English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For September 11/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For today
Jesus said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 17/31-37: “On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back.Remember Lot’s wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.’Then they asked him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”’

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September10-11/2020

Blaze at Beirut port rattles distrustful residents a month after blast
Second Time in One Week Fire Erupts at Blast Site in Beirut
Aoun to Defense Council: Mistakes that Lead to Fires No Longer Acceptable
Lebanon’s president says sabotage may have been behind Beirut fire
Najm, Oueidat Order Probe into Beirut Port Blaze
Najjar Says Port Fire Sparked by Maintenance Works
Port Fire Hits ICRC's Food Aid including '0.5 Million Liters of Oil'
Major fire in Beirut port triggers ‘fear and panic’ among already distressed citizens
Beirut Blast Bears Witness to Lawlessness of World's Oceans
French sanctions on the table for Lebanese officials as deadline looms: Elysee source
STL Dismisses Motion Challenging Connectedness of Attacks
Sawwan Hears Testimonies of Outgoing Minister, Security Chief over Port Blast
IMF Set to Help Lebanon Once New Government in Place
EU Official to Visit Beirut Saturday Carrying Humanitarian Aid
Lebanese army says it downed Israeli drone near southern border
French Television Channel Organizes Support Program for Lebanon
Report: Aoun Dispatches Ibrahim to France
Lebanon: Shiite Duo Insists on Finance Ministry After New US Sanctions
Huge Fire at Beirut Port a Month after Massive Blast
Former Lebanese Minister Sejaan Azzi: Israel No Longer Presents An Imminent Threat To Lebanon; Israel Wants Peace With Lebanon; We Cannot Live In Constant War
Security incidents in Lebanon on the rise as economy worsens/Mona Alami, Al Arabiya English/September 19/ 2020
US sanctions a warning to Lebanon's political class
The New York Times Thorough Investigation of the Deadly Blast: Hezbollah, Amal and Associates/Charles Elias Chartouni/September 10/2020
Haniyeh...an Unwanted Visitor!/Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 10/2020
Hamas chief Haniyeh's visit to Beirut puts burden on Lebanon/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/September 10/2020
In Lebanon, Beirut's port needs rebuilding, but no one has yet stepped up/Rami Rayess/Al Arabiya/September 10/2020

 

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September10-11/2020

Mike Pompeo travels to Qatar for Taliban talks
Iran Kicks Off Naval Exercise Near Strait of Hormuz
Denmark Says to Open Embassy in Iraq's Capital
Arab FMs Condemn Turkish, Iranian Interventions… Adhere to Peace Initiative
Iraq Eases COVID-19 Restrictions Despite Spike in Cases
PLO Member Denies Intention to Clash with the UAE
Macron Calls for EU Unity on 'Unacceptable' Turkey Behavior
China to Join Military Exercises in Southern Russia
Algerian Court Sentences Two Figures of Former Regime to Prison
Tunisia’s Coronavirus Cases Pass the 5,000 Mark
Readout: Canada continues to lead international coordination on response to COVID-19
Netherlands to Compensate Survivor of 2015 Iraq Airstrike
Sudan's Govt, Rebels to Sign Final Peace Deal on Oct. 2
Libyan Figures Welcome EU’s Intention to Lift Sanctions on Saleh

 

Titles For The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September10-11/2020

Iran’s growing arsenal of missiles a threat to region/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh /Arab News/September 10/2020
Turkey’s strategic assertiveness a dangerous development/Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/September 10/2020
The curse of bad governance/Afshin Molavi/Arab News/September 10/2020
Saudi Columnist 'Abd Al-'Aziz Al-Hazani : Palestinians Have No Right To Judge Arab Countries Wishing To Normalize Relations With Israel/MEMRI/September 10/2020
The Biden Agenda: Why ‘Outside-In’ Diplomacy Could Be the Key to Middle East Peace/Jonathan Schanzer/FDD/September 10/2020
Hamas Prioritizes Terrorism Over COVID-19 Outbreak in Gaza/Joe Truzman//FDD/September 10/2020
Azerbaijan MP tells ‘Post’ Iran must not execute wrestler/Benjamin Weinthal/FDD/September 10/2020

 

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on September10-11/2020

Blaze at Beirut port rattles distrustful residents a month after blast
The Arab Weekly/September 10/2020
BEIRUT - A large fire erupted at Beirut port on Thursday, sending a huge column of smoke over the Lebanese capital weeks after a massive blast devastated the port and surrounding residential area.
The fire jangled nerves in a nation grappling with a deep economic crisis and where the population has little trust in the government, especially since the August 4 blast that killed about 190 people and injured over 6,000.
The circumstances of that explosion are still to be elucidated despite an internationally-assisted government probe.
The blaze began in the shattered duty free zone of the port, prompting some residents to flee the city still traumatised by last month’s explosion which followed a port fire. “For sure we were scared, it’s only been a month since the explosion that destroyed Beirut. We saw the same thing happening again,” 53-year-old Andre Muarbes said as some districts of the capital were shrouded by a cloud of black smoke. A military source said early indications suggested the blaze started when cooking oil in the port area caught fire and spread to stores of tyres. At one point, live television footage showed flames licking up near a pile of tires in a smashed warehouse. Army helicopters dropped water on the fire, as firefighters battled the blaze on the ground. There were no immediate reports of injuries but the blaze strained nerves already on edge in a nation grappling with a deep economic crisis that has posed the biggest threat to Lebanon’s stability since its 1975-1990 civil war.
Majed Hassanein, 49, was taking his wife and two children out of the city by car. “I am forced to get them out of Beirut from the smoke and the fire that is happening at the port again,” he said.
His son, he said, was still suffering shock from the blast that ruined a swathe of capital near the port, leaving about 300,000 people without inhabitable homes and shattering windows across the city.
The head of Lebanon’s Red Cross, George Kettaneh, said there was no fear of another explosion as a result of Thursday’s fire and there were no injuries, although he said there were some people suffering from shortness of breath.
The public prosecutor ordered an immediate investigation into the blaze. Many Lebanese are frustrated that they have not been told about any initial findings from an investigation into the port blast, more than a month after it ripped through Beirut. Carmen Geha, an activist and associate professor at the American University of Beirut, said the fire was further proof of mismanagement by a ruling elite, who have dragged the nation into crisis after years of corruption and poor governance. “It’s a gross crime, gross negligence and gross arrogance,” she said. “You can’t trust them to manage anything.”
Firefighters were shown in television footage dousing the port fire surrounded by mangled remains of warehouses destroyed in last month’s explosion, which was caused by a store of ammonium nitrate that had been kept in poor condition at the port for years.

 

Second Time in One Week Fire Erupts at Blast Site in Beirut
Associated PressAgence France Presse/Naharnet/September 10/2020
A huge fire broke out Thursday at the Port of Beirut, the site of last month's catastrophic explosion that killed nearly 200 people and devastated parts of the capital. The new fire nearly 40 days after the blast triggered widespread panic among traumatized residents of the area. Some sought safety in closed bathrooms or threw open their windows to guard against shattering glass in case of another blast; others piled into cars to flee the capital. Dark smoke and the smell of toxic fumes enveloped Beirut in the evening as army helicopters circled and sprayed water over the orange flames, helping firefighters on the ground. Around 7pm, Civil Defense operations chief George Bou Moussa the blaze had been "80% contained" and that it needed "three to four hours to be fully doused." It wasn't immediately clear what caused the fire at the facility, which was decimated by the Aug. 4 explosion when nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated. But citing preliminary reports, caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Michel Najjar suggested that the fire was sparked by maintenance works. “Preliminary reports suggest that a person was doing maintenance works with the use of a metal cutting saw, which produced a flying spark that triggered the blaze,” he said. A column of thick black smoke billowed from the port at midday Thursday, with orange flames leaping from the ground. Smoke covered the capital and firefighters and ambulances rushed to the scene. Army helicopters were taking part in efforts to extinguish the fire.
Haitham, a 33-year-old worker at a company at the port, told AFP how he fled the new fire in fear. "We were working when all of a sudden they started yelling at us to get out," he said. "There was welding going on... and a fire broke out. We don't know what happened. "We dropped everything and started running ... It reminded us of the explosion.""We opened all windows and are in the corridor right now," said Dana Awad, a mother of two girls in a Beirut neighborhood. "I am still feeling the earth shake. Living a flashback." She was referring to the tremor that preceded the Aug. 4 explosion. Jennifer Moorehead, Save the Children's country director in Lebanon, said the fire will inevitably bring back distressing memories to many Lebanese children who are still trying to recover from last month's blast.
"Children in Beirut have experienced a terrible shock and they need time to recover; today's fire and panic will only make things worse," she said.
Najat Saliba, a professor specializing in atmospheric chemistry at the American University of Beirut, tweeted warnings for the elderly and children to protect themselves or even to leave the city if possible until the smoke cleared.
The raging fire and column of smoke was eerily similar to the one that preceded the devastating explosion. Back then, curious residents stood on balconies or behind windows in offices and homes to photograph the fire, compounding the injuries from flying glass when the gigantic fireball mushroomed across the city. The Lebanese army said the fire started at a warehouse where oil and tires are placed in the duty free zone, adding that efforts to battle the fire were ongoing.
Panicked residents -- still struggling to get over last month's catastrophic explosion -- cracked open windows and called and texted each other to warn them of the new danger. Local TV stations said companies that have offices near the port asked their employees to leave the area.
A video circulating on social media showed port workers running away in fear as soon as the fire broke out, a chilling reminder of last month's blast that killed dozens of port employees and 10 firefighters. Lebanese troops closed the major road that passes near the port rerouting traffic to other areas. In a phone call with LBCI TV, George Kettaneh, Secretary General of the Lebanese Red Cross, said the “fire will not lead to an explosion.”
He assured that there were no individuals injured, only one case of smoke inhalation. A military source urged people via LBCI to clear the area near the port and stay away from the fire site.
The Aug. 4 explosion killed more than 190 people, injured around 6,500 and damaged thousands of buildings in the Lebanese capital. The explosion, the single most destructive blast in Lebanon's history, is blamed on government negligence and mismanagement. Lebanese speculated in the wake of Thursday's fire that it could be an attempt to remove evidence of last month's explosion from the scene. Some hid in bathrooms, others dropped what they were doing and rushed home.
The panic was compounded by the trauma from the Aug. 4 explosion and the fear that more chemicals could be in the wreckage of the port. Earlier this month, the Lebanese army said it discovered more than 4 tons of ammonium nitrate in four containers stored near the port that it said were "dealt with."Days after the Aug. 4 blast, French and Italian chemical experts working amid the remains of the port identified more than 20 containers carrying dangerous chemicals. The army later said that these containers were moved and stored safely in locations away from the port.
State-run National News Agency said the fire was at a warehouse where tires are placed. It added that firefighters are dealing with the blaze. Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud and authorities called on people to stay away from roads leading to the port to allow fire engines to move quickly. Port director Bassem al-Qaisi told Voice of Lebanon radio the fire started in a warehouse where barrels of cooking oil were placed and later spread nearby to where tires were piled. "It is too early to now if it is the result of heat or some other mistake," al-Qaissi said adding that the black smoke was from burning tires. It was the second fire at the port this week. On Tuesday, a small fire erupted, also creating some panic, that was quickly extinguished. A video on social media showed port employees running from the fire, a chilling reminder of the dozens of workers and 10 firefighters who were killed in the blast. Lebanese troops closed the major road near the port and rerouted traffic. A highway that runs parallel to the port was blocked with cars, some with terrified-looking women and children trying to flee. "Get out of my way!" one woman screamed at others blocking her path. A woman sitting in the car next to her covered her ears with her hands, looking traumatized by it all.

Aoun to Defense Council: Mistakes that Lead to Fires No Longer Acceptable
Naharnet/September 10/2020
President Michel Aoun on Thursday convened the Higher Defense Council to discuss the new fire that erupted earlier in the day at the blast-hit Beirut port. "Today's fire could be an intentional act of sabotage, the result of a technical error, ignorance, or negligence. In all cases, the cause needs to be known as soon as possible, and those responsible held to account," Aoun said during the meeting, according to his office. "Mistakes of any kind that lead to such a fire are no longer acceptable, especially after the disaster caused by the first blaze," he added. Stressing that "effective measures must be mulled to guarantee that what happened won't be repeated," Aoun demanded the formation of a panel led by the public works minister and comprising representatives of security agencies and the port administration to "devise a new work regulations for the port and ensure public safety in it." The Higher Defense Council later issued a statement saying it has asked security agencies and the Beirut port administration to "inspect the contents of the port's hangars and containers." The Council added that it discussed "the issue of the goods and material present at the warehouses of the ports and the airport, especially the dangerous ones which should be destroyed or disposed of in line with the applicable regulations and laws to avoid any disastrous incidents." The Beirut port is the site of last month's catastrophic explosion that killed nearly 200 people and devastated parts of the capital. The new fire comes nearly 40 days after the blast triggered widespread panic among traumatized residents of the area. Citing preliminary reports, caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister blamed the new blaze on maintenance works.

 

Lebanon’s president says sabotage may have been behind Beirut fire
Reuters/Thursday 10 September 2020
Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Thursday a huge fire that ripped through Beirut’s already devastated port might have been the result of sabotage, a technical error or negligence, the presidential Twitter account said. “In all cases, the cause must be known as soon as possible and the perpetrators held to account,” the president was quoted as saying in the tweet as he met the supreme council of defense. The fire filled Beirut's skies with black smoke just a month after a deadly explosion at the same site killed at least 190 people and destroyed large parts of the city.The fire reportedly broke out after a tire and oil store caught on fire, a Lebanese military source was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Najm, Oueidat Order Probe into Beirut Port Blaze
Naharnet/September 10/2020
Caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najm and State Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat on Thursday ordered a probe into the huge blaze that erupted at Beirut port -- the second fire in a week at the site of the devastating August 4 blast.
The National News Agency said Oueidat has issued judicial writs and asked experts from the Civil Defense and the Beirut Fire Brigade to identify the cause of the blaze. Najm’s press office had earlier announced that she had asked Oueidat to carry out an “instant and thorough investigation in light of the delicacy and seriousness of the incident.”She also asked him to head to the port to assess the situation ahead of launching the necessary proceedings.

Najjar Says Port Fire Sparked by Maintenance Works
Naharnet/September 10/2020
Caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Michel Najjar announced Thursday that a huge new blaze at Beirut port was sparked by maintenance works, citing preliminary reports.“The port fire has been brought under control and there will be a probe after the dousing of the flames,” Najjar told MTV. “Preliminary reports suggest that a person was doing maintenance works with the use of a metal cutting saw, which produced a flying spark that triggered the blaze,” Najjar added. He also noted that the fire broke out at a port location that is distant from the site of the devastating August 4 blast. “We will conduct a comprehensive study about what happened and about the availability of public safety standards,” the minister went on to say. Najjar had appeared in the morning before Judicial Investigator Judge Fadi Sawwan to give his testimony in the ongoing probe into the August 4 explosion.

Port Fire Hits ICRC's Food Aid including '0.5 Million Liters of Oil'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 10/2020
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Thursday said its humanitarian operations risked serious disruption as a fire at Beirut port hit a warehouse containing its food aid. "The warehouse on fire is where ICRC stocks thousands (of) food parcels and 0.5 million" liters of oil, ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni said. "Our humanitarian operation risks to be seriously disrupted," he added.

 

Major fire in Beirut port triggers ‘fear and panic’ among already distressed citizens
Bassam Zaazaa/Al Arabiya English/hursday 10 September 2020
A major fire erupted inside Beirut port on Thursday causing giant smoke clouds across the skyline and sparking fear among citizens already traumatized by the catastrophic explosion on August 4. Around 1pm local time a fire started in a warehouse that contained tires and oil material. Shortly after smoke engulfed the surrounding area, videos and images of the fire went viral across social media. According to the National News Agency, firefighter trucks of Beirut Fire Brigades and Civil Defense rushed to extinguish the fire accompanied by paramedic teams of the Lebanese Red Cross.
The fire broke out at the freezone area in a warehouse where tires and oil materials were stacked temporarily, due to logistical reasons after August’s explosion, said a port official who requested anonymity. Within 15 minutes from the fire, giant black smoke clouds puffed over the areas of Gemmayze, Karantina, Al Saifi, Moudawwar and Mar Mekhayel that were previously wrecked and flattened to ground level by last month’s explosion.
Reactions on the ground
Public sector employee Fatima Abed said her heartbeat rate went up to the maximum while in the taxi heading back home as friends shared fire footages on WhatsApp. “I asked the driver to speed up before any explosion happens like that of August 4…I didn’t want to go through the same frightening experience,” Fatima told Al Arabiya English on Thursday. An eyewitness, who works at the Beirut Port close to the warehouse where the fire started, was cited telling a Lebanese news channel that a number of welding workers had been operating close to the warehouse. “The workers were using blowpipes to weld iron that was wrecked in the explosion. They were welding close to the tires and oil materials when the fire started. We freaked out when the fire happened and evacuated the area instantly,” he said. Renowned TV personality Rabia Zayyat lauded the bravery and gallant efforts of Civil Defence personnel as she published a video showing them extinguishing the fire on her Twitter. Najah Adnan, an insurance company employee, told Al Arabiya English that her instant reaction was to open the windows of her office so that if an explosion happened, they wouldn’t shatter like last time.“Then I continued working,” she said. Her coworker Samer Mchantaf said he couldn’t feel a thing and remained “completely numb.”Ahmad Hassan, who lives two kilometers away from the Port, said a friend sent him images of the fire and advised him to open his house windows to avoid glass from breaking in case an explosion happens.
The blast on August 4 was due to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate insecurely and improperly stored. Nearly 200 people were killed, over 7,000 injured, and around 300,000 displaced. Some people still remain missing.


Beirut Blast Bears Witness to Lawlessness of World's Oceans
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 10/2020
An old, unseaworthy freighter from Georgia -- or was it Bulgaria or Moldova? -- packed with hazardous material explodes after apparently being abandoned for years by its owner in Beirut's port. Almost 200 were killed and thousands injured in the August 4 blast, which serves as a reminder of how lawless the world's oceans can be, where traffickers of just about anything can ply their trade with seeming impunity. The Rhosus cargo ship had docked there on November 20, 2013, and has been left stranded ever since after the Russian businessman believed to be its owner abandoned it. For Helen Sampson, director of the Seafarers International Research Center at the University of Cardiff, the tragedy throws the spotlight on the shortcomings of the current system for overseeing trade on the world's oceans. "Had the Rhosus been properly regulated, she would not have been able to sail to Beirut in unseaworthy condition and would not have been detained," she told AFP. "We can speculate that she would not have been abandoned and her cargo would not have been discharged. "In any case, the example serves as a stark reminder of the loopholes which are present in the current system of maritime regulation."
Moldovan flag
The Rhosus was a dilapidated 30-year-old vessel from Georgia that sailed under a Moldovan flag and had a mailing address in Bulgaria. Landlocked Moldova is one of 17 countries blacklisted by the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port Control (Paris MoU), an organisation of 27 states, mostly European, which classifies the flags according to safety, environmental and social criteria. Others include Togo, Mongolia and Ukraine. Sampson estimates that currently more than 70 percent of tonnage on the world's oceans is being carried by "free registered" ships sailing under "flags of convenience" -- or flags that are not of their country of origin. While not all of these flags are necessarily irresponsible, some shipowners find the relatively low regulatory hurdles attractive. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) has identified 35 flags as risky, including the biggest and best-known flag of convenience Panama, which had 9,367 ships at the end of 2019, nearly twice as many as China, according to Lloyd's List Maritime Intelligence.
Mysterious shipowner
But it is not only a question of the Rhosus' flag. According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative journalism outfit, its real owner was a Cypriot shipping magnate who hid behind a smokescreen of different companies. OCCRP said the tycoon leased the rickety vessel via a Panama-registered firm to a Russian businessman, who eventually declared bankruptcy and abandoned the vessel, together with its crew and hazardous cargo. Furthermore, the Rhosus' certificate of seaworthiness had been issued by another company owned by the Cypriot shipping magnate, OCCRP said.
The cargo itself was destined for a Mozambican firm called Fabrica de Explosivos which, also according to OCCRP, was part of a network of companies with links to Mozambique's ruling class and under investigation for arms trafficking and the supply of explosives to terrorists.
'The net is closing in'
Nevertheless, not everyone in the industry should be tarred with the same brush, says Jean-Marc Lacave, head of the French shipowners' federation, Armateurs de France. "There will always be black sheep," he said, but the regulatory differences between countries are vanishing "and we are witnessing an upward convergence" of standards, said the former director of the French port of Le Havre. Nelly Grassin, a security expert at Armateurs de France, said "the net is closing in" with checks on the ports becoming increasingly frequent and efficient.
Some observers suggest the Rhosus and its explosive shipment might be an exception in an industry that accounts for 90 percent of international trade in goods. But in her book "The Hidden Face of the Economy, Neoliberalism and Criminality", Clotilde Champeyrache argues that the "massification" of trade creates an "invisibility" that criminal organisations can use to their advantage. She said lowering of standards caused by competition between states that supply flags of convenience makes it possible "to beat police and law enforcement operations by blurring the traceability of goods, capital and people."
 

French sanctions on the table for Lebanese officials as deadline looms: Elysee source
Joseph Haboush and Hussein Kneiber, Al Arabiya English Thursday 10 /2020
Paris is “closely” following efforts to form a new Lebanese government, a French presidential source said Thursday, adding that sanctions could be implemented on officials who obstruct these efforts. “French sanctions against Lebanese officials are not [far off], but France will not issue them if there is progress on forming a new government,” the source told Al Arabiya. French President Emmanuel Macron made two visits in less than a month to Lebanon after the deadly Aug. 4 explosions at the Port of Beirut. During his second trip, Macron laid out a timeline and framework for Lebanese officials to adhere to in forming a new government. Mustapha Adib was designated to head a new government and officials promised Macron that the new government would materialize within 15 days. As of Thursday, five days remained until the deadline is reached. Macron threatened to slap sanctions on any Lebanese officials or politicians who prevented progress on the new cabinet. He said this would be done in coordination with the European Union. Washington designated Lebanon’s former finance minister and public works minister earlier this week over their support for Hezbollah and corruption. The French presidential source refused to comment on the US move. As for an international donor conference for Lebanon’s reconstruction efforts planned for October, the source said it depended on forming a new government. In Macron’s timeline for Lebanon, he said he would be back in December. The source said that trip is still planned, despite Lebanese media outlets reporting that he had canceled his trip.

 

STL Dismisses Motion Challenging Connectedness of Attacks
Naharnet/September 10/2020
Trial Chamber II of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has confirmed the court’s jurisdiction to try Salim Ayyash in relation to the attacks on George Hawi, Elias Murr and Marwan Hamadeh, the STL said on Thursday. “In a decision issued today, Trial Chamber II found that there is no reason to decline to exercise its jurisdiction in this case, as it considers that the requirements of Article 1 of the Statute have been met when it comes to the connectedness between the three attacks pleaded in the indictment and the 14 February 2005 attack,” the STL said in a statement. “Trial Chamber II notably found that all four attacks were connected by virtue of a shared or similar criminal purpose, which consisted of carrying out political murders using explosive devices as part of a broader plan to create a state of terror amongst the population,” it added. The Chamber accordingly dismissed a motion filed by Defense Counsel for Ayyash which had argued that the Pre-Trial Judge’s Connected Case Decision of 5 August 2011 erred in ruling that each of the three attacks is connected to the attack of 14 February 2005 and within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. According to the statement, the decision may be subject to appeal. The Ayyash case is currently in the pre-trial phase and a second status conference is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16. Ayyash has been found guilty by the court in the case of the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri while three other Hizbullah members were acquitted.


Sawwan Hears Testimonies of Outgoing Minister, Security Chief over Port Blast
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 10/2020
Judge Fadi Sawwan listened to the testimonies of caretaker transport and public works minister Michel Najjar and State Security agency head Tony Saliba as witnesses in the Beirut port explosion, LBCI television reported on Thursday. Sawwan, leading the probe into Beirut's catastrophic port blast, will also hear the account of the influential head of the General Security apparatus, Abbas Ibrahim, next Monday. On Wednesday he interrogated three Customs officials. Twenty-five suspects are in custody over the monster August 4 explosion that killed more than 190 people, wounded thousands, and ravaged homes and businesses across large parts of the capital. Hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate had been stored unsafely in a port warehouse for at least six years, it emerged after the explosion. The disclosure sparked widespread outrage over alleged official negligence that many said was to blame for the blast.
Some 2,750 tonnes of the ammonium nitrate were initially stored at the port, but experts believe the quantity that ignited was substantially less than that. After the explosion, State Security said it had warned the authorities of the danger of the unstable chemicals stored in the port's warehouse 12, and signalled that some of it had been stolen due to a hole in a wall. In the week of the blast, workers had begun repairs on the decrepit warehouse. Security sources have suggested the welding work could have started a fire that triggered the blast, but some observers have rejected this as an attempt to shift the blame for high-level failings. Those arrested so far include top port and customs officials, as well as Syrian workers who allegedly carried out the welding hours before the explosion. Lebanon has rejected an international investigation into the country's worst peace-time disaster, but its probe is being aided by foreign experts, including from the FBI and France.


IMF Set to Help Lebanon Once New Government in Place
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/September 10/2020
The IMF is ready to "redouble its efforts" to help Lebanon once a new government is in place as the country reels following a massive explosion at Beirut's port, a fund official said Thursday. The country is facing a severe economic crisis after a neglected warehouse full of fertilizer ignited in a cataclysmic blast that devastated the capital on August 4. "We stand ready to engage with the new government," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters. "After its formation is completed... we're ready to redouble our efforts to help Lebanon and the people of Lebanon overcome the social and economic crisis." The Washington-based crisis lender is providing technical assistance as the country struggles to recover "following that terrible event at the port," Rice said. The tragedy devastated entire districts of Beirut and left at least 190 people dead and more than 6,500 injured. Rice welcomed caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni's announcement on Wednesday that he had launched an audit of the central bank's finances, which the fund had called for. Rice said the move was "an important part of assessing past losses that are part of the central bank's balance sheet.""The audit will also help assess the impact of the central bank's financing of government operations, and the central bank's financial engineering on its own." Lebanon's worst economic crunch since the 1975-1990 war has seen the local currency plummet against the U.S. dollar and poverty double to more than half of the population. The government has blamed Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh for the crisis, though the latter has rejected all charges. The country for the first time defaulted on its sovereign debt in March before launching into talks with the IMF towards unlocking billions of dollars in aid, but the negotiations have stalled.
 

EU Official to Visit Beirut Saturday Carrying Humanitarian Aid
A third European Union Humanitarian Air Bridge flight, one of the largest of its kind, is landing in Beirut on Saturday 12 September 2020 at 17h30, the EU Delegation to Lebanon said on Thursday. Janez Lenarčič, EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, will be joining the flight from Munich to Beirut. The plane’s cargo consists of essential aid, including ambulances, personal protective equipment, medicines and telecommunication equipment. The transportation cost of the Humanitarian Air Bridge is fully covered by the European Union. The cargo of this flight was donated by the Portuguese Cooperation agency (Camões) and the German NGO Orienthelfer. "The supplies will help vulnerable people with humanitarian needs following the explosion at the Beirut port and the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the third Humanitarian Air Bridge organized by the European Union, following two earlier flights on 13 and 31 August 2020," the EU Delegation said. A ceremony will be held at the airport on Saturday evening to hand over the supplies. Commissioner Lenarčič will also meet with Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib during his stay in Lebanon.

Lebanese army says it downed Israeli drone near southern border
Joseph Haboush/Al Arabiya English Thursday 10 September 2020
The Lebanese army said it shot down an Israeli drone along the border Thursday, while the Israeli military said it fell. “A drone belonging to the Israeli enemy penetrated Lebanese airspace over Aita Shaab and members of the army shot it down,” a statement from the Lebanese army said. The drone was around 200 meters away from the UN-demarcated Blue Line, inside Lebanese territory, the army said. An Israeli army spokesman said that the drone fell during “operation activity. “There is no risk of breach of information,” the spokesman said, offering no further details. Last month, Iran-backed Hezbollah said it downed and seized an Israeli drone as it flew over the Lebanese border. Hezbollah said its fighters downed the drone near the same town of Aita Shaab.

 

French Television Channel Organizes Support Program for Lebanon
Naharnet/September 10/2020
France’s public national television channel, France 2, announced Thursday that it is organizing an evening of support for Lebanon on October 1 in the aftermath of the massive Beirut port explosion earlier in August. The evening includes live broadcasts from Paris and Beirut. The government station declared in a statement that all television and digital stations affiliated with "France TV" will participate "on October 1 in providing assistance to the Lebanese people." Several television programs will participate in the initiative called United for Lebanon, added the statement. The program will culminate in a special evening broadcast live via France 2, in partnership with the state-owned France Inter radio. The evening begins with a televised program on the Beirut port explosion followed by a large concert in support of Lebanon inviting for donations. It will be transmitted directly from the Olympia theater in Paris.According to the statement, France TV and Radio France will cooperate with the French Red Cross, which “will hand over all donations collected to the Lebanese Red Cross.”

 

Report: Aoun Dispatches Ibrahim to France
Naharnet/September 10/2020
President Michel Aoun has reportedly dispatched Lebanon’s General Security chief to France in a mission directly linked to ongoing talks on the government formation, and to infer the French position after the recent US sanctions against Lebanese officials, the Saudi Asharq el-Awsat reported on Thursday.
General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim traveled Wednesday morning to Paris, said the daily. LBCI television said Ibrahim held a series of meetings with Ambassadors Bernard Emie and Emmanuel Bonn, regarding the course of the French initiative especially the part related to forming a government.
Ibrahim is set to relay the outcome of talks to Aoun when he returns to Lebanon today. After his designation late in August, PM-designate Mustafa Adib promised a formation of a new cabinet “within two weeks,” saying he will work on reaching a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund.
Well into the second week, Lebanon’s government has not been formed yet. Moreover on Wednesday, the US Treasury slapped sanctions at former finance minister and top Amal official Ali Hassan Khalil and former public works and transportation minister Youssef Fenianos, a senior member of the Christian Marada Movement. The rare move by Washington targeting politicians close to the Iran-backed Hizbullah.

Lebanon: Shiite Duo Insists on Finance Ministry After New US Sanctions
Beirut- Mohammed Shukair/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
A meeting on Tuesday between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Adib failed to reach an agreement over the general framework of the new government, sources with knowledge of the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat. The sources explained that Aoun insisted on a government of 24 or 20 ministers, while Adib refused to go back on his decision to form a cabinet of 14 ministers, stressing that there was no justification for the presence of an enlarged government as several ministries could be abolished and others could be merged together. The sources revealed that the meeting - which preceded the decision issued by the US Treasury to impose sanctions on the two former ministers, MP Ali Hassan Khalil and Youssef Fenianos - ended with an agreement on the principle of rotating the portfolios between the different sects.
But the rotation agreement will clash with the insistence of the Shiite duo, Amal Party and Hezbollah - to maintain the Ministry of Finance because it allows the Shiites to have the third signature on the financial decrees and decisions, along with the signatures of the President of the Republic, the prime minister, and the relevant ministers. The sources emphasized that the divergence of views between Aoun and Adib would hinder the birth of the new government, which was expected to be formed before Sunday, that is, two days before the deadline set by French President Emmanuel Macron. According to the sources, the Shiite duo had shown some flexibility, but with the US sanctions imposed on Khalil and Fenianos, Amal and Hezbollah might be forced to harden their position. On Tuesday, the US slapped sanctions on the two former ministers over their ties with Hezbollah. Although these sanctions are still being studied by the Shiite duo, specifically by Speaker Nabih Berri, because they affected Khalil, his political aide, the sources said that meetings were held away from the spotlight to create the appropriate conditions for the birth of the government to avoid a political problem with Macron, who had threatened to impose European sanctions on those who hinder the implementation of the French initiative.

Huge Fire at Beirut Port a Month after Massive Blast
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
A huge fire broke out Thursday at the port of the Lebanese capital, triggering panic among residents. The fire erupted in the duty free zone of Beirut Port, sending a huge column of smoke above the city. The cause of the blaze was not immediately clear, but reports said it broke out at a warehouse of oil and tires.
Television footage showed firefighters trying to douse the blaze at the port, where warehouses and concrete grain silos were shattered by the Aug. 4 blast. The sight of another huge fire created panic among residents traumatized by last month's explosion. About 190 people were killed in that blast and a swathe of Beirut near the port was ruined. The blast was caused by nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been kept at the port in poor condition for years.

 

Former Lebanese Minister Sejaan Azzi: Israel No Longer Presents An Imminent Threat To Lebanon; Israel Wants Peace With Lebanon; We Cannot Live In Constant War
MEMRI/September 10/2020

NBN TV (Lebanon)
Former Lebanese ministe
Former Lebanese minister Sejaan Azzi said in a September 3, 2020 interview on NBN TV (Lebanon) that Israel no longer presents an imminent threat to Lebanon, that Israel has never had any intention of occupying or annexing Lebanese land, and that Israel only invaded Lebanon because of the Palestinians. He said that if the Lebanese military had taken control of Lebanon’s southern border and the Palestinian refugee camps, and had it prevented PLO leader Yasser Arafat from creating a state within a state in Lebanon, Israel would never have invaded Lebanon and reached Beirut. Azzi continued, saying that the fact that Israel wants to make peace with the UAE is an indication that it must also want to make peace with Lebanon and Syria, which he pointed out are closer to Israel than the UAE is. He added that even if Hizbullah and other organizations were to continue holding on to their weapons, Lebanon could not live in a state of constant war. For more about Sejaan Azzi, see MEMRI TV Clips No. 8047, No. 7783, and No. 7352.
Sejaan Azzi: "I truly believe – and please trust that I am being honest – that Israel is not plotting to occupy Lebanon, or to expand its own territory by annexing parts of Lebanon..."
Interviewer: "Why not? Throughout its history, Israel has had designs to occupy Lebanon. It even reached Beirut, the capital."
Azzi: "Look, that was an invasion, not an occupation."
Interviewer: "That's worse!"
Azzi: "It entered Lebanon because of the Palestinians, not the Lebanese."
Interviewer: "What do you mean?"
Azzi: "I mean that the Palestinians were occupying this country when Israel invaded it..."
Interviewer: "Does this justify Israel's invasion of Beirut?"
Azzi: "If the Lebanese army had been deployed in the south, if it had control of the Palestinian refugee camps, and if Arafat had not created another state and army inside Lebanon, Israel would not have invaded Lebanon. This is what I'm telling you. Proof of this is that even though there was a war in 1948, Israel did not take any part of Lebanon. Nor did it take any part of Lebanon in the 1956 war..."
Interviewer: "Did it not take any part because it did not want to?"
Azzi: "In the 1967 war, it took parts from all its neighboring countries – from Jordan, from Egypt, from Syria – but not from Lebanon.
"When there will be an agreement between Lebanon and Israel over the borders – maritime borders, land borders, and airspace borders, and the [problem of] the Shebaa Farms will be resolved or postponed, like some people are saying these days..."
Interviewer: "Are you talking about peace?"
Azzi: "No, about resolving the border conflict. Israel no longer presents an imminent threat."
Interviewer: "Does Israel want to make peace with Lebanon? This is the question. Do you think that Israel wants to make peace with Lebanon?"
Azzi: "Yes, it does. If it is going to make peace with the UAE, which is far away from it – a four-hour flight away – don't you think it wants to make peace with Lebanon, Syria, and..."
Interviewer: "So you believe that Israel does not have [territorial] designs regarding Lebanon."
Azzi: "I am not saying that Israel does not have such designs, but it would like to make peace with all the Arab countries, including Lebanon..."
Interviewer: "So why does it violate our airspace?"
Azzi: "But we, the Lebanese, are not in a position to sign a separate peace agreement, and our peace with Israel must come as part of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace deal."
Interviewer: "However, peace with Israel is not on the table for Lebanon today."
Azzi: "Let me tell you this: Even if Hizbullah or others keep hold of their weapons, we cannot live in a constant state of war."
https://www.memri.org/tv/former-lebanese-minister-sejaan-azzi-israel-no-longer-a-threat-to-us-peace

 

Security incidents in Lebanon on the rise as economy worsens
Mona Alami, Al Arabiya English/September 19/ 2020
In Lebanon, a series of security incidents have taken place as the country slides further into economic and political turmoil. The latest clashes that left one dead and two injured took place in the predominately Sunni area of Tariq al Jdideh. This last round of violence came on the heels of two other security incidents in the wake of the August 4 Port of Beirut explosion. In the Tariq al Jdideh area, a populous area in central Beirut, men supporting the Dandashneh and Krambi families clashed on September 7, using rocket propelled grenades and Kalashnikovs. “It started as a disagreement between two friends, and as usual for this area, it degenerated into an armed battle. The army only intervened hours later when one person from the Krambi family was killed,” said Abou Mohamad, an area resident who spoke to Al Arabiya English without disclosing his last name. Al Arabiya English asked a military officer why locals had access to so many weapons and why the army had not done more to crack down on it. “All of Lebanon is armed, we can’t do much about it,” he said.
Nearly two weeks before the Tariq al Jdideh incident, two people were killed on August 27 in the coastal area of Khaldeh, near Beirut, during clashes between Hezbollah and Amal supporters, both Shia groups, on one side and Sunni Arab tribes on the other.
The clashes took a sectarian turn after Hezbollah supporters attempted to hang banners for the Ashoura holiday in the town, as well as pictures of Salim Ayyash, the Hezbollah member who was sentenced in absentia by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for his role in the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Three municipal guards were killed in the northern village of Kaftoun on August 22. Local media reported that the Joint Palestinian Security Force at the al-Beddawi refugee camp turned over Palestinian national Ehab Shanine, who was suspected to have been responsible. Two individuals – one Syrian and one Lebanese national – who were arrested for the crime had been previously arrested over terror-related offenses, local media reported. The police also attempted to arrest one individual who was killed after an explosive device detonated.
On August 9, another sectarian incident took place in Sidon, when the Sunni mufti of the southern city of Tyre was attacked by two individuals. While the media remained largely silent as to the identity of the attackers, a parliamentarian who spoke to Al Arabiya English on condition of anonymity said they were members of the Resistance Brigades, a paramilitary group affiliated with Hezbollah.Multiple security incidents over the last few weeks are a byproduct of the state’s worsening economic and political situation.
“Lebanon has become a failed state,” American University Professor of Political Science Dr. Hilal Khashan said.
The country is still grappling with the impact of the blast in early August that was set off when by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate unsafely stored at the port caught fire. Where officials knew of the presence of the chemicals, and port officials gave multiple warnings, successive governments failed to intervene or move the chemicals. Vast swaths of the capital were destroyed, at least 191 were killed, and over 6,500 others were injured. Now, the economy is expected to plummet further after the explosion. After the explosion, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said a committee would investigate and report its findings within five days. While some arrests have been made, Lebanese are still waiting to know who was ultimately responsible for the destruction to life and property. “The political class obviously doesn’t give a d**n about the explosion,” Khashan said.

 

US sanctions a warning to Lebanon's political class
The National/September 10/2020
By targeting two former ministers, the US is showing it is serious about combating militia rule and Iranian influence in the Middle East
Former Lebanese Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil and former Lebanese Public Works and Transportation Minister Youssef Fenianos were sanctioned by The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on two former Lebanese officials: Ali Hassan Khalil, a former finance minister, and Youssef Fenianos, a former transport minister.They are accused of corruption and enabling Hezbollah, which the US and a host of European and Arab nations consider to be a terrorist organisation. By targeting two former ministers, the US is making a statement that it is serious about combating militia rule and Iranian influence in the Middle East. The list of crimes both men are accused of having committed is staggering. Mr Khalil belongs to the Amal movement, a close ally of Hezbollah, and Mr Fenianos is a member of the Marada movement, a Christian group that is close to Hezbollah and the Syrian regime.
The US Treasury claims that Mr Fenianos helped Hezbollah to siphon government funds, awarded public tenders to Hezbollah-owned companies and received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the group in exchange for political favours.
He is also accused of giving Hezbollah access to sensitive documents from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, set up to investigate the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri. Four Hezbollah operatives were suspected in the killing of the Lebanese statesman, although none have been handed over, even after one was found guilty. Mr Khalil, meanwhile, has been accused of using his position as minister of finance to help Hezbollah avoid US sanctions, exempt a Hezbollah affiliate from paying most of its taxes and solicit kickbacks from government suppliers.
For the past year, protesters have taken to Lebanon's streets to demonstrate against these types of politicians and officials who are responsible for poor living conditions amid widespread corruption. The US has repeatedly said it backed their demands, chief among which is the end of a sectarian political system that has allowed corruption to fester. The US move comes at a pivotal time for Lebanon. In a visit to Beirut this month, French President Emmanuel Macron set a notional deadline of two weeks for the Lebanese establishment to form a competent government, and four more to enact reforms. Less than a week away from the first deadline, the US is sending a warning to Prime Minister designate Mustapha Adib, should he be considering filling his Cabinet with pro-Hezbollah ministers. The sanctions also aim to discourage Lebanese politicians from siding with the group. As their patience wears thin, Lebanon’s true allies in the international community may feel they are running out of options The international community has pressured Lebanon’s elite to reform for years. In 2018, international donors pledged $11 billion in funds for Lebanon, which could only be unlocked after reforms. Yet even after a devastating economic crisis, a public health emergency and a chemical explosion that wiped out much of the Lebanese capital, meaningful reform has never materialised. Politicians must wake up to the reality of Lebanon's situation and recognise that an administration tethered to the misguided interests of Hezbollah cannot save the country. International co-operation is the best path towards that outcome. But as their patience wears thin, Lebanon’s true allies in the international community may feel that they are running out of options.
 

The New York Times Thorough Investigation of the Deadly Blast: Hezbollah, Amal and Associates
Charles Elias Chartouni/September 10/2020
شارل الياس شرتوني: تحقيق النيويورك تايمز الشامل في انفجار المرفأ المميت: حزب الله وأمل والشركاء
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/90275/charles-elias-chartouni-the-new-york-times-thorough-investigation-of-the-deadly-blast-hezbollah-amal-and-associates-%d8%b4%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%8a%d8%a7%d8%b3-%d8%b4%d8%b1%d8%aa%d9%88/

This pioneering investigation of the New York Times accounts for the different sequences of this apocalyptic explosion, starting with the dysfunctional and corrupt Port authority and its different layers of political patronage, mafia networks, overlapping and conflicting jurisdictions and spoils systems run by the Shiite political parties ( Hezbollah, Amal and their subordinate associates the Future movement presided by former prime minister Saad al Hariri, The Free Patriotic Movement of the actual President Michel Aoun, the Socialist Party of Walid Joumblatt, and a minor portion allotted to the Lebanese Forces of Samir Geagea, the Shiite and Sunnite leading religious institutions, as appendages to the clientelist system ).
The different accounts for the downloaded shipment have failed to trace the ownership, destination and usage of this lethal material ( Ammonium Nitrate with 15 tons of Fireworks, jars of Kerosene, oil and hydrochloric acid, jumbled in Hangar 12 ), and why the trail of correspondence sent to the different authorities never impelled any action on their part. The musical chairs game kept repeating over and over until the day when Lebanese civilians were blotted out from their homes, streets and workplaces, and the patrons of crime ( Hezbollah and Amal and their accomplices amongst the oligarchies, notwithstanding their political affiliations) are still in the business of umpiring the faked political game, and rigging the investigation process after having amply tampered with the crime scenes and landscapes.
This whole dirty game should be deconstructed, its actors pinpointed and overtly denounced. The impending cabinet formation is a continuation of the orchestrated fallacies that have been going on for too long. There is need to claim back an international investigation and the assignment of Lebanon under Chapter 7 of the UN founding chart, since we have no chance to avert the pending genocidal threats, and initiate an eventual political reconstruction in a country controlled by a totalitarian Islamist dystopia ( Hezbollah ) and a crime syndicate ( Amal ). The whole plot is distorted and awaits a major political and strategic turnaround, we are not anymore in the business of politics as usual, this whole political dynamic should be annihilated.

Haniyeh...an Unwanted Visitor!
Hanna Saleh/Asharq Al-Awsat/September 10/2020
It would not have been possible for Ismail Haniyeh to set foot on Lebanese soil if it were not for the official compliance. One thing is for sure, the completion of the unwelcome visit - which came after the crime of August 4, preceded by a horrific financial-economic collapse made worse by the outbreak of the pandemic- is not in Lebanon's interest.
This visit is undoubtedly at the service of Hezbollah’s narrow interests. They arranged the visit that serves the Iranian agenda. Therefore, from the outset, political commentaries were unanimous in describing the visit as a deliberate attack on the French initiative, whose most prominent headlines were Hezbollah’s evacuation from the region’s conflicts, and a real return to “self-distancing.” Lebanon will surely be drowned deeper and deeper by visit, the provocative visitor, and his fiery speeches. It is, rather, a practical response to the call of neutrality that appealed to people. On the other hand, it serves to make Paris aware that the ceiling for Hezbollah’s cooperation with the French initiative is very low.
And if we consider that Haniyeh’s real attacks were targeting Arab brethren countries, this would constitute a message to whomever is concerned that Lebanon does not deserve an attempt to rescue it! The above confirms that not even meager efforts were made to justify the visit. They only spread propaganda claiming that the Hamas leader had come to attend the Palestinian factions’ secretaries meeting. But why was Beirut chosen to host this dialogue, although video technology platforms were used to facilitate communication between the attendees in Beirut and the others in Ramallah? Was the exit from Gaza, which required four signatures from Netanyahu and Gantz, the defense minister, the minister of national security, and the director of intelligence, facilitated by Zionist officials to formulate a position of Palestinian factions against Israel?
Or was the intention to lure an Israeli attack through his declaration that he kept his missiles, which he could use to bomb Tel Aviv and areas further than Tel Aviv, in Beirut! Although the task would be easier and simpler for Haniyeh and his companions from Gaza, whose sea has been sealed off and whose borders are surrounded by settlements! For the Hamas leader, who is accused of terrorism, the Gaza massacres are enough, the honorary lobby was opened at Beirut International Airport. He was received with a standing ovation from the Revolutionary Guards’ proxies, and the guards accompanied him on his tours and meetings! And though the meeting with Nasrallah was inevitable, the other political visits that he made raise questions about the lack of vision and foresight of some Lebanese politicians, who didn’t think much of meeting with a party that dealt with Beirut like a platform to launch a political and media campaign against a sovereign Emirati decision that has positives and negatives aspects. They celebrated the figure who periodically receives bags of Qatari money through Lod Airport and the enemy’s prime minister's office and overlooks the real normalization of Israel by his masters - (Haniyeh) in Ankara and Doha.
On top of all that, none of Haniyeh’s hosts asked about the kind of benefit he brings to Lebanon, and what the Gazan’s visit, which violated all norms and crossed every limit, would provide to Lebanon. Does the country need, for example, to follow the Gaza model? Or to replicate the “successes” of the leaders of Hamas in uniting Palestinians against the Zionists’ knives that cut across the land and people? Or Haniyeh’s personal “successes”, like his roles in splitting the Strip from the West Bank, killing democracy in Gaza, and achieving security, stability, and prosperity for Gazans?
But the stop in the Ain al-Hilweh camp remains the highlight of the visit. In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the visitor was raised over shoulders to the sound of cheers and chants. He was received with a ludicrous armed march, as though he had just returned from liberating the Gaza Sea and achieved objectives that his predecessors had failed to attain. Haniyeh appeared cheerful and in good health. Because those like him are not subjected to the hunger and indigence that plague the hijacked Gaza Strip and the camps in the internal and external camps. It does not seem that he was concerned with or affected by the images of the worn out people or by travesty of the lives led by the people of the camps, who were all left to face their fate. They are devastated by unemployment and total lack of medicine, and no one has asked about them after the - already scarce - aid granted by UNRWA dwindled. The camp was turned into a hub for those fleeing the authorities and has been put in the service of sinister plans!
Worse still, this visit was made after the Lebanese authorities ignored the statements made Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas long ago, in which he said that the camps in Lebanon are subject to Lebanese law and under the command of the Lebanese state, and there is no need for Palestinian arms. These statements affirm that Hezbollah, directly and through its subordinates, has a major say over the domination of the camps, confirming that those carrying arms as seen during Haniyeh’s reception are under the statelet’s command, bearing in mind that the vast majority of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are not part of the suicidal project that Hezbollah and Hamas represent.
The visit said that Haniyeh, and whoever and whatever he represents, treats his compatriots in Gaza the same way the occupation forces treat them. Because what his movement wants is for Gaza to stay hijacked and to maintain the base of support of the extremist Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, a group whose experiences have presented nothing but darkness, devastation, destruction, and, always, subordination.
Thus, there is absolutely no concern over the Lebanese and their interests that could be stemmed from this deplorable visit, nor does it establish any consideration of Lebanon’s independence and its people’s priorities. It won't harm to say that this visitor had fueled the sleeping flames of strife. The visit explicitly demonstrated that the statelet has hijacked governance in this country. The persistence of the approach of partiality and paying bills exposes Lebanon to costs it cannot afford to pay.

 

Hamas chief Haniyeh's visit to Beirut puts burden on Lebanon
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/September 10/2020
One genuinely assumes that the people of Lebanon have experienced the worst they can, especially after the August 4 Beirut port explosion, the destruction of which still echoes in the sleepless nights of many Lebanese as they try to confront their trauma.
Yet the visit of Ismail Haniyeh, deputy head of Hamas, to Lebanon this week clearly shows that Lebanese’ trouble and suffering is far from over.
Haniyeh’s visit to Beirut comes as Lebanon tries to muster international support to salvage what remains of its economy and rebuild its ravaged capital. Lebanon is currently at a crossroads and is trying to woo Western donors to bail it out, many of which designate Hamas as a terrorist organization. The US has designated Haniyeh as a terrorist and has sanctioned him.
The fact that Haniyeh arrived in Lebanon from Turkey where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received and granted the Hamas leader Turkish citizenship makes his Lebanon incursion even more perilous, as it clearly reflects the extremist nexus between Turkey, Qatar and Iran – all of which have shares in Hamas.
The real story of Haniyeh’s visit is not that Hezbollah welcomed him warmly, nor that Hamas used his visit to reaffirm its dominance over the Ain al-Hilwi camp, one of the biggest Palestinian refugee camp, but rather that Haniyeh received a royal reception by the Lebanese state and from a member of the political elite, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.
Haniyeh’s meeting with Nasrallah is somewhat expected as both are member of the same pro-Iran axis. But the question remains why would the Lebanese state grant Haniyeh and his delegation a visa to tour the country, and why would Berri and the outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab extend to Haniyeh the honors reserved for the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, Mahmoud Abbas, which Hamas continues to undermine and challenge thus, dividing the ranks of the Palestinian people.
Perhaps more importantly, while the Lebanese state treated Ismail Haniyeh as a statesman, his actions reflected that of a militia leader that has no respect for Lebanon nor its frail sovereignty. At Ain al-Hilwi, Haniyeh was hoisted up by his supporters who were armed to the teeth, in a blatant disregard to the Mahmoud Abbas’ brave commitment to “abide by Lebanon’s decision on arms in refugee camps.” Lebanon historically has not involved itself with security inside the camps, saying that the matter will be left to Palestinians living there.
Hamas’s military parade thus comes as a threat to Lebanon as it reminds them, as well as the United States and Hezbollah, that the extremist group has recourse to the arms within the camps.
From the camp, Haniyeh threatened that Hamas’ rockets could reach Tel Aviv and beyond. However, this threat has no real weight, and he is better off issuing these threats from Gaza, instead of Sidon, which is 453 kilometers from Tel Aviv.
Hamas, Hezbollah and their fellow followers are not in the business of fighting Israel – at least not as a priority for the time being – but rather they benefit from Iran, Turkey and Qatar’s ongoing efforts to promote discord and conflict.
If the Lebanese had any hopes of French President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative set forth after the explosion succeeding, Haniyeh’s unwelcomed visit laid these hopes to rest. Much of Lebanon’s wishful thinking dictates the Arab Gulf states offering financial assistance to Lebanon provided the latter succeeds in containing Hezbollah and maintaining neutrality, something that France promised to achieve with its proposed plan.
Haniyeh further used his visit in Lebanon as a platform to attack the Gulf states and to target the recent United Arab Emirates-Israel peace deal. This will only add to Lebanon’s isolation vis-a-vis the Arabs, and threatens the 300 Lebanese expats who work in the UAE, who might be sent home for the actions or rather inactions of their government.
The Lebanese state would have been wiser to deny the visa to Haniyeh or rather to treat him as the true rebel rouser he really is. Repeatedly, Lebanon has allowed Iran to interfere in domestic affairs, including allowing Qais al-Khazali, the leader of the Iran-backed, Iraq-based Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, to tour Lebanon’s southern border. Lebanon has also received the Venezuelan and Iranian foreign ministers who have only delivered empty promises of economic salvation. These moves show the world that
Lebanon has no wise men, only archaic politicians whose time has come.
Haniyeh might have left Lebanon, but the damage his visit has done to Lebanon is only matched by the docility of the Lebanese who remained silent while their country was peddled out to serve Iran and its fathomless appetite for destruction.

In Lebanon, Beirut's port needs rebuilding, but no one has yet stepped up
Rami Rayess/Al Arabiya/September 10/2020
Many hypotheses emerged after the Beirut port explosion last month, with some saying Israel was responsible. Others said Hezbollah was responsible. One theory though was quite bizarre.
The hypothesis said the blast is part of a premeditated plan that stretches back in history to 1945 and the end of World War Two.
The blast, according to the theory, was a continuation of the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The same reason that stands behind those two blasts stands behind the Beirut blast as well: expelling Christian communities from Japan and Beirut.
The explosion, in actuality, was caused by a fire that ignited 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored improperly at the port.
On Lebanese TV prominent former minister and current Member of Parliament from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) Nicolas Sehnaoui espoused the strange theory linking the explosion to World War Two. The Christian FPM was established by President Michel Aoun and is currently headed by his son in law Gebran Bassil, one of Lebanon’s most hated politicians and the country’s former foreign minister.
This political movement has built its popular support on similar confessional and populist discourse. Keeping Lebanese Christians under continuous fear of prosecution in one way or another so that the FPM would be regarded as the saviors and protectors has been a driving theme in their rhetoric.
The two largest waves of Christian emigration – and emigration generally – in the last 30 years occurred when Aoun was a general in 1989 toward the end of the 15-year civil war and now in 2020.
Yet, the FPM tries to argue the opposite. The have introduced the theory that electing a strong president, meaning one who has wide popular support, is a necessity. Aoun falls in this category. However, the country has had several leaders who had no popular or parliamentary support, yet they did an excellent job. A most prominent example was Fouad Chehab who was president from 1958 to 1964.
Out of all the approaches that tried to theorize the reasons behind this explosion, only FPM developed this sick approach. No one else viewed this catastrophic blast as targeting Christians in particular.
The theory relies on the idea that the Beirut port is surrounded by Christian neighborhoods that were developed under the French mandate from 1920 to 1943, which was viewed by many as favorable to the Christian community.
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The port and nearby neighborhoods remain one of the country’s most important symbols of openness and diversity, in addition, of course to its commercial role and strategic geographical location.
However, conspiracy theories aside, media reports indicated the port’s destruction would lead to a balance of power shift in the eastern Mediterranean.
With the Russians controlling the Tartous Port in northern Syria, the Turks extending their arms toward Libyan ports, the French might find that Beirut port is necessary in confronting the growing role of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdorgan Erdogan in the area. It looks like the eastern Mediterranean could turn into an arena for conflict with France and the EU backing Greece in the showdown over Turkey. How, or if, this conflict will materialize is not yet clear.
But none of these countries seem interested in expanding their influence to Lebanon by rebuilding the port, and Lebanese authorities have not launched yet any plan to reconstruct the damaged port. Further, there is little information on whether there are any potential international stakeholders are interested in engaging in reconstruction.
While Hezbollah had expressed that China may be willing to rebuild the port as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese have not yet shown interest in rebuilding the port. However, the country did have a hand in expanding the Tripoli port in Lebanon’s north a few years ago. In the wake of the Beirut explosion, shipments were diverted to Tripoli, a city known for its poverty, and many there were hoping the increased economic activity would help revive the city. In Beirut, there have been a large number of humanitarian aid initiatives, but little has been said regarding the port’s reconstruction.
Tripoli is Lebanon’s second largest city and is heavily populated by Muslims. Similar to everything else in Lebanon, all discussions have a confessional dimension. There is talk in Beirut that the Northern port located in a Muslim area should not attract the bulk of the country’s economic and commercial activity, making rebuilding the Beirut port more urgent. Of course, this remains in whisper among some Christian circles but has not been publicly adopted or announced by any particular Christian party or politician.
With the country on the brink of collapse, the port explosion was one more burden the country can’t afford to bear.
Lebanon moves to reform sponsorship system, but abolishing kafala still far off
Aid for Lebanon has been put on hold after the country’s ruling elite failed to launch the necessary reforms to be granted more than $11 billion pledged in soft loans at a 2018 donor conference in Paris. French President Emmanuel Macron gave Lebanon three months after the explosion to begin implementing reforms across multiple sectors, but beginning with the electricity sector that still fails to provide 24-hour electricity. The FPM has controlled this sector for the last 12 years. The World Bank estimated that total damages stand at $3.8 to 4.6 billion, Lebanon has begun looking for donors willing to invest in such a huge project. A build, operate, transfer scheme, or a BOT, which would put the port under private operation for several years.
But it may be the best solution Lebanon can hope for in the near future given its Arab and international ties are extremely weak and the country has failed to attract foreign cash flow for several political reasons.
Whether or not Lebanon’s port will be rebuilt soon is not clear, but what is definite is that its destruction is an added agony to the country’s misery.
 

The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on September10-11/2020

Mike Pompeo travels to Qatar for Taliban talks
The National/September 10/2020
The US announced on Thursday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is flying to Doha to attend the opening ceremony of the Afghanistan peace negotiations, due to begin on Saturday. “The start of these negotiations follows intense diplomatic efforts, including the US-Taliban agreement and the US-Afghanistan joint declaration, which were agreed to in February,” the State Department said. US President Donald Trump announced the trip, tying it to plans to withdraw 4,000 American troops from Afghanistan. “No deaths, no problems since early February,” Mr Trump said. February was the date of the US deal with the Taliban. But on Wednesday, a bombing in the Afghan capital hit the convoy of the country’s first vice president, killing 10 people and wounding at least 31. The vice president, Amrullah Saleh, survived the attack unharmed. “We will be down to 4,000 soldiers in Afghanistan very soon and down to 2,000 in Iraq very soon,” Mr Trump said on Thursday.

 

Iran Kicks Off Naval Exercise Near Strait of Hormuz
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
Iran’s military began its annual drill in the Gulf near the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway which will last for several days. Naval, air and ground forces, including submarines and drones, were participating in the drill. The three-day exercise is aimed at improving Tehran’s military might to confront “foreign threats and any possible invasion”, the commander of the manoeuvre, Admiral Habibollah Sardari said. One of the exercise's objectives is to devise "tactical offensive and defensive strategies for safeguarding the country's territorial waters and shipping lanes. The navy will test-fire surface-to-surface and shore-to-sea cruise missiles and torpedoes, and rocket-launching systems fitted on warships, submarines, aircraft and drones, according to Iran's military. Dubbed "Zolfaghar 99", the exercise will be held over two million square kilometres (772,000 square miles) of sea stretching from the northern part of the Indian Ocean to the eastern end of the Strait of Hormuz. In July, Iran's IRGC blasted a mock-up of a US aircraft carrier with missiles during an exercise near the Strait of Hormuz, AFP reported. The US Navy condemned those manoeuvres as "irresponsible and reckless", and an attempt "to intimidate and coerce". Tensions between Iran and the United States have soared since President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear agreement with Tehran in 2018 and unilaterally reimposed crippling economic sanctions.


Denmark Says to Open Embassy in Iraq's Capital
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
Denmark said on Thursday it plans to open an embassy in Baghdad this autumn. The decision comes as part of Denmark's efforts to help combat ISIS and contribute to the stabilization of the situation in both Iraq and Syria.
"With our commitment, we help to ensure that ISIS doesn't once again gain a foothold in the region and thus the opportunity to threaten Europe and Denmark," Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said in a statement. Denmark will use its representation to strengthen the dialogue with Iraq in areas such as migration, counter-terrorism and prosecution of crimes committed by ISIS, he added, Reuters reported. Denmark takes over the leadership of a NATO-led mission training Iraqi security forces from Canada by the end of 2020.

Arab FMs Condemn Turkish, Iranian Interventions… Adhere to Peace Initiative
Cairo- Mohammed Nabil Helmy/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
The foreign ministers of the Arab League countries reiterated their commitment to the Peace Initiative and condemned the Turkish and Iranian interference in Arab affairs. The ministers held a virtual session on Wednesday, during which they discussed extensively developments in the Palestinian file. Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Husam Zaki said that talks on the developments of the Palestinian issue were comprehensive but the ministers did not reach a consensus over the draft resolution proposed by Palestine, related to the tripartite statement between the UAE, US, and Israel. The Palestinian official news agency quoted Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki as saying during his address to the meeting that the UAE was going ahead with the normalization decision despite its violation of the Arab peace initiative and the decisions of the Arab summits. He called on the Arab League to issue a resolution rejecting this step. For his part, Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit stressed that the Palestinian issue would always remain a subject of Arab consensus. He added that the peace plan included in the Arab Peace Initiative and adopted by the Arab summit in 2002 was “the basic plan and the starting point” for achieving a lasting, just, and comprehensive peace between Arabs and Israel. Aboul Gheit, however, emphasized “the sovereign right of every country to conduct its foreign policy in the way it deems fit.” “It is an indisputable right, and this is something that this council respects and endorses,” he added.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry underlined “the need for a unified and resolute Arab policy to deter the Turkish regime, through more coordination between Arab countries.”Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez quoted Shoukry as saying that the “blatant” Turkish practices and interventions in many Arab countries represented the most important emerging threat to Arab national security. According to the decisions issued at the end of the meeting, the Council of the Arab League agreed to “call on the member states to request the Turkish side not to interfere in Arab internal affairs and to stop provocative actions that undermine confidence-building and threaten the security and stability of the region.” The Arab foreign ministers also called on Ankara to “withdraw all its forces from Arab territories.” Qatar, Somalia, and Djibouti expressed their reservation about the decision on Turkey.
As for the Iranian interference, the Arab foreign ministers condemned in “the strongest terms the terrorist attacks on Aramco’s oil facilities with the use of Iranian-made weapons, and welcomed the United Nations report that held the Iranian regime responsible for these attacks.”With regard to the Libyan crisis, Zaki said: “We are witnessing a greater and faster agreement between the parties and we have some cautious optimism over the Libyan file.”“The new efforts may carry good news, and frankly the Libyan issue needs much effort,” he added.

Iraq Eases COVID-19 Restrictions Despite Spike in Cases
Baghdad - Fadhel al-Nashmi/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
The Iraqi authorities decided to ease health restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the new coronavirus despite a spike in new recorded cases. The Health Ministry on Wednesday reported 4,243 new COVID-19 cases, pushing the nationwide tally above 273,000 cases. The Higher Health Committee, chaired by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, approved on Monday launching the sports and youths activities starting Sep. 12 without live audience, while committing to health precautionary measures. The Committee also approved opening restaurants and tourist facilities affiliated with five-star hotels, in addition to opening land borders. Further, it stated that the working hours will be decreased to half in public intuitions while maintaining a curfew from 10 pm to 5 am. Regarding the decision to ease restrictions, Director General of the Public Health Department Dr. Riyad Al-Halfi said that many countries took this step in order to coexist with the pandemic. However, he noted that the continuity of gatherings doubled the infections rate, especially in the absence of any legal justification to impose fines on violators. Iraq is still battling its first wave of the pandemic since virus cases didn't stop rising in the first place, Halfi noted. The World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Iraq Dr. Adham Ismail affirmed that the WHO and the Health Ministry succeeded in reducing the death rate to 3 percent, which is less than the global rate. Ismail stated to Iraqi News Agency that the condition in Iraq is alarming, adding that the rise in cases resulted from the delay in conducting tests and the continuity of gatherings. He stressed the need to adhere to precautionary measures, noting that wearing masks reduces the possibility of infection to 40 percent while physical distancing reduces it to 60 percent.

PLO Member Denies Intention to Clash with the UAE
Ramallah/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
The Palestinian leadership does not intend to clash with the United Arab Emirates but hopes that it would reconsider its stance from Israel, member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee Azzam al-Ahmad said. The Palestinians have in the past days criticized the peace deal between UAE and Israel. The Palestinian Authority has been suffering from a severe financial crisis since its rejection of tax revenues collected on its behalf by Israel, a total of approximately USD190 million per month, which exceeds half of the Authority’s budget. The rejection came after the Authority’s announcement of scrapping all bilateral agreements with Israel in May. In addition to the taxes, the Authority relies on grants, aid, and domestic and foreign loans, which have suffered a setback over the novel coronavirus outbreak. In the past few months, the PA borrowed from banks to pay 50 percent of the employees’ salaries. Two days ago, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh pledged to pay the rest of the wages soon. However, al-Ahmad stated that the Arab states refused to lend the PA. Palestine had asked the Arab League for a loan, but was turned down. So it turned to Qatar, although its request hasn’t been met yet. With the absence of funds from Arab states, it seems that the PM is hinting at getting the Palestinian funds from Israel.Cleared funds are considered the key income source to pay public employees’ salaries, and they are estimated at 2.6-2.4 billion shekels between May and August 2020.

 

Macron Calls for EU Unity on 'Unacceptable' Turkey Behavior
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe on Thursday to adopt a "united and clear voice" on its policy towards Turkey, declaring Ankara is "no longer a partner" in light of its conduct in the Mediterranean and Libya. "We Europeans need to be clear and firm" with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his "unacceptable behavior", Macron told reporters ahead of a summit meeting with fellow EU Mediterranean states in Corsica. But he also said the EU wanted to avoid any escalation in tensions with Ankara. "It is up to Turkey to clarify its intentions", Macron told a news conference.
Tensions between EU member Greece and Turkey rose sharply last month after Ankara sent a survey vessel to map out possible oil and gas drilling in territory over which both countries claim jurisdiction. Macron also said that France and Germany were working on a coordinated action to show solidarity with Greece, where thousands of migrants were left without shelter on Wednesday after fires gutted their overcrowded camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.

China to Join Military Exercises in Southern Russia
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
Chinese and Russian forces will take part in joint military exercises in southern Russia later this month along with troops from Armenia, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, Pakistan and others, China’s defense ministry announced Thursday. The “Caucuses 2020” drills will deploy wheeled vehicles and light weaponry to be flown to the drill location by China’s latest transport aircraft, the ministry said in a statement. The exercises running Sept. 21-26 will focus on defensive tactics, encirclement and battlefield control and command, the ministry said. The exercises have special meaning for China-Russia ties “at this important moment when the whole world is fighting the pandemic,” it said. Since establishing a “comprehensive strategic partnership" two decades ago, China and Russia have cooperated increasingly closely on military matters and diplomacy, largely to counter US influence, The Associated Press reported. Their militaries regularly hold joint exercises and they back each other in the UN over issues including Syria and North Korea.

Algerian Court Sentences Two Figures of Former Regime to Prison
Algiers- Boualem Goumrassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
A court in Algiers convicted two of the most prominent figures of the former regime and began the trial of a third, on major corruption charges, which previously led to the imprisonment of dozens of top civil and military officials to prison. Sidi Mhamed Court of Algiers sentenced former Minister of National Solidarity Djamel Ould Abbes and MP Bahaa Eddine Tliba to eight years in prison for several cases relating to corruption and breaching of capital movement to and from abroad. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune made it a priority to recover public funds that were stolen and launched an initiative with French authorities to confiscate the funds of some officials in French banks. Ould Abbas's younger son, Skandar, was also found guilty in the same case. The judge sentenced his eldest son, who resides abroad, to 20 years in prison and issued an international warrant for his arrest. The case overlaps with another case, relating to misusing funds earmarked for the handicapped and groups classified as very poor, granted each year by the Ministry of Solidarity. Security investigations revealed that Ould Abbas, along with his sons and the ministry’s former secretary-general Khalladi Bouchnak, had forged the documents of private projects, when he was a minister between 2003 and 2004. The second case, which has stirred controversy, relates to Tliba’s accusation of offering bribes in exchange for placing him at the top of the list of National Liberation Front candidates during the 2017 parliamentary elections.
Tliba assured the judge that he refused to pay Skandar a large sum, as requested by his father to collect money from the candidates. Skandar said his father was acting on orders from Said Bouteflika, brother of the former President Abdulaziz Bouteflika. According to Ould Abbas, Bouteflika asked candidates to pay bribes, denying all accusations attributed to him. Tliba denied that he had paid money for his candidacy. Tliba paid huge sums campaigning for Bouteflika over the past 20 years, and Ould Abbas was among the most enthusiastic about his plan to seek a fifth term, which was toppled by the popular movement that broke out in February last year. Meanwhile, the judiciary began the trial of the former Minister of Solidarity, Saeed Barakat, on charges relating to the management of his sector's funds. The defendant said that his predecessor, Ould Abbas, left a legacy of mismanagement and tampering with treasury funds.
Barakat was loyal to the former president, and in return for his loyalty, Bouteflika named him among his bloc in the National Assembly, where dozens of unelected parliamentarians benefit from substantial financial concessions. The trial of the Koninav brothers, four businessmen who were arrested on charges of illicit profiteering, began on Wednesday. The Koninav family had a special relationship with Bouteflika, which allowed them to win large projects in the country, and they offered great financial support for the president during his rule.

Tunisia’s Coronavirus Cases Pass the 5,000 Mark
Tunis - Mongi Saidani/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
The total number of people infected with the coronavirus in Tunisia passed the 5,400 mark since the COVID-19 disease was discovered in the country on March 2, Director of the National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases Nissaf Ben Alaya said. She pointed out that around 265 health workers had been infected, while the death toll almost doubled from 50 to 96 cases following the reopening of the Tunisian border on June 27. Ben Alaya noted that around 293 people tested positive on September 7, bringing the number of active cases in Tunisia to 3,459. A total of 86 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized, including 26 in intensive care units. Since the border’s reopening, 4,216 infections have been reported, including 587 imported cases, 3,584 domestic (85 percent) and 46 deaths (1 percent). Jalila Ben Khalil, a member of the Standing Committee for the fight against the coronavirus, raised the red flag on the pandemic. Othman al-Jallouli, general secretary of the General University of Health, also urged the Tunisian government to refrain from declaring victory over the disease.He called for allotting more funds to the fight against the pandemic.

 

Readout: Canada continues to lead international coordination on response to COVID-19
September 10, 2020 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, hosted the 10th call of the Ministerial Coordination Group on COVID-19 with his counterparts from Australia, Brazil, Germany, Morocco, Peru, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
The ministers provided an update on their countries’ responses to COVID-19 and ongoing multilateral work on vaccines and supply chains, reiterating the importance of maintaining strong global cooperation in ensuring the continued flow of medical supplies across borders.
The ministers furthered discussions on the importance of multilateral vaccine research and development and ensuring equitable vaccine access to developing countries and vulnerable health systems.
They also mentioned the ongoing need for coordination and multilateralism in response to the economic effects of COVID-19. Minister Champagne noted that Canada is pursuing an economic recovery plan that is inclusive, sustainable and resilient, including adapting the Export Diversification Strategy to re-establish and expand exports by Canadian companies.
In closing, the ministers reiterated the importance of continuing to exchange information and coordinate efforts in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and agreed to meet again soon.
In a world increasingly characterized by interdependence, speed and complexity, the Ministerial Coordination Group on COVID-19 is proving to be a valuable forum to discuss, coordinate and act together on global challenges related to COVID-19 and beyond.


Netherlands to Compensate Survivor of 2015 Iraq Airstrike
Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
The Netherlands will pay compensation to a civilian survivor of a 2015 airstrike on Iraq by Dutch forces fighting ISIS, the defense ministry said. Basim Razzo, who lost his wife, daughter, brother and nephew in the attack by Dutch F-16s in Mosul in September 2015, will receive nearly one million euros, Dutch broadcaster NOS said.Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten said in a letter sent to parliament late on Tuesday that she had decided "to proceed with a voluntary offer of compensation for humanitarian reasons.”The ministry wanted to compensate Razzo for the "enormous human suffering that was inflicted on him and the material damage he suffered,” she said. The payment did not mean that the Netherlands accepted responsibility for the incident, said Bijleveld-Schouten, adding that there had not been any "illegal use of force.”The letter did not reveal the amount of compensation, partly at Razzo's demand, she added.
The Dutch military said it had bombed a house were ISIS extremists were believed to be located but later said that the information had been incorrect and that it was a civilian dwelling. Dozens of Iraqi civilians are seeking compensation in a separate case against the Netherlands over an airstrike in Hawija in 2015 in which 70 people were killed.

Sudan's Govt, Rebels to Sign Final Peace Deal on Oct. 2
Khartoum - Ahmad Youness/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
The Sudanese government and armed groups have agreed to sign a final peace deal on October 2 in Juba. The event will be attended by Arab, regional and international officials, announced South Sudan mediation committee. Sudanese government and leaders from the coalition of rebel groups initialed a historic peace agreement on August 31 to end nearly decades of conflict. The agreement was a success for the South Sudan government in mediating and convincing the Sudanese factions to end the war and solve the issues peacefully. The head of the mediation team and South Sudan's presidential adviser on security affairs, Tut Gatluak, is expected to arrive within days in Khartoum accompanied by a delegation of the leaders of the armed movements that signed the agreement. They will discuss the details of the agreement and pave the way for the leaders to return to their country after decades of civil wars.
However, two main movements did not sign a peace agreement, Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) led by Abdul Wahid al-Nur.Last week, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok made a remarkable breakthrough by holding lengthy  meetings with Hilu in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. They signed a declaration of principles agreeing to hold new peace talks hosted by South Sudan. Negotiations between the transitional government and the SPLM-N al-Hilu were suspended over the latter's demand to discuss the secular state and self-determination within the peace process. Hilu then demanded that a civilian negotiating delegation, and refused to negotiate with the delegation headed by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti. The Sudan Liberation Army is still refusing to negotiate and the South Sudan mediation appealed to it to adhere to the peace agreement. The movement’s spokesman, Mohammed al-Nayer, issued a statement saying that the government of Sudan must create the atmosphere and prove its seriousness in reaching a real, just, comprehensive, and sustainable peace.
The statement also called for the immediate implementation of international decisions issued against the former regime, handing over wanted persons to the International Criminal Court (ICC), releasing all prisoners and detainees, and disarming government militias.

Libyan Figures Welcome EU’s Intention to Lift Sanctions on Saleh
Cairo- Jamal Jawhar/Asharq Al-Awsat/Thursday, 10 September, 2020
The Libyan political circles welcomed reports about the EU's intention to remove the name of the President of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, from the sanctions list, describing it as a “step in the right path.” In early April 2016, the EU imposed sanctions on three Libyan figures, including the former President of National Nouri Abusahmain, and the head of the so-called “Salvation Government”, Khalifa al-Ghwell, and Saleh on charges of obstructing peace efforts. Three diplomats told Reuters that the EU plans to remove Saleh from its sanctions blacklist to encourage peace efforts and ensure the Union plays a central role in any negotiated settlement. The parliament reporter, Saleh Kalma, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the EU sanctions were improvised as an attempt to pressure Saleh, noting that they did not actually change or achieve anything.Kalma indicated that for nearly four years, the sanctions were not discussed and Saleh as well as the parliament were not interested in that issue. He added that the Speaker continued to visit European countries, and members and ambassadors of the Union visited him in eastern Libya. Kalma noted that although an official decision has not been issued yet by the European Union in this regard, such reports at this time are an EU recognition of the parliament’s legitimacy, and the essential role Saleh plays in reaching a solution for the Libyan crisis through dialogue. MP of Kufra city, Jibril Ouheida, told Asharq Al-Awsat this move is “a blessed step in the right direction,” adding that it corresponds to the recent visits and tours of Saleh to several countries, in search of a solution for the Libyan crisis.
 

The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on September10-11/2020

Iran’s growing arsenal of missiles a threat to region
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh /Arab News/September 10/2020
While much of the international community has been focusing on maintaining the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal, Iran’s latest acceleration of its ballistic missile program has received little attention, scrutiny or criticism.
In spite of the economic and political pressure the Iranian regime has been facing, its ballistic missile program has been advancing at a rapid pace, particularly when it comes to the proliferation of longer-range precision-guided weapons. The regime last month unveiled several new missiles — including a surface-to-surface ballistic missile called the “Martyr Haj Qassem” and a naval long-range cruise missile named the “Martyr Abu Mahdi” — as well as several high-quality jet engines.
Iran possesses the largest and most diverse ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, and no other country has ever acquired long-range ballistic missiles before obtaining nuclear weapons. Its ballistic missile capability is one of the most critical pillars of the regime’s national security policy. They can be used for offensive or defensive purposes, but sophisticated missiles are mainly developed as delivery vehicles for nuclear weapons.
The regime’s expansion of its ballistic missile program poses a threat to the stability of the region and the national interests of other countries for several reasons. First, the regime has not been shy about showing off its ballistic missile capabilities and threatening other governments. For example, one day after the UN Security Council last month voted against extending the arms embargo on Iran, the headline of a report by the state-controlled Afkar News stated: “American soil is now within the range of Iranian bombs.” The story boasted about the damage the Iranian regime could inflict on the US. “By sending a military satellite into space, Iran now has shown that it can target all American territory; the Iranian parliament had previously warned that an electromagnetic nuclear attack on the United States would likely kill 90 percent of Americans,” it read.
The report also threatened Europe, whose JCPOA members intriguingly abstained in the vote on extending the arms embargo against Iran. It stated: “The same type of ballistic missile technology used to launch the satellite could carry nuclear, chemical or even biological weapons to wipe Israel off the map, hit US bases and allies in the region and US facilities, and target NATO even in the far west of Europe.”
Iran’s expanding ballistic missile program and frequent tests create a sense of insecurity in the Middle East and this will inevitably lead to further destabilization, militarization and an arms race.
Secondly, Iran’s expanding ballistic missile program and frequent tests create a sense of insecurity in the Middle East and this will inevitably lead to further destabilization, militarization and an arms race in the region. For example, Israel has reportedly improved its Arrow missile defense system in response to Iran’s missile program.
While the Iranian leaders argue that they are not breaching any international laws by test-firing ballistic missiles, Tehran is clearly violating UN Security Council resolution 2231. This resolution calls on the Islamic Republic “not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology.”
In addition, as Iran and the other remaining JCPOA signatories still argue that the nuclear deal remains effective, Tehran should not undertake any ballistic missile activity “until the date eight years after the JCPOA Adoption Day (Oct. 18, 2015) or until the date on which the IAEA submits a report confirming the broader conclusion, whichever is earlier.”
The third threat is linked to the fact that the beneficiaries of Iran’s expanding ballistic missile arsenal are generally terror and militia groups. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanese group Hezbollah, has previously admitted: “We are open about the fact that Hezbollah’s budget, its income, its expenses, everything it eats and drinks, its weapons and rockets, come from the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Iran has also advanced Yemen’s Houthis’ missile technology. As a UN panel of experts acknowledged, it is extremely unlikely that the Houthis could manufacture such missiles on their own. “The design characteristics and dimensions of the components inspected by the panel are consistent with those reported for the Iranian-designed and manufactured Qiam-1 missile,” the panel reported.
Furthermore, the Iranian regime has reportedly set up weapons factories abroad and is manufacturing advanced weapons in foreign nations, including in Syria. Some of the arms that Tehran is producing in Syria include precision-guided missiles. Such weapons factories give Iran the capability to wage wars or strike other nations from countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq or Yemen. In other words, Iran’s ruling clerics would not need to be directly engaged in any war, which could jeopardize their hold on power; rather, they could exploit third parties to pit other nations against one another.
The UN must take the Iranian regime’s build-up of ballistic missiles seriously and counter the regime’s distribution of missile technology to its militia and terror groups throughout the region.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Turkey’s strategic assertiveness a dangerous development
Dr. Theodore Karasik/Arab News/September 10/2020
Turkey’s foreign policy strategy appears to be becoming something of a Frankenstein’s monster. The reasoning behind this statement lies in Ankara’s push into the Eastern Mediterranean as part of its “Blue Homeland” (Mavi Vatan) doctrine, which stipulates that the country’s security lies under the seabed of the Mediterranean. The Blue Homeland doctrine has been expanded in recent months due to multiple factors, including a race by all regional actors for what appears to be the energy riches off the coast of several key Mediterranean countries.Turkey’s Blue Homeland philosophy supports its search for gas reserves across a swath of the Mediterranean and has seen warships head to the region this week. Devised in 2006 by Adm. Cem Gurdeniz, who was then head of Turkish naval planning, the strategy is the maritime component of Ankara’s drive for greater independence in its dealings with the world’s energy assets and logistical lines.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambitions are driven by his desire to expand Turkish influence across large parts of the globe. His focus on Africa began before he even became president. Erdogan’s 12-plus visits to the continent are now paying off, with Ankara moving Syrian fighters to the Libyan theater, as well as expanding the country’s reach in key African countries including Mali. Turkey also has a strong presence in part of Somalia that abuts the Red Sea, an important strategic reality. The very fact that Turkey is using airlifts to move fighters from one theater to another is an accompanying strategic and tactical factor when considering how the country can intervene. But complaints about an overextension of the Blue Homeland doctrine are beginning to pile up, putting Ankara in a position of having to decide exactly where it wants to go next in terms of its regional and global projections of power.
The Aug. 31 signing in Tripoli of a cooperation deal between the Turkish and Libyan central banks will ensure Ankara provides technical support, but the exact contours of the agreement, including what it means financially, still need to be clarified. Meanwhile, the Tuna-1 gas field recently discovered in Turkey’s portion of the Black Sea is still a few years from being exploited, so there are concrete details that must be explored and worked out between Tripoli and Ankara. Many of the contracts contend with older Turkish business under the Qaddafi regime, which Turkey wants to recover and build upon.
Anger is rising over Turkey’s push into the region and many are calling for Ankara to return to its strategic box.
Much of the Blue Doctrine issue is beginning to be wrapped up in Turkey’s adventurism in Libya. In her report to the UN Security Council last week, Acting UN Support Mission in Libya Special Representative Stephanie Williams painted a stark picture of the uptick in external meddling in the country, outlining in great detail the number of arms shipments flowing into Libya from supporters of both sides of the conflict and urging an immediate return to negotiations. US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft echoed this call for a return to dialogue, stressing that international partners support the Aug. 21 declaration calling for a cease-fire, demilitarization, the resumption of oil sector operations, and a return to UN-facilitated political talks as the only way forward.
Further buttressing these remarks, US Africa Command released data detailing the flow of foreign actors into the Libyan theater, especially from Turkey and Russia. Particularly illustrative was the information regarding the hundreds of flights by all parties, underscoring the volume of assets being flown into the region for organizing, training and equipping both the Government of National Accord and the Libyan National Army. France has also deployed the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Eastern Mediterranean in a possible mirror of Arabian Gulf scenarios. A host of other countries are going to challenge Turkey across a variety of spectrums — diplomatic, economic (including sanctions) and adjudication.
Currently, the principal point of impact is Greece. The Greek-Turkish story is not new and confrontations between the two countries have occurred in the past. However, there is now a new series of issues — including seabed and exploration rights, rights of navigation, sovereignty, treaties and their enforcement, and a general collapse of constructive discourse — which is leading to challenges and brinkmanship. The bulk of Europe, specifically via the EU, is seeking to punish Turkey for its behavior by helping and supporting Greece. NATO is in a contradictory position, given that the security situation is an intra-alliance fight, which only pleases Moscow in terms of European security.
The volatile situation is made worse by a childish Turkish information campaign that only serves to distract from real issues. The Turkish information campaign is designed to confuse, conflate, inflate and waste the time of readers. It produces false facts that spread rapidly via analysts who tend to parrot falsehoods and are blinded by severe bias. No doubt, many of the parties involved possess vivid imaginations, which blend into their necessary strategic and tactical analysis. It is shameful.
Overall, anger is rising over Turkey’s push into the region and many are calling for Ankara to return to its strategic box. The White House is growing frustrated with it and, given the dramatic shifts in the region due to the normalization process, Ankara’s aggression is likely to grow across the multiple battlefronts the country now faces, from the Caucasus to North Africa. Turkey’s neo-religious outlook, when fused with national identity, is a dangerous development that will drive the country to be more assertive. An escalation ladder will inevitably lead to a kinetic exchange — most likely maritime — that may produce very ugly results. All players are increasingly taking greater risks that could potentially backfire.
*Dr. Theodore Karasik is a senior adviser to Gulf State Analytics in Washington, D.C. He is a former RAND Corporation senior political scientist who lived in the UAE for 10 years, focusing on security issues. Twitter: @tkarasik

The curse of bad governance

Afshin Molavi/Arab News/September 10/2020
Is oil a curse? Political scientists have debated this topic for more than five decades, with many arguing that countries with abundant natural resources are often fated to suffer poor developmental and political outcomes because of the economic distortions that arise due to large reserves of oil or natural gas. It is time to put this debate where it belongs: In the dustbin of history.
No, oil is not a curse. Bad governance is a curse. For the most glaring case in point, look at Venezuela. Today, some 96 percent of the population live below the poverty line, according to a national study released over the summer. Yes, 96 percent. What we are witnessing today in Venezuela is a slow-moving, painful and tragic implosion of a country that still sits atop the rankings of states with the world’s largest proven oil reserves, ahead of Saudi Arabia, Canada, Iran and Iraq. So, has oil been Venezuela’s curse? No, Venezuela has been cursed by bad governance for many years, but particularly the last two decades. When Hugo Chavez entered office in 1999, he stripped away the independence of Venezuela’s reasonably well-functioning national oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, and began using it as a personal political patronage machine, while gradually booting out foreign energy companies that had the expertise and resources to keep the oil flowing.
What followed was one poor decision after another, in oil policy and beyond, creating a sort of negative compounding of interest effect that eventually blew the country up. By the time the US began ramping up existing sanctions on Venezuela in 2017, exacerbating the country’s economic woes, its leaders had already done plenty of damage of their own.
Today, Venezuela’s oil production is roughly a tenth of what it was two decades ago, according to a Wall Street Journal report this week, while some 5 million Venezuelans have fled the country. Even as he strode the world stage, lecturing his foes and winning plaudits from allies, the late Chavez was providing a case study in poor governance. This poor governance, not oil, has led to Venezuela’s current situation.
Lebanon, meanwhile, has few natural resources but does possess one of the most dynamic, educated and talented population bases in the world. When Lebanese go abroad, they tend to excel, so why have so many problems befallen Lebanon of late? Once again, it is the negative compounded interest of bad governance.
The tragic explosion at Beirut’s port last month represents the epitome of bad governance.
Mismanagement, corruption and venal, short-sighted politics will not immediately hit a country or people hard, but eventually you cannot escape the bad governance trap. The tragic explosion at Beirut’s port last month represents the epitome of bad governance. A threat — large amounts of ammonium nitrate stored at the port — was identified six years ago. This means that Lebanon’s authorities had six years to solve what should have been seen as a pressing problem. All the while, the “Paris of the Middle East” was suffering through a garbage collection crisis, an electricity crisis, a banking crisis, and multiple other crises largely of its leaders’ own making.
When the ammonium nitrate exploded, what also exploded were the years of bad management, poor decisions and venal politics. Tragically, 190 lives were lost and some 6,500 people were injured.
Can you imagine a store of ammonium nitrate of that magnitude simply lying around for six years in some of the best-run ports in the world, like Rotterdam, Singapore or Jebel Ali in Dubai? Of course not, and yet it sat in Beirut’s port, exposing her people to unimaginable danger while politicians fiddled.
Look further east and examine Iran’s oil and gas sector — yet another example of poor governance. In an extraordinary report published last year by the University of Utah and the non-profit Omid for Iran and entitled “Where Is My Oil?,” author Khosrow Semnani notes that years of corruption and mismanagement in Iran’s energy industry has cost Iranians more than $1 trillion.
Instead of chanting, “Where is my vote?” as millions of Iranians did after the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009, which was widely considered fraudulent, the paper argues that Iranians should be asking: “Where is my oil?” It’s a fair question, given the multiple high-profile cases of corruption in Iran’s oil and gas sector.
In fact, Iran’s own presidents have raised the alarm multiple times. Ahmadinejad would often decry Iran’s “oil mafia” and current President Hassan Rouhani has explicitly asked about the whereabouts of $700 million in lost oil funds and another $2 billion corruption case. Rouhani calls what he sees in the industry as “billion-dollar corruption” to emphasize the scale of the problem.
Meanwhile, when young Arabs began taking to the streets in 2010-11 in defiance of their ruling establishments, an undercurrent of their anger was the mismanagement and corruption of political elites. Over the past 11 years, the extraordinary Arab Youth Survey, a wide-ranging compendium of young people’s views from across the region, has repeated a familiar theme: Many young Arabs are frustrated with their rulers, demand more accountability and transparency, seek better governance, and want to see an end to corruption.
The corruption scourge is not unique to one region, but one thing is clear: Years of bad political decisions eventually take their toll. The real curse is bad governance, not oil, and, although you can get away with poor decisions, mismanagement and corruption for a while, and even wash it away with oil receipts, it will eventually bite you. The tragedy is that the ones who feel the pain are usually the people on the receiving end of those decisions and not the decision-makers themselves.
*Afshin Molavi is a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and editor and founder of the “New Silk Road Monitor.”

 

Saudi Columnist 'Abd Al-'Aziz Al-Hazani : Palestinians Have No Right To Judge Arab Countries Wishing To Normalize Relations With Israel
MEMRI/September 10/2020
In her September 8, 2020 column in the Saudi London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Amal 'Abd Al-'Aziz Al-Hazani criticized the Palestinian Authority (PA) for its total rejection of the UAE's normalization agreement with Israel, as reflected, for example, in the emergency conference recently held by the Palestinian factions in Beirut, Ramallah and online to formulate a unified position against normalization and against the Deal of the Century.
Al-Hazani noted that, while many Arab countries hold ties with Israel, the Palestinians choose to focus their criticism on the UAE, which for years has been acting to promote their rights. She wondered why the PA does not condemn Qatar, whose influence on the Palestinian cause has been "negative," for it maintains ties with Israel and at the same time supports terror organizations in Gaza and throughout the world. She noted sarcastically that, by prompting the Beirut convention, the UAE attained at least one remarkable achievement: it caused all the Palestinian factions to come together and adopt a unified position.
Amal 'Abd Al-'Aziz Al-Hazani (Source: Twitter.com/Alhazzani_Amal)
The following are translated excerpts from her article:[1]
"One of the more cheering pieces of news lately was the one about the conference of the Palestinian faction leaders, which was held in Beirut and convened by PA President Mahmoud 'Abbas. This is great news, because the last time they convened during the schism between Gaza and the West Bank, which has been ongoing for 13 years, was nine years ago. Even more heartening was [the fact that] the conference brought the entire spectrum of Palestinian [factions], from the communists to the Islamists, to the table, something we have not seen for a very long time. But the great achievement was the agreement reached by all the conference participants on the need for Palestinian unity and for renewing contact between the rival sides – so much so that Chairman 'Abbas even downplayed the reasons that had led to the schism [between the West Bank and Gaza], calling them meaningless!
"This is an astonishing achievement, which makes us wonder: Why did all the Arab efforts to unite the Palestinians fail, while they themselves have succeeded in achieving this, and what does this mean? What has changed? What caused all these friends to convene so quickly around the same table, and [what caused] all of these faction to pledge that the PLO is the sole representative of the Palestinians, that there can be no [Palestinian state] without Gaza and that Gaza will not be an independent state, and to rally around Mahmoud 'Abbas?
"There has been no change in the suffocating siege on Gaza, although 'Abbas did promise to send [Gaza] 20 trucks of medical supplies to combat the coronavirus, eight months after the outbreak of the pandemic. Nor has there been any change in [the following issues]: the war waged against Gaza, the moving of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, [Israel's] enterprise of building settlements and annexing Palestinian lands or, of course, the commitment by the two main sides, Hamas and Fatah, to unite, a commitment they signed in front of the holy mosque in Mecca in 2007.[2] None of these are the reason that brought the Palestinians together and united their ranks. The reason is in fact simpler than all these catastrophes that have threatened the Palestinians' existence: it is the UAE's decision to normalize relations with Israel.
"Has the UAE [indeed] managed to do the impossible and unite the Palestinians? If that is the case, then this is the first fruit of this UAE decision. We at least have one Arab state that still has some influence on the Palestinian decisions! But again a question arises: Is the UAE the only Arab country that has established relations with Israel, [thereby justifying] such a decisive Palestinian response? The countries neighboring Israel, like Egypt and Jordan, cannot be compared to any others in terms of the agreements they decided to sign with Israel in order to protect and regain their lands. But what about Morocco and the Sultanate of Oman? What about Qatar, which, by the admission of its former prime minister, Hamad bin Jassim, maintains ties with Israel in order to serve the Palestinian [cause]?
"Qatar has indeed had great influence on the Palestinian issue, but sadly it has been negative influence, and the situation created by Qatar realizes the ambitions of the resistance axis, as follows: The armed resistance in Gaza, which includes both Hamas and Islamic Jihad, was sold using Qatari money to buy security for Israel and thereby appease the U.S…. [The latter] will give Qatar credit for this, even though the American security apparatuses are aware of the direct and indirect assistance that the Qatari regime extends to extremist organizations, both Shi'ite and Sunni. Gaza, then, is pleased with the intervention of Qatar, which provides it with money that enters [Gaza] through Israel; the West Bank likewise receives the funds that sustain it, quietly and without having to worry about the Gazans. And Iran regards this situation as the best option available, amid the sanctions that impede its activity, because the important point is that its main goal is achieved, namely widening the Palestinian rift, which means that no negotiations can take place and the two-state solution cannot be realized. All parties are thus ultimately satisfied.
"The UAE normalization [agreement] with Israel has completely changed the power balances, and the first sign of this was the conference I mentioned [of the Palestinian factions in Beirut]. The need to unite the ranks – in response to the UAE position and out of fear that other Arab countries will join the normalization [initiative] one by one – effectively reflects the [Palestinians'] belief that the Palestinian cause has lost its power in the international arena.
"The UAE demanded that Israel suspend the annexation of the [occupied] territories and allow all Muslims to pray at Al-Aqsa, which is a realization of part of the Arab dream. Yet 'Abbas responded in his speech by saying, 'Thank you, we don't need favors from anyone,' and added: 'We are big boys and can take care of ourselves.' If the Palestinians have suddenly grown up and do not need anyone, and can stop the annexation of the Palestinian lands by themselves, as 'Abbas claimed, then why are they so furious? If they do not need anyone's help, why do the Arab positions vis-à-vis Israel concern them?
"The truth, as everyone knows, is that, were it not for the Arab countries – especially the major ones, like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE – Palestine would not have been able to take any political step towards an international recognition of its rights, not only today but for decades…
"The Palestinians have no right to judge the Arab states' positions on Israel or to control them, for they themselves do not treat these states equally. For the last three years, the members of the [Arab] Quartet – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain – have been boycotting Qatar due to its support of terror that threatens their national security. Has the West Bank or Gaza taken any stance on this? The [Muslim] Brotherhood movement, supported by Qatar, once threatened the UAE regime. Did the Palestinians take a counter-stance in support [of the UAE regime]? Not to mentions the Palestinian position on the [1990] war in Kuwait and Saddam [Hussein's] invasion of it…
"Ultimately, what we want for the Palestinians is that everything they promised themselves at the Beirut conference should come to pass, for we wish them only well. I also commend President 'Abbas's advice to the Palestinians to take medical precautions in order to protect themselves from the coronavirus, which is now spreading in a second wave [of contagion] – although most of the participants at the Beirut conference did not wear masks and many of them sat close together. It seems that the Palestinians do not know when to come together and when to keep their distance."
[1] Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), September 8, 2020.
[2] This refers to the agreement signed by Fatah and Hamas in Mecca on February 8, 2007, in which they agreed to form a national accord government and to end power struggle between them that had been ongoing since 2005.

The Biden Agenda: Why ‘Outside-In’ Diplomacy Could Be the Key to Middle East Peace
Jonathan Schanzer/FDD/September 10/2020
Would Joe Biden be willing or able to take advantage of the progress made with the Israel-UAE deal?
In October 2016, I attended an intimate discussion with a senior Israeli diplomat. Participants took turns peppering him with questions about security problems that plagued the Middle East. When it was my turn, I asked him, “What Israel-related challenges and opportunities await the next president?” His response was memorable: “We can always discuss challenges. But there will be a huge opportunity, no matter who is elected. The next president can broker peace between Israel and the moderate Sunni Arab states.”
Nearly four years later, the Trump administration helped broker the first such deal between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. Details are still being ironed out (notably, the UAE’s request for F-35 aircraft), but the UAE has already repealed its anti-Israel boycott law and warmly welcomed an Israeli delegation, delivered by Israel’s national carrier El-Al, with great fanfare. By all accounts, the deal is off to an auspicious start.
For the Trump administration, this was an important foreign policy win in the lead-up to the November election. And officials are quick to point out that this diplomatic success may not be one and done. All eyes are now on Bahrain, Oman, Sudan, Morocco, and perhaps other Arab states that are also mulling peace with Israel.
President Trump and his Republican party are already framing this diplomacy as proprietary. Admittedly, Arab-Israeli rapprochement was spurred on by mutual alarm over the Obama administration’s ill-fated 2015 nuclear deal that yielded Iran up to $150 billion in sanctions relief without permanently halting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. And the unorthodox approach of focusing on Arab states on the periphery of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict (rather than on the Palestinians) is undeniably an approach championed by Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
But as the Israeli diplomat noted in 2016, Hillary Clinton might have also cashed in on the ripening ties between moderate Sunni states and Israel. And there is certainly nothing that would preclude a future Biden administration from doing so.
To be sure, there may be some lingering suspicions among the Arab leaders, stemming from Biden’s role in the Obama administration’s much-maligned Iran policy. But with diplomatic dominoes set to fall, should Biden win in November, opportunities await.
What stands between Biden and such victories are two things: orthodoxy and personnel.
Orthodoxy may the easier of the two to surmount. Biden would have Trump to thank for that. Decades of Middle East diplomacy, conducted by Republican and Democratic presidents alike, have focused primarily on the demands of an irredentist clique of Palestinian leaders who consistently spurn American solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. American presidents have traditionally leaned on peripheral Arab states to help lean on the Palestinians and prod them back to the negotiating table—usually to no avail. We might call this the “inside-out” approach to peacemaking.
Trump (more accurately, Kushner) has done the opposite. The “outside-in” has proved to be viable. The Palestinians are now watching helplessly as regional states mull normalization with Israel. The Arab states are prioritizing their own national interests over the Palestinian cause for the first time in a century, depriving the Palestinians of leverage. Should this trend continue, the Palestinians may be forced to acquiesce to a deal that offers far less than they might hope. At minimum, they will need to give up the dream of the demise of Israel as a state in which the Jewish people enjoy sovereignty and self-determination. More practically, this means the Palestinians would have to compromise on core issues like borders, Jerusalem, and Palestinians claiming refugee status. Should Trump prevail in November, the Palestinians would be given little choice but to negotiate along the lines of the so-called Deal of the Century (also known as Peace to Prosperity) published by the White House earlier this year—a document that frontloads benefits for Israel and forces the Palestinians to get their political house in order.
Of course, Biden would never hew to the parameters of the Trump plan for obvious political reasons. But de-emphasizing Palestinian demands while playing to the national interests of peripheral Gulf states that are eager to normalize with Israel is a strategy Biden cannot easily ignore. Even if Trump manages to broker additional agreements in the coming months, more deals will likely be ripe for the picking next year.
But it may not be that simple. Should Biden be willing to eschew the diplomatic orthodoxy and try his hand at “outside-in” peacemaking, he may find resistance in his own ranks. For one, there is a relatively small but vociferous progressive strain within the Democratic party that views Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and their Sunni allies not as partners but as rogue states deserving of U.S. sanctions. This stems, in part, from a rather binary view of Iran that grew out of the heated debate over the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, during which Iran was erroneously described as a potential partner and not the state sponsor of terrorism that it is. The goal, from what we can tell, was to normalize ties with Iran while casting the Islamic Republic’s Arab foes as the real problem.
Advocates for the Iran nuclear deal hope to rise again in a future Biden administration. They seek nothing less than a full return to the 2015 accord. To put it mildly, this would seriously undermine America’s ability to broker peace deals between the Arabs and Israelis. Indeed, they are of the same mind when it comes to the Iranian threat. Ironically, such a move might push the Israelis and Arabs closer together out of a mutual distrust of the White House, as was the case with Obama. This would leave Washington on the sidelines of future Arab-Israeli peace deals.
As it happens, Iran nuclear deal advocates often overlap with a minority strain in the Democratic party that has an abiding sympathy for the Palestinian cause and a concurrent antipathy for Israeli. These are the figures that advocate for the economic warfare campaign known as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) targeting Israel, and inexplicably blame Israel for a conflict that was launched by its enemies a century ago, even as Israel has offered to end the conflict with territorial concessions on multiple occasions. Israel’s recent vacillation over the prospect of annexing roughly one-third of the West Bank further fueled those sentiments. Fortunately, the peace deal with the UAE appears to have taken that option off the table for now. In fact, that was the demand from Abu Dhabi, in exchange for peace. But the anti-Israel voices within the party can still be heard.
With figures from the far left demanding a greater voice at a political moment that has afforded them greater sway, the temptation could be great for a future President Biden to acquiesce to them. In practice, this would mean eschewing the outside-in approach in favor of appeasing the Islamic Republic of Iran and the kleptocratic Palestinians. But Biden’s foreign policy approach has been historically centric and pragmatic. It will be hard for Biden and his advisers (among whom are many like-minded centrists and pragmatists) to ignore the path that Trump has helped to forge.
It is worth noting here, of course, that the “outside-in” and “inside-out” approaches to peacemaking are not binary. Biden could pursue both strategies at once, in a bid to wield leverage with all the parties, as overlapping negotiations play out. This is a strategy that some in Israel have quietly advocated.
Admittedly, the Middle East feels very far from home right now. America’s focus will be on domestic challenges for the foreseeable future. And those challenges are many. But brokering Middle East peace will be on the agenda of the next president. It is, after all, one way American presidents make history, and perhaps even win Nobel Prizes.
The Nobel committee has, in fact, just acknowledged Donald Trump for his recent success. The president has cashed in on the opportunities that his predecessor gifted him. Biden surely knows that he can do the same. ”Outside-in” diplomacy beckons.
*Jonathan Schanzer, a former terrorism finance analyst at the United States Department of the Treasury, is senior vice president for research at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. Follow him on Twitter @JSchanzer.

Hamas Prioritizes Terrorism Over COVID-19 Outbreak in Gaza

Joe Truzman//FDD/September 10/2020
Amid a recent COVID-19 outbreak in the Gaza Strip, Hamas and Israel agreed to a Qatari-brokered ceasefire last week but failed to reach a long-term truce. Hamas and other terrorist factions likely intend to resume terrorist activity in the near future rather than respond to the dire public health needs of Gaza inhabitants.
Hamas said it would give Israel two months to implement understandings made in previous ceasefires, such as extending Gaza’s fishing zone from 15 to 20 nautical miles offshore and increasing the number of work permits for Gazans to enter Israel. Additionally, the ceasefire agreement stipulated that monthly infusions of Qatari cash would continue in exchange for a cessation of arson attacks by Hamas and other factions.
Until recently, the Gaza Strip had largely been free of COVID-19 due to several factors: Israel’s blockade imposed in 2007 after Hamas took control of the territory; the limited entry of visitors through the Rafah and Erez crossings; and minor measures taken by Hamas to prevent the spread of the virus.
However, the situation changed on August 24 with Gaza’s first outbreak. On Wednesday, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health confirmed 87 new cases in the previous 24 hours, totaling 1,233 active cases, including a total of nine deaths since the outbreak started. Additionally, al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced on August 26 that one of its fighters died after contracting the virus.
Gaza hospitals have the ability to care for only 350 COVID-19 cases, meaning that the spread of the virus could easily overrun Gaza’s healthcare system. In an interview on Palestinian television in early April, Hamas leader Yahya al-Sinwar threatened to “stop the breathing of six million Israelis” if Gaza did not receive sufficient ventilators to treat sick Palestinians.
An August 3 statement by the office of Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ politburo, signaled the movement’s intent to continue to commit acts of terrorism against Israel in the long term. Haniyeh explained that “comprehensive resistance is a cornerstone of the future strategy, and it must be in all its forms and colors, with the military [al-Qassam Brigades] at the forefront,” the statement said.
Yet Hamas could receive the critically needed assistance by reaching a long-term truce with Israel. In early January, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Jamie McGoldrick visited Gaza in an effort to mediate an agreement. However, McGoldrick’s efforts failed, leading to a resumption of cross-border attacks by Hamas, including a thwarted attempt in February to place an explosive device at the Gaza border, aimed at killing Israeli soldiers.
Moreover, in the first days of the COVID-19 outbreak in August, Hamas and other Palestinian factions continued arson attacks against communities in southern Israel after ordering a lockdown of the Gaza Strip. The continuation of the attacks demonstrated Hamas’ willingness to allow its operatives to carry out acts of terrorism despite an outbreak of COVID-19.
Hamas’ latest refusal to agree to a long-term truce with Israel in exchange for international assistance to combat COVID-19 provides clear proof that the terrorist group does not plan to ease up on its ill-intentions. As a result, the ceasefire will likely be short-lived.
*Joe Truzman is an analyst and contributor at the Long War Journal (LWJ), a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). He also contributes to FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). For more analysis from Joe, LWJ, and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Joe on Twitter @Jtruzmah. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @LongWarJournal and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.

Azerbaijan MP tells ‘Post’ Iran must not execute wrestler
Benjamin Weinthal/FDD/September 10/2020
First politician from majority Shi’ite majority country to come out against Iran’s regime.
In the first political statement from a majority Shi’ite country that borders the Islamic Republic of Iran, an important Azerbaijan MP on Wednesday told The Jerusalem Post that Tehran’s rulers should not execute the champion wrestler Navid Afkari for his peaceful protest against regime corruption.
“I’m against death penalties and our country [is] as member of the Council of Europe join European countries on this issue. Not only this poor wrestler and his brothers are victims of totalitarian regime hundreds of Azerbaijanis executed because they wanted [to]study their own language. I’m joining all of you and declaring no death penalty for Navid Afkri,” wrote MP Asim Mollazade, chairman of the Democratic Reforms Party.
He added that “Every day, Iran delivers arms to Armenia, which killed innocent civil people.”
Mollazade now joins British, American and German politicians and parties who have urged Iran’s regime to not move forward with the execution of Afkari. Two of Afkari’s brothers were also arrested and sentenced to lengthy prison terms and whippings for protesting against the Iranian regime in 2018.
Mollazade’s statement is significant because Azerbaijan is a state like Iran where the majority religion is Shi’ite Islam and wrestling is a national pastime.
Iran’s regime charged Afkari with murder and imposed two death sentences on him.
Mollazade’s party is an opposition party in the parliament. He is member of the friendship group with the Knesset and a member of the European friends of Israel.
US Congressman Markwayne Mullin from Oklahoma tweeted about Afkari that “This man should not be executed for peacefully protesting an authoritarian regime. I encourage the wrestling community around the world to stand up for democracy and join me in calling for his release.”
Afkari participated in a peaceful protest against the Iranian government in 2018 due to the worsening economic situation. Afkari, his lawyer and his family said he was tortured by the Iranian authorities to confess to a crime he did not carry out. The New York Times headlined its Wednesday article: “As a Wrestler Faces Execution in Iran, World Sports Groups Galvanize.”
The Times wrote “Though Mr. Afkari has not competed in the Olympics, many see his case as a test for the International Olympic Committee, which they say should take action against Iran if the execution goes forward. The organization, they say, has an obligation to protect athletes at all levels.”
Mark Adams, a spokesman for the IOC, told the Times that it is“in constant contact” with Iranian Olympic officials and the Iranian Wrestling Federation, adding that they“doing their utmost to facilitate a solution.”
J’den Cox, a two time world champion freestyle wrestler and Olympic bronze medalist, posted a video of himself arguing against the execution on his Twitter account.
Canadian Olympic wrestling champion Erica Wiebe, who posted a tweet against the Afkari execution, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that “Wrestling is a truly global sport and I’ve been very fortunate to have many friends who were born in Iran or competed for Iran.” She added that “When I hear the news of what’s happened to Navid Afkari, it breaks my heart.”
Thomas Gilman, a 2017 world silver medalist wrestler and two time world team member for the USA, wrote on Twitter: “I have been fortunate enough to compete in Iran. Some of the most hospitable people I have met on this planet were in Tehran. Please save Navid Afkari! Spare this champion Wrestler from execution!”
Victoria Anthony, a two time wrestling world team member, tweeted: “Culturally Iranians are truly some of the most open-hearted people I’ve ever met. Its always been my dream to wrestle in Iran bc of the unending kindness & hospitality I’ve experienced from Iranian people. #SaveNavidAfkari, spare the life of this champion Wrestler!”
The three time German Greco-Roman wrestling world champion Frank Stäbler posted a video opposing Navid’s execution. Afkari is also a decorated Greco-Roman wrestler.
After the Post sent numerous press queries to the German Green Party, the left-wing party issued a statement that Afkari’s execution must be prevented. Critics have accused the German Green Party over the years of showing sympathy for the mullah regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Also weighing in on the crisis is Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, better known as the Iron Sheik, a retired amateur and professional wrestler from Tehran. Vaziri has a decorated career as an amateur wrestler, having competed for a spot on the Iranian Olympic wrestling team in 1968 before eventually moving to the US, where he won gold as the Amateur Athletic Union champion in 1971, and later worked as assistant coach for the US wrestling team at the 1972 Olympics.
But before moving to the US, Vaziri also served in the Iranian army, and was even a bodyguard for the shah for several years.
Vaziri’s account posted a tweet on September 7, tweeting the Post‘s article on Navid Afkari with the message: “THIS BREAK MY HEART. THE NAVID AFKARI I LOVE YOU FOREVER.”
On Wednesday, he then tweeted “BROTHERS AND THE SISTERS PLEASE SHARE AND HELP SAVE IRANIAN BROTHER AND EXCELLENT WRESTLER,” before using the hashtag #SaveNavidAfkari.
Benjamin Weinthal is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Follow him on Twitter @BenWeinthal.