English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese,
Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 19/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews21/english.may19.21.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
Believe in the light, so that you may become
children of light
John 12/31-36: “Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this
world will be driven out.And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw
all people to myself.’He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die.
The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains for
ever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of
Man?’ Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while
you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in
the darkness, you do not know where you are going.While you have the light,
believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’ After Jesus had
said this, he departed and hid from them.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on May 18- 19/2021
The Lebanese Foreign Minister Must be Removed/Elie Aoun/May 18/2021
Ministry of Health: 600 new infections, 10 deaths
KSA, UAE Summon Lebanese Ambassadors to Protest Wehbe's Remarks
KSA Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns Lebanese Foreign Minister's recent
statements against Saudi Arabia
Presidency of the Republic: Foreign Minister stances express his personal
opinion
Lebanon’s top diplomat expected to step down after racist comments targeting
Gulf
UAE expresses strong disapproval of ‘disgraceful, racist’ statements of Lebanese
Bahrain, Kuwait strongly condemn Lebanon’s FM statements on Saudi Arabia and GCC
Aoun: Wehbe’s Gulf Remarks Don’t Reflect the State’s Position
Wehbe Apologizes for 'Mistake', Says Didn't Mean to Insult Any Arab State
Report: Wehbe’s Gulf Remarks Trigger ‘Discontent’
Aoun sends letter to Parliament through Berri over government formation delay,
requests its discussion during general assembly
Ambassador of Russia conveys to Aoun message of support for Lebanon
Presidency Press Office clarifies false news: 9 decrees to restore Lebanese
citizenship are not new naturalization decree but rather implementation of
Parliament-law
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi discusses latest developments with Italian
Deputy Minister and with slieman Frangieh
Tenenti: UNIFIL coordinating with Lebanese army to enhance security control
along southern borders
Lebanese Army Finds Unlaunched Rocket, Launchpads of 6 Others
5 Protesters Hurt on Lebanon-Israel Border as Hundreds March in Beirut
Israel Fires Shells at South Lebanon after Rocket Fire
UNIFIL Says Ensuring Stability on Border Region after Fire
Putin Relays Support for Lebanon in Letter to Aoun
Hariri Hits Back after Aoun Sends Letter Rebuking Him to Parliament
Berri meets Ghajar and Baasiri, receives further congratulatory cables on Eid
Al-Fitr
Dr. Imad B. Baalbaki, AUB, receives 2020 CASE Asia-Pacific Distinguished Service
Award
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on May 18- 19/2021
No Respite in Gaza from Israeli Strikes, as Diplomatic Efforts Intensify
Death Toll Climbs in Israel-Gaza Conflict amid Frantic Diplomacy
Biden backs ceasefire in Gaza but does not seek immediate truce
France, Egypt, Jordan Hold Talks Seeking Israeli-Palestinian Ceasefire
Merkel, Jordan King Call for 'Swift' Mideast Ceasefire
Israeli Troops Targeted by Gunfire in West Bank as Palestinian Shot Dead
UN Hails Israel Decision to Open Crossing for Aid into Gaza
EU Top Diplomat Urges Israel-Palestinian Ceasefire
Egypt Sends Medical Aid to Gaza after Israeli Strikes
Egypt Aims to Restore Regional Role with Gaza Mediation
Kuwait government preempts Islamist exploitation of Palestinian issue
Over 50 Missing After Boat From Libya Sinks
U.S. Department of State: Acting Assistant Secretary Joey Hood travels to
northeast Syria
Sudan sacks top judge, accepts chief prosecutor's resignation
Canada provides additional humanitarian assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh and
continues to promote efforts to find sustainable peace
Canada/International Partnership against impunity for the use of chemical
weapons Statement - Supporting the OPCW upon the delivery of the second IIT
report
Senior US official says Washington willing to reopen embassy in Libya
Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on May 18- 19/2021
Biden: ‘We Will Speak Out for Religious Freedom for All [Muslim]
People”/Raymond Ibrahim/May 18/2021
As Iran's Mullahs Incite Hamas Terrorism, Biden Administration Wants Sanctions
Lifted/Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 18, 2021
Sohail Hashmi: Jihad as Just War?/Andrew E. Harrod/The Iconoclast (New English
Review/May 18/2021
Hizbullah Brigades: The U.K. Will Pay The Price For Its Involvement In The Riots
At The Iranian Consulate In Iraq's Karbala Following The Murder Of Iraqi
Political Activist Al-Wazni/MEMRI/May 18/2021
IDF launches targeted killing operations against Gaza-based militants/Joe.Truzman/
FDD's Long War Journal/May 18/2021
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News
& Editorials published on May 18- 19/2021
The Lebanese Foreign Minister Must be Removed
Elie Aoun/May 18/2021
إيلي عون: مفروض طرد وزير خارجية لبنان من منصبه
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/98963/elie-aoun-the-lebanese-foreign-minister-must-be-removed/
The insults made by Lebanese Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe against Saudi Arabia
and the Arabs in the Gulf countries are a reflection of the level of mediocrity
that rules Lebanon.
It is the same mediocrity that has transformed Lebanon from the “Switzerland of
the Middle East” to the bankrupt and rotten status that exists today.
It is not sufficient for Lebanon’s Presidential Palace to state that the Foreign
Minister’s comments reflect his “personal opinion” and not official policy. That
is a dishonest statement and reflects that the President agrees with what was
said. If he did not, he would have removed the Foreign Minister immediately.
Such a foreign minister must be removed from his post. If not, the Gulf
countries must expel the Lebanese ambassadors from their capital cities. This is
not a “punishment.” Rather, it is a necessary discipline that must be exercised
against a Lebanese political class that has lost all measures of decency,
ethics, and reason.
No country should expect from this class to reform itself. The proper response
is to stop dealing with it, leave it alone, and support private trustworthy
Lebanese.
The Gulf countries must stop sending any financial contributions to Lebanese
governmental agencies. They could assist Lebanon by creating a “Lebanese Board”
constituted of trustworthy Lebanese living in the Gulf and through whom the Gulf
countries can channel all funds and humanitarian assistance intended to Lebanon.
Ministry of Health: 600 new infections, 10 deaths
NNA/May 18/2021
The Ministry of Public Health announced 600 new coronavirus infection cases,
which raises the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 536554.
10 deaths have been recorded over the past 24 hours.
KSA, UAE Summon Lebanese Ambassadors to Protest Wehbe's Remarks
Naharnet/May 18/2021
The Saudi Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said it summoned Lebanon’s ambassador to
the kingdom and handed him a letter of protest over “insulting” remarks by
caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe. In a statement, the Saudi ministry
accused Wehbe of “insulting the kingdom and its people.”
“The Foreign Ministry strongly condemns those statements, which included obscene
insults against the kingdom and its people and the brotherly nations of the Gulf
Cooperation Council,” the statement said, adding that what Wehbe said
“contradicts with the simplest diplomatic norms and does not befit the historic
ties between the two brotherly peoples.” Later on Tuesday, the Emirati Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed its "strong
condemnation" of Wehbe's remarks, adding that it has summoned the Lebanese
ambassador and handed him an official letter of protest. Wehbe had earlier in
the day apologized over his remarks, saying he did not mean to insult any Arab
country or people. In an interview on al-Hurra TV, Wehbe had accused “brotherly
and friendly countries” of having supported the jihadist Islamic State group in
its attacks on Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. Wehbe also criticized Saudi Arabia for
“killing (Saudi dissident Jamal) Khashoggi in Istanbul” while defending
Hizbullah’s arms.
KSA Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemns Lebanese Foreign Minister's recent
statements against Saudi Arabia
NNA/May 18/2021
Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday: "In
reference to Lebanese Foreign Minister in the caretaker government Charbel
Wehbe's disgraceful statements during a television interview last night, in
which he insulted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses strong condemnation and
denunciation of such disgraceful abuses against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its
people, and the GCC countries, reiterating that these statements are
incompatible with the simplest diplomatic norms and are inconsistent with the
historical relations between the two brotherly peoples. Given the consequences
that might ensue as a result of these disgraceful statements on the relations
between the two brotherly countries, the Ministry summoned the Ambassador of the
Lebanese Republic to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to express the Kingdom’s
rejection and denunciation of the insults issued by the Lebanese Foreign
Minister, and he was handed an official protest note in this regard."-- SPA
Presidency of the Republic: Foreign Minister stances
express his personal opinion
NNA/May 18/2021
The Presidency Press Office issued the following statement:
“Some of what was mentioned by Foreign Affairs Minister, Charbel Wehbe in an
interview at Al-Hurra TV yesterday, sparked reactions aimed at harming the
fraternal relations which exist between Lebanon and Gulf states. This was
evident through the issued political positions, in addition to the programmed
media campaigns accompanying, despite the clarification issued by the Foreign
Minister that he had never named Gulf countries, in the speech. The Presidency
of the Lebanese Republic affirms the depth of fraternal relations between
Lebanon and brotherly Gulf countries, foremost of which is the brotherly Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, and emphasizes keenness to maintain and strengthen these
relations in all fields. The Presidency also considers what was issued by
Minister Wehbe as an expression of his personal opinion, not reflecting the
position of the Lebanese State nor President, General Michel Aoun, who is keen
in rejecting what offenses brotherly and friendly countries, in general, and the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries, in specific”.
Lebanon’s top diplomat expected to step down after
racist comments targeting Gulf
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/18 May ,2021
Lebanon’s top diplomat is expected to step down from his position this week, a
senior Foreign Ministry official said late Tuesday, hours after the minister
accused Gulf countries of supporting ISIS in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Charbel
Wehbe, who is currently the foreign minister in a caretaker capacity, unleashed
a reckless diatribe against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf during a televised
interview with Al-Hurra on Monday. Following public backlash from Lebanese
officials, politicians and the public, Wehbe will now “probably announce that
he’s stepping down,” the ministry official told Al Arabiya English. Beirut has
already been reeling from strained ties with the Gulf due to Hezbollah’s
increased influence and role in state institutions following the election of
President Michel Aoun, an ally of the Iran-backed group, in 2016. Apart from his
accusations, which he did not provide any evidence for, Wehbe also used racist
terms to describe the people of Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia, the
United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Kuwait summoned Lebanon’s ambassadors to
their respective countries due to Wehbe’s remarks. The Gulf Cooperation Council
demanded a formal apology from Wehbe for his comments. Aoun appointed Wehbe to
be the foreign minister after Nassif Hitti resigned a day before the
catastrophic Beirut blast due to his frustration with Hassan Diab’s government.
A week after succeeding Hitti, Wehbe became a caretaker minister following the
resignation of Diab. It is unclear who will succeed Wehbe, who was the
diplomatic adviser of Aoun before being tapped to head Lebanon’s foreign policy.
UAE expresses strong disapproval of ‘disgraceful,
racist’ statements of Lebanese
Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/18 May ,2021
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International
Cooperation expresses its strong disapproval of the “disgraceful and racist
statements made” by Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe which
offended Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, according to a
statement released by WAM. Lebanese Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe threatened to
stoke new tensions in a television interview on Monday, when he appeared to
blame the Gulf for the rise of ISIS in Iraq and neighboring Syria. The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation summoned the Lebanese
ambassador to the state and handed him an official protest note denouncing these
statements, stressing that they are inconsistent with diplomatic norms and are
inconsistent with the historical relations between Lebanon and the countries of
the Gulf Cooperation Council. Earlier on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s foreign
ministry summoned the Lebanese ambassador in Riyadh and handed him a memorandum
of protesting against the Lebanese ambassador’s “shameful comments” toward the
Kingdom, the official SPA reported. “Those countries of love, friendship and
fraternity, they brought us ISIS,” he told al-Hurra without naming them. Saudi
Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its strong condemnation and
denunciation “of the disgraceful insults that [his] statements contained towards
the Kingdom, its people and the brotherly Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries,” SPA reported.
The Kingdom’s foreign ministry reaffirmed that these statements are inconsistent
with diplomatic norms and are inconsistent with the historical relations between
Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. “Given the repercussions that these disgraceful
statements may have on the relations between the two brotherly countries, the
Ministry summoned the Ambassador of the Lebanese Republic to the Kingdom to
express the Kingdom’s rejection and denunciation of the abuses issued by the
Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he was handed an official memorandum
of protest in this regard,” the statement on SPA concluded.
Lebanon’s president said on Tuesday the foreign minister’s critical comments
about Gulf states did not reflect official policy, seeking to avoid a further
strain on ties with countries that have been Lebanon’s allies and donors. With
Reuters
Bahrain, Kuwait strongly condemn Lebanon’s FM statements
on Saudi Arabia and GCC
Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/18 May ,2021
The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait and Bahrain expressed their strong
condemnation of the offensive statements made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs
of the Lebanese Republic in the caretaker government Charbel Wehbe, during a TV
interview towards Saudi Arabia, its people, and the countries of the Cooperation
Council, according to statements issued by KUNA and BNA. Kuwait and Bahrain
stressed that the Minister’s reprehensible statements are inconsistent with the
simplest diplomatic norms and are inconsistent with relations that link the
peoples of the countries of the Cooperation Council with the Lebanese people.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain summoned the Ambassadors of the
Lebanese Republic and handed him an official protest note that included its
rejection and denunciation of the offensive statements issued by the Lebanese
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Kuwait summoned the Charge D’affaires of Lebanese Embassy and handed him an
official protest note that also included its rejection and denunciation of the
offensive statements issued by the Lebanese Minister.
Aoun: Wehbe’s Gulf Remarks Don’t Reflect the State’s
Position
Naharnet/May 18/2021
The press office of President Michel Aoun stated on Tuesday that the recent
remarks made by caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe about Gulf countries,
“do not reflect the stances of the President nor the stance of the Lebanese
state.”“The positions made by caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs Charbel
Wehbe about Gulf countries on al-Hurra TV station yesterday evening do not
represent the stance of President Michel Aoun, nor the stance of the Lebanese
state,” the Presidency said in a statement on Tuesday. The Presidency affirmed
“deep fraternal relations between Lebanon and the brethren Gulf states, foremost
of which is the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its keenness to maintain
and strengthen these relations in all fields.” The Presidency said the remarks
of Wehbe “express his personal opinion."It added that Aoun is keen on rejecting
any offensive remarks that harm Lebanon’s relations with brethren countries,
mainly Saudi Arabi
Wehbe Apologizes for 'Mistake', Says Didn't Mean to Insult
Any Arab State
Naharnet/May 18/2021
Caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe on Tuesday apologized over remarks that
he voiced Monday which infuriated Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries. In
a statement, Wehbe said his “inappropriate words” were voiced as he was
irritated and rejecting “unacceptable insults addressed to the President” during
a TV talk show. Apologizing over the statements, the minister said he did not
mean to “insult any brotherly Arab state or people.”“I have not ceased my
efforts to improve and develop the relations with these countries for the sake
of the common welfare and interest and always on the bases of mutual respect,”
Wehbe added, noting that any person makes “mistakes.” Earlier in the day, Saudi
Arabia summoned Lebanon's ambassador to the kingdom to protest the "insulting"
remarks by Wehbe, who appeared to blame Gulf states for the rise of the Islamic
State group. Wehbe made the comment during a verbal duel with a Saudi guest on
the talk show, who blamed President Michel Aoun for "handing over" his country
to Hizbullah and called Aoun and his son-in-law MP Jebran Bassil a “funny
duo.”In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry strongly condemned Wehbe's
"insulting" remarks, saying they were "inconsistent with the simplest diplomatic
norms."
Report: Wehbe’s Gulf Remarks Trigger ‘Discontent’
Naharnet/May 18/2021
Recent remarks made by Lebanon’s caretaker Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe about
Gulf countries are likely to trigger a "diplomatic crisis” between Lebanon and
Saudi Arabia, media reports said on Tuesday. Sources following up closely on the
issue, did not rule out that Saudi Arabia would demand an official apology from
Lebanon, "specifically from the Lebanese president." Meanwhile, MTV television
station said it could trigger an unprecedented diplomatic crisis between Lebanon
and Saudi Arabia. In remarks to the United States-based public Arabic-language
satellite TV channel al-Hurra, Wehbe said that terrorist groups of “ISIS were
brought (to Lebanon) by countries of friendship and brotherhood." He said they
"planted them for us (Lebanon) in the Nineveh Plains, al-Anbar and Palmyra.”
According to Akhbar al-Yawm newspaper, prominent diplomatic sources considered
that "accusations against Gulf countries, especially Saudi Arabia, of financing
the most dangerous terrorist organization in recent history, by the Lebanese
Foreign Minister, shall not pass." “It will inevitably and unfortunately affect
the Lebanese communities in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries,” they said.
The caretaker Minister also "defended" Hizbullah's weapons during his interview.
His remarks were little appreciated. Akhbar al-Yawm reported that “Wehbe
defending Hizbullah despite its practices in a number of Arab countries, was
considered an offense to the Gulf.” “When Israel was occupying Lebanese land,
Hizbullah members recruited to defend Lebanon’s sovereignty,” said Wehbe. He
noted that Hizbullah’s weapons become a need to defend Lebanon, shall Israel
decide to wage an aggression against Lebanon similar to the violence on Gaza
today. “Look at what is happening in Gaza. Has something similar happened in
Lebanon? If this (Hizbullah’s) weapon is a deterrent to the Israeli enemy, then
I shall consider it our insurance policy,” he said. Saudi Arabia could make an
"exceptional" position at the diplomatic level, leading to the "withdrawal" of
Ambassador Walid Al-Bukhari from Beirut in the coming days, according to the
newspaper.
Aoun sends letter to Parliament through Berri over government formation delay,
requests its discussion during general assembly
NNA/May 18/2021
The President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, considered that the delay in
forming the government after more than six months passed since Prime Minister
Saad Hariri was assigned to form it, “has negative effects which are not limited
to the emergence of the procedural authority and the regularity of the
constitutional authorities’ in accordance with the provisions of the
constitution, but rather they apply to political stability, health safety
social, economic, financial, and public services that have prevented the
effective treatment of sensitive files in light of inherited crises, or a state
of exacerbation on more than one level."In a letter addressed this afternoon to
the Parliament through Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, President Aoun considered
that the reasons for the delay in establishing the procedural authority should
not remain the object of speculation, ambiguity or diligence, whether internal
or external, and it is not permissible to capture the formation to an
unspecified time, especially since the expected government is only a government
to rescue Lebanon from its aforementioned suffocating crises, and that the
formation of the government is an obligatory constitutional act and not a kind
of discretion and luxury. The president of the republic, who is entrusted with
the constitution, must ensure that no wrong constitutional norms arise when the
constitutional authorities are established. President Aoun said, "It has become
evident that the PM-designate is unable to form a government capable of
salvation and meaningful communication with foreign financial institutions,
international funds and donor countries, to set up aid programs that would save
the country that is bleeding dearly at all levels, and is still holding the
formation after he was assigned. He is making it as a captive of the people and
the government and taking them together as a hostage driven to the abyss,
ignoring all reasonable time for the formation.”
The President of the Republic also considered that "there is no way but to
adhere to the necessary and customary approach in forming governments in
accordance with the provisions of Articles 53 (Paragraph 4) and 64 (Clause 2) of
the Constitution. This approach proposes a clear and unambiguous explanation for
the parliamentary groups participating in or supporting the government, and it
is based on the fair distribution of portfolios among them, and the popular
representation under our parliamentary democratic system simulates the fact that
the people are the source of powers and the owner of the sovereignty that they
exercise through constitutional institutions, according to what is mentioned in
paragraph (d) of the introduction to the constitution. This simulation means, in
practice, the adoption of one criteria in the lineup, without permitting
exclusion or monopoly, in order to preserve the fairness of representation
mentioned and stipulated in Article 95 of the Constitution (Paragraph A) and the
charter that becomes available, as a result of the matter, when respecting the
principles and provisions of the Constitution and the constitutional norms."
President Aoun emphasized in his letter that he is entrusted, in his capacity as
President of the Republic, not only with respecting the above principles in the
mechanism for forming governments, but also on the need to secure confidence in
Parliament so that the country and its people do not move from a caretaker
government to another caretaker government.
He said that the PM-designate “insists to date not to present a government
formation that enjoys our agreement and with it the confidence required by
Parliament in accordance with the constitution, in addition to his interruption
of conducting the necessary parliamentary consultations with the various
parliamentary blocs and the worst is that he is ceasing from continuous
consultations with the president, which is the duty of the president of the
republic to agree on a government formation that has the confidence of the
parliament, the Lebanese and the international community.
President Aoun requested that his letter be discussed in the Parliament General
Assembly according to the principles, and to take the appropriate position,
action, or decision regarding it for the benefit of the people who groan in pain
as they await their new government and are hoping for it, starting with the
realization of the most basic rights that is lacked, all the way to complete and
sustainable security. What they aspire is to facilitate the formation of the
long-awaited government, which is available if the Prime Minister-designate
abandons the argument that he is the one who “forms” the government, provided
that the president of the republic “issues” the decree, while Article 53,
Paragraph 4 of the Constitution is explicit in terms of "agreement" before
issuing the decree of forming the government, and that the sequence of
paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 of the aforementioned article and its expressions
indicate that the constitution is the result of the amendments introduced to it
after the approval of the National Accord document by your honorable assembly.
The president of the republic assigns explicit competence in the exhibition of
the generation and establishment of governments in agreement with the appointed
prime minister, so his authority becomes unrestricted and it is not merely a
documenting of the formation of the appointed prime minister, otherwise
participation will cease and the agreement will not be fulfilled and verify the
charter and constitutionality of the formation. "-- Presidency Press Office
Ambassador of Russia conveys to Aoun message of support for Lebanon
NNA/May 18/2021
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, assured President of the Republic,
General Michel Aoun that “Russia stands next to Lebanon and supports it
economically, socially and politically, and Russia is ready to cooperate with
Lebanon in various fields”. The stances of the Russian President were conveyed
to President Aoun by Russian Ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Rodakov, who met
President Aoun, today at the Presidential Palace. President Aoun’s Advisor for
Russian affairs, former MP Amal Bou Zeid, attended the meeting which tackled
bilateral relations between both countries and means of developing these
relations.
Presidency Press Office clarifies false news: 9 decrees to
restore Lebanese citizenship are not new naturalization decree but rather
implementation of Parliament-law
NNA/May 18/2021
The Presidency Press Office issued the following statement:
“Al-Sharq newspaper published, in today’s issue, information that there is a
“Scandal” with the signing of President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun,
granting nationality to “Lucky ones”. The Presidency Press Office is interested
in clarifying the following:
First: It is not the first time that this glorious newspaper publishes invented
news, aiming to insult the President of the Republic, misleading public opinion,
and disseminating false information. Second: The aforementioned decrees are not
a new naturalization for foreigners. Rather, they are decrees to restore
Lebanese citizenship to Lebanese nationality, based on Law No.41 (24/11/2015),
which was approved by the Parliament within the framework of procedures to
enable expatriates of Lebanese origin to restore their nationality according to
a specific mechanism in the law which is based on requests submitted by
concerned parties attached to the supporting documents, which are studied by the
General Directorate of Personal Status and the General Directorate of General
Security which conducts necessary investigations and submits a report showing
the validity of the submitted requests which are subsequently studied by a
committee in the Interior Ministry established under the aforementioned law.
This committee studies the files referred to it by the Interior Ministry and
takes decisions by majority of its members. As a result, it issues a reasoned
decision regarding whether to accept or reject the request and submit it to the
Interior Minister to take action. If the committee’s decision is not appealed by
the concerned parties, the decree shall be issued considering them Lebanese. The
law grants a period of 10 years from the date of its issuance to accept requests
to restore nationality, in accordance with the above-mentioned mechanism.
Third: It is clear from what was mentioned that the 9 decrees referred to in the
published false news are not in violation of laws and are not the result of a
“Naturalization deal”, as claimed by the author of the article, nor the
exercising of any discretionary power, but rather an implementation of a law
issued by the Parliament which must be issued whenever conditions are met. The 9
decrees are ordinary decrees which do not need the approval of the Council of
Ministers, and are issued according to the rules which take into account the
issuance of ordinary decrees. Fourth: Those who were included in the 9 decrees
are not “Favorable” as the news claims, but rather they are among those who are
entitled because they are of Lebanese origins and their requests have been
studied in accordance with the law by the committee charged with studying
requests for the restoration of Lebanese nationality. Fifth: In light of all the
mentioned above, it becomes clear that the alleged “Scandal” has no basis of
truth and is not a “New violation” as the newspaper claimed”.-- Presidency Press
Office
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi discusses latest
developments with Italian Deputy Minister and with slieman Frangieh
NNA/May 18/2021
Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rahi met Tuesday with Italy's Deputy Minister for
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Marina Sereni, who came to Italy
on top of a delegation. Talks reportedly touched on the bilateral relations
between Lebanon and Italy, in addition to the latest domestic developments. The
Patriarch later received Marada Movement leader, Sleiman Frangieh, accompanied
by MP Farid Haikal Khazen. Speaking to reporters following the meeting, Frangieh
indicated that talks featured high on the political situation in the country.
"We stand by the side of the Patriarch; in case of divergent viewpoints, we hold
discussions," he said, regretting some officials' failure to reach agreement.
Moreover, he hailed the mediation efforts exerted by House Speaker Nabih Berri.
Tenenti: UNIFIL coordinating with Lebanese army to enhance security control
along southern borders
NNA/May 18/2021
Spokesperson of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, Andrea Tenenti,
indicated that, "On Monday 17 May at around 1130pm, UNIFIL detected firing of
rockets from general area of Rashaya Al Foukhar north of Kfar Chouba in south
Lebanon. Immediately after we were also informed by the parties,” stressing that
the Israeli military returned artillery fire directed at location from where
rockets originated. He added that UNIFIL Head of Mission, Stefano Del Col, was
immediately in contact with counterparts in the Lebanese and Israeli armies,
urging the parties to exercise maximum restraint in order to prevent any
escalation of the situation. He continued that the Israeli military has now
stopped the fire. He went on to say: "UNIFIL in coordination with the Lebanese
Armed Forces is enhancing security control in the area and has intensified
patrols to prevent any further incidents that endanger the safety of the local
population and the security of southern Lebanon. UNIFIL is supporting the
Lebanese Armed Forces in the search operation in the area."He concluded: "UNIFIL
Head of Mission remains in contact with the parties to ensure stability in the
area and decrease the existing tension. The situation in the area is now calm."
Lebanese Army Finds Unlaunched Rocket, Launchpads of 6 Others
Naharnet/May 18/2021
The Lebanese Army on Tuesday announced finding an unlaunched rocket and six
empty rocket launchpads in the outskirts of the southern town of al-Hibbariyeh,
hours after the six rockets fell inside Lebanon after being fired toward Israel.
The unlaunched rocket was destroyed in its place in a controlled detonation. The
army also said that several towns in the al-Hibbariyeh and Kfarshouba areas were
hit by artillery shells fired by Israel in the wake of the botched rocket
attack. It added that, in total, Israel fired ten explosive shells and seven
flare bombs.
5 Protesters Hurt on Lebanon-Israel Border as Hundreds March in Beirut
Associated Press/May 18/2021
Scores of Palestinians and Lebanese protesting along the Lebanese border with
Israel threw rocks and climbed the cement wall snaking around the frontier on
Tuesday, drawing tear gas and smoke bombs from Israeli forces. Lebanon's
National News Agency said five people were injured and others suffered from
smoke inhalation. A number of protesters in the Lebanese border village of
Adaisseh had climbed the wall to plant Lebanese flags and the yellow flags of
Hizbullah. It was the fifth straight day of protests along the border as support
for the Palestinians swelled against an Israeli military campaign in the Gaza
Strip. Hundreds of protesters also marched in Lebanon's capital on Tuesday in
support of Gaza, which has been under Israeli airstrikes since last week. The
march went from Beirut's refugee camp of Mar Elias toward the city center. On
Monday, rockets fired from Lebanon fell inside Lebanese territory. Last week,
the Israeli army shot and killed one protester along the border. Hizbullah later
identified the young man killed as one of its supporters.
Israel Fires Shells at South Lebanon after Rocket Fire
Agence France Presse/May 18/2021
The Israeli army launched artillery towards Lebanon on Monday in response to
rocket fire from the Lebanese side that failed to hit Israel. "Six failed launch
attempts were identified from Lebanon that did not cross into Israeli
territory," the Israeli army said in a statement. "Artillery forces fired toward
the sources of the launches," it added. Al-Manar TV reporter Ali Shoaib
meanwhile tweeted that four rockets were fired from the forests of al-Hibbariyeh's
heights -- three of which landed between Houla, Rob Tlateen, Adaisseh and al-Taybeh
while the fourth hit an unidentified area. He added that, in response, Israel
fired 15 155mm artillery shells, two tank shells and four flares at Lebanese
border areas, adding that "total calm" was engulfing the area after the Israeli
shelling.
UNIFIL Says Ensuring Stability on Border Region after Fire
Naharnet/May 18/2021
UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti assured that immediate contacts were made to
control the situation on the south border after counter shelling between Lebanon
and Israel late on Monday. The Israeli army launched artillery towards Lebanon
late on Monday in response to rocket fire from the Lebanese side that failed to
hit Israel. “In coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces, the UNIFIL is
ensuring security control in the area and has intensified patrols to prevent any
further incidents that endanger the safety of the local population and the
security of southern Lebanon. UNIFIL is supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces in
its search operation in the area,” said Tenenti in a statement. "On Monday, May
17 at around 11:30 pm, UNIFIL detected rockets fired from the general area of
Rashaya el-Fokhar north of Kfar Shouba in south Lebanon. Immediately after we
were also informed by the parties. The Israeli military retaliated by firing
artillery at the origin of the rockets,” he added. "UNIFIL Head of Mission and
Force Commander Major General Stefano Del Col immediately contacted his
counterparts in the Lebanese Armed Forces Command and the Israeli army and urged
the parties to exercise maximum restraint in order to prevent any escalation of
the situation. The Israeli army stopped the fire,” Tenenti stated.
Putin Relays Support for Lebanon in Letter to Aoun
Naharnet/May 18/2021
President Michel Aoun met Russian ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Rudakov on
Tuesday, and relayed a message of support for Lebanon from the Russian President
Vladimir Putin, media reports said. Discussions between Aoun and Rudakov focused
on the bilateral ties between Lebanon and Russia, and the means to develop them
in all fields, said the National News Agency. Rudakov said he relayed a message
from Putin to Aoun, asserting Russia’s support for Lebanon at the economic and
health levels,” he told reporters at Baabda. On the government formation,
Rudakov said Russia calls on Lebanese leaders “to form a new government as soon
as possible, and after that we are ready to deal with Lebanon in various
fields." With regard to COVID-19 vaccines, the Russian ambassador pointed out
that Lebanon will be informed when the Sputnik V vaccines allocated for Lebanon
are ready.
Hariri Hits Back after Aoun Sends Letter Rebuking Him to
Parliament
Naharnet/May 18/2021
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri on Tuesday snapped back at President Michel
Aoun, after the latter sent parliament a letter blaming the premier-designate
for the ongoing delay in the cabinet formation process. “The President’s letter
to parliament is insistence on the policy of reversing facts and escaping
forward and it aims to cover up for the foreign minister’s diplomatic scandal
toward the brothers in the Arab Gulf,” Hariri tweeted, adding that there will be
a further response during a session that parliament will hold to discuss Aoun’s
letter. In the letter, Aoun put the blame for the delay squarely on Hariri’s
shoulders and asked parliament to take “the appropriate stance, measure or
decision” for the sake of the people. “It has become evident that the
PM-designate is incapable of forming a government capable of salvation and of
effective communication with the foreign financial institutions, the
international funds and donor nations,” Aoun said. “He is still detaining and
perpetuating the (government’s) formation after his designation, and he is also
imprisoning the people and governance, taking them together as a hostage… and
ignoring every reasonable deadline for formation,” the president charged. Aoun
also blamed Hariri for halting “binding consultations with the various
parliamentary blocs and with the president of the republic,” stressing that the
constitution stipulates that the PM-designate forms the government in
“agreement” with the President prior to the issuance of its formation decree.
Berri meets Ghajar and Baasiri, receives further congratulatory cables on Eid
Al-Fitr
NNA/May 18/2021
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Tuesday received at his Ain-el-Tineh residence
Caretaker Minister of Water and Energy, Raymond Ghajar, with whom he discussed
the electricity dossier and affairs related to the ministry.
On emerging, Minister Ghajar left Ain El Tineh without giving any statement.
Dr. Imad B. Baalbaki, AUB, receives 2020 CASE Asia-Pacific Distinguished Service
Award
NNA/May 18/2021
Dr. Imad B. Baalbaki, AUB vice president for advancement and business
development, has been selected to receive the 2020 CASE Asia-Pacific
Distinguished Service Award. This prestigious award “honours individuals whose
professional accomplishments have made a significant and lasting impact on
institutional advancement, and whose life and character have earned the respect
and admiration of fellow colleagues.”
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) believes in
advancing education to transform lives and society. As a global nonprofit
membership association of educational institutions, CASE helps develop the
communities of professional practice that build institutional resilience and
success in challenging times. The communities include staff engaged in alumni
relations, advancement services, communications, fundraising, government
relations, marketing, and student recruitment. CASE is volunteer-led and uses
the intellectual capital of senior practitioners to build capacity and
capability across the world. Member institutions include more than 3,600
colleges and universities, primary and secondary independent and international
schools, and non-profit organizations in 82 countries. This award from CASE is a
testament to “the superlative efforts that the AUB advancement team and AUB
senior leadership have exerted and what they have accomplished in recent years
despite all the challenges. It is also a recognition of the values that we
uphold at AUB,” said Baalbaki.
In a letter he wrote supporting the nomination, Dr. Fadlo R. Khuri, AUB
president, said, “Our university plays a singular role in Lebanon and the Arab
world, instilling liberal values, overcoming fear of ‘the other,’ and providing
hope for a better tomorrow in a region that badly needs it. It is a role we are
proud to play. People look to us to lead – and we do.” He continued, “Since
Imad’s appointment as vice president, our advancement team has achieved enormous
success – record-breaking fundraising years, building alumni engagement,
pioneering new initiatives, and expanding the prospect pool… The fundraising
successes of the advancement team in recent years have been extraordinary.” He
pointed to the back-to-back fundraising campaigns since fall 2019, which have
raised more than $30 million in critical support for university priorities and
the communities AUB serves during a most challenging period in Lebanon and the
region, exacerbated by a severe economic crisis, the August 4, 2020 explosion in
the Beirut port, and the protracted COVID-19 pandemic.
Alexander T. Ercklentz, AUB trustee emeritus, who also supported Baalbaki’s
nomination, commented, “AUB is widely respected in Lebanon, the Arab world, and
beyond – not just because it stands for freedom of thought and expression,
tolerance, and respect for diversity and dialogue, but also because of its
professionalism. This is especially true when it comes to advancement. People
throughout the region look to AUB for guidance on ‘best practices.’ Imad and his
colleagues at AUB have been generous in their support of other institutions in
Lebanon and the region, helping to promote the profession of advancement at many
other institutions in Lebanon and the Arab world. It is another – important –
way in which AUB leads.”
Baalbaki has been a member of AUB’s advancement team since 2001 when he became
director of the Office of Development and External Affairs; he has led the team,
in Beirut and North America, since July 2016. He played a key role in AUB’s
Campaign for Excellence (2002-07), which raised more than $171 million. Under
his leadership, AUB has launched an online giving portal attracting a much
larger number of local and international gifts to the university; expanded the
volunteer group base in support of university priorities; and established
several successful programs such as Fingerprints (an initiative to encourage
graduating students to support scholarships), the HIP Retirees Fund (an appeal
to help retirees pay their health insurance premiums), and the 1866 Society
(stewarding consistent donors and inducting new members annually). Since 2017,
Baalbaki has spearheaded BOLDLY AUB: The Campaign to Lead, Innovate, and Serve,
a $650 million fundraising campaign that the university launched on the occasion
of its 150th anniversary. AUB has already raised more than 98 percent of the
target of the BOLDLY campaign, which will end in January 2022.
A proud AUB alumnus (BA ’85, MBA ’87), Baalbaki has a PhD in marketing from
Georgia Institute of Technology. A faculty member at AUB’s Suliman S. Olayan
School of Business since 1993, and a former director of the School of Business
(1997-2000), he is also the author of numerous publications in marketing and
co-author of two leading English-language marketing textbooks for the Arab
world. ----AUB
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on May 18- 19/2021
No Respite in Gaza from Israeli Strikes, as Diplomatic
Efforts Intensify
Agence France Presse/May 18/2021
The UN Security Council was due to hold an emergency meeting Tuesday amid a
flurry of urgent diplomacy aimed at stemming Israel air strikes that have killed
more than 200 Palestinians. A fireball accompanied by a plume of black smoke
erupted over a Gaza building early Tuesday after the latest Israeli strike, an
AFP journalist reported. Despite growing calls for an end to the bombardment,
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Monday that Israel would
"continue striking at the terrorist targets". Israel launched its air campaign
on the Gaza Strip on May 10 after the enclave's rulers, the Islamist group
Hamas, fired rockets in response to unrest in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. In
total, Israeli air strikes have killed 212 Palestinians, including 61 children,
in Gaza -- whilst rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups have killed 10
people in Israel, including a child, according to officials on both sides.
The Security Council session scheduled for Tuesday is the fourth since the
conflict escalated and was called after the United States, a key Israel ally,
blocked adoption of a joint statement calling for a halt to the violence on
Monday for the third time in a week. US President Joe Biden, having resisted
joining other world leaders and much of his own Democratic party in calling for
an immediate end to hostilities, told Netanyahu Monday night he backs a
ceasefire, but stopped short of demanding a truce. Israel continued its barrage
overnight, setting the night sky over the densely populated coastal enclave
ablaze as multiple strikes crashed into buildings in Gaza City shortly after
midnight, AFP journalists reported. The Israeli army said Tuesday it had struck
65 "targets" inside Gaza overnight, while Palestinian militants had fired 70
rockets, dozens of which were intercepted by air defences.
Covid-19 lab hit
Late Monday, strikes had knocked out Gaza's only Covid-19 testing laboratory and
damaged the office of the Qatari Red Crescent. The rate of positive coronavirus
tests in Gaza has been among the highest in the world, at 28 percent. Hospitals
in the poverty-stricken territory, which has been under Israeli blockade for
almost 15 years, have been overwhelmed by patients. Gaza resident Roba Abu al-Awf,
20, said she expected a rough night. "We have nothing to do but sit at home,"
she said. "Death could come at any moment -- the bombing is crazy and
indiscriminate." Israeli fire has cratered roads and battered crucial
infrastructure, causing blackouts and prompting the electricity authority to
warn Monday it only had enough fuel left to provide power for another two to
three days. The conflict risks precipitating a humanitarian disaster, with the
UN saying nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced and 2,500 have lost
their homes. Palestinian militants have fired around 3,350 rockets toward Israel
in the heaviest exchange of fire in years. Hamas has threatened more rocket
strikes on Tel Aviv if bombing of residential areas does not stop. Fighter jets
hit what the Israeli military dubs the "metro", its term for Hamas's underground
tunnels, which Israel has previously acknowledged run in part through civilian
areas. Rockets were also fired at Israel from Lebanon, where protests against
Israel's Gaza campaign have been held in the border area. The Israeli army said
the six rockets did not reach its territory.
- 'Intensive diplomacy' -
In the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, Palestinian Authority president
Mahmud Abbas urged Washington to act against "Israel's aggression", in a meeting
with US envoy for Israeli and Palestinian affairs Hady Amr, the official Wafa
news agency reported. Even as Security Council ceasefire efforts have faltered
and the US has been accused of obstructionism, mediation channels are being
opened behind the scenes. Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said
he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart and the Egyptian government -- a key
intermediary -- on Monday, saying that Washington was engaged in "quiet,
intensive diplomacy". French and Egyptian presidents Emmanuel Macron and Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi are pushing for a ceasefire deal and aim to get the backing of
Jordan. Another channel has been opened, via the UN, with the help of Qatar and
Egypt. European Union foreign ministers will also hold urgent talks on the
violence Tuesday, said the bloc's top diplomat Josep Borrell, who has been
conducting "intense" diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the fighting. The
conflict was sparked after clashes broke out at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa
mosque compound -- one of Islam's holiest sites -- after Israeli forces moved in
on worshippers on May 7. This followed a crackdown against protests over planned
evictions of Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem.
Israel is also trying to contain violence between Jews and Israeli Arabs, as
well as unrest in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinian authorities say
Israeli forces have killed 20 Palestinians since May 10. Abbas's Fatah movement
has called for a "day of anger" and a general strike on Tuesday, a call echoed
in Arab and ethnically mixed towns inside Israel.
Death Toll Climbs in Israel-Gaza Conflict amid Frantic
Diplomacy
Agence France Presse/May 18/2021
Heavy air strikes and rocket fire in the Israel-Gaza conflict claimed more lives
on both sides Tuesday as tensions flared in Palestinian "day of anger" protests
in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank. The U.N. Security Council was to hold
an emergency meeting amid a diplomatic push to end the fighting, a day after
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Israel would "continue striking at the
terrorist targets." Israel's intense bombing campaign has killed 213
Palestinians, including 61 children, and wounded more than 1,400 people in Gaza
in more than a week of fighting against Islamist group Hamas, according to the
health ministry in Gaza. The death toll on the Israeli side rose to 12 when a
volley of rockets Hamas fired at the southern Eshkol region killed two Thai
nationals working in a factory and wounded several others, police said.
Israeli strikes that again sent fireballs, debris and black smoke into the sky
have levelled homes and multi-story towers, cratered roads and left two million
Palestinians in the enclave desperate for reprieve. "They destroyed our house
but I don't know why they targeted us," said Nazmi al-Dahdouh, 70, of Gaza City
who remained shocked by what he called "a terrifying, violent night."
The humanitarian crisis deepened in the impoverished strip, from where Hamas has
launched nearly 3,500 rockets at Israel since May 10, often forcing people
living near Gaza into bomb shelters around the clock. But a convoy of
international aid trucks that started rolling into Gaza through a border
crossing from Israel, Kerem Shalom, was halted when Israel quickly shuttered it
again, citing a mortar attack on the area. The U.N. Security Council session,
the fourth since the conflict escalated, was called after the United States, a
key Israel ally, blocked adoption of a joint statement calling for a halt to the
violence on Monday for the third time in a week.
- Crisis diplomacy -
U.S. President Joe Biden, having resisted joining other world leaders and much
of his own Democratic party in calling for an immediate end to hostilities, told
Netanyahu Monday night he backs a ceasefire, but stopped short of demanding a
truce. Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said he had spoken to his
Israeli counterpart and the Egyptian government, a key intermediary, on Monday,
saying that Washington was engaged in "quiet, intensive diplomacy." The French
and Egyptian presidents, Emmanuel Macron and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, are pushing
for a ceasefire deal. Another channel has been opened, via the UN, with the help
of Qatar and Egypt. The conflict risks precipitating a humanitarian disaster,
with the UN saying nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced and 2,500 have
lost their homes. Fighter jets have hit what the Israeli military dubs the
"metro", its term for Hamas's underground tunnels, which Israel has previously
acknowledged run in part through civilian areas. Israeli fire has battered
crucial Gaza infrastructure, causing blackouts and prompting the electricity
authority to warn Monday it only had enough fuel left to provide power for
another two to three days. A strike Monday knocked out Gaza's only Covid-19
testing laboratory, the health ministry said, and the Qatari Red Crescent said a
strike damaged one of its offices in the enclave. The rate of positive
coronavirus tests in Gaza has been among the highest in the world, at 28
percent. Hospitals in the territory, which has been under Israeli blockade for
almost 15 years, have been overwhelmed by patients.
- 'Day of anger' -
Palestinians across the West Bank and in east Jerusalem mobilized Tuesday for
protests and a general strike that shuttered non-essential businesses, in
support of those under bombardment in Gaza. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's
Fatah movement had called for a "day of anger", a call echoed in Arab and
ethnically mixed towns inside Israel. "We are here to raise our voice and stand
with the people in Gaza who are being bombed," Ramallah protester Aya Dabour
told AFP. An AFP reporter heard bursts of gunfire as thousands of Palestinian
protesters faced Israeli troops north of Ramallah, with one soldier being
carried away from the scene after an apparent leg injury. The army said "a
report was received regarding a shooting" in Ramallah district. Tensions again
flared in east Jerusalem's flashpoint Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where
Palestinian protesters faced off against police, ahead of a planned
demonstration at the Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City, where hostilities
have also surged in recent weeks. Israel's army said it had "neutralized" an
assailant attempting to attack soldiers in the West Bank city of Hebron on
Tuesday. The Palestinian health ministry confirmed the man's death.
The military conflict was sparked after clashes broke out at Jerusalem's
flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound -- one of Islam's holiest sites -- after
Israeli forces clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians on May 7. This followed
a crackdown against protests over planned evictions of Palestinians in the
Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of east Jerusalem. Israel has been trying to contain
violence between Jews and Israeli Arabs, as well as unrest in the occupied West
Bank, where Palestinian authorities say Israeli forces have killed 21
Palestinians since May 10.
Biden backs ceasefire in Gaza but does not seek
immediate truce
The Arab Weekly/May 18/2021
WASHINGTON - Mixed signals by the US administration are reflecting a lack of
conviction about pushing for an immediate truce that could halt the hostilities
between Israel and militant Palestinian groups. President Joe Biden expressed
support for a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers in a
call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, he stopped short of
demanding an immediate stop to the eight days of Israeli airstrikes and Hamas
rocket barrages that have killed more than 200 people, most of them Palestinian.
Biden’s carefully-worded statement, in a White House readout Monday of his
second known call to Netanyahu in three days as the attacks pounded on, came
with the administration under pressure, especially from Democrats in Congress,
to respond more forcefully despite its determination to wrench the US foreign
policy focus away from Middle East conflicts. Biden’s comments on a cease-fire
were open-ended and similar to previous administration statements of support in
principle for a cease-fire. That’s in contrast to demands from dozens of
Democratic lawmakers and others for an immediate halt by both sides. But the
readout of the call to the Israeli leader showed increased White House concern
about the air and rocket attacks, including Israeli airstrikes aimed at
weakening Hamas, while sticking to forceful support for Israel. The US leader
“encouraged Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent
civilians,” the White House said in its readout. Biden “expressed his support
for a ceasefire and discussed US engagement with Egypt and other partners
towards that end,” the White House said. “The President reiterated his firm
support for Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket
attacks,” it added.
The White House said the two leaders also “discussed progress in Israel’s
military operations against Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza,” in an
implicit nod to Israel’s campaign.
Mixed signals
An administration official familiar with the call said the decision to express
support and not explicitly demand a cease-fire was intentional. While Biden and
top aides are concerned about the mounting bloodshed and loss of innocent life,
the decision not to demand an immediate halt to hostilities reflects White House
determination to support Israel’s “right to defend itself” from Hamas, the
official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the private
deliberations. Netanyahu told Israeli security officials late Monday that Israel
would “continue to strike terror targets” in Gaza “as long as necessary in order
to return calm and security to all Israeli citizens.”As the worst
Israeli-Palestinian fighting since 2014 raged, the Biden administration has
limited its public criticisms to Hamas and has declined to send a top-level
envoy to the region. It also had declined to press Israel publicly and directly
to wind down its latest military operation in the Gaza Strip, a six-mile by
25-mile territory that is home to more than two million people. Cease-fire
mediation by Egypt and others has shown no sign of progress. Separately, the
United States blocked for a third time Monday what would have been a unanimous
statement by the 15-nation UN Security Council expressing “grave concern” over
the intensifying Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the loss of civilian lives.
The final US rejection killed the Security Council statement, at least for now.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki and national security adviser Jake
Sullivan said the United States was focusing instead on “quiet, intensive
diplomacy.”Biden has been determined to wrench US foreign policy away from
Middle East and Central Asia conflicts, including withdrawing US troops from
Afghanistan and ending support for a Saudi-led war in Yemen, to focus on other
policy priorities. Internationally for the US, that means confronting climate
change and dealing with the rise of China, among other objectives. That shift
carries risks, including weathering flaring violence as the United States steps
back from hotspots. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Denmark on
the first stop of an unrelated tour of Nordic countries, said Monday the United
States was ready to spring in to help if Israel and Hamas signal interest in
ending hostilities but that the US was not however demanding that they do so.
“Ultimately it is up to the parties to make clear that they want to pursue a
cease-fire,” Blinken said. He described US contacts to support an end to the
fighting, including the calls he was making midair between his Nordic stops.
Blinken defended the US handling of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict
as America works to push for climate-accord deals, withdraw troops from
Afghanistan and turn US attention to what Biden sees as the nation’s most
pressing foreign policy priorities. “It’s a big world and we do have
responsibilities,” he said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Monday
joined dozens of Democratic lawmakers and one Republican, along with independent
Senator Bernie Sanders, in calling for the cease-fire by both sides. A prominent
Democrat, Representative Adam Schiff, the House intelligence committee chairman,
pressed the US over the weekend to get more involved. But Senate Minority Leader
Republican Mitch McConnell, took the Senate floor on Monday to assail lawmakers
for including Israel in their demands for a cease-fire. Rick Scott led 19
Republican senators releasing a resolution supporting Israel’s side of the
fighting. They plan to try to introduce the legislation next week.
Putting limits
The US military seem to be pushing for limits on the Israeli operations against
Hamas. The United States’ top military officer has warned the conflict between
Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas is creating instability beyond Gaza,
saying it is “in no one’s interest to continue fighting”. Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, speaking to journalists while flying to Brussels
for a NATO meeting, Monday, urged both sides in the conflict to de-escalate.
“There is a significant amount of casualties and I just think that that level of
violence is destabilising beyond the limited area of Gaza,” Milley said. “No one
is denying the right of Israel to defend itself,” he told reporters. “But having
said that, the level of violence that is there is at such a level that it is in
no one’s interest to continue fighting… Civilians are being killed. Children are
being killed.” “I believe that whatever the military objectives are out there,
they need to be balanced against other consequences,” Milley continued. “In my
view, de-escalation is the smart course of action at this point for all parties
concerned.”
France, Egypt, Jordan Hold Talks Seeking Israeli-Palestinian Ceasefire
Agence France Presse/May 18/2021
France's President Emmanuel Macron, his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi
and Jordan's King Abdullah II held talks Tuesday aimed at seeking a ceasefire in
the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Sisi is
currently in Paris for summits on Africa while Abdullah joined by video
conference, the Elysee Palace said. The French presidency said that the
trilateral summit meeting aimed "above all to work for a rapid ceasefire and
prevent the conflict from extending". A statement from Sisi's office added after
the meeting that the talks sought "to develop a common approach of the three
countries to put an end to the violence" and contain "the dangerous escalation"
in the Palestinian territories. Egypt, which borders Gaza and is one of the few
Arab countries with a long history of diplomatic relations with Israel, is
seeking to fulfil its traditional role of mediator in the current conflict.
According to spokesman Bassam Radi, Sisi emphasized that "Egypt will continue
its efforts to stop the escalation on both sides, through its contacts with all
the international parties as well as with the Israeli and Palestinian
sides."Macron had on Monday underlined the importance of Egyptian mediation
after talks in Paris with Sisi, a key ally and defense client of France despite
activists' concerns over Cairo's rights record. He said that the trilateral
talks would be aimed at "how to make a concrete proposal along these lines".
According to the Jordanian Royal Court, Abdullah affirmed in the video call "the
need to protect the Palestinians, stop all illegal Israeli attacks and actions
in Jerusalem, and end the aggression on Gaza." He also stressed that "the
repeated Israeli violations and provocations that led to the escalation and
exacerbated the situation must end." The talks came after U.S. President Joe
Biden, who resisted joining other world leaders in calling for an immediate end
to hostilities, told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he backed a
ceasefire, but stopped short of demanding a truce. French Prime Minister Jean
Castex meanwhile urged Israel to "guarantee rapid and unhindered access of aid
to Gaza" after it closed a crossing into Gaza shortly after opening passage to
allow in humanitarian goods.
Merkel, Jordan King Call for 'Swift' Mideast Ceasefire
Agence France Presse/May 18/2021
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Jordan's King Abdullah II urged a "swift"
ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in
a video call Tuesday, her spokesman said. "They agreed that initiatives for a
swift ceasefire should be supported to create the conditions for the resumption
of political negotiations," the spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said in a statement.
Israeli Troops Targeted by Gunfire in West Bank as Palestinian Shot Dead
Agence France Presse/May 18/2021
Israeli troops were targeted by gunfire in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday,
the army said, as the Palestinian health ministry said a man was killed in a
separate shooting. The violence came as Palestinians across the West Bank and in
east Jerusalem observed a general strike in support of those under bombardment
in the Gaza Strip, with clashes reported throughout the territories. The Israeli
army said that "during a violent riot" near Ramallah, "a number of rioters fired
extensively" Israeli soldiers who "responded with fire." "Two soldiers were
injured in their legs, and were evacuated to a hospital for further medical
treatment," it said in a statement. Shortly afterwards, the Palestinian health
ministry announced the death of a 25-year-old Mohammad Hamid, who was shot in
the chest at the entrance to Al-Bireh, northeast of Ramallah. The ministry said
there were 70 people hospitalized due to clashes with Israeli forces, five of
them in serious condition. Israel launched an aerial bombing campaign of Gaza on
May 10 after the enclave's rulers, the Islamist group Hamas, fired rockets into
Israel in response to unrest in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. Palestinian
president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement has called for a "day of anger" and
strike, an appeal echoed in Arab and ethnically mixed towns inside Israel. All
non-essential Palestinian businesses were closed in West Bank cities and east
Jerusalem, including at the flashpoint Damascus Gate entrance to the Old City,
where at least nine people were arrested for throwing stones and bottles at
police. In the nearby east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, police used
stun grenades and "skunk water" cannon to disperse some 200 protesters who,
according to a police statement, "expressed support for terror activists".
One of the protesters, Ameer Maragha, 25, told AFP he supported the rocket-fire
shot by Hamas at Israeli cities, since "the Palestinian people have the right to
fight the occupation."Earlier Tuesday, Israel's army said it had "neutralized"
an assailant attempting to attack soldiers in Hebron, with the Palestinian
health ministry later confirming the man's death.
UN Hails Israel Decision to Open Crossing for Aid into Gaza
Agence France Presse/May 18/2021
The United Nations on Tuesday welcomed an Israeli decision to open the Kerem
Shalom crossing to allow aid into Gaza, and urged the opening of a second
location to let in humanitarian workers. Humanitarian aid is urgently needed in
the Gaza Strip after over a week of air strikes that have killed more than 200
Palestinians there. "We very much welcome the Israeli authorities' opening of
Kerem Shalom crossing for essential humanitarian supplies," Jens Laerke, a
spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told reporters in Geneva. He
added that it was now "critical" that a separate crossing, Erez, also open "for
the entry and exit of critical humanitarian staff". Going forward, he said,
"humanitarian access into and out of Gaza for staff and goods must be sustained
and appropriate measures taken to continue movements within Gaza." Israel
launched its air campaign on the Gaza Strip on May 10 after the enclave's
rulers, the Islamist group Hamas, fired rockets in response to unrest in
Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. In total, Israeli air strikes have killed 212
Palestinians, including 61 children, in Gaza -- whilst rockets fired by
Palestinian armed groups have killed 10 people in Israel, including a child,
according to officials on both sides. The conflict risks precipitating a
humanitarian disaster, with the UN saying some 47,000 Palestinians have been
displaced, while more than 130 residential and commercial buildings in the
enclave have been destroyed.
EU Top Diplomat Urges Israel-Palestinian Ceasefire
Naharnet /May 18/2021
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday called for the implementation
of a ceasefire to stop fighting between Israel and the Palestinians. "The
priority is the immediate cessation of all violence, and the implementation of a
ceasefire," Borrell said, after a video conference of EU foreign ministers. His
statement was backed by all but one of the bloc's 27 member states, he said.
Hungary -- which has strongly supports Israel -- refused to support it. "The
purpose is to protect civilians, and to give full humanitarian access in Gaza,"
Borrell said. The "high number of civilian casualties, deaths and injured" from
the upsurge in fighting, including children and women, was "unacceptable", he
said. "We fully support Israel's right to defense, but we have also considered
and stated that this has to be done in a proportionate manner and respecting
international humanitarian law," he added. Israel's intense bombing campaign has
killed 213 Palestinians, including 61 children, and wounded more than 1,400
people in Gaza in more than a week of fighting against Islamist group Hamas,
according to the health ministry in Gaza. The death toll on the Israeli side
rose to 12 on Tuesday when a volley of rockets Hamas fired at the southern
Eshkol region killed two Thai nationals working in a factory and wounded several
others. The EU has struggled to find a common position on the fighting. Some of
the bloc's 27 members have backed Israel, while others support the Palestinians.
Borrell has said he is conducting "intense" diplomatic efforts by calling
Israeli, Palestinian and regional officials. But the push from Brussels has been
hamstrung by the lack of unity in European capitals. Hungarian Foreign Minister
Peter Szijjarto criticized EU statements on Israel, in an interview with AFP in
Paris. "I have a general problem with these European statements on Israel...,"
said Szijjarto. "These are usually very much one-sided, and these statements do
not help, especially not under current circumstances, when the tension is so
high."
Egypt Sends Medical Aid to Gaza after Israeli Strikes
Agence France Presse/May 18/2021
Egypt has sent 65 tonnes of medical aid to neighbouring Gaza after a week of
Israeli strikes left more than 200 Palestinians dead and hundreds more wounded,
health officials said. With hospitals in Gaza overwhelmed by patients, the
critical surgical supplies include specialist burns treatment as well as
"ventilators, oxygen tanks (and) syringes," Health Minister Hala Zayed said late
Monday. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday ordered the Rafah crossing
between Gaza and Egypt -- the enclave's only border point not controlled by
Israel -- to open to allow wounded Gazans to be treated in Egyptian hospitals
and to deliver aid. Sources at Rafah on Tuesday said that 26 trucks of food had
been sent to Gaza, with 50 ambulances ready to transport the wounded. Egypt said
it would make in space in 11 hospitals with over 900 beds. Israel launched its
air campaign on the Gaza Strip on May 10 after the enclave's rulers, the
Islamist group Hamas, fired a barrage of rockets in response to unrest in
Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. Israeli air strikes have killed 213
Palestinians, including 61 children, and wounded more than 1,400 people in Gaza,
according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The UN says nearly 40,000
Palestinians have been displaced and 2,500 have lost their homes. Strikes have
knocked out the only Covid-19 testing laboratory in Gaza, the territory's health
ministry has said.
Egypt Aims to Restore Regional Role with Gaza Mediation
Agence France Presse/May 18/2021
Egypt is seeking to restore its regional clout by mediating between Israel and
Hamas to douse the week-long conflict in Gaza that has cost more than 200 lives.
In 2014, Egypt brokered a fragile ceasefire after a devastating weeks-long war
between arch-foes Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group which rules the densely
populated Palestinian enclave. In the latest conflict, which entered its second
week Monday, Israeli airstrikes and rocket fire from Gaza have killed over 200
Palestinians and 10 people in Israel, officials on the two sides say. Hundreds
more have been wounded. The escalation has embarrassed Gulf states UAE and
Bahrain which normalised diplomatic ties with Israel last year, putting Cairo in
the diplomatic driving seat. "In a region where normalising states are expanding
their own relations with Israel, Egypt... has a vested interest utilising its
geographic proximity to Gaza to leverage its diplomatic power," said Tareq
Baconi, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group. An Egyptian
intelligence delegation reportedly on the ground in Israel and the Palestinian
territories has boosted Cairo's hand as a peace-broker. "The delegation is
comprised of intelligence officials and has been there for several days to
negotiate a ceasefire," Khaled Okasha, a member of Egypt's Supreme Council for
Counter-Terrorism, told AFP. Okasha, director of the state-affiliated Egyptian
Centre for Strategic Studies, said he was optimistic about a breakthrough.
'Ceasefire through Cairo'
"Egypt has to be involved. There's no way around it -- literally and
physically," said Michael Hanna, a senior fellow at the New York-based Century
Foundation. Israel has enforced a land and sea blockade on Gaza since 2007, when
Hamas seized control of the impoverished territory, home to about two million
Palestinians. Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt is the enclave's only
passage to the outside world not controlled by Israel. President Abdel Fattah
al-Sisi instructed authorities last week to open the crossing to allow wounded
Gazans to be treated in Egyptian hospitals and to deliver aid. "This is an
opportunity to say not just to the US but to other regional parties that Egypt
remains important, it's a necessary diplomatic player and that a ceasefire is
going to go through Cairo," said Hanna. He said popular support for the
Palestinians on the streets of Cairo has emboldened Egypt's leadership to adopt
a "harsher, more outspoken" line against Israel, despite their 1979 peace
treaty. Egyptian media had previously regularly branded Gaza a "terrorist
hotbed".
- 'Weird dynamic' -
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, in an address to the UN Security Council,
stressed that "concessions must be made", in a pointed message to Israel. But
Hanna warned against exaggerating the change of tone. "It's a weird dynamic...
Military officials have a deep distrust of Israel but at the same time they're
working very closely with them," he said. Baconi was also tempered in his
assessment of Cairo's political leverage. "Egypt does not have enough pressure
on Israel. The relationship is an alliance where Israel sets the contours of the
military strategy it believes is needed to maintain stability," he said. Baconi,
who has written a book on Hamas, said Cairo strikes a balance between
intelligence coordination with Hamas and its disdain for the Muslim Brotherhood
which spawned the Gaza-based group. Sisi led the military ouster of Egypt's
democratically elected Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013 and has cracked
down on the now outlawed Brotherhood. "In 2021, the Sisi regime... does not
necessarily view Hamas in the same light, as a threat to its stability," Baconi
said. He said geopolitical motives have driven Egypt's temporary reprieve in
opening its border with Israeli-blockaded Gaza. "The strategy... is similar to
Israel's," Baconi said, to prevent a total collapse "while ensuring Gaza does
not flourish and Hamas remains contained within it". Washington has urged Cairo
and its other Arab allies, notably Tunis and Doha, to play a frontline role in
defusing the latest Gaza-Israel bloodletting.
As a non-permanent member, Tunisia called for an emergency meeting of the
Security Council that was held Sunday to discuss the Gaza crisis, but without
calling for a ceasefire. US President Joe Biden's administration has said it is
working behind the scenes and that a UN statement could backfire, according to
diplomats in New York. Biden's national security advisor Jake Sullivan said
Monday he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart and the Egyptian government,
saying Washington was engaged in "quiet, intensive diplomacy". For its part,
Qatar, a key backer of Hamas and where its leader Ismail Haniyeh lives in exile,
has condemned "Israel's brutal and repeated attacks".
Kuwait government preempts Islamist exploitation of
Palestinian issue
The Arab Weekly/May 18/2021
KUWAIT CITY – Authorities in Kuwait announced on Sunday a ban on unlicensed
rallies that could be staged in solidarity with the Palestinian people and
against crimes perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces. By doing so, the
Kuwaiti government seems to be preempting an Islamist exploitation of
Palestinian issue. This comes as a number of political forces have already begun
making use of the developments in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict for political
gains, with some groups using the issue to garner the public’s political support
by playing on national and religious feelings. The Kuwaiti Ministry of the
Interior said on Sunday that “freedom of expression is permissible within the
relevant State of Kuwait laws.”The ministry, however, noted that public
demonstrations, such as assemblies to express solidarity with the Palestinian
cause, must be legal and require a permit. “Holding unlicensed public gatherings
constitutes a breach of the law, a matter the ministry will not allow at all,”
the ministry’s statement published by the official news agency KUNA emphasised.
The ministry also urged citizens and residents to adhere to the relevant laws
and public security regulations, affirming legal action will be taken against
violators. With the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank,
Jerusalem and a number of areas within the Green Line, along with the mounting
toll from Israeli attacks against Palestinians, calls for solidarity have
multiplied in Kuwait, with some groups trying to incite Kuwaitis to take up to
the streets. Measures to confront the coronavirus pandemic have prompted the
Kuwaiti authorities to restrict gatherings, determine the number of participants
and limit demonstrations to specific sites. However, this is not the only reason
for keeping gatherings into check.
Sources familiar with the Kuwaiti issue indicate that there are fears that
opposition groups, especially Islamists, will use the Palestinian cause to
incite the public against the government. Islamists have done so in the past,
the sources said, noting that some groups had exploited the so-called Arab
Spring protests to destabilise the country. In order to prevent Islamists from
taking advantage of the Palestinian issue, the government of Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah has issued a statement to support the Palestinians in their
plight and condemn the Israeli violence. Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah Saturday affirmed that Kuwait has not and will not spare any
effort in helping Palestine with everything it can offer. Sheikh Sabah said
during a visit to the Mohammed Al-Ahmad Naval Base that Kuwait’s role is “not
only politically to intensify efforts and contacts to support the brothers in
Palestine, but rather by doing everything it can offer to ease the burdens on
them and we are fully prepared for that and we will spare no effort.”
He added, “We are surprised at the silence of the Security Council, which is
supposed to have a role in protecting our Palestinian brothers.” Sheikh Sabah
also noted that efforts are still continuing through contacts and meetings and
this constituted a clear message for the Security Council to assume its
responsibilities to preserve the lives of the brothers in Palestine.
“Unfortunately, during the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, we see what is happening to our
brothers in Palestine and what they are subjected to by the Israeli occupation
forces in terms of massacres, and we see neighbourhoods that have been bombed
and we see children, women and civilians under the rubble, and unfortunately we
see the occupation forces walking in their tracks and not paying attention to
the international community, and one of our responsibilities in Kuwait is to
move with our brothers and friends through the Arab League and the Organisation
of Islamic Cooperation and to communicate with influential countries,” he said.
For his part, Kuwait’s Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet
Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah addressed on Sunday a meeting
of the UN Security Council, held in New York, renewing Kuwait’s “strong
condemnation of the crimes and attacks carried out by the Israeli occupation
forces in the occupied Palestinian territories.” “The State of Kuwait renews its
utter denunciation of the crimes and offensives carried out by the Israeli
occupation forces in the occupied Palestinian territories, including the city of
Jerusalem. Moreover, Kuwait denounces all Israel’s illegal settlement schemes,
its bids to seize Palestinians’ houses and properties, particularly citizens’
assets in Jerusalem, namely in Sheikh Jarrah district, seeking to evacuate the
holy city of its population for sake of Judaising it,” Sheikh Ahmad said. “Such
practices are illegal and illegitimate breaches and constitute flagrant
violation of the relevant international resolutions and references that affirm
that unilateral measures and decisions aimed at altering the legal and historic
status in the occupied territories are invalid and false; they neither create a
right nor a commitment,” the Kuwaiti minister added. Strong Islamist opposition
groups are active in Kuwait. They are constantly trying to use democratic tools
provided by the existing political system to impose their visions and ideas
towards ensuring the Islamisation of the country, its state institutions and
society. The struggle between the Kuwaiti government and the parliamentary
opposition has led to a political paralysis in recent weeks. The situation could
become more complicated if the opposition succeeds in exploiting public
sentiments by taking advantage from the recent developments in the region and
the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli clashes.
Over 50 Missing After Boat From Libya Sinks
AFP/May 18/2021
More than 50 people were missing Tuesday when their boat sank after leaving
Libya heading to Europe, Tunisia's defence ministry said, with 33 others
rescued. Defence ministry spokesman Mohamed Zikri said the survivors of the
shipwreck were picked up after clinging to an oil platform off the southern
coast of Tunisia."There are 33 survivors, all apparently from Bangladesh,"
Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration,
told AFP. "At least 50 are missing." The boat, crammed with over 90 passengers,
left the Libyan port of Zuwara on Sunday. Tunisian rescuers were bringing the
survivors to the port of Zarzis, some 100 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of
Zuwara. "We don't know the nationality of the more than 50 who are missing," Di
Giacomo added. At least 1,200 migrants died in the Mediterranean last year, most
of them crossing the central part of the sea, according to the United Nations.
Libya is a key gateway for Europe-bound migrants. According to the IOM, more
than 500 people have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from the shores
of North Africa to Italy and Malta since the start of 2021.On Monday, the
Tunisian navy said it had rescued more than 100 migrants, mainly from Bangladesh
and Sudan, whose boat was "on the verge of sinking". Several boats were also
stopped by Libyan coastguards and brought back to shore overnight Sunday. "Two
days ago about 680 migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to Libya by the
Libyan," Di Giacomo said.
"Almost 9,000 have been intercepted at sea and returned to Libya in 2021 so
far," he added. Safa Msehli, IOM spokeswoman for the Geneva-based UN agency,
said that support for search and rescue teams "should be contingent on no one
being arbitrarily detained or subjected to human rights violations", warning
that "without such guarantees, such support should be reconsidered". The
European Union has for several years supported Libyan forces to try to stem
migration, despite often grim conditions in detention centres in Libya.--AFP
U.S. Department of State: Acting Assistant Secretary Joey
Hood travels to northeast Syria
NNA/May 18/2021
The U.S. Department of State issued the following:
"On May 16, Acting Assistant Secretary Joey Hood, joined by Deputy Assistant
Secretary and Acting Special Representative for Syria Aimee Cutrona, Deputy
Envoy for Syria David Brownstein, and White House National Security Council
Director for Iraq and Syria Zehra Bell, traveled to northeast Syria for meetings
with senior officials of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Syrian Democratic
Council, ranking council members and tribal leaders from Raqqa, Coalition
military counterparts, and humanitarian actors. The Acting Assistant Secretary
underscored the U.S. commitment to cooperation and coordination in the Coalition
to Defeat ISIS, continued stability in northeast Syria, and the delivery of
stabilization assistance to liberated areas to ensure the enduring defeat of
ISIS. In his engagements, the Acting Assistant Secretary emphasized the U.S.
commitment to support all efforts toward a political resolution of the Syrian
conflict. He also reiterated that the United States will continue to be a leader
in the Syrian humanitarian response while working with like-minded countries to
ensure the reauthorization of cross-border assistance into Syria."
Sudan sacks top judge, accepts chief prosecutor's resignation
AFP/May 18/2021
Sudan has sacked its top judge and accepted the resignation of its chief
prosecutor, the country’s ruling body said, following mounting criticism over
delays in delivering justice. "The sovereign council... has accepted the
resignation of Tagelsir al-Hebr from his position as general prosecutor," the
council said in a statement issued late Monday. The council has relieved Neamat
Abdullah Mohamed Kheir from her position as head of the judiciary," it said.
Kheir and Hebr were appointed in October 2019, months after the ouster of
president Omar al-Bashir on the back of mass protests against his rule. Kheir’s
appointment made her Sudan’s first female judiciary chief. Monday’s statement
said Hebr had submitted his resignation "several times before but this time he
was more insistent on stepping down." Hebr oversaw investigations into an array
of cases related to "violations" committed during Bashir’s rule as well as 1989
Islamist-backed coup that brought him to power. On Saturday, Sudan’s army said
it handed Hebr the results of a probe into the recent killing of two
demonstrators who had been calling for justice for the victims of a 2019 violent
protest dispersal. Last week, hundreds gathered outside the army headquarters in
Khartoum calling for speedy investigations into the killings of protesters
during a 2019 violent dispersal of a mass sit-in at the same site. Security
forces dispersed last week’s rally, killing two and wounding dozens. The April
2019 sit-in was held to call for an end to Bashir’s three-decade rule.
The iron-fisted ruler was ousted days later, but the protesters kept up the
encampment for weeks demanding the transfer of power from the military to
civilians. In June 2019 and towards the end of Ramadan, armed men in military
fatigues violently dispersed the camp, leaving at least 128 killed in a
days-long crackdown, according to medics linked to the protest movement.
Families of victims have since been calling on authorities to bring the
perpetrators to justice. The ruling generals at the time denied ordering the
bloody dispersal and called for a probe into the incident. Sudan has been led
since August 2019 by a civilian-majority transitional administration, which has
vowed to ensure justice to the victims and their families. Later that year, an
investigation committee led by a prominent lawyer launched an independent probe
into the killings but has yet to finish its inquiry. ----AFP
Canada provides additional humanitarian assistance to
Nagorno-Karabakh and continues to promote efforts to find sustainable peace
May 18, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable
Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, today issued the following
statement:
“Canada continues to support efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
and is deeply committed to addressing its grave humanitarian consequences.
Building on Canada’s support provided in the immediate aftermath of the fighting
in 2020, we are announcing an additional $1 million to support the efforts of
the International Committee of the Red Cross in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“Canada continues to call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to ease tensions and
expresses its hope that the parties can engage in meaningful action, including
accelerating the release of detainees and the remains of the deceased, the
investigation and prosecution of all alleged war crimes and cooperation on
demining.
“Canada continues to support the primary role of the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in reaching a permanent settlement of this
conflict. We encourage both Armenia and Azerbaijan to re-engage with the OSCE
Minsk Group to move this dialogue forward. We will continue to work with our
partners at the OSCE and the United Nations to obtain a peaceful resolution to
this conflict.”
Canada/International Partnership against impunity for the
use of chemical weapons Statement - Supporting the OPCW upon the delivery of the
second IIT report
May 18, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
We, the participating States of the International Partnership against Impunity
for the Use of Chemical Weapons, stand together to preserve the international
standards and norms against the use of chemical weapons by anyone, anywhere,
under any circumstances.
We welcome the publication of the second report of the OPCW’s Investigation and
Identification Team (IIT) on 12 April, 2021, which contributes to fighting
impunity by identifying the Syrian Arab Air Force under the control of the Tiger
Forces as responsible for a chemical weapons attack in eastern Saraqib on 4
February, 2018, with a military helicopter dropping at least one cylinder that
ruptured and released a toxic gas, chlorine, which was dispersed over a large
area, causing 12 identified human casualties. We express support and
appreciation for the professional, impartial, and independent work carried out
by the IIT. We strongly condemn the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Arab
Air Force, as the IIT concluded in its report, and by anyone under any
circumstances, and demand cessation of such use.
We regret the lack of cooperation the IIT has faced from Syria in this process,
including Syria's refusal to grant access to its territory to the head of the
IIT and his team, as well as access to confidential information relating to its
chemical military program.
We express our deepest sympathy for the victims of chemical weapons use. We
strongly believe that those abhorrent crimes cannot remain unpunished and that
we owe it to the victims to take action.
Supporting the OPCW in its efforts to uphold the Chemical Weapons Convention, we
recall our joint statement published on the 24th of April 2020 that welcomed the
publication of the first report of the OPCW’s IIT on 8 April, 2020, which
identified the Syrian Arab Air Force as responsible for a series of chemical
weapons attacks in Ltamenah, Syria on the 24th, 25th and 30th of March, 2017. We
recall the Executive Council's decision “Addressing the Possession and Use of
Chemical Weapons by the Syrian Arab Republic” (EC-94/DEC.2, dated 9 July 2020).
This decision was followed by the adoption of a decision by the Conference of
the States Parties at its Twenty-Fifth session entitled “Addressing the
possession and use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Arab Republic” (C-25/DEC.9,
dated 21 April 2021).
We call on all parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention to continue to fight
impunity by sending a clear signal from the international community that such
use will not be tolerated. We demand that those responsible for the use of
chemical weapons be held accountable; and we, 2 the participating States of the
International Partnership against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons,
commit to cooperate to the greatest extent possible in connection with criminal
investigations and prosecutions, including with the International, Impartial and
Independent Mechanism (IIIM) and the Independent International Commission of
Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (COI), relating to the use of chemical
weapons by the Syrian Arab Air Force under the control of the Tiger Forces in an
attack at Saraqib.
We are determined to continue to combat the re-emergence of the use of chemical
weapons, and prevent impunity for those who resort to the use of such weapons or
contribute to their development. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the
repeated use of these weapons.
We reiterate our strong support for the Convention on the Prohibition of the
Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their
Destruction, an essential pillar of the international disarmament and counter
proliferation architecture and the rules based international order on which we
all rely. We underline the importance of the full implementation of the
Convention. We call upon all States to ratify or accede to and fully implement
the Convention without delay.
We also reiterate our full confidence in the impartiality, professionalism and
capacity of the Technical Secretariat of the OPCW to implement the decisions
taken and tasks assigned by the States Parties.
We strongly believe that with its expertise and its independent and impartial
nature, as well as with the additional resources it has rightfully been
provided, the OPCW Technical Secretariat is well-equipped to perform the
technical task of identification.
We reaffirm the importance of full respect for the 1925 Geneva Protocol for the
Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and of
Bacteriological Methods of Warfare; the Geneva Conventions; with UN Security
Resolutions (UNSCRs) 2314 (2016), 2235 and 2209 (2015), 2118 (2013), 1540
(2004), and 2325 (2016). We also recall UNGA resolution A/72/43 (2017), A/73/45
(2018), A/74/40 (2019) and A/75/55 (2020), as well as Human Rights Council (HRC)
Resolution S-17/1 (2011).
We recall that our Partnership was founded on 23 January 2018 and that we took
clear and unequivocal commitments which can be found in a Declaration of
Principles. Forty States drawn from all geographical regions and the European
Union have joined the partnership to date. We encourage the countries that are
not yet members but that share our concerns to join us.
Senior US official says Washington willing to reopen
embassy in Libya
The Arab Weekly/May 18/2021
TRIPOLI - A top American diplomat arrived Tuesday in Libya’s capital, marking
the first visit by a senior US official since the UN-backed formation of an
interim government in February. Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near
Eastern Affairs Joey Hood affirmed the US’s full support for Libya’s interim
government and urged an end to foreign military intervention in the North
African country. Libya’s Government of National Unity (GNU) is expected to
enforce a cease-fire agreement signed in October and lead the country into
general elections this December. “Today’s meetings demonstrate the commitment of
the US government and our strong diplomatic support for the progress the Libyan
people have made towards an inclusive negotiated political solution,” Hood said
at a joint news conference with Libya’s Foreign Minister Najla al-Manqoush.
Along with US ambassador to Libya Richard Norland, Hood met Libya’s Prime
Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and Mohammad Younes el-Menfi, head of Libya’s
Presidency Council. “We urged the US to help us pressure all concerned parties
to meet their obligations, respect UN resolutions and support the cease-fire,”
said Manqoush.
Libya has been mired in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime
ruler Muammar Gadhafi in 2011. The uprising divided the oil-rich country between
a UN-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based
in the country’s east. Each were backed by armed groups and foreign governments.
An October cease-fire agreement that included a demand that all foreign fighters
and mercenaries leave Libya within 90 days led to a deal on the interim
government and December elections. In a report obtained by The Associated Press
last week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres complained there has been no
reduction of foreign fighters or their activities in Libya and that a UN-imposed
arms embargo continues to be breached. The UN estimated in December there were
at least 20,000 foreign fighters and mercenaries in Libya, including Syrians,
Russians, Sudanese and Chadians. But at an informal Security Council meeting in
late April, speakers said there were more than 20,000, including 13,000 Syrians
and 11,000 Sudanese, according to diplomats. “The goal of the US is a sovereign,
stable, unified Libya with no foreign interference and a state that is capable
of combating terrorism,” said Hood.
Hood said the US hopes that Libyans reach an agreement soon on the
constitutional mechanism of the upcoming elections. He added that America is
willing to re-open its embassy in Libya but that the process would take time and
require “a lot of logistics.”“We are not waiting for that; we will be visiting
frequently and we will be inviting her Excellency to Washington,” he said in
reference to Manqoush. The US suspended embassy operations in Libya in 2014 as
fighting between Libyan factions neared its embassy in Tripoli. The US
diplomatic mission to Libya is now located in safer Tunis, Tunisia. In recent
months, several European governments, including France and Greece, reopened
their embassies in Tripoli after years of closure, as an act of support of the
newly-elected transitional authorities.
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 18- 19/2021
Biden: ‘We Will Speak Out for Religious
Freedom for All [Muslim] People”
Raymond Ibrahim/May 18/2021
In a world where religious persecution runs rampant, President
Joe Biden has come out and forcefully condemned it. On May 16, he issued a brief
video from the White House. Standing by the first lady, he said:
All people should be able to practice their faith with dignity, without fear of
harassment or violence. We will defend the right of all, as we stand with you.
That’s why I ended this shameful Muslim travel ban. And that’s why this
administration will speak out for religious freedom for all people, including
Uighurs in China and Rohingya in Burma. We also believe Palestinians and
Israelis equally deserve to live in safety and security and enjoy equal measure
of freedom, prosperity, and democracy. My administration is going to continue to
engage Palestinians and Israelis and other regional partners to work toward
sustained calm. If you watch the video, you will see that Biden always
emphasizes the word “all”—as in “All people should be able to practice their
faith with dignity”; “We will defend the right of all”; “this administration
will speak out for religious freedom for all people.”
And yet, as the speech develops—and perhaps because Biden has taken lessons in
tawriya, the Muslim Brotherhood’s preferred method of speaking—it becomes clear
who these “all” are: Muslims. Indeed, to anyone listening to the president who
doesn’t know any better—and that accounts for tens if not hundreds of millions
of Americans of a particular political persuasion—it would seem that Muslims are
being persecuted by non-Muslims—Israelis, Burmese, and Chinese—in an
unprecedented manner. Once again, and as usual, the opposite is closer to
reality. Wherever Muslims are majorities, religious minorities suffer
unspeakable evils. A study published in January 2021 found, for example, that 13
Christians are killed for their faith every day around the world; 12 are
illegally arrested or imprisoned; 5 are abducted; and 12 churches or other
Christian buildings are attacked daily. Overall, 340 million Christians “suffer
very high or extreme levels” of persecution—meaning they are harassed, beat,
raped, imprisoned, and/or slaughtered on sight just for being Christian. The
study also relayed another interesting fact: of the 50 worst persecuting
nations, 39 were Muslim—meaning that nearly 80 percent of the persecution
hundreds of millions of Christians around the world experience is being
committed by Muslims. Similarly, what several international organizations have
referred to as a “genocide” of Christians at the hands of “Allahu Akbar”
screaming Muslims is currently taking place in Nigeria, Mozambique, and other
sub-Saharan nations.
And yet, what has Joe Biden done—let alone even said—concerning these human
rights tragedies? Where is these 340 million Christians’ right “to practice
their faith with dignity, without fear of harassment or violence,” to use
Biden’s own words?
Why is it that only Muslims—who unlike their Christian victims, often instigate,
including through terrorism, quarrels with others, be they Chinese, Burmese, or
Israelis—are singled out by Biden as in need of American support?
“We will defend,” he asserted, “the right of all”—all, and apparently only
Muslims, that is.
As Iran's Mullahs Incite Hamas Terrorism, Biden Administration Wants Sanctions
Lifted
Majid Rafizadeh/Gatestone Institute/May 18, 2021
The Biden administration is apparently offering even more concessions and
sanctions relief to Iran's leaders, concessions that "go beyond the
nuclear-specific sanctions."....Meanwhile, these leaders from Iran are openly
encouraging Hamas to launch more rockets....
In addition, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei...has been inciting
terrorism on social media.... [and] labeled the whole nation of Israel a
terrorist camp....
Twitter's policy indicates that it will suspend users "due to the risk of
further incitement of violence." But Twitter appears to be giving him full
immunity. It is worth noting that Twitter banned the former President Donald J.
Trump... "due to the risk of further incitement of violence."
"Why is @khameni_ir still the fu*k on Twitter? If this isn't incitement, idk wtf
is!!!" — @JeremyKossen, Twitter, May 12, 2021.
"Why on Earth aren't you banning @khamenei_ir and all his other accounts?" —
@eL3CT10n to CEO Jack Dorsey, Twitter, May 12, 2021.
"The United States engaging in active negotiations with Iran and potentially
providing billions of dollars in sanctions relief will no doubt contribute to
Iran's support of Hamas and other terrorist organizations who attack Americans
and our allies. We call on you to immediately end negotiations with Iran, and
make clear that sanctions relief will not be provided." — More than 40 US
Senators, letter to President Joe Biden, Newsweek, May 12, 2021.
It is mind-boggling that the Biden administration is forging ahead with its plan
to revive the nuclear deal and lift sanctions against Iran's mullahs while one
of America's strongest allies, Israel, is being attacked by the Iran-backed
terror group, Hamas....
[T]he Biden administration must immediately halt talks with the Iranian regime.
And definitely do not fund it. Any generosity will just be used to enrich Iran's
militia, the IRGC, and target more countries in the Middle East -- in addition
to the United States as it did on 9/11 and 1983. This time, however, the attacks
may well come from Iranian bases in Venezuela or the Southern Hemisphere.
Even as talks to lift sanctions against the Iranian regime are advancing in
Vienna, Iranian leaders are openly encouraging Hamas to launch more rockets at
Israel. The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, Esmail
Ghaani, in a phone call with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, recently applauded
Hamas for its attacks. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been inciting
terrorism on social media. Pictured: Missiles are paraded past a portrait of
Khamenei on the occasion of the country's annual army day on April 18, 2018, in
Tehran. (
Amidst the Iranian regime's clear role in inciting terrorism against Israeli
civilians, talks to lift sanctions against the regime are advancing in Vienna.
The Biden administration is apparently offering even more concessions and
sanctions relief to Iran's leaders, concessions that "go beyond the
nuclear-specific sanctions."
Meanwhile, these leaders from Iran are openly encouraging Hamas to launch more
rockets at a longtime US ally in the Middle East, Israel. Additionally, the head
of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, Esmail Ghaani, in a
phone call with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, recently applauded Hamas for its
attacks.
Separately, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who enjoys the final
say in Iran's foreign policy, has been inciting terrorism on social media. He
wrote on Twitter:
"Palestinians are awake and determined. They must continue this path. One can
only talk with the language of power with these criminals. They must increase
their strength, stand strong, confront the enemy, and force them to stop their
crimes. #FreePalestine"
Khamenei also labeled the whole nation of Israel a terrorist camp:
"Since day 1, Zionists turned occupied Palestine into a base for terrorism.
Israel isn't a country; it's a #TerroristCamp against Palestinians & other
Muslim nations. Fighting this despotic regime is fighting against oppression &
terrorism. And this is everyone's responsibility."
Twitter's policy indicates that it will suspend users "due to the risk of
further incitement of violence." But Twitter appears to be giving Khamenei full
immunity. It is worth noting that Twitter banned former President Donald J.
Trump while he was in office "due to the risk of further incitement of
violence."
Many users on Twitter began slamming the platform for not banning Iran's Supreme
Leader for clearly inciting violence. Aaron Klein, a senior adviser to Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tweeted:
"How has Twitter not banned Ali Khamenei over the below post outright inciting
terrorism against Israelis? His tweet is a virtual signal to Iran-backed
Palestinian jihadists."
"Why is @khameni_ir still the fu*k on Twitter? If this isn't incitement, idk wtf
is!!!" wrote @JeremyKossen. And @eL3CT10n addressed Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey,
asking: "why on Earth aren't you banning @khamenei_ir and all his other
accounts?"
Philip Klein wrote an article on National Review, titled "Why Is Twitter Letting
Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei Incite Rocket Attacks on Israeli Civilians?"
The Iranian regime's clear incitement of terrorism against Israel has also led
many US Senators to write a letter to the Biden administration:
"Over the past couple days, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, who are funded by
Iran, have launched a series of rocket attacks into Israel. They are targeting
Israeli civilians and cities, including Israel's capital, Jerusalem. This is
troubling as members of your administration are currently in Vienna negotiating
with Iran, the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism."
The Senators urge the Biden administration to stop negotiations with the Iranian
regime:
"The United States engaging in active negotiations with Iran and potentially
providing billions of dollars in sanctions relief will no doubt contribute to
Iran's support of Hamas and other terrorist organizations who attack Americans
and our allies. We call on you to immediately end negotiations with Iran, and
make clear that sanctions relief will not be provided."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, however, quickly dismissed calls by the
Senators for the Biden administration to cease its talks in Vienna with Iran due
to Tehran's funding of Hamas rockets: "I don't have anything to offer on whether
or not there is Iranian involvement in what is taking place [in Gaza]," he said.
The Iranian regime has clearly provided weapons to Hamas. Even Iran's Supreme
Leader admitted on May 22, 2020:
"Iran realized Palestinian fighters' only problem was lack of access to
weapons.... With divine guidance and assistance, we planned, and the balance of
power has been transformed in Palestine, and today the Gaza Strip can stand
against the aggression of the Zionist enemy and defeat it."
The Iranian regime also apparently views Hamas's attacks as a retaliation for
the killing of General Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general who commanded Iran's
extraterritorial Qods Force and was killed by the United States in 2020. A
member of Iran's parliament, Ahmad Naderi, in fact, sees the conflict as a
"blessing." He stated that the "clock will tick faster for Israel's
annihilation," and added, "This is the blessing [brought on] by the blood of our
Haj Qasem."
It is mind-boggling that the Biden administration is forging ahead with its plan
to revive the nuclear deal and lift sanctions against Iran's mullahs while one
of America's strongest allies, Israel, is being attacked by the Iran-backed
terror group, Hamas, and Iran's leaders are clearly inciting terrorism against
Israel's civilians. For humanitarian purposes and to defend its ally, the Biden
administration must immediately halt talks with the Iranian regime. And
definitely do not fund it. Any generosity will just be used to enrich Iran's
militia, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and target more countries
in the Middle East -- in addition to the United States as it did on 9/11 and
1983. This time, however, the attacks may well come from Iranian bases in
Venezuela or the Southern Hemisphere.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a business strategist and advisor, Harvard-educated
scholar, political scientist, board member of Harvard International Review, and
president of the International American Council on the Middle East. He has
authored several books on Islam and US foreign policy. He can be reached at
Dr.Rafizadeh@Post.Harvard.Edu
© 2021 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Sohail Hashmi: Jihad as Just War?
Andrew E. Harrod/The Iconoclast (New English Review/May 18/2021
Islamic scholars historically have placed "too much emphasis on jihad as
basically a violent" rather than nonviolent doctrine, stated Mount Holyoke
College international relations professor Sohail Hashmi in an April 11 webinar.
Hosted by the Muslim group Critical Connections in Hashmi's Pioneer Valley
region of Massachusetts, his lucid lecture on "Jihad vs Just War: A Comparative
Analysis" provided detailed, disturbing insight into Islamic doctrines of jihad
warfare.
As in a previously analyzed webinar, Critical Connections founder Mehlaqa
Samdani moderated and worried in her introduction about "Islamophobic groups"
dominating discussion of hot-button issues like jihad. Her "Islamophobia"
reference ironically recalled the religiously repressive nature of the
terrorism-sponsoring Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the home of her co-moderator,
Karachi University student Rutaba Tariq. She represented Pakistan's branch of
the Model Organization of Islamic Cooperation (MOIC), a student affiliate of the
OIC, whose fifty-seven member states (including "Palestine") have long sought to
ban "Islamophobic" criticism of Islam worldwide. While Hashmi took no critical
notice of the OIC, Samdani encouraged viewers to join MOIC; additionally,
Georgetown University professor John L. Esposito, an apologist for these efforts
and all things Islamist, made a brief cameo appearance.
Hashmi's presentation did not deny that serious concerns about jihad are
well-founded.
Yet Hashmi's presentation did not deny that serious concerns about jihad are
well-founded, not irrational, even as he claimed that Christian just war and
Islamic jihad doctrines are "extremely alike." He argued that Jesus' teachings
in the New Testament are "very heavily biased in the pacifist direction," such
that Christian thinkers developed just war theory largely on the basis of
self-defense in natural law. More disturbingly, although "jihad is a very broad
concept," which "means simply to struggle," in the eighth-ninth centuries
Islam's "classical jurists spent most of their time talking about what we could
call an expansionist or an offensive jihad."
This was a "jihad to expand the Islamic empire, to expand the realm of Dar
al-Islam," Hashmi noted. The "fundamental aspect of Dar al-Islam is that this is
the territory where Islamic law is supreme" and "Muslims are not necessarily the
majority." Thus Muslim-conquered areas like Mesopotamia and Egypt "remained
primarily non-Muslim for centuries," he explained.
This "imperialist jihad" in the classical view, Hashmi explained, would
supposedly benefit non-Muslim "benighted peoples." "Once non-Muslims had lived
under the benefits of this divine law, of this Islamic law, they would of their
own accord realize the merits of Islam, the religion, and they would of their
own accord, of their own free will, convert to Islam," he said. He later
specified how the modern Islamic Republic of Iran's constitution advocates the
"spread of an Islamic community of nations."
Jihad conquests obviously violate modern norms, Hashmi analyzed. "Within the UN
Charter, which is, of course, the ultimate expression of international law and,
one could say, the ultimate result of the evolution of just war thinking in
Western societies, there is no room at all for a war of imperialism." After
"tremendous discussion and indeed reinterpretation and reform" therefore "today
most Muslim scholars are taking great pains to define the legitimate causes for
jihad as being strictly self-defense," he added.
Jihadists' first and foremost goal is the overthrow of nominally Muslim rulers
and governments.
Irrespective of these discussions about offensive jihad, Hashmi emphasized that
modern jihadists in groups like the Islamic State "are "overwhelmingly obsessed
with defensive warfare." This conclusion shocks Americans and others, he noted,
who think of modern jihadist outrages like Al Qaeda's 9/11 attacks. However,
these attacks served jihadists whose "first and foremost goal is to overthrow"
in Muslim-majority states what jihadists view as "only nominally Muslim rulers
and Muslim governments" often backed by countries like America.
In this alliance of a foreign "far enemy" and a "near enemy" of non-sharia
compliant states in Muslim lands, jihadists feel that "these governments have
declared war on Islam and against true Muslims," Hashmi explained. Osama bin
Laden therefore argued that "there was no way to fight the near enemy unless the
far enemy could be pushed out of Muslim lands." As Hashmi analyzed alarmingly,
the "militant discourses on jihad, they are in fact quite conservative, they are
not radical at all," and are "very much in line with classical defensive jihad
discourses."
By contrast, Hashmi stressed that jihadist terrorism tactics had brought
widespread condemnation from modern Muslim scholars. Between combatants and
noncombatants, the "principle of discrimination is discussed widely in the
classical works on fiqh" or Islamic jurisprudence, he noted, and thus jihad "is
never unrestrained warfare." But for modern jihadists, "because jihad is being
waged for such lofty purposes, any and all means may be used to pursue it," he
stated, which recalled jihadist resort to the Islamic doctrines of necessity.
Some Muslim states seem to have other understandings of jihad in areas such as
biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons possession. "Muslims should
categorically reject any attempt to incorporate weapons of mass destruction into
jihad thinking," he said, but the nuclear weapons state Pakistan, and the
nuclear proliferator Iran, seem to disagree. He also noted that in jihad
doctrine Muslims had the option of enslaving the women and children of
"non-Muslim combatants," an uncomfortable reminder of recent Islamic State
horrors.
Hashmi's review of jihadist doctrine made his humanistic desires for Islam a bit
like a pious hope. He highlighted the division between the Quran's verses
reflecting Islam's prophet Muhammad as a preacher in seventh-century Mecca and
the chronologically later, more warlike verses about Muhammad as a
military-political leader in Medina. Muhammad in Mecca "understood jihad in line
with Quranic revelations as essentially nonviolent direct action," Hashmi
stated; correspondingly "jihad is both the use of soft power as well as hard
power."
Something particular about relations and responsibilities between Muslims isn't
captured by international law.
His clear sympathies for Islamic law shone through in his comments on Pakistan's
founding father, Muhammad Iqbal. "If anything, I would consider myself to be an
accommodationist, in the line of Mohammed Iqbal," Hashmi said. "There is
something particular about relations between Muslims, and these
responsibilities, are not captured by the current state of international law
that has state sovereignty at its core."
Nonetheless, Hashmi provided, perhaps unintentionally, glimpses of jihadist
danger all too rare in the academic field of Middle East studies, saturated as
it is with deceptive, biased scholarship. Rather than naïve falsehoods, he
proffered sobering facts, even if his equation of jihad and just war is too
optimistic. His scholarship should at least be the beginning of the end of
illusions about jihad.
*Andrew E. Harrod is a Campus Watch Fellow, freelance researcher, and writer who
holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University
and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School. He is a fellow with the
Lawfare Project. Follow him on Twitter at @AEHarrod.
Hizbullah Brigades: The U.K. Will Pay The Price For Its
Involvement In The Riots At The Iranian Consulate In Iraq's Karbala Following
The Murder Of Iraqi Political Activist Al-Wazni
MEMRI/May 18/2021
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and
Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On the night between the eighth and ninth of May, unknown individuals used a gun
with a silencer to kill Iraqi political activist Ihab Al-Wazni near his home in
the city center of Karbala in southern Iraq. Al-Wazni was one of the leaders of
the wave of mass demonstrations surging through Iraq in October 2019, which
protested against corruption in the government of 'Adil Abd Al-Mahdi and against
its subordination to Iran.[1]
The U.S. and the U.K. have condemned the murder. British Ambassador to Iraq
Stephen Hickey told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya channel that since 2019,
political activists in Iraq have been targeted in serious attacks, but that no
one has yet been prosecuted. Hickey urged that agreements be reached with "the
factions and the people responsible for the attacks on the activists,
journalists and politicians." The ambassador stated that Iraq's neighboring
countries should support the democratic process in Iraq, saying: "Unfortunately,
for a while now we have seen that Iran, for example, supports the armed
factions, which are active beyond the control of the country. It is crucial that
Iran support the government institutions and not the factions."[2]
It is not only the British ambassador who suspects that the Shi'ite militias
supported by Iran, and that Iran itself, are responsible for the murder of Al-Wazni.
Several hours after the assassination, riots broke out in the city of Karbala
and in other cities in southern Iraq. In Karbala, demonstrators congregated near
the Iranian Consulate complex in the city, where, according to several reports,
they set fire to guard posts [3]
Following these incidents, the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad released a statement
in which it condemned the murder of Al-Wazni and stressed that Iran is
endeavoring to assist Iraq. The embassy urged that diplomatic missions not be
attacked and called for the prosecution of both the murderers of Al-Wazni and of
the demonstrators who stormed the Iranian Consulate in Karbala. The Embassy
emphasized that "Iran never requested the assassination of Iraqi citizens and
strongly condemns every act of terror."[4]
In light of the severe accusations directed at Iran regarding its involvement in
the murder of the activist, the political bureau of the Hizbullah Brigades, one
of the Iraqi Shi'ite militias loyal to Iran, published a statement claiming that
the U.K. was behind the events at Karbala and had incited Iraqis against Iran
and the Shi'ite militias. The Hizbullah Brigades threatened that Britain and its
collaborators in the region and in Iraq will pay the price for these alleged
deeds.
A statement published on the Hizbullah Brigades' Telegram channel read: "The
forces of evil and destruction try again and again to harm our security[,] to
destabilize us by mobilizing groups which they have led astray in order to
provoke civil wars and crises and to drag Iraqi society into an internal war.
What took place in the holy city of Karbala is the result of struggles and the
settling of accounts between elements related to foreign plots[,] which propel
our youth toward death. This is so that they can exploit their blood to set
their vicious goals into motion.
"After the [forces of evil] realized that the parties they created and the
dubious puppets they operate will not succeed in changing the result of the
coming elections, and [once they] realized that total failure awaits them in the
elections, they sought to stir up chaos, [in order] to prevent the elections
from being held, thus serving the forces which control and support the current
government.
"The attacks on the offices of the representative of the Hajj and the Iranian
pilgrimage... and the burning of the flag upon which is written 'Allah' [i.e.
the Iranian flag] exposed those who are behind [these attacks,] who do not
respect the sanctity of the city[,] which should be demilitarized[,] and who
insist on pushing the situation within [the city] toward destruction and
vengeance. These elements forget that the Iraqi people who extricated themselves
in order to defend their homeland and holy places, and who defeated the gangs of
the Islamic State [ISIS] and thwarted their plans – are prepared to defend our
city, our holy places, and those who undertake pilgrimage to them...
"Our enemies should not be under the illusion that we are not aware of their
plans. We will present the facts to our beloved people. The threads of this plot
were woven in the British Embassies of evil in Baghdad and Beirut. This is
blatant hostile intervention and intrigue, the price for which will be paid by
this despicable colonialist country, and by all the regional, local, and
international forces whose insistence on attacking our people can only be
stopped by an assault targeting their reeking, empty heads."
As stated, since the outbreak of the riots against 'Abd Al-Mahdi's government in
2019, several political activists in Iraq who had been involved were murdered.
Among them was prominent security analyst Husham Al-Hashimi, who was killed by
gunmen on July 2020, near his home in Zayona district, northeast Baghdad, an
area that is heavily controlled by the Iran-backed Hizbullah Brigades.[5]
Al-Wazni himself was the target of an assassination attempt in December 2019,
when masked men opened fire on him and activist Fahim Al-Ta’ii, using a pistol
with a silencer. Al-Ta’ii was killed in the attack. According to a report in the
Al-Arab daily, Al-Wazni had previously informed security forces that he had
received death threats.[6]
Journalists, too, have been targeted by death threats. On September 13, 2020,
the Saudi-funded Al-Arabiya network website reported that journalists employed
in Iraq by Jordan-based Dijlah Television have resigned and gone into hiding
amid a campaign of threats. The threats were made in response to the
broadcasting of a concert on the network's music channel during 'Ashura, a
solemn holy day observed by Shi'ites.[7]
[1] Following the demonstrations, Abd Al-Mahdi resigned and in May 2020, Mustafa
Al-Kadhimi was appointed Prime Minister.
[2] Alarabiya.net, May 9, 2021.
[3] Telegram.me/IranianArabic, May 9, 2021.
[4] Telegram, May 10, 2021
[5] See MEMRI report Iraq On The Path Of National Recovery From Iranian Hegemony
– Part VII: Husham Al-Hashimi – Chronicles Of A Murder Foretold, July 10, 2020.
[6] Alarab.co.uk, May 10, 2021
[7] See MEMRI report Iraqi Reporters Resign, Go Into Hiding After Receiving
Death Threats From Iran-Backed Militias, September 16, 2020.
IDF launches targeted killing operations against Gaza-based
militants
Joe.Truzman/ FDD's Long War Journal/May 18/2021
Some of the Palestinian militants killed during operation ‘Guardian of the
Walls’
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) began a military campaign against militant
groups in the Gaza Strip last Monday in response to a barrage of rockets fired
by the military wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, against the city of Jerusalem
earlier that day.
The group claimed responsibility for the attack on their Telegram channel
immediately after the rockets were launched.
“Al-Qassam Brigades now directs a missile strike to the enemy in occupied
Jerusalem in response to his crimes and aggression against the Holy City and his
harassment of our people in Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa Mosque,” al-Qassam
Brigades stated shortly after the attack.
The IDF’s campaign called “Guardian of the Walls” has focused on degrading the
military capabilities and assets of al-Qassam Brigades and the military wing of
Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Saraya al-Quds. In conjunction with the Shin Bet, the
IDF has successfully executed numerous targeted killing operations against
leaders, commanders and low-level militants of several factions.
On Wednesday, the IDF targeted al-Qassam Brigades’ “Gaza Brigade” commander,
Basem Issa, and several other militants who were with Issa.
“With all the signs of pride, fortitude and defiance, The Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam
Brigades offer to the sons of our people and our nation everywhere the martyrdom
of the Qassam Mujahid commander, Bassem Issa, commander of the Gaza Brigade in
the al-Qassam Brigades, and a group of his brothers, the leaders and the
mujahideen who rose during the occupation’s aggression against positions,
capabilities and ambushes of the Resistance,” an al-Qassam Brigades statement
said.
Commanders of Saraya al-Quds also shared a similar fate as their militant
counterparts. On Tuesday, an IDF airstrike killed three during a meeting in the
northern Gaza Strip.
“The al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad Movement in
Palestine, announced today, Tuesday, three leaders of the missile unit in the
Gaza Brigade and the northern region, who rose to al-Ula after a cowardly
assassination carried out by Zionist treachery planes in Gaza City,” the
militant group stated.
A person with direct knowledge of an IDF intelligence briefing told FDD’s Long
War Journal on Thursday that the estimated death toll of al-Qassam Brigades and
Saraya al-Quds militants from the current fighting was approximately 200.
Most of the factions participating in the conflict have yet to officially
disclose the current number of dead militants within their ranks. Al-Qassam
Brigades, Saraya al-Quds and smaller factions like Humat al-Aqsa have disclosed
some, but the count is expected to be much higher than the official numbers
currently reported by Gaza factions.
As the fighting continues the IDF is likely to press on for several more days to
achieve their objective of setting back the military capabilities of the
Hamas-led militant groups before negotiating a ceasefire. However, al-Qassam
Brigades and other groups may execute a significant attack during this time
which would force the IDF to further expand its operation despite growing calls
from the Biden administration to end the conflict.
*Joe Truzman is a contributor to FDD's Long War Journal.