LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 03/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.may03.19.htm

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

Bible Quotations For today
You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12/16-21: “Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’”. But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?” Letter to the Romans 03/01-07: “What advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much, in every way. For in the first place the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Although everyone is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written, ‘So that you may be justified in your words, and prevail in your judging.’ But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my falsehood God’s truthfulness abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner?”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on May 02-03/19
Lebanon Urgently Needs A New Patriotic Non-Religious Political Coalition
Aoun to Rotary delegation: Holding conferences in Lebanon testimony of stability
Cabinet approves 25 budget articles
Central Bank employees to go on strike Friday and Saturday
Jumblat Says Hizbullah Must Realize 'Only the State Can Protect Them'
Nasrallah Says Jumblat Remarks Worthless, Vows to 'Crush' Any Israeli Invaders
Exemptions for MPs, Ministers Revoked as Budget Debate Continues
Salameh Affirms Stability of Lebanese Pound Says ‘It Will Remain Stable’
Hariri Holds Talks with Madbouly
Mustaqbal, Berri's Bloc Discuss Draft Electoral Law
Samples Collected from Oil Spill Offshore Jiyeh
Report: ‘Ain Dara’ Augments Contention between PSP, Hizbullah
Jarrah Says Cabinet to Finalize Budget this Week
Sayegh Blames Authority's Mismanagement for Current Situation
Marouni Says Lebanese Government Is 'Schizophrenic'

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 02-03/19
One Dead, 46 Hurt in Venezuela May Day Clashes
Opposition Figure Lopez Ordered Arrested in Venezuela
Trump Says 'Brutal Repression' of Venezuelan People 'Must End'
Israel Says Hits Hamas Site after Arson Balloons
Senior Hamas Official Heads to Egypt for Talks on Israel
UAE Says Priority in Libya is Fighting 'Terrorism'
Saudi-Led Coalition Hits Yemen Rebel Drone Site
Four More Saudi Women Activists Freed Pending Trial
Sudan's Bashir to be Questioned over 'Financing Terrorism'
Russia, Syrian army step up attacks against rebel held northwestern Syria

Litles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 02-03/19
Lebanon Urgently Needs A New Patriotic Non-Religious Political Coalition/Elias Bejjani/May 02/2019
Holiday Massacres of Christians: A New Fact of Life/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/May 02/19
European Elections: "The Battle for Europe has Begun"/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/May 02/19
Jordanian Journalist: Israel's Leaders Are Implementing 'The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion' In Full/MEMRI/May 02/2019
Analysis/Muslim Brotherhood: Terrorist Group or Political Movement?/Zvi Bar'el/Haatrz/May 02/19
The fight against terrorism will not be won quickly/Sir John Jenkins/Arab News/May 02/19
Iranian regime using foreign prisoners as political pawns/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/May 02/19
The trials and tribulations of Carlos Ghosn in the Japanese justice system/Ahmad Elhusseini/Al Arabiya/May 02/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on May 02-03/19
Lebanon Urgently Needs A New Patriotic Non-Religious Political Coalition
Elias Bejjani/May 02/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74435/elias-bejjani-lebanon-urgently-needs-a-new-patriotic-non-religious-political-coalition/
Our beloved Lebanon is currently encountering a set of very serious and dire existential dangers on all levels and in all domains, as a result of the on going Iranian destructive hegemony, oppression and occupation.
The occupier is the Hezbollah Party, which is totally and in every and each aspect is an Iranian terrorist, denominational armed proxy.
This merciless terrorist occupier is gradually and systematically devouring the country and aggressively destroying all that is Lebanon and Lebanese.
Hezbollah’s ultimate aim as its manifesto shows is to topple the existing Lebanese multicultural, Non- religious, democratic and free regime and erect in its place a Shiite Muslim religious republic, a replicate of the Iranian Mullahs’ dictatorship regime.
Meanwhile the majority of the Lebanese political parties, politicians and officials have already succumbed to this terrorist occupier and openly and with no shame abandoned all their patriotic, sovereign, constitutional duties and obligations.
Sadly the majority of these Lebanese political and official top notch figures are appeasing the occupier, and serving its Mullahs’ agenda on the account of the country’s independence, existence, freedom, democracy, stability and the welfare of the Lebanese citizens.
For all the above critical and extremely threatening national reasons, there is an urgent need to form as quickly as possible a new sovereign, non-religious, and patriotic coalition.
For such a coalition to survive, stand for Hezbollah and succeed, its members ought to be from all the diversified Lebanese denominations and all walks of life.
These members and in a bid to make a difference on the Lebanese political arena are supposed to be brave, honest, patriotic, conscientious and most importantly have no hidden personal power agendas.
The main objective of this coalition and its first priority must be to stand up peacefully and democratically for Hezbollah’s destructive hegemony, impose a kind of political power balance, and stop Iran from fully controlling and annexing Lebanon.
In conclusion, Each and every patriotic Lebanese in Lebanon and in Diaspora MUST never ever keep a blind eye on the fact that Lebanon, the “Land of the Cedars” is a holy and blessed country, and that their holy obligation is to defend and safeguard its independence and sovereignty.
This coalition is an urgent patriotic need, hopefully it will be formed and become a reality before it is too late.

Aoun to Rotary delegation: Holding conferences in Lebanon testimony of stability
Thu 02 May 2019/NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, on Thursday deemed the convening of regional and international conferences in Lebanon, including yesterday’s Rotary International Conference, which included more than 700 people from eight countries, was an outright testimony of stability in Lebanon. "This achievement has been made thanks to the endeavors of the Lebanese themselves,” Aoun said. "The existence of Lebanon as a multi-religious and multicultural country is due to the people's belief in the principles of coexistence, which include respect for the other's beliefs and freedom, as well as respect for the right to be different," Aoun maintained. The President’s words came before a delegation from Rotary International, headed by Secretary-General, John Hewko, who briefed him on "the sixth conference of the Rotary Clubs, which includes nine countries belonging to the Mediterranean region and the Caucasus."Separately, President Aoun met with head of the Lebanese Democratic Party, MP Talal Arslan, and Minister of Displaced, Saleh Al-Gharib, with whom he broached the general situation in the country, and the current political developments. Also, President Aoun discussed similar issues with the Secretary General of Tashnag Party, MP Agop Pakradounian.

Cabinet approves 25 budget articles
Thu 02 May 2019/NNA - When the meeting of the Council of Ministers dedicated to the budget ended this afternoon at the Grand Serail, the Minister of Information Jamal Jarrah said: “There has been a very important progress today regarding the discussion of the articles. We reached article 25, which has been completed, and the Cabinet will meet again tomorrow at 1:30 pm to discussion the remaining articles. The most important items approved concern the cancellation of exemptions on the registration and customs of cars for MPs and ministers, we all agreed on this, and we approved to impose fees on the distinctive numbers and those of three or four figures, and tomorrow we will discuss the fees. We added a new tax bracket for the amounts exceeding LBP 225 million, which means that we added a slice to the income tax for the high amounts that do not affect the middle and low income people, but the categories whose profits exceed LBP 225 million. There was also an in-depth discussion on tax and economic reforms and tomorrow we will have an answer from the finance minister on their financial impact on the treasury and on the state income. Customs exemptions that were granted to some people, except those with special needs and the machines used in agriculture and industry aimed at encouraging these sectors, were canceled”. Asked about the atmosphere of the session after yesterday’s tensed meeting, he said: “What happened yesterday was caused by some statements that affected the atmosphere of the meeting and I hope that it ended. Today, it was a very quiet session, with a deep discussion and an understanding on all the decisions we took”. Asked if there would be a session Saturday, he said: “No session on Saturday. Regarding Sunday, it depends. If the holy month of Ramadan begins on Sunday, the session will be held on Monday”.

Central Bank employees to go on strike Friday and Saturday
Thu 02 May 2019/NNA - Lebanon's Central Bank employees on Thursday announced that they will observe a two-day strike as of tomorrow (Friday), in protest at the attempts to tampers with their salaries and benefits.
Addressing the President, the House Speaker and the Prime Minister, BDL employees' syndicate sternly rejected in a statement "the fierce attack on the Central Bank," stressing that the bank enjoys administrative and financial independence. The employees also indicated that they would opt for open-ended strike if the concerned officials did not respond to their calls.

Jumblat Says Hizbullah Must Realize 'Only the State Can Protect Them'
Naharnet/May 02/19/Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Jumblat said Thursday that Hizbullah "will realize one day that only the state can protect them.""The party represents a certain segment of the Lebanese people but also the Iranian expansion. But one day the conclusion that Lebanon is better for Hizbullah than the Iranian expansion must be reached," Jumblat said in an interview on Al-Arabiya TV. "This is inevitable but it needs time," he added. "Our ambition is to see the Lebanese state alone taking charge one day of the military, security and southern decisions through dialogue," Jumblat noted. Asked about his relation with Hizbullah at the moment, Jumblat said: "We agreed with the party on managing our disputes. We disagree with the party over the issue of Syria and its intervention with the Iranians there. But at the same time, we consider them to be an essential force in Lebanon, politically and of course militarily."

Nasrallah Says Jumblat Remarks Worthless, Vows to 'Crush' Any Israeli Invaders
Naharnet/May 02/19/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday hit out at Druze leader Walid Jumblat without naming him, saying his remarks on the identity of the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms are "worthless."
"As for the issue of the Shebaa Farms, the (Lebanese) state says that they're Lebanese and this was mentioned in the governmental policy statements. This is a settled and finalizef issue regardless of who says yes and who says no," Nasrallah said in a televised speech marking the death in Syria of Hizbulla military commander Mustafa Badreddine. "As long as the state, the government and the parliament consider the Shebaa Farms Lebanese territory, we do not have a problem and the issue is settled. Accordingly, any other talk from anyone is totally worthless and irrelevant," Nasrallah added. Jumblat has announced that the Farms are not Lebanese but rather Syrian seeing as Lebanon has failed to submit the necessary documents to the U.N. Separately, Nasrallah said reports of an imminent Israeli war on Lebanon are aimed at pressing the Lebanese state to "surrender and offer concessions."
"America is seeking Lebanese concessions on the issue of the territorial and maritime borders and the Shebaa Farms for the benefit of the Israeli enemy. It is also seeking concessions regarding Lebanon's elements of strength, including the resistance and its missiles," Nasrallah warned.
He added: "The Lebanese must not allow anyone to intimidate them, because Lebanon is strong through its army, people and resistance and this strength is real and serious."And revealing that Hizbullah has identified a target in Israel that would cause more damage than the ammonia tanks if hit by a missile, Nasrallah vowed that his group would "destroy and crush" any Israeli forces that might try to enter into Lebanon in a future war. "That will be broadcast by international TV channels," he added.

Exemptions for MPs, Ministers Revoked as Budget Debate Continues
Naharnet/May 02/19/The Cabinet on Thursday agreed to revoke customs and registration exemptions for cars owned by MPs and ministers and to slap fees on special number plates as part of austerity measures related to the 2019 state budget. Noting that progress has been made, Information Minister Jamal al-Jarrah said another Cabinet session will be held Friday at 1:30 pm to continue the discussions.Jarrah also reassured that any funds for the Road of the Saints project will not be delayed, dismissing media reports that claimed otherwise.

Salameh Affirms Stability of Lebanese Pound Says ‘It Will Remain Stable’
Naharnet/May 02/19/Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh assured during talks with the President on Thursday that the Lebanese Lira is stable, noting that the Bank will subsidize loans for the housing and productive sectors, the National News Agency said. “The Lebanese Lira is stable and will remain stable,” said Salameh during talks with President Michel Aoun in Baabda. “The Central Bank will subsidize housing loans and loans for the productive sector,” he added. Salameh’s remarks came as Lebanon struggles to impose austerity measures to reduce a ballooning budget deficit and massive national debt over “collapse” fears.

Hariri Holds Talks with Madbouly
Naharnet/May 02/19/Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks on Thursday with visiting Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly at the Grand Serail and discussed the latest developments, the situation in Lebanon and the Arab region and the bilateral relations between Lebanon and Egypt, the Premier’s media office said.The meeting was attended by the Minister of Industry Wael Abou Faour, Minister of Economy Mansour Bteish, Minister of Labor Camille Abu Sleiman, Minister of Communications Mohammad Choucair, the Minister of State for Information Technology Adel Afiouni, Minister of Energy Nada Boustani, Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Ali Halabi, Former Minister Ghattas Khoury, the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers Mahmoud Makiyye and a number of advisers. From the Egyptian side, the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohammad Shaker, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla, Minister of Manpower Mohamed Saafan, Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, Minister of Trade and Industry Amr Nassar, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Nazih Naggari, and the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers Major General Atef Abd elFattah and a number of advisors attended.

Mustaqbal, Berri's Bloc Discuss Draft Electoral Law
Naharnet/May 02/19/MPs from the Development and Liberation bloc of Speaker Nabih Berri and the al-Mustaqbal bloc of PM Saad Hariri held talks Thursday at the Center House.A statement issued by Mustaqbal said the meeting was held at Development and Liberation's request with the aim of discussing a draft electoral law prepared by the latter. "It was agreed to continue discussions over this topic during future meetings," the statement added. The meeting was attended on Mustaqbal's side by the MPs Bahia Hariri, Dima Jamali, Sami Fatfat, Henry Chedid and Tareq al-Merehbi and by the MPs Anwar al-Khalil, Hani Qobeissi and Ibrahim Azar on the side of Berri's bloc. The proposal aims to replace the complex and controversial 2018 electoral law which was based on proportional representation for the first time in Lebanon's history.

Samples Collected from Oil Spill Offshore Jiyeh
Naharnet/May 02/19/Research teams from the Lebanese Army, Civil Defense and the Environment Ministry collected samples on Thursday from the oil leak spotted a day earlier offshore the Jiyeh coastal area, LBCI TV station.
Residents of Jiyeh and Jadra posted photos of sheen offshore. The sheen was reportedly the result of either a leak from one of the power generating ships or from the EDL thermal plant in Jiyeh. But Electricte du Liban announced in a statement that it kicked inspections and found no leak from Jiyeh plant. MP Mohammed Hajjar warned of the “environmental problem” and urged related authorities to take quick measures before the leak expands further. “A quick response is required on behalf of the ministry of environment, energy, and the (state-owned) Electricite du Liban.”It was reported that the leak has extended nearly two kilometers from the shore and nearly 200 meters deep.

Report: ‘Ain Dara’ Augments Contention between PSP, Hizbullah
Naharnet/May 02/19/The relation between the Progressive Socialist Party and Hizbullah has “never” experienced a “break-like stalemate” and a “unilateral” decision taken by Hizbullah without prior “warning,” Asharq al-Awsat said on Thursday. Ties between the two have reportedly been tense against the backdrop of a decision taken by PSP Industry Minister Wael Abou Faour, cancelling a cement factory permit in Ain Dara -in the district of Aley not far from the Chouf cedar reserve- issued by his predecessor Hizbullah ex-Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan.Political sources following on the course of relations told the newspaper that the PSP leadership has “informed Hizbullah of Jumblat’s will to meet Hizbullah secretary-general's political aide, Hussein Khalil, to discuss the political developments and the relationship between the two parties.”The sources said that Jumblat’s desire was “conveyed” to Khalil but the latter did not give an answer despite knowing that Jumblat was ready to meet him, they said. “It turned out that Abou Faour's permit cancellation was considered an insult to Hizbullah and to its Minister.”This cement project has long been controversial between its owners of the Fattoush family, on the one hand, and the Ain Dara municipal council and many citizens and activists, on the other. Jumblat and former minister Nicolas Fattoush are at loggerheads over the cement factory in Ain Dara area. The factory is owned by Fattoush's brother, Pierre.
The cancellation of this permit was itself the subject of press campaigns close to Hizbullah earlier in April.

Jarrah Says Cabinet to Finalize Budget this Week
Naharnet/May 02/19/When the meeting of the Council of Ministers ended at the Grand Serail Wednesday, the Minister of Information Jamal Jarrah said the Cabinet plans to finalize discussions of the state budget this week. "This is the second meeting of the Council of Ministers after the first session that was presided Tuesday in Baabda presidential palace by President Michel Aoun to examine the budget," said Jarrah. There has been an extensive discussion on the budget targets that have become known, namely reducing the deficit and stimulating economic growth. There has been also a serious and profound debate on these issues and we started to formulate important ideas to stimulate economic growth and control spending," he added. Jarrah added: "After that, we moved to the approval of some articles, and another meeting will be held Thursday at noon to continue discussions on the remaining articles. During this week, sessions will be held to finalize the study of the draft budget as soon as possible”.

Sayegh Blames Authority's Mismanagement for Current Situation
Kataeb.org/ Thursday 02nd May 2019/Kataeb's Deputy-President Salim Sayegh blamed the ruling authority's mismanagement and incompetence for the growing challenges facing Lebanon, stressing the need for a reformist revolution that would address the flaws plaguing the state. In an interview with Lebanon Files website, Sayegh condemned the government's plan to cut the pensions and the end-of-service benefits granted to the military veterans as part of its austerity budget, blasting the authority's failure to manage public funds for leading to the current bottleneck. “Had Lebanon had the basic foundations of a state, this would’ve been enough to spark a revolution," Sayegh said. “The state has to initiate a peaceful inner revolution and to change its approach before the current situation turns into a different type of revolution." “People don’t trust their current rulers as it is not possible to enforce an austere policy without being honest about everything that is planned to be done. No reassuring solutions have given so that everyone would feel ready to make sacrifices,” he noted. Sayegh called on the government to take different measures in order to reduce the state's deficit, adding that the proposed budget is only putting the problems on hold without diagnozing and treating the problems. Deferring solutions implies a denial of the status quo which is weighing down on the Lebanese politics, Sayegh warned. The Kataeb official stressed that the party is a "100% opposition force" which derives its strength from specific "objective" and "sectoral" alliances. “Everything is clear for the Kataeb party: there is not state in the presence of internal statelets," he stressed. “Everything that is happening is nothing but momentary solutions while there should've been a bigger political confrontation to establish a real balance in the country," he said.
“Trespassing this balance is a surrender,” Sayegh concluded.

Marouni Says Lebanese Government Is 'Schizophrenic'
Kataeb.org/ Thursday 02nd May 2019/Former Minister Elie Marouni on Thursday described the ruling authority as "schizophrenic", deeming the current situation in Lebanon as terrifying. “We are living our worst days as we are witnessing severe setbacks on all levels, be it economic, social or financial,” Marouni said in an interview with Voice of Lebanon radio station. “We are going through the weirdest days and this is all because of the government's split into two sub-cabinets, A and B,” he noted. Marouni pointed out that the previous government also suffered a rift because there were ministers who went to Syria while others refused to do so. "In the present government, there are also sub-cabinets A and B as we hear a minister denying salary cuts while another one confirms the plan," he noted. “In all countries around the world, the budget is adopted to ensure prosperity and development. It is a shame how it became frightening to the citizens in Lebanon,” he said.

Latest LCCC English Miscellaneous Reports & News published on May 01-02/19
One Dead, 46 Hurt in Venezuela May Day Clashes
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 02/19/May Day clashes between opposition supporters and Venezuela's armed forces in Caracas left a woman dead and 46 people injured on Wednesday, with opposition leader Juan Guaido attempting to rally demonstrators against President Nicolas Maduro.
Jurubith Rausseo, 27, died at a clinic after being hit by a "bullet in the head during (a) demonstration," the non-governmental Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict said on Twitter, condemning her "murder."Human rights organizations and health services reported 46 people injured in Wednesday's clashes, including one person with a gunshot wound. Tensions in Venezuela have soared since Guaido, who heads the National Assembly legislature, invoked the constitution to declare himself acting president on January 23, claiming Maduro's re-election last year was illegitimate. National Guard troops fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters attempting to block a highway close to the air base in eastern Caracas where Guaido had tried on Tuesday to spark a military uprising. A second day of confrontations between opposition supporters and Maduro's security services came as the United States said it was prepared to take military action, if necessary, to stem the crisis in the South American nation. At least one journalist was injured when National Guard soldiers fired rubber bullets at a group of reporters covering the clashes. Miguel Ramirez, 17, told AFP at one medical center that he had been shot in the foot while protesting on the highway near the La Carlota air base. "I didn't manage to run and hide," he said. Guaido rallied his supporters in Caracas in the Labor Day demonstrations, urging them to stay in the streets. His appeal came despite the apparent failure the day before of a revolt by some soldiers and members of the Bolivarian National Guard who joined his side. In Tuesday's clashes, one person was killed and dozens injured, according to human rights monitors. More than 150 people were arrested, the government and human rights organizations said. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned Venezuela's authorities not to use deadly force against demonstrators, while the US and Russia accused each other of making the crisis worse, evoking Cold War confrontations of the past. In a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Moscow of "destabilizing" Venezuela.
- 'Nothing to celebrate' -
Lavrov, in turn, charged that US interference was "destructive" and "in flagrant violation of international law.""There is nothing for workers to celebrate," Guaido told supporters in the oil-rich country suffering from hyperinflation and food and medicine shortages that have driven millions to flee.
"We're going to remain in the streets until we achieve freedom for the Venezuelan people. "The regime will try to increase the repression. It will try to persecute me, to stage a coup d'etat," said Guaido, recognized by more than 50 countries as the country's interim president. He said staggered industrial action would begin on Thursday, leading to a general strike. Before thousands of his own supporters in front of Miraflores palace on May Day, Maduro declared he will have "no hesitation" to lock up those responsible for this "criminal coup d'etat," threats recalling those he made the previous day. In his Wednesday address, Maduro alleged that the "so-called coup d'etat" had been organized "from the White House" by US National Security Advisor John Bolton.
- 'Serious crimes' -
Hours after the revolt by military members appeared to have fizzled out, Pompeo told CNN he believed Maduro was ready to flee to ally Cuba before he was dissuaded by Russia -- a claim Maduro later refuted as "a joke."A senior Brazilian official said at least 25 Venezuelan troops had sought asylum at its Caracas embassy. Venezuela's security forces number around 365,000 including military and police, as well as 1.6 million civilian reservists. Pompeo said on Wednesday that Washington wants a peaceful transfer of power but warned that US President Donald Trump is prepared to take military action if necessary. "The president has been crystal clear and incredibly consistent. Military action is possible. If that's what's required, that's what the United States will do," Pompeo told Fox Business Network.
- 'Living through hell' -
Venezuela has suffered five years of recession marked by shortages of basic necessities as well as failing public services, including water, electricity and transport. "We're living through hell," a resident of western Caracas, Evelinda Villalobos, 58, told AFP. "I believe the people in the streets will be the straw that breaks the camel's back." Another demonstrator, Patricia Requena, 40, said that "yesterday we saw soldiers recognizing our interim president. We have to stay in the streets." She vowed: "I'll keep demonstrating as long as God allows me to."Michael Shifter, an analyst with the Inter-American Dialogue, told AFP the US approach to Venezuela was "unhelpful and often counterproductive." "The US is right to back Guaido in his battle against Maduro," said Shifter. "But beyond being on the right side, the administration is making it harder, not easier, to achieve a democratic transition in Venezuela."

Opposition Figure Lopez Ordered Arrested in Venezuela
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 02/19/Venezuela's top court on Thursday ordered the arrest of opposition figure Leopoldo Lopez, who has sought refuge in the Spanish embassy since claiming to have been freed from house arrest two days ago by rebel military personnel. Lopez, who was imprisoned in 2014 and transfered to house arrest three years later, made a sensational public appearance alongside opposition leader Juan Guaido on Tuesday as the National Assembly president tried to incite a military uprising against President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump Says 'Brutal Repression' of Venezuelan People 'Must End'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 02/19/President Donald Trump appealed on Monday for a swift end to the "brutal repression" of the Venezuelan people, following an abortive military uprising in support of the U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido. "I'd like to begin by sending our prayers to the people of Venezuela in their righteous struggle for freedom," Trump said as he hosted a national prayer service at the White House. "The brutal repression of the Venezuelan people must end, and it must end soon," he warned. Trump's call followed two days of anti-government unrest in Venezuela that have left four people dead, and as President Nicolas Maduro urged the armed forces to oppose "any coup plotter." The United States, which recognizes Guaido as interim president, has imposed tough sanctions in an intensifying campaign to drive Maduro from power, as millions have fled the country's economic meltdown. "People are starving. They have no food, they have no water, and this was once one of the wealthiest countries in the world," said Trump. "So we wish them well, we'll be there to help and we are there to help." The United States is insisting Maduro's days remain numbered, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Wednesday that "military action is possible." But experts warn of limited options to break a protracted stalemate in which Washington may have overestimated the opposition leader's strength.

Israel Says Hits Hamas Site after Arson Balloons
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 02/19/Israel said Thursday its aircraft struck a Hamas military site in the Gaza Strip overnight after balloons carrying firebombs and explosives were launched from the Palestinian enclave. Following the airstrike, Israel's military said there had been two "launches" -- likely rockets -- from the Gaza Strip toward Israel. No further details on the launches were immediately available. The airstrike hit targets within what Israel's army called a Hamas military compound in the northern Gaza Strip. There had so far been no reports of injuries. It was unclear if the firebombs and explosives that prompted it caused any damage within Israel. Palestinians in Gaza have been regularly sending balloons carrying firebombs over the border fence to damage Israeli property and have in the past succeeded in setting fire to large areas of farmland. An Egyptian and UN-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, had led to relative calm around Israel's April 9 election. But on Tuesday, Israel reduced the offshore fishing limit it imposes for vessels operating out of the blockaded strip after a rocket was fired from the territory by Palestinian militants. The rocket fell into the Mediterranean. Israel's military blamed the launch on Islamic Jihad, which is allied to Hamas. Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza have fought three wars since 2008.

Senior Hamas Official Heads to Egypt for Talks on Israel
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 02/19/A Hamas delegation led by its Gaza head Yahya Sinwar left the enclave for Cairo on Thursday for talks with Egyptian officials on a truce with Israel, Hamas officials said. Egypt has long been the broker between Israel and the Islamist group that runs Gaza. In November it brokered a fragile truce agreement whereby Israel eases its blockade of the Gaza Strip in exchange for calm. That agreement has appeared to be under stress in recent days, with Israel carrying out airstrikes early Thursday in response to Palestinian firebombs across the Gaza border.Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that Sinwar "left Gaza for Cairo at the invitation of the head of the Egyptian intelligence service, Major General Abbas Kamal".The visit was aimed at discussing "bilateral relations and ways to lessen the suffering of our people," he said in a statement. A Hamas official said the truce agreement would be discussed. Islamic Jihad, a Hamas-allied group, said its head will also attend the meetings. Israel carried out air raids early Thursday morning on "a number of terror targets in a Hamas military compound in the northern Gaza Strip," a military statement said. It said that they were in response to the launching of incendiary and explosive balloons from Gaza into Israel. Border clashes have been taking place for over a year during weekly demonstrations. At least 265 Palestinians have been killed since the protests began in March 2018, the majority in border clashes.
Two Israeli soldiers have been killed.

UAE Says Priority in Libya is Fighting 'Terrorism'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 02/19/The UAE said on Thursday that fighting "terrorism" was the priority in Libya, where it has backed a controversial military strongman against the U.N.-recognised government in Tripoli. The United Arab Emirates, and its allies Egypt and Saudi Arabia, regard Khalifa Haftar and his Libyan National Army militia as a bulwark against Islamist groups which are among the supporters of the Government of National Accord. Haftar launched an assault on forces loyal to the government in and around the capital on April 4, triggering fighting that has killed 376 people, according to the World Health Organization. "Priority in Libya to counter extremism/terrorism and support stability in long drawn out crisis," the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said on Twitter. "Abu Dhabi agreement offered opportunity to support U.N.-led process. "Meanwhile, extremist militias continue to control capital and derail search for political solution," Gargash said. The Abu Dhabi agreement he referred to was a renewed commitment to organising nationwide elections that Haftar and unity government leader Fayez al-Sarraj made after a U.N.-backed meeting in the UAE capital on February 27. But even as he met Sarraj, Haftar's forces were pressing on with an offensive that saw them overrun virtually all of the oasis towns and oilfields of Libya's vast southern desert before turning their sights on government forces in Tripoli. The UAE stands accused by the U.N. of providing Haftar with military aircraft and other heavy weaponry which has played a major role in the offensives' success. The U.N. had hoped to convene a conference in the Libyan oasis town of Ghadames last month to draw up a roadmap for the elections but was forced to cancel it in the face of the upsurge of fighting. The WHO says more than 1,800 people have been wounded in the fighting, which has turned some southern districts of the capital into war zones, while more than 40,000 civilians have fled their homes. A British-led effort to secure agreement within the U.N. Security Council on a demand for a ceasefire has run into the ground after the United States withheld its support in an apparent tilt towards Haftar.Major powers are deeply divided over the conflict. Russia has openly refused to condemn Haftar's offensive. France has acknowledged supporting Haftar's campaign against armed Islamist groups but has denied it was forewarned about his assault on Tripoli.

Saudi-Led Coalition Hits Yemen Rebel Drone Site
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 02/19/The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen raided a drone facility used by Huthi rebels at an airbase in the capital Sanaa, a spokesman said. The coalition has ramped up attacks on such sites after the Iran-aligned rebels warned last month they could launch attacks against the capitals of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which lead the military coalition against them. The latest raid late Wednesday targeted "drone maintenance sites, a communications system and locations of drone experts and operators" at the Al-Dulaimi base adjoining the airport in rebel-held Sanaa, the official Saudi Press Agency quoted coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki as saying. The Huthi-controlled Saba news agency said 13 air strikes targeted the base and airport. The coalition last month said it targeted a cave in Sanaa used by Huthi rebels to stockpile drones. The raid came after the coalition reported last month that Saudi air defences had intercepted two drones launched by Huthi rebels that targeted Khamis Mushait, home to a major airbase in the southwest of the kingdom. And in January the Huthis launched a drone attack on Yemen's largest airbase, Al-Anad, north of the southern port of Aden, during a military parade. Eleven people were wounded in the attack, including Yemen's deputy chief of staff Major General Saleh al-Zandani who later died of his injuries. Seven other loyalists -- including a high-ranking intelligence official -- were killed in the attack. Yemen is mired in a grinding conflict between the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels and a government backed up by a Saudi-led coalition. The Saudi-led coalition launched its first raids on rebel strongholds in March 2015 in a bid to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who now lives in Riyadh. Since then the conflict has killed some 10,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, although human rights groups say the toll could be five times higher. The unrest has also pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Four More Saudi Women Activists Freed Pending Trial
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 02/19/At least four more detained Saudi women activists were released pending trial on Thursday, campaigners said, bringing the total number of women provisionally freed to seven. "Hatoon al-Fassi, Amal al-Harbi, Maysaa al-Manea, and Abeer Namankani were temporarily released," London-based rights group ALQST said on Twitter, adding there were unconfirmed reports about the release of a fifth activist. Another campaigner close to the families of 11 women on trial told AFP five women had been temporarily released.

Sudan's Bashir to be Questioned over 'Financing Terrorism'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 02/19/Sudan's prosecutor general has ordered the questioning of deposed president Omar al-Bashir over money-laundering and "financing terrorism", the official SUNA news agency said on Thursday. "The acting public prosecutor general Al-Waleed Sayyed Ahmed has ordered the questioning of former president Omar al-Bashir... under anti-money laundering and financing terrorism laws," SUNA said.A source in the prosecutor general's office confirmed the state media report to AFP.

Russia, Syrian army step up attacks against rebel held northwestern Syria
Reuters, Amman/Thursday, 02 May 2019/Russian and Syrian forces intensified air strikes and ground shelling in northwestern Syria overnight in one of the heaviest assaults on the last rebel bastion in recent months, opposition members, rescuers and residents said on Thursday. The targeted villages and towns in northern Hama and southern Idlib fall within a demilitarized zone agreed last September between Russia and Turkey. Earlier this week Washington warned violence in the buffer zone “will result in the destabilization of the region.” Since Tuesday the Russian and Syrian military attacks have forced thousands of civilians to flee to camps further north along the Turkish border and damaged four medical facilities, according to Idlib civil defense officials and a US medical aid organization working in the area. “Medical facilities are being evacuated, leaving the most vulnerable with no access to medical care. We are on the edge of a humanitarian catastrophe,” Khaula Sawah, vice president of the US-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations -USA (UOSSM US) said in a statement on Wednesday. Syrian army helicopters have dropped barrel bombs, which are drums or cylinders packed with explosives and shrapnel that cause indiscriminate destruction, killing at least 15 civilians and injured dozens, rescuers in Idlib province said. Opposition-run civil defense agencies say hundreds of people, mostly civilians, have been killed by Russian and Syrian strikes since the September deal which prevented a potentially devastating offensive on Idlib and nearby areas controlled by rebels and now home to over 3 million people. Syrian state media, quoting army sources, blamed rebels for the attacks and said it had targeted “terrorist groups” in towns in northern Hama including Kafr Naboudah. Turkey, which has supported the rebels and has troops to monitor the truce, has been negotiating with Moscow to halt the strikes with little success. A military defector told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the latest campaign could signal a ground offensive aimed at taking control of territory in northern rural Hama province and southern Idlib countryside.

Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 01-02/19
Holiday Massacres of Christians: A New Fact of Life
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/May 02/19
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14135/holiday-massacres-christians
Notably, other Christian holidays, especially Christmas, are also prime times for Islamic terror, and for the same reasons -- to make a "point" and because at that time, churches are especially packed.
Commenting on the most recent carnage of Christians -- last Easter Sunday's bombing campaign in Sri Lanka, where more than 250 people were murdered -- the country's archbishop said, "we never expected such a thing to happen and especially on Easter Sunday."
Sadly, as bombed churches and massacred worshippers during Christian holy days have become the new norm, he and everyone else should expect exactly that.
Although the Islamic terrorist bombings that rocked Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday -- killing more than 250 people, most in churches -- have shocked many, spectacular terrorist attacks on Easter are far more common than supposed. Pictured: Officials inspect St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, one of three churches bombed in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019. (Photo by Stringer/Getty Images)
Although the Islamic terrorist bombings that rocked Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday -- killing more than 250 people, most in churches -- have shocked many, spectacular terrorist attacks on Easter are far more common than supposed.
Jihadi logic is simple: not only do attacks on Christians during their greatest holidays make a symbolic point; but because churches are often packed then -- especially Easter, or Resurrection Sunday -- they also potentially offer the greatest harvest in casualties.
Therefore, on April 9, 2017 -- Palm Sunday, which starts the holy week of Easter -- two Christian churches in Egypt were bombed during mass; at least 50 worshippers were murdered and 130 wounded (graphic images/video of aftermath here). Two days later, another terror attack, targeting a Coptic Christian monastery, was thwarted. On April 12, 2015, Easter Sunday, two explosions targeting two separate churches also took place in Egypt. Although no casualties were reported, large numbers could have resulted.
On Easter Sunday 2016, in Pakistan, an Islamic suicide bombing took place near the children's rides in a public park, where Christians were known to be celebrating and congregating. At least 74 people -- mostly women and children -- were killed and nearly 400 wounded. A similar massacre was in store for Pakistan in 2017, as authorities foiled a "major terrorist attack" targeting Christians on Easter.
Right before Good Friday 2015, jihadis raided a Kenyan university and murdered 147 people. The jihadis tried to distinguish between Muslim and Christian students, in order to kill only the Christians. "This will be a good Easter holiday for us," the jihadis said.
Celebrating Easter also seems to be especially dangerous in Nigeria. A church was bombed on Easter Sunday 2012, killing 50 people. In 2013, during Easter week, Muslim herdsmen launched a series of raids, murdering at least 80 Christians -- mostly children and the elderly. More than 200 Christian homes were destroyed, eight churches burned, and 4,500 Christians displaced.
As for Easter this year, Muslim raiders murdered 11 Christians returning from Good Friday church service in Nigeria; they also kidnapped and murdered a female British aid worker. On Sunday, April 21, ten boys were killed during an Easter procession. Emmanuel Ogebe, a Nigerian human rights lawyer remarked in an email, "The Holy Week killings in Nigeria do not grab headlines like Sri Lanka but still Nigeria's Christians are dying the deaths of a 1000 cuts in as many installments!"
As Islam's presence continues to grow in Europe, Easter-related attacks are also on the rise.
This Easter in Germany, a migrant man, apparently of Somali origin, entered a church in Munich during Mass and threw dangerous objects, variously described as stones or firecrackers, at worshippers while he shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("Allah is greater"). Congregants dropped their Easter meal baskets on the ground and rushed out in a panic. Some were injured and children were left in a "state of shock." Predictably, authorities concluded that the assailant was "mentally ill" and therefore not responsible for his actions.
According to one report, the jihadi terror cell that murdered 32 people in Brussels on March 22, 2016, "was planning to massacre worshippers at Easter church services across Europe, including Britain."
In Scotland, 2016, a Muslim man stabbed another Muslim man to death for wishing Christians a Good Friday and Happy Easter.
Although deadly attacks on Christians have taken place every Easter in recent years, less spectacular attacks and shows of hostility are all too common around that Christian holiday. A brief list of examples follows:
Bangladesh: A Muslim mob attacked a Catholic village as it celebrated Easter in 2015. The mob stabbed the village priest, destroyed Bibles, crosses, holy pictures, musical instruments and homes, and randomly slaughtered chickens and goats.
Turkey: Muslims beat a pastor immediately after his Easter service and threatened him with death unless he converted to Islam.
Iran: 12 Christians stood trial as "apostates" on Easter Sunday 2012, and in 2015, various churches were banned from celebrating Easter Sunday altogether.
Iraq: According to an AP report from 2013, "Iraq's Catholic Christians flocked to churches to celebrate Easter Sunday, praying, singing and rejoicing in the resurrection of Christ," but only "behind high blast walls and tight security cordons."
Philippines: A cathedral had to cancel its 2018 Easter services after Islamic terrorists completely ransacked it.
Notably, other Christian holidays, especially Christmas, are also prime times for Islamic terror, and for the same reasons -- to make a "point" and because at that time, churches are especially packed. In Cairo, Egypt, a church was bombed, killing 27 people near Christmas 2016. On New Year's Day 2011 -- which Orthodox Christians usher in at church - another Egyptian church was bombed, killing 23 worshippers. (For dozens more anecdotes of Muslim violence against and slaughter of Christians around Christmas, see here for Christmas 2018, here for Christmas 2017, here for Christmas 2016, here for Christmas 2015, and here for Christmas 2014.)
Commenting on the most recent carnage of Christians -- last Easter Sunday's bombing campaign in Sri Lanka, where more than 250 people were murdered -- the country's archbishop said, "we never expected such a thing to happen and especially on Easter Sunday."
Sadly, as bombed churches and massacred worshippers during Christian holy days have become the new norm, the archbishop and everyone else should expect exactly that.
**Raymond Ibrahim, author of the new book, Sword and Scimitar, Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

European Elections: "The Battle for Europe has Begun"
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/May 02/19
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14168/european-elections-prague
"We are fighting for Europe to remain European, with European values...." — Tomio Okamura, President, Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) and Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.
"My friends, we are gathered here today to stand up for our freedom and our sovereignty. The most precious things we have. Because without a strong nation state, there is no democracy. And without democracy there are no liberties.... My friends, our countries are strong nations. Based on a Jewish-Christian and humanistic civilization. That should never change. So, we want to control our own borders again. We do not want mass immigration. And we do not want to be invaded by a tyrannical ideology." — Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV).
"However, my friends, it isn't easy to leave the EU, as the British have found out. Despite a majority voting for Brexit, the establishment and the EU have colluded to stop us." — Janice Atkinson, British MEP, who is also Vice Chair of the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) political group in the European Parliament.
"Immigration must be stopped, and the Islamist ideology must be eradicated.... Islamization and globalism are new totalitarianisms that threaten European countries." — Marine Le Pen, Prague Press Conference.
The leaders of several European nationalist parties campaigned in Prague on April 25, ahead of the European Parliament elections set for May 23-26. Pictured: Tomio Okamura (left), president of the Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy Party, Marine Le Pen (center), leader of France's National Rally, and Geert Wilders (right), leader of the Dutch Freedom Party. (Photo by Gabriel Kuchta/Getty Images)
The leaders of several European nationalist parties campaigned in Prague on April 25, ahead of the European Parliament elections set for May 23-26.
The rally was sponsored by the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF), a pan-European alliance of nine nationalist parties dedicated to stopping mass migration and recovering national sovereignty from the European Union.
The Prague event was organized by the president of the Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy Party (SPD), Tomio Okamura, who was joined by Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) leader Geert Wilders, French National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen, the President of Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF), Gerolf Annemans, and British MEP Janice Atkinson, who is also Vice Chair of the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) political group in the European Parliament. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-mass migration League party, sent a video message. They spoke to a crowd in Prague's downtown Wenceslas Square. Following are some excerpts of the keynote speeches:
Tomio Okamura, President, Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) and Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies:
"Dear friends, dear guests, dear Marine, dear Geert, dear colleagues, I warmly welcome you here in the historical center of the Czech capital. We stand here symbolically at the statue of St. Wenceslas. Under the banner of St. Wenceslas, our ancestors fought more than a thousand years of hard struggle for the freedom and sovereignty of the Czech crown countries....
"Today, Europeans are once again fighting for their survival. It is not just the migration of colonists from Africa and the Arab countries that is changing the face of Western Europe. It is also the growing assault from Brussels on the sovereignty of Europe's nation states in the name of a multicultural superstate.
"For those who downplay this warning, I would like to mention a quote from the former President of the European Union, Herman Von Rompuy: 'The time of the homogenous nation-state is over. Each European country has to be open for different cultures.'
"In contemporary Europe, the Brussels aristocracy has no place for nations, and no place for democracy either. The former President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has been quoted as saying: 'It is not the EU's philosophy that the crowd can decide its destiny.'
"And for those who are still not sure about Europe's ambitions, German Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth has called for replacing the principle of unanimity in EU decision-making with qualified majority voting.
"Dear Citizens, the mass immigration of millions of Africans and Muslims to Europe is no coincidence — it is a targeted liquidation of traditional European nation states, as well as the targeted destruction of traditional European values — hence the concept of the traditional family is being liquidated, and patriotism becomes a rude word, because these values ​​are the biggest obstacle to the demolition of nation states.
"It is up to us to decide whether we give up all that our ancestors have sacrificed their lives for, whether we will savor their memory, or defend their heritage....
"I say clearly that the current EU must end! I remind you that at present, European Union directives and regulations outrank the laws of the EU's member states....
"The European Parliament is the only place where we can change Europe. Come to the polls! Together across Europe we advocate a return to the original model of European cooperation, without regulation from Brussels, when sovereign nation states had a common market and free movement of citizens of European nations. And each state was at the same time a sovereign in its territory, adopting its own laws and, if necessary, protecting its borders.
"We are fighting for Europe to remain European, with European values....
"Dear citizens, dear friends, we say a clear 'NO' to further restrictions on the rights of citizens, including the right to own a gun. NO acceptance of Euro currency by the Czech Republic. NO transferring further power from state to EU....
"We are not alone. National patriotic parties are on the rise all over Europe, promoting freedom, democracy and the sovereignty of their peoples.
"We are not alone and together we have a tremendous historic opportunity to win and change the European Union from the Brussels dictatorship to the Union of Free European States, which cooperate on the basis of mutual equality and mutual benefit.
"These elections, if we want, can be a real referendum on the European Union."
Geert Wilders, MP and Chairman, Party for Freedom:
"My friends, we are gathered here today to stand up for our freedom and our sovereignty. The most precious things we have. Because without a strong nation state, there is no democracy. And without democracy there are no liberties.
"Today, we are fighting for our existence. And the biggest threats to our survival and our freedom are the European Union, mass immigration and the Islamic ideology of submission and violence.
"First, let's talk about the European Union. An undemocratic superstate. It is forcing its commands on the peoples of Europe. It is trying to take away our national sovereignty! And we want to be sovereign, don't we?
"The European Union is attempting to erase our nation states. But we say; no more! Let's say it loud and clear: no more! Our nations are shaped by their own history, culture, language and identity and therefore they are impossible to erase!
"My friends, our countries are strong nations. Based on a Jewish-Christian and humanistic civilization. That should never change.
"So, we want to control our own borders again. We do not want mass immigration. And we do not want to be invaded by a tyrannical ideology.
"You Czechs are — as a matter of fact — an example to us all. Because you are opposing the EU asylum policy. You are opposing the Islamization of Europe. You say: Ne, Nikdy [No, not ever]. Your resistance inspires us!
"Let me tell you something about my country, the Netherlands. A few weeks ago, a jihadi attack took place in one of our major cities, Utrecht. Four innocent people were killed in broad daylight in a tram by a jihadist. And in the three largest cities in the Netherlands, the majority of people under the age of 25 are non-Western immigrants. Mostly Islamic. Our people are already a stranger in their own town and country. The Netherlands is given away by the elites. On a silver platter. In many western European countries, it is just like that or even worse.
"The European Union has been pampering Islam for decades now. But Islam is a medieval cult that denies freedom to others. So why should we grant Islam any liberties? We should not, we should stop Islam. By depriving Islam of the means to destroy our identity, we are not violating freedom; we are preserving our identity and guaranteeing freedom.
"As we have seen, the free world has been the victim of many terror attacks in the last few years. From New York, Madrid, Paris, Brussels and Nice to Barcelona, Manchester, Berlin, Stockholm and Marseille innocent people were murdered by Islamic inspired terrorists, that hate us and cherish death more than life. And a few days ago, innocent people died on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka, where Christians in churches and westerners in hotels were attacked and brutally slaughtered. So, Islamization comes with a very high price. One we are not willing to pay.
"Freedom obviously also has a price and we must be prepared to pay it: a choice has to be made. The choice between Islam and freedom. There is no middle way. Because nothing is more precious than liberty and freedom.
"Defending our freedom, defending our way of life, requires all of us to be vigilant, courageous and audacious. It requires all of us to raise our voice. To raise our voice against the enemies of freedom. Against the tyranny of Islamization. Against everyone who tries to silence us!
"The European Union and many governments facilitate Islam and Islamic immigration. Why are they facilitating a totalitarian ideology? Why are they accommodating an intolerant dogma? It is as if they have surrendered. It is as if they have capitulated. But not on behalf of the people. Not on behalf of you.
"We will never apologize for being free men. We will never surrender. We stand on the shoulders of giants. And there is no stronger power than the force of free men fighting for the great cause of liberty. Because freedom is the birthright of all men. And Islam and freedom are incompatible.
"Unless there are radical changes to the present policies towards migration, over 30% of Sweden will be Islamic by the year 2050. And almost 20% in Germany and France. And it will only get worse in the next decades, because the population of Africa is exploding. According to the United Nations, the population of Africa will grow from one billion people to 4 billion Africans by the end of this century. Many of them will want to come to Europe. Many of them will come from Islamic countries. My friends, Europe is on the brink of cultural suicide.
"The European Union will never defend our national interest and our freedom. So, we need strong nation states. And we need brave leaders who care about the freedom and security of their own people. Who are not afraid to speak the truth about the dangers of mass immigration.
"That is why it is so important to have a huge group of political allies working together in the next European elections. That's why it is so important that brave leaders as Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini have our support.
"And that's why it is so important to have one of the bravest politicians of all Europe on our side, a hero who is not afraid to speak the truth about the EU and Islam: Tomio Okamura!
"My friends, we are the patriots! And we will win! Long live the Czech Republic! Svoboda! Thank you."
Gerolf Annemans, President, Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF):
"I stand like all of you on this central spot of the continent, not only on the crossroads of Europe, but also and more than ever we stand at the crossroads of European history.
"The European Union has become an institution that crushes the peoples of member states because the big bosses of the European Union want to put their organization to become the one and only superstate on the continent.
"Our proud nations will become powerless provinces if we let this happen. What this all means for the future of our children can be seen in the way the European Union put mass migration in motion on the continent.
"Under EU rules, mass migration became a historic icon of wild migration. We have to resist this chaos. We are the resistance. Our political family has the image of Matteo Salvini, who showed as Italian minister that to reverse migration you need one thing and one thing only, the political will to do so. Nothing more, but unfortunately, these days, nothing less.
"Putting this political will into the center of politics is our goal.
"I ask you, did the brave Czech people fight for their freedom to become oppressed by disappearing in the European Union? Did we, did you fight the USSR to get a similar threat in return? Tell us, yes or no?
"No, of course. We fought, you fought for freedom. We stand for freedom. And in this historical election of May 2019 the battle for our freedom will be decisive.
"We are the resistance. Matteo Salvini, Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders, my party president Tom Van Grieken of the Flemish party Vlaams Belang, and all the others, we are proud to have you and Tomio as strong allies in Central Europe of what will become a force for change in Europe.
"For our homeland and for our freedom, let us join forces and let us stand strong. No matter how strong our opponents could be, we will be stronger because we have the strength of our conviction, and we are the hope that the people of Europe have in us.
"Long live the Europe of nations. Long live the Europe of freedom."
Janice Atkinson, British MEP and Vice President, Europe of Nations and Freedom:
"My message to the Czechs and for the citizens of the EU is to vote for the parties that will take you out of the EU. It is the evil empire. Vote for the parties that will tear down the EU state, so that power is returned to the nations of Europe and freedom.
"The EU is the dictatorship of the unelected, the failed politicians of their own nations, as they suck the lifeblood of democracy out of our countries. These unelected dictators have imposed mass uncontrolled immigration on our countries. They have failed to secure our external borders. They have failed to stop migrants arriving by foot, by boats and via people smugglers.
"The Schengen system allows them to walk freely, to live and work where they choose — even though it is not what we choose. They have unleashed terror on our streets. They have the rape and sexual assault of women on their hands. They have Europe's blood on their hands.
"They have changed our cities and our streets and towns so that they are unrecognizable, and we are foreigners in our own lands. They encourage radical Islam, which has brought into our lives Sharia law, female genital mutilation, child marriage and medieval clothing such as the burka. Enough. No more!
"Do not accept that this is Europe's fate. It is reversible and can be stopped. If you value your freedoms, your way of life, your rule of law, your culture and heritage, the EU has to be stopped. The only way to do this is to vote for Tomio Okamura and his party, the SPD. Tomio, together with my colleagues, Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini can change the course of Europe.
"The SPD will also give you the freedom for Czexit, a referendum on whether you want to stay in the EU. I hope you follow the British and vote to leave. However, my friends, it isn't easy to leave the EU, as the British have found out. Despite a majority voting for Brexit, the establishment and the EU have colluded to stop us. And that's the trouble. We have elected MEPs and MPs who have given control of our lives and our countries and our day to day life and our future to the people who do not believe in the nation state, sovereignty and control over our own laws.
"In these EU elections, you have the change to save the Czech Republic and to save Europe. Do you want to be robbed by unelected bureaucrats such as Jean-Claude Juncker, Frans Timmermans or Donald Tusk? No!
"My friends, we are at a tipping point in Europe. You can save our continent."
Marine Le Pen, President, National Rally:
"The battle for Europe has begun. In these elections, the supporters of globalism stand against supporters of the nation state. The globalists against the localists.
"European federalists support total deregulation, the complete abolition of borders, the free movement of migration across the planet and the weakening of nation states for the benefit of oligarchs, civil servants and experts. On the other hand, there are us patriots from all across Europe.
"We have chosen our nations, nations whose diversity is the richness of Europe. They must remain themselves and cooperate freely with each other....
"We do not want to seal the borders, but we want to put the doors back to our home....
"My country offers a sad example of migratory submersion. If you are not careful, it will be your future. Whole neighborhoods have become non-French areas!....
"The democratic push of the patriots in all the countries of Europe will make it possible to recast the European framework....
"Today, the European Union does not have the capacity to send tanks on the streets or to fire on the crowd... Yet the goal is the same: to reduce our political, legal, and national identity — our capacities of resistance....
"We, the French and the Czechs, will be at the rendezvous of history on May 26! Long live the Czech people! Long live the French people! Long live the Europe of sovereign nations!"
During a press conference, Le Pen added:
"What we see here, before our eyes, is the emergence of a new European harmony that sees the national parties coming together to offer 500 million Europeans a new framework of cooperation, a new project and a new momentum for the future.
"Immigration must be stopped, and the Islamist ideology must be eradicated.... Islamization and globalism are new totalitarianisms that threaten European countries."
In a video broadcast at the Prague event, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am sending a greeting to my friend Tomio Okamura and the Czech friends at the SPD. I hope, and in fact I'm sure that after May 26, after the European elections, we will finally be working together in a new Europe that defends borders and our children against immigration and Islamic extremism, which must be stopped."
Salvini is trying to unite nationalist parties scattered across the 28-nation European Union to join forces in a new political alliance. On April 8, Salvini was joined in Milan by representatives of Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the Danish People's Party and the Finns Party, to launch a new alliance called "Towards a Common Sense Europe." Salvini hopes that the new bloc will emerge as the largest in the 751-member parliament after the elections in May.
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Jordanian Journalist: Israel's Leaders Are Implementing 'The Protocols Of The Elders Of Zion' In Full
MEMRI/May 02/2019
In a February 7, 2019 article in the Jordanian t daily Al-Dustour, 'Awwad Al-Saqr wrote that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, written by the leaders of the Zionist Movement, set out strategic plans for taking over the world which Israel has been implementing by spreading chaos, wars and corruption and presenting any criticism it as antisemitism. He added that this is only the tip of the iceberg, and what is unknown about the Protocols is even graver and more dangerous.
The following are excerpts from his article:
Cover of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in Arabic translation (image: arabjo.net, October 2, 2018)
"Israel was founded on the soil of historic Palestine at a time when we were unmindful of our interests. The leaders of the Zionist Movement planned to attain this goal in full ever since they held their first World Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897, presided over by Theodor Herzl, the founder of the abominable Zionist Movement. The ideologues [of this movement] formulated strategic plans for taking over the world politically, economically, ideologically and by means of the media, and called this plan The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Since then, the leaders of Israel have been following [these Protocols] and implementing them in full. I saw a need to present these satanic Protocols so that we, [both] leaders and citizens, draw lessons and realize the depth of our Zionist enemies' cunning and hostility and [the scope of] their plots.
"The plan comprises 23 Protocols focusing on the spreading of chaos, war and internal unrest in the world, and justify every kind of crime against non-Jews, whom they call goyim, meaning 'the nations.'[1] They have rulings by rabbis [permitting them] to commit every kind of crime, abomination and sin in order to attain these goals... The Protocols also deal with the takeover of education and the media, because education instills certain perceptions and values in future generations, and the press shapes and directs [public] opinion. In addition, these abominable Protocols focus on spreading bribery and corruption in society, just as they strive to spread religious, tribal and sectarian fanaticism and sow hostility and enmity between neighboring countries, so that hostility will persist and unity will not prevail. Another [goal] on which the Protocols focus is corrupting morals, [planting] agents, presenting the Jews as persecuted, and presenting any resistance or even criticism of Israel as stemming from antisemitism. They also focus on distracting people using every form of worldly pleasure, entertainment and sport so as to occupy the masses in their free time with matters that are far from politics. One of the important goals [set out] in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is drowning countries in foreign debt so they will not be able to recover and will remain shackled to international funds until their citizens lose faith in their governments.
"Everything stated above about the abominable Protocols is just the tip of the iceberg, and their hidden [parts] are far graver and more terrible and harsh. Is it not time for us to draw lessons, even if we are very late [in doing so]? 'Better late than never,' as the saying goes. The Jews have been known throughout history for foot-dragging and argumentativeness for its own sake, even [when dealing] with prophets and divine messengers, for they said to the prophet Moses, 'We will not believe you until we see God plainly with our own eyes' [Quran 2:55]. The story of Moses's argument with the Jews is well-known: he asked them to slaughter a cow as a sacrifice to Allah after He saved them from Pharaoh, and they pelted him with pointless questions... 'and then they slaughtered it, but they could hardly do it' [Quran 2:71]. In other words, they eventually [slaughtered the cow], but only after much hesitation and not from inner conviction. This means that they have a natural tendency to argue and set impossible terms. [If this is how they treat prophets,] how should they treat [ordinary] human beings? We have no recourse but to trust in God."[2]
[1] The Arabic word used is al-ummiyyoun, which appears in the Quran and was apparently used by the Jews of Arabia during the Prophet's time to refer to non-Jewish Arabs.
[2] Al-Dustour (Jordan), February 7, 2019.

Analysis/Muslim Brotherhood: Terrorist Group or Political Movement?
تسفي بارئيل/هآرتس: هل الإخوان المسلمين حركة سياسية أم مجموعة إرهابية؟
Zvi Bar'el/Haatrz/May 02/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74439/%D8%AA%D8%B3%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-%D9%87%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%86/
President Trump seeks terrorist-organization status for the 90-year-old Muslim missionary movement, which for decades has renounced violence
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi had a “small” favor to ask of U.S. President Donald Trump when they met for an intimate chat on April 9: to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. Trump, who views Sissi as a key ally mainly because of Egypt’s close military cooperation with Israel and despite its concurrent flirtation with Russia, directed his national security adviser John Bolton to smile on Sissi’s request and find a way to impose sanctions on the Islamist political movement.
What is the Muslim Brotherhood?
The movement was established in 1928 in the Egyptian city of Ismailia by Hassan al-Banna, then a 24-year-old imam, who disseminated his principles in a series of pamphlets that were distributed to university students, in mosques and at clubs. Banna recognized the importance of participating in politics and using it to leverage the movement’s power and to promote its ideology of establishing a state that operated in accordance with religious law.
Political cooperation forced Banna to adopt Arab nationalism and the fight against colonial occupation in Egypt (and in all Arab states), which was both a local and a supranational struggle. Banna understood his movement’s main concern to be the local struggle, in a bid to bolster his public support at a time when Egypt was engaged in a battle over its identity.
This approach contradicted the movement’s core ideology, which saw nationalism as competing with the universality of Islam and with the idea of establishing a united Muslim nation, but this is where Banna’s pragmatism came into play. As he explained to his followers, “the circumstances” dictated operating with political astuteness and the political game was only a means to an end.
The Muslim Brotherhood is headed by the supreme guide, who oversees the secretary general and the Executive Office. District branches are funded by subdistrict and neighborhood branches. The principle guiding the group’s operations is religious teaching based on welfare activities, medical care and mutual aid to create loyalty to and dependence on the movement. The Muslim Brotherhood has branches in several Muslim countries. In some of these, such as Jordan and Tunisia, it has established political parties.
In Egypt itself the organization’s activities have been banned since 1954, but it has circumvented the prohibition by running independent candidates who, after winning parliamentary election, founded political factions that answered to the supreme guide. Egypt’s presidents, from Gamal Abdel Nasser to Anwar Sadat (who was presumably a member of the movement) to Hosni Mubarak, sought the support of the Muslim Brotherhood. These efforts failed, however, and were replaced by violent oppression of the movement’s leaders and members.
The Muslim Brotherhood and the Arab Spring
The organization’s younger activists, in particular, maintained close ties with leftist activists and some protest movements even before the Arab Spring broke out in 2011. In the early stages of the revolution the Brotherhood sat on the fence, even voicing support for Mubarak, but it went on to attempt to wrest control of the demonstrations. The organization eventually won the imprimatur of the revolutionary movements, which after Mubarak’s ouster successfully pressed for the Brotherhood’s legalization.
In the 2011 parliamentary election that followed the fall of Mubarak, the organization ran together with a number of secular protest movements and secured nearly half of the seats in parliament. In the 2012 presidential election, Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi won. The legislature, despite having been elected democratically, was dissolved after the country’s constitutional court found irregularities in the election process. Morsi remained in power, however, promising to honor all the agreements signed by previous governments, including the Camp David Accords.
But the authoritarian conduct of Morsi, who he also began issuing presidential decrees expanding his powers, led to the recognition that he meant to pursue a rigid religious agenda and spurred new demonstrations from opposition groups that failed in the election. These eventually led to his ouster by Sissi, his own military chief of staff and defense minister.
The Brotherhood and Sissi
Morsi’s violent fight against the Muslim Brotherhood and its designation as a terrorist organization stemmed mainly from apprehension over its public support; its political power, accrued over decades; and its status as the country’s most highly organized political movement, with a finger in every pie. In the course of this fight, dozens of the Brotherhood’s activists and leaders were killed and thousands were arrested; many of these were sentenced to death. Sissi succeeded in framing the movement as a terrorist organization that cooperated with Al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations operating in Sinai. He used state-controlled media outlets to sway the public conversation against it and he confiscated the movement’s assets. Sissi also convinced Saudi Arabia to designate the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, in exchange for agreeing to join the Arab coalition Riyadh was putting together for the war in Yemen.
Involvement in terror
Successive generations of Muslim Brotherhood leaders have declared its condemnation of terror actions and foundations as a religious and political organization. This stance led some activists to quit its ranks and to establish their terrorist organizations or to join existing ones.
In 1940, the Brotherhood created a quasi-military “secret apparatus” to fight the British occupation and any colonialist occupation of an Arab nation. Nasser, then a young commissioned officer, belonged to the group.
After Banna’s assassination, in February 1949, the group was disbanded by his successor and its members were absorbed into the Brotherhood’s administrative activities. There is no evidence that the organization has engaged in terrorist activities in or beyond Egypt for several decades. Descendants of the movement, however, such as Hamas in the territories and terrorist organizations in various Muslim countries, have adopted terror as a mode of operation, based on an independent interpretation of the teachings of Banna and of Sayyid Qutb, a prominent Muslim thinker and Brotherhood member who was executed in 1966 for plotting Nasser’s assassination.
Designation as a terrorist organization
Trump cannot designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization by fiat. U.S. intelligence organizations must first gather evidence of the organization’s involvement in terrorist activities that threatens the United States or its interests and present it to the secretary of state, who must consult with the attorney general and the treasury secretary before making the designation. After Congress is notified of the secretary’s intent, the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives is given seven days to review the evidence and to block the designation or let it stand. If the designation is approved, the Muslim Brotherhood would have 30 days to appeal to a federal court in Washington.
Beyond the legal difficulty, the designation is liable to have implications for U.S. relations with states such as Turkey and Qatar which support the organization on both the religious and the political levels.

The fight against terrorism will not be won quickly
Sir John Jenkins/Arab News/May 02/19
We have had quite a time of it on the terror front recently, haven’t we? To take the example of just one group, Daesh’s last stand at Baghouz in Syria, its inspiring of attacks on security targets in Congo and Saudi Arabia and on Christians in Sri Lanka, and now, linking them all, the pre-Ramadan reappearance of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi (who has clearly not been overdoing the diet during his time underground) have all followed in quick and sometimes bewildering succession. In Iraq and Syria, even after the loss of territory, Daesh never stopped seeking to regularly strike its enemies — just like it and its predecessors did after 2003.
Over the last six months or so, we have also seen white right-wing extremist attacks on synagogues in Pittsburgh and San Diego and on a mosque in New Zealand — part of a trend that has been building for some years. Some people say that is the real wave of the future, fueled by growing social, cultural and economic anomie in the heartlands of the West. Others say that is nonsense and that the big threat remains the exploitation of under-governed spaces in the Middle East, North Africa, the Pakistani-Afghan borders and Southeast Asia by violent, millenarian and transnational Islamist groups intent not just on overthrowing regional governments but remaking the global order. They are prepared to fight “until doomsday,” as Al-Baghdadi has again made clear for the slower learners among us.
Only in February, Donald Trump proclaimed that Daesh had been eliminated, in an echo of Barack Obama’s presumptuous description of them as a junior varsity team, and — in a different context — George W. Bush’s equally vainglorious claim of “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq. Yet we know that the group has managed to retain significant accumulated wealth from its time controlling territory and the allegiance of a core group of foreign fighters, perhaps as many as 30,000. And here they are again, popping up like a bad jinni to tell us that they never really meant to establish a territorial base simply in Syria or Iraq, that they have instead created wilayats all over the world, and in any case continue to colonize more important territory — the minds and hearts of the impressionable and discontented.
Meanwhile, in Idlib, the Al-Qaeda-connected groups, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and its dissident offshoot, Hurras Al-Din, seem to have consolidated their authority through the violent suppression of other groups and are digging in against pressure from the Syrian regime and its backers. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has once more shown its resilience and adaptability in the mess that is Yemen. In Somalia, Al-Shabab has not gone away, nor has Boko Haram in West Africa. In Iran, there are reports of increasing activity by violent separatist groups in the southeast, and some stirrings in the Kurdish regions.
And, in all this excitement, we should not forget the increasingly coordinated activities of Iran, its armed proxies in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon and its agents of influence across the world, from Caracas to Canberra. Turkey, of course, accuses anybody with links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party of terrorism. Even in Northern Ireland, we have seen attempts by revanchist former members of the Provisional IRA to fan the flames of sectarian violence, even if they only manage to murder young journalists.
The stated ambitions of Daesh, Al-Qaeda and many right-wing extremists may be ludicrous. But they take them very seriously.
Sir John Jenkins
If you actually look at measurements like those of the Global Terrorism Index, you will find that the cumulative total of victims has actually declined over recent years. But that is misleading. These indices measure all victims, and most of them are found in areas where armed conflict has broken out, or is endemic. So Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen have accounted for the vast majority of terror casualties over the last 15 years or so. When conflict dies down, as it undoubtedly has in Iraq and to an extent in Syria, then the numbers go down. But the underlying causes — social, cultural, economic and political — on which terror feeds have not disappeared. And this gives an opportunity for the highly organized, motivated and ideologically committed groups that commit or sponsor most terror attacks to thrive. They also create a response; by design.
Just as in Iraq after 2003, attacks by the precursors of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Daesh produced an equally brutal response by armed Shiite groups, often sponsored by Iran, so attacks on the West by Al-Qaeda and Daesh — and the consequences of the disorder they have created in parts of North Africa and the Levant — have given oxygen to far-right extremists. And there will always be causes that such groups can use to claim victimhood and therefore the right to retaliation. If it’s not the Great Mosque at Samarra, it’s the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Sayyidah Zaynab in Damascus, Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Uighurs, or the Field of Blackbirds in the Balkans. These are fitted into a reductionist and violent narrative of victimhood, a subset of the wider identity politics that are reshaping political systems across the world.
And this retreat into a new tribalism is the real danger. To join a sect is to claim privileged victim status. It is to define the political community as the righteous and the just and everyone else as “The Other” and, therefore, “The Enemy;” something Islamists and Western right-wing nationalists have in common with each other, along with Sayyid Qutb, the theorist of the modern Jahiliyyah, Carl Schmitt, the Nazi jurist of the state of exception, and a range of millenarian and obscurantist lunatics through the ages.
In 2015, shortly after I left the British diplomatic service, I was interviewed by the BBC. They asked me what I thought the future was for Daesh and similar groups. I said that they certainly needed to be physically defeated in Iraq and Syria, which some disputed at the time. But you can’t defeat an ideology with bullets. The ideology of Islamism — and all Islamisms have a doctrine of physical force, no matter what their advocates might claim — was already a century old. There were no signs that it was losing its power to attract adherents. And it had already provoked a response in those it targeted. It was a dialectic of separation, of hate and counter-hate. The consequences would be with us for the rest of my lifetime and well beyond. I was surprised when the interviewer queried this. It was hardly a new observation after all.
Now no one really questions it. But perhaps a better way to think about what is happening is not so much about terror and non-terror — both terms that are notoriously hard to define, even more so in an age of asymmetric conflict and deniable aggression — but about what we most value in our current political, social and economic dispensations and what are the most serious threats to them from all sources. That way we can plan more rationally and collectively to combat these threats across the board. Some of them come from violent terrorist groups, some from their state sponsors, some simply from states — little green men, deniable cyberattacks, the covert shaping of opinion or simply fake news — some from within our own societies, from our own reactions or over-reactions, amplified by social media and the sheer speed of global communication networks.
The stated ambitions of Daesh, Al-Qaeda and many right-wing extremists — like those of some states who also overestimate their power — may be ludicrous. But they take them very seriously and are prepared to inflict enormous damage in the process of proving that they are impossible to achieve. We must therefore be prepared for the long haul. That means accepting that this is a struggle for collective security. That can only succeed if it is based on genuinely ethical national resilience, applied intelligence (in all its various senses), the technological competence to stay ahead of the opposition (for example in cyber, remote or drone technologies), a willingness to trust in cooperation and, above all, sustained political purpose and a sense of proportion. We’re in this together — for the long haul.
*Sir John Jenkins is an Associate at Policy Exchange. Until December 2017, he was Corresponding Director (Middle East) at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), based in Manama, Bahrain, and was a Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. He was the British ambassador to Saudi Arabia until January 2015.

Iranian regime using foreign prisoners as political pawns
د. ماجد رافيزادا : النظام الإيراني يستعمل الأسرى الأجانب كأحجار شطرنج
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/May 02/19
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/74445/%d8%af-%d9%85%d8%a7%d8%ac%d8%af-%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%81%d9%8a%d8%b2%d8%a7%d8%af%d8%a7-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%86%d8%b8%d8%a7%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a5%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86%d9%8a-%d9%8a%d8%b3%d8%aa%d8%b9%d9%85/
Since the Iranian revolution in 1979, the Islamic Republic has generally resorted to backchannels in order to negotiate deals with foreign governments whose citizens it holds as prisoners. But, in an unprecedented move, during a recent interview at the Asia Society in New York, Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif made a public offer to the US and other countries regarding American and European citizens held in Iranian jails.
Zarif made a bold statement, saying: “I put this offer on the table, publicly, now. Exchange them. All these people that are in prison inside the United States, on extradition request from the United States… Let us exchange them.” He then acknowledged the authority that he enjoys, saying: “I have the authority to do that. We informed the government of the United States six months ago that we are ready.”
First of all, it must be noted that Zarif’s statement contains a critical inaccuracy. Being part of the executive branch, neither Iran’s foreign minister nor President Hassan Rouhani have the power to make such offers to foreign governments. These matters are under the control and authority of the hardline judiciary system. The head of the judiciary, also known as the chief justice of Iran, is directly appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In other words, the judiciary system also requires Khamenei’s blessing to make decisions about foreign prisoners and hostages.
In fact, it is intriguing that Zarif contradicted himself by admitting this. When the foreign minister was questioned about the conditions and potential release of a group of environmental scientists held by Iran, he replied: “This is not my job. Our judiciary is independent. I have not agreed with the accusations against them, but I am busy enough preventing wars and economic pressures.”
This begs the question of how Zarif seemingly has the authority to release some prisoners but not others. The eight environmentalists, who were arrested more than a year ago, are still in detention accused of crimes such as “spreading corruption on Earth.” One of them, the Iranian-Canadian Kavous Seyyed-Emami, died in suspicious circumstances while in jail. Without providing any valid proof, Iran’s judiciary announced that he had committed suicide because of the evidence of spying against him. The Iranian regime has regularly framed sudden deaths in its prisons, or through interrogations, as “suicides.”
Despite pressure from human rights organizations, Iran declines to release the environmental scientists. Several Members of the European Parliament from a wide range of political parties wrote a letter to Rouhani stating: “We understand that the Iranian judiciary has accused the activists of using environmental projects as a cover to collect classified strategic information, but a committee established under your authority has found no evidence of these allegations.” But Iran has not yet responded.
Under the presidency of the so-called moderate Rouhani, travel warnings issued by other countries to their citizens have increased
Another foreign citizen held in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison is the British-Iranian dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who worked for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency. Others detained in Iran’s political prison include US Navy veteran Michael White, Xiyue Wang — an American citizen and graduate student at Princeton University who was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the charge of spying — and Iranian-Americans Karan Vafadari and his wife Afarin Neyssari, and Baquer and Siamak Namazi.
Under the presidency of the so-called moderate Rouhani, travel warnings issued by other countries to their citizens have increased. For example, the British Foreign Office recently warned all UK-Iranian dual nationals not to travel to Iran. Its statement declared: “There is a risk that British nationals, and a higher risk that British/Iranian dual nationals, could be arbitrarily detained in Iran. All British nationals should consider carefully the risks of traveling to Iran.”
While Iran’s foreign minister does not wield power when it comes to releasing or exchanging prisoners, there is a possibility that he is being instructed by one of the hardline organizations — the judiciary system, the Ministry of Intelligence, the senior cadre of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or the Office of the Supreme Leader — to carry out this mission. In other words, he is acting as the hardliners’ puppet to advance their parochial and political interests.
The Islamic Republic has frequently utilized hostages as political pawns and leverage against other governments. This has been the policy of the theocratic establishment since the revolution in 1979, starting with the takeover that year of the US Embassy in Tehran, which led to 52 Americans being held hostage for 444 days. The regime released them only when it had achieved its political, economic and ideological objectives.
In a nutshell, the Iranian regime is once again using foreign citizens as hostages in order to blackmail other governments. It is incumbent on these countries not to submit to Tehran’s hostage-taking game. Accepting Iran’s terms will only embolden and empower the regime.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

The trials and tribulations of Carlos Ghosn in the Japanese justice system
Ahmad Elhusseini/Al Arabiya/May 02/2019
Carlos Ghosn’s painful journey through the Japanese criminal justice system has been very much in the news. Ghosn, for many years a senior executive at both Renault and Nissan and a highly-regarded automobile industry leader, has suffered a precipitous fall from grace. He has been arrested twice by Japanese authorities – first, in November 2018, and again in April 2019 – and released on bail, after spending a considerable amount of time in pre-trial detention.
He has been charged with four sets of offenses under Japanese law, including alleged understatements of his compensation from Nissan and a failure to pay taxes on this compensation, as well as abuse of corporate authority whilst at Nissan. This was followed by allegations that he improperly diverted corporate resources to certain of Nissan’s corporate partners, in particular an Omani distributor of Nissan vehicles. Additional charges cover Ghosn’s alleged misuse of Nissan and Renault corporate resources to pay for his personal, rather than business-related, expenses, including dining, luxury goods, travel, and the purchase and refurbishment of residences.
The western media has covered various unusual aspects of the Ghosn saga, many of which stem from the remarkable harshness of the Japanese criminal justice system. These include such things as multi-hour/multi-day custodial interrogations of Ghosn by Japanese prosecutors without the presence of his lawyers, the seizure, during the April 4 search of his apartment in Tokyo, of his communications with his legal team, and the agreement, secured as a condition of his release from the second detention, that he would not meet with his wife without obtaining consent from Japanese courts.
While these are all concerning by western due process standards, there are even more troubling aspects of the Ghosn affair. Based upon Wall Street Journal reporting, it appears that Ghosn’s downfall was brought about by a combination of governmental and corporate intrigues, whatever his personal misgivings.
For many years, Ghosn had kept the Renault-Nissan alliance in a form that respected Japanese cultural and corporate sensitivities, and accorded substantial corporate independence to Nissan. Unfortunately, once President Emmanuel Macron took office, the French government began to press aggressively for a full and formal merger of Nissan with the French carmaker. The French government’s marching orders to Ghosn were to create a detailed merger roadmap to achieve this end by June 15, 2018. Ghosn succumbed to that pressure and began to pursue the path of a Renault-Nissan merger.
This development prompted first consternation, followed by anger, both among Nissan’s senior Japanese corporate executives, including several of Ghosn’s senior subordinates such as Hiroto Saikawa, Hari Nada, and Hitoshi Kawaguchi, and among senior officials at the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. The initial investigation of Ghosn arose out of this joint discontent and desire to stop the merger process, which Nissan’s executives have enthusiastically supported and assisted Japanese law enforcement authorities with.
The Wall Street Journal’s revelations about the governmental and corporate machinations that led to Ghosn’s downfall have not been denied either by the Japanese government or Nissan. Indeed, Ghosn’s successor at Nissan, Hiroto Saikawa, candidly described the whole sordid back story to Renault’s chairman, Jean-Dominique Senard, during a January 2019 meeting in Amsterdam. Japan’s official position is that the charges against Ghosn should be judged on their intrinsic merit and that the investigation’s genesis is irrelevant.
This position, however, is untenable as a matter of due process and actually further damages the Japanese government’s reputation. Ensuring impartiality throughout all stages of the investigative process, particularly when it comes to dealing with complex and nuanced matters of corporate governance, tax, and accounting, is of utmost importance. The Japanese government, on the other hand, was anxious to derail the prospects of a Renault-Nissan merger and keen to get rid of its perceived principal architect, Ghosn. The Japanese law enforcement authorities were clearly not objective and showed no shortage of interest either in commencing the investigation or in driving it forward.
In most western countries, particularly in the United States, such evidence of bias and ulterior motives on the part of investigators and prosecutors essentially dooms the prospects of conviction. American courts have used the so-called “shock the conscience” doctrine to explain why charges against defendants, no matter what their intrinsic merits might be, cannot be maintained in these circumstances. The government officials involved are also often disciplined and reprimanded. The fact that the Japanese authorities appear to be blissfully unaware of these legal and institutional imperatives is troubling.
Furthermore, the French government would be well advised not to accept the Japanese version of the Game of Thrones and rise to Ghosn’s defense.