LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 25/2019
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For today
Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 12/33-37/:”‘Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good things, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person brings good things out of a good treasure, and the evil person brings evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, on the day of judgement you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter; for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on November 24-25/2019
Hizbullah, AMAL Supporters Attack Protesters as Roads Blocked across Lebanon
Lebanese Hezbollah supporters attack protesters near the Ring Bridge
American officials advocate US support to Lebanese military following aid freeze
Protesters Rally near U.S. Embassy to Deplore U.S. Statements
Protesters blast US official near US Embassy in Lebanon
Report: No Govt. Breakthrough Expected Next Week
Fneish Says No Govt. Can be Formed without Parliamentary Majority Consent
Minors Held for Removing FPM Banner Released
Five children arrested in Lebanon for tearing down Aoun poster: Reports
Children detained for tearing down political banner as protests continue in Lebanon
Hariri's Press Office: Text messages sent from outside Lebanon
Banks' Association denounces campaign against its sector, urges politicians and media to exercise national responsibility
Reports: Fakhoury in Poor Health, Lebanese Officials Encouraged Him to Return
Lebanon Anti-Graft Protesters March for Nature Too

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 24-25/2019
In Hiroshima, Pope Condemns 'Crime' of Nuclear Weapons
Iran is planning attacks on Israel: Netanyahu
Gantz Seeks Support from Netanyahu's Party to Form Government
Netanyahu’s Likud party plans for leadership primaries: Reports
Israel’s Netanyahu faces court, party challenges after indictment
Iran Vows to Punish 'Mercenaries' behind Street Violence
Iran’s Guards call for ‘maximum punishment’ of fuel unrest leaders
Iran accused of ‘stealing bodies from morgues’ to downplay protest toll
Six Protesters Killed in South Iraq as Unrest Intensifies
Thirteen dead in one of the ‘worst’ days of protest in southern Iraq
Turkish drones target Syria’s Ain Issa, nearby villages
Hong Kongers Vote in Record Numbers as Democracy Camp Seeks to Send Message
US Defense Secretary asks for navy chief’s resignation: Statement
Merkel ally calls for better Franco-German ties after NATO row
Romania’s Iohannis wins second presidential term with rule of law pledge

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 24-25/2019
Burning the USA flag in Tyr By Hezbollah is condemned/Elias Bejjani/November 23/2019
Lebanon Is Totally Occupied by Iran …Help Liberate The Land Of The Holy Cedars/Elias Bejjani/November 22/2019
American officials advocate US support to Lebanese military following aid freeze/Emily Judd/Al Arabiya English/November 24/2019
Lebanon's revolution on its 39th day: An ongoing momentum/Tala Ramadan/Annahar/November 24/2019
After the Lebanon Protests: Between the Party of God and Party of the People/Maha Yahya/November 24/2019
Lebanon’s amnesty law is the government’s last bid to save itself/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/November 24/2019
Not afraid of change,’ Lebanese youth denounce sectarianism, corruption/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/November 25/2019
*A US-Iran military front is fast shaping up on the Syrian-Iraqi border – with a role for the IDF/DEBKAfile/November 25/ 2019
Fourteen Years after Cartoon Crisis, Norway again Knuckles Under to Islam/Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/November 24/ 2019
Trump administration continues gifting stolen land to Netanyahu/Baria Alamuddin/Arabic News/November 24, 2019
Popular resistance against Iranian regime will not die/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arabic News/November 24/2019
The liberal spirit captivating the Mideast’s revolutions/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arabic News/November 24/2019
Time to address the violence Arab women face/Maria Hanif Al-Qassim/Arabic News/November 24/2019
Turkey squeezed on S-400 air defense system/Yasar Yakis/Arabic News/November 24/2019

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on November 24-25/2019
Burning the USA flag in Tyr By Hezbollah is condemned
Elias Bejjani/November 23/2019
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/80807/%d9%81%d8%a7%d8%af%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%b3%d9%85%d8%b9%d8%a7%d9%86-%d8%b9%d8%a8%d9%8a%d8%af-%d8%a5%d9%8a%d8%b1%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%81%d9%8a-%d9%84%d8%a8%d9%86%d8%a7%d9%86-%d9%8a%d8%ad%d8%b1%d9%82%d9%88%d9%86/
Hezbollah has nothing to do with Lebanon or the Lebanese people.
This criminal and terrorist armed organization is Iranian 100% and savagely occupies Lebanon since 2005, while taking the Lebanese peace loving Shiite community a hostage by force and through terrorism and brutality.
The Lebanese people look at the USA as a great friendly country and appreciates very much its on going support for Lebanon’s freedom, democracy, sovereignty and independence.
Meanwhile Hezbollah is a terrorist Iranian militia and does nor speak on behalf of the Lebanese or represent them in any way.
In this context, burning the USA flag in Tyr is condemned by each and every sovereign and patriotic Lebanese in both occupied Lebanon and Diaspora.

Lebanon Is Totally Occupied by Iran …Help Liberate The Land Of The Holy Cedars
Elias Bejjani/November 22/2019
لبنان وطن الحرف والرسالة والأرز المقدس تحتله إيران وميليشياتها وهو يحتاج لمساعدة العالم الحر ليستعيد استقلاله
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/80773/elias-bejjani-lebanon-is-totally-occupied-by-iran-help-liberate-the-land-of-the-holy-cedars/
Lebanon, the land of the Holy Cedars and 7000 years deeply rooted glory, holiness and history is sadly an occupied, impoverished, and oppressed country.
The stone age savage occupier is the terrorist Iranian armed Hezbollah militia.
This terrorist armed militia controls totally Lebanon’s decision making process on all levels and in all domains including the peace and war one.
Meanwhile the majority of the Lebanese officials, as well as the politicians are mere mercenaries appointed by Hezbollah and like puppets carry its wishes and orders.
The USA and other democratic countries can help Lebanon and the Lebanese people in reclaiming back their confiscated independence and stolen country through a strong, loud and official stance in practically and not only rhetorically supporting the immediate implementation of the three UN resolutions that addresses Lebanon’s crisis: the armistice agreement, 1559 and 1701.
The Lebanese people after years (since 1975) of Syrian, Palestinian, and current Iranian occupations and oppression are unable on their own to liberate their country without a real and clear practical support from the UN and all the democratic countries.. Help liberate Lebanon.
In this realm I quote Dr. Walid Phares’s response to ambassador Jeffrey Feltman’s recent testimony before the House Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism on “What’s Next for Lebanon? Examining the Implications of Current Protests.
Ambassador Feltman told Congress said:
“Over the long term, U.S. interests in Lebanon would be best protected by what the Lebanese people indicate that they want: a prosperous, democratic, independent, fully sovereign, peaceful Lebanon, reliant (including for security) on effective, transparent government institutions subject to public accountability. With the right government in place and with renewed international support, this should not be impossible to achieve.”
Dr. Walid Phares’s response:
Yes Mr. Ambassador that’s what a majority of Lebanese want. But between now and then, there is a blocking force that will oppose moving Lebanon in that direction. It is a force feared by many and countering it has no strategies, in official policies. A force that is obstructing prosperity, reform, sovereignty, and protective of corruption. And on top of it there are no plans to deal with it. One can ignore it and pretend that it is not there, that eventually it will just go away. But that is not reality…
From our Diaspora, we hail and command the courageous and patriotic Lebanese citizens who bravely for the last 37 days are involved in the current ongoing demonstrations and sit-ins in occupied Lebanon.
May Almighty God bless, safeguard Lebanon and grant its oppressed people the power and will to free their country and reclaim it back from Hezbollah, the Iranian terrorist Occupier.
Click here to read ambassador Jeffrey Feltman’s testimony text before the House Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism on “What’s Next for Lebanon? Examining the Implications of Current Protests.
In regards to the Iranian occupied Lebanon the help that the country and its oppressed people need from the USA, Europe and all other free countries is the immediate implementation of the UN three resolutions: the armistice agreement, 1559 and 1701. The USA sanctions on the Mullahs' regime for almost 40 years did not actually make any difference except in hurting more the Iranian people. Sanctions on Hezbollah while it occupies Lebanon and controls fully its rulers is not going to change the current status quo..although sanctions on Lebanese politicians who are Hezbollah puppets can help in deterring them.

Hizbullah, AMAL Supporters Attack Protesters as Roads Blocked across Lebanon
Naharnet/November 25/2019
Supporters of Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement launched fresh attacks late Sunday on anti-corruption protesters in central Beirut, as roads were blocked across Lebanon in an escalation of anti-corruption protests. Fistfights first erupted on the Ring flyover in central Beirut before the AMAL and Hizbullah supporters descended on Riad al-Solh and Martyrs Square where they reportedly vandalized tents and threatened protesters. Riot police and army troops later reinforced their presence on the highway and separated between the two groups. The Hizbullah and AMAL supporters resorted to stone throwing at this point and shouted insults and sectarian slogans. The protesters responded with "revolution" chants and other protest slogans.

Lebanese Hezbollah supporters attack protesters near the Ring Bridge
Al Arabiya English/The Associated Press/Monday, 25 November 2019
Supporters of the Lebanese Hezbollah attacked protesters near the Ring Bridge in Beirut on Sunday, amid heavy presence of security forces and anti-riot police. The supporters, who were riding motorbikes with the flags of Hezbollah and Amal Movement, stoned the protesters, who retaliated.
No injuries were immediately reported. The attacks occurred after protesters blocked a major road that links eastern neighborhoods of the capital with western parts. Since last month, Lebanese from all religious backgrounds have taken to the streets en masse to cry out against what they view as an incompetent and corrupt ruling class, forcing the government to resign.

American officials advocate US support to Lebanese military following aid freeze
Emily Judd/Al Arabiya English/November 24/2019
US politicians and military officials are speaking up about their support for the Lebanese military following confirmation that the Trump administration is withholding $105 million in security aid to Lebanon. US Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Kenneth McKenzie told Al Arabiya English they approve of US support to the Lebanese military. Murphy told Al Arabiya English in an exclusive interview that he is a “big supporter” of US engagement with the Lebanese military.“I think they [Lebanese Armed Forces] are a partner for peace and stability. An imperfect partner, but a partner nonetheless,” Murphy told Al Arabiya English at the annual IISS Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain. McKenzie said that CENTCOM supports “continued assistance” to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), albeit their “record is not perfect.”“We think the LAF needs to be the military element of the government of Lebanon. I would certainly support continuous support to the LAF,” said McKenzie.
Earlier this month, it was reported the Trump administration has frozen $105 million in security aid to Lebanon, including military vehicles, weapons and ammunition. David Hale, the top career diplomat at the State Department, confirmed the freeze on Wednesday, saying there was apparently “a dispute over the efficacy of the assistance.”The US State Department told Congress on October 31 that the White House budget office and National Security Council had decided to withhold the foreign military assistance, according to two US officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity. The officials did not say why the aid was blocked. The aid was frozen before massive demonstrations, protesting against economic hardship and corruption, began in Lebanon on October 17. Nina Shea, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said that American leadership should rally allies behind the demands of the protesters and the LAF, “which has kept order until now.” “Either the LAF is supported to be the dominant force that ensures an orderly transition and protects all the population, regardless of religious identity - or they’re abandoned to the benefit of Hezbollah, Iranian tyranny and other malign actors,” said Shea in an interview with Al Arabiya English. The Trump administration, which has not publicly explained its decision to withhold funding, has been pressing for the isolation of Lebanese Hezbollah, which is allied with Iran and has seats in the government. Shea called on American and allied diplomacy to quickly held build a consensus around a “new accountable and Hezbollah-free government.”“With American policy leadership, the Middle East could experience a moment like 1989, with Lebanon and Iraq as the new Poland and Hungary - and Iran, the Soviet Union,” said Shea.

Protesters Rally near U.S. Embassy to Deplore U.S. Statements
Associated Press/Naharnet/November 24/2019
A number of demonstrators who are part of the anti-corruption protest movement that is sweeping the country on Sunday rallied near the U.S. embassy in Awkar to denounce recent U.S. statements about the situation in Lebanon. Heightened security measures were taken in the area as a security cordon was imposed several hundred meters away from the embassy to prevent protesters from approaching it. The National News Agency said protesters stressed that their demo “is not aimed at proving their patriotism before the supporters of the resistance (against Israel), but is rather aimed at rejecting the U.S. policy in Lebanon and all the politicians who claim to be against the United States.” Some protesters meanwhile said that improving living conditions in Lebanon is as important as immunizing the country in the face of foreign interferences. At the end of the demo, the majority of protesters started marching towards downtown Beirut as a few stayed behind and said they would try to cross the metallic barriers. The rally did not witness any confrontation with security forces in contrast to demos held in the same area in the past. Most of those who participated belong to leftist groups or are supporters of the official Syrian Social Nationalist Party and its various splinter factions. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus and former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs Jeffrey Feltman have commented on Lebanon’s protests in recent days. The protesters blasted the comments by Feltman before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Middle East in which he said that "the demonstrations and the reactions to them by Lebanese leaders and institutions fortunately coincide with U.S. interests."Protesters have been holding demonstrations in Lebanon since Oct. 17, demanding an end to widespread corruption and mismanagement by the political class that has ruled the country for three decades.

Protesters blast US official near US Embassy in Lebanon
Associated Press/November 24/2019
BEIRUT: A few dozen people have demonstrated near the U.S. Embassy outside Beirut against what they are calling America’s intervention in Lebanon’s affairs. Lebanese troops and riot police employed tight security measures Sunday near the embassy northeast of the city. The protesters later dispersed without any reports of violence. Protesters have been holding demonstrations in Lebanon since Oct. 17, demanding an end to widespread corruption and mismanagement by the political class that has ruled the country for three decades.
The protests have since snowballed into calls for the entire political elite to step aside. The protesters blasted recent comments by former U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman before the House Subcommittee on the Middle East in which he said that “the demonstrations and the reactions to them by Lebanese leaders and institutions, fortunately, coincide with U.S. interests.”The protests have since snowballed into calls for the entire political elite to step aside.

Report: No Govt. Breakthrough Expected Next Week
Naharnet/November 24/2019
No breakthrough is expected next week in the negotiations to form a new government, a ministerial source said. “Unless an unexpected development happens, no breakthrough is expected next week, although Speaker Nabih Berri expects progress in this regard, but it won’t happen over the next days,” the source told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Sunday. “The forces insisting on a techno-political government do not intend to search for a replacement for Hariri without obtaining his own consent, because such a government would remain incapable of seeking financial aid from the international community, not to mention that it will be a one-sided and unilateral government,” the source added. Hariri submitted his government’s resignation on October 29 in the face of unprecedented protests against the entire political class. President Michel Aoun has delayed the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier, arguing that prior consensus is needed on the shape of the new government amid the delicate situations in the country.

Fneish Says No Govt. Can be Formed without Parliamentary Majority Consent
Naharnet/November 24/2019
Caretaker Youth and Sport Minister Mohammed Fneish of Hizbullah emphasized Sunday that the new government cannot be formed without the approval of the parliamentary majority led by Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement. “There is a political equation in Lebanon called parliament and a government cannot be formed without this parliament’s confidence,” Fneish said. “No government can be formed without consensus between the PM-designate chosen by the parliamentary majority and the president, and thus the formation of governments has mechanisms that must be used so that we reach solutions,” he added. In an apparent jab at caretaker PM Saad Hariri, Fneish said: “He who evades responsibility cannot claim that he is innocent, seeing as every person has his history, policies and stances, and therefore evading responsibility is not courage but rather aggravation of the suffering of the Lebanese.”“Let no one think that the Americans care about the suffering of the Lebanese,” the caretaker minister added, noting that “America largely bears the responsibility for what’s happening in Lebanon through the sanctions that hit Lebanon, through pressuring us to accept a settlement with the Israeli enemy on the issue of border demarcation, and through pressuring banks and the money transfers of the Lebanese.”ves to us that he has failed, because he is ignorant of what’s happening in Lebanon and is still insisting on his failure and ignorance,” Fneish added. “If he believes that what’s happening will defeat and weaken the resistance… I believe that this reassures us that our enemy is still foolish and does not know the reality of our society and reality of the resistance’s environment and its insistence on the resistance choice,” Fneish went on to say. Moreover he added that “those who offered thousands of martyrs in defense of this country will spare no political effort to strengthen the dignity and security of the Lebanese.”

Minors Held for Removing FPM Banner Released
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 24/2019
Five youngsters including several minors were released at dawn Sunday after being arrested around midnight for removing a banner hung outside the offices of the Free Patriotic Movement in the Upper Metn town of Hammana. The National News Agency said residents of the area were rallying outside the Hammana police station when the five were released. Protest movement activists had reacted angrily overnight on social media, after initial reports said minors were being held for “tearing up a picture of President Michel Aoun.” It later turned out that the reports were baseless. "Down with the regime that arrests children," said one user. "When a 12-year-old child manages to shake the state's throne, you know the state is corrupt," another wrote. In a statement, the FPM warned that “such actions are unfamiliar and create undesired tensions in this region,” urging all sides and parties in the region to “preserve security and stability.”It also stressed its keenness on “coexistence in Mount Lebanon.”Security forces released the five detainees after midnight after taking a statement from them, the Committee of Lawyers for the Defense of Protesters said. The army said two of the children were 15 years old, while the third was 12. During the first month of demonstrations, security forces arrested 300 people including 12 minors who were released within the next 24 or 48 hours, according to the lawyers' committee. But 11 people -- including two minors -- remain in detention accused of attacking a hotel in the southern city of Tyre in the first week of the uprising.

Five children arrested in Lebanon for tearing down Aoun poster: Reports
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 24 November 2019
Five children were arrested in Lebanon on Saturday after tearing down a poster of President Michel Aoun in the Hammana municipality, several local news stations reported. All of the boys were under the age of 18. Several social media users took to Twitter to express their outrage, many pointing out that the government is “targeting children instead of corrupt politicians.” Many shared videos of the boys’ parents waiting outside of the police station, calling on Lebanese people to stage a sit-in in front of the station until the boys are released. Pictures reportedly showing three of the arrested boys also circulated on social media, with many expressing their frustration after a judge purportedly ordered for them to be kept at the station overnight. "Down with the regime that arrests children," said one user. "When a 12-year-old child manages to shake the state's throne, you know the state is corrupt," another wrote. A surveillance video was also widely shared online, reportedly showing the children tearing down the poster. According to Al-Jadeed TV, after nine hours in detention, the children were released at 2:10 a.m. local time. A statement from the Lebanese army read that they wanted to “clarify that intelligence did not arrest the boys, but received them from the municipality after they were arrested by its police which was doing frequent patrols after a series of incidents witnessed in the area including unidentified persons burning the Ogero building, and an attempt to burn the Free Patriotic Movement’s center.”Nationwide protests in Lebanon have been ongoing for over a month, fueled by perceptions of corruption among the sectarian politicians who have governed Lebanon for decades and are blamed for leading the country into its worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.

Children detained for tearing down political banner as protests continue in Lebanon
The National/November 25/2019
Lebanese security forces briefly arrested five youths, including three minors, for allegedly pulling down a sign for the president's political party, sparking outrage on social media on Sunday. Defence lawyers said the five were taken into custody on Saturday evening in the town of Hammana east of Beirut over claims they tore down a sign for President Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement. Security forces released them after midnight after taking a statement from them, the Committee of Lawyers for the Defence of Protesters said. The army said two of the children were 15 years old and the third was 12.
The news sparked indignation on social media, the latest outcry in a country that has been gripped by spontaneous anti-government protests since October 17. "Down with the regime that arrests children," one user said. "When a 12-year-old child manages to shake the state's throne, you know the state is corrupt," another wrote. During the first month of demonstrations, security forces arrested 300 people including 12 minors who were released within 24 to 48 hours, according to the lawyers' committee. But 11 people - including two youths - remain in detention accused of attacking a hotel in the southern city of Tyre during the first week of the uprising. Lebanese protesters denounce foreign interference outside US embassy in Beirut Hezbollah accuses US of meddling in Lebanon's crisis Burj Khalifa and Adnoc headquarters light up with Lebanese flag for Independence Day The demonstrators managed to bring down the government less than two weeks into the protests, but it remains in a caretaker capacity and no new cabinet has since been formed.
Late on Sunday, protesters blocked major roads in several parts of the country and called for a general strike the following day in protest at the lack of progress in forming a fresh government. Earlier in the evening, hundreds had gathered in protest centres in Beirut, the northern city of Tripoli and in Tyre.
In Beirut's Martyrs' Square, hundreds of women and men demanded their rights, some waving the national red and white flag or chanting "Revolution, Revolution!" Supporters of the militant Hezbollah group attacked demonstrators protesting against Lebanon’s political elite in central Beirut.
The attacks by young men armed with clubs and metal rods chanting pro-Hezbollah slogans began late on Sunday and continued after midnight as riot police and soldiers tried to prevent them from reaching the protesters. Lebanon's protests have brought together people of all ages from across the political spectrum, tired of what they describe as sectarian politics three decades after a civil war. In the latest show of unity, a festive mood had reigned on Sunday afternoon as Lebanese came together in public spaces across the country on the second day of the weekend. North of the capital women prepared traditional salads to share, while a group of men danced on a beach south of the city, state television footage showed. The Free Patriotic Movement party that Mr Aoun founded is now led by his son-in-law, outgoing foreign minister Gibran Bassil, one of the most reviled figures in the protests.

Hariri's Press Office: Text messages sent from outside Lebanon
NNA/November 24/2019
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri's Press Office issued a statement today, referring to "forged and suspicious" text messages that are being sent to citizens from outside Lebanon. The statement indicated that "unknown parties using telephone numbers from outside Lebanon are sending text messages to citizens inviting them to alleged meetings with Prime Minister Hariri at Center House, claiming that the invitations were issued by ministers, advisers or assistants to the PM."The Press Office categorically denied the content of these messages, noting that they have been forwarded to the relevant authorities for necessary action.

Banks' Association denounces campaign against its sector, urges politicians and media to exercise national responsibility
NNA/November 24/2019
In an issued statement this morning, the Association of Banks in Lebanon said that the banking sector is facing a systematic campaign aimed at undermining its reputation and the people's confidence in one of the most important productive sectors in Lebanon. The Association's board of directors said in its statement that it "deplores and condemns what has been said about Bank Audi, which adheres to all applicable laws in Lebanon and international standards, as well as the banking field laws, like all other banks in in the country." The statement warned those behind this waged campaign to pay attention to the severe damage it may cause to the banking sector; thus, weakening one of the most important components of the Lebanese economy. The Association concluded its statement by appealing to all political forces and the media to exercise national responsibility in such exceptional and difficult circumstances, out of keen concern for preserving the interests of the country and its citizens.

Reports: Fakhoury in Poor Health, Lebanese Officials Encouraged Him to Return
Associated Press/Naharnet/November 24/2019
Lebanese-American citizen Amer Fakhoury, who has been held in Lebanon since mid-September on suspicion that he tortured prisoners at the Israeli-run Khiam prison, is in poor health and his condition is life-threatening, his family has said, citing doctors.
No charges have been filed against Fakhoury. His lawyer, Celine Atallah, said it remains unclear why he's being held. Fakhoury, however, was once a member of the former Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army militia. He also worked as a senior warden at a former prison described by human rights groups as a center for torture.
His family insists he had no direct contact with prisoners and never abused anyone, but several former prisoners and their relatives have accused him of involvement in torture.
Fakhoury's family and his lawyer accuse Lebanese authorities of torturing him.
His family said this week that his health has gotten much worse; doctors told them his condition is grave and life-threatening, including a bad infection, a bleeding disorder and other problems. A court session that was to be held this week has been postponed because of his illness.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told the Associated Press that the U.S. embassy conducted its most recent consular visit with Fakhoury on Nov. 7. No details were provided.
"We take allegations of mistreatment seriously and whenever we receive credible reports of mistreatment we raise our concerns directly with the host government," the spokesperson said.
In New Hampshire, Fakhoury ran a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant, where he struck up friendships with patrons and community members. Interested in Republican politics, he once met Donald Trump on a presidential campaign visit. He also hosted fundraisers for a GOP congressional candidate.
Fakhoury was one of many South Lebanon Army members who fled after Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 following an 18-year occupation, fearing reprisals if they stayed in Lebanon. Others stayed and faced trial, receiving lenient sentences.
Fakhoury's family says he came to the United States in 2001, where he started a restaurant with his wife and put his four daughters through the University of New Hampshire.
Fakhoury started looking into a visit to Lebanon after President Michel Aoun last year encouraged former SLA members to return home. His lawyer said that, like many others in the SLA, Fakhoury faced a charge in 1996 of collaborating with Israel, which was eventually “dropped.”
"He was actually granted assurances from the government, who reviewed his file and told him, 'Your file is clear. Come back, you can come back to your country,'" the lawyer said.
He arrived in Beirut in mid-September, along with his wife and two of his daughters.
Security officials held onto his passport for a routine check and let him go. When he returned about a week later to retrieve it, al-Akhbar newspaper, which is close to Hizbullah, published a story accusing him of playing a role in the torture of inmates at the former Khiam prison. He was arrested a day after it appeared.
Scores of protesters outside a military court connected to Fakhoury's case carried signs dubbing him the "butcher of Khiam"; some demanded he get the death penalty.
Fakhoury's family and lawyer said he worked at the prison from 1989 to 1996. They said he handled paperwork, cleaned the prison and made sure inmates got their food. "There's no legal basis for his arrest," the lawyer said. "There's no legal basis for his detention. ... He's an American citizen, an innocent American citizen who's being illegally detained.
"Before the mass anti-government protests started, the Lebanese General Security Directorate said Fakhoury had possessed an Israeli passport. But the lawyer said U.S. records show he didn't have one. Lebanon's laws prevent its citizens from dealing with or making any contacts with Israel. Fakhoury's family said they are working with U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen and the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon. They also wrote to the White House but haven't received a response.Fakhoury's wife visits him and the daughters received a brief phone call from him during which he asked about his granddaughter and began to cry.

Lebanon Anti-Graft Protesters March for Nature Too
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 24/2019
Surrounded by sweeping pines, lemon trees and bean stalks, hundreds of Lebanese protesters march along, chanting against a planned dam that would drown the valley under their feet. Unprecedented protests about corruption in Lebanon since October 17 have given new life to activism against the controversial structure planned for a lush valley south of Beirut.
Since the start of the year, the future construction site in the Bisri Valley has been cordoned off and several trees uprooted to make way for work to begin. But emboldened by the anti-graft protests, nature lovers have since November 9 ignored the gates and barged through them, hoping to save what remains of their country's ravaged ecosystem.
Environmental activists in Lebanon say they have their work cut out.
They cite overflowing landfills, a polluted coast, quarries gnawing into mountains and state neglect compounding forest fires that hit the country last month before the mass protests began. Standing on a shack roof near the Bisri Valley, environmental activist Bassam Zeineddine encourages hundreds of fellow hikers who have come to show their support for the dam protest.
"The trees are the only thing left that they haven't taken," he shouts, referring to the country's embattled officials."They've left us nothing else -- not water, nor air," rails the member of the "Save the Bisri Valley" movement in a country where the coastline, rivers and air are all polluted.
Protesters clap and cheer, before setting off to march around 20 kilometers (12 miles), walking stick in one hand and billowing Lebanese flag in the other.
Along earthen paths they head towards the heart of the valley, singing the national anthem before swiftly reverting to chants from recent anti-graft protests."We pay taxes, but their pockets are full!" they intone.
Chronic water shortages
The government says the Bisri dam is vital to tackling chronic water shortages. But activists say it will ravage most of the region's farmland and historic sites, and they also fear the consequences of building it on a seismic fault line. Deep in the valley during their hike, the protesters find a cement-making machine. Yellow diggers also sit idle, after several trucks left the site earlier following recent sit-ins, in what the activists say was a small victory.
Nearby, walkers snap images of uprooted tree stumps.
Roland Nassour, 27, says an ongoing survey of the valley has found several oaks and pines ripped from the soil, but that so far most of the valley's canopy has thankfully been spared.
"The environment is a key part of the revolution," says Nassour, who is also part of the movement to protect the Bisri Valley. On Monday, he was one of nine activists called in for questioning by police after the construction company complained that gates had been broken and signs ripped down.
"We're proud of what we did," says Nassour. Construction of the Bisri dam is expected to cost $617 million (560 million euros), with most covered by a World Bank loan. The authorities and the World Bank have said the dam will meet the needs of 1.6 million residents suffering from water shortages in greater Beirut. They insist the structure will be safe and that measures will be taken to lessen seismic risks. The World Bank says the dam will have no impact on Lebanon's overall biodiversity, promising to offset any loss in Bisri with reforestation and "enhanced management" of the Chouf, a separate region nearby. They have also pledged to dismantle a small church and rebuild it somewhere else -- a proposal rejected by activists.
'A champion polluter' -
On the banks of a meandering river, the hikers catch their breath near some lemon trees and toppled granite columns thought to be from the Roman era.
To the tune of famed Italian resistance song "Bella Ciao", they sing in the open to save the valley, accompanied by maracas and a harmonica.
"We want nature, we don't want to sell it. We want flowers, we want plains, we want forests and fields," they chant. "We don't want a dam in Bisri. We want a nature reserve." Clutching his walking stick, avid hiker Lucien says he has come to stress the need to "preserve a green Lebanon.""We need more nature reserves," says the 30-year-old who works in advertising. Mervat, a 59-year-old activist, said mismanagement of the forest fires in October provided a spark for the revolution. "Lebanon is a champion when it comes to pollution," said the former laboratory supervisor from the southern city of Sidon. "We want solutions, but the officials are not providing any."

Lebanon's revolution on its 39th day: An ongoing momentum
Tala Ramadan/Annahar/November 24/2019
BEIRUT: During early morning hours, protestors gathered around the US embassy in Beirut to chant against the intervention of foreign countries in Lebanon’s nationwide demonstrations. This came as a reaction for recent comments by former US Ambassador to Lebanon, Jeffrey Feltman in which he said that “the demonstrations and the reactions to them by Lebanese leaders and institutions, fortunately, coincide with U.S. interests.” Although some skirmishes took place, the protests have remained mostly non-violent. Meanwhile, a number of activists, schoolchildren, and university students, in cooperation with the municipal workshops, cleaned Al-Nour Square in Tripoli. Demonstrations were also happening in the city. Students were marching through the main streets and all the inner neighborhoods and were shouting slogans condemning the difficult living and economic conditions and demanding the formation of a government as soon as possible to respond to the demands of the popular movement. After the revival of the “fist of revolution”, which was lifted in Martyrs' Square, a number of young men made a phoenix from the tents of the previously broken tents, and a number of demonstrators gathered in Martyrs Square and Riad El Solh, amid the insistence of the participants to complete their revolution, while dozens of demonstrators gathered at sea points to affirm the right of the Lebanese to benefit from the beach and refuse to exploit the maritime property in illegal ways. Potluck picnics also took place on the coast of Corniche Ain El Mreisseh, Raouche, Saida, Marj Bisri and Sour where participants gathered around food and revolutionary talks since 11 AM to revive the picnic folklore, a step accentuating Lebanon’s unity. Protesters in Nabatieh also held a demonstration in which they were divided among groups of different professions. The demonstrations that began on October 17 against proposed taxes on WhatsApp calls turned into a condemnation of the country’s political elite, who have run the country since the 1975-90 civil war.

After the Lebanon Protests: Between the Party of God and Party of the People
Maha Yahya/November 24/2019
Summary: Lebanon’s protesters succeeded in one of their demands: the resignation of the country’s embattled Prime Minister. After the seismic protests, what is the best way forward?
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On October 28, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned from office following two weeks of nationwide protests. While the spark was a proposed tax on the use of internet telephone calls, the protests quickly turned into a more general condemnation of the country’s political leadership, its escalating economic crisis and its sectarian power sharing system.
A COUNTRY IN CRISIS
Lebanon’s economic crisis has reached a breaking point. Public debt is estimated at 150 percent of GDP, economic growth is negative, the dollar peg for the Lebanese pound is wavering on the black market, and there are signs of inflation as the prices of some basic goods have increased between 15 and 30 percent.
Meanwhile, perceptions of corruption are at an all-time high. Lebanon is ranked by Transparency International as the 138th most corrupt state globally. While the tipping point leading to the protests was economic dissatisfaction, there is an abysmal trust gap between Lebanese political parties and the citizens they represent. Protesters believe the country’s political and economic mismanagement by a sectarian political class has only benefitted the elite. Living standards have declined for citizens from all sects, along with their future prospects.
Protesters also denounced the sectarian power sharing system that prevails in the country. This system distributes government positions among the country’s different sects and ethnic groups in order to guarantee the representation of diverse communities in government and mitigate the prospect of communal conflict. However, the system has enabled sectarian political elites, mainly warlords turned politicians, to hijack communal representation and create patronage networks at the state’s expense.
WHY THESE PROTESTS WERE DIFFERENT
Maha Yahya
Yahya is director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, where her research focuses on citizenship, pluralism, and social justice in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings.
What was distinctive about the protests is that for the first time protesters across the board were criticizing the leaders of their own sect. For the political elite, the breadth of discontent was startling. No political leader or party was spared.
Most surprising, perhaps, was the dissent that emerged from within the Shiite community, who rarely publicly criticize the leaders of the two key political parties, Hezbollah and Amal.
HEZBOLLAH’S REACTION
Hezbollah’s response to the protests was expressed in two speeches by its secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah. He initially voiced understanding for the protesters’ frustrations, but he rejected demands that the government and president resign and that early elections be held on the basis of a new law. He went on to depict the nationwide protests and public anger with the status quo and deteriorating economic conditions as part of a conspiracy to undermine Hezbollah and its legitimacy. As such, he chose to perpetuate the status quo and a political order that has protected Hezbollah, a reaction that pro-Iran parties have also demonstrated in Iraq, where over the past few weeks, hundreds of demonstrators have been killed.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah’s regional patron, Iran’s supreme leader Sayed Ali Khameni, is portraying the demonstrations in Lebanon and Iraq as an external plot against their respective countries.
THE POLITICAL FALLOUT
Hariri’s resignation—under pressure following the street protests, and because of his partners’ unwillingness to find a political solution to the crisis—has allowed him to recover some of his political capital.
However, the cost to Hezbollah and their key partner, Lebanon’s president Michel Aoun and his son-in-law, foreign minister Gebran Bassil, was significant. For Aoun, the government’s resignation posed a significant blow to his legacy as did the palpable antipathy on the streets to Gebran Bassil. For Hezbollah, it weakened their key Christian partner in Lebanon.
Becoming a champion of the status quo also tarnished Hezbollah’s preferred image as a defender of the poor and downtrodden. While the party holds power in government, it has managed to dodge any accountability for the sorry state of affairs in the country. Yet, its status as a defender of the rights of the Shiite community within Lebanon has been eroded. Like other Lebanese, they believe this sorry state of affairs to be the result of patronage politics and clientelistic networks facilitated by Lebanon’s governance system that includes Hezbollah.
For Hezbollah, addressing internal dissent is a difficult road to maneuver. It is a military and religious party that is paternalistic and strictly hierarchical in nature. The party has had to reduce salaries and curtail social service provision as a result of dwindling finances. Faced with widespread protests, its initial reaction was to deploy force and intimidation tactics.
The question now is how far Hezbollah is willing to go to prevent dissent. So far, the party has restricted itself to dispatching thugs to break up protests in Beirut and southern Lebanon. Along with the other major Shiite political party, the Amal movement, it has also prohibited protests or signs of dissent in the villages and towns of southern Lebanon. As one of the young protesters in the area told me, “What is wrong with letting people voice their opinion? You say you are hungry, and they respond you are a foreign agent.”
MOVING FORWARD
President Aoun and Hezbollah are faced with a dilemma. Granting concessions to protesters risks creating a perception that they are weak. Yet resorting to more force will only accelerate Lebanon’s economic collapse and its social repercussions.
Given the economic situation, the Lebanese political class needs to move quickly to name a new prime minister who is acceptable both to them and to the protesters. The country cannot afford the time-consuming horse trading that usually occurs when governments are formed. If there is an economic collapse and the Lebanese pound loses value, Lebanese citizens could see their incomes, pensions, and savings disappear, and half the population could fall into poverty. The fallout in terms of public anger could pale in comparison to what we’ve seen thus far.
THREE OPTIONS
In this context, Hezbollah and its allies are likely to negotiate with Lebanon’s other political parties one of three choices. One option is to ask Hariri to form a new government, where the ministers would be apolitical technocrats or a mix of political and independent appointees named by the various political parties. This option is unlikely at this point, since they already rejected a change of cabinet under Hariri at the height of the protests.
A second more likely option is to endorse a national salvation government headed by an independent Sunni, one acceptable to Hariri. This cabinet would also be composed of independent candidates not mired in corruption, or a mix of experts and political appointees. The mandate of such a government would be an economic reform plan, but it would not necessarily organize early elections, as demanded by the protestors. Consensus among the political class for such a cabinet is necessary. State institutions are greatly influenced by the different political parties, as they have the capacity to hinder or support the work of ministers. Political parties may be forced to reach such a consensus, once they realize that the country could descend into chaos should they fail to take action.
A third, least favorable option at this point, is that Hezbollah adopts a rejectionist position, in coordination with the Amal Movement and Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement. This would place the country in even more jeopardy as it could include forming a cabinet without Hariri’s bloc, something that would be badly received by his supporters and by an international community that is likely to interpret such a move as a Hezbollah takeover of the country. It could also include a stronger show of force against unarmed protesters, which would only destabilize the country, and possibly slide Lebanon into a civil conflict. This is unlikely at the moment, as Hezbollah is keen to maintain stability in its own back yard, given regional challenges.
A NATIONAL AWAKENING
History in Lebanon is being made. The country and its people are standing at one of the most significant historic junctures in its one-hundred-year history. A sense of national awakening is driving the demand to move from identity-based politics to a government focused on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. This reflects a fundamental societal change, which will impact Lebanon’s future. Its political leadership and Lebanese citizens on the street can either steer the country onto a brighter and more sustainable path—or end up trapped once more in a bitter civil conflict.
*Maha Yahya: Is director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, where her research focuses on citizenship, pluralism, and social justice in the aftermath of the Arab uprisings.

Lebanon’s amnesty law is the government’s last bid to save itself
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/November 24/2019
There is a current standoff between the Lebanese people and the ruling establishment, who for two consecutive weeks has been trying to force a parliamentary session to pass an amnesty law, which would absolve the ruling elite from a number of crimes, including tax evasion.
This standoff comes as part of a nationwide uprising, which has seen millions of people take to the streets, demanding a change to the archaic and corrupt governance structure that their country is infamous for.
This amnesty law is no mere legislation but rather part of an elaborate scheme by the ruling elite to create schism and chaos in the midst of the protesters by placing them at odds with each other while at the same time providing the different political factions with legal leverage going forward.
The political elite envisioned that any opposition to this amnesty law would mobilize the families of thousands of convicts awaiting amnesty, and thus turn the national uprising into a sectarian brawl.
The proposed bill, submitted by two members of speaker Nabih Berri’s bloc, did not follow proper procedure and never went through subcommittees for proper revision and approval.
Perhaps more importantly, the parliament session and any other legislative sessions at this moment in time are unconstitutional simply because article 32 of the Lebanese constitution clearly states that the parliament in its current session “shall be reserved to the discussion of, and voting on the budget before any other work. This session lasts until the end of the year.”
Therefore, the parliament cannot technically meet unless it passes the much-anticipated budget or in case of “legislative necessity” which the current amnesty bill is no justification for.
The most sinister part of the bill is that it places Lebanese factions in fierce opposition, as the draft law is designed to cater to thousands of outlaws, some predominately Shiites from the eastern part of the country who are in jail or on the run for crimes connected to narcotics.
It also caters to a segment of Sunni Muslims who are branded locally as “Islamists”, some of them accused of fighting the Lebanese army in the past few years. By proposing this amnesty bill, both Hezbollah as well as Hariri can muster up much of this popular support which they have lost during the uprising against their excessive corruption and lack of vision.
Contrary to what it repeatedly claims, Hezbollah is in bad shape not only because of the US sanctions on its patron, but because its arsenal of weapons does not contain any economic tools to address the current challenges. It believes that this protest against corruption and bad governance can be suppressed by force, just like the uprising in Syria or the protests in Iraq and Iran. The majority of the people on the street might not be chanting against Iran and its Lebanese subsidiary, but they know full well that one of the main reasons why the Lebanese temple of corruption remains standing is the fact that Hezbollah’s weapons will it.
On the two separate occasions that speaker Berri tried to convene parliament, the Lebanese people flocked to the parliament house and laid siege to the area and preve
Berri’s brutish and condescending attitude is reflective of the mindset of the entire political class, which ostensibly acknowledges the demands of the street, yet refuses to take any step in the right direction to remedy or address any of the political and economic reform challenges.
The ruling elite claims that the parliament session which also had other items on the agenda was geared towards the adoption of judicial reform to fight corruption and empower various governmental entities crucial for establishing the rule of law. These claims however are fallacious and, just like the economic reform plan set forth by the current caretaker cabinet of Saad Hariri, masks a sense of immortality and a belief that they can still outsmart the public and pass on more corruption and usurpation of power as reform.
The people on the streets know quite well what needs to be done to change the current predicament, and their roadmap does not include parliamentary sessions nor false promises from the decrepid political class. The road to salvation passes through the gradual relinquishing of power to a capable and righteous emergency cabinet that would respect the Lebanese constitution and empower the judiciary and respect the separation of powers. Perhaps then, amnesty will give way for rule of law and justice for all.

Not afraid of change,’ Lebanese youth denounce sectarianism, corruption
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/November 25/2019
BEIRUT - They have powered anti-government protests in Lebanon for more than a month, forced the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, blocked parliament and introduced innovative means for peaceful demonstrations. The Lebanese millennial generation is the heart of the persisting revolution.
Lebanon’s parliament was blocked from its first session for two months on November 19 after protesters prevented lawmakers from reaching the building. Authorities announced the session had been postponed indefinitely.
“How are they having a session and not responding to the people? Those who are in the session have nothing to do with us and it’s not what we asked for,” said Maria, a young protester.
Young Lebanese, born after the civil war (1975-90) and commonly known as millennials, are on the front line of protests demanding an overhaul of Lebanon’s sectarian-based political establishment and economic reform. They accuse the ruling class of being corrupt, inefficient and the cause of Lebanon’s worst economic and financial crisis.
“The millennials who constitute the majority of Lebanese are not shaping the revolution… they are the revolution that had started in their hearts and minds way before October 17,” said Pierre Issa, secretary-general of the National Bloc party, one of the few non-sectarian parties in Lebanon.
“When the protests began, the millennials were taken lightly and seen as ridicule or utopian for seeking change. However, they passed quickly from the ridicule stage to being seen as dangerous because they started to shake the political establishment that has been entrenched for decades. Soon they will become evident,” Issa said.
“The millennials want citizenship not sectarianism; a state of law not clientelism; honesty and transparency not corruption; sovereignty instead of affiliation with foreign powers; and democracy instead of the cult of the leader and political inheritance.”
“Our generation opted for conformity (with the existing system) but the millennials are not afraid of change. They are the ones who are leading the revolt,” said Issa, 60.
“The youth are telling the politicians that the system they are clinging to is dead. The ruling class is alien to them; it does not resemble them nor represent them.”
Described as “confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change,” millennials have a strong leaning towards civic responsibility and a more optimistic outlook than their forebears.
They are also the most “connected” generation of all time and the most educated.
“The new generation has transcended sectarian and political alignments. They did not experience the civil war but they inherited the warlords. They don’t understand why they have to be framed by their religion. They are aware of their rights and know that only a state of law can guarantee those rights,” said Mona Fayyad, founder of the Democratic Renewal organisation. “They are leading the revolution. We are learning from our children. This generation has no zaim (sectarian leader).”
She cited one student criticising older generations, saying: “What have you been doing for the past 30 years? Why did you accept to coexist with corruption and graft? Why did you accept to live without electricity, without water and without basic rights?”
Lebanon’s demonstrations revealed a diversity never seen before, uniting citizens from all sects, regions and religious beliefs but also age groups, including children.
Youth have been largely innovative in enhancing what takes place in the streets and squares. They write revolutionary songs and create short movies and satirical caricatures of the political elite. They then share them through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and other social media platforms.
“Unlike previous generations, the millennials have a very powerful tool in their hand that is the easy access to information,” Issa said. “Older generations tended to be recipients of information and news. The millennial generation no longer just receives information and ideas but interacts with them. In fact, they have become creators of information and ideas.”
“Every time one shares a call or a statement on social media it goes viral and the streets are packed. One blogger, for example, has 500,000 followers.”
The protesters want an independent cabinet of technocrats whom they can trust to pull Lebanon out of its economic and financial crisis and stamp out corruption.
“We have to listen to them. They are so creative in their slogans, music, drawings, decisions and actions,” Issa said.
Citing Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran, Issa added: “Our children are not ours; they are the children of life. We should not try to force them to follow us. They are the future, we are the past, they are dynamic and we are static… The day we understand this, society will develop and evolve.”

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 24-25/2019
In Hiroshima, Pope Condemns 'Crime' of Nuclear Weapons
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 24/2019
Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the use of nuclear weapons as "a crime," as he brought his call for an end to atomic weapons to the Japanese city of Hiroshima. "The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is today, more than ever, a crime not only against the dignity of human beings but against any possible future for our common home," the pontiff said at the city's Peace Memorial.

A US-Iran military front is fast shaping up on the Syrian-Iraqi border – with a role for the IDF
DEBKAfile/November 25/ 2019
As the US military takes up new positions against Iran on the Syria-Iraq border, a major Mid East event seems to be brewing, with a key role for Israel. This is strongly indicated by the comings and goings of top US officials this weekend. Gen. Mark Milley, Chairman of the US Chiefs of Staff, is in Israel as the guest of Israel’s chief of staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. On Saturday, Nov. 213, the commander of US CENTCOM, Gen. Kenneth McKenzie predicted that Iran will probably launch another attack in the Middle East. At a regional conference in Manama, Bahrain, McKenzie said that although 14,000 additional US soldiers were deployed in the Persian Gulf since the spring, they did not deter Iran from attacking a Saudi oil field.
On Saturday too, Vice President Mike Pence paid an unannounced trip to Iraq for a special briefing on the situation on the Syrian-Iraqi border at the US Al-Asad Air Base. These movements came after the top-secret Israeli air strike last Tuesday, Nov. 19, on a mysterious Iranian target near the Syrian town of Abu Kamal close to the Iraqi border. Neither Israel nor Iran revealed what that was about except to admit that it occurred.
Most significantly, Pence chose to arrive in Iraq at Irbil, capital of the semiautonomous Kurdish Republic (KRG), rather than Baghdad and the first person he met was the KRG’s president Nachirvan Barzani. He only put in a brief phone call to Iraqi Prime Miniser Adel Abdul-Mahdi.
The vice president’s actions signified the revival of the US-Kurdish alliance – not just with the Syrian branch but also with their Iraqi brethren. Indeed, the outcry over the Trump administration’s desertion of the Syrian Kurds in the wake of the Turkish invasion earlier this month neatly camouflaged the substantial influx of US troops arriving in the Kurdish regions of eastern Syria this month. American encampments there, far from being evacuated, have been substantially augmented by new military facilities, two of them air bases.
DEBKAfile’s military sources have learned that US engineering units are erecting one new base near Al Sur in the Deir Ez-Zour region and another near the town of Amuda. Those bases are partly designed to counter the Russian air force’s establishment of a military air base in the Kurdish town of Qamishli, so that the US does not lose control of northeastern Syria near the Iraqi border to Moscow. However, the newly boosted US deployment in that corner of Syria has a more pressing mission. As Tehran tightens its grip on Baghdad and its Revolutionary Guards elite Al Qods Brigades take over command of the Iraqi Shiite militias stationed on the Iraqi-Syrian border, this part of Syria gains in strategic importance. The topped-up US military presence is becoming the only real obstruction for preventing Iran creating a direct bridge between its forces in Iraq, Syria and Hizballah in Lebanon.
On this point, American and Israel’s strategic interests converge, especially when both anticipate hostilities exploding in this part of the Syria-Iraq border in the near future, and the importance of this region growing in the coming weeks and months. The talks the top US soldier, Gen. Milley conducted in Israel no doubt focused on the Israel Defense Forces’ role in these events.

Iran is planning attacks on Israel: Netanyahu
AFP, Jerusalem/Monday, 25 November 2019
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Iran of planning attacks against Israel and said everything possible would be done to prevent them. The premier, who was indicted on corruption charges on Thursday and is seen to be battling for his political life, made his remarks on a visit to an army base near the border with conflict-ravaged Syria. “Iran’s aggression in our region, and against us, continues,” Netanyahu said. He was speaking on the day US General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was in the country to meet his Israeli counterpart Aviv Kohavi. The two generals discussed “operational questions and regional developments,” an army statement said. Speaking on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Netanyahu said “we are taking all necessary actions to prevent Iran from entrenching here in our region.”“This includes the activity necessary to thwart the transfer of lethal weaponry from Iran to Syria, whether by air or overland. “We will also take action to thwart Iran’s effort to turn Iraq and Yemen into bases for launching rockets and missiles” at Israel, he added. On Wednesday, in a rare confirmation of such operations, Israel said its warplanes carried out a “very intense” attack against Iranian forces and Syrian army targets in Syria. Britain-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 23 people were killed in the strikes -- 21 fighters and two civilians. The previous day, Israel’s “Iron Dome” missile defense system had intercepted four rockets fired from Syria, with the army blaming an “Iranian force.”Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced Thursday he had charged Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, prompting speculation that the end of the premier’s decade-long tenure was nigh.

Gantz Seeks Support from Netanyahu's Party to Form Government
Agence France Presse/November 24/2019
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's centrist rival Benny Gantz Saturday urged leaders of the premier's Likud party to join him in forming a government after their chief's indictment on corruption charges. "In light of the circumstances, I call for the formation of the largest possible government under my leadership," Gantz told a news conference, addressing members of the right-wing Likud. "I would be the prime minister for the first two years," he said. And if Netanyahu "is cleared (of any wrongdoing) he could return and become prime minister", Gantz added. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced Thursday he had charged Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, prompting speculation that the end of the premier's decade-long tenure was nigh. The indictment came as Israel edged closer to its third general election in a year, after two inconclusive polls in April and September.
On Wednesday former army general Gantz, whose party gained one more seat than Likud in the September poll, said he was unable to form a government and secure a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White coalition, was asked to form a government by President Reuven Rivlin after Netanyahu also failed to do so. Netanyahu remains the country's interim premier, however. Parliament now has less than three weeks to find a candidate who can gain the support of more than half of the Knesset's 120 lawmakers, or a deeply unpopular third election will be called.
Gantz, speaking in Tel Aviv, said his proposal was "the only alternative to holding new elections". Under Israeli law, while ministers cannot remain in place after being indicted, a prime minister is not legally required to resign unless convicted and with any appeals processes exhausted.
In addition to the premiership, Netanyahu holds portfolios including agriculture and health, positions he may have to vacate in the coming days. Netanyahu, the first Israeli prime minister to be indicted in office on corruption charges, has denounced a "coup" against him, dismissed the charges as "false" and "politically motivated" and vowed to hold onto power.

Netanyahu’s Likud party plans for leadership primaries: Reports
Reuters, Jerusalem/Monday, 25 November 2019
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party will hold leadership primaries within the next six weeks, Israeli media reported on Sunday. The YNet news website said Netanyahu had agreed with the head of Likud’s central committee, Haim Katz, to hold the leadership vote. A Likud party spokesman was not immediately reachable for comment. Earlier on Sunday, a watchdog group asked Israel’s top court to order Prime Minister Netanyahu to step aside after his indictment on corruption charges, adding to pressure he is facing from within his ruling party. Netanyahu, a four-term conservative leader, has denied the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust and said he will stay in office and defend himself. His indictment on Thursday came amid unprecedented political disarray in Israel, after elections in April and September in which neither Netanyahu nor his main challenger, centrist Benny Gantz, secured a governing majority in parliament.

Israel’s Netanyahu faces court, party challenges after indictment
Reuters, Jerusalem/Sunday, 24 November 2019
A watchdog group asked Israel’s top court on Sunday to order Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step aside after his indictment on corruption charges, adding to pressure he is facing from within his ruling party. Netanyahu, a four-term conservative leader, has denied the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust and said he will stay in office and defend himself. His indictment on Thursday came amid unprecedented political disarray in Israel, after elections in April and September in which neither Netanyahu nor his main challenger, centrist Benny Gantz, secured a governing majority in parliament. In its petition to the Supreme Court, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel said the first-ever criminal charges against a sitting Israeli prime minister constituted “the crossing of a red line and a grave blow to public trust in ruling institutions.”The court should force Netanyahu to resign or temporarily recuse himself from prime ministerial duties, the movement said. It was not immediately clear when the court might rule on the petition. Gantz’s mandate to form a government - after an unsuccessful attempt by Netanyahu to do so - expired on Wednesday. The next day, Israel’s president declared a three-week period in which lawmakers can nominate one of their own to try to put together a ruling coalition.
Should that fail, a new election - Israel’s third in a year - will be triggered. Netanyahu’s hope of securing that parliamentary nomination was challenged by Gideon Saar, a rival within his Likud party. Saar said on Saturday Netanyahu would not able to win a third election and called on Likud to hold a leadership ballot. “There is only one way in which we can save the country, extricate it from the crisis and ensure the Likud’s continued rule - and that is if we go to snap primaries today, within these 21 days,” Saar told Israel’s Channel 12 television. Saar has previously said he would consider running for the top Likud slot. While voicing appreciation for Netanyahu’s record-long term and noting he was innocent until proven otherwise, Saar criticised the premier’s attempts to cast his criminal prosecution as a “coup attempt” involving police, prosecutors and the media. “Not only is it wrong to say that, it’s also irresponsible to say that. It’s completely out of touch,” Saar said. The Likud party spokesman dismissed the challenge. “It is sad to see that while Prime Minister Netanyahu keeps Israel safe on all fronts and works to preserve Likud rule, Gideon Saar, as is his wont, is displaying zero loyalty and maximum subversion,” the spokesman said. Opening the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu made no mention of the political crisis or his legal woes, speaking about Israeli security issues.

Iran Vows to Punish 'Mercenaries' behind Street Violence
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 24/2019
Iran will severely punish "mercenaries" arrested over a wave of street violence that erupted after a sharp hike in fuel prices, a Revolutionary Guards commander warned Sunday. The Islamic republic says it has restored calm after the unrest that broke out on November 15, hours after the surprise announcement that petrol prices would go up by as much as 200 percent. Citing law enforcement officials, Fars news agency said Sunday that 180 ringleaders had been arrested over the protests that saw highways blocked, banks and police stations set alight and shops looted. "We will certainly respond in accordance to the viciousness carried out by them," said Rear-Admiral Ali Fadavi, deputy commander in chief of the Revolutionary Guards. "We have arrested all stooges and mercenaries who have explicitly made confessions that they have been mercenaries of America, of Monafeghin and others," he told a news conference in Tehran. Monafeghin is a term Iran uses to refer to the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK) opposition in exile group, which it considers a "terrorist" cult. Fadavi added that "we have arrested all of them and, God willing, the judiciary will give them maximum punishments". The total number of people arrested over the unrest remained unclear, but the UN human rights office put the figure at more than 1,000 on Tuesday. Fadavi was speaking at a gathering of female members of the Basij, a militia loyal to Iran's establishment. On Friday, a Basij commander said the unrest sparked by the fuel price hike amounted to a "world war" against Iran that had been thwarted. Brigadier General Salar Abnoosh said interrogations had revealed that a "coalition of evil" of "Zionists, America and Saudi Arabia" was behind the "sedition", according to ISNA news agency. Officials have confirmed five deaths, while Amnesty International said more than 100 demonstrators were believed to have been killed and the real toll could be as high as 200.

Iran’s Guards call for ‘maximum punishment’ of fuel unrest leaders
Reuters, Geneva/Sunday, 24 November 2019
A senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has urged the country’s judiciary to mete out harsh sentences to what he described as “mercenaries” involved in protests against a fuel price hike last week, the judiciary’s Mizan news site reported. “We caught all the mercenaries who openly confessed they were doing mercenary work for America and, God willing, the judicial system of the country will give them maximum punishments,” Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, a deputy Guards commander, was quoted as saying. Iran’s clerical rulers have blamed “thugs” linked to exiles and foreign foes - the United States, Israel - for stirring up unrest which has led to some of the worst violence in the country in a decade. Fadavi said several people were killed during the protests after being shot at with a handgun from a close distance behind themselves, which he said indicated the shooters were among the crowds.
Rights group Amnesty International said in a release earlier this week that security forces shot into crowds of protesters from rooftops and, in one case, from a helicopter. Amnesty said at least 115 people have died in the unrest. Iran has rejected death toll figures as “speculative.”Iranian authorities have said about 1,000 demonstrators have been arrested. The Center for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based advocacy group, said on its website that a tally based on official figures and credible reports suggested that “a minimum of 2,755 people have been arrested with the actual minimum number likely being closer to 4,000.”
Draft law to impeach oil minister
With tensions over the gasoline price increases remaining high, some 50 lawmakers have submitted a proposal to parliament that could ultimately lead to the impeachment of Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh. “Parliament’s presiding board has received the censure motion against Zanganeh over various issues including ... gasoline price hikes,” said a member of the presiding board Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, the website of Iran’s Young Journalists Club reported. It was not immediately clear whether the lawmakers would go through with the motion or eventually withdraw it as has happened in some previous cases.
Protests began on November 15 in several towns after the government announced gasoline price hikes of at least 50 percent. They spread to 100 cities and towns and quickly turned political with protesters demanding top officials step down.

Iran accused of ‘stealing bodies from morgues’ to downplay protest toll
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 24 November 2019
Authorities in Iran have been accused of stealing bodies from morgues and spiriting away injured patients from hospitals in order to downplay the scale of the crackdown on recent protests, a UK newspaper reported on Saturday. Exiled Iranian opposition group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) claims the regime is secretly disposing of bodies from morgues, reported The Telegraph. According to the report, one of the first to be injured when the protests broke out was Mehdi Nekouee, a 20-year-old law student from the city of Shiraz. He was shot by the Revolutionary Guard but has not been seen since.
His uncle Ahmed told The Telegraph that “he was critical but alive when he arrived at hospital... we have heard nothing since.” His family now believes that Mehdi, instead of being treated in a hospital, been taken away by the intelligence services. A nurse at the hospital confirmed that Mehdi had indeed been treated before he was removed, along with several other patients, but she didn't know where to, The Telegraph reported. Protests began in several areas on November 15 after the government announced gasoline price hikes of at least 50 percent and imposed rationing. The unrest, which turned violent, spread to at least 100 towns and cities as demonstrators demanded senior officials step down. Amnesty International meanwhile has updated the death toll to 115 from 106. Iran rejected the death toll figures as “speculative having claimed earlier this week that the figure is as low as 12.
United Nations officials also fear that 'a significant number of people' may have been killed. Meanwhile, police said 180 “ringleaders” of the unrest had been detained by its agents across the country, state television reported on Saturday. On Friday the judiciary said the Revolutionary Guards had arrested about 100 leaders of protests. About 1,000 demonstrators have been arrested, Iranian media said nearly a week ago. The Center for Human Rights in Iran, a New York-based advocacy group, said on its website that a tally based on official figures and credible reports suggested that “a minimum of 2,755 people have been arrested with the actual minimum number likely being closer to 4,000.” Iranian troops and members of the elite Revolutionary Guards helped police quell violent unrest in Kermanshah province this week, Iranian officials said on Saturday. Rights group Amnesty International said at least 30 people were killed in Kermanshah, making it the worst-hit by the protests. - With agencies

Six Protesters Killed in South Iraq as Unrest Intensifies
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 24/2019
Six protesters were killed Sunday in Iraq's south, where resurging anti-government demonstrations turned up the heat on paralyzed politicians facing the country's largest grassroots movement in decades. Three demonstrators were killed and around 50 wounded in clashes with security forces near the key southern port of Umm Qasr, the Iraqi Human Rights Commission reported. An AFP correspondent said security forces had fired live rounds at protesters trying to block access to the port. Since October 1, Iraq's capital and majority-Shiite south have been swept by mass demonstrations over corruption, lack of jobs and poor services that have escalated into calls for an overhaul of the ruling system.  Top leaders have publicly acknowledged the demands as legitimate and promised measures to appease protesters, including hiring drives, electoral reform and a cabinet reshuffle. But the rallies have continued, waning on some days but swelling when demonstrators felt politicians were stalling. On Sunday, protesters in the southern city of Nasiriyah blockaded five main bridges, shut down schools and burned tires outside public offices in anger. They blocked access to oil fields and companies around the city, torching as well its Shiite endowment center, a government body that manages religious sites. Medical sources said overnight three protesters had been shot dead and at least 47 others wounded by security forces in the city, some 300 kilometers (200 miles) south of the capital Baghdad. An estimated 350 people have been killed and thousands wounded since October 1, according to a tally compiled by AFP as authorities are not providing precise or updated figures. That makes the protests Iraq's deadliest grassroots movement in decades, but also its most widespread.
Live rounds in Karbala
The rural and tribalistic south has carried the torch of the movement for weeks, with students and teachers leading rallies outside schools and public offices. In an attempt to resume classes, the education ministry issued a directive for schools to open normally on Sunday, the first day of the work week in Iraq.But protesters in Nasiriyah defied the order and shut down schools anyway, AFP's correspondent said.  In the oil-rich southern city of Basra, demonstrators blocked main roads just before dawn, including those leading to the ports of Umm Qasr and Khor al-Zubair. The ports, which bring in food and medicine to Iraq but also export fuel products, have seen some delays in loading and offloading due to the unrest in recent weeks. Clashes also pitted protesters against security forces overnight in Karbala, one of Iraq's two Shiite holy cities. The two sides lobbed Molotov cocktails at each other from behind barricades set up in small alleyways. "They're throwing Molotov cocktails at us and at midnight, they started shooting live rounds," one demonstrator said. The streets were lit only by fires from the exploding makeshift grenades and green laser pointers used by demonstrators to disrupt the riot police's vision. "Our demands are clear: the downfall of this corrupt government," said another demonstrator, his face wrapped in a black scarf.
Budget discussions
Iraq is the 12th most corrupt country in the world, says Transparency International, and many protesters say the current political class is to blame. They accuse elites of awarding public sector jobs based on bribes, nepotism or sectarianism, leading to an unemployment rate of 25 percent.
Iraq's cabinet is currently discussing the 2020 budget before it is submitted to parliament and government sources say it is expected to be one of the country's largest yet. Sunday's violence came a day after the surprise visit of United States Vice President Mike Pence to Iraq, where he dropped in on American troops stationed in the country's west and met top leaders in the Kurdish region in the north. He did not, however, meet officials in Baghdad for "security reasons." The U.S. and Iraq have been close allies since the former led the 2003 invasion that toppled ex-dictator Saddam Hussein, but ties are now at their "coldest", officials from both countries have told AFP.

Thirteen dead in one of the ‘worst’ days of protest in southern Iraq
The Associated Press, Baghdad/Sunday, 24 November 2019
Thirteen anti-government protesters were killed Sunday by Iraqi security forces in one of the “worst” days of clashes in the country’s south, as protests swept through the oil-rich area, officials said. Demonstrators outraged by rampant government corruption and poor services burned tires and blocked main road arteries. Security and hospital officials, who requested anonymity in line with regulations, said seven protesters were killed in the southern province of Basra, near the Umm Qasr port. Security forces used live fire and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Earlier in Basra, which accounts for nearly 85 percent of the country’s crude oil production, protesters burned tires in the city center cutting main roads. Officials said four protesters were killed in Nassiriya province, and one killed in both Najaf and Diwanieh provinces. One security official in Basra said it was “one of the worst” days since the start of the protest movement. At least 150 protesters were wounded. At least 342 people have died since demonstrations began October 1, when thousands of Iraqis, mostly youth, took to the streets to decry corruption and poor services. The leaderless uprising seeks to overthrow the political establishment. Security forces appeared to have fired live rounds at protesters near the Umm Qasr port, killing three according to an official from the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights, who requested anonymity in line with regulations. Protesters had cut roads leading to Umm Qasr, the country’s main commodities port, halting all trade activity. Security forces cleared the area of protesters on Thursday.

Turkish drones target Syria’s Ain Issa, nearby villages
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Sunday, 24 November 2019
Turkish drones bombarded a camp in the northern town of Ain Issa and other villages in Syria’s city of Raqqa on Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Pro-Turkey factions had also withdrew from all the sites they had advanced to on the outskirts of Ain Issa. The SANA news agency had reported that Turkish forces waged a “violent attack” on Ain Issa on Saturday. In a statement on Facebook, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) said that Turkish forces and their factions “continue to violate the ceasefire agreement and occupy more of our areas.”
They said that the attack on Ain Issa displaced thousands and “exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.”“Erdogan continues to use the Syrian refugees’ card as a bargaining chip for political investments,” the statement read. Meanwhile Syrian regime forces regained control of the village of Mushrafa, in the southeast of Idlib following fierce battles with rebel factions and Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Syrian Observatory reported on Sunday. Regime forces raided the areas where the clashes were taking place, dropping several bombs on the countryside of Idlib. Russian warplanes also carried out several raids on Sunday morning on Maarat Harma and Al-Dar Al-Kabira in the southern countryside of Idlib, the observatory added.

Hong Kongers Vote in Record Numbers as Democracy Camp Seeks to Send Message
Naharnet/Naharnet/November 24/2019
Hong Kong's voters turned out in record numbers Sunday for local council elections that the city's pro-democracy movement hopes will add pressure on the Beijing-backed government to heed their demands after months of violent protest. Lengthy queues snaked out of polling stations across the territory in the election for 18 district councils, where high turnout is expected to benefit democratic forces. The Electoral Affairs Commission said a record 47.26 percent of the 4.13 million citizens registered to vote had cast their ballots by late Sunday afternoon. It was already the highest turnout in Hong Kong's history of district council elections post handover, with several hours of voting still to go. The selection of 452 councilors -- handling community-level concerns such as bus routes and garbage collection -- traditionally generates little excitement, but has taken on new significance following months of political unrest.
Hong Kong has been buffeted by months of mass rallies and violent clashes pitting police against protesters who are agitating for direct popular elections of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory's government, as well as a probe into alleged police brutality. District councils have long been dominated by the pro-Beijing establishment, and voters seeking change hope that weakening that grip will give their movement fresh momentum. "Even though one ballot can only help a little, I still hope it can bring change to society and support street protests in some way," 19-year-old student Michael Ng, voting for the first time, told AFP.The vote is the closest Hong Kongers get to direct representation.
- Voting for choice -
The territory's top-level legislature is elected by a mix of popular vote and seats reserved for industry groups stacked with China loyalists, which ensures Beijing's control of the city of around 7.3 million. The pro-democracy camp is calling Sunday's vote a referendum on Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the pro-Beijing government, who have resisted the movement's demands. "We are voting to give our judgement on what has happened... we're also voting to make a choice for what is yet to come," said Jimmy Sham, a pro-democracy candidate and a prominent figure in the largely leaderless protest movement. But the polls are not entirely symbolic: some candidates for next year's legislative elections will be drawn from district councilors, and the bodies also will contribute 117 members to the 1,200-strong Beijing-controlled electoral college that chooses the chief executive. Protests have been muted in recent days after pro-democracy figures urged citizens to cease disruptions to avoid giving the government an excuse to delay or suspend the polls. Police were deployed at some polling stations and on city streets, but their presence was not particularly heavy. No violence or other disturbances were reported. "I'm pleased to say that... we should have a relatively peaceful and calm environment to conduct these elections successfully," Lam said after voting in her constituency on Hong Kong island. The political unrest kicked into high gear with giant rallies in June against a bill backed by Lam that would allow extraditions to China's opaque justice system. The bill was eventually withdrawn as public pressure grew, but the anger that it unleashed sparked wider calls for democracy. Analysts expect pro-democracy candidates to see gains in the district councils but still fall short of a majority of slots. Campaigning has been marred by acrimony, with one pro-democracy candidate having his ear bitten off in an attack, while 17 other candidates of all stripes have been arrested over protest-related activities. Election authorities banned leading democracy activist Joshua Wong from running in the district poll for backing Hong Kong "self-determination."

US Defense Secretary asks for navy chief’s resignation: Statement
AFP, Washington/Monday, 25 November 2019
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday requested the navy chief’s resignation amid a dispute over an elite SEAL commando whose demotion for misconduct was reversed by President Donald Trump.Esper “asked for the resignation of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer after losing trust and confidence in him regarding his lack of candor over conversations with the White House involving the handling of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher,” the Department of Defense said in a statement.

Merkel ally calls for better Franco-German ties after NATO row
Reuters, Berlin/Sunday, 24 November 2019
Germany and France must bury their differences and pursue a constructive partnership with concrete ideas, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a public spat between the two European Union heavyweights over NATO. Relations between the neighbors, traditionally the axis of the 28-member bloc, have become particularly tricky since French President Emmanuel Macron came to power as his ambitious plans for reform have often hit the buffers with cautious Merkel. Many commentators say the fraught relationship between Berlin and Paris is holding back the EU at a time when it needs to show a united front towards other world powers, such as the United States and China. Macron irked some allies, including Germany, this month by saying the NATO defense alliance was experiencing brain death and casting doubt on its collective guarantee, whereby an attack on one member is an attack on all in NATO. Merkel slapped down Macron saying he had used “drastic words” and had overreacted. She saw NATO differently, she said. Norbert Roettgen, a member of Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and head of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Germany’s Bild daily that he understood the chancellor. “But all this doesn’t help, we have to get relations with France back on a constructive track,” he told Monday’s edition of Bild, according to an extract released on Sunday. “To do that we don’t always have to wait for Macron’s proposals, but we must make some, or at least one, of our own,” he said, suggesting ideas such as a common 5G network for the two countries or a bi-national sovereign bond for innovation. “We could transform ourselves from the repairman into a driver of German-French ideas,” he said. Bild daily also cited a report in the New York Times which said Merkel had shown exasperation with Macron at a dinner to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. “I understand your desire for disruptive politics. But I’m tired of picking up the pieces. Over and over, I have to glue together the cups you have broken so we can then sit down and have a cup of tea together,” she was reported as saying to him.

Romania’s Iohannis wins second presidential term with rule of law pledge
Reuters, Bucharest/Monday, 25 November 2019
Romania’s centrist President Klaus Iohannis won a presidential election runoff on Sunday as expected, crushing his socialist challenger with a pledge to resume judicial reforms slowed down by successive Social Democrat (PSD) governments. Two separate exit polls showed Iohannis garnered 64 percent-67 percent of the vote, with former prime minister Viorica Dancila of the left-leaning PSD taking 33-36 percent. “The winner today is modern Romania, European Romania, the normal Romania,” Iohannis told reporters in his victory speech. Under a succession of PSD governments, Romania, a European Union member state, has rolled back anti-corruption measures in recent years. Along with ex-communist peers Poland and Hungary, it has been heavily criticized by Brussels for its actions. However, 60-year-old Iohannis has been credited by Western allies and the European Union with trying to protect the rule of law, in particular by challenging attempts to limit judges’ independence. The president’s powers are mostly limited to nominating a prime minister on the basis of who can command a majority, challenging laws in the Constitutional Court, and appointing some chief prosecutors.
Iohannis is expected to install anti-graft and anti-mafia prosecutors who are serious about tackling endemic corruption with the backing of Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who became head of a liberal minority government by winning a parliamentary vote of confidence three weeks ago.
Teacher Andreea Mihai, 50, said “things should slowly return to normality. Both Orban and Iohannis will work together in the same direction.” Dancila’s PSD had increased the burden of proof in corruption cases, reorganized panels of judges and set up a special unit to investigate magistrates for potential abuses, a move widely seen as an instrument of political coercion. Romania’s judicial reforms have been monitored by Brussels since it joined the EU in 2007; in October, Brussels said the reforms were going backwards. Iohannis, a soft-spoken ethnic German and former mayor of Sibiu, became president in 2014. He helped to secure popular approval in a referendum last May that called for the government to be banned from altering legislation by emergency decrees, and advocated a ban on amnesties and pardons for graft-related crimes. Data from Romania’s election commission, which is expected to announce partial official results on Monday, showed turnout of about 50 percent, with a record 920,000 voters from the country’s diaspora taking part.

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 24-25/2019
Fourteen Years after Cartoon Crisis, Norway again Knuckles Under to Islam
Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/November 24/ 2019
While one can hardly imagine the Pakistani government responding to Norwegian pressure to stop oppressing Ahmadiyya Muslims, Hindus, women, gays, and so on, Pakistan has not hesitated to complain about developments in Norway that offend its delicate cultural sensibilities.
So it was that the representative of a purportedly free country fell all over himself assuring officials of an "Islamic Republic" that, at least when Islam is in the picture, freedom of speech and of assembly in Norway have their limits.
Once again, alas, it appears that when the exercise of fundamental Norwegian freedoms causes offense, the powers that be in Norway have no hesitation about choosing the wrong side.
While one can hardly imagine the Pakistani government responding to Norwegian pressure to stop oppressing Ahmadiyya Muslims, Hindus, women, gays, and so on, Pakistan has not hesitated to complain about developments in Norway that offend its delicate cultural sensibilities. Pictured: The Embassy of Pakistan in Oslo, Norway, photographed on May 2, 2013.
There has long been what you might call a "special relationship" between Norway and Pakistan. Although they have since been overtaken statistically by Somalis, Iranians, and Iraqis, Pakistanis used to be the major Muslim immigrant group in Norway. The area around the city of Kharian in the Punjab is even known as "Little Norway" because so many people from this region have settled in Norway. Indeed, many of those folks from Kharian, having made a bundle on Norwegian welfare payments or by driving cabs in Oslo, running kebab joints, or whatever, have built veritable palaces back home. They come complete with servants (or near-slaves), and are the principal residences of some of their wives and children and where they themselves spend months at a time.
So many Norwegian voters have "second homes" of this sort in or around Kharian that Norwegian politicians have actually campaigned there. Muslim children born in Norway are routinely sent back to Kharian and environs to go to school -- more specifically, to attend the madrassas, or Koran schools -- so that they will not be poisoned by Western values. In recent years, Norwegian Muslim politicians and journalists have proposed that the Norwegian government finance at least one school in Kharian for local children who hold Norwegian passports.
Traffic back and forth between the two countries by people with double residency is heavy: if some day you find yourself at Oslo Airport, you will invariably see at least one long line consisting largely of bearded men, women in hijab, and armies of children, each family accompanied by tons of luggage, who are awaiting the next flight to Islamabad, Karachi, or Lahore.
It would be impossible to measure the amount of Norwegian taxpayer money that has been injected into the Pakistani economy over the years. What is beyond question is that it is a huge sum. You might think that wealth transfers, however substantial, from a European country of six million people to an Asian country of 213 million could hardly make much of a difference. Yet, despite its tiny population, Norway, believe it or not, has a bigger economy than Pakistan -- depending on how you measure, it has the world's approximately 30th highest nominal GDP, more or less, as opposed to Pakistan's 40th or thereabouts. So all those kroner matter.
For this reason alone, you might expect that Pakistani authorities would treat their Norwegian counterparts with at least a modicum of respect, and that the government in Oslo would wield some kind of clout in Pakistan. On the contrary, this is an instance where the tail often seems to wag the dog. While one can hardly imagine the Pakistani government responding to Norwegian pressure to stop oppressing Ahmadiyya Muslims, Hindus, women, gays, and so on, Pakistan has not hesitated to complain about developments in Norway that offend its delicate cultural sensibilities.
On November 16, a group called Stop the Islamization of Norway (Stopp Islamiseringen av Norge - SIAN) had publicly set fire to a copy of the Koran in a garbage can in the city of Kristiansand. The event was attended by more than thirty police officers, who were under secret orders from the chief of the Norwegian police, Marie Benedicte Bjørnland, to try to prevent the burning before it could take place; in fact SIAN managed to set the book alight and it took a few seconds for the police to put out the flames.
Bjørnland later defended her directive by citing the so-called "racism clause" of Norway's criminal law, even though, as legal experts pointed out, that clause does not cover such actions, and the blasphemy law that might conceivably have been used to justify Bjørnland's edict was repealed several years ago. Nonetheless, politicians, commentators, and other public figures directed their criticism not at Bjørnland but at SIAN. On November 23, it was reported that Norway's Minister of Justice, Jøran Kallmyr, was giving Bjørnland his full support. "Prosecutors," he explained, "have determined that burning the Koran can become a crime."
"Can become a crime"? "Become", let me interject, is my own translation of the relatively rare expression that Kallmyr used, "skli over i." Although his way of expressing his reasoning is frankly somewhat baffling, he definitely did not say that Koran burning is a crime, but rather that it could somehow become a crime. He makes it sound like some kind of alchemical process.
Another piece of news came out on November 23: it turned out that for the government of Pakistan, even Bjørnland's plan single-handedly to curb SIAN's constitutional rights was not good enough. Kjell-Gunnar Eriksen, Norway's ambassador to Pakistan, according to NRK's evening news show Dagsrevyen, had been "called on the carpet" because of the Koran burning. Officials at the department of foreign affairs in Islamabad ordered Eriksen to convey to his superiors in Oslo the "deep concern" of the Pakistani government and people over the act of "desecration." Eriksen, in response, underscored that Norwegian authorities utterly deplore the Koran burning and that the police had put an end to the demonstration. So it was that the representative of a purportedly free country fell all over himself assuring officials of an "Islamic Republic" that, at least when Islam is in the picture, freedom of speech and of assembly in Norway have their limits.
One was reminded immediately of the pusillanimous behavior of Norwegian authorities during the cartoon crisis of 2005-2006. After the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published drawings of Muhammad, sparking violence around the Muslim world and a mass protest by Muslims in the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark's then-prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen flatly refused to meet with the ambassadors of several Muslim countries who wished to register their outrage, because, he explained, Danes enjoyed freedom of expression and there was therefore nothing to be discussed.
By contrast, in Norway, when Vebjørn Selbekk, the editor of a small Christian newspaper, reprinted the cartoons, Norwegian authorities, from the prime minister on down, could not stop apologizing, and pressured Selbekk so mercilessly to join that he ultimately caved in, begging forgiveness of a roomful of Muslim leaders in a ceremony organized and attended by several of the highest-ranking leaders of the Norwegian government. Once again, alas, it appears that when the exercise of fundamental Norwegian freedoms causes offense, the powers that be in Norway have no hesitation about choosing the wrong side.
*Bruce Bawer is the author of the new novel The Alhambra (Swamp Fox Editions). His book While Europe Slept (2006) was a New York Times bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. His other books include A Place at the Table (1993), Stealing Jesus (1997), Surrender (2009), and The Victims' Revolution (2012). A native New Yorker, he has lived in Europe since 1998.
© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Trump administration continues gifting stolen land to Netanyahu
Baria Alamuddin/Arabic News/November 24, 2019
In a week dominated by US impeachment and mass protests in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bolivia and Hong Kong, one earth-shattering development gained infinitely less attention than it deserved: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement that the US no longer regards Israeli settlements on Palestinian land as illegal.
Even prior to this, the rate of announcements that fundamentally prejudice the Palestinian question has been dizzying: US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem, and later the Golan Heights, as Israeli; Israel’s plan to retrospectively legalize settlements; proposals from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet allies to annex much of the rural West Bank; US decisions to halt funding and deny Palestinian refugees’ right of return; and Netanyahu’s election pledge to annex the entire Jordan Valley.
In parallel, there has been a rapid upsurge in settlement construction and expansion. Benefitting from cheap house prices and state subsidies, 620,000 Israelis now live on occupied land — 10 percent of Israel’s Jewish population.
Whereas settlers were once a crackpot messianic fringe movement, a succession of right-wing leaders since September 2000 (when the West Bank settler population, excluding East Jerusalem, was around 170,000) have succeeded in making the settlement enterprise synonymous with the Israeli state. With settlement blocs becoming a normalized, quasi-permanent part of Israel’s commuter belt, bank mortgages are now easily available.
Israel is meanwhile in an advanced state of political meltdown, heading toward its third inconclusive round of parliamentary elections. This is largely because Netanyahu has blocked any configuration in which he does not continue as prime minister; because he is determined to hold the country hostage to avoid stepping down over corruption charges.
This is against a backdrop of intensifying skirmishes with Iranian proxies. As well as the Syria and Lebanon borders being increasingly fissile, the recent escalation in Gaza is a reminder of how easily all-out conflict can erupt with little prior warning.
Jared Kushner’s “deal to end all deals” was a bad joke before it was farcically voided of all content by Trump’s lavish gifts to Netanyahu (what gifts are cheaper to give than those that are not yours in the first place?).
The settlement enterprise was never just about increased living space, but rather plunging a poisoned dagger into aspirations for Palestinian statehood.
The settlement enterprise was never just about increased living space, but rather plunging a poisoned dagger into aspirations for Palestinian statehood. The geographical distribution of over 250 settlements and outposts calculatedly dissects Palestinian land into ribbons, chokes off Palestinian access to East Jerusalem, and isolates population centers from one another.
The Jordan Valley (around one-third of the West Bank) only has around 11,000 Jewish settlers. Yet the seizure of military zones and “nature reserves” has left Palestinian farmers with only 12 percent of the land, in an area that once generated most of Palestine’s agricultural produce. Construction permits for Palestinians are almost impossible to obtain, and rudimentary shelters are routinely demolished.
Given that Trump’s unilateral stances on Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the West Bank are also illegal and nakedly seek to help Netanyahu avoid jail, why has the Trump administration not already been hauled before the courts to answer for its gratuitous sabotage of regional security, along with enabling Turkey’s ethnic cleansing of Syrian Kurds?
Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the 2011 Arab uprisings, for decades Palestine was the principal grievance fueling regional instability and radicalization. Palestine became a central element of Al-Qaeda recruitment propaganda, and provided the central justification for Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah taking up arms and accepting Iranian funding.
The Palestine issue was thus the Trojan horse that allowed both Sunni radicalism and Iran-backed Shiite militancy to take root, despite the ayatollahs and the late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden having little sympathy for the Palestinians.
With or without Arab and international backing, at some point the Palestinians, pushed by dispossession and destitution, will erupt in a new intifada (uprising). This is likely what Netanyahu wants, as it would provide a pretext to militarily crack down, steal additional land and further restrict civil freedoms.
What Netanyahu would never be able to grapple with would be a peaceful intifada of all 4.5 million Palestinians under occupation, along with nearly 2 million Palestinians living in Israel. Such a mass civil uprising would paralyze Israel’s capacity to respond, and force the Palestinian question back onto the international agenda.
Unilateral attempts to dictate Palestine’s status are further evidence that we no longer live in a global system rooted in international law. These measures violate so many UN resolutions, which for decades adopted consistent positions on Jerusalem, occupied land, refugees and other questions.
If international law is not imposed consistently and rigorously, then it is nothing. Dictators and warmongers will base their own genocidal, expansionist schemes on what Israel and Iran have been allowed to get away with. With a further 5 million Palestinians living just outside Palestine’s borders, vacuous declarations of annexation are impotent against the time-bomb of demographics, necessitating that an Israeli state seeking to devour all of Palestine can never be a representative democracy, and may have to fully evolve into a military dictatorship in a doomed attempt to crush mass popular dissent.
Such a nakedly apartheid state would struggle to win public solidarity anywhere in the world, including among educated and conscientious Americans. With Israel wholly reliant on foreign funding and military aid, this drift toward pariah status erodes the fundamental tenets that ensure its very survival.
For their own ruthlessly partisan gain, Trump and Netanyahu boast that they have realized all of Zionism’s most grandiose ambitions. Instead, they have guaranteed its long-term demise.
*Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Popular resistance against Iranian regime will not die
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arabic News/November 24/2019
The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani recently claimed victory and said that the protests have been defeated after a wave of demonstrations swept the country due to the hike in fuel prices last week.
From the perspective of Iran’s top authorities, including the so-called moderate president of the Islamic Republic and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, any protests in the country are a matter of national security and should be dealt with immediately.
The Iranian leaders attempted to conceal the fact that the regime’s forces have resorted to violent methods of cracking down to suppress the recent protests. The Iranian authorities deployed brute force through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and volunteer militia organization, the Basij. Its forces fired at protesters, killing young people, and arrested many who are innocent, including many university students mainly affiliated with Tehran University.
The regime’s recent violence against the protesters is considered the worst since the crackdown on the “Green Revolution” in 2009. Amnesty International said: “Verified video footage, eyewitness testimony from people on the ground and information gathered from human rights activists outside Iran reveal a harrowing pattern of unlawful killings by Iranian security forces, which have used excessive and lethal force to crush largely peaceful protests in more than 100 cities across Iran sparked by a hike in fuel prices on Nov. 15. At least 106 protesters in 21 cities have been killed, according to credible reports received by Amnesty International.”
The real death toll is believed to be much higher. The Iranian leadership also immediately cut off modes of communication, such as the Internet and mobile phones, in an attempt to prevent further mobilization against the regime — a lesson it learned from the widespread protests in 2009 and late 2017.
But what it is important to point out is that, even if the regime succeeds at brutally suppressing these recent waves of demonstrations, the deep frustration and anger shared by many in the country against the regime will most likely continue to simmer under the surface. There are several reasons why the Iranian regime will continue to be plagued with demonstrations.
First, every time the regime cracks down on protests, it does not address people’s underlying concerns. The Iranian regime does not appear to be concerned about the demands and aspirations of its citizens. Instead, it continues to prioritize supporting, financing, arming and training terrorist-designated groups in the region — militias that advance the ruling mullahs’ objectives.
The gap between the wealth of the ordinary people, on the one hand, and the wealth of the ruling politicians, their loyalists and gilded circles continues to grow.
The fundamental problems of the Iranian people can be categorized into several issues. The economic difficulties that ordinary Iranian people suffer from are clearly evident in the country’s statistics. The rate of unemployment among young people is high, even though many are highly educated and skilled. Inflation continues to soar while the cost of everyday commodities such as foods has been skyrocketing. For example, while the monthly salary of a teacher hovers at about $200, the expenses for a four-person family in an average neighborhood (food, rent, utilities) is more than 88 million rials, or about $2,500, making it more expensive than the cost of living in some Western countries.
Many Iranians will continue to ask why should people suffer while their nation is one of the wealthiest when it comes to natural resources — Iran has the second and fourth-largest gas and oil reserves in the world respectively. It also enjoys high levels of exports in chemicals, plastics, fruits, ceramic products and metals.
Second, the gap between the wealth of the ordinary people, on the one hand, and the wealth of the ruling politicians, their loyalists and gilded circles continues to grow, which further contributes to the people’s increasing frustration. While the overwhelming majority of the people are suffering economically, the regime has significantly continued to increase the budget of the IRGC and its affiliates such as the Quds Force, as well as invest in its ballistic missile program.
Even when the regime receives billions of dollars in extra revenues — such as when the 2015 nuclear deal was struck and sanctions lifted — the beneficiaries of the extra revenue were not the ordinary people but the IRGC, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and loyalists to the regime. For almost 40 years, the regime’s authorities have declined to fairly redistribute wealth.
Third, people are frustrated with the widespread corruption at the top. There exists no rule of law to hold the gilded circle of the regime’s leaders accountable for how the wealth of the nation is being hemorrhaged.
The slogans that people have been chanting also show that resistance will continue because of the disaffection with the regime’s political establishment when it comes to human rights abuses, suppression of freedom of speech, press and assembly, and a lack of rule of law and justice.
The popular resistance against the Islamic Republic will not die through the regime’s crackdown and violent suppression. Demonstrations will most likely resurface in the country and always have the potential to turn into nationwide demonstrations.
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

The liberal spirit captivating the Mideast’s revolutions
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Arabic News/November 24/2019
Reflecting on the three major events in the Middle East — Iran, Iraq and Lebanon — we realize that they are more than trying to break free from failed regimes and miserable economic conditions. They also share homogeneity in intellectual identity, the profile of the individual and the society represented by the angry street protesters in Tehran, Basra and Beirut. They are young people who have risen against the formula of the political system, with its old features and practices, even in Iraq, which is led by relatively new institutions and regimes, but those in charge resemble their counterparts in Tehran and Beirut.
In addition to standing up against failure and corruption, this is a revolution with calls for greater social change than bread and employment. It is against religious extremism and in favor of social openness. It has a liberal spirit in keeping with the region’s modern variables. In Iran, about 60 million people under the age of 35 are unrelated to those in Qom and Tehran’s palaces. The same proportion and crisis can be found in Iraq and Lebanon.
There are overt hostile manifestations against the dominance of conservatives and clerics, even in two cities that depend spiritually and economically on religious benefits such as Karbala and Najaf. The demonstrations raised blunt slogans in their hostility to religious leaders. The images, voices and banners in all three countries attack the existing conservative situation because it is a boat for politicians and the rule of state entities. The result is that all these regimes have succeeded in religious domination but have failed to provide economic solutions for the country.
In addition to standing up against failure and corruption, this is a revolution with calls for greater social change than bread and employment.
The regimes have deprived young people of their liberties, normal lives and the right to shape their future. Do those who demonstrate in Beirut know the size of the forces on the ground? Do those carrying pots fear those who hold guns? Perhaps not, or perhaps they do not care because they want to declare their desire for change. We also note that they have been too clever to fall for the foxes of the dominant forces, such as the presidency, Hezbollah and the beneficiaries of the status quo, who are trying to drag the angry to the pitfalls of treason, such as the weapons of the resistance, the legitimacy of the resistance or relationship with Israel. They avoided such pitfalls in order to prevent the regime’s guards from accusing them of treason and considering them the enemies of the nation who should be eliminated.
In Iran, they have gone far. The demonstrators rejected Ayatollah’s tutelage, the extreme limits of the rebellion in Iranian society, which all the young people had been taught to sanctify by the regime in order to ensure governance after the overthrow of the Shah. This is not quite Western democratic liberalism, but it has a great yearning for salvation, to topple the religious establishment that has crouched on the chests of 90 million people for forty years. The religious model in Iran and Iraq has failed. Even in Lebanon — where in the name of the crescent and the cross, politicians share the country’s resources from waste to oil — they have failed to serve their citizens.
Iran was a rich, radiant leader in the region under the Shah’s administration, but all that ended because of the power of the clerics, who insisted on ruling the country instead of mentoring and preaching the rulers. It was not enough for them to cultivate the tragedy in Iran; they had to spread it across borders and religions to neighboring Iraq. Modern political institutions there have become an easy passage for Iranian clerics, using parliaments and presidencies to influence and dominate civilian politicians.
And in Lebanon, sectarians have inherited the old French-Lebanese colony, where people of different cultures and temples yearn for salvation and change. The songs and melodies of the protesters have upset political leaders who do not know how to deal with this different situation. The protesters do not raise the flags of the US and Israel, they do not chant one sect against another, nor one leader against another.
We are witnessing intellectual changes, not just living changes. Inadequate institutions will fall if they do not adopt the project of the protesters and go with them on the same path. And if they do not do that, they will not survive in the long run, even if they survive this time.
*Abdulrahman Al-Rashed is a veteran columnist. He is the former general manager of Al Arabiya news channel, and former editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat. Twitter: @aalrashed

Time to address the violence Arab women face
Maria Hanif Al-Qassim/Arabic News/November 24/2019
Dear Arab man. I often write about women: Their complex realities, their daily struggles and their inspiring triumphs. In the context of the Arab world, I also write about the discrimination they face every day, in the hope that my humble words can find a receptive ear and trigger some sort of positive change.
I write to a broad audience, hoping that my words will somehow find their way to you — maybe even resonate with you. But I have hesitated countless times to write to you openly. I have paused before addressing some critical issues directly with you, my Arab male counterpart. Today, however, is the day I gather all my courage to do so. Nov. 25 is designated by the UN General Assembly as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Not long ago, we witnessed the brutal murder of Palestinian Israa Ghareeb, who is believed to have died at the hands of her own male family members: A so-called honor killing. Israa’s pain-ridden screams and pleas have echoed across the Middle East since the news of her demise broke. How can the role and identity of a male relative so quickly change from protector to murderer when it comes to the very person they are meant to care for? Many of us Arab women are wondering.
The reactions across the Arab world ranged from outrage to disbelief to deep sadness and heartbreak over the loss of an innocent 21-year-old. I felt a glimmer of hope as I read through, listened to, and watched the reactions. It was comforting to see both men and women refusing to let this so-called honor killing pass without a fight. For once, it felt like times had changed.
A fight against centuries-old tradition and ideology is no easy feat, however — that much was strikingly evident from the countless men across the Arab world who shamelessly declared the act not only excusable, but honorable.
That made me realize we have a long way to go, and that it is time for us to have an open dialogue if we are to hope for real and lasting change in our societies.
Today, let us not try to pretend that real issues do not exist. Let us not pretend that the majority of women in this region do not suffer a range of abuses, or that women are not still at risk of losing their lives to crimes disgustingly and audaciously justified in the guise of protecting a family’s honor.
This letter is about staring crude reality in the face, admitting to our shortcomings and taking responsibility for the violence against women in the Arab world.
Too many men still view women through radically and dangerously distorted lenses.
Abuse targeting women does exist in our region, and it comes in many forms: Physical, emotional, sexual, psychological, economic and verbal. Many people in our region downplay the extent to which abuse is prevalent around us, dismiss some forms of abuse, or justify it in certain instances as a necessity to discipline women or preserve family honor.
The fact of the matter is that more than a third of Arab women have experienced some form of abuse. Considering that six out of every 10 women do not seek protection from abuse means that the real prevalence may even be higher than this figure. Underreporting of spousal violence is common in the Arab world, which is attributed to many factors, such as shame, fear of retaliation, lack of awareness about legal rights, fear of the legal system, and financial insecurity.
A national survey in Morocco estimated the prevalence of physical violence against women to be at 62 percent. Even in Tunisia — often considered the most progressive country in the Middle East in terms of gender parity policies and legislations — the state reports that more than half of Tunisian women have experienced some form of domestic abuse.
In the Arab world, as many as four in every 10 female homicide victims are killed by intimate partners. In Palestine, Israa was the 19th case of honor killing in 2019, according to nongovernmental agencies. Palestinian police data for 2018 indicate that honor killings accounted for 12 percent of total homicide cases. In neighboring Jordan, a country known for having one of the highest rates of honor crimes in the world, Human Rights Watch estimates that 15 to 20 women and girls are burned, beaten or stabbed to death every year by family members; again, in the name of honor.
These figures are horrific, not least because they take into account only those who have in some way voiced what they have been through, or have had someone do it on their behalf. Can you imagine how drastically the figures would change if all abused women in the Arab world spoke up, or if states were more transparent about honor killings within their borders?
This brings us to the next point: How abuse is justified in our societies, particularly within families. In Egypt, the prevalence of domestic violence has not changed in over two decades, with almost a third of married women experiencing a form of physical violence and abuse from their husbands. Often, domestic violence occurs because an abuser believes that violent acts against members of their family are acceptable, and at times even justified.
Too many men still view women through radically and dangerously distorted lenses. The way the rape of women is used as a weapon of war is especially telling. Women are still viewed as objects that can be used and discarded, traded and abused to cause insult to other men. Is it any wonder then that women are being abused at such alarming rates in this region?
It is imperative that we ask ourselves how a woman and a man, both creatures of the same species, still stand at opposite ends on the spectrum of fairness and justice. Violence toward a wife, a sister or a daughter is still violence. Men do not own the women in their family and, as such, nothing warrants abusing them, let alone taking their lives.
It is high time that we questioned everything we have learned about gender norms, as agonizing as the process may be. That is the only way forward for our frail societies, and the only way we will prevent tragic, untimely and unjust deaths like Israa’s — after all, she was guilty of nothing more than being born a woman.
*Maria Hanif Al-Qassim is an Emirati from Dubai who writes on development, gender and social issues. Twitter: @maria_hanif

Turkey squeezed on S-400 air defense system
Yasar Yakis/Arabic News/November 24/2019
My last article focused on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Nov. 13 visit to Washington as a whole. This article will focus on the most important issue discussed during that visit — Ankara’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system — because it has the potential to spoil many aspects of Turkish-US relations. Moscow was not part of the talks in Washington, but the outcome directly affects Turkish-Russian relations.
When the S-400 issue came up in the early 2010s between Turkey and the US, Washington was furiously opposed to it, on the grounds that the air defense system could identify weaknesses in NATO’s new-generation F-35 fighters, and because purchasing Russian equipment would be a loss for member states’ industry.
At the time, Erdogan chose to use megaphone diplomacy with the US, addressing the NATO ally with words that made domestic audiences in Turkey proud of their president. But this antagonized decision-makers in Washington. He was confident that “his good friend,” US President Donald Trump, would silence those who were opposed to Turkey’s policy on this issue, and would find a way out of the deadlock. This expectation is now being tarnished.
The background of the S-400 affair shows that Erdogan was originally right in his approach. At the height of Middle Eastern crises, Turkey needed a reliable air defense system. Some NATO countries agreed to help by temporarily deploying their US-made patriot batteries in Turkey, but they withdrew them before the threat was over. Therefore, Ankara decided that it would not rely on the goodwill of other countries.
It opened a tender to acquire an air defense system. Several countries submitted offers. The Russian bid was $8.4 billion, the US bid was $4.6 billion, the Italian-French bid was $4.4 billion, and the Chinese bid was $3.44 billion. Turkey could not take the Chinese offer because of US sanctions.
Initially the Russian bid was the highest, but by bargaining a slightly different format, it was agreed for $2.5 billion. In addition, a new version of the S-400 was scheduled to be manufactured in Turkey under the co-production formula.
In light of this backdrop, Erdogan thought he could use his close relations with Trump to persuade various departments in Washington that Turkey was right in what it was doing. But Erdogan did not take into account the importance of the separation of powers in the US, and the power of the legislative to limit the actions of the president. Both leaders did their best to overcome the difficulty.
The S-400 is not interoperable with the NATO Air Defense Ground Environment (NADGE), and the deal drives a wedge between Turkey and other NATO allies.
The S-400 is not interoperable with the NATO Air Defense Ground Environment (NADGE), and the deal drives a wedge between Turkey and other NATO allies. The US Congress is adamant on imposing sanctions if the S-400 is deployed in Turkey.
The Washington Post reported that Trump had sent an ultimatum-like letter shortly before his meeting with Erdogan, telling him that Turkey would face sanctions if it did not refrain from deploying the S-400 and promise that it would not buy other Russian weapons. Trump added that the US would like to send observers to Turkey to verify whether the S-400 has been deployed.
After returning from Washington, Erdogan said in a meeting of the parliamentary group of his ruling AK Party that he had explained the background to Trump, and that the latter understood the reasons behind Turkey’s attitude, but because of the impeachment process and next year’s US presidential elections, he had to move cautiously.
Erdogan also said he explained to Trump that it would not be possible for Ankara to give up the S-400, and that insisting on this would amount to interference in Turkey’s sovereign right to acquire any air defense system that it wishes.
The two leaders chose the right way in this difficult atmosphere, and decided to refer the issue to a committee that includes the foreign ministers of both countries, with the participation of defense and intelligence experts. They will meet on Dec. 4 on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in London.
A miracle on this complicated problem is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Moscow will follow developments with the utmost attention. Since Turkey has committed itself to paying for the system, there is no economic loss for Russia, even if, due to strong US pressure, Ankara refrains from deploying it. But Turkish-Russian relations will emerge bruised from this clash.
In light of this background, the deployment of the S-400 may be postponed until the impeachment and election processes are over.
• Yasar Yakis is a former foreign minister of Turkey and founding member of the ruling AK Party. Twitter: @yakis_yasar