International Mohammed Shamseddine confirmed that the quota is never respected. “There is no exact information on the number of bodyguards and drivers of former and current officers, as concerned parties reject to discuss the matter in public. However, it is estimated that $6 million is spent yearly on officers’ bodyguards,” Shamseddine revealed. He said a former brigadier general at the Internal Security Forces had 60 members to protect him, while his successor has only one bodyguard. Meanwhile, concrete blocks are being gradually removed from outside the headquarters of political parties and public institutions in line with a decision by Interior Minister Raya El Hassan. On Sunday, the Mustaqbal Movement started to remove concrete blocks outside its headquarters in the Beirut neighborhood of Qantari. Two days ago, the General Security also said it removed barricades near he agency's building in Beirut’s Adlieh area, following instructions from General Security head Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on March 04-05/2019
Canadian Network Cancels Muslim TV Show After Jewish Group Complaints
Jerusalem Post/March 04/19
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Culture/Canadian-network-cancels-Muslim-TV-show-after-Jewish-group-complains-582426
The Canadian VisionTV network, owned by ZoomerMedia, pulled from its airwaves a TV series titled Muslim Perspectives after a campaign by B’nai Brith Canada. A spokeswoman for ZoomerMedia confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Monday that the show was pulled due to the complaints, but declined to elaborate further. The show was hosted by Imam Zafar Bangash, a controversial religious leader who has come under fire in the past for his inflammatory statements. Bangash, who is a fervent supporter of the Iranian government and a regular on the state-run Press TV, is the director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought and the president of the Islamic Society of York Region. He has referred to Zionists as “satan,” “racists” and “parasites” and called for Palestine to be liberated from the Zionists and for Israel to be abolished. Bangash has also reportedly incited against homosexuals, and opposed the expansion of gay rights. Episodes of Muslim Perspectives included discussions of Hezbollah rockets destroying Israel, and claims that Israel was working with the US and Saudi Arabia to wage war and control geopolitics.
A spokeswoman for ZoomerMedia confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Monday that the show was pulled due to the complaints, but declined to elaborate further.
VisionTV is a “specialty channel that airs multi-faith, multi-cultural and trusted family-friendly programs,” the network states, which aim to “educate, inspire, entertain and express a diversity of perspectives.” As recently as Friday, Muslim Perspectives was listed as a current show on the VisionTV website, but as of Monday it no longer appeared. The show was described simply as a “half hour Islamic TV series.”On Sunday, B’nai Brith Canada welcomed the network’s decision. “Muslim Perspectives, starring radical imam Zafar Bangash, will no longer be able to poison the minds of impressionable viewers with antisemitic conspiracy theories and anti-Israel rhetoric,” wrote B’nai Brith CEO Michael Mostyn in an open letter to supporters. “Thanks to you, our loyal supporters, as well as the principled actions of the broadcaster, Muslim Perspectives will no longer be able to promote content that encourages division between the Muslim and Jewish communities rather than fostering dialogue.”Last week, the Canadian Jewish group circulated a petition calling for the show’s removal. The petition claimed that the show, and a linked magazine, promotes “hateful content targeting members of minority groups such as the Jewish and LGBTQ communities.”Last year, B’nai Brith said, VisionTV agreed to review all episodes of Muslim Perspectives before they aired, after complaints over their content. But after further complaints and the recent petition, the network canceled the show entirely.

U.S. Deploys THAAD Missile Defense in Israel for Exercise
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 04/19/The United States has deployed its advanced THAAD missile defense system temporarily to Israel for a joint military exercise, the first of its kind, officials said Monday. The two countries confirmed the deployment, with Israel's military stressing it was "not related to any specific current event."It is the first such exercise in Israel, although the two allies hold regular joint war games. No dates have been announced for the maneuvers. Israel has its own missile defense system, but the exercise aims in part to examine how to incorporate THAAD so that "we are ready for any challenges in the future," Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said. It will also allow the U.S. military to practice the rapid deployment of THAAD across the globe, officials said. "We see this as an opportunity to practice the integration of advanced American air defense systems into the Israeli air force air defense array," Conricus told journalists. "The THAAD system is considered to be one of the most advanced of its kind in the world," the Israeli spokesman said. The exercise with THAAD, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, involves more than 200 U.S. military personnel and its components include radars and launching systems, Conricus said. Components and personnel have come from the United States and Italy, Conricus said. The THAAD will be deployed in southern Israel, but officials declined to say specifically where and for how long. Israel's enemies in the region include Iran and Lebanon's Tehran-backed Hizbullah, both of which are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in neighboring Syria. THAAD is capable of destroying short, medium and intermediate-range missiles. In 2017, the U.S. government approved its sale to Saudi Arabia, providing Riyadh with state-of-the-art capabilities that could thwart an Iranian rocket attack. It had already been supplied to Saudi Arabia's neighbors Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Its deployment by the U.S. military in South Korea as defense against North Korean drew protests from Beijing, which feared its sensors would be capable of penetrating Chinese air space and upset the balance of power. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the joint exercise, calling it "additional testimony to the commitment of the U.S. to the security of Israel."

US Consulate in Jerusalem Closes Monday
Ramallah - Kifah Zboun/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 4 March, 2019/
General Secretary of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) executive committee slammed the US administration for shutting down on Monday its consulate in Jerusalem and merging its entire diplomatic mission to its new embassy. It is yet another attempt by the Trump administration to undermine Palestinian citizens’ status, Saeb Erekat stressed. He said the decision reflects Washington’s fanatic ideology that denies the right to self-determination. Erekat described the move as “the last nail in the coffin” of the administration as a sponsor of the peace process.The consulate, which serves Palestinians, has worked for 175 years in Jerusalem-Palestine, and its closure has nothing to do with its performance, the Palestinian official noted. From now on, Palestinians will have a unit in the new US Embassy to follow up their cases. The US consulate published in Arabic, Hebrew and English languages a statements saying: “All visa services are available at the US Embassy in Jerusalem.” This step follows US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement in October 18 that the two missions and teams would be combined. Pompeo explained back then that the goal is to improve “efficiency,” noting that this is not a change in policy. However, Palestinian officials considered it a new step taken by the US against Palestinians, following Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017 and his decision to move his country’s embassy to Tel Aviv in May 2018. Israeli media described the new step as a further blow to Palestinians as it reduces the US diplomatic representation and shows a sign of decline in the Palestinian status. The consulate represented the official US diplomatic mission in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza as an independent mission under the direction of the Consul General, who heads the mission. It also provided services to US citizens in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The historic building of the consulate is expected to become the residence of US Ambassador David Friedman, a pro-settlement and unpopular diplomat to the Palestinians.

2 Palestinians Shot and Killed in Alleged Car Ramming
Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 4 March, 2019/Israeli troops on Monday shot and killed two Palestinians who allegedly carried out a car-ramming attack on a highway in the occupied West Bank, injuring a soldier and a border policeman. The incident took place near the city of Ramallah, the Israeli military said. "An (army) officer was severely injured and a border police soldier was lightly injured as a result," the army said. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that the policeman injured in the pre-dawn attack had already been released from hospital. A third Palestinian inside the car was wounded and taken into custody. Khaldoun al-Deek, the mayor of the Palestinian village of Nima, told The Associated Press that the incident took place at a sharp curve in the road, leading him to "believe it was a road accident, not a ramming attack."The Palestinian health ministry identified the two killed Palestinians as Amir Daraj and Yusuf Anqawi, both 20 years old and residents of villages near Ramallah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the military to expedite the demolition of the suspected Palestinian attackers' homes. Since 2015, Palestinians have killed over 50 Israelis in stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks, and Israeli forces have killed upwards of 260 Palestinians in that same period.

Lavrov: Memorandum on Idlib Was Not Fully Implemented
London- Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 4 March, 2019/Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that articles of the memorandum signed between Russia and Turkey on Idlib (northern Syria) have not yet been fully implemented. “We encourage our Turkish partners to meet their commitments under the September 17, 2018 memorandum on stabilizing the situation in Idlib,” Lavrov said in an interview with the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Sunday. He highlighted the importance of preventing further growth in terrorist presence under the pretext of observing the ceasefire reached with Turkey. “So far, the document’s provisions stipulating the creation of a demilitarized zone and the withdrawal of all radicals and military hardware from it have not been fully implemented," he noted. Russia’s top diplomat also pointed out that a lot needs to be done to neutralize sleeper cells of radical armed groups.
“Certain hotbeds of terrorist presence remain in the country,” he stressed. First of all, this concerns the Idlib de-escalation zone, where most territory is controlled by militants from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which has been carrying out provocative raids against civilians, and Russian and Syrian military," Lavrov explained. Lavrov stressed that Astana talks on Syria proved effective, recalling that the decisions made in the framework of these talks led to the establishment of de-escalation areas, significant drop in violence levels and creation of conditions under which refugees can voluntarily return home. "We are working actively with our Iranian and Turkish partners to implement the resolutions of the Syrian national dialogue conference,” Lavrov said.Issues of ensuring the stability of the situation in Syria, pushing forward the process of political settlement and launching the work of the constitutional committee were discussed during the summit of the guarantor states (Russia, Iran, Turkey) held in Russia's Sochi on February 14.

Seven Syrian Ministers Added to EU Sanctions List
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 04/19/European Union countries on Monday added Syria's interior minister and six other new ministers to a sanctions blacklist for their role in President Bashar al-Assad's "violent repression" of civilians. The European Council grouping the 28 member countries said the ministers who were appointed to Assad's government in November have been barred from traveling to Europe and will see their assets frozen. "The Council today added seven ministers of the government of Syria to the list of persons and entities subject to restrictive measures against the Syrian regime and its supporters," the Council said in a statement. With the additions, there are now 277 people under EU sanctions for their role in the "violent repression" of civilians in Syria and for their links to the Assad regime. The EU said the seven new people on the list are Major General Mohammad Khaled al-Rahmoun, the interior minister, and Mohammad Rami Radwan Martini, the tourism minister. The five others are education minister Imad Muwaffaq al-Azab, higher education minister Bassam Bashir Ibrahim, public works and housing minister Suhail Mohammad Abdullatif, communications and technology minister Iyad Mohammad al-Khatib, and industry minister Mohammad Maen Zein-al-Abidin Jazba. The EU has also frozen the assets of some 72 entities. EU sanctions have been in force since December 1, 2011, and are subjected to annual review, with the next one due on June 1. Other bloc sanctions include an embargo on Syrian oil, investment restrictions, and a freeze on Syrian central bank assets within the European Union. They also cover export restrictions on equipment and technology that Damascus could use to repress its people as well as well as those it could use to monitor or intercept Internet or telephone calls. The Syrian conflict erupted in early 2011 when Assad's forces staged a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, sparking violence that has since claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.

Syria: Attack Slows on ISIS as Militants Hide Behind Civilians
Beirut- Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 4 March, 2019/US-backed Syrian fighters battling the ISIS militants in their last foothold in Syria say they have been forced to slow down their push because the extremists are using civilians as human shields. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) faced landmines, car bombs, tunnel ambushes, and suicide attacks on Sunday as they attempted to overrun the last area in the village of Baghouz held by the militants. Over the past few weeks its assault has been held up as tens of thousands of people fled Baghouz, all that remained to the group of its main territory in Iraq and Syria after years of retreats including a series of major defeats in 2017. But despite the slowing, Mustafa Bali, the head of the SDF media office, tweeted on Monday that the battle to retake ISIS-held Baghouz "is going to be over soon." SDF resumed its offensive to recapture Baghouz last Friday, after a two-week pause to allow for the evacuation of civilians. Retaking the sliver of land would be a milestone in the devastating four-year campaign to end ISIS' self-proclaimed caliphate that once straddled vast territory across Syria and Iraq. Bali said "we're slowing down the offensive" due to a small number of civilians held as human shields. While the capture of Baghouz would mark a milestone in the fight against ISIS, the group is expected to remain a security threat as an insurgent force with sleeper cells and some pockets of remote territory.

Al-Jubeir: It is premature to determine the return of Syria to the Arab League
By staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 4 March 2019/It is premature to determine the return of Syria to the Arab League, said Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir. “The return of Syria to the Arab League is linked to the political progress, and I think the topic is still early to discuss,” said al-Jubeir during a joint conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Saudi Capital of Riyadh. When asked about the Kingdom re-opening its embassy in Damascus, al-Jubeir said that this was also early to determine. “Syria’s reconstruction process will only occur after the Syrian war has been put to an end, and a political solution has been reached to guarantee peace and stability in Syria,” added al-Jubeir. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a history in helping its Arab brothers (...) The Kingdom is among the largest humanitarian aid providers who have given aid to more than 100 countries,” said al-Jubeir. Al-Jubeir stressed that both Riyadh and Moscow agree to Syria’s sovereignty and the need for a political solution to help Syria build a better future. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia is determined to help Syrian factions in concluding a constitutional committee. “We want to help the Syrian parties to end efforts on setting up a constitutional committee. I want to highlight that this situation is clear and the Syrian sides who are concerned with this are official authorities and the opposition (…) we call on the government and opposition to reach full agreement.” He said. “The Syrians themselves have to determine their future.”Lavrov arrived in Riyadh on Monday, marking the second destination of his Gulf State tour after Doha. The Russian foreign minister was received by al-Jubeir and is due to meet Saudi King Salman and some Saudi officials on Tuesday. Lavrov is expected to discuss with the Saudi King the situation in Syria, Libya, Yemen, and the Gulf region, as well as the Palestinian-Israeli solution. His Gulf tour is expected to include a visit to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

Israel welcomes Vatican move to open Pius XII archives
AFP, JerusalemMonday, 4 March 2019/Israel welcomed the Vatican’s announcement Monday that it will open the archives of Pius XII next year, a move that could shed light on the church during World War II. “We are pleased by the decision and hope it will enable free access to all relevant archives,” foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said on Twitter. Yad Vashem, the Israeli Holocaust memorial and research center, commended the Vatican’s decision, saying it expected researchers to “be granted full access to all documents stored in the archives”. Opening the archives “will enable objective and open research as well as comprehensive discourse on issues related to the conduct of the Vatican in particular, and the Catholic Church in general, during the Holocaust,” Yad Vashem said in a statement. Pope Francis said on Monday that “the Church is not afraid of history” as he announced the archives of Pius XII would be opened in March 2020. Researchers have long sought to examine the archives over why Pius XII did not intervene more against the Holocaust perpetrated by the German Nazis, an attitude denounced as a form of passive complicity. Historians say six million Jews died in the Holocaust.

Aqsa Mosque: Israel Imposes 40-Day Ban on Religious Clerics
Ramallah- Kifah Zboun/Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 4 March, 2019/Israel banned on Sunday two top religious officials from entering East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to a Palestinian official on Sunday
Israeli authorities handed out Chairman of Awqaf Council in Jerusalem Sheikh Abdul-Azim Salhab an order banning him from entering Aqsa Mosque for 40 days. Sheikh Najeh Bkerat, the deputy director of Muslim Endowments and Al-Aqsa Affairs, was also banned from the holy site for four months.
Israeli police also banned a mosque guard, Arafat Najib, from entering the holy site for a six-month period. Sunday’s ban came one week after Israeli police briefly arrested Salhab and Bkerat in raids on their homes in Jerusalem. Tension has mounted in Jerusalem last week in the wake of Israel’s closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque’s Rahma Gate on the eastern wall of Jerusalem’s Old City, triggering angry Palestinian protests. Jordan's Minister for Religious Affairs Abdel Nasser Abu-Bassal accused Israel of "a new escalation aimed at impeding Waqf's work in Jerusalem and intimidating its members". Jordan is in charge of Awqaf Council but is in ongoing disputes with Israel regarding powers. Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in the Palestinian authority Yousef Adais denounced the occupation authorities' ban saying that the current condition in Jerusalem and the conspiracies might be the most dangerous since its occupation in 1967. Further, Secretary-General of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's (PLO) executive committee Saeb Erekat called on the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take quick procedures in order to follow up the situation namely in Aqsa Mosque and to take necessary political acts with the international community before the occupation policies lead to an explosion. In an urgent official letter to Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit and OIC Secretary General Dr. Yusuf Bin Ahmed Al Uthaymeen, Erekat said that the occupation authority procedures are a violation of the status quo and the occupation is obviously attempting to change the reality in the city and impose a new one.

Iran Insists Moscow Ties 'Strong', Shrugs Off Israel-Russia Coordination
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 04/19/Iran's foreign ministry insisted Monday that Tehran's ties with Moscow are "strong" and shrugged off reported Israeli-Russian coordination on a withdrawal of foreign forces from Syria. "Iran's ties with Moscow are strong and we are always in touch and consult with each other," ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told reporters in Tehran. On a visit last week to Moscow where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed Israel would "not allow the military entrenchment of Iran in Syria.""President Putin and I also agreed on a common goal: the withdrawal of foreign forces that arrived in Syria after the outbreak of the civil war. We agreed to establish a joint team to advance this goal, together with other elements," Netanyahu said. Russia, which like Iran has sided with the government in the Syrian conflict, has not officially reacted to his statement. But for Ghasemi, it was just another example of Israeli "psychological" warfare.Israeli officials "have a habit they cannot quit, and that is lying. (They are) creating a psychological atmosphere to affect Iran's relations with its neighbors and Russia," he said. Thousands of pro-Iranian forces have been deployed to Syria over the course of the war which broke out in 2011, officially to confront "terrorism."They include members of the Revolutionary Guard, Iran's ideological army. But Tehran denies sending regular troops to fight in Syria, saying the Guards are serving as "military advisers" and that the brigades sent are made up of "volunteers" from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. "As long as the government of Syria wants us there, we will be there," Ghasemi said. Netanyahu has acknowledged that Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes on positions in Syria of Iranian forces and of its Lebanese ally Hizbullah.

Shamkhani: Netanyahu’s Futile Visits to Moscow Will not Affect Iran’s Syria Presence
London - Asharq Al-Awsat/Monday, 4 March, 2019/Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said on Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's “futile” visits to Moscow will not affect the presence of Iranian troops in Syria. “Regarding the range, destructive power, accuracy, and quick preparation, which are the four main bases of our missile development, we do not consult and obtain permission from anybody,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Tehran. “Our defense’s needs determine what we do.” Last week, Netanyahu visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and presented to him maps on Iranian presence in Syria. Shamkhani once again defended his country’s military presence in Syria, noting that it “comes at the request of the Syrian government,” according to Iranian Mehr news agency. The Syrian army, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Ansar Allah and Iranian fighters have proved that the West is not the center of the world, Shamkhani stressed, adding that US power would collapse. In this context, Shamkhani pointed to the outbreak of war 40 years ago between two fronts: “One wants stability” and the other seeks “instability.” “Those who create instability have only been defeated, and this is quite clear in our oil-rich region.”“Iranian forces headed to Syria at the request of the Syrian government, and they settled there to achieve stability and support Syrians,” Shamkhani added.

U.S. Warns of 'Swift Response' to Any Threats as Guaido Returns to Venezuela
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 04/19/The United States warned Monday of a "swift response" to any threats or violence against Venezuela's Juan Guaido, as the opposition leader returned home on a renewed push to oust President Nicolas Maduro.  "@jguaido's safe return to Venezuela is of the highest importance to the US," Vice President Mike Pence tweeted as Guaido arrived in Caracas.  "Any threats, violence, or intimidation against him will not be tolerated & will be met with swift response. The world is watching - Interim President Guaido must be allowed to re-enter Venezuela safely."At almost exactly the same time, Guaido arrived at the international airport serving Caracas, defying a threat of arrest by embattled President Nicolas Maduro. He was greeted by supporters and members of the diplomatic corps while in Caracas hundreds of his supporters took to the streets, waving Venezuelan flags. Recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries, Guaido had left the country February 23 despite a travel ban, entering Colombia to try to push through humanitarian aid stockpiled on the border.

New Democrat Probe Seeks Docs from Trump Sons, Kushner
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/March 04/19/The House Judiciary Committee launched a sprawling new probe Monday into Donald Trump's inner circle and alleged abuses of power, demanding documents from dozens of individuals including the president's sons Donald Jr and Eric and son-in-law Jared Kushner. The powerful panel's Democratic chairman, Jerry Nadler, sent letters to 81 people and entities in Trump's current or former orbit or who may have information pertinent to the investigation, amid a push by opposition lawmakers to hold the president and his associates accountable for possible wrongdoing. They include the Trump Organization's longtime chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, White House ex-aides Steve Bannon and Hope Hicks, current Trump personal lawyer Jay Sekulow, former attorney general Jeff Sessions, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The request is the most serious overt ramp-up of investigations into Trump since Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in early January, and seeks to uncover whether Trump or his administration have participated in obstruction of justice, public corruption, or other abuse of power.
"This is a critical time for our nation, and we have a responsibility to investigate these matters and hold hearings for the public to have all the facts," Nadler said in a statement. "Over the last several years, President Trump has evaded accountability for his near-daily attacks on our basic legal, ethical, and constitutional rules and norms," he added. "Investigating these threats to the rule of law is an obligation of Congress." Trump himself swatted away the probe as a fabrication. "The beautiful thing is, no collusion. It's all a hoax... a political hoax," Trump said at a White House event, as he suggested he would cooperate with the probe. "I cooperate all the time with everybody," he added. Nadler has given the recipients of his requests two weeks to respond. The 71-year-old Democrat now at the helm of a substantial investigation has made clear that his party is serious about probing the heart of Trump world.
The investigation appears to be focused on Trump's business dealings, possible collusion with Russia, and obstruction of justice allegations. It also will address accusations of campaign finance law violations and potential violations of the US Constitution's ban on foreign emoluments.
The letters include requests for information on the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower attended by Kushner, Trump Jr, now-jailed former campaign manager Paul Manafort, and a Russian lawyer reportedly close to the Kremlin, and documents surrounding the termination of FBI director James Comey.
The expansive new probe suggests the potential for laying the groundwork for possible impeachment proceedings against Trump. But Democratic congressional leaders including Nadler and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have been reticent about pushing for the president's impeachment.
Nadler told ABC on Sunday that such action would be "a long way down the road."

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on March 04-05/2019
Algeria: The Health of the President and Health of the Country
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al Awsat/March 04/19
It is not unusual for a political ally or a decorated general to betray you. Or for a comrade to unsheathe his knife and stab you in the back, while he hides his real intentions with smarmy smiles. None of this unusual. Betrayal is a talent enjoyed by colleagues, “comrades” and friends. The most painful are the betrayals by the people closest to you and even your own body. Your health could betray you when you need it the most and when you need to emerge unscathed against any challenge. You need your old skills to tightly grip the complicated strings in this complex country.
The body is once again betraying its owner on the eve of his birthday (he was born in Oujda on March 2, 1937). Coincidence would have it that it would be the date for his decision to submit his candidacy for a fifth term in office. His health had forced him to fly to a Swiss medical clinic. The truth is that he did not expect his reelection decision to ignite popular protests similar to the ones witnessed in Egypt eight years ago.
Such comparisons, however, are unwarranted. His story is unlike any other. It has never occurred to him to hop on a plane and flee the people’s ire. Algeria was calm when Zine El Abidine Ben Ali jumped on a plane that transported him to exile.
His country was calm when the Libyans took to the streets to demand an end to the long rule of the colonel. It was calm when televisions broadcast the images of the colonel as he attempted to flee his captors before they killed him with unprecedented brutality. No one was concerned that Algeria could one day be torn apart like Libya and for it to carved up by power- and oil-hungry militias.
He was not concerned when he heard about Hosni Mubarak’s resignation and when he appeared old and haggard behind bars. He was not concerned that Algeria would meet the same fate as Syria or Yemen. The protests in Algeria should not be compared to those in Khartoum. During President Omar al-Bashir’s term, Sudan lost a sizable chunk of its territories and most of its oil wealth.
Algeria has a different way in experiencing peace and war and expressing calm and anger.
He finds a great difficulty in explaining the images broadcast on television. He asks himself: Who incited the youths to take to the streets? Who is pulling the strings behind the scenes? Who wants Algeria to fall into a belated Arab Spring?
He remembers. He was their age (19) when he met the National Liberation Front’s military wing’s call for the youth to join the resistance. Since then, his past became part of his country’s history. Does the smartphone generation remember that it lives in the “Country of a Million Martyrs”? Does it remember that its liberation left countless martyrs, disabled people, widows and orphans? If these events are too old for it to recall, then it must at least remember the conflict of the 1990s and all of its massacres and violence when extremism almost tore the country apart. Does it have the right to forget the name of the figure who sponsored peace and stopped the bloodshed? His name was Abdulaziz Bouteflika, whom it claims the country has grown sick of.
The protesters appear to have forgotten that Algeria, with its rival parties, needs a strong man to prevent it from falling prey to ethnic conflicts. They are deluding themselves in claiming that what is possible in Europe is possible in their country. They do not know the difference between the El Mouradia palace, Elysee Palace and 10 Downing Street. Those countries can live without a De Gaulle or a Churchill. Algeria cannot, however, live without a strongman.
They blame him for unemployment, even though it was always there. They have forgotten that the state has never wavered in launching major projects when oil prices were at their best. They keep calling for change while forgetting that the absence of a strongman will leave change vulnerable to chaos and collapse. They speak of corruption, a housing crisis, a bleak future, weak parties and ongoing hegemony.
The president gets carried away with his memories. He remembers his experience with Ahmed Ben Bella, who showed great enthusiasm, but lacked realism and experience in running affairs of state. He remembers joining the coup that deposed him. He then recalls working with Houari Boumédiène, the quiet and firm president. He definitely does not forget how he was forced into exile.
Today, all the traps and hostility cannot hide one clear truth that he holds the record number of years in office. He served as president and defense and interior minister. He played a decisive role in placing Algeria on the international map. It boasts good ties with Russia, the United States and most importantly, China, with its giant investment projects. The president knows that France is closely monitoring the developments in his country. It fears that any wide-scale unrest could lead to a massive wave of immigrants, given that Algerians are occasionally among the victims of the “boats of death” traversing the Mediterranean.
The president recalls his long life. He was foreign minister in December 1975 when an extraordinary plan landed in Algiers airport. The infamous Carlos was onboard with 11 OPEC ministers he had taken hostage from the organization’s Vienna headquarters. Colonel Moammar al-Gaddafi was behind the idea. Carlos, who worked for Wadih Haddad, had strict orders to execute the Saudi and Iranian ministers. Bouteflika, however, was firm that day, which helped ensure the release of the hostages.
He lived an eventful life. If only he would write down his memoir out of his keenness on his and the republic's health. It seems, however, that he believes that returning to the El Mouradia palace, even if for a short term, is better than writing his memoir as former president. The president has not succumbed to his health’s betrayal. In recent years, he has not hesitated in bringing to heel some of the most difficult of generals. He has not grown tired of Algeria and he believes it has not grown tired of his reelection. He is the record holder. Only the days to come will reveal the report of the president and country’s health.

Winning the Nuclear Game against Two Giants
Tobin Harshaw/Bloomberg/March 04/19
Last month I discussed nuclear game theory with Vipin Narang, a professor of political science at MIT and author of “Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era.” If we agreed on one thing, it was that nuclear war is not a game. “It’s really about a strategic logic,” Narang explained, “how your adversary behaves based on your moves and how you react to their reaction to your moves.”
President Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam last week. As I expected, I did not see much strategic logic when the self-proclaimed “best negotiator in the world” sat down with the monomaniacal leader of a starving police state. I don’t consider North Korea a viable nuclear threat to the US or its allies. Kim may be unhinged, but he doesn’t seem the suicidal type.
The real problems are the other two great military powers, China and Russia. The former is formidable, but is (at least for now) unlikely to foment even the tiniest military imbroglio. Russia is the wildcard. As we saw in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin likes to conduct war by other means: propaganda, destabilizing politics, arming separatist groups and sending in the so-called little green men to give himself a fig leaf of plausible deniability. Putin is not unhinged, but he is an expansionist, with dreams of restoring not so much the Soviet Union but rather the Eurasian empire the czars strove for but never quite accomplished.
We started our discussion with North Korea and the Asia-Pacific. So let’s switch to Europe, and the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty. Was that a mistake, as opposed to trying to fix it?
“Russia was violating it for at least five years,” replied Narang. “But the way we first went about it – by threatening to immediately begin unilateral withdraw rather than consulting allies and formulating a unified front against Russia – probably wasn't ideal in terms of alliance management and getting NATO buy-in. I don't think it would have been better to quietly violate the treaty ourselves, by threatening to develop and deploy ground-launch systems that violated the treaty, or to say: ‘Look, this treaty is falling apart because the other side is violating it and we're going to legally withdraw.’”
“The reality is that the US does not really need intermediate-range ground-launch systems in Europe to deter Russia. And we've managed in East Asia without them. We have air-launch and sea-launch systems. It may be that you want to give yourself the option for ground-launch system, but they're potentially very vulnerable. Deploying systems in Guam would require the development of new longer-range ground-launch systems. And you obviously can’t deploy them in Taiwan without giving the Chinese an aneurysm. So your ground options in East Asia are limited.”
I asked Narang if there is a chance to work a new deal on intermediate-range missiles into talks on renewing New START before it expires?
He replied: “I'm not going to die on a hill for INF, but I will for New START. It is good for American security and global security. I worry that if you start linking INF to a New START extension, the Russians might just say that they’re not going to play this game, that the INF systems are too valuable to them for their European strategy. So, given Russian violations and no willingness for them to come back into compliance, I'd rather let INF go at this point than try to link the two and have Russia destroy the whole thing. New START is that important.”
Last month you gave me a really good rundown of Kim Jong Un's strategic thinking. What is Putin’s?
“He has apparently rediscovered his mojo. All the systems that Russia is developing and deploying pose a real threat to Europe. There are reasonable concerns that his appetite may be more expansive than just Crimea and Ukraine. It may include Russian-speaking populations in the Baltics. A lot of these systems are designed to support potentially offensive military or coercive actions against those states. Russia believes that it is in a position of strength, and is exploiting divisions within the Western alliance and within Europe itself, to pursue its political aims.
“From the US nuclear side, my concern has been that, for example, the administration’s Nuclear Posture Review is looking for technical solutions to a political problem. What we need is a better political strategy, and I think that includes a stronger conventional deterrent and cohesive alliance management. Nuclear weapons only come into the picture in Russian thinking if it starts losing the conventional war and you're pressing up against Russia. But the broader issue is how you got to that point in the first place, and it is not going be solved by simply developing a new low-yield nuclear weapon.”
This is Russia’s supposed “escalate to de-escalate” strategy, right? Using low-yield nukes to buy time for a conventional war.
“I call it escalate to win, or escalate to survive,” said Narang. “Basically, if they're losing a conventional war and NATO forces are threatening to push into the Russian homeland, I can see Putin saying, ‘OK, now I need to use battlefield nuclear weapons on NATO forces.’ I don't think it's going to be his first move. I think it's very deep into a conflict before nuclear weapons become salient, because of the escalation potential; Russia is not going to risk a strategic nuclear war unless its homeland is being threatened. The world comes to a screeching halt the second a nuclear weapon is used.
“The key is signaling to the Russians that NATO has no intention of invading the Russian homeland, but that we also are not going to stand by while it tries to incorporate independent states into Russian territory.”
Would Putin believe that NATO promise?
Europe. He's smelling blood in the water. And that's on us. Alliance cohesion has fallen apart, and that is the real problem in deterring Russia. If he sees divisions in the alliance, a question about whether the US will come to the defense of Eastern European states, it may embolden him to take the shot,” said Narang.
That goes to Trump saying that Americans aren't going to die for Montenegro after it was added to NATO.
“Exactly. That’s a real problem with extended deterrence. Making extended deterrence credible is very difficult,” replied Narang.
Are the British and French nuclear arsenals helpful in any way, or are they just symbolic? Are they possibly dangerous?
“I don't think they're dangerous. I love the British and French! The British and the US have a very tight coupling of their nuclear force postures. Whereas the French are completely independent; they have not historically coordinated patrols with the US the way the UK has, and all of their capabilities are indigenously produced. The French love their nuclear weapons. It is a point of national pride.”
Do you think the allies, and this is not just the Europeans, feel that America's stepping back from the world is just a Trump blip, or do they think it marks a turning point for future administrations as well?
“We go through cycles like this. The US during the George W. Bush administration withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, then came the Iraq war. There were a lot of threats to the integrity of the trans-Atlantic alliance. It's fair to say that Trump's incarnation of it is something that Europeans have not seen for a long time.”

Analysis/The Plot Against Zarif – and How Iran's Hardliners Failed
زفي بارئيل/هآرتس: المؤامرة ضد جواد ظريف وكيفية فشل المتشددين في إيران
Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/March 04/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/72737/zvi-barel-haaretz-the-plot-against-zarif-and-how-irans-hardliners-failed-%D8%B2%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%87%D8%A2%D8%B1%D8%AA%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%A4/
A foreign minister's resignation doesn't usually create shock waves. But the dichotomy through which the West views Iran meant Zarif's was perceived as an earthquake.
There was no official announcement, no confirmation or denial, but Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who submitted his resignation last week, is still on the job as foreign minister. Two days after Zarif’s dramatic statement that he was stepping down “to maintain the standing of the Foreign Ministry,” Iranian media published smiling pictures of the minister with the visiting prime minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinian.
Iranian media also reported on long telephone conversations between Zarif and his Syrian counterpart, Walid Moallem and a published report that Syrian President Bashar Assad had invited Zarif to visit Damascus. That would be contrary to protocol, to the extent that such protocol exists.
Twice, in January and in October, rumors spread that Zarif intended to resign. Both times the reports were denied, but this time he seriously intended to take that exceptional step.
The immediate explanation linked his decision to a personal affront – that he had not been invited to a summit with the Syrian president, who had come to Iran for the first time in eight years. According to reports from Iranian sources quoted in opposition media outlets, it was actually Iranian President Hassan Rohani who should have been insulted, because Assad had been invited to meet with Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, without Rohani’s knowledge, at the initiative of Qassem Soleimani, the chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force.
It was only at the last minute, while the visit was underway, that Rohani was summoned to Khamenei’s office. Soleimani, Khamenei and Khamenei’s bureau chief were the only ones who had known about the Syrian president’s visit.
Rohani declined to accept Zarif’s resignation — on the grounds that it was contrary to the country’s interests. The praise that he heaped on his foreign minister and a letter from 150 Iranian lawmakers demanding that the president decline to accept the resignation seemed to have done the trick. Khamenei’s apparent realization of Zarif’s importance as the architect of Iranian foreign relations with the West also carried weight. That is particularly true when it comes to the European Union, which is trying hard to maintain Iran’s nuclear agreement with the major powers following the withdrawal of the United States from the pact.
Iran’s display window had cracked a bit, but it had not yet shattered. A foreign minister’s resignation does not usually create shock waves. U.S. President Donald Trump has gotten the world used to the idea that members of his cabinet aren’t gods. They can be replaced with a tweet.
Israel has been operating for years without a real foreign minister. In Arab countries, foreign ministers, as opposed to defense ministers, are high-level bureaucrats at most, and even in Iran, foreign ministers have been fired and the earth did not shake. But Zarif’s resignation was perceived as an earthquake mainly because of the dichotomy through which the West views Iran.
The routine and misleading divide between reformists and conservatives, between “moderates” and “extremists” — the only yardstick by which to gauge Iran’s intentions and the magnitude of the threat it poses — is based on the ideological makeup of the government and the parliament. Therefore when a “moderate” minister resigns from a “moderate” government, there is increased anxiety that the government is becoming more extreme — meaning a return to uranium enrichment, increased military activity in Syria and involvement elsewhere in the world.
All of a sudden, another knee-jerk interpretation is forgotten, the constant refrain that the sole and last word rests in the hands of the supreme leader, no matter who his president or foreign minister is. In fact, Zarif could not have conducted the nuclear negotiations without Khamenei’s express authority. Another supreme leader may have ordered a resumption of uranium enrichment after the United States withdrew from the agreement last May. So does Iran’s continued adherence to the agreement demonstrate that Khamenei is “moderate” or “extreme,” “rational” or “messianic”?
Zarif’s resignation was not the result of personal insult or ego games. It stemmed from long, heated power struggles between various segments and interests of the regime and Rohani’s government. Such conflicts are nothing new and they show that the country’s hierarchical structure is not necessarily set in stone or that it can guarantee unity.
During the summer of 2016, for example, Zarif fired his own deputy, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in connection with a dispute between them over Iran’s ties to the Gulf States, particularly Saudi Arabia. Abdollahian supported the Revolutionary Guards’ position that Bahrain and Saudi Arabia should be cautioned not to send forces to Syria, while at the time, Zarif wished to promote reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Shortly before Abdollahian was dismissed, Qassem Soleimani, the Quds force commander of the Revolutionary Guards, threatened Bahrain that it “and the entire regime would go up in flames if Bahrain exceeded the Revolutionary Guards’ red lines.”
With this threat, which came in response to Bahrain’s decision to strip the senior Shi’ite religious leader Isa Ahmed Qassim of Bahraini citizenship, Soleimani stepped on Zarif’s toes over what the Iranian foreign minister considered blatant interference in Iranian foreign policy. Abdollahian, who was subsequently appointed diplomatic adviser to the speaker of the Iranian parliament, paid the price.
The president vs. the Revolutionary Guards
A year prior to the dismissal, in January 2015, President Rohani’s battle with the Revolutionary Guards over the nuclear agreement reached its height. In a particularly venomous question, Rohani asked: “Are we strong because we have all kinds of weapons, but we depend on others to supply us with wheat, meat, oil and sugar? Some among us think that because we have missiles, we are strong.”
The response came from Ali Said Nazik, a senior figure in the Basij militia, which answers to the Revolutionary Guards: “Our missiles frighten Israel. They are what strengthen the Syrians, the Palestinians and the Hezbollah resistance.”
Rohani did not hold his tongue. “We cannot grow when we are isolated.... The world revolves around interests, and at the negotiating table, we don’t discuss ideology. Our ideology does not rely on [nuclear] centrifuges,” he said.
The conflict that the Revolutionary Guards had with Iran’s president also prevailed when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is far from being a reformist, held the position. In 2012, long before the disagreement over the nuclear accord, when he was criticized for the economic crisis in Iran, Ahmadinejad demanded knowing why economic institutions owned by the army and the Revolutionary Guards weren’t paying taxes as any other corporation would. He also suggested that the Revolutionary Guards sell the land on which the Tehran area’s Doshan Tappeh airbase was built.
“An area of 650,000 square meters in the heart of the city, which could be used for the country’s benefit” is how Ahmadinejad described it at the time.
Rohani’s and Zarif’s recent efforts to promote an anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorism financing law have encountered a solid wall of opposition from interest groups including members of parliament, military figures and heads of the Revolutionary Guards. In Zarif’s view, the law is essential to help the European Union develop a way of getting around American sanctions. But opponents of the law, who fear it will stop the flow of illegal money, bogged the legislation down in a committee that must decide whether the law violates the constitution.
It’s a dispute over strategy, not ideology, as was the invitation to Syrian President Assad to visit the country, through which Soleimani sought to dictate Iran’s policy towards Syria, bypassing the president and the Foreign Ministry.
No friends of Russia’s
Decision makers in Iran are also split over reports that Trump has promised Assad that he would maintain the Syrian president’s regime in power if Syria expels Iran from its territory. Another concern involves military coordination between Russia and Israel and the nature of Iran’s coordination with Russia.
The chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, has said: “If the S-300 missiles were working properly, Israel could not easily attack Syria,” a reference to Russian missiles in Syria. That was a fairly blatant hint that Russia is not only allowing Israel to stage attacks, but is even “sabotaging” the Russian air defense systems in Syria to allow harm to be done to Iranian targets.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told CNN a month ago that Israel’s security was “one of the top priorities of Russia,” and that Iran and Russia are not allies in Syria but have rather simply worked together — and “do not see at any given moment completely eye-to-eye on what happens.” That further heightened the dispute in Iran between those who want to condition further involvement in Syria on economic assistance that would allow Iran to recover some of the huge investment Iran has showered on Assad.
Supporters of this position, including Iran’s president and reformist parliamentarians, believe that Russia is the big winner from the civil war in Syria and that Iran must either take a rational economic stand that would ensure it a stake in the rehabilitation of Syria or quit the effort. By contrast, the command of the Revolutionary Guards and the conservatives say Iranian military involvement in Syria should continue because of the strategic advantages that the Iranian presence in Syria provides it.
The invitation to Assad and the embrace by Khamenei were therefore intended to make it clear to the Russians that Assad is not their exclusive property and that Iran does not intend to give up its foothold in Syria. In this dispute, Soleimani was able to score political points. For a moment, he could bask in glory over the success of his maneuver vis-a-vis Rohani and Zarif and that ostensibly Khamenei had adopted his strategy toward Syria, particularly following the criticism that he was subjected to for his poor handling of the war in Syria.
But then came Zarif’s resignation, which upended Soleimani’s calculations. The minister who was resigning had again become “the national hero,” who was much more essential at this time than the commander of the Al Quds force. But this was just another round, and certainly not the last, in the boxing match that Iran has been waging.

Canadian Imam Zafar Bangash: It Is Time To Pick Up The Stones, Stone Homosexuals To Death; Muslims Cannot Coexist With The Jews And The West (Archival)
MEMRI/March 04/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/72749/memri-canadian-imam-zafar-bangash-it-is-time-to-pick-up-the-stones-stone-homosexuals-to-death-muslims-cannot-coexist-with-the-jews-and-the-west-archival/
At an April 1996 conference at an unknown location, Pakistani-born Canadian Imam Zafar Bangash praised Imam Khomeini’s fatwa against Salman Rushdie as the “first direct challenge to the West’s political hegemony” because, according to him, the publishing of The Satanic Verses was a carefully calculated attack against Islam that Muslims should not tolerate. He said that Muslims cannot coexist with the West because they violate all of Allah’s commandments. He gave the example of Western girls, who he said commit adultery and fornication at the age of 10 and 12 right in front of their brothers and fathers. He also criticized the West for being “proud of being homosexuals,” and said: “It is time for us to pick up the stones to stone these people to death for [this] abomination… Allah imposes [this responsibility] upon us.” In a different speech from the same event, Bangash told the audience not to be surprised by the behavior of the Jews in Israel because they are the same Jews that murdered the prophets of Allah. He said that there is something wrong with Muslims who treat the Jews as friends, and he assured the audience that the Jews, Christians, polytheists, and infidels will “spare no effort” to ruin Muslims because of the hatred that they harbor against them.
During another conference at an unknown location that took place sometime in 2000, Bangash said that he was communicating with mujahideen who were fighting against the Russians in Chechnya and called on the audience to support them, saying: “Our responsibility is that we help them financially and extend help to them materially so that [they] will remain steadfast.” Imam Bangash is still active today and preaches at the Islamic Society of York Region in Ontario. He is the director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought (ICIT) and is on the editorial board of Toronto-based Crescent International alongside U.S.-based Imam Muhammad Al-Asi (see MEMRI TV clip no. 6675 Al-Quds Day Sermon by Imam Muhammad Al Asi in Washington D.C.: The Zionist Colonialist Force Must Be Dislodged, If Necessary with Non-Peaceful Means, June 21, 2018, and MEMRI TV clip no. 1264 Iranian TV 9/11 Special: Western Experts Say Both 9/11 And Pearl Harbor Were Planned by the American Administration, September 10, 2006). Crescent International’s website says that it is an ICIT publication that promotes a “global Islamic movement perspective on current affairs based on the ideas of Dr. Kalim Siddiqui.”
https://www.memri.org/reports/canadian-imam-zafar-bangash-it-time-pick-stones-stone-homosexuals-death-muslims-cannot
To view the clip of Zafar Bangash on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
1996 – “The Satanic Verses Represented An Assault On The Muslims In A Manner Which If The Muslims Had Not Stood Up To Resist, Would Have Opened Up The Revered Personality Of Islam To All Kinds Of Ridicule And Degradation”
Imam Zafar Bangash: “It is those innocent people – children, women, men, young and old – who are being slaughtered and killed through a process of genocide that they call sanctions.
[…]
“But I believe that even all of these things pale into insignificance compared with the fitna [discord] that they tried to impose on the Muslims through The Satanic Verses.
[…]
“The Satanic Verses represented an assault on the Muslims in a manner which if the Muslims had not stood up to resist, would have opened up the revered personality of Islam to all kinds of ridicule and degradation.
[…]
“It was a carefully calculated policy to assault to very foundations of Islam.
[…]
“It was for this reason that when Imam Khomeini’s fatwa was issued, it was the first direct challenge to the West’s political hegemony, that the Muslims are not going to stand up and allow their revered personalities to be brought down to the level of Hollywood and the filth that they are putting out around the rest of the world.
[…]
“Also, there is a confusion in the minds of some Muslims who think that the Christians are ahl al-kitab [the people of the book], today’s Christians and Jews and so on, and therefore they are our cousins and so forth. First of all, I would like to ask those of my brothers and sisters who think that way to tell me whether the original book that was revealed to either Moses or Jesus – does anybody have a copy of that book? The original book, not the distorted version that they keep on changing every so many years.”
[…]
“It Is Not Time To Live In Coexistence With Them – It Is Time For Us To Pick Up The Stones To Stone These People To Death For The Abomination That They Are Committing”
“If you do not have a copy of the original book, then these people cannot be considered as ahl al-kitab, because there is no book that we are talking about to which they belong.
[…]
“And today, you look at the West – they are not only violating each and every commandment of Allah, but they commit every zul [injustice] every shirk [polytheism] and every crime that any nation on the face of this Earth committed throughout history. Can we have coexistence with such people?
[…]
“Their own children in the West are drug addicts. Their own girls – their own daughters and sisters – go around at the age of 10 and 12 and commit fornication and adultery in front of their brothers and their fathers, and they feel proud of this fact.
[…]
“They are the ones who feel proud of being homosexuals.
[…]
“Everywhere, whether you go to America, or you go to Europe, or you go the Israel, or you go to other parts of the world, they commit this abomination and they feel proud of it. My brothers and sisters, it is not time to live in coexistence with them. It is time for us to pick up the stones to stone these people to death for the abomination that they are committing.”
Crowd: “Allah Akbar!”
[…]
Imam Zafar Bangash: “It is this responsibility that Allah imposes upon us. My brothers and sisters, I invite you to this challenge. I invite you to this struggle that lies ahead for us, that we confront this jahil [ignorant] civilization, that we consign it to the dustbin of history where it belongs, so that we make the word of Allah uppermost, as promised by Allah, and work towards it so that Allah will choose us as being his chosen servants through whose hands and through whose effort this will be brought about.”
[…]
1996 – “The Jews Killed [The Prophets], So Why Should We Expect Them To Treat Us Any Better?”
“The president of the United States, the prime minister of Britain, the chancellor of Germany, the president of France, and so on and so forth, and the kings and other lesser breeds, were all there to pay their respects to 60 Jews that were killed in Palestine.
[…]
“And Muslims are supposed to be the terrorists, and they deserve collective punishment.
[…]
“Well, we never saw the Zionists go and blow up the houses of Baruch Goldstein.
[…]
“They did not go and demolish the home of Yigal Amir, who murdered their own prime minister.
[…]
“But you know, we as Muslims must know that this can be expected from these people. We shouldn’t have any illusion about it. The reason being that Allah has told us in the Quran that these Jews murdered even the prophets of Allah. Did they not kill the Prophet Zachariah, and John [the Baptist]? The Jews killed them, so why should we expect them to treat us any better? I think that we will be remiss if we think that these people are going to be our friends. We must not be under any illusions that people who cannot be friends of Allah and His prophets can be friends of the Muslims, because if they are going to be our [friends], then we must examine our own iman [faith] – then there is something wrong with us, because Allah tells us that you cannot expect any friendship from these people.
[…]
“These people – the Jews, the Christians, the mushrikeen [polytheists], and the kuffar [infidels] – will spare no effort to ruin you, and they will do everything in their power to hamper your activities, including harmless activities like holding a conference. They will do everything in their power to hamper your activities, and yet Allah warns us and he says that what they utter with their mouths, what they say on their television screens, what you hear on their radio stations, what you read in their newspapers… Allah says that that is nothing. What they conceal in their hearts towards you is much greater. The hatred that they have towards you is much greater, so we as Muslims have to be conscious of this fact, and if we are conscious of this fact, and we understand their nature, and our responsibilities, then God willing, we cannot go astray.”
[…]
2000 – “About Ten Days Ago, We Received A Message From The Mujahideen In Chechnya – We Are, Of Course, Communicating With Them On The Internet”
“About ten days ago, we received a message from the mujahideen in Chechnya. We are, of course, communicating with them on the Internet. We had sent a message to them: ‘Please tell us what we can do for you.’ And the message that they sent back is really very revealing. We thought that perhaps they will say: ‘Please do some fundraising for us, send us medicine, send us weapons…’ They said: ‘We ask our Muslim brothers and sisters around the world to remember us in their prayers.’ Can you imagine the spirit of these people? They don’t want you to give them weapons or money – of course, it is our obligation to give them that help, but they only want us to remember them in our prayers.

Palestinians: No Peace or Reconciliation with the 'Infidels'
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/March 04/19
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13827/palestinians-peace-infidels
The ruling by the Palestinian Scholars' Association is also aimed at sending a message to the US administration that the Palestinians and the Muslims will have nothing to do with the "Deal of the Century." Moreover, it serves as a reminder that even if some Arabs do sign peace treaties with Israel, there will always be those Muslims who will denounce them as "traitors" and accuse them of acting against the Koran and the rulings of Islam.
Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, is acutely aware that Muslims will condemn him -- and perhaps issue a fatwa calling for his death -- if he ever dares to make peace with the Jews. That suspicion might explain his recent comment during a visit to Egypt, when he was reported to have said that he does not intend to end his life as a traitor by making concessions to Israel.
The increased talk about the possibility of some Arab countries normalizing their relations with Israel has prompted the Palestinians to wage a campaign aimed at pressuring Arab leaders to refrain from embarking on such a move. The most recent campaign is titled: "Normalization is a Crime." Pictured: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
In a recent move, Palestinians have begun resorting to Islam to justify their vehement opposition to normalization of relations with Israel. Palestinian leaders and activists have long cited political and nationalist reasons to explain their opposition to any form of normalization with Israel -- but Islam is a new factor in the mix.
The increased talk about the possibility of some Arab countries normalizing their relations with Israel has prompted the Palestinians to wage a campaign aimed at pressuring Arab leaders to refrain from embarking on such a move. The most recent campaign is titled: "Normalization is a Crime."
Palestinian Authority officials who are not known as particularly religious have been warning Arab states that normalization with Israel is tantamount to treachery. Mahmoud al-Aloul, Deputy Chairman of the Palestinian Authority's ruling Fatah faction (headed by Mahmoud Abbas), went as far as describing Arab normalization with Israel as a "stab in the back of the Palestinians."
Aloul and other Palestinian officials say they are opposed to Arab normalization with Israel because the Palestinians are afraid of being abandoned by their Arab bothers. Their main argument is that normalization with Israel should take place only after, and not before, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved.
PLO Secretary-General Saeb Erekat urged the Arab states to abide by the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which states that Arab countries would establish normal relations with Israel after a complete Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines, including the Golan Heights, and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
The Palestinians, however, apparently feel that their appeals to the Arab countries are falling on deaf ears. They are convinced that the US administration is continuing with its efforts to persuade some Arab states to establish normal ties with Israel before solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Last week, these Palestinian fears were reinforced when the US administration envoys Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner visited the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Palestinians perceive this tour as part of the US administration's upcoming plan for peace in the Middle East which, they claim, is mainly aimed at promoting normalization between the Arabs and Israel "at the expense of the Palestinians."
Apparently as part of their effort to thwart the prospective, but as yet unseen, plan, also known as the "Deal of the Century," and to prevent Arabs from establishing normal relations with Israel, a group of Palestinian Islamic scholars issued yet another fatwa (Islamic religious opinion) on March 3 warning against any form of normalization with the "Zionist entity."
The scholars are hoping that their fatwa will rally Muslims worldwide to the Palestinian campaign against normalization with Israel. By issuing such fatwas, the Palestinians are clearly hoping to turn the conflict with Israel into a religious one.
The Gaza-based group, called Palestinian Scholars' Association, said in its fatwa that according to the rulings of Islam, "normalization with the Zionist enemy, and accepting it in the region, is one of the most dangerous penetrations of the Muslim community and a threat to its security, as well as a corruption of its doctrine and a loss of its youths."
The scholars go on to explain that "normalization and reconciliation means empowerment of Jews over the land of the Muslims, surrender to the infidels and loss of religion and Islamic lands."
Nothing new here: these Palestinian scholars are simply reminding the Arab leaders and governments of what Hamas lays out clearly in its charter:
"The land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. Neither a single Arab country nor all Arab countries, neither any king or president, nor all the kings and presidents, neither any organization nor all of them, be they Palestinian or Arab, possess the right to do that. Palestine is an Islamic Waqf land consecrated for Muslim generations until Judgement Day."
The Palestinian scholars also warn the Arabs that reconciliation and normalization with the Jews contradicts the Koran, especially Surah An-Nisa (4:74), which says:
"How is it that you do not fight in the way of Allah and in support of the helpless -- men, women and children -- who pray: 'Our Lord, bring us out of this land whose people are oppressors?'"
Addressing Arab leaders and governments, the scholars ask, in wake of this Koran verse:
"If God makes it a duty to fight to save the helpless, how can we make peace with the Zionist occupiers and allow them to be superior over the Muslims in Palestine?"
The scholars are also sending a warning to the Arabs who have already signed agreements with Israel, including the PLO, Jordan and Egypt. The scholars' warning said that the Arabs who signed agreements with Israel have "reaped only disappointment and humiliation and did not liberate the Islamic holy sites."
The current peace and the current normalization with Israel "represents injustice and aggression against the Palestinian people," the scholars added.
"It denies the right of the Palestinian people to its land and falsely recognizes the right of the Jews to it. Reconciliation and normalization with the Zionist enemy is considered null and void and an explicit violation of the provisions of Sharia [Islamic religious law]."
The ruling by the Palestinian Scholars' Association is also aimed at sending a message to the US administration that Palestinians and the Muslims will have nothing to do with the "Deal of the Century." Moreover, it serves as a reminder that even if some Arabs do sign peace treaties with Israel, there will always be those Muslims who will denounce them as "traitors" and accuse them of acting against the Koran and the rulings of Islam. In light of this threat, it is hard to see how Abbas or any Palestinian leader would be able to agree to any form of reconciliation and normalization with the "Zionist enemy."
Abbas, meanwhile, is acutely aware that Muslims will condemn him -- and perhaps issue a fatwa calling for his death -- if he ever dares to make peace with the Jews. That suspicion might explain his recent comment during a visit to Egypt, when he was reported to have said that he does not intend to end his life as a traitor by making concessions to Israel. It now remains to be seen whether the Arab and Islamic world will endorse Abbas's stance and allow themselves to be intimidated by Palestinian Islamic clerics.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
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Cyprus Gas Discovery Could Be an East Mediterranean Game-Changer
Simon Henderson/The Washington Institute/March 04/19
The latest success will encourage more exploration in the area, but probably more regional rivalry as well.
ExxonMobil has just announced the discovery of Glafcos, an offshore field located deep underwater more than 100 miles southwest of Cyprus and estimated to hold between 5 and 8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas. A more precise figure will emerge after further appraisal drilling by the company, which is working in a 60/40 partnership with state-owned Qatar Petroleum.
The discovery will likely prompt further work on the Calypso field to the east, discovered by ENI (Italy) and Total (France) a year ago and estimated to contain 6 to 8 tcf. The first discovery in Cyprus waters was Aphrodite, found in 2011 by Houston-based Noble Energy. That field partially overlaps Israel’s exclusive economic zone, but its estimated 4.5 tcf have yet to be exploited.
The total figure for Cyprus gas reserves is now as high as 20 tcf, a figure that could change the island’s fortunes despite not being particularly large in regional terms. Israel has twice as much gas, and Egypt even more, along with an established infrastructure for exporting it as liquefied natural gas (LNG) using special tankers. All of these players are dwarfed by Russia (1,230 tcf), Iran (1,170 tcf), and Qatar (880 tcf).
Cyprus and Israel’s main challenge in exploiting this gas potential has been the cost of discovery (around $100 million per hole drilled) and the political and logistical complexity of reaching markets. Most of Israel’s domestic electricity production is now fueled by its own gas, but finding an export route has been difficult, with talks continuing on arrangements to send some of it to Egypt.
Cyprus has an even greater need to find export options given its very small domestic market. The most obvious route is via pipeline to an Egyptian LNG plant with spare capacity. A more expensive alternative would be a floating LNG plant anchored above the field, from which tankers could be loaded to take the gas anywhere in the world.
Meanwhile, Turkey continues to contest the boundaries of the exclusive economic zone surrounding Cyprus. Glafcos does not lie in an area claimed by Ankara—but the Turks do claim it belongs to Egypt. Even if the two governments work that particular disagreement out, Ankara will no doubt demand that any revenues from the field benefit all Cyprus residents, including those in the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island. The Cypriot government readily acknowledges responsibility for most citizens, but it has balked at the large number of immigrants who have arrived since Turkish forces invaded in 1974. The fact that ExxonMobil is partnering with Qatar, a regional ally of Turkey, adds another wrinkle to these issues.
Going forward, international energy exploration companies will probably be more incentivized to focus on the East Mediterranean. There is already interest in blocks off Lebanon’s coast, where some drilling will start this summer. Yet Israel will likely find itself largely sidelined, in part because such companies still hesitate to imperil their relations with Arab countries, but also because Israeli legal and political barriers have delayed Noble Energy’s efforts to exploit its existing discoveries.
Finally, the Glafcos discovery should boost the recently established East Mediterranean Gas Forum, a Cairo-based multilateral organization nicknamed “Club Med” and encompassing Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority. Further discoveries could increase the feasibility of proposals for an undersea pipeline to transport their gas to Europe. Coupled with greater efforts to export LNG, such a development could create an energy hub that transforms the regional economy.
*Simon Henderson is the Baker Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute.