English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 28/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews19/english.may28.20.htm

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

Bible Quotations For today
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them
John 12/37-43: “Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. This was to fulfil the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’ And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said, ‘He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, so that they might not look with their eyes, and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them.’ Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke about him. Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.”

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 27-28/2020
Questions, Facts & Doubts About Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon/Charbel Barakat & Elias Bejjani/May 27/2020
21 More Coronavirus Cases Confirmed in Lebanon
15 Syrian Refugees in Lebanon Test Positive for COVID-19
Lebanese Could Be Fined LL50,000 for Not Wearing Face Masks
BDL Subsidizes Dollar for Food Importers, Manufacturers and Industrialists
Lebanon, IMF Discuss Capital Control in 7th Meeting
Lebanese Southern Town Accuses UNIFIL Troops of Provoking Its Residents
Aoun follows up on measures taken to combat Covid-19, general mobilization
Berri meets Japanese ambassador, UN’s Kubis, "Strong Republic” bloc delegation
Judge Aoun lifts judicial seizure off ASOPOS fuel vessel
Ministry of Finance: Seventh meeting with IMF in presence of Salameh continues Capital Control Law discussions
Diab chairs inter-ministerial meeting for the repatriation of Lebanese
Fahmy: Lebanese have unfortunately lost faith in institutions, judiciary included
Ghajar denies reporting to Judge Aoun Bassatne's pledge to provide alternative fuel vessel
Lebanon repatriates 50 stranded Nigerian nationals free of charge
US Ambassador pays Rahi protocol visit
COVID-19 Strikes Syrian Communities in Lebanon’s Bekaa
Lebanon: International Donors Refuse to Help Hezbollah-run Institutions
Al-Mustaqbal Rejects Calls for ‘Federalism, Toppling Taef Accord’
Hizbullah Releases Video Showcasing Its 'Radhwan' Unit: 'From The North, Disaster Will Be Poured Out On All Who Live In [Israel]'
Lebanese MP Ziad Aswad: We Cannot Hold On To Our Guns While Our People Are Hungry; Hizbullah Cannot Survive Without National Solidarity
Lebanese PM visits UN peacekeepers amid dispute over mandate
Former Premiers Condemn 'Anti-Taef Accord' Remarks
Coronavirus lockdown adds to Lebanon’s culture sector crisis
In Lebanon, a growing rift between Hezbollah and their long-time Christian ally
Hezbollah's Nasrallah warns of 'great war' on all fronts with Israel
Lebanese Political Activist Dr. Naji Hayek: Lebanon Must Become A Federation, Develop A Technology-Based Economy; Syrian Refugees Detrimental To Lebanon
Why the Worry About Beirut?
Hezbollah’s Nasrallah rejects US pressure to beef up role of UN peacekeepers

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published  on May 27-28/2020
Liberman Accuses Netanyahu of Inciting Civil War
Turkey Deploys MIM-23 Hawk Missiles in Syria’s Idlib
Iraq Military Spokesman to Asharq Al-Awsat: ISIS No Longer Poses a Threat
Israeli Officials: Annexation Plan Facing Challenges
Activists in Syria's Afrin Urge Kurdish Forces to Unite their Ranks
Israel Prevents Palestinians' Access to Ibrahimi Mosque
Babacan: We Don’t Fear Erdogan’s Threats
Iran's Newly Elected Parliament Convenes Despite Pandemic
US concerned about a repeat of the Syrian scenario in Libya
Trump Threatens to 'Close Down' Social Media after Tweets Tagged
Police Killing of Handcuffed African American Sparks Outrage
Catholic Church promulgates new decrees for Causes of Saints

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
 on May 27-28/2020
It’s Business, Not Personal/Nada Ahmed/Carnegie MEC/May 27/2020
Coronavirus … Coexistence Is the Solution/Salman Al-Dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/May 27/2020
What Does China Really Want?/Hal Brands/Bloomberg/May 27/2020
Russia’s Biggest Challenge in Syria/Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy/Asharq Al Awsat/May 27/2020
Phyllis Chesler on the Fight against Honor Killings/Gary C. Gambill/Middle East forum/May 27/2020
Palestinians: The Home Demolitions No One Talks About/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 27/ 2020
Iran: US Chance for a Knockout Punch/Peter Huessy/Gatestone Institute/May 27/ 2020
Why America Has Misdiagnosed Russia’s Role in Syria/Robert G. Rabil/The National Interest/May 27/2020
Saudi Writerو Khalid Turki Aal Turki : Israel Is A Peace-Loving Country; Iran And Turkey Are Enemies Of The Arabs/MEMRI/May 27/2020
Why we need to globalize global health/Simon Bland/Alarabiya/May 27/2020

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on May 27-28/2020
Questions, Facts & Doubts About Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon
By: Charbel Barakat & Elias Bejjani/May 27/2020
شربل بركات والياس بجاني: أسئلة وحقائق وشكوك حول الإنسحاب الإسرائيلي من جنوب لبنان سنة الفين
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/86620/86620/
A Quotation from Mordechai Nisan’s Book “Politics & War In Lebanon” in regards to a secret agreement between Hezbollah and Israel in year 2000 based on a Derspiegal Report.
“A report From the Derspiegel newspaper carried a story about a secret agreement between Israel and Hezbollah that had been reached shortly before the withdrawal, concluded behind the back of the South Lebanese Army (SLA). The deal assured that Hezbollah would with Israel’s consent freely enter the zone when the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) withdrew, and this understanding allowed Israel to secure the well-being of its fleeing soldiers. The SAL would decompose and disintegrate and offer no opposition. In Late May (year 2000) this became the scenario for the unfolding events. Not one Israel soldier was even scratched during the ostensibly sudden pullout and perhaps we now understand and why. As for Hezbollah it demonstrated its ability not just to fight Israel to the end, but also to subjugate it to a humiliating agreement. Israel made an agreement with the enemy that it hide form its friend. Within Lebanon the liberation of the south was a source of pride and a vindication of the Shiites militia’s resistance against the Zionist enemy. Hezbollah had defeated Israel and was on the path to conquer Lebanon”.
There is no question that the withdrawal of a foreign army from any country should be hailed with a sense of relief and joy; even if it was an ally its withdrawal indicates that the country is self-governing and is capable of defending itself independently.
Meanwhile, the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon on May 23/2000 was not hailed by our people, because practically it was the beginning of a new tragedy that was added to the many Lebanese tragedies. Why was there this bitter feeling and why is it still painful after 20 years?
The other question is why our people who are patriotic and adore their land have decided at that time to leave their beloved country and go into exile in neighbouring Israel? Did they actually follow the withdrawing Israeli army?
The intention of this editorial is not to delve into many analyses, but to summarize the actual reasons that made our people hastily cross the border and seek refuge in Israel:
1-At that time Lebanon was still under the oppressive Syrian occupation and its mere decision making process was fully controlled by Syria, the occupier.
2- Hezbollah, an armed militia, which is totally affiliated to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was in control of Lebanon’s Shiite communities culturally, ideologically, militarily and economically, especially in numerous parts of the south.
3- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stationed in south Lebanon failed in their duty of reassuring the citizens of their safety, did not show any interest in the outcome of the Israeli withdrawal and did not negotiate with the southern citizens in the absence of the Lebanese authorities or even ask for their opinion or protect them.
While Israel was logistically preparing for the withdrawal, Hezbollah waged a merciless and savage media campaign against the southern Lebanese citizens.
The campaign was aired publicly on all local and international TV channels and radio stations.
The most frightening threats were uttered personally by Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, who savagely said, “We will enter their bedrooms, pierce their stomachs, slaughter them and slice their throats.”
But Nasrallah’s threats did not frighten the South Lebanon Army (SLA), on the contrary this rhetoric was ridiculed on May 18/2000, six days before the Israeli withdrawal, when the Hezbollah militia tried to overcome and control one of the SLA military posts at the “Hamra Bridge”. The attack failed badly and Hezbollah suffered huge losses.
Facing this disastrous milieu and all the other uncertainties, southern citizens were left with two bitter options:
To militarily defend their land, engage with Hezbollah and repeat the status that prevailed before 1978;
Or to succumb to Hezbollah, surrender their weapons and live under its authority.
Encountering this dilemma, they decided to avoid more Lebanese bloodshed and to leave Lebanon, the country that they cherished, without a fight and take refuge in Israel.
As a result of the Israeli withdrawal, there has been an enormous global escalation of terrorism not only in the Middle East, but in many other countries.
Progress of peace efforts suffered a remarkable setback and worldwide violence prevailed leading to the 9/11 attacks and to subsequent acts of terrorism throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
The Free World countries responded by waging a massive global military anti-terrorism campaign that primarily focused on both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Subsequently, the international community tried to amend the fatal mistakes that were committed in Lebanon and issued UN Security Council Resolution 1559 that addressed three important issues:
1-Syrian occupation: It called for the immediate withdrawal of the Syrian army from Lebanon.
2-Weapons of terrorism: It called for the disarming of all militias, and in particular, of Hezbollah.
3- Safeguarding Lebanon’s democratic system: It called for free parliamentary elections without Syrian interference.
UN Resolution 1559 provided the Lebanese people with the incentives to take action.
Accordingly, in year 2005 the Cedar Revolution emerged and the Lebanese people by the hundreds of thousands peacefully took to the streets forcing the withdrawal of the Syrian army.
Unfortunately, this revolution did not finish the job, which gave Hezbollah the route to brazenly escape and instigate a war with Israel in 2006.
Sadly, due to the Lebanese authorities’ and politicians’ hesitation, poor judgment and lack of courage, they did not fully utilize the available circumstances to finish off the Hezbollah phenomenon.
Instead Hezbollah besieged the government’s headquarters, alleged a divine victory on Israel in the 2006 war, and on May 07 and 11/2008, invaded the western section of the capital Beirut and attempted to conquer the Shouf Mountain, enforcing a new national balance equation in a bid to abort the Cedar Revolution and circumvent and cripple UN Resolution 1559.
http://www.clhrf.com/un%20documents/1559.english1.htm
The Iranian endeavours for not allowing the disarmament of Hezbollah unveiled the actual elements of its plot:
1-A well set plan to expand Iran’s hegemony on the whole Middle East was viciously executed and topped with Hezbollah and many other Iranian proxies entering Syria to support the Assad dictatorship regime
2-The establishment of a military base In Eretria and Yemen.
3-The mobilization of the Shiite Houthis tribes on the Saudi -Yemeni border…that created an on going internal war.
4-Supporting and instigation of instability in neighbouring Iraq…and almost occupying it at the present time.
5-The formation of numerous sleeping militant cells among the Shiite Arabian Gulf countries’ communities.
6-Keeping Egypt unfocused on the actual Iranian scheme through instigation of strife between Egypt and other African countries that share the Nile River…in ddition to supporting, arming and financing the Brotherhood terroists in the Sinai Peninsula.
7- Playing with and tickling Muslims’ emotions and instigating religious fanaticism to fight Israel through Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
At the same time, Iran has been working day and night to become a nuclear power and possess a nuclear weapon that is intended to be used for intimidating the Middle East countries, control their resources and wealth and have a monopoly on the region’s fate and decisions.
Hezbollah is pivotal for all of the above Iranian schemes and a primary source of manpower. Its militant members who number in the tens of thousands speak the Arabic language, are ideologically and religiously well prepared, and more than ready to carry out missions in any country as instructed by their Iranian masters..
There is no doubt that the current situation in the whole Middle East in general, and in Israel, Gaza, West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon in particular, is much worse from the day the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon was implemented 20 years ago.
The Iranian danger to both Israel and Lebanon is escalating.
Lebanon that now is totally occupied by Hezbollah did not enjoy any kind of stability despite the UN Resolutions, the bitter events’ experience, the great sacrifices and the presence of new players (powers) on its arena…
Sadly, Lebanon is now living a repeat of same ghastly milieu that prevailed in 1982: tension, instability, chaos, and forced absence of any input on what goes on its land.
The war-peace decision making process is again in the hands of Hezbollah and its Iranian masters, while weapons of all kinds are smuggled to Hezbollah and to other Lebanese – Palestinian armed terrorist groups via Syria without any kind of control or impunity.
Based on all of the above, we suggest and call for the following:
1- Lebanese sovereign leaders and politicians to be prudent, patient, thoughtful and not to fall prey to the axis of evil’s schemes, terrorism, fanaticism, violence, intimidation, and whims of sabotage. Their patriotic duties and obligations as responsible Lebanese leaders are to help in making Lebanon a country of peace, prosperity, freedom and stability in the region and not to be an arena and battlefield for Iran and its armed proxies. They must be aware that for the past 44 years, our Lebanese people have endured much more than they can tolerate, and as the saying goes: “He who does not learn from the past cannot make the future.”
2- The Free Lebanese citizens to hold dearly to their solid faith in a free, sovereign and independent Lebanon that should not under any circumstances be an aggressor, but a peace maker and an advocate for human rights and democracy. We encourage the masses to actively help in preserving the historic Lebanese role in hailing the right of all countries and people in the region to live freely without any kind of oppression. Lebanon’s mission and message are to protect the weak and the oppressed and not to hail the conceited and arrogant.
3- Neighbouring Syrian Baathist Regime to overcome its ongoing expansionism-hostility schemes and accept once and forever the reality that Lebanon is an independent and sovereign country and not a Syrian territory or satellite. Accordingly, the joint borders must be patrolled and all kinds of infiltration and smuggling permanently stopped.
4- Israel to re-evaluate the achievements and setbacks of its hasty withdrawal decision.
5-The Free World and Arab countries to completely support a free and democratic Lebanon and take a courageous stance in this regard before it is too late. A regime in Lebanon fully under the direct control of Iran or through its armed terrorist proxy (Hezbollah) is a dire threat to peace and stability to not only the Middle East but to the whole world.
6- Our people, the southern Lebanese citizens, who have been living a forced exile in Israel since May 2000 to remain as tall as Lebanon’s Holy Cedars. They should know that the free Lebanese people hail their heroism, courage, peaceful inclinations, acceptance of others, tolerance, patriotism, sacrifices, love of their homeland and deeply rooted faith. We know that they have proudly, honourably and courageously defended their beloved land and rights and never attacked others. We assure them that a free and independent Lebanon won’t have long lasting stability until their honoured and dignified unconditional return is achieved.

21 More Coronavirus Cases Confirmed in Lebanon
Naharnet/May 27/2020
Lebanon on Wednesday recorded 21 new coronavirus cases, which raises the country's total to 1,161, the Health Ministry said. Sixteen of those infected are residents and five are repatriated Lebanese expats, the Ministry added in its daily statement. It said six of the local cases were recorded in Majdal Anjar, five in Beirut (Barbir, Basta and Khandaq al-Ghamiq), three in the Baabda district, two in Choueifat's al-Amrousiyeh, one in Sin el-Fil, one in Akkar's Jdeidet al-Qaytaa, one in Bekaa's al-Fakiha and one in Maghdoushe east of Sidon.
No new deaths were witnessed over the past 24 hours as the number of recoveries reached 692. The towns of Majdal Anjar and Mazboud were recently isolated after they saw a major spike in virus cases. Lebanese authorities have indicated that, if necessary, they will isolate infection clusters instead of imposing a new nationwide lockdown.

15 Syrian Refugees in Lebanon Test Positive for COVID-19
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 27/2020
At least 15 Syrian refugees living in the same building in east Lebanon have tested positive for COVID-19, the United Nations said Wednesday, ahead of plans to screen thousands of refugees. "There are 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Syrian refugees in Majdal Anjar," a town in the Bekaa Valley, said Lisa Abou Khaled of UNHCR, the U.N.'s refugee agency. Lebanon has officially recorded 1,161 novel coronavirus cases, including 26 deaths. Before the outbreak in Majdal Anjar, only one other Syrian refugee in Lebanon had tested positive for COVID-19, UNHCR says.
Among Lebanon's Palestinian refugee population, at least six cases have been detected in a camp in the Bekaa Valley. Although the coronavirus outbreak among Lebanon's refugee population remains limited, aid groups are concerned that overcrowded settlements could make refugees especially vulnerable to the virus. The new COVID-19 cases in Majdal Anjar are now in self-isolation, receiving food and disinfection kits from UNHCR, Abou Khaled said. The spokesperson said UNHCR and Lebanon's health ministry have "initiated a testing campaign in informal settlements and collective shelters, focusing on areas with high concentration of refugees.""Thousands of refugees will be included in the testing campaign... over the next weeks," she added. UNHCR covers the cost of screening, medical treatment and hospitalization for refugees infected with the coronavirus. Lebanon, a small country of 4.5 million people, says it hosts 1.5 million Syrians, including nearly a million refugees registered with the United Nations.

Lebanese Could Be Fined LL50,000 for Not Wearing Face Masks
Naharnet/May 27/2020
New directives have been put in place over the outbreak of coronavirus as Lebanon prepared to ease lockdown measures in light of its crisis-hit economy, but authorities have imposed fines on individuals who fail to wear face masks in public to counter the virus spread.
Lebanon recorded 21 cases on Tuesday, 13 in the town of Majdal Anjar, 6 among Lebanese expats, and 2 among Lebanese residents raising the total of infections to 1140. The country has witnessed a sudden spike in cases last week, amid a big influx of Lebanese expats being repatriated as part of a government plan over coronavirus. Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi on Tuesday said his ministry “issues directives in parallel with the Health Minister who is in direct contact with the World Health Organization,” and that “there are no plans to lockdown the country taking into consideration the worsening economy.”
“We need to gradually coexist with reality, and the best option is to balance between the economy and health that will depend in the next stage on personal protection,” Fahmi had said. He noted that starting Friday May 29, fines have been introduced, as declared by the Internal Security Forces, for failure to wear face masks in public. “We provided many facilities to the citizens and those who do not have the money to buy face masks can use any fabrics to cover the nose for personal protection and their surroundings. Fines reaching 50 thousand Lebanese pounds will be issued to anyone walking in public without a face mask,” Fahmi had said. “The health and interior ministries will work together to distribute one million face masks. The purpose is to encourage and generalize a culture of compliance with face masks,” he said.

BDL Subsidizes Dollar for Food Importers, Manufacturers and Industrialists
Naharnet/May 27/2020
Banque du Liban, Lebanon's central bank, on Wednesday issued two memos subsidizing the dollar exchange rate for the importers and manufacturers of essential foodstuffs as well as industrialists.
The first memo says BDL would provide commercial banks with the necessary foreign currencies in order to cater to the needs of the importers and manufacturers of essential foodstuffs. The second memo says commercial banks can ask the central bank to provide 90% of the foreign currencies needed by industrial institutions to import raw material. According to the memo, the aforementioned institutions will have to transfer to Lebanon an amount of foreign currencies resulting from their export revenues. The amount should be equivalent to at least the amount of foreign currencies that was used to fund their raw material imports.Lebanon is facing its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, now compounded by more than two months of a coronavirus lockdown. The local currency has lost more than half its value on the black market in recent months, from the official rate of 1,507 to more than 4,000 pounds to the dollar. Poverty has soared to 45 percent of the population, and inflation is over 50 percent, according to official estimates. Prime Minister Hassan Diab had announced Thursday that he had been "given a promise from the governor of the central bank that the central bank will intervene in the market... to protect the Lebanese pound and to curb the high dollar exchange rate."The central bank last month ordered exchange offices to cap the rate at 3,200 to the dollar, but the pound has continued to tumble. Lebanon has charged a top central bank official with manipulating the exchange rate, and has detained dozens of money changers in recent weeks as part of a larger crackdown on currency manipulators. Shortly after Diab's speech, the central bank governor said "necessary measures to protect the Lebanese pound" would come into effect on May 27. The central bank "will secure dollars for the import of basic food products," in coordination with the economy ministry as part the measures, Salameh said in a statement. The devaluation of the Lebanese pound has led to major hikes in the price of food, much of which is imported. A liquidity crisis since the fall has seen banks gradually restrict, then stop dollar withdrawals and transfers abroad, further complicating food imports. Diab promised action to alleviate the effects of inflation on the economy. "The import of basic food commodities will be subsidized according to fixed schedules," he said. "There will be a daily follow-up to reduce food prices and Lebanese people will soon be witnessing a decrease in relevant commodity prices," he added.

Lebanon, IMF Discuss Capital Control in 7th Meeting
Naharnet/May 27/2020
Lebanese negotiators held their seventh virtual meeting Wednesday with representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the Finance Ministry said. Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni led the talks on the Lebanese side and Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh and a central bank team took part in the discussions. The talks tackled the issue of capital control and will be continued on Thursday, the Ministry added. Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil had recently announced that Speaker Nabih Berri had ended his opposition to the imposition of a capital control law. Wazni has recently announced that Lebanon is ready to terminate a 23-year-old dollar peg and float the pound, but only after it secures billions in aid. He also said banking sector restructuring would entail halving the number of banks. Lebanon, which was hit last fall by unprecedented protests, asked the IMF for financial assistance on May 1 after laying out a much-awaited financial rescue plan. That plan aims to drum up billions of dollars in aid, reduce the deficit, restructure a colossal debt burden and slim down an oversized banking sector. Wazni noted Lebanon was aiming to obtain around $9 billion from the IMF, on top of another $11 billion in grants and loans already pledged by international donors in 2018. He said it was in Lebanon's interest to reach an agreement with the IMF quickly. Lebanon is one of the most indebted countries in the world, with a debt burden equivalent to 170 percent of its gross domestic product. It defaulted on a eurobond repayment for the first time ever in March. Wazni said a "first call" with creditors was made two weeks ago, without providing any further details.

Lebanese Southern Town Accuses UNIFIL Troops of Provoking Its Residents
Beirut - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Tension rose during the past few days between United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and southern residents following events described by observers as “normal” and “repeated as often.”Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Lebanese Army is keen on keeping calm and preventing any escalation in the area. On Tuesday, residents of Mays al-Jabal said they are bothered by a UNIFIL observation point in al-Mufaylaha. A statement issued by the residents said they are disturbed by the sound of electricity generators, the loud music and the barking of predatory strayed dogs that attack houses and children and ravages crops. The residents warned of taking escalatory measures if UNIFIL does not settle the situation. On Monday, a dispute took place between UNIFIL troops and residents of Blida after a military vehicle of the Finish peacekeeping force hit two cars and a motorcycle while passing in the town.
The Blida municipality demanded UNIFIL to conduct an investigation into the accident and punish the perpetrators. It announced a decision to freeze all activities and meetings with UNIFIL troops until the inquiry is completed.
UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti commented on the dispute, saying: “We are examining the accident. UNIFIL’s Force Commander opened an inquiry in coordination with the Lebanese Army.” The sources said the Lebanese Army is continuously following up on the situation in the south and is keen on protecting the good relation between UNIFIL and southern residents. Last February, a dispute occurred between the French UN peacekeeping forces and residents of Braasheet in the district of Bint Jbeil, south of Lebanon.
The incident took place after the French UNIFIL troops entered and took pictures at the town of Braasheet without being accompanied by the Lebanese Army, which triggered a reaction by the Bint Jbeil residents.

Aoun follows up on measures taken to combat Covid-19, general mobilization
NNA/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Baabda Presidential Palace witnessed on Wednesday a series of meetings which tackled the general situation, the ongoing preparations for tomorrow’s Parliament session, and the draft laws and proposals to be put forward.
President Michel Aoun continued his follow-up on measures taken to combat Corona pandemic, especially in regions where infections were detected in the last three days, and the measures taken by the Health Ministry, and concerned organizations, to care for the infected and ensure their health and social care. The President also followed the course of measures and procedures taken, within the framework of public mobilization, and the extent of citizens’ adherence to these measures. President Aoun met MP, Cesar Abi Khalil, today at Baabda Palace, and discussed with him general conditions and needs of villages of Aley district, as well as the electricity situation in the region. The President then received MP, Mario Aoun, and discussed with him current political developments. The needs of Chouf region in general, and Damour town in particular, were also tackled, where MP Aoun affirmed that the President attaches great attention to the development of the Jabal region, especially the vital projects which secure the necessary development. Afterwards, President Aoun met MP, Simon Abi Ramia, and deliberated with him the needs of Jbeil region, as well as general affairs.— Presidency Press Office

Berri meets Japanese ambassador, UN’s Kubis, "Strong Republic” bloc delegation
NNA /Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, met this Wednesday at his Ain el-Tineh residence with Japanese Ambassador to Lebanon, Takeshi Okubo, with whom he discussed the general situation in Lebanon and the broad region, as well as the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Speaker Berri also met with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, with talks reportedly touching on the latest developments. This afternoon, Berri received a delegation from the "Strong Republic" bloc, which included MPs Ziad Hawat and Antoine Habchi.
On emerging, MP Hawat said that they briefed the Speaker on what had happened in Lassa, underlining Jbeil district’s keenness on national coexistence. MP Hawat stressed the importance of the application of law in this regard, underlining that the issue is agro developmental rather than confessional or sectarian. On the other hand, Berri received a congratulatory cable from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, on the occasion of the Eid El Fitr. Berri received similar congratulatory cables from the Syrian Speaker of the People’s Council, Hammouda Al-Sabbagh, and Chairman of the Jordanian Senate, Faisal Akef Al-Fayez.

Judge Aoun lifts judicial seizure off ASOPOS fuel vessel

NNA/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
State Prosecutor in Mount Lebanon, Judge Ghada Aoun, lifted the judicial seizure imposed on the fuel vessel ASOPOS, after receiving a letter from Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar confirming Bb Energy owners' (Bassatne) commitment to securing an alternative vessel, so as avoid dumping Lebanon in the dark as fuel tanks lack enough provision.

Ministry of Finance: Seventh meeting with IMF in presence of Salameh continues Capital Control Law discussions
NNA/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
The Media Office of the Ministry of Finance indicated in a statement on Wednesday that "The Lebanese negotiating delegation, chaired by Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, held its seventh meeting with the International Monetary Fund, in the presence of BDL Governor, Riad Salameh, on top of a team from the Central Bank.”The seventh meeting with the IMF continued discussions over the Capital Control Law, with discussions to be resumed tomorrow, statement indicated.

Diab chairs inter-ministerial meeting for the repatriation of Lebanese
NNA/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Prime Minister, Dr. Hassan Diab, chaired the inter-ministerial meeting for the repatriation of Lebanese this afternoon at the Grand Serail, in the presence of Ministers of Defense Zeina Akar, Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Nassif Hitti, Interior and Municipalities Mohamed Fahmi, Public Works and Transport Michel Najjar, Social Affairs and Tourism Ramzi Moucharrafieh, Public Health Hamad Hassan, and Information Manal Abdel Samad, as well as Secretary General of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Mahmoud Makkieh, Secretary General of the Higher Defense Council Major-General Mahmoud Al-Asmar, PM’s Advisor for Health Affairs Petra Khoury, Political Affairs Chief at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ghadi Khoury, MEA Chairman Mohammad Al-Hout, and Minister Hassan’s Advisor Mahmoud Zalzali. Attendees discussed the preparations for the upcoming phase of repatriation, which will be scheduled at a later stage. -- PM Press Office

Fahmy: Lebanese have unfortunately lost faith in institutions, judiciary included
NNA/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Mohamed Fahmy, tweeted this Wednesday: "'Innocent until proven guilty' is a basic rule in legislation and laws. The issue is that the Lebanese have, unfortunately, lost faith in all institutions, powers and devices, including the judiciary, which ought to be the first to initiate work on restoring this lost trust."

Ghajar denies reporting to Judge Aoun Bassatne's pledge to provide alternative fuel vessel
NNA/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Minister of Energy and Water, Raymond Ghajar, tweeted this Wednesday: "I categorically deny the report that is being circulated, claiming that I wrote a letter to Judge Ghada Aoun confirming the Bassatne pledge to secure an alternative vessel for ASOPOS, especially since there is no contract linking the Ministry of Energy with the Bassatne Company tasked to supply the production plants with fuel."

Lebanon repatriates 50 stranded Nigerian nationals free of charge
NNA/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
On Sunday, May 24, 2020, the Government of Lebanon, and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, have safely repatriated 69 Nigerian citizens that were stranded in Lebanon, a press release by the Lebanese Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria said on Wednesday.
“This operation would not have been possible without the generous financial sponsorship of the national Lebanese airlines (MEA), the Lebanese Community in Nigeria, and the Lebanese Embassy in Abuja, who jointly helped fund and organize the repatriation, and the 14-day quarantine expenses, of 50 out of the 69 repatriated Nigerian citizens who were stranded in Lebanon,” the embassy’s statement added. This relief operation resulted from the extensive cooperation among the Embassy of Lebanon in Abuja and both the Lebanese and Nigerian Ministries of Foreign Affairs, with the assistance of other governmental authorities, namely the Lebanese General Security and the Nigerian NCDC. Moreover, the statement lauded the efforts of Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, who “’personally oversaw this operation and cleared all the obstacles that could have jeopardized the success of this relief mission.”“The commitment of both the Lebanese and the Nigerian governments to seeing these Nigerian citizens safely repatriated to their home country is further evidence that the partnership of between two countries is based on the principles of mutual trust and respect for human lives,” the statement added.
The embassy, along with the Lebanese community in Nigeria, also acknowledged the support of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, and other Governmental agencies for their “exceptional efforts in the success of this joint relief mission.”It is note that the contributions of the Lebanese community in Nigeria are in support of the palliative measures taken by the Nigerian Government to help alleviate the hardships of the of the vulnerable Nigerian societies affected by the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

US Ambassador pays Rahi protocol visit
NNA/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Maronite Patriarch, Mar Bechara Boutros Rahi, on Wednesday welcomed in Bkerke US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, who paid him a protocol visit upon assuming her new diplomatic mission in Lebanon. “I want to express my appreciation to His Beatitude for his beautiful reception; it was a meeting in which we had the opportunity to exchange views on common issues and concerns,” the US diplomat said on emerging. “His Beatitude has also informed me about Lebanon’s problems and dire economic situation, as well as about the massive sufferings of the Lebanese people,” Shea added, relaying Rahi’s keenness on having Lebanon restore its global status. “It was a fruitful meeting, and I look forward to developing and continuing this relationship between our two countries," the US diplomat added about her visit to Rahi.

COVID-19 Strikes Syrian Communities in Lebanon’s Bekaa
Beirut - Paula Astih/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Coronavirus cases in Lebanon continued to rise, with 21 new infections recorded on Tuesday, 15 of which were among residents and six among expatriates, with the total number of cases reaching 1,140. The virus struck a community of displaced Syrians in the eastern Qaa region, where 13 people tested positive on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases among them to 16. Lisa Abou Khaled, spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Lebanon, explained that since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Lebanon, the commission has been following up on the conditions of the displaced Syrians with the Lebanese authorities, making field visits and raising awareness among crowded communities and distributing sanitary products. In a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat, Abou Khaled said that within days, the commission will launch, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, an initiative to conduct tests for thousands of displaced Syrians across Lebanon. In remarks on Tuesday, Minister of Health Hamad Hassan described the situation as “good”, adding that the country “was heading systematically to the resumption of normal life.” He said he hoped the citizens would abide by the preventive measures to avoid a second wave. “There were some outbreaks in some areas, but the results of the containment will appear in coming days,” he noted. While Hassan said the government was adopting the strategy of “soft herd immunity,” former Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani warned that any such approach must be implemented within an integrated plan that includes more testing and stricter controls. “Announcing victory over the epidemic is a premature move, especially since more stringent measures had to be taken in dealing with the repatriated citizens, some of whom contributed to the spread of the virus in their villages and towns,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat. For his part, Dr. Gebran Qarnaouni, a specialist in disaster management and medicine, spoke of three factors that would push Lebanon towards herd immunity. “First, the number of deaths that remain limited due to our genetic constitution that is different from Europeans,” he said, adding that the second factor was the low commitment to home isolation, while the third was the economic situation, which can no longer tolerate further closure and strict measures. “We are now aware that we will live with the virus until 2022, and therefore, we must open all facilities provided that the elderly and the sick will take the necessary precautions and we must all continue to wear masks in public places,” Qarnaouni underlined.

Lebanon: International Donors Refuse to Help Hezbollah-run Institutions
Asharq Al Awsat/May 27/2020
Lebanon’s Minister of Health Hamad Hassan and Iman Shantiki, WHO representative in Lebanon, attend a news conference, after the country's first case of the novel coronavirus was confirmed, in Beirut on Feb. 21, 2020.
Diplomats in New York revealed that efforts are underway at the United Nations and across capitals to prevent Lebanon from sliding into a “catastrophic situation” due to the deteriorating economic and financial conditions, noting that donors are “not ready” to provide aid to government institutions run by Hezbollah. International officials noted that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, had set Lebanon as a model for countries facing major risks that could be exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The United Nations is working with the Lebanese government, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on reforms, and is trying to help alleviate what is happening on the ground,” the officials quoted Guterres as saying. In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, a western diplomat said: “We are very worried about what is happening in Lebanon economically and financially,” referring to the successive warnings launched by the United Nations Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Jan Kubis, who “expresses growing concern about the deteriorating economic situation and the resulting consequences.”
Observers believe that the demonstrations the country witnessed weeks ago are “a clear indication of hunger and not related to sectarian issues or the need for a government of a different type.”
Recent developments have prompted the United Nations to “mobilize as much support as possible”, including raising $350 million to deal with the Corona epidemic.
However, observers expressed “concern that some donors are not ready to provide any aid to the Lebanese Ministry of Health as long as it is headed by a minister affiliated with (Hezbollah).”The government must show a clear will to implement reforms, otherwise the country could slide into a catastrophic situation, the observers warned.

Al-Mustaqbal Rejects Calls for ‘Federalism, Toppling Taef Accord’
Naharnet/May 27/2020
Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc rejected the recent calls for federalism and the attempts to "overthrow" the Taef Accord.
The bloc, which convened at the Center House on Tuesday in a meeting chaired by former PM Saad Hariri, issued a statement afterwards. MP Mohammed Hajjar read the statement which said: First: The bloc stressed the necessity of getting out of the state of frustration and confusion in approaching economic and financial solutions, and moving to a new stage of dialogue with the International Monetary Fund, which expects one position from the Lebanese government and a clear practical program that is not subject to political discretion and the personal agendas of some of the ruling parties and political forces.
The bloc warned that the dialogue with the International Monetary Fund must not be stalled under the pretext of preventing domination over the sovereign economic decision and other arguments that are not in the interest of the Lebanese economy. The bloc considered that the government’s confusion is one of the negative signs that do not suit the urgent need for courageous and responsible initiatives that contribute to curbing the financial and socio-economic deterioration, and reducing the outrageous price hike affecting all Lebanese without exception.
The inventory of achievements that the government submitted 100 days after its formation has been the subject of criticism by most analysts and observers, including the parties that provide political coverage to the government and its plans. The government still considers the wishes as being accomplishments. It also acts as if the headlines of economic advancement that were mentioned in the reform paper and the ministerial statement of the previous government, including the program of the CEDRE Conference for investment in infrastructure, the national anti-corruption strategy and other reform steps, were the brainchild of this government and its achievements.
Second: The bloc noticed an escalation of the political debate around slogans and proposals that have become remnants from the past, and there is no point of evoking them at this delicate stage in the country's history.
What is being said in some partisan and sectarian circles about federalism and other issues, brings the country back to the atmosphere that formed, for many years, a fertile ground for civil discord, the collapse of the state and the division of its institutions. The bloc emphasizes its firm rejection of these proposals and warns against the dangers of any call to overthrow the Taef Agreement and the Lebanese formula that established the independence state and preserved coexistence among the Lebanese.
The national formula that emerged from the pillars of independence, just like the formula of national entente, are two bright signs in the history of Lebanon, that we should not deny under any circumstances, or consider them a historical mistake that can be erased.
Third: The bloc is not surprised by what was mentioned by former President General Emile Lahoud, and the accusations he made against Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, because he suffers from chronic hatred against the martyr Prime Minister and lives in a world of illusions and allegations.
The bloc hopes that General Lahoud would recover from this, and regrets that his fabricated account coincides with the anniversary of liberation and the withdrawal of the Israeli enemy forces from the Lebanese territory, which will remain a symbol of the unity of the Lebanese in facing the occupation and its plans.
Fourth: The bloc calls on everybody to respect the preventive measures taken in the face of the corona pandemic and wishes recovery to all, especially in the regions that recently witnessed a rise in the number of cases in Majdel Anjar, Central Bekaa, Iqlim Kharroub, Akkar and other regions.
Fifth: The bloc denounced the decision issued by Beirut Implementation Department regarding the imposition of a precautionary seizure of the property of MP Hadi Habeish. It considered the decision a political one unprecedented in the justice palace.
In this context, the bloc wished that the cases committee at the Ministry of Justice, which interfered in this affair in violation of the law, would reconsider its decision and restore the right of the state from those who robbed it and are still stealing its money and squandering it, who assaulted its army and security forces and killed their officers, instead of entering in a personal dispute between a deputy and a lawyer on the one hand and a judge on the other one, which is not the first one in justice palaces and will not be the last.
Sixth: The bloc discussed the parliament’s agenda and the draft laws put forward for Thursday’s session, especially the amnesty law submitted by the bloc’s president, Bahia Hariri. The bloc hoped this law would be approved because it would close a period turn a page of conflicts in which the Lebanese were involved that led to actions that violated the law. There was some injustice towards some people, in addition to the fact that overcrowded prisons have turned into places that do not respect the most basic human rights.
The bloc also discussed the “Capital Control” draft law. It reiterates that addressing this issue should be based on preserving the depositors' funds and protecting them. The bloc believes that the proposed draft law needs more discussion and a more detailed study in the parliamentary committees.
Seventh: The bloc congratulates the Lebanese in general and the Muslims in particular on the occasion of Eid Al-Fitr and hopes that the corona pandemic would end and that we find solutions to the crises in Lebanon that exhausted the Lebanese.

Hizbullah Releases Video Showcasing Its 'Radhwan' Unit: 'From The North, Disaster Will Be Poured Out On All Who Live In [Israel]'
MEMRI/May 27/2020
Source: The Internet
On May 25, 2020, Tasnim News Agency (Iran) aired a Hizbullah training video showcasing the elite marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat capabilities of its "Radhwan" unit. The video showed well-equipped fighters performing shooting drills, such as shooting at one another’s bulletproof vests and shooting targets and balloons that are very close to each other’s heads. A narrator is heard saying: "Kill the polytheists wherever you find them." The video ends with a verse from the Book of Jeremiah: "From the north, disaster will be poured out on all who live in [Israel]." The video is accompanied by subtitles in Hebrew and English. Narrator: "Then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush."

Lebanese MP Ziad Aswad: We Cannot Hold On To Our Guns While Our People Are Hungry; Hizbullah Cannot Survive Without National Solidarity
MEMRI/May 27/2020
Source: OTV (Lebanon)
Lebanese MP Ziad Aswad of the Free Patriotic movement said in a May 18, 2020 interview on OTV (Lebanon) that Lebanon cannot hold on to its guns since its people are hungry. He said that without national support, Hizbullah and the resistance movement cannot survive. He also criticized the corruption in the Lebanese government. Ziad Aswad: “You cannot hold on to your guns, when your people are hungry. You must choose. If you want to hold on to your guns, the people need to be satisfied. They need to have work and food, and nobody can be toying with them."
Interviewer: "What you are saying is a big deal. You are saying that we are under siege and hungry, and we also hold on to our guns, but we should give up our guns so that we can stop being hungry?"
Aswad: "This is the opinion of the Americans. This is their decision."
Interviewer: "Right, this is their decision, so this is how it is going to be..."
Aswad: "Most probably. Or else, they will leave us to our own devices. Even though we are smart and know what's going on strategically, and even though we know that we have two enemies as well as domestic crises, we have failed to resolve our domestic issues. We have allowed the corruption to go on, we have allowed the state to collapse, and we have divided our nation along sectarian lines. We have killed the national solidarity among us, and we have followed various strategic lines – some have joined the Saudi axis, others are opposing Israel...
"[Hizbullah] cannot survive on its own. Without national solidarity, they will not survive even if they barricade themselves 100 stories underground in Dahieh suburb. Without national solidarity and unified support for the resistance and unless the supporters of the resistance come to realize that resistance and corruption cannot go hand in hand, and that we must find a solution...They will see how the support of many people around them begins to crumble. This is the main threat facing them – that their base will turn against them. Now people will say that I am against [the resistance]..."

Lebanese PM visits UN peacekeepers amid dispute over mandate
Associated Press/May 27/2020
The visit by Prime Minister Hassan Diab comes amid the backdrop of a war of words between Israeli and Lebanese officials,
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s prime minister visited United Nations peacekeepers in the country’s south near the border with Israel on Wednesday, describing the presence of the force in the volatile area as a necessity.
The visit by Prime Minister Hassan Diab comes amid the backdrop of a war of words between Israeli and Lebanese officials, including the powerful Hezbollah group, over the mandate of the U.N. force, known as UNIFIL. The force has been deployed in southern Lebanon since an Israeli invasion in 1978.
Israel is calling for major changes in the way the mission in southern Lebanon operates on the ground, demanding that it have access to all sites and freedom of movement and that it report back to the Security Council if it is being blocked.
The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, said late Tuesday that Lebanon will not accept a change of mandate for UNIFIL to allow it to raid and search areas, calling it a violation of the country’s sovereignty. Nasrallah said the U.S. is pressuring Lebanon to accept such a change. They want to reduce UNIFIL numbers? Go ahead. Increase them? Go ahead,” Nasrallah said, adding if they also want to leave it will be no problem. “But we consider expanding its mandate an infringement on Lebanese sovereignty.”
Diab said the presence of the troops was “necessary and urgent” in light of the ongoing “violations by Israel of Lebanon’s sovereignty by land, sea and air.”
The quibble over the UNIFIL mandate comes up every year before the mandate is renewed in the summer.
The peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon was originally created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops after the 1978 invasion. The mission was expanded after a 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah militants so that peacekeepers could deploy along the Lebanon-Israel border to help Lebanese troops extend their authority into their country’s south for the first time in decades. Israel has repeatedly accused Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants of impeding the peacekeepers from carrying out their mandate.
On Tuesday, residents of the southern village of Blida protested against UNIFIL troops, accusing the Finnish battalion conducting patrols of damaging cars in the village. UNIFIL said it was investigating the incident.
UNIFIL includes more than 9,400 ground troops and over 850 naval personnel in a Maritime Task Force.

Former Premiers Condemn 'Anti-Taef Accord' Remarks
Naharnet/May 27/2020
Former premiers Saad Hariri, Najib Miqati, Fouad Saniora and Tammam Salam on Wednesday deplored what they called “the remarks against the Taef Accord,” in an apparent response to the recent statement of Shiite mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan, the son of Higher Islamic Shiite Council chief Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan. “The National Pact and the Document of National Accord are an honest, rational and enlightened reflection of the deep-rooted relation between Christians and Muslims, which is based on the nobleness of the unifying idea of coexistence,” the ex-PMs said in statement. “In this regard, the ex-PMs condemn the remarks that have targeted the Taef Accord, which has become the constitution of the Second Republic and which oversees Lebanon's formula and existence,” they added. “These dangerous remarks at this historic moment, whether in terms of abolishing (the Lebanese) entity or going to federalism, represent a threat to Lebanese national security,” the ex-PMs cautioned. They also called for “exerting efforts to strengthen the authority, credibility and full sovereignty of the Lebanese state over its entire territory and institutions instead of weakening it or disavowing its major national experience.”
Qabalan had on Sunday announced that Lebanon's 1943 National Pact has “expired.”“The country has fallen because its constitution is corrupt, its governance mechanism is corrupt, its sectarianism is corrupt, its political project is corrupt and its various settlements are corrupt,” Qabalan added.
“I openly say: no to Taef, no to the farm of sects, no to the state of shares... Yes to the state of law and yes to the state as a just and strong institution,” he said.

Coronavirus lockdown adds to Lebanon’s culture sector crisis
Maghie Ghali/Al Arabiya English/May 27/2020
It’s been a tougher year than usual for Lebanon’s arts and culture institutions. Still struggling through the effects of the October 17 protests and a severe economic crisis, now compounded by the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, the sector is rapidly reaching its breaking point.
As regional grant-making organizations that have been aiding MENA culture for just under 20 years, Culture Resource (Al Mawred Al Thaqafy) and the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) are well aware of the many challenges institutions are facing today, and what has led them there.
With some spaces already permanently shuttered, AFAC and Culture Resource jointly began investigating the issue, which led to their recently launched Solidarity Fund. “What became more apparent during the pandemic and economic crisis is how precarious the sector is, due to the type of funding that has been there for years,” AFAC director Rima Mismar told Al Arabiya English. “The environment where these cultural institutions exist lacks infrastructure, public support, cultural policy, and all this is magnified right now.
“Structures that already have spaces, running costs, families and a huge network of people that work and collaborate with them would wipe out a massive network if they shut down,” she added. “This year is going to be a year of transition for many organizations and they need to reflect, discuss and think about their work in light of what’s happening, but none have the luxury to take this time.”During the months of Lebanon’s 2019 protests, many cultural events were canceled. Banks drastically limited access to funds over a shortage in dollars and the Lebanese lira has been subject to rapid depreciation.
What funds institutions might have had are now worth 40 percent less. When coronavirus hit in mid-March, the sector was forced to further cancel activities, further limiting potential revenue.
“A lot of arts institutions in Lebanon rely on funding and grants on a per-project or per-event basis – not many can get funding if they’re not running projects,” Culture Resource director Helena Nassif told Al Arabiya English.
Little public funding for arts exists in Lebanon, and the large gap is mostly covered by local organizations, individuals, foreign NGOs or sponsorships from banks for specific projects, Nassif explained.
“While institutions were already asking questions about how to sustain themselves and continue, the pandemic has put a block between them and their audiences,” she added, referring to profit-reliant venues. “Consumers of culture are also less now, because people don’t have the spare income to spend on anything not completely essential.”
Unemployment is on the rise in the country, and the government has estimated that 75 percent of Lebanese are in need of aid.
The population with money to spend on cultural events is shrinking, and some institutions have lost their funding as a result. Other grants are specifically looking to fund projects that relate to the pandemic, limiting the type of work artists can create and putting a timeframe on its production, a box many are unable to squeeze in to. “These people are important to the cultural scene, and we don’t want all the independent cultural minds in Lebanon to leave the country or to scatter within the space of a year, due exceptional circumstances,” Nassif said. “We don’t know what the world will look like in a year’s time so it could be a long process until we come out of COVID-19, with spaces opening and shutting constantly.”
In light of these issues, the Solidarity Fund would offer up to $80,000 per organization, benefiting 16 arts and culture structures from diverse practices, to help them adjust while they navigate their new realities.
“Our fund is equivalent to what governments are doing across the world – supporting a whole sector should be the responsibility of a government but in Lebanon this kind of support is basically non-existent, sporadic and has no strategy,” Mismar said. “The support of most spaces over the past years has been done by individuals, NGOs and private aid – during this financial crisis, this alone cannot drive the whole sector, and neither will our grant, but it is an intervention at a crucial turning point.”
Lebanon is not alone in some of the problems the MENA arts sector is facing, with many countries lacking proper public funding for culture at the best of times.
Culture Resource has also set up a regional pandemic response fund, a special branch of their existing Be With Art grant, for 40 individual artists who are currently unable to pull in an income at the moment.
“We were receiving messages from artists who have lost all their income from freelance work, some are sick or in difficult situations, which have threatened their livelihood and left them in a precarious position,” Nassif said. “Because of this, we created a special program called Support Through the Pandemic, which will support individuals facing trouble during this time.”

In Lebanon, a growing rift between Hezbollah and their long-time Christian ally
Mona Alami/Al Arabiya English/Ma 27/2020
In Lebanon, Iran-backed Hezbollah and their Christian allies have heavily swayed internal politics for years, but now, there appears to be a growing rift within the Christian bloc, threatening the cohesion of in the once-solid alliance.
For years, the pairing allowed Hezbollah to dominate the Lebanese political system and influence major decisions related to the country’s foreign and defense policies.
But the past two weeks have been marked by fiery statements from several Christian party leaders aimed each other and at their long-time ally Hezbollah.
For veteran journalist Paul Khalifeh, misunderstandings between Hezbollah’s Christian allies are twofold: “They represent a pushback by traditional leaders against reforms brought by the [Hassan] Diab government – such as in the case of Member of Parliament Sleiman Frangieh – and emphasize feuds within Christian blocs.”
Frangieh, who heads the Christian Marada movement, launched scathing attacks against the FPM, and specifically its leader Gebran Bassil, following the arrest of his friend Sarkis Hleiss on corruption charges at the Ministry of Energy and Water.
At the demand of the government, public prosecutor Ghada Aoun – a close ally of President Aoun and his son in law former Foreign Minister Bassil – ordered the arrest of several employees at the energy ministry as news of a defective fuel scandal broke.
Frangieh accused Bassil and the FPM of corruption as it has headed the energy ministry for more than 10 years.
The Marada refused to comment to Al Arabiya English.
The deepening Marada-FPM divide has its roots in the 2018 parliamentary elections.
“The relation between the Marada and the FPM degraded significantly after the parliamentary elections, as the two parties competed instead of collaborating in several regions,” said Khalifeh.
Recently, MP General Chamel Roukoz who ran on an FPM ticket in the 2018 parliamentary elections denounced the party’s contribution to the country’s mismanagement and rampant corruption.
In a veiled criticism of the FPM, Roukoz said the fight against corruption, a popular FPM slogan, had become empty words. In another spat directed at Bassil, Roukoz criticized the populist and divisive use of defense of “Christians’ rights,” largely promoted by Bassil.
Roukoz is a respected military leader and, like Bassil, is a son in law of President Aoun.
In an interview with Al Arabiya English, Roukoz said that all political factions that have been ruling over the country for the last decade – including the FPM – are responsible for the country’s collapse.
Roukoz has significantly distanced himself from the FPM since the October 2019 anti-corruption protests that shook Lebanon to the core. Another close ally of the FPM, MP Nemat Frem, a respected business figure, also dissociated from the movement by joining the October protests.
“The catastrophic situation in which Lebanon finds itself is the result of the (2008) ‘unity government,’ which consecrated the principle of clientelism and ‘mohassassa’ (allocation of certain post to specific parties), by diffusing political responsibility across the system and gave free reign to corruption,” explained Roukoz.
The 2008 Doha agreement that ended an 18-month political crisis confirmed the principle of consensual government and gave a veto right to the minority, which at the time was led by Hezbollah and the FPM.
Hezbollah consolidates power
In recent years, Hezbollah has consolidated its grip on the Lebanese political system. Its alliance with the Christian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) ultimately allowed the movement’s founder Michel Aoun to become Lebanon’s president in 2016.
In the 2018 parliamentary elections, another alliance – that of the Marada with support of the Shia Amal movement – allowed Hezbollah to win a comfortable majority.
Fast forward a year. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation in the wake of popular uprising, paved the way for Hassan Diab’s government to form with Hezbollah’s blessing. The Diab government is said to be a “one-color” government lacking opposition.
While Hezbollah back the Diab government, the new ruling elite is slowly eroding the political understanding between the various factions making up the March 8 coalition, explained Nabil Boumounsef, assistant editor at the Annahar newspaper.
“The cohesion within [the] March 8 coalition (dominated by Hezbollah), allowed the party to strengthen its power within the Lebanese political system,” said
Beyond cracks between Christian allies, the FPM has also directly targeted its ally Hezbollah. On May 22, FPM deputy Ziad Assouad, stated that “we could not continue to carry weapons when people are hungry,” in a direct reference to the armed militia and political party.
The widening rift is slowly destroying the March 8 coalition dominated by Hezbollah, predicted Boumounsef.
Outside experts believe that when President Aoun, who is 85, is no longer at the head of the state, his absence will further fragment the movement.
The challenging economic situation in Lebanon and the need for reform is also putting pressure on the alliance.
Outside domestic political squabbles, “Iran’s regional containment and growing sanctions will further weaken the Hezbollah led March 8 coalition position in the future,” said Boumounsef.
A possible fragmentation of the coalition will have significant impact on Hezbollah, he said. The party needs a strong alliance with another major party from a different community base to deflect accusations of hegemony, banned by Lebanon’s sectarian system. As Hezbollah’s allies jump ship, those accusations could become increasingly difficult to prove wrong.

Hezbollah's Nasrallah warns of 'great war' on all fronts with Israel
Tzvi Joffre/Jerusalem Post/May 27/2020
Nasrallah warned that any Israeli air strike on Lebanon would 'not pass without a response,' adding that the terror group has 'military capabilities that did not exist before 2006.'
Marking 20 years since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel of "the great war that will open all fronts at once," saying that it would be "the end of Israel." The Hezbollah leader stressed, however, that there are "no indications that Israel intends to launch a war against Lebanon."The statements were made during an interview with the Al-Nour Radio Station on Tuesday night, which was broadcast by the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV Channel. Nasrallah warned that any Israeli air strike on Lebanon would "not pass without a response," adding that the terror group has "military capabilities that did not exist before 2006" and would respond if any Hezbollah terrorist was killed anywhere.
In reference to an airstrike on a Hezbollah vehicle along the Lebanon-Syria border a few weeks ago, Nasrallah stressed that Israel did not make a mistake in the strike and was not trying to kill the terrorists in the vehicle, because they knew that Hezbollah would respond if the terrorists were killed.
In possible reference to a series of airstrikes in recent years on Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria which were blamed on Israel, Nasrallah stated that while the Syrian leadership believes that it is not in the country's interest to be drawn into a war with Israel, the "patience and endurance of the Syrian leadership with Israeli aggression has limits."
Nasrallah also referred to a drone attack in the suburbs of Beirut last year that was blamed on Israel, saying that such an operation has not been repeated since and warning that Israeli aircraft in Lebanese airspace would be shot down.
Sightings of Israeli aircraft are reported in Lebanese airspace by local media on a weekly, if not daily, basis. A couple of quadcopters have been shot down near the border, but larger aircraft have reportedly flown in the airspace undamaged, with claims that air strikes on Syria have been carried out by Israeli aircraft from Lebanese airspace.
Both Hezbollah and Israel have the ability to initiate a conflict, said Nasrallah, but the balance of power created by the terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon takes into account a number of calculations, preventing a conflict at present.
"The Israeli enemy did not target us at the beginning, and it was providing support to the Syrian armed groups, not all the opposition,” he said, deeming that "Israel’s venturing into a battle between the wars in Syria was a victory for the axis of the resistance, and this is what made the Israeli resort to air strikes."
Nasrallah rejected calls for Hezbollah to surrender its weapons, asking those calling for such a measure to look at the "state of deterrence, a deterrence that is the protector of Lebanon," and asking anyone with a better method to state it. he claimed that the "level of support for the choice of resistance among the Palestinian people is higher than ever."
In Lebanon, however, Nasrallah admitted that "there was never national unity around the resistance in order to say that it once had a wide audience that it had lost. Even in 2000, the internal situation was not better than today." The secretary-general added that some Lebanese people believe Hezbollah is connected with Syria and Iran and isn't a Lebanese group at all. Nasrallah insisted that Hezbollah is not trying to get the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon to leave the country, but questioned why Israel does not have any UNIFIL forces on its side of the Blue Line.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab; Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister Zeina Akar; and Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces Gen. Joseph Aoun are expected to visit UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura amid heightened tensions along the border with Israel, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. An investigation into the shooting of a Syrian national by IDF troops after he infiltrated into Israeli territory near Mount Dov last week was completed by a joint Lebanese and UNIFIL investigation team. According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, the probe of the shooting will be submitted during the upcoming tripartite meeting chaired by UNIFIL. Nasrallah also discussed domestic issues, stressing that corruption must be addressed by the judiciary and warning that sectarian divides in the country must also be addressed.
Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.

Lebanese Political Activist Dr. Naji Hayek: Lebanon Must Become A Federation, Develop A Technology-Based Economy; Syrian Refugees Detrimental To Lebanon

MEMRI/May 27/2020
Lebanese Political activist Dr. Naji Hayek of the Free Patriotic Movement said in a May 18, 2020 interview on OTV [Lebanon] that Lebanon should become a federation like the U.S. or Canada. He said that a federal system is most suitable to the Lebanese people and that the majority of Lebanese people, especially the Christians, feel this way. He also stated that Lebanon should maintain good relations with the U.S. and European countries. He said that Lebanon’s economy should be based on technology, like Israel, and that it should not wage wars on behalf of foreign causes. Furthermore, Dr. Hayek said that Syrian and other refugees in Lebanon cause the country great financial losses, and that the "hidden Syrian civil occupation of Lebanon" is one of the reasons the country has collapsed. For further information about Dr. Hayek see MEMRI TV clip #7294.
Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
http://memri.convio.net/site/R?i=FaYI_QQrVdLdD1J3VjlhzA
Dr. Naji Hayek: "We live in a federal country and this is something we must understand. Some of the Lebanese people started a [civil] war in 1975 because they thought that political Maronism plundered part of [Lebanon]... The Christians must come to an agreement, demand their rights in full, and agree on a system of government that is not the aforementioned 'consensus democracy.' Consensus democracy has proven to be a failure. In my opinion, federalism is the only system of government that will please all sectors of the Lebanese people. Federalism is demanded by the majority of the Lebanese people, and by a vast majority of the Christians.
"In my opinion, a federal system would limit fiction between people - friction that creates problems. Let's establish provinces and districts - 'Little Lebanon' and 'Middle Lebanon,' it doesn't matter what we call them - like counties in America. Accordingly, everyone will take responsibility for their actions. It is unacceptable that when a generator supplies electricity to an entire building, one person uses 80% of the electricity and another person uses only 10%.
"The Lebanese people don't need to be ashamed to talk about this. Our [Christian] political parties - the Free Patriotic Movement, the Phalanges, the Lebanese Forces the National Liberal Party - they shouldn't be ashamed to say this. They shouldn't call this a 'system of expanded decentralization.' Why not? Call it a federation. America is a federation, Canada is a federation. This will not harm national unity, this will not harm the army, this will not harm the designation of enemy countries or friendly countries. It will not harm anything at all. Even our finances and our way of life... In Jezzine, you will be able to sell wine, while in Sidon, you will not be able to sell wine. This is how it should be.
"We should have excellent ties with the U.S. and European countries. If you tell me that we don't need to bow down to them - the Americans help Israel more than they help us and Israel is a hostile country. But ultimately you need to know your size. America gives the Lebanese Army $500 million and it gives Israel $10 billion. Okay, it gives Israel more. But why must we stifle [the army]? Who else can give it $500 million a year?
"Our society must be an open society, with a strong economy. Lebanon's society is full of bright minds. Lebanon should be filled with platforms for technology, electronics, and the Internet. We should have advanced agriculture and so on. What is the difference between us and damned Israel, which is 100 km from here. There the Tel Aviv stock exchange has 1,000 energy companies? Why don't we have any? Are they smarter than we are? Of course not, we are a hundred times smarter than them. We must understand that this country belongs to all its people. When you work, you are not only working for yourself. They threw [former PM] Ehud Olmert into prison, also that president [Moshe Katsav] went to prison. We must understand that Lebanon can only rise through its economy. It cannot be based on a militarize society. It is unacceptable that every 20-30 years a cause is created and the Lebanese pick up sticks and guns and storm [Israel] ahead of [the Palestinians] themselves. No! In the 1950s, we fought ahead of Abdel Nasser, then we fought ahead of Arafat. This is what brought us to where we are.
"Every year, we lose several billion dollars because of who-knows-how-many millions of Syrians on our land. They are eroding our economy directly and indirectly. They eat our subsidized bread. This is true. This causes us losses. If you say that I shouldn't call them to task for eating - this means that I will be left starving. When an airplane loses oxygen, do you know what they tell you? First, place the oxygen over your own face, not over those sitting next to you, even if it is your son. If you cannot breathe, those next to you will not be able to breathe either. If you suffocate, the person next to you will suffocate too. The oxygen that we need... Lebanon has collapsed for several reasons, one of which is the concealed Syrian civil occupation of Lebanon."

Why the Worry About Beirut?
Hazem Saghieh/Asharq Al Awsat/May 27/2020
Once what was known as the "reconstruction project” was launched, the Société Libanaise pour le Développement et la Reconstruction de Beyrouth (Solidere) adopted the slogan of “Beirut, the Ancient City of the Future”. Today, the city faces a crisis that is pushing it, very regrettably, towards becoming a city of the past. For instance, all of the world’s cities are in crisis today: Exorbitant prices are chasing out residents as they work and study from home, which will facilitate doing away with offices after the pandemic. After over-crowding, the retrenchment of public services, and the excessive centralization in capitals, the latest virus came to strike some of the hallmarks of city-life: Restaurants, cafes, hotels, theaters, museums, cinemas and children's playgrounds. Thus, it is likely that returning to the countryside will become more prevalent and that those who hate cities will equivocate this to returning to God.
In Beirut, these crises are a thousandfold worse, because these hallmarks are not supplementary to the city. They are the city: this is how it was made by the sea, trade and services. It is enough to merely envisage Beirut without a university, bank, hospital, hotel, restaurant, newspaper, and publishing house, and without the Arab and foreign visitors ...
Today, the angel of death is laying its eyes on these hallmarks, one after the other.
Coronavirus, bankruptcy, and the fracturing legitimacy of the regime, and before all of them, Hezbollah's rifles that expel money and people, came together to accomplish the mission. The Israeli invasion of 1982 was a major juncture in this long, complex march. However, the juncture that would have the most influence in the longer term was how the invasion was fought. The city was desecrated in the 1980s, and its armed suburb, because it was armed, became more important than the city itself. Since then, the rifle has been prevailing over universities, banks, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, and newspapers, and with them, the Arab and foreign visitors.
This does not mean that the Lebanese political and economic structure was sound, but it had foundations that could be built upon: a parliament and elections, a decent industrial sector (food and textiles, shoes, publishing and printing ...), universities and newspapers etc. ... and most importantly: a strong relationship with the outside world.
Beirut's history only says this. In the 1840s, it had a population of eight thousand. However, the increased importance of coastal areas, because of the developments in trade, added to the city’s weight. European manufactured goods began, due to the industrial revolution, to invade the Ottoman Empire’s markets, and the Ibrahim Pasha's Syria campaign (1832-40) began connecting the region with the world.
By 1848, the population had increased to 15,000. On this path of ascension, even wars could yield benefits. The sectarian wars of the mountain pushed many Christians to move to Beirut. In 1888, during the Mutasarrifiyya period, Beirut was made the capital of a Wilayet (province of the Ottoman Empire) that included the entire Syrian coast, including Palestine. By the end of the century, the population had risen to 120,000. In those days, European and American, Catholic and Protestant, missionary missions were flourishing. Among the fruits of this process were the American University (1866) and the Jesuit University (1881). The printing press that multiplied because of the universities and schools revolutionized publishing and its industry. A written press emerged. Intellectuals emerged as well, and they brought calls for renaissance and cultural revival along with them.
The authorities of the French Mandate created Greater Lebanon and made Beirut its capital in 1920. The Lebanese Republic was proclaimed in 1926. Accelerating economic growth expanded and Beirut multiplied its prosperity, but, at the same time, political and sectarian tension were also growing: The 1948 Nakba and the subsequent rise of Nasserism, and the ever-present quibbles between sects over the distribution of the shares of power. These time bombs detonated their small explosion in 1958 and then their largest explosion in 1975, taking advantage of the presence of armed Palestinian groups and the arms that were taken up to confront it. The invasion of Israel in 1982 ended one era and ushered in another.
But between 1952 and 1975, and except the short interruption in 1958, political stability and openness to both the West and the Arabs turned Beirut into what it would become: a regional, educational, and cultural center, attractive to capital... the flexibility of the banking system and the free zone in the port were complemented by good educational institutions that produced the cadre needed to manage the capitalist economy. Its relatively extensive liberties turned the city into a single lung in the region's tight chest. The freedom enjoyed by Lebanon's media did not suit neighboring military regimes: Nassib al-Matni was assassinated in 1958, Kamel Mroue in 1966. Michel Abu Jawdeh was kidnapped and taken to Syria in 1973. This kind of behavior became custom later on with the Pax Syriana: Salim Lawzi, Samir Kassir, Gebran Tueni...
The religious sects and their alliances with foreign powers were eating away at this structure... Nevertheless, the War of 75 did not bring the economy to a total halt. Lebanese agricultural and manufactured goods continued to meet national and Arab market demand, and the media and publishing remained. Even the tourism industry could make us of opportunities granted by the periods of calm between battles and wars.
Hariri’s reconstruction rebuilt some of what the militants had destroyed, but it built it at a heavy cost, leaving the country with huge debts, and it expanded the gaps between classes, regions, and the size of the different economic sectors. However, the most damaging factor was the regional peace project’s failure to take off. The same regional factor that hampered the peace project that began with Oslo Accords in 1993 would go on to claim the life of the man behind reconstruction and a few of his companions after a decade later.
Many details must be referred to better illustrate the image and deal with its complexities, which, however, cannot be addressed in this haste. Other factors must be addressed to avoid simplification, but the most important and most prominent factor for the collapse is nonetheless the alliance between the effects of sectarianism and the radical orientations that have a hatred of the West and the outside world. This alliance, which still rules over us, planted the largest of the daggers in Beirut’s chest, and it could make it a city of the past once again.

Hezbollah’s Nasrallah rejects US pressure to beef up role of UN peacekeepers
Israel and US demanding that United Nations forces be allowed to carry out searches to stop Lebanese terror group stockpiling weapons and fortifying along border
AFP and TOI STAFF//May 27/2020
BEIRUT — The head of the Lebanese Shiite terror group Hezbollah on Tuesday rejected a US request to empower a UN peacekeeping force patrolling the border with Israel.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah spoke ahead of a UN Security Council vote this summer to renew the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
“The Americans, as the result of Israeli demands, are raising the issue of changing the nature of UNIFIL’s mission,” Nasrallah said in a radio interview to mark 20 years since Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon.
“Lebanon has refused to change UNIFIL’s mission, but Israel wants… it to have the right to raid and search private properties, and the Americans are pressuring Lebanon on this matter,” Nasrallah said.
UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah calls for all armed groups, besides the Lebanese military, to be removed from southern Lebanon, in the area south of the country’s Litani River.
Israel has repeatedly claimed that the Hezbollah, occasionally aided by the Lebanese Armed Forces, maintains an active presence in southern Lebanon of both fighters and weaponry despite this prohibition. UNIFIL, which is tasked with ensuring Resolution 1701’s implementation, has indicated that the constraints of its mandate prevent it from being able to fully investigate Israel’s claims, namely because of the peacekeepers’ inability to enter private property.
In August last year, the UN Security Council voted to renew UNIFIL’s mandate for a year.
But the resolution included a requirement — on the insistence of the United States, diplomats said — for the UN secretary general to perform an evaluation on the UNIFIL mission and its staff before June 1, 2020.
“We are not against UNIFIL staying,” Nasrallah said.
But “the time of deeming Lebanon to be weak is over, and Israel cannot impose conditions on Lebanon, even behind an American mask.”
In early May, the US ambassador to the UN, Kelly Craft, claimed UNIFIL was being “prevented from fulfilling its mandate” and Hezbollah had “been able to arm itself and expand operations, putting the Lebanese people at risk.”
The Security Council “must either pursue serious change to empower UNIFIL or realign its staffing and resources with tasks it can actually accomplish,” she wrote on Twitter.
Nasrallah spoke after a dispute broke out late Monday in the southern village of Blida between Finnish peacekeepers and residents, after a UNIFIL military vehicle hit two cars and motorbike, the National News Agency reported.
Young men cut off the road in protest, and the Finnish peacekeepers had to be escorted out by the Lebanese army, it said.
On Tuesday, surrounding villages in a joint statement accused the patrol of “entering and searching people’s vineyards and private properties”, describing such actions as unacceptable.
Lebanon and Israel are still technically at war.
Set up in 1978, UNIFIL was beefed up after the month-long war in 2006 and tasked with guaranteeing a ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from a demilitarized zone on the border.
UNIFIL can have up to 10,000 troops on the ground, monitoring the truce and helping Lebanese troops secure the borders.

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 27-28/2020
Liberman Accuses Netanyahu of Inciting Civil War
Ramallah/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
ISraeli Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to incite a “civil war”. “What is jarring is that instead of focusing on his trials, Netanyahu is stirring up tensions between the parts of the people,” Liberman told Kan radio in an interview. He was one of many others who criticized the PM for a speech he delivered.Netanyahu staged a press briefing ahead of the hearing outside the courtroom, where he slammed the three corruption cases against him as "slanderous and delusional."“His trial didn’t start with a presentation of the evidence, it started with wild incitement against the rule of law, against the court. He knows it will end in violence but he doesn’t care,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday likened Netanyahu to a “godfather” who heads a criminal organization made up of Likud ministers.
“I saw it [Netanyahu’s speech ahead of the hearing] and I had a feeling it was a scene from Francis Ford Coppola's 'Godfather' movie,” said Olmert in an interview. “The head of a crime organization surrounded by people who execute orders.”In 2009, Olmert stepped down after the police recommended charging him with corruption. He was later on sent to trial and condemned for receiving bribery.

Turkey Deploys MIM-23 Hawk Missiles in Syria’s Idlib
Ankara - Saeed Abdulrazek/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
The Turkish army deployed US-made medium-range surface-to-air MIM-23 Hawk missiles in Syria’s Idlib Idlib, satellite images showed. Shared on social media, the images reveal the location of the air defense system in Al-Mastoumah camp, which is located five kilometers south of Idlib city.
The camp is strategically located along the Idlib-Latakia M4 Highway.This is not the first time Ankara deploys such a defense system in Syria. In early 2018, Turkey sent the system to Dar Izza in the western Aleppo countryside. The deployment of the MIM-23 HAWK system means that the Turkish army will no longer need to rely on fighter jets and drones to down Syrian regime fighter jets. Sources at the Syrian armed opposition justified the deployment of the defense system as being part of Turkish measures to protect its borders against any regime attacks. The HAWK system was developed in the 1960s but has been improved over the years. It has the ability to destroy aircraft flying at an altitude of up to 20 kilometers and has a range of 40 kilometers. Local sources in Idlib noticed an unprecedented movement of Turkish military forces in Idlib, particularly following Saturday’s visit by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to the border with Syria, where the army is pushing military reinforcements to Idlib. A column of dozens of Turkish vehicles was seen crossing into Syrian territory, via the Kafr Lusin crossing.

Iraq Military Spokesman to Asharq Al-Awsat: ISIS No Longer Poses a Threat
London – Kameel al-Tawil/Ramallah/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Since the start of 2020, ISIS has been mounting activities that suggest the group has reorganized its ranks after the defeats it sustained in the past few years on both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi borders. The Iraqi army, however, is showing no signs of concern over the growing activities of the terrorist group.
Military spokesman Yehya Rasool said ISIS no longer poses a threat to Iraq and that its cells are nearly completely destroyed and unable to threaten Iraqi towns and civilians. The lack of public display of concern does not mean that Iraqi authorities aren’t taking the threats posed by ISIS seriously. In the last few weeks, dozens of security campaigns were carried out against ISIS hideouts across the country. Rasool, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, clarified that these raids are preemptive and are based on intelligence reports. This indicates that Iraqi security apparatuses own a substantial corpus of intelligence on ISIS cells, extracted from interrogating hundreds of the group’s operatives and leaders who were arrested during the course of the past years. Other than Iraqi raids, the Arab- Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces have been mounting anti-ISIS campaigns with the aid of the US-led international coalition in Syria. “Iraqi security forces, after defeating ISIS, intensified their intelligence effort and began preemptive operations and arrested many terrorist leaders and elements, as well as those who finance these terrorist gangs, especially in areas that were under the control of ISIS,” Rasool told Asharq Al-Awsat. He added that one of the "most prominent terrorists arrested" is the “mufti of ISIS,” who was detained on January 16. “Mufti of ISIS,” Shifa al-Nima, loomed large over ISIS as a religious figure who issued fatwas against several clerics who refused to swear allegiance to the group. Al-Nima, whose actual name is Abu Abdul Bari, encouraged ISIS members to attack security forces and destroy historic sites during their reign over large swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Israeli Officials: Annexation Plan Facing Challenges
Ramallah - Kifah Zaboun/Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Israel’s measures to legislate the process of imposing Israeli sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and settlements in the West Bank will begin in early July, but requires few weeks to be approved, according to an Israeli official. The head of the Governmental Coalition in Israel, Mickey Zohar, revealed that the government will approve the draft law, and then it will be submitted to the Knesset for voting and approval. Zohar announced that the concerned authorities are currently working on drawing up the maps that will help in reaching an understanding with the US administration about the areas that Israel will impose its sovereignty over. The official opposes the demand for establishing a Palestinian state in exchange for the annexation, expressing his conviction that Israel will not give up the annexation in any case. Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Israel will not miss a “historic opportunity” to extend its sovereignty to parts of the West Bank. The Israeli security services at this stage oppose the annexation and the occupation army believes that applying Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank will not be possible on the ground, given the short period of time in the face of a possible deterioration of the security situation. The Hebrew Walla website quoted security officials as saying that the army estimates the field response to the annexation may be unexpected, and depends on the Palestinians acceptance of the step. The report indicated that Netanyahu might only give a statement on July 1, but delay the annexation process for few months, giving the security establishment time to prepare for an escalation by Palestinians. Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj.-Gen. Kamil Abu-Rukun warned that if the government implements its plan to unilaterally annex portions of the West Bank and Jordan Valley, there will be a wave of violence. Abu-Rukun told Defense Minister Benny Gantz that annexation could lead to a “shattering of security coordination and a wave of violence.”
Palestinians could cancel all aspects of security coordination, and the Authority security officers might turn their weapons on Israel, he warned. Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom monitored the paths of “applying sovereignty” and internal and external challenges that might face Israel. The newspaper said that Netanyahu faces multiple paths, including securing a majority in either the Knesset or government in favor of the move. According to the daily, Netanyahu has taken all the necessary steps to implement the annexation process, but he has not decided on the path yet, which will be crucial for the approval.
It indicated that the areas in which sovereignty will be applied have been precisely defined through a joint US-Israeli committee, but many ministers and members of the Knesset have still not been informed about details of the plan.
The newspaper pointed out that the Israeli decision regarding the application of sovereignty involves some domestic and foreign challenges, especially that Netanyahu has not yet submitted the final map. Hayom says that some of Likud hardline ministers, such as Zeev Elkin or Tzipi Hotovely, may oppose or abstain from voting, while Prime Minister-designate Benny Gantz has not yet decided whether to allow members of his party to vote freely on the issue. Another challenge facing Netanyahu can be described as the political and security risks that will affect the ministers’ stance, especially given the great opposition of the international community. Meanwhile, the Fatah movement called on the Palestinians to be vigilant and cautious in these difficult and crucial times, stressing the need for solidarity and unity.

Activists in Syria's Afrin Urge Kurdish Forces to Unite their Ranks
Qamishili - Kamal Sheikho/Ramallah - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Kurdish forces in Syria must overcome their differences and unite their ranks to end Turkey’s “occupation” of Afrin, urged a number of figures from the northern Syrian town. Around 94 activists, authors, journalists and academics launched a campaign calling upon Kurdish parties to take a firm stand regarding the fate of the city and its people who are facing “systematic genocide”. The activists called for centralizing the issue of Afrin, describing it as “a direct and historical responsibility of the Kurds represented by parties, forces and various figures,” who are required to unite and agree on organizing their forces.
The signatories also called upon the international sponsoring parties to help end the Turkish occupation of the Afrin region and all cities and towns under its control in north and northwestern Syria. The Kurdish figures concluded by urging the international forces to ensure a dignified return of the displaced and forcibly displaced citizens, disclose the fate of thousands of missing persons, release all detainees, hold perpetrators responsible for their crimes and compensate the families of the victims. Academic and economic researcher Celeng Omer, one of the organizers of the campaign, said all Kurdish forces and parties who represent the people are demanded to take a serious stance against Turkey and its loyal armed militias. In March 2018, Turkey and its loyal armed Syrian factions took control of the Kurdish city of Afrin and its countryside, which had been under the protection of Kurdish fighters since the beginning of the Syrian crisis. International organizations and human rights groups have since warned against the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the city. Kurdish reports and sources indicated that over half of Afrin’s population has been displaced and left the city.

Israel Prevents Palestinians' Access to Ibrahimi Mosque
Hebron - Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Israeli forces prevented on Tuesday Muslim worshipers from accessing Ibrahimi Mosque in the southern West Bank city of Hebron. The Palestinian news agency WAFA said Israeli forces closed all military checkpoints and electronic gates leading to the mosque and prevented residents from crossing to reach it for prayers. Forces reportedly prevented worshipers outside the mosque from praying and allowed the entry of only 50 people. The Mosque's director, Hefthi Abu Sneineh, condemned these measures, which he stressed are an infringement on Islamic holy sanctities sponsored by international covenants that guarantee the right to religious freedom. Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh declared an end to the two-months long lockdown on the Palestinian territories that was declared early in March with the discovery of the first coronavirus cases in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, allowing a return to normal life including the opening of mosques and churches. Israeli police had attacked worshipers early this week while performing Eid prayers outside the Aqsa Mosque compound. Several elderly Muslims were wounded at the revered site in occupied East Jerusalem. WAFA reported that Israeli forces used batons and rifle butts during the attack. Also, Israeli police banned Tuesday Aqsa Mosque guard Hamza Nimr from entering Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem for six months. Israeli authorities summoned Nimr for interrogation and handed him an order banning him from entering the mosque after he opposed the entry of an Israeli police officer into Dome of the Rock, the golden dome mosque within al-Haram al-Sharif compound that also includes the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Babacan: We Don’t Fear Erdogan’s Threats
Ankara - Saeed Abdul Razzak/Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Head of Turkey’s opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) Ali Babacan said his party has alternative plans in case President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government try to hinder his participation in the upcoming elections. “Turkish people will do what is necessary after Erdogan destroyed democracy in the country,” Babacan stressed. In a television interview on Tuesday, he said Erdogan has destroyed the democracy and eradicated the independence of the judiciary and Turkey's reputation abroad. “No matter what games they play and regardless of changing the rules of the game, as long we receive people’s support we do not recognize any obstacle.”His comments were made in response to news circulated on the attempts by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and his ally Devlet Behceli’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) to amend elections and political parties’ laws. According to the circulated rumors, both leaders aim by this move at preventing the DEVA and the Future Party, which was established by former Premier Ahmed Davutodglu, from entering the parliament.
This came after Turkey's main opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), announced its readiness to transfer a number of its MPs to the two new parties so that they could run for the elections. Behceli has earlier suggested amending the laws on elections and political parties and adding articles that prevent the transfer of MPs between parties throughout the parliamentary period or for at least one year. This has prompted observers to believe that the country will soon head to early elections. A founding member of the AKP, which has ruled Turkey since 2002, Babacan served as economy and then foreign minister before becoming deputy prime minister for economic affairs, a role he held from 2009 to 2015. He said the authority knows it is losing control thus it is violating the rules and tampering with the laws, stressing that “the Turkish people will do the necessary during the first elections the country holds.”Erdogan has committed grave mistakes at all levels and ruined everything after controlling all the state’s institutions Babacan stressed.

Iran's Newly Elected Parliament Convenes Despite Pandemic
Asharq Al-Awsat/Wednesday, 27 May, 2020
Iran convened its newly elected parliament on Wednesday, dominated by conservative lawmakers and under strict social distancing regulations, as the country struggles to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has hit the nation hard. Iran is grappling with one of the deadliest outbreaks in the region, with more than 7,500 fatalities out of over 139,500 confirmed cases. Turkey has the region's largest outbreak, with 156,800 confirmed cases and more than 4,300 deaths. Iranian state TV said all 268 lawmakers who were in attendance on Wednesday have tested negative for the virus. The lawmakers were sworn in after many of them arrived for the opening ceremony wearing face masks and observing social distancing regulations. Temperatures were taken before they entered the parliament building. They also chose a temporary speaker, based on age seniority, and were to listen to a message from the supreme leader Ali Khamenei and a speech by President Hassan Rouhani. A permanent parliament speaker will be chosen next week, for a one-year term, reported The Associated Press. Because of the pandemic, a traditional visit by the newly elected lawmakers to the shrine of the founder of republic, Khomeini, was postponed. After keeping shrines, which are typically frequented by scores of visitors, open in the beginning of the outbreak, Iran later imposed lockdown measures, barring visitors from going inside the shrines. Iran's newly elected house is dominated by 220 conservative lawmakers, including more than 50 who are close allies of former hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. There are 38 independent lawmakers and 18 pro-reform and moderates, down from 136 in the previous parliament. In the February election, 278 parliament seats of the total of 290 seats were decided. Two elected lawmakers later died, including one from COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Eight newly elected lawmakers were absent from Wednesday's session; no explanation was given. The remaining 14 seats are to be decided in a by-election in 2021. More than 160 of the current lawmakers have had no previous parliamentary experience. There are 16 women lawmakers, one less than in the previous house. Iran's parliament does not have the power to dictate major policies, but it does debate the annual budget and the possible impeachment of ministers. Power in Iran ultimately rests with Khamenei, who has final say on all key matters.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

US concerned about a repeat of the Syrian scenario in Libya
The Arab Weekly/May 27/2020
TRIPOLI –Recent American statements reflect serious Western concern about a repeat in Libya of previous conflict scenarios in Ukraine and Syria, and about Russia’s determination not to miss the strategic opportunity to be present on the southern shores of Europe.
“It is clear that Russia is trying to tip the scales in its favour in Libya, just like I saw them doing in Syria,” AFRICOM quoted US Army General Stephen Townsend as saying.
For his part, US Air Force General Jeff Harrigian, commander of US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, said that if Russia seizes a base on Libya’s coast, the next logical step for it “is to deploy permanent long-range anti-access area denial (A2AD) capabilities” in order to block access to Africa.
“If that day comes, it will create very real security concerns on Europe’s southern flank,” added Harrigian, pointing out that Russia’s destabilising actions in Libya will also exacerbate regional instability that has driven the migration crisis affecting Europe.
Some have seen the American focus on Europe’s security and their bringing up the topic of illegal migration as messages urging NATO to intervene.
Although the Libyan civil war seems to be a war between rival factions over control of the country’s vast resources, there has been an international dimension to the conflict ever since NATO intervened to help topple the rule of the late Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.
Next to Turkey and Egypt, Gulf and European countries have intervened at various levels since the outbreak of the internal conflict and its taking its current shape in 2014, against the backdrop of an unfair distribution of wealth among components of the Libyan people, with the Misrata alliance and the Islamists laying their hands on the country’s entire wealth.
Turkey’s recent intervention, however, and their distribution of huge military and technical capabilities have raised the stakes in Libya and increased regional and international concerns.
The development is quickly transforming the current conflict from a proxy war to a direct confrontation between major global players.
Recent developments on the ground seem to reflect a trend since last January of a Russian-Turkish agreement to share influence in Libya. As per the deal, the western and southern regions would go to the Turks, while Barqa and the central region (Sirte and oil ports) would be Russia’s share.
The Libyan National Army (LNA) has withdrawn from important locations in western Libya, especially the Al-Watiya base, and is losing control over the coastal strip cities. Meanwhile, media outlets reported statements by the mayor of the city of Bani Walid, Salem Nweir, who is close to the Islamists, stating that fighters from the Russian Wagner Group have also withdrawn from battle fronts in southern Tripoli to the Jafra area by way of the city’s airport.
The LNA has denied the existence of fighters from the Wagner Group among its ranks, but political circles do not exclude the possibility of a limited presence of Russian experts who contribute to battle strategy, whether south of Tripoli or in Tarhuna. It seems that these experts were indeed transferred to the central regions of Libya to reinforce Russia’s presence there. This could explain the declaration by the Tripoli government that it had stopped targeting “military vehicles withdrawing from Tarhuna-Bani Walid-Nasma areas to the south, while continuing the air monitoring and targeting of any convoy heading north.”
A greater source of concern for the Americans is the arrival of Russian fighter planes that have recently enabled the LNA to regain some control of Libyan airspace. Commenting on the new arrivals, AFRICOM said that “neither the forces of eastern Libya nor the mercenaries will be able to arm and operate these fighters without support from Russia.”These developments raise Washington’s fears that the steps mark the beginning of a permanent Russian presence in the central region of Libya that is of particular interest to the Americans. In 2016, AFRICOM took part in air strikes during the war waged by pro-government militias against ISIS in Sirte. Libyan political analyst Muhammad al-Jarrah said that the Americans are trying to prevent Turkey and Russia from acquiring control of the Libyan file because of the risk it poses to their national security.
Libya and its neighbours. “The West understands that if the current American diplomatic efforts fail, and this is to be expected, then we will move on to a military escalation, and then to a truce led by Russia and Turkey, in which Algeria will be on the side of the Turks and Egypt on the side of the Russians, in a political process similar to the Astana process in Syria,” Jarrah added. Since the battle for control of Tripoli began, the United States has led efforts to stop the fighting and return to the political process, but its silence on Turkey’s recent overt interference and the influx of Syrian extremists and mercenaries reflects its tacit support.

Trump Threatens to 'Close Down' Social Media after Tweets Tagged
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 27/2020
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to close down social media platforms after Twitter labelled two of his tweets "unsubstantiated" and accused him of making false claims. "Republicans feel that Social Media Platforms totally silence conservatives voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen," Trump tweeted. Twitter targeted two tweets the president posted on Tuesday in which he contended without evidence that mail-in voting would lead to fraud and a "Rigged Election."Under the tweets, Twitter posted a link which read "Get the facts about mail-in ballots" -- a first for the social network which has long resisted calls to censure the U.S. president over truth-defying posts. Trump pushed back again on Wednesday saying "we can't let large scale Mail-In Ballots take root in our Country. It would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots. "Whoever cheated the most would win. Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, NOW!!!!"The president also accused social media platforms of interfering in the last election, saying "we saw what they attempted to do, and failed, in 2016."
"We can't let a more sophisticated version of that happen again." Trump has long used Twitter to publish controversial conspiracy theories and at times false information and even insults. Before being elected in 2016, he built his political brand by supporting the "birther" lie that Barack Obama, America's first black president, was not born in the United States and therefore was not eligible to be president. And he has recently ignited another storm with an attempted character assassination of MSNBC TV host Joe Scarborough by spreading the baseless rumor he murdered an aide.

Police Killing of Handcuffed African American Sparks Outrage
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 27/2020
The family of an African American man killed by Minneapolis police while handcuffed in custody demanded Wednesday that the officers be charged with murder. After a night of angry protests over the death of George Floyd, with law enforcement firing tear gas and rubber bullets in the northern U.S. city, his sister Bridgett Floyd demanded the arrest of the four white police officers involved in his death. "I would like those officers to be charged with murder, because that's exactly what they did," she said on NBC television.
"They murdered my brother.... They should be in jail for murder."
'I can't breathe' -
Outrage at the latest example of police brutality against African Americans spread across the country, after a shocking bystander video showed a police officer kneeling on Floyd's neck Monday for at least five minutes while he was pinned to the ground after being detained on a minor charge. "Your knee in my neck. I can't breathe.... Mama. Mama," Floyd pleaded. He grew silent and motionless, unable to move even as the officers taunted him to "get up and get in the car."He was taken to hospital where he was later declared dead. Another video, from a nearby restaurant's security camera, surfaced Wednesday showing no indications that Floyd, 46, resisted when police detained him for allegedly trying to use a counterfeit $20 banknote for a purchase in a convenience store. Thousands took to the Minneapolis streets in anger as the city's mayor Jacob Frey summarily fired the four police officers and the African American police chief turned the explosive case over to the FBI. "What I saw was wrong at every level," Frey said of the video. "For five minutes, we watched as a white officer pressed his knee into the neck of a black man," Frey added. "Being black in America should not be a death sentence."
- Tipping point? -
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who was retained by Floyd's family, said the case showed the U.S. justice system treats blacks differently from whites. Crump also represents the families of two other African Americans recently killed in cases that allegedly involve police mistakes and attempted coverups.
"How many more of these senseless excessive-force killings from the people who are supposed to protect us can we take in America?" he said on NBC. Crump pointed out that the arrest involved a minor, non-violent crime, and there was no sign, as police initially claimed, that Floyd resisted arrest.
"There is no reason to apply this excessive fatal force," Crump said. "That has to be the tipping point. Everybody deserves justice.... We can't have two justice systems, one for blacks and one for whites." Floyd's death recalled the 2014 police choking death of New Yorker Eric Garner, who was detained for illegally selling cigarettes. Garner's death helped spark the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, which highlighted police killings of unarmed African American men, often for alleged non-violent offenses. President Donald Trump remained silent on the case Wednesday. But his election rival, Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden, said the FBI need to thoroughly investigate the case. "It's a tragic reminder that this was not an isolated incident, but part of an engrained systemic cycle of injustice that still exists in this country," Biden said in remarks streamed on video. "We have to ensure that the Floyd family receive the justice they are entitled to."Bernice King, daughter of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, tweeted a composite image showing a screenshot of the officer kneeling on Floyd's neck next to a photo of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the U.S. national anthem in protest over police brutality and social injustice. "If you're unbothered or mildly bothered by the 1st knee, but outraged by the 2nd, then, in my father's words, you're 'more devoted to order than to justice,'" King tweeted. Floyd's death followed those of two other African-Americans in which police wrongdoing was alleged. On March 13 in Louisville, Kentucky, three white policemen forced their way into the home of a black woman, Breonna Taylor, and shot her in a drug investigation. In Brunswick, Georgia, police and prosecutors allegedly covered up the killing of a young black jogger by the son of a retired investigator for local law enforcement. The police allegedly withheld for two months a video showing Ahmaud Arbery, 25, being followed by several white men in cars and then shot with a shotgun in broad daylight.

Catholic Church promulgates new decrees for Causes of Saints
NNA/Vatican News/May 27/2020
With the approval of Pope Francis, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints publishes decrees advancing the causes of various holy men and women, including Venerable Michael McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus; Blessed Charles de Foucauld, a French hermit who was martyred in North Africa; and Venerable Pauline-Marie Jaricot, a French laywoman who founded the Society of the Propagation of the Faith and the Living Rosary Association.
By Vatican News
Pope Francis on Wednesday advanced the causes for canonization of twelve holy men and women, authorizing the publication of decrees recognizing various miracles, as well as the martyrdom of an Italian missionary in El Salvador and a group of Cistercian monks in Italy.
The Congregation for the Causes of the Saints recognized miracles attributed to the intercession of Venerable Father Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus; and to Venerable Pauline-Marie Jaricot, foundress of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and the Living Rosary Association. The way is now cleared for the two to be beatified.
Miracles were also attributed to three Blesseds: Charles de Foucauld, Cesare de Bus, and Maria Domenica Mantovani. The official acceptance of the miracles means that all three can now be canonized.
The Congregation also determined that Franciscan priest Cosma Spessotto was killed in odium fidei, that is, out of hatred of the faith. Father Cosma was a missionary in El Salvador who was martyred in 1980.
Finally, the Congregation recognized the martyrdom of six Cistercian monks who were killed as they tried to safeguard the Eucharist when their abbey was attacked by French soldiers during the Napoleonic wars.
The decrees on martyrdom will allow the causes of Father Cosma and the Cistercian monks to proceed.
Below, please find the text of the notification of publication of decrees from Congregation for the Causes of Saints, followed by brief biographical notices prepared by Vatican News.
DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS
On May 26, 2020, the Holy Father Francis received in audience His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. During the audience, the Supreme Pontiff authorized the same Congregation to promulgate the Decrees regarding:
- the miracle, attributed to the intercession of Blessed Cesare de Bus, priest, Founder of the Congregation of the Fathers of Christian Doctrine (Doctrinari); born on February 3, 1544 in Cavaillon (France) and died in Avignon (France) on April 15, 1607;
- the miracle, attributed to the intercession of Blessed Charles de Foucauld (known as Charles of Jesus), diocesan priest; born in Strasbourg (France) on 15 September 1858 and died in Tamanrasset (Algeria) on 1 December 1916;
- the miracle, attributed to the intercession of Blessed Maria Domenica Mantovani, Co-founder and first Superior General of the Institute of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family; born on November 12, 1862 in Castelletto di Brenzone (Italy) and died there on February 2, 1934;
- the miracle, attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Michael McGivney, Diocesan Priest, Founder of the Order of the Knights of Columbus; born on August 12, 1852 in Waterbury (United States of America) and died in Thomaston (United States of America) on August 14, 1890;
- the miracle, attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Pauline Maria Jaricot, Founder of the Works of the "Society for the Propagation of the Faith" and the "Living Rosary"; born on July 22, 1799 in Lyon (France) and died there on January 9, 1862;
- the martyrdom of the Servants of God Simeon Cardon and 5 companions, professed religious of the Cistercian Congregation of Casamari; killed in Casamari, in hatred of the Faith, between 13 and 16 May 1799;
- the martyrdom of the Servant of God Cosma Spessotto (in the world: Sante), a professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor; born in Mansué (Italy) and killed in San Juan Nonualco (El Salvador), in hatred of the Faith, on June 14, 1980.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Blessed Cesare de Bus was distinguished by works of charity and zeal in preaching and catechizing. He founded the “Secular Priests of Christian Doctrine” devoted to preaching Christian doctrine. He also founded an order of women, the Daughters of Christian Doctrine, which died out in 17th century.
Blessed Charles de Foucauld was an officer in the French army. He became a Trappist monk, but left the order to live as a hermit. He was ordained to the priesthood in France, then settled in the Algerian Sahara. He evangelized the Bergers, learning their language and culture. De Foucauld was assassinated at his hermitage in 1916.
Blessed Maria Domenica Mantovani was the co-founder, with her spiritual director Fr Giuseppe Nascimbeni, of the Little Sisters of the Holy Family, dedicated to educating children and young women, and assisting the sick and elderly of the community. She became the first superior of the order, taking the name “Maria Giuseppina of the Immaculata”.
Venerable Michael McGivney was the founder of the Knights of Columbus, now the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization. After studies in Canada and the United States, he was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop James Gibbons in Baltimore. He founded the Knights of Columbus as a mutual aid society, geared especially to working men and their families. He was known for his tireless work among his parishioners. He died at the early age of 38 from pneumonia. Following Wednesday's announcement, the Knights of Columbus released a statement, where you can read more about the life of Ven Michael McGivney and the work of the Knights.
Venerable Pauline-Marie Jaricot was devoted to assisting the work of missionaries, encouraging all Catholics to involve themselves in the work of spreading the Gospel. She founded the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, dedicated to helping missionary efforts worldwide; and the Living Rosary Association, whose associates are committed to saying a decade of the Rosary each day. In 1835 she was healed of a serious illness after visiting the shrine of Saint Philomena in Italy.
The Servant of God Simeon Cardon was the prior of the Cistercian abbey in Casamari, Italy. During the Napoleonic wars, French soldiers sacked the abbey, breaking into the Church and scattering consecrated Hosts on the floor. When the Servant of God, with five fellow monks, attempted to retrieve the Hosts, they were shot by the soldiers and killed.
The Servant of God Cosma Spessotto joined the Franciscans in 1940, and was ordained eight years later. Filled with zeal for missionary work, he went to El Salvador in 1950, at the time one of the poorest nations in the Americas. He preached peace amidst the violence in the country. He was killed in 1980 as he knelt in prayer in his church. He is remembered for his love of the poor and his witness to fraternity. -- Vatican News

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on May 27-28/2020
It’s Business, Not Personal
Nada Ahmed/Carnegie MEC/May 27/2020
In Syria, Russia and the United Arab Emirates are collaborating and competing at the same time.
Last year, at the sixty-first session of the Damascus International Fair, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reconnected with Syria after both states had suspended diplomatic relations in 2012. A pavilion was allocated to Emirati businesses, which were accompanied at the fair by the chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and vice president of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the UAE, Abdullah Sultan al-‘Owais.
The UAE’s engagement with Syria began behind the scenes and was framed as an economic partnership. The Damascus fair presented an opportunity for businesses to play the role of intermediaries. Because of the destruction in Syria, the country is in need of partners willing to implement reconstruction projects worth billions of dollars.
However, relations soon took on a new turn. In late March of this year, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, spoke by telephone to President Bashar al-Assad to discuss the challenges that Syria is facing to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The call ended with Mohammed bin Zayed’s assertion that “Syria would not remain alone in these critical circumstances.”
The relations between the Syrian regime and the UAE have had implications for ties between Russia and Syria, as well as for Russia’s exchanges with Turkey in Syria. At first, Russia appeared to welcome the UAE as a new regional partner. In February, the director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, met with Emirati officials to discuss challenges and opportunities in the field of counterterrorism. Yet Moscow was not happy with the UAE’s efforts later to undermine a Russian-Turkish agreement over Idlib, concluded in March. However, everything suggests that Moscow will opt for a pragmatic attitude toward the UAE. Both countries, for instance, are supporting the forces of Khalifa Haftar in Libya, against the Government of National Accord supported by Turkey. In 2017, the UAE also partnered with Russia’s defense giant, Rostec, to develop fifth-generation light combat fighter aircraft. Moreover, Russia and the UAE have been working on strengthening their economic relations in the past six years, with non-oil trade between the two states reaching $15 billion. Therefore, the Russian approach may well be one of seeking to benefit from the UAE’s assistance to the Assad regime, while also ensuring that improved UAE-Syrian relations will in no way erode Russia’s leverage in Syria.
Russian media seemed to reflect this dual approach. Russian news agencies published reports predicting a possible UAE-Syrian alliance and claimed that the Emiratis would pursue new policies in the region and take an independent path from their Saudi ally. Russian analysts have discussed the UAE’s impact on Russia’s regional partnerships. Some have even suggested that Russia would be better off pursuing an Arab track and welcome the UAE as a new partner in place of Turkey, given that Russia and Turkey have disagreed over Turkish military operations in Idlib.
The dynamics in Idlib have provided a context for the UAE’s rising influence over developments in Syria. Last March, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement to cease military operations in Idlib after the displacement of nearly 1 million people from the area. However, as soon as hostilities subsided the Syrian regime began to bomb areas of Idlib. Turkey’s response did not take long and Turkish forces established a military post at the Nabi Ayoub hill in mid-May.
The Syrian regime’s operations effectively undermined Russia’s promises to halt the fighting in Idlib as part of its agreement with Turkey. They also embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin. To make matters worse, several Russian outlets circulated news that Assad had resumed bombing Idlib with the UAE’s encouragement. These outlets cited a report by Middle East Eye, which is widely seen as reflecting a Qatari point of view, claiming that Mohammed bin Zayed had persuaded Assad of the need to recover the lands under Turkish control. The report claimed that the UAE had offered financial inducements to Assad so that he would pursue military operations in northern Syria. Because Qatar is strongly opposed to the Syrian regime and the UAE, such reports have to be taken with caution, as have Russian reports citing them. However, it does indeed appear that the Assad regime sought to escalate tensions in Idlib in order to undermine the Russian-Turkish agreement.
Some have interpreted Assad’s rapprochement with the UAE as an attempt to break out of his regional isolation and find a new ally that could bankroll an effort to bring all of Syria under his control. This comes at a time when Russia, the regime’s longstanding partner, has become more flexible in its discussion of the Syrian situation and seems ready to contemplate a political settlement with opposition forces to end the war. This is different that Assad’s vision.
To dissuade the Syrian president from following through with his plans for Idlib, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu flew to Damascus on March 23 and conveyed a message to Assad that Moscow would not accept any breach of its agreement with Turkey. But the Syrian regime’s behavior indicates that it does not mind pushing the boundaries as far as they can go.
Some have interpreted Assad’s actions as acts of rebellion against Moscow. In fact, in mid-April Russian news agencies published articles claiming that the Syrian president would not be able to win the 2021 presidential election due to public resentment of the regime’s corruption and mismanagement of the economy. In one article, several candidates were proposed as potential replacements for Assad, including Prime Minister ‘Imad Khamis, Brigadier General Suheil al-Hassan, and Ahmad al-Jarba, a Syrian opposition leader who has contacts with many parties in Syria and, most importantly, enjoys good relations with Russia.
The fact that Moscow reportedly warned Assad against undermining the Idlib deal with Turkey suggests that Putin is keen to maintain good relations with Ankara. However, if there are advantages in developing ties with the UAE that provide Russia with valuable cards in the region, there appears to be no compelling reason for Putin to enter into a confrontation with the Emiratis over the Idlib agreement. For instance, Putin can take advantage of UAE funding to Assad’s forces to limit Turkish encroachments in northern Syria, given that Russia itself is facing an economic shock following the decline in oil prices and the financial losses resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
By playing the UAE and Turkey off against each other, Russia may accumulate power while remaining on good terms with both. In this way Putin can maneuver his country into a position in which it continues to play a central role in Syria, gaining from all sides.
However, such an approach involves an essential factor. Putin must ensure that any relationship that Assad builds with the UAE, like Syria’s ties with Iran, does not marginalize Russia. In the hardnosed game of power, no one is an enemy unless, or until, he seeks to reduce your power. As one Russian observer put it, Moscow will always try “not to incur a strategic defeat while chasing tactical gains.”

Coronavirus … Coexistence Is the Solution
Salman Al-Dossary/Asharq Al Awsat/May 27/2020
Coexistence has always been a solution to many social issues, and today it is the most appropriate way to deal with the pandemic of the century: Coronavirus.
Governments have no other option but to confront the virus, rather than completely closing their borders and risking the continued paralysis of life for months.
Most countries have chosen to coexist with the virus, after a consensus was reached between prominent scientists and many governments that COVID-19 cannot be totally eradicated, despite quarantine measures that caused the disruption of the global economy. It is likely to become a seasonal virus that the world will have to live with intelligently.
One would ask why the world had resorted to a total lockdown, while today we find ourselves faced with another scenario, that of living with the virus, which will inevitably become part of our life.
The truth is that countries did not have many options when the pandemic broke out and caught us by surprise, so the greatest fear was the collapse of health systems and their inability to keep pace with the massive number of infections.
At that time, there was only one scenario to confront the virus: the complete lockdown. With time, governments have slowly been able to strengthen their health systems and greatly expand medical testing so that the infected are isolated from the rest of society, which means the speedy investigation and urgent treatment of detected cases.
Health systems acquired the ability to monitor new epicenters, deal with them quickly and accommodate the expected cases when easing the restrictions, in addition to identifying the vulnerable groups and intensifying awareness among them to encourage them adhere to social distancing measures.
As many countries are choosing to coexist with coronavirus, it will be scary if some people underestimate the rules of that coexistence.
After the governments approved these rules and imposed them during the lockdown period, it is now the people’s responsibility to commit to them and set their controls. And if they think that the epidemic has gone forever, the catastrophe will inevitably return. The second wave will be much harsher and countries will have to return to total closure again to contain this disastrous surge whenever it occurs.
With the gradual return of life, there is no doubt that the effects of coronavirus on both public health and the economy will surpass all expectations. There won’t be a swift recovery.
Nonetheless, peoples and governments have no choice but to do their utmost to limit the spread of the virus and prepare for the expected future challenges that will not end with this gradual return.
The more the epidemic spreads, the harder it will be to get rid of its economic and health consequences.
Governments no longer have the luxury to choose between public health and economic paralysis as before. The only possible equation is to boost the level of response, increase the capabilities of the health system to the maximum extent and coexist safely with the epidemic in order to preserve human lives and raise community awareness and commitment, while at the same time reducing potential economic damage as much as possible.

What Does China Really Want?
Hal Brands/Bloomberg/May 27/2020
Can we pay the Chinese Communist Party the compliment of acknowledging that it means what it says and knows what it wants? That may be the key to understanding Beijing’s strategic ambitions in the coming decades.
A long-standing trope in the US debate on that subject is that China itself doesn’t know what it seeks to achieve, that its leaders haven’t yet worked out how far Beijing’s influence should reach. Yet there is a growing body of evidence, assembled and interpreted by talented China experts, that the Chinese government is indeed aiming for global power and perhaps global primacy over the next generation — that it seeks to upend the American-led international system and create at least a competing, quasi-world order of its own.
It doesn’t take unparalleled powers of deduction to reach this conclusion. Top Chinese officials and members of the country’s foreign policy community are becoming increasingly explicit in saying so themselves.
President Xi Jinping more than hinted at this goal in his landmark address to the 19th Party Congress in October 2017. That speech represents one of the most authoritative statements of the party’s policy and aims; it reflects Xi’s understanding of what China has accomplished under Communist rule and how it must advance in the future.
Xi declared that China “has stood up, grown rich, and is becoming strong,” and that it was now “blazing a new trail for other developing countries” and offering “Chinese wisdom and a Chinese approach to solving the problems facing mankind.” By 2049, Xi promised, China would “become a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence” and would build a “stable international order” in which China’s “national rejuvenation” could be fully achieved.
This was the statement of a leader who sees his country not just participating in global affairs but setting the terms, and it testifies to two core themes in China’s foreign policy discourse.
The first is a deeply skeptical view of the existing international system. Chinese leaders recognize that the global trade regime has been indispensable to the country’s economic and military rise. Yet when they look at the key features of the world Washington and its allies have made, they see mostly threats.
In their view, American alliances do not preserve peace and stability; they stunt China’s potential and prevent Asian nations from giving Beijing its due. Seen through that lens, promoting democracy and human rights is neither moral nor benign, but propaganda supporting a dangerous doctrine that threatens to delegitimize the Communist government and energize its domestic enemies. US-led international institutions appear as tools for imposing America’s will on weaker states. The Communist Party recognizes that the liberal international order has brought benefits, writes Nadege Rolland, a senior fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research, but “the party abhors and dreads” the principles on which it is based.
The second theme is that the international order must change — not a little, but a lot — for China to become fully prosperous and secure. Chinese leaders have, understandably, been somewhat opaque in describing the world they want, but the outlines are becoming easier to discern.
If one studies the statements of Xi and other top officials, China expert Liza Tobin concludes, what emerges is a vision in which “a global network of partnerships centered on China would replace the US system of treaty alliances” and the world would view Chinese authoritarianism as preferable to Western democracy.
Based on a similar analysis, Rolland agrees that China has “a yearning for partial hegemony,” a loose dominance over large swaths of the global south. When it comes to global governance, still other examinations show, Beijing wants a system in which international institutions buttress rather than batter repressive regimes. Meanwhile, Chinese strategists and academics are talking openly about building a “new China-centric global economic order.”
There is little indication, in any of this, that Beijing’s strategic horizon is limited to the Western Pacific or even Asia. Xi’s invocation of a “community with a shared future for humanity” indicates a global tableau for Chinese influence. One hardly has to read between the lines to understand that this agenda will require fundamentally resetting the current geopolitical balance. As Xi remarked several years ago, China must work resolutely toward “a future where we will win the initiative and have the dominant position.”
Of course, there’s not need to take literally everything national leaders say, or even everything that makes it into official speeches. In Beijing’s case, however, Chinese leaders are actually saying less than what the country is doing.

Russia’s Biggest Challenge in Syria
Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy/Asharq Al Awsat/May 27/2020
The situation in Syria seems to have recently captured some international attention, but not with news promising that the tragedy is approaching its end and rekindling the Syrian people’s hope of realizing their aspirations to live in peace, dignity, security and harmony.
Our attention is, instead, diverted to the sensational issues such as: the feud between President Assad and his cousin, Rami Makhlouf, the hostile exchange in the media between Moscow and Damascus, the alleged plan involving Washington, Ankara and Moscow to remove Assad, etc..
While some consider such news of fleeting consequence, others interpret them as an indication that the Assad era is approaching its end. Those who hold the latter view base themselves on the premise that any political change in Syria has to pass through Moscow.
Regardless of the credibility of either of the two positions, Moscow maintains - at least at the official level - that it does not interfere in Syrian domestic affairs.
There is no doubt that the Russian military intervention, which took place upon the invitation of Damascus, ensured the survival of the Assad regime. Moscow, however, has made it clear, in more ways than one, that it intervened to save Syria from terrorism, not to prevent the collapse of a system of governance or save any particular individuals. Nonetheless, for some saving the country was synonymous with saving the regime.
My understanding of the Russian position is that as long as the fight against terrorism continues, Syria was in need of a supreme commander of the armed forces. This was essential to maintain the cohesiveness of an already over-stretched Syrian army. A breakdown in the chain of command would lead to the total disintegration of the army, and as a consequence, the state. The commander in chief is the president of the republic, Bashar Assad.
Although terrorism is receding in most parts in Syria, it continues to have a territorial base in Idlib. Therefore, it is understandable that combatting terrorism, at this stage, is focused on Idlib. Meanwhile, it appears that the fight against ISIS in the Syrian desert will be postponed.
This is the case despite the establishment of a de-escalation zone by the Astana process, as well as the bilateral agreement between Russia and Turkey on Idlib. Al-Nusra Front continues to be not only active and but dominant in Idlib. The challenge has always been how to separate the armed groups from al- Nusra. The US failed in the past and now Turkey has yet to deliver.
The Russian military intervention had the overwhelming support of the Russian public because it was perceived as taking the battle against terrorism outside Russian territory. In this regard, it is important to note that at the height of the fighting in Syria, Russian and former Soviet fighters were estimated to be anywhere between 10,000 to 20,000. They were also among the most effective having gained combat experience in Chechnya, Central Asia and the Balkans
Now that Russia has secured its long-term presence in Syria, and saved the Syrian state from collapse, thereby enhancing Moscow’s international stature, President Putin needs to declare that he has removed the threat of terrorism emanating from Syria. Only then can he announce that he has accomplished the goals of the military intervention. No doubt this would help in reversing the drop in Putin’s popularity, which could be partly attributed to the receding public support for Russian policy in Syria.
To achieve this objective, there is a need to the reopen the strategic highway M4 linking Aleppo to Latakia, as stipulated in the Russian-Turkish agreement in March. This would entail the removal of the Central Asian fighters from the strategic town of Jisr al-Shoghour and its surrounding heights. It is from there that terrorists are able to threaten the Russian airbase in Hmeimin.
After initial difficulties, it now appears that the joint Russian-Turkish patrols on the M4 highway have made progress. On May 20, a patrol reached the town of Ariha, some 35 km from Jisr al-Shoughour. Once the joint patrols can secure the highway and the buffer area around it, the terrorist threat to Hmeimim will be greatly reduced and commercial traffic can resume between Aleppo and the port of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast. The latter is of vital importance to any future economic revival in Syria.
Once the Russians are satisfied that the terrorists no longer pose a threat to Hmeimin and, that the they are confined to a relatively small area straddling the border between Idlib and Turkey, Russia can then put the onus of eliminating what remains of those terrorists, particularly those of concern to Moscow, squarely on Turkey’s shoulders.
Once M4 is secured, it would not be surprising for Moscow to declare that its military objectives in Syria have been met. The expectation is that Russia will then need to concentrate its energies on accelerating the political process. Russia understands that to achieve success in Syria, it needs to transform its military achievements into political gains. And for that it needs to achieve a political settlement through the full implementation of Security Council resolution 2254 - which it takes pride as being the result of its collaboration with the United States - starting with constitutional reform followed by free and fair elections in which all Syrians would participate.
It would then be expected that Moscow would press Damascus to be more forthcoming with regard to the work of the Constitutional Committee in particular, and the full implementation of resolution 2254 in general. The announcement on May 25 that the Russian ambassador in Damascus has been appointed also as Presidential Envoy for the development of Russian-Syrian relations can be an indication that Moscow has indeed started to take concrete steps in this regard. As presidential envoy, the ambassador will be able to transmit the Russian leaders’ messages directly and more frequently to Assad. Needless to say, Moscow would expect a cooperative Syrian leadership.
Attention will then be focused on how Assad conducts himself with respect to the full implementation of resolution 2254 as well as how Moscow will react to his actions. This may turn out to be a defining moment not only for the future of Syria, but also for Russia’s international credibility.
Insofar as Russia’s position in supporting the Syrian government regain its entire territory, this will be a goal for Moscow to achieve in future by mediating between Damascus and Ankara with the view to reach a package based on the 1998 Adana agreement which would include: the future Syrian-Turkish relationship, including the stability of the Syrian-Turkish border and a solution of the Kurdish issue in Syria. If Russia succeeds in such an endeavor it will further enhance its standing in the Middle East.
Needless to say, Russia’s ability to implement its policies in Syria depend largely on how it manages its relations not only with Turkey and the United States, but also Iran.

Phyllis Chesler on the Fight against Honor Killings

Gary C. Gambill/Middle East forum/May 27/2020
Phyllis Chesler, a Shillman-Ginsburg Fellow at the Middle East Forum, emerita professor of psychology and women's studies, and the author of eighteen books, spoke to participants in a May 18 Middle East Forum webinar (video) about the barbaric practice of honor killing and how to combat it.
Honor killing is the "cold blooded murder of girls and women by their families of origin." In a "shame and honor tribal culture, ... a girl's virginity and reproductive capacity, her fertility, are owned by her family, literally. Not by the girl herself. She represents their honor," Chesler explained. "If a girl is seen as damaged goods, her family will then be responsible ... no one will marry their other children or deal with them economically. They'll be shunned." The only way the family can "cleanse themselves of this shame [is] with blood – her blood."
Phyllis Chesler
The list of offenses that can trigger an honor killing is long, including engaging in sex outside of marriage, refusing an arranged marriage, marrying outside of one's religious sect or cast, having infidel friends, and becoming too Westernized. Since the aim is to recapture family honor, not punishment, it matters little whether the accusations are true. In rare cases where honor killers are prosecuted, according to Chesler, "they claim that they're only acting in self-defense, that communal norms drove them to it."
Unlike domestic violence against women in Western countries, where the perpetrators are almost exclusively men, usually acting alone and spontaneously, "honor killings are carefully planned conspiracies." Typically there is a "designated hands-on killer" acting in collaboration with other relatives, including "mothers, sisters, and aunts." The involvement of female relatives is common, according to Chesler, as
women have internalized the same patriarchal and tribal beliefs that men have and, in addition, they're responsible for keeping their daughters in line. They will pay a heavy price if their daughters dishonor the family. So very often ... mothers will lure their daughters home saying, 'It's okay, he'll forgive you, we'll work it out.' And then she dies.
Honor killing is "not based in any particular religion," said Chesler, noting that in India, the country where honor killing is by far the most prevalent, it is practiced by both Muslims and Hindus. However, Chesler's research has shown that Hindus "only do this in India ... Those who immigrate to the West don't do this." Honor killings in Europe and the United States are "mainly a Muslim-on-Muslim phenomenon."
Chesler has been active in the fight against honor killings, frequently submitting affidavits to help girls and women in flight from being honor killed seek political asylum in the United States. Protecting victims within immigrant communities involves "removing girls at risk from homes permanently, sheltering them appropriately, entering them into federal witness protection programs because their families will never stop pursuing them, [and] finding them adoptive families and communal networks without which they cannot thrive."
Eradicating honor-based violence "require[s] mass education [and] consistent law enforcement."
Eradicating honor-based violence "require[s] mass education, consistent law enforcement and the vigorous assistance of the clergy," said Chesler. This means prosecuting not just the direct perpetrators, who expect and accept that they risk punishment, but also the wider circle of relatives who indirectly facilitate it. "I think after you arrest the entire family that conspired, collaborated, instigated and perpetrated an honor killing, after they've done their time in jail, I think that the lesson should be the entire family will be deported ... the hands-on perpetrators together with those who idly stood by."
At the same time, there needs to be "massive outreach educationally" to Muslim immigrants that "spell[s] out, not [just] the punishment but the advantages" of forswearing the threat of honor-based violence against their daughters:
Girls could get an education. They can add to the family income. They can live not just on the public dole, but productively and they can still honor their families. They can still honor their religions ... If we could get imams and mullahs to help with this, that would be terrific.
Unfortunately, the Western media is reluctant to address the problem due to the misguided belief that singling out the culture-specific practices of immigrants is racist. "Honor-based violence ... must not be justified in the name of cultural relativism, tolerance, anti-racism, diversity or political correctness."
*Gary C. Gambill is general editor at the Middle East Forum. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Palestinians: The Home Demolitions No One Talks About
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 27/ 2020
While international human rights groups and the European Union have also been condemning Israel, they are ignoring home demolitions carried out by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In February, Hamas notified 50 families... that their homes would be destroyed on the pretext that they were built without a license. The families were instructed to evacuate their homes within two weeks.... Last year, Hamas demolished another house in Khan Yunis belonging to Bassam Duhan, also on the pretext that it was built without a license. Duhan, a father of eight, set up a tent in front of the demolished house. He complained that relatives of senior Hamas officials had also built homes in the same area, but no one destroyed their homes.
Last year, a youth group in the Gaza Strip called on the Arab League and other Arab and Islamic parties to launch an investigation into Hamas's crimes against Palestinians. Needless to say, the group has never received a reply from the Arab League or any other organization in the Arab and Islamic countries. The appeal came after Hamas militiamen used excessive force to prevent Palestinians from protesting economic hardship and Hamas corruption.
In the absence of an international response, Hamas continues to demolish homes in the Gaza Strip -- and other crimes against its own people -- with impunity, leaving hundreds of families without shelter.
On May 15, Hamas bulldozers demolished a partially constructed house belonging to the Sha'ath family in the city of Khan Yunis. Hamas claimed it was being built without a proper permit. According to eyewitnesses, dozens of Hamas militiamen armed with batons and electric stun-batons beat women and children and hurled abuse at other members of the Sha'ath family during the demolition. Pictured: Khan Yunis. (Image source: Dans/Wikimedia Commons)
Hamas, the Iranian-backed terrorist movement controlling the Gaza Strip, is often one of the first Palestinian groups to condemn Israel for demolishing homes of terrorists or Palestinian-owned houses built illegally in the West Bank and Jerusalem.While international human rights groups and the European Union have also been condemning Israel, they are ignoring home demolitions carried out by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In the past 10 years, Hamas has demolished not only houses, but also a mosque -- a move that has received almost no attention from the international media and human rights organizations or the EU.
On May 11, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem denounced as a "war crime" the demolition by the Israeli military of the house belonging to Qassam Barghouti in the village of Kubar, north of the West Bank city of Ramallah.
Barghouti was a member of a terrorist cell responsible for the murder of 17-year-old Israeli teenager Rina Shnerb in August 2019. She was killed by a roadside bomb while hiking with her father, Rabbi Eitan Shnerb, and brother Dvir near the settlement of Dolev. Her father and brother were wounded in the attack.
Barghouti's mother, Widad, announced that her greatest achievement was giving birth to a hero. "I say to [my son], to all of them [the prisoners], that we are proud of you," she said. "If we want to talk about our achievements as mothers, then the most important achievement that we have made in our lives is that we gave birth to heroes such as these."
Four days after the demolition of Barghouti's home, Hamas bulldozers demolished a house under construction in the city of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas has justified the demolition by arguing that the house was being built without a proper permit.
According to eyewitnesses, dozens of Hamas militiamen armed with batons and electric batons accompanied the bulldozers as they demolished the house belonging to the Sha'ath family.
The witnesses accused the Hamas members of beating women and children and hurling abuse at other members of the family during the demolition.
In a statement, the Sha'ath family condemned Hamas's assault on the home of one of its sons. "Hundreds of Hamas members attacked the Shout neighborhood of Khan Yunis," the statement said.
"The attack resulted in the injury of dozens of family members. We hold Hamas responsible for this dangerous escalation. We won't stand idly by about what happened. Hamas practices the most brutal methods of repression and persecution against the people of the Gaza Strip who criticize its behavior."
In February, Hamas notified 50 families in the suburb of Al-Amal in Khan Yunis that their homes would be destroyed on the pretext that they were built without a license. The families were instructed to evacuate their homes within two weeks. "Instead of building us new homes, Hamas is demolishing Palestinians' houses," the residents said. "We have no place to go. We prefer to die under the rubble of our houses together with our children."
This was the fourth demolition of its kind by Hamas since the beginning of the year. Two weeks after the demolition of the Sha'ath home, Hamas demolished a house belonging to an elderly widow from the al-Shinawwi family in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians pointed out that the demolition took place during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan.
"May God punish you," the elderly woman, weeping, said in a video posted on Facebook. "Hamas are sons of dogs; even the Jews don't do such things to us. I still haven't paid my debts for the construction of the house."
In April, Hamas bulldozers demolished a house belonging to Sultan al-Astal, also in Khan Yunis, on the pretext that it was built without a license.
Al-Astal told the Palestinian newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida that he and his family have "lived on this land for 150 years, and I inherited it from my father and grandfather." He added: "Despite the fear of the spread of the coronavirus epidemic, Hamas members arrived at my home at dawn. They demolished my house and beat my wife and daughter. They behaved as if they were liberating land occupied by the Jews. Hamas is destroying the homes of innocent and oppressed people." Khamis al-Astal, the contractor who built the house, said: "Hamas bulldozers destroyed the house without any moral or religious consideration." In March, Hamas demolished three houses in Khan Yunis on the pretext that they were built on "state-owned" land.
Last year, Hamas demolished another house in Khan Yunis belonging to Bassam Duhan, also on the pretext that it was built without a license. Duhan, a father of eight, set up a tent in front of the demolished house. He complained that relatives of senior Hamas officials had also built homes in the same area, but no one destroyed their homes.
In 2017, Hamas bulldozers demolished several homes in the northern Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses said protesters set fire to one of the bulldozers.
In 2015, Hamas bulldozers demolished six houses in the Namsawi neighborhood of Khan Yunis on the pretext that they were built on "state-owned" land.
During the same year, Hamas also demolished a mosque belonging to an Islamist group opposed to the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. Three bulldozers participated in the demolition of the mosque in the town of Der al-Balah. Residents said that Hamas did not even give them time to remove copies of the Koran from the Al-Mutahbin Mosque.
In 2010, Hamas destroyed 20 houses in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Residents said they were notified of the demolition orders only 48 hours earlier, adding that they didn't have time to remove their belongings before they were evicted by force.
Palestinians are evidently afraid to condemn Hamas for its continued home-demolition policy. Last year, a youth group in the Gaza Strip called on the Arab League and other Arab and Islamic parties to launch an investigation into Hamas's crimes against Palestinians. Needless to say, the group has never received a reply from the Arab League or any other organization in the Arab and Islamic countries. The appeal came after Hamas militiamen used excessive force to prevent Palestinians from protesting economic hardship and Hamas corruption.
For now, it seems that the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip have been betrayed not only by their Arab and Muslim brothers, who care nothing about their plight, but also by the international community, which appears to have a policy of ignoring Hamas's repressive and brutal measures against its own people. In the absence of an international response, Hamas continues to demolish homes in the Gaza Strip -- and other crimes against its own people -- with impunity, leaving hundreds of families without shelter.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem, is a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Iran: US Chance for a Knockout Punch
Peter Huessy/Gatestone Institute/May 27/ 2020
There are five actions the Trump administration must take: (1) extending the UN arms embargo on Iran; (2) snapping back economic sanctions on Iran (they were originally loosened as part of the JCPOA); (3) shutting down the smuggling and trafficking networks of Hezbollah in the Americas; (4) stopping the Chinese-Iranian oil and gas pipeline developments through Pakistan; and (5) interdicting if possible Iranian tankers filled with gasoline and headed for Venezuela.
The embargo on Iran selling or importing high-technology military equipment, especially ballistic missile technology, must also be one of the administration's highest priorities. Particularly worrisome is that Russia and China want to sell equipment to Iran that, when combined with Iran's indigenous missile capability, would greatly accelerate Tehran's ICBM development program.
The US administration has let it be known that it could still sanction any entity selling Iran advanced weapons, especially ballistic missile technology.
Iranian tankers laden with gasoline are now traveling to Venezuela. The US Navy could easily capture those tankers still at sea. There is ample precedent. Both the US and Great Britain have legally seized Iranian ships bringing missiles to terrorists in Yemen. With a similar action, the US could both deny funds for Iran's terrorist and nuclear activities and energy desperately needed by the oppressive Maduro regime in Venezuela.
Iranian tankers laden with gasoline are now traveling to Venezuela. The US Navy could easily capture those tankers still at sea. There is ample precedent. Both the US and Great Britain have legally seized Iranian ships bringing missiles to terrorists in Yemen. Pictured: The oil tanker Fortune, the first of five Iranian-flagged tankers bringing Iranian gasoline to Venezuela, docked at the El Palito refinery in Carabobo, on May 25, 2020. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
In 2015, the United States, France, Great Britain, Germany, Russia and China signed an agreement that was named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the JCPOA. The agreement (which Iran serially violates) ostensibly curtailed Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons -- for a short time -- in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions against Iran.
Nothing in the deal called for Iran to: (1) stop development and deployment of ballistic missiles; (2) end the presence of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) terrorist militias in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan; (3) stop its smuggling and trafficking activities in the western hemisphere, or (4) curtail a growing oil-and-gas-related economic and cooperative military partnership with China.
Since the West signed the agreement –which, incidentally, Iran never actually signed -- Iran has never shown the slightest inclination to stop its nuclear weapons activities. There has not been, therefore, a JCPOA quid pro quo for the United States to embrace. As a result, the US has expanded its sanctions into a (not quite) "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran -- already on the economic ropes -- and now has an opportunity plant Iran face down on the geostrategic canvas with a few well-placed economic right hooks (pun unintended).
To do that, there are five actions the Trump administration must take: (1) extending the UN arms embargo on Iran; (2) snapping back economic sanctions on Iran (they were originally loosened as part of the JCPOA); (3) shutting down the smuggling and trafficking networks of Hezbollah in the Americas; (4) stopping the Chinese-Iranian oil and gas pipeline developments through Pakistan; and (5) interdicting if possible Iranian tankers filled with gasoline and headed for Venezuela.The embargo on Iran selling or importing high-technology military equipment, especially ballistic missile technology, must also be one of the administration's highest priorities. Recently, an IRGC rocket successfully launched a satellite, signaling that Iran is close to a real intercontinental ballistic missile capability. Particularly worrisome is that Russia and China want to sell equipment to Iran that, when combined with Iran's indigenous missile capability, would greatly accelerate Tehran's ICBM development program.
The United Nations ban on Iran importing or exporting advanced military equipment expires this October. A continuation of the ban will require the adoption of a resolution extending the current arms embargo by the UN Security Council. This necessity means that success for the American plan to extend the embargo is unlikely: Russia and China are permanent members of the Security Council and can veto any such resolution. A veto is likely, given that both have made no secret of their intention to sell Iran tons of new advanced military weaponry.
Nevertheless, close to 400 members of the House of Representatives have signed a letter supporting the administration's work to extend the arms embargo, and 50 former senior US government officials have urged the administration to put the embargo plan's pedal to the metal.
As a result, the US administration has let it be known that it could still sanction any entity selling Iran advanced weapons, especially ballistic missile technology.
Separate from the arms embargo is the possibility of the US unilaterally snapping back those economic sanctions loosened by the Obama administration against nations or entities that invest in or trade with Iran, outside of humanitarian goods.
Some European countries, China, and Russia are actively seeking more trade with and investment in Iran. China, for instance, is trying to build an extension of a gas pipeline from Iran through Pakistan and on to China's Xinjiang province with funds from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. US sanctions against this prime target would not only deny Iran an important source of revenue but also deny China an important source of energy.
In addition, a recent opportunity has presented the United States a way visibly to upend another Iranian plan to circumvent sanctions. Iranian tankers laden with gasoline are now traveling to Venezuela. The US Navy could easily capture those tankers still at sea. There is ample precedent. Both the US and Great Britain have legally seized Iranian ships bringing missiles to terrorists in Yemen. With a similar action, the US could both deny funds for Iran's terrorist and nuclear activities and energy desperately needed by the oppressive Maduro regime in Venezuela.
Closer to home, Hezbollah is the biggest smuggler of contraband cigarettes in the Americas. It also traffics in women and children. Both activities should be stopped, especially in view of the Obama administration's reluctance to interdict Hezbollah's Latin American cigarette smuggling gangs.
Iran is economically desperate because of plummeting world oil prices, a huge decline in its economic growth due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and U.S. economic sanctions. Estimates are that Iran's GDP has declined more than 20%, with a loss of at least $200 billion in government revenue that was to fund Iran's military activities. Oil exports alone have dropped from 2.5 million to 200,000 barrels per day. All these factors point to an opportunity to bring down the totalitarian regime of Iran's clerics. Now is precisely the time to hit Iran economically again -- with further "maximum pressure."
Iran's leaders are on the ropes; it is time to put them on the canvas.
*Peter Huessy is Director of Strategic Deterrent Studies at the Mitchell Institute.
© 2020 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Why America Has Misdiagnosed Russia’s Role in Syria
Robert G. Rabil/The National Interest/May 27/2020
Washington’s reading of the political map of the Middle East is fraught with erroneous assumptions similar to those that predicted the collapse of the Syrian regime during the initial months of the Syrian rebellion.
Makhlouf had been a pillar of support for the Syrian regime, especially when the regime’s overall situation during the initial phases of the civil war was precarious. He established a charity, Jam’iyat al-Bustan and attached to it a militia whose number grew to thirty thousand. In return, Assad granted him important government contracts and concessions. Makhlouf was entrusted with securing some of Syria’s important oil and gas fields, including the Hayan Gas factory. Among other concessions, Makhlouf’s company Syriatel monopolized he country’s communications. His wealth grew exponentially catapulting him to become the ill-reputed richest man in Syria. But his rise as an untouchable and an equal to Assad, coupled with his huge appetite for illicit profiteering, was frowned upon by none other than the royal family and its underlings. Not only did Makhlouf fail to secure Syria’s oil and gas fields but also he failed to pay his fair dues in taxes to the regime. Whereas Assad felt both uneasy with Makhlouf’s powerful image and cheated by Makhlouf’s pitiful remuneration, Assad’s wife Asma and sister Bushra were furious with his family’s extravagant lifestyle at a time many Syrians have been living below the poverty level and for monopolizing Syria’s most rewarding contracts. Makhlouf’s children have unreservedly splashed their fortune and propagandized their expensive cars and jets.
As a result, Assad began clipping the wings of Makhlouf in 2019 before Russian media published its critical reports on Assad. In fact, the coincidental timing of the release of Makhlouf’s videos on the heels of the publication of Russian reports is more about Makhlouf’s grievances with and fallout with Assad. The idea that Makhlouf is, as Hodge posits, Russia’s man and his clan, unlike other Alawi clans and militia, is rooting for Russia is a naïve understanding of the Alawi clans and especially of Russia’s treatment of corrupt and mafia-like entities.
Russia, indeed, had a working relationship with Makhlouf and has been unhappy with Assad’s relationship with strong corrupt figures within his family and entourage. Nevertheless, Makhlouf was neither Russia’s man nor Iran’s or Hezbollah’s adversary. In fact, Makhlouf has tried to wear the mantle of Shi’a Islam and forge a strategic relationship with Hezbollah. It’s an open secret that Makhlouf has tried to alleviate the financial impact of American sanctions on Hezbollah by bolstering the Islamist party’s illicit activities and supporting senior members of the party.
What’s happening in Syria today is an attempt, pushed by none other than Putin himself, to clamp down on all Mafia-like figures in Syria who operate outside the purview of the state, thereby handicapping the Syrian economy. This has been amply corroborated by Aleksander Aksenenok of Russia International Affairs Council:
The economic challenges now faced by Syria are even more serious than during the active phase of hostilities . . . it is becoming increasingly obvious that the regime is reluctant or unable to develop a system of government that can mitigate corruption and crime and go from a military economy to normal trade and economic relations.
To be sure, Putin is more or less replicating his policy vis a vis the Russian vory [Russian Mafia] in Syria in order to establish an economically viable state. Therefore, he has been unhappy with Assad’s militia leaders and other powerful corrupt businessmen and criminals who have run afoul of the state. They have created a loose criminal organization virtually more moneyed than the state and as influential as the state. Makhlouf was at the center of this Mafia enterprise. Putin pressed Assad to both stop tolerating overt or implicit challenges to the state and to allow these mafia members to operate only in so far they accepted the state’s overall political and economic control and enriched its coffers. Anyone who is intimate with Putin’s relationship with the vory v Zakone [thieves-in-law] could safely argue that Putin is pressuring Assad to mold Syria’s loose Mafia enterprise into a state-controlled organized crime, corporately minded and affiliated with certain elements of the state. In this respect, as Aiman Mansour, an astute Israeli scholar, observed Assad’s move against Makhlouf was in step with his other moves against similar businessmen, like the Jaber brothers and Muhammad al-Qatarji.
Putin knows neither he nor Assad can stamp out corruption in Syria. Putin ascribes to the Russian proverb: “The wolf may lose his pelt, but never his nature.” As such, his unhappiness with Assad is more about his thus far inability to tame the Syrian vory!
Do You Know What Happened Today In History?
Considering all of this, Washington’s misreading of both Russian policy in the Middle East in general and Syria in particular and Syria’s palace dynamics is a recipe for other serious blunders. If these egocentric and haphazard views of Russian policy in Syria become the drivers of American foreign policy, then one should not be surprised if Russia (potentially supported by China) supplants Iran as the leader of the anti-American “Resistance Axis” in the Middle East.
*Robert G. Rabil is a professor of political science at Florida Atlantic University. The views expressed in the article are his own. He can be reached @robertgrabil.

Saudi Writerو Khalid Turki Aal Turki : Israel Is A Peace-Loving Country; Iran And Turkey Are Enemies Of The Arabs

MEMRI/May 27/2020
In a pro-Israeli article in the liberal Arabic website Elaph.com, Saudi writer and author Khalid Turki Aal Turki wrote that Israel is a peaceful country "by any standard", which is scientifically advanced and extends assistance in the field of health to others, including the Palestinians. In this, he argued, it contrasts with Turkey and Iran, which who spread their extremist ideologies in the Arab countries and support the militias within them, and are thus the true enemies of the Arabs. He concluded by saying that logic and reality dictate that the Arabs should forge peace with Israel for a joint fight against their common enemies, whom he called the "the forces of evil and terror."
The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"If we want to be honest with ourselves, before anything else, then let us listen to the voice of logic, rather than to sentiments, which by their very nature are affected by every shrill claim in the media, be it accurate or false. Israel is a peace-loving country by any yardstick. From the day of its establishment until today, we have never heard, read or seen Israel working to spread any ideology or belief in other countries, or to support militias [within them], as Iran and Turkey are doing. Ask anyone on the street in an Arab country who is behind all the destruction and extremism in the Middle East, and he will immediately tell you: Iran and Turkey.
"In this article I will not discuss the issue of yes or no to normalization, for the newspapers and websites are full of it. Instead I will merely shed light on Israel's achievements and immense service to science and humanity, and will then let the Arab citizen judge.
"Israel dispatches doctors to treat the sick in impoverished African countries and elsewhere without recompense. It also treats many Palestinians, even some who tried to commit terror attacks to murder innocent Israelis! Israel still strives for peace with all Arab countries; it is a state that respects human rights and the sovereignty of [other] states; in the field of science, it excels on a global level and occupies a leading position in scientific research; Israeli universities are high on the list of the world's [best] universities; Israel is considered an arms-producing country and assists other countries, such as India, in their military industry; the Israeli Watergen company has managed to create a device to produce water from air; Medicine and medical research are proceeding full thrust in Israel. In fact, it has become the preferred location for medical treatment for many, to the point that senior Palestinian officials do not find a better place than Israel for receiving good medical treatment and care.
"This is but a drop in the ocean. After all this, I believe that, by any logic and in view of reality, the interest of the Arab homeland [indeed] lies with Israel, just as Israel's interests lie with the Arab homeland – for circumstances and geography have decreed that we all to join hands in order to destroy the forces of evil and terror and delineate a path to peace that both we and the future generations will enjoy."

Why we need to globalize global health
Simon Bland/Alarabiya/May 27/2020
Never in living memory has the world faced a more global challenge than SARS-Cov2. In a connected world, the fight will not be won until the disease can be controlled in every country.
To fight an invisible virus that we still don’t fully understand, diversity of thought and perspective will be crucial and we will need to draw in expertise from all corners of the world. Already we have seen an impressive level of collaboration across the global health community: data and insights into key features of the disease are being shared, and vaccines and treatments are being developed and trialed by institutions in different countries.
We must continue to challenge the traditional framework of global health and development. We have so much to learn from the front lines in lower-income countries that have made significant steps in the fight against infectious diseases in recent years.
The reality is that diseases are tackled, controlled, eliminated and eradicated at the local level. This is demonstrated by the progress made in ridding the world of polio and malaria, mitigating the impact of deadly and debilitating Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), and fighting Ebola. The experiences, insights and tools used in these programs are among the most crucial to fight SARS-Cov2.
In some ways, many countries in the developing world may be better placed to fight the virus than developed countries. Despite weak health systems, drastic shortages of medical gear, large populations of impoverished people and crowded megacities that make social distancing near impossible, many are used to partnering with international organizations to fight disease and have tried and tested immunization infrastructure in place which can be adapted for new challenges. But the challenges are huge and social distancing and economic stimuli will be almost impossible to implement in many of these countries.
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), created in the wake of the West Africa Ebola outbreak, is a great example of what can be achieved when we recognize the need to nurture and institutionalize local expertise and know-how. The center is playing a powerful coordination role across the continent, helping to identify region-specific responses to SARS-Cov2 and spotlighting the virus’s impact on a less-reported part of the world.
Emergency Operation Centers (EOC), like those used to fight polio, are another example of valuable region-specific mechanisms for response and coordination, testing, contact tracing and mobilizing community action in response to public health threats. They allow people from different offices, sectors, and groups to work directly and collaboratively, share information in real time, and create joint plans of action.
As an advanced economy that sits between Africa and Asia and was not so very long ago a developing country itself, the UAE has a unique perspective and role to play. It is from this basis that the Abu Dhabi-based Global Institute for Disease Elimination (GLIDE) was created. Announced in 2017 and formally launched in November 2019, GLIDE looks to accelerate progress and advance global thinking towards disease elimination.
This initiative was 30 years in the making, founded through cooperation between the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the UAE, and former US President Jimmy Carter, to help eradicate Guinea-worm disease (Dracunculiasis). More recently, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed broadened the UAE’s focus on disease eradication to include river blindness, polio and malaria. GLIDE’s work builds on the UAE’s leadership role in the fight against polio in Pakistan, and many of these tools are now being repurposed in the fight against SARS-Cov2.
GLIDE is an institution that helps globalize global health, and one that accelerates progress towards that last mile of disease elimination by developing local, regional and endemic country capabilities and capacity. My hope is that, by working closely with other global health players, GLIDE proves to be a valuable institution that effectively works with and learns from the frontline.
The world has edged closer to the eradication of polio and Guinea-worm disease and to the national elimination of several other diseases. What we have learned is that the last mile of fighting a disease is harder, takes longer and costs more to achieve than we thought. We are safer and more secure when we have diversity of perspective and thought. This means drawing in more voices from all corners of the world, to bring health to everyone, everywhere. We will all be better for it.