English LCCC Newsbulletin For Lebanese,
Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For May 21/2020
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/eliasnews21/english.may21.21.htm
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Bible Quotations For today
To love God with all the heart & with all the
understanding, and with all the strength & to love one’s neighbour as oneself is
much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices
Mark 12/28-34: “One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing
with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, ‘Which
commandment is the first of all?’Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel:
the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your
strength.”The second is this, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” There
is no other commandment greater than these.’Then the scribe said to him, ‘You
are right, Teacher; you have truly said that “he is one, and besides him there
is no other”;and “to love God with all the heart, and with all the
understanding, and with all the strength”, and “to love one’s neighbour as
oneself”, this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and
sacrifices.’When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not
far from the kingdom of God.’ After that no one dared to ask him any question.”
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese
Related News & Editorials published on May 20- 21/2021
Syrian elections cause tension and violence in Lebanon
President Aoun meets ICRC Lebanon delegation head
Lebanon’s central bank announces new foreign exchange system
Aoun’s letter to Parliament raises tensions, deepens Cabinet crisis
Wahhab Voices Threat as Politicians React to Lebanese-Syrian Unrest
Bassil Slams 'Nazis', Accuses LF of Attacks on Syrian Voters
Lebanese Clash with Syrians Heading for Presidential Vote
Syrians in Lebanon Kick Off Vote on New Term for Assad
Dutch Court Orders Carlos Ghosn to Repay Salary
21 years after Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon & Its Occupation By
Hezbollah/By: Elias Bejjani & Charbel Barakat/May 21/201
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous
Reports And News published on May 20- 21/2021
Israel approves Gaza truce after nearly two weeks of violence: Report
Canadian court rules Iran downing of Ukraine Flight 752 ‘act of terrorism’
'Agreement Shaping Up' on Iran Nuclear Talks
Israel’s ambassador calls UN ‘a disgrace,’ accuses it of hypocrisy over
Palestine
Israeli Security Cabinet to Meet to Discuss Ceasefire
Israel Mulls Truce, Exchanges Heavy Fire with Hamas
US pushes back against French resolution to halt Mideast fighting
Saudi Arabia rejects Israeli measures in occupied Palestinian territories: FM
US Senator Bernie Sanders moves to block Biden’s $735 mln weapons sale to
Merkel Backs 'Indirect Talks' with Hamas on Mideast Conflict
WHO Issues Urgent Appeal for $7 Million to Fund Gaza, West Bank
Turkey Rejects U.S. Claims of Erdogan's anti-Semitism
US envoy : No positive Iranian engagement to end Yemen war
China profits from US isolation at UN over Israel-Hamas conflict
Egypt says water supplies safe despite Ethiopia dam threat
UAE to allow full foreign ownership of companies, in bid to boost business
US to sanction Houthi officials for their role in Marib offensive: Lenderking
European Union tells Azerbaijan to speed up release of Armenian prisoners
Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on May 20- 21/2021
Turkish Anti-Semites Celebrate Rockets against Israel/Uzay Bulut/Gatestone
Institute/May 20/2021
Europe: Anti-Israel Protests Descend into Anti-Semitism/Soeren Kern/Gatestone
Institute/May 20/2021
From Trump to Biden Monograph-International Law/Orde Kittrie/ FDD/May 20/2021
Taliban maintains close ties with al Qaeda, DIA reports/Thomas Joscelyn/ FDD's
Long War Journal/May 20/2021
Help NATO by Holding Hamas Accountable for Terrorist War Crimes/Orde Kittrie/The
National Interest/May 20/2021
America’s Foreign Policy ‘Experts’ Are Projecting Their Own Failures Onto Jared
Kushner/Shany Mor/Newsweek/May 20/2021
Cover-Ups of WHO Misconduct Expose Leadership Failures and Compromised Agency
Culture/Craig Singleton/Policy Brief/FDD/May 20/2021
Israel-Gaza Violence Means Biden Must Avoid Emboldening Hamas in Any Cease-Fire
Deal/Ghaith al-Omari/Washinton Institute/May 20/2021
Arabs: Hamas Does Not Care About Palestinian Suffering/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/May 20/ 2021
Biden must halt nuclear talks with Iran/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/May
21/2021
Did Iran use Iraqi militias to fly drone into Israel? - analysis/Seth J.
Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/May 21/2021
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News
& Editorials published on May 20- 21/2021
Syrian elections cause tension and violence
in Lebanon
Najia Houssari/Arab News/May 21/2021
BEIRUT: Calls for Syrians in Lebanon to return to their country have become a
deeply divisive politicized issue over the decade-long civil war in Syria, one
which has recently been exacerbated by the upcoming election in Syria. On
Thursday, groups of angry Lebanese beat up Syrian expatriates and refugees
heading to the Syrian embassy to cast their votes for next Wednesday's election,
and threw stones at their vehicles, outraged over what they perceive as an
organized vote for Assad. There have been rumors that Hezbollah organized
transport for voters from across Lebanon to the embassy.
Assad is running for a fourth term, facing symbolic competition from two other
candidates in a vote that is all but guaranteed to see him continue as
president. The Syrian opposition — as well as many Western and Arab countries —
see the election as a sham designed to give Assad’s reign a veneer of
legitimacy. The election also violates UN resolutions that call for a new
constitution before a presidential vote. Lebanon hosts 865,531 registered Syrian
refugees, and there are several hundred thousand Syrians residing in Lebanon
with their families as daily or seasonal workers.
Syrians in Lebanon include regime supporters and opposition figures who fled to
Lebanon because of the war. Lebanon is in the midst of a severe economic crisis
and is calling for Syrian refugees to return to their country because of the
high cost of hosting them.
The roads leading to the embassy area in Yarzeh were congested with cars and
buses loaded with voters since early Thursday morning. Many chanted slogans in
support of Assad and the regime army, waving Syrian flags and carrying pictures
of Assad. They confirmed to the media before and after the polls that they had
voted for Assad.
Many Lebanese people reacted angrily to this. Members of the Lebanese Forces
party went to the coastal highway that connects northern Lebanon with Beirut,
and blocked cars carrying pictures of Assad, or Syrian flags, or banners for the
Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) — an ally of the Syrian regime, smashed
car windows, and assaulted their occupants. They told the media: “They are loyal
to Assad, so why are they still in Lebanon as refugees?”
Members of the Lebanese Forces party also said that Assad-supporting Syrians
should have their refugee status removed.
Similar scenes took place in Beirut’s Ashrafieh neighborhood, where young
Lebanese men chased a car displaying the Syrian flag. The Lebanese army
intervened to separate the two sides.Fifty-four-year-old Mohsen Saleh Al-Ahmad
died while traveling by bus from Chtaura, Bekaa, to the embassy. According to
official preliminary investigations, he had a heart attack. Since Thursday
morning’s events, the army has tightened security in and around the Syrian
Embassy, which is located in the vicinity of the Ministry of Defense and the
Army Command, and on the roads leading to it.
But further clashes broke out in the afternoon, this time instigated by Syrians,
who reportedly got off the buses transporting them along the coastal road near
Nahr Al-Kalb and proceeded to assault passers-by and throw stones at cars,
injuring several people, including journalists from MTV.
Some Lebanese politicians were quick to condemn the actions of pro-Assad Syrian
voters.
Former minister May Chidiac said: “They claim to be displaced and are calling on
the international community to support them with fresh dollars while they are an
additional burden on Lebanon’s overstretched economy! At the doors of the Syrian
embassy, they are chanting for Bashar Assad. As long as you are not
threatened, go back to where you came from.”
Another former minister, Richard Kouyoumdjian, said: “Swear allegiance to Bashar
Assad in your country, not in ours. You are opportunists and you are not
displaced.”But former Hezbollah MP Nawar Al-Sahili described attacks on Syrian
voters as demonstrating “racism and a lack of integrity.”
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali said those attacks were
“painful, and we refer (them) to the concerned authorities” and called on
Lebanon “to cooperate to find quick exits for the return of the Syrians to their
country.”The Syrian diplomat said that the large number of voters “reflects the
desire of Syrian people to return to a safety that they have not found outside
Syria.”Lisa Abu Khaled, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR), told Arab News: “The UNHCR has received reports of incidents
involving pressure, threats, and harassment affecting Syrian refugees in Lebanon
and in relation to the Syrian presidential elections. The reported incidents
range from confiscation of documents to threats of physical harm.”She added:
“Voting is a personal choice and is not linked to refugee status, nor to a
person’s need for international protection. Voting will not lead to the loss of
refugee status. The UNHCR has received reports of intimidation and pressure,
which may have pushed a number of refugees to participate in the elections.
“The UNHCR is a non-political humanitarian organization, and therefore does not
play any role in the Syrian elections,” she continued. “That said, if and when
incidents of threats and pressure are reported by refugees, we work with the
concerned stakeholders in Lebanon to ensure that refugees continue to be
protected in Lebanon.”Not all Syrian refugees in Lebanon exercised their right
to vote. Abu Ahmad, a camp supervisor in a refugee camp in Arsal, told Arab
News: “Most people are not interested. There may be some who voted at the
embassy, but they do not (symbolize) a collective conviction. Refugees are
frustrated and cannot forget their suffering and the horrors they experienced
during their displacement. “What has changed now? How can Assad be re-elected?
On what basis? People were hoping for some change to happen, but what is
happening is the polishing of the image of Bashar Assad in front of the
international community,” he continued. “Maintaining my strength today is more
beneficial than wasting my time in front of the ballot box. Here, I feel safe
even though I am homeless.”Caretaker Social Affairs and Tourism Minister Ramzi
Musharrafieh, who visited Syria a few weeks ago and discussed the return of
refugees, denounced “all the infringements that have occurred and are
unjustified,” and said that “protecting (Syrian voters) is our priority.”Former
MP Khaled Al-Daher, who has been a major advocate for Syrian refugees in Lebanon
in the past, said on Thursday: “Anyone who wants to elect Bashar Assad from
among the refugees in Lebanon will not have refugee status and must leave the
Lebanese territories because they have no problem with the Syrian regime, but
are in Lebanon for specific goals and objectives.”
President Aoun meets ICRC Lebanon delegation head
National News Agency/20 May 2021
President Michel Aoun praised the distinguished humanitarian role which the Red
Cross International Committee played in countries experiencing security
disturbances, and the sacrifices presented by its workers to accomplish delicate
tasks. Positions of the President came while receiving Head of the Red Cross
International Committee, Mr. Christophe Martin, today at Baabda Palace, on a
visit to mark the end of his tasks in Lebanon, and his transfer to Syria to
assume the chairmanship of the mission. Lebanese Red Cross President, Dr.
Antoine Zoghbi, and Deputy Head of Mission, Mrs. Basma Tabaja also attended the
meeting. Simone Casabianca Aeschlimann will succeed Mr. Martin in the
chairmanship of the Committee. During the meeting, President Aoun praised the
efforts made by Mr. Martin during his stay in Lebanon in the past 4 years,
especially in alleviating the burden of crises which Lebanon had witnessed,
especially in relation to the Syrian displacement crisis, the economic and
social crisis, Corona outbreak, and the Beirut Port explosion where the mission
provided immediate support for relief teams, damaged hospitals, and health
centers.
The President also praised the existing coordination and cooperation between the
Red Cross International Committee and the Lebanese Red Cross, which contributed
to the organization of relief operations and the recovery of the injured and
other tasks carried out by Lebanese Red Cross volunteers. Moreover, President
Aoun wished the former chairman success in his new responsibilities, hoped that
the successor will succeed in his assumed missions. For his part, Mr. Martin
thanked the President for the cooperation during his stay in Lebanon with
officials, institutions, official administrations, Lebanese Red Cross, its
Chairman, Dr. Zoghbi, and Secretary-General, Mr. George Kettaneh. Mr. Martin
also wished that Lebanon would overcome all difficulties it is witnessing.
Finally, Mr. Martin presented the International Red Cross shield, to President
Aoun, who in turn handed Mr. Martin the logo of the Presidency of the Republic
as a token of appreciation and gratitude.
Lebanon’s central bank announces new foreign exchange system
Reuters/20 May ,2021
Lebanon, whose currency has collapsed amid a deep financial crisis, is launching
a scheme to obtain dollars via banks at a rate similar to levels offered by
unofficial dealers. President Michel Aoun said in March that banks would be
allowed to handle transactions at market rates, but the central bank has only
issued mechanisms in past weeks for the exchange platform. The central bank said
in a statement on Thursday that Lebanese seeking dollars could register to buy
the US currency at a rate of 12,000 to the dollar from participating banks from
May 21-25. They would receive the dollars on May 27, it said. It did not say
whether customers would in future also be able to use the central bank’s new
Sayrafa platform to receive Lebanese pounds when selling dollars at a similar
rate. Until the economy was crushed by debt in late 2019, the Lebanese pound was
freely traded at banks, shops and elsewhere at 1,500 to the dollar. Since then,
the street rate has plunged, trading around 12,800 on Thursday. Banks have faced
limits on the rates they use, with some deals allowed at 3,900. The crisis has
plunged swathes of the nation into poverty, and the Lebanese - many of whom held
savings in dollar accounts - now face restrictions on access to their foreign
exchange, with limits both on withdrawals and on the bank rate offered.
Aoun’s letter to Parliament raises tensions, deepens
Cabinet crisis
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/May. 20/2021
BEIRUT: Parliament is set to meet Friday amid deep divisions over a
controversial letter from President Michel Aoun, who is seeking lawmakers’ help
in breaking the monthslong Cabinet formation impasse.
Rather than helping to break the deadlock, Aoun’s letter, unprecedented in
Lebanon’s history, will heighten tensions in the country and further compound
the already-stalled Cabinet formation process which has entered its ninth month
with no solution in sight, Future Movement MPs said Thursday.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is set to chair the session at 2 p.m. Friday at
the UNESCO Palace to read and probably discuss the letter in which the president
accused Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri of stalling on the Cabinet
formation and warned of the negative effects of the delay in the formation of a
new government.
Apprehensive of the negative impact of Aoun’s letter on the already strained
ties between the president and the premier-designate, Berri was reported to be
making contacts with leading parliamentary blocs in a bid to reach a
satisfactory solution and avert a political confrontation between the two
leaders over the letter in which the president put the blame for the Cabinet
crisis squarely on Hariri.
Aoun’s letter seemingly reflected his frustration with the delay in the
formation of a new government badly needed to deliver reforms and rescue the
crises-ridden country from all-out economic collapse.
But opponents of Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement headed by his son-in-law,
MP Gebran Bassil, fear that the president’s move was aimed at reconsidering
Hariri’s designation by a parliamentary majority on Oct. 22 to form a proposed
Cabinet of nonpartisan specialists to implement a reform program contained in
the French initiative designed to lift Lebanon out of its worst economic and
financial crunch since the 1975-90 Civil War.
Among proposals being floated to defuse spiraling tensions between Aoun and
Hariri, whose deepening rift for more than eight months has left the country
without a fully empowered government, is for Berri to postpone Friday’s session
after the president’s letter is read out until next week to discuss it.
Deputy Parliament Speaker Elie Ferzli said he expected Berri to set a new
session early next week to discuss Aoun’s letter. “If there are good intentions
and the aim of the letter is to reach a solution to the Cabinet standstill, the
president’s letter will provide a solution to the crisis. Otherwise, the country
will face an open-ended crisis,” Ferzli said in a statement published Thursday.
Responding to Aoun’s letter, Hariri accused the president of twisting facts over
the Cabinet formation, vowing to confront the letter in Parliament. Hariri is
currently on a private visit to Abu Dhabi and it was not known whether he will
be back in Beirut in time to attend the Parliament’s session.
Future Movement MP Mohammad Hajjar said it was up to Berri to decide the fate of
Friday’s session on whether to confine it to only reading Aoun’s letter or set
another session to discuss it.
“I think the inclination is to keep Friday’s session to merely reading Aoun’s
letter and to set another session to discuss it,” Hajjar told The Daily Star
Thursday.
Asked about the Future bloc’s expectations from the Parliament session, Hajjar
said: “In my estimation, the session will not produce anything. Rather, the
letter will cause further divisions and tensions in the country. That’s what the
president and with him the head of the Free Patriotic Movement Gebran Bassil
want. They want to destroy the country and keep it in tension like what they did
when they left the country in a presidential vacuum for two and a half years
until Aoun was elected president. They now want to do the same thing and even
the impossible in order for Gebran Bassil to be elected president. But this
amounts to Satan’s dream of entering paradise.”
While the Future bloc’s members would participate in the session, Hajjar said he
did not know whether Hariri would attend, citing security considerations for the
premier-designate. “But Hariri has said in a tweet that he will talk [about the
letter] in Parliament,” he said. He added that once Aoun’s letter is put up for
discussion in Parliament, either a representative of the Future bloc will
outline the bloc’s position or Future MPs will each air their views on the
letter. Although sending the letter to Parliament is in form part of the
president’s constitutional powers, Hajjar said that in content the letter
constituted “a major constitutional breach because he is demanding that
Parliament put its hands on the Cabinet formation, which is within the
prerogatives of the premier-designate and the president.”The Future MP rejected
Aoun’s accusations in his letter that Hariri was stalling over the Cabinet
formation.
“In his letter, he [Aoun] wants to throw the responsibility for obstruction on
Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Of course, this is all false allegations and the
whole world knows that the source of obstruction in Lebanon is the president and
the FPM leader who wants to clone the previous experiment of a government which
only left the country in ruins and accelerated the collapse,” Hajjar said,
referring to the caretaker Cabinet of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, which resigned
on Aug. 10 in the aftermath of the massive Beirut Port explosion.
Future MP Hadi Hobeish said the contents of Aoun’s letter would be countered in
Parliament with “clear facts” to clarify things to the people.
“The Future bloc will attend the Parliament session but the premier-designate’s
attendance has not been decided yet,” Hobeish told a local radio station. “The
president has the right to send a letter despite our objection to it because its
contents run counter to the reality and hold Hariri responsible for the failure
to form [a government].”He recalled that Hariri had proposed more than 15 times
solutions to overcoming the obstacles in the way of the government formation.
“But the presidential team has always obstructed to achieve gains like the
blocking one-third [veto power],” Hobeish said.
The fate of Parliament’s session was believed to have been discussed Thursday
during a meeting of the parliamentary Development and Liberation bloc chaired by
Berri at his Ain al-Tineh residence. The meeting was devoted to discussing
legislative affairs related to draft laws listed on the agenda of the joint
committees and subcommittees and appropriate decisions were taken on them, the
state-run National News Agency reported. The bloc, which comprises 17 MPs, also
discussed the political situation, the aggravating economic, financial and
living crises and the repercussions of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, it said.
In his letter, addressed to Berri Tuesday, Aoun demanded that the letter be
discussed by Parliament’s general assembly according to the rules and to take
the “appropriate position, measure or decision on it for the benefit of the
people who are anxiously waiting for a new government.” Aoun said the delay in
the Cabinet formation was adversely affecting political stability, as well as
economic, financial and health safety. He argued that Hariri had failed to form
a government capable of negotiating with international funds on bailout plans to
rescue the country’s ailing economy, burdened by a soaring national debt of $95
billion. Aoun criticized Hariri for refusing to present another Cabinet lineup
after his first draft Cabinet list was rejected by the president last year.
Wahhab Voices Threat as Politicians React to
Lebanese-Syrian Unrest
Naharnet/May 21/201
Lebanese politicians on Thursday expressed conflicting opinions following
tensions and violence between Lebanese mobs and Syrians heading to vote at the
Syrian embassy in their country’s presidential election. “It is unacceptable to
provoke people in internal neighborhoods and streets with this insolence,” MP
Eddy Abillama of the Lebanese Forces tweeted. “Slogans, pictures and appeals and
songs through speakers. In respectable countries, they banned Syrian refugees
from voting, so how should the situation be in Lebanon after what the occupation
regime did to our people through killing, abductions and the destruction of
their country? Deport them!” Abillama added. The LF has been accused of
orchestrating attacks on buses and cars carrying Syrian voters. LF spokesman
Charles Jabbour and LF supporters on the ground accused the Syrians of
provocation, arguing that they were flying Syrian flags and carrying pictures of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Resigned MP Nadim Gemayel of the Kataeb Party
meanwhile tweeted: “Those who want to pledge allegiance to Assad and to cheer
for him can cheer for him in Syria. Bravados and convoys of support for Assad
cannot pass in Jounieh and Nahr el-Kalb, and certainly not in Ashrafieh.”
“Provocations and bravados are rejected… If a displaced person wants to vote for
the person who displaced them, this is sufficient to prove that they must leave
our country and return to those who displaced them,” Gemayel added.
National Liberal Party chief Camille Dory Chamoun for his part saluted “every
Lebanese who confronted and attempted to prevent the election of Assad from
Lebanese territory.”“Return home, neighbor, this is the country of free men!”
Chamoun added. Arab Tawhid Party leader Wiam Wahhab, who is close to Damascus,
meanwhile warned that “if security forces are incapable of protecting the roads
and the people, there are forces who are capable of removing the thugs within
hours.”“Our choice is the state, but if it is powerless, we will call on the
national forces to take to the streets and settle the matter. I understand your
infuriation over the popular march to vote for Assad but beware of tampering
with security!” Wahhab added. He had earlier warned LF leader Samir Geagea not
to “play with fire.”“Blocking roads and attacking people are a red line whose
price is hefty. You know very well the price of lethal mistakes. With all due
love I advise you to be rational,” Wahhab added. Ex-MP Nawwar al-Saheli of
Hizbullah meanwhile tweeted that the attacks on Syrians are “unacceptable in all
the ethical, legal and humanitarian standards.” The incidents “reflect thuggery,
racism and disrespect, and the perpetrators must be pursued and referred to the
judiciary to be handed a fair punishment,” Saheli added. Lebanese Democratic
Party leader MP Talal Arslan for his part said: “The attacks on the Syrian
brothers who are practicing their legitimate and natural right to take part in
the presidential vote are shameful and condemned.”
“The army, security forces and all officials must shoulder their
responsibilities and provide full protects for them, unless we have become under
the law of the jungle,” Arslan added.
Bassil Slams 'Nazis', Accuses LF of Attacks on Syrian Voters
Naharnet/May 21/201
Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Thursday accused the Lebanese
Forces of orchestrating the attacks that targeted Syrian voters in Lebanon
throughout the day. “When we called for a safe and dignified return for the
displaced Syrians, you called us racists, and when we devised a civilized plan
for a safe and dignified return for the displaced, you opposed it and said that
we were factionalists,” Bassil tweeted. “When you beat up peaceful displaced
(Syrians) heading to vote at their country’s embassy and when you attack their
safety and dignity, we will call you Nazis, with one difference this time: it is
the truth,” the FPM chief added. Groups of angry Lebanese, mainly LF supporters,
pelted buses and cars carrying Syrians expatriates and refugees with stones and
sticks on Thursday, outraged over what they perceive as an organized vote for
President Bashar Assad. The Lebanese men accused the Syrians of provocation for
passing in certain areas while flying Syrian flags and pictures of Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, some Syrian refugees reported being
pressured to cast their ballot with threats of physical violence or confiscation
of documentation that could lead to loss of refugee status, the U.N. refugee
agency said. "If they want to vote, they can go home and vote there," said Fadi
Nader, a Lebanese protester. "Since they love Bashar Assad, why don't they go
home?" he added.
Lebanese Clash with Syrians Heading for Presidential Vote
Associated Press/Agence France Presse/May 21/201
Lebanese mobs attacked buses and cars carrying Syrian expatriates and refugees
heading to the Syrian embassy in Baabda on Thursday, protesting against what
they said was an organized vote for President Bashar Assad.
Scattered mobs of anti-Syrian Lebanese, most of them from the Lebanese Forces
party, waited for convoys of cars and buses carrying Syrian voters at
intersections in Beirut, outside the capital and in the eastern Bekaa region.
They pelted them with rocks and smashed windows with sticks. In one incident
near Nahr el-Kalb on the highway north of Beirut, one attacker poked a wooden
stick inside the car, poking the driver as others smashed the windshield. A
54-year-old Syrian man died from a heart attack aboard one of the buses, the
state-run National News Agency reported without providing additional details.
Buses carrying hundreds of voters featured pictures of the incumbent president
on the windows. "They don't need to carry pictures and flags for an absurd
criminal regime," said Fadi Nader, one of the protesters. "If they want to vote,
they can go home and vote there... Since they love Bashar Assad, why don't they
go home?" Ali Abdul Karim Ali, Syria's ambassador to Lebanon, condemned the
attacks.
"I cannot find any justification for the attacks against the buses transporting
the Syrians," he told reporters. Damascus later extended voting until midnight,
Syria's state news agency SANA said. LF leader Samir Geagea said Wednesday that
the thousands of Syrians who are voting for Bashar Assad are clearly not fearful
of his government and don't seem to be refugees afraid of returning home. He
called on the government and president to arrange for their return to Syria
"immediately."Lebanese Army soldiers stood guard as Syrian citizens who live in
Lebanon queued outside their embassy in Yarze, east of Beirut, to cast their
ballots. Some shouted slogans in support of Assad as they waited. On social
media networks, Lebanese users criticized Assad supporters heading to the ballot
box. "The Syrians that want to vote for Assad inside Lebanon are supporters of
the regime ... so they should go ahead, pack their things and return to their
land," one post said. Videos circulating on social media networks also showed
groups of men assaulting vehicles carrying Syrian voters with wooden rods and
stones. In one video, no fewer than six men surround a vehicle and kick through
its windshield while beating up passengers inside.
Lebanon is home to over 1 million Syrians, making it the country in the region
hosting the largest number of refugees per capita. Their presence -- nearly one
Syrian for every four Lebanese -- has weighed heavily on Lebanon's
infrastructure, and resources, particularly as the small country reels under an
unparalleled economic crisis. But calls for the return of Syrians home have also
been a widely politicized issue among Lebanese who have been deeply divided over
the 10-year Syrian conflict, with some supporting Assad and others backing his
opposition.
Even before the conflict, Syria's role in Lebanon was deeply divisive. Syrian
troops were deployed in Lebanon in 1976 shortly after the civil war broke out.
They only pulled out in 2005 following a popular uprising that followed ex-PM
Rafik Hariri's assassination and a U.N. resolution, after a 29-year domination
of Lebanese politics. The Syrians living in Lebanon find themselves in a hard
spot. The United Nations agency for Refugees, UNHCR, said it has received
reports from registered Syrian refugees that they were pressured before the
elections to cast their vote -- including threats of physical harm or
confiscation of documents. It was not immediately clear who was behind the
threats. The agency's spokesperson Lisa Abou Khaled said they are following with
relevant stakeholders to ensure the refugees are free to vote.
Assad has been in power since 2000 when he took over from his father, Hafez, who
ruled before that for 30 years. Despite the war, which seemed at one point to
threaten his rule, Assad remained in power, supported by regional powerhouse
Iran and Russia. The armed conflict has subsided in recent years, but Syria
remains torn. Thousands of foreign troops are based in different parts of the
country. The elections are not taking place in at least four provinces because
they are under the control of the opposition and Kurdish forces, depriving
nearly 8 million Syrians of a vote. The Biden administration has said it will
not recognize the result of Syria's presidential election. Syria has been in the
throes of civil war since 2011, when Arab Spring-inspired protests against the
Assad family rule turned into an armed insurgence in response to a brutal
military crackdown. Around half a million people have been killed and half the
country's population displaced.
Syrians in Lebanon Kick Off Vote on New Term for Assad
Agence France Presse/May 21/201
Hundreds of Syrians flocked to their embassy in Lebanon early Thursday as
expatriates and refugees kicked off voting for next week's presidential election
which is expected to keep Bashar al-Assad in power. Voters started gathering
outside the embassy in Baabda, north of Beirut, from 5 am (0200 GMT) amid a
heavy deployment by Lebanese security forces, an AFP correspondent reported.
Many chanted slogans in support of Assad and carried portraits of the longtime
president and his late father Hafez. Pictures of Assad's two little-known
challengers were nowhere to be seen. Mohammad al-Doummani, from the Damascus
countryside, was among the first to vote. "I voted for Bashar al-Asssad because
I believe in his project," Doummani told AFP after casting his ballot. "I have
full faith in him and his ability to drag Syria out of crisis."Dozens of Syrian
embassies abroad, including those in Russia, Jordan and Kuwait, also opened
their doors to voters. But several countries that oppose Assad have blocked the
vote. Polling inside Syria is set for next Wednesday. The election will be the
second since civil war erupted in 2011. The conflict has killed more than
388,000 people and prompted more than half of Syria's pre-war population to flee
their homes. It will likely yield a win for Assad, who has held power for the
past 21 years. Outside the embassy in Lebanon, voters chanted: "God, Syria and
Bashar.""I voted for Bashar al-Assad because conditions were better 10 years
ago," said Khamees Mohammad, a 38-year-old from the northern province of Aleppo.
Nearby, Abdul Rahman, a 21-year-old also from Aleppo, said he too was voting for
the longtime ruler. "He did everything for us," said the man who has been living
in Lebanon for five years. "He gave us healthcare and education for free. "Look
at the difference between the situation in Lebanon and the situation in
Syria."Lebanon, which is grappling with an economic crisis, says it hosts some
1.5 million Syrians, including around one million registered as refugees with
the United Nations. The country of more than six million people has pressured
refugees to return home but human rights groups still deem the country unsafe.
Dutch Court Orders Carlos Ghosn to Repay Salary
Associated Press/May 21/201
A Dutch court on Thursday ordered fugitive former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn
to repay nearly 5 million euros in salary to an Amsterdam-based alliance between
Nissan and Mitsubishi, and rejected his claim for millions in compensation for
wrongful dismissal. The ruling came in a case in which Ghosn sought to have his
2018 sacking from Nissan-Mitsubishi B.V. overturned and demanded 15 million
euros ($16.5 million) in compensation. The court in Amsterdam rejected his
claims, saying he did not have a valid contract with the company at the time.
The salary he was ordered to repay covers payments made to him by the Dutch
joint venture from April until November 2018. The Dutch case stems from Nissan's
decision to fire Ghosn after he was accused of financial misconduct in Japan.
The former high-flying automotive executive skipped bail in Tokyo in 2019 and
fled to Lebanon, where he grew up. Ghosn, who was first arrested in November
2018, has said he is innocent of allegations in Japan that he under-reported his
future income and committed a breach of trust by diverting Nissan money for his
personal gain. He says the compensation was never decided on or received, and
the Nissan payments were for legitimate business purposes. Ghosn, who has
French, Brazilian and Lebanese citizenship, was sent by Renault in 1999 to
salvage Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric car and Infiniti luxury models,
from the brink of bankruptcy.
21 years after Israel’s withdrawal from south Lebanon &
Its Occupation By Hezbollah
By: Elias Bejjani* & Charbel Barakat*
الياس بجاني وشربل بركات: 21 سنة على انسحاب إسرائيل من الجنوب اللبناني واحتلاله
من حزب الله
May 21/201
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/22147/elias-bejjani-charbel-barakat15-years-after-israels-withdrawal-from-south-lebanon/
There is no question that the withdrawal of a foreign army from any country
should be hailed with a sense of relief and joy; even if it was an ally its
withdrawal indicates that the country is self-governing and is capable of
defending itself independently.
Meanwhile, the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon on May 23/2000 was not
hailed by our people, because practically it was the beginning of a new tragedy
that was added to the many Lebanese tragedies.
Why was there this bitter feeling and why is it still painful after 21 years?
The other question is why our people who are patriotic and adore their land have
decided at that time to leave their beloved country and go into exile in
neighbouring Israel? Did they actually follow the withdrawing Israeli army?
The intention of this editorial is not to delve into many analyses, but to
summarize the actual reasons that made our people hastily cross the border and
seek refuge in Israel:
1-At that time Lebanon was still under the oppressive Syrian occupation and its
mere decision making process was fully controlled by Syria, the occupier.
2- Hezbollah, an armed militia, which is totally affiliated to the Iranian
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was in control of Lebanon’s Shiite
communities culturally, ideologically, militarily and economically, especially
in numerous parts of the south.
3- The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stationed in south
Lebanon failed in their duty of reassuring the citizens of their safety, did not
show any interest in the outcome of the Israeli withdrawal, did not negotiate
with the southern citizens in the absence of the Lebanese authorities or even
ask for their opinion or protect them.
While Israel was logistically preparing for the withdrawal, Hezbollah waged a
merciless and savage media campaign against the southern Lebanese citizens. The
campaign was aired publicly on all local and international TV channels and radio
stations. The most frightening threats were uttered personally by Hezbollah’s
Secretary General, Sheik Nasrallah, who savagely said, We will enter their
bedrooms, pierce their stomachs, slaughter them and slice their throats.
But Nasrallah’s threats did not frighten the South Lebanon Army (SLA), on the
contrary this rhetoric was ridiculed on May 18/2000, six days before the Israeli
withdrawal, when the Hezbollah militia tried to overcome and control one of the
SLA posts at the “Hamra Bridge”. The attack failed badly and Hezbollah suffered
huge losses.
Facing this disastrous milieu and all the other uncertainties, southern citizens
were left with two bitter options: to militarily defend their land, engage with
Hezbollah and repeat the status that prevailed before 1978; or to succumb to
Hezbollah, surrender their weapons and live under its authority. Encountering
this dilemma, they decided to avoid more Lebanese bloodshed and to leave
Lebanon, the country that they cherished, without a fight and take refuge in
Israel.
As a result of the Israeli withdrawal, there has been an enormous global
escalation of terrorism not only in the Middle East, but in many other
countries. Progress of peace efforts suffered a remarkable setback and worldwide
violence prevailed leading to the 9/11 attacks and to subsequent acts of
terrorism throughout Europe and the rest of the world.
The Free World countries responded by waging a massive global military
anti-terrorism campaign that primarily focused on both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Subsequently, the international community tried to amend the fatal mistakes that
were committed in Lebanon and issued UN Security Council Resolution 1559 that
addressed three important issues:
1-Syrian occupation: It called for the immediate withdrawal of the Syrian army
from Lebanon.
2-Weapons of terrorism: It called for the disarming of all militias, Lebanese
and Non Lebanese and in particular, of Hezbollah.
3- Safeguarding Lebanon’s democratic system: It called for free parliamentary
elections without Syrian interference.
UN Resolution 1559 provided the Lebanese people with the incentives to take
action. Accordingly, the Cedar Revolution emerged and the Lebanese people by the
hundreds of thousands peacefully took to the streets forcing the withdrawal of
the Syrian army.
Unfortunately, this revolution did not finish the job, which gave Hezbollah the
route to brazenly escape and instigate a war with Israel in 2006.
Sadly, due to the Lebanese authorities’ and politicians’ hesitation, poor
judgment and lack of courage, they did not fully utilize the available
circumstances to finish off the Hezbollah phenomenon. Instead Hezbollah besieged
the government’s headquarters, alleged a divine victory on Israel in the 2006
war, and on May 07 and 11/2008, invaded the western section of the capital
Beirut and attempted to conquer the Shouf Mountain, enforcing a new national
balance equation in a bid to abort the Cedar Revolution and circumvent and
cripple UN Resolution 1559.
http://www.clhrf.com/un%20documents/1559.english1.htm
The Iranian endeavours for not allowing the disarmament of Hezbollah unveiled
the actual elements of her plot:
1-A well set plan to expand Iran’s hegemony on the whole Middle East.
2-The establishment of a military base In Eretria and Yemen.
3-The mobilization of the Shiite Houthis tribes on the Saudi -Yemeni border.
4-Supporting and instigation of instability in neighbouring Iraq as well as in
Syria.
5-The formation of numerous sleeping militant cells among the Shiite Arabian
Gulf countries’ communities.
6-Keeping Egypt unfocused on the actual Iranian scheme through instigation of
strife between Egypt and other African countries that share the Nile River.
7- Playing with and tickling Muslims’ emotions and instigating religious
fanaticism to fight Israel through Hezbollah in Lebanon as well as Hamas and The
Jehad Al Eslami orgnization in Gaza.
At the same time, Iran has been working day and night to become a nuclear power
and possess a nuclear weapon that is intended to be used for intimidating the
Middle East countries, control their resources and wealth and have a monopoly on
the region’s fate and decisions.
Hezbollah is pivotal for all of the above Iranian schemes and a primary source
of manpower. Its militant members who number in the tens of thousands speak the
Arabic language, are ideologically and religiously well prepared, and more than
ready to carry out missions in any country as instructed by their Iranian
masters.
There is no doubt that the current situation in the whole Middle East in
general, and in Israel and Lebanon in particular, is much worse from the day the
Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon was implemented 21 years ago. The Iranian
danger to both Israel and Lebanon is escalating. Lebanon did not enjoy any kind
of stability despite the UN Resolutions, the bitter events’ experience, the
great sacrifices and the presence of new players (powers) on its arena.
Sadly, Lebanon is now living a repeat of same ghastly milieu that prevailed in
1982: tension, instability, chaos, and forced absence of any input on what goes
on its land. The war-peace decision making process is again in the hands of
Syria and Iran, while weapons of all kinds are smuggled to Hezbollah and to
other Lebanese – Palestinian armed terrorist groups via Syria without any kind
of control or impunity.
Based on all of the above, we request:
1- Lebanese officials to be prudent, patient, thoughtful and not to fall prey to
the axis of evil’s schemes, terrorism, fanaticism, violence, intimidation, and
whims of sabotage. Their patriotic duties and obligations as responsible
Lebanese officials and leaders are to help in making Lebanon a country of peace,
prosperity, freedom and stability in the region and not to be an arena and
battlefield for Iran, Syria and their armed proxies. They must be aware that
since 1975, our Lebanese people have endured much more than they can tolerate,
and as the saying goes: “He who does not learn from the past cannot make the
future.”
2- The Cedar Revolution’s masses to hold dearly to their solid faith in a free,
sovereign and independent Lebanon that should not under any circumstances be an
aggressor, but a peace maker and an advocate for human rights and democracy. We
encourage the masses to actively help in preserving the historic Lebanese role
in hailing the right of all countries and people in the region to live freely
without any kind of oppression. Lebanon’s mission and message are to protect the
weak and the oppressed and not to hail the conceited and arrogant.
3- Neighbouring Syria to overcome its ongoing expansionism schemes and accept
once and forever the reality that Lebanon is an independent and sovereign
country and not a Syrian territory or satellite. Accordingly, the joint borders
must be patrolled by UN Forces and all kinds of infiltration and smuggling
permanently stopped.
4- Israel to re-evaluate the achievements and setbacks of her withdrawal
decision.
5-The Free World and Arab countries to completely support a free and democratic
Lebanon and take a courageous stance in this regard before it is too late. A
regime in Lebanon fully under the direct control of Syria or Iran or through
their armed proxies is a dire threat to peace and stability to not only the
Middle East but to the whole world.
6- Our people, the southern Lebanese citizens, who have been living a forced
exile in Israel since May 2000 to remain as tall as Lebanon’s Holy Cedars. They
should know that the free Lebanese people hail their heroism, courage, peaceful
inclinations, acceptance of others, tolerance, patriotism, sacrifices, love of
their homeland and deeply rooted faith. We know that they have proudly,
honourably and courageously defended their beloved land and rights and never
attacked others. We assure them that Lebanon won’t have long lasting stability
until their honoured and dignified unconditional return is achieved.
N.B: This study was first published on 23.05.10..It is republish with minor
additions and changes.
The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on May 20- 21/2021
Israel approves Gaza truce after nearly two weeks of violence: Report
Agencies/May 20/2021
Israeli media say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet has
approved a unilateral cease-fire to halt an 11-day military operation in the
Gaza Strip. The decision came after heavy US pressure to halt the offensive.
Israel and Hamas will enter a "mutual and simultaneous" Gaza truce at 2 am on
Friday (2300 GMT Thursday), a Hamas official told Reuters. Family members of the
Vaizel family, sit in the kitchen of their house which was damaged after it was
hit by a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip earlier this week,
An Egyptian official said Israel has informed his government, which is mediating
a truce, that it intends to end its military operations in Gaza. Speaking on
condition of anonymity because he was discussing behind-the-scenes diplomacy, he
said an announcement was expected following the Security Cabinet meeting.
The official spoke shortly after Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi talked
by phone with President Joe Biden. The two leaders discussed ways to stop
violence in the Palestinian Territories, al-Sissi’s office said. In Washington,
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said reports of a move toward a ceasefire
were “clearly encouraging." She said the US was trying “to do everything we can
to bring an end to the conflict.”
Canadian court rules Iran downing of Ukraine Flight 752
‘act of terrorism’
AFP/May 20, 2021
OTTAWA: A Canadian court on Thursday ruled that the shooting down of Ukraine
International Airlines flight PS752 was deliberate and an “act of terrorism,”
paving the way for possible compensation for victims’ families. The Superior
Court of Justice of Ontario found that “on a balance of probabilities” two
missile strikes on the jetliner shortly after takeoff from Iran’s capital Tehran
on January 8, 2020 “were intentional.” “The plaintiffs,” Justice Edward Belobaba
also ruled, “have established that the shooting down of Flight 752 by the
defendants was an act of terrorism.”Lawyers Mark and Jonah Arnold called the
decision “unprecedented in Canadian law.”“It is significant for the impact it
will have on immediate surviving family members seeking justice,” they said in a
statement. The legal action seeking Can$1.5 billion ($1.25 billion) was brought
by four people who lost family members in the disaster that killed all 176
aboard, including 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents. They claimed the
strikes were “Iran’s retaliation” for the US killing of Qasem Soleimani,
commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Qods Force near Baghdad
Airport in Iraq days earlier. In a final report in March, the Iranian Civil
Aviation Organization (CAO) pointed to the missile strikes and the “alertness”
of its troops on the ground amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United
States at the time. Ukraine, which lost 11 citizens in the disaster, said the
report was “a cynical attempt to hide (the) true causes” of the tragedy, while
Canada said it contained “no hard facts or evidence” and pledged to soon release
the results of its own investigation. Iran did not defend itself in court, but
the Islamic republic admitted three days after the disaster that its forces shot
down the Kiev-bound Boeing 737-800 plane.
The amount of compensation to be awarded is to be determined at a later hearing.
Foreign states are normally immune to Canadian civil claims, but a 2012 law made
an exception for those listed as sponsors of “terrorist activity,” such as Iran.
Canada broke off diplomatic ties with Iran that same year, as relations frayed
over Tehran’s support for Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, its nuclear program,
and threats to Israel.
'Agreement Shaping Up' on Iran Nuclear Talks
Agence France Presse/May 20/2021
An agreement is "shaping up" to bring the United States back into the nuclear
deal with Iran, negotiators have said, citing headway in efforts to break the
impasse.
"We've made good progress," Enrique Mora, the European Union official who
chaired the talks between Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain and Iran, said
in a tweet following the talks. "An agreement is shaping up," he said, adding
that there were still things that needed to be worked out. Indirect negotiations
between Washington and Tehran have been going on in the Austrian capital since
early April, with the other five countries that are signatories to the deal
acting as intermediaries. "Both on the nuclear side and on the sanctions side,
we are now beginning to see the contours of what the final deal could look like.
This is different from last time we broke," senior diplomats from the E3
comprising France, Germany and Britain, said in a statement. "However, success
is not guaranteed. There are still some very difficult issues ahead. We do not
underestimate the challenges that lay before us," they added. Iran has also said
the talks are on the right track. The United States Wednesday was more
circumspect in its assessment, with State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina
Porter stating that the last two rounds of discussions "have been helpful to
crystallize the choices that need to be made by both Iran as well as the United
States in order to come back into a mutual return to compliance."The various
sides are due to meet again in the Austrian capital early next week. Meanwhile
Iranian representatives are holding separate talks with the International Atomic
Energy Agency in Vienna on extending a three-month deal that expires this week
on the agency's inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities. The goal is to find a
way back to the accord known by its acronym JCPOA, which former U.S. president
Donald Trump walked away from and which his successor Joe Biden wants to revive.
For that to happen, the United States and Iran must agree on the lifting of the
sanctions reinstated by Trump and on Tehran's commitment to follow the terms of
the deal. Once Trump walked away from the agreement, the Islamic republic
started to abandon the constraints on its production of nuclear material.
Diplomats are hoping to get the U.S. back on board before Iranian presidential
elections on June 18.
Israel’s ambassador calls UN ‘a disgrace,’ accuses it of
hypocrisy over Palestine
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/20 May ,2021
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations ripped into the international body
Thursday, calling it a “disgrace” and criticizing what he alleged was a
hypocritical UN.“What a disgrace,” Gilad Erdan said of the UN due to its “quick”
decision to gather the General Assembly over the violence between Palestinian
factions and Israel. Erdan cited the months it took for the UNGA to meet over a
response to the coronavirus pandemic. “You are calling on Israel to exercise
restraint when it is facing indiscriminate attacks every day,” he said. “The
hypocrisy in this institution knows no boundaries,” Erdan said, hitting out at
Turkey, Denmark and France. “We go above and beyond the demands of international
law,” Erdan said. Addressing US President Joe Biden, the Israeli diplomat
thanked Washington for expressing public support for Tel Aviv’s right to
self-defense. “Just as Israel will always defend our civilians against terror,
we will always work towards peace.”
Israeli Security Cabinet to Meet to Discuss Ceasefire
Agence France Presse/May 20/2021
Israel's security cabinet is to meet Thursday evening to discuss a possible
ceasefire to end 11 days of fighting with Palestinian militants in Gaza, Israeli
officials said. The meeting was to begin at 1600 GMT, two officials said on
condition of anonymity, amid intense diplomatic pressure to end the hostilities
that have cost the lives of over 230 people, mostly Palestinians.
Israel Mulls Truce, Exchanges Heavy Fire with Hamas
Agence France Presse/May 20/2021
Diplomatic efforts gathered pace Thursday for a ceasefire on the 11th day of
deadly violence between Israel and armed Palestinian groups in Gaza, as air
strikes again hammered the enclave. The Israeli security cabinet was set to meet
at 1600 GMT to discuss a possible ceasefire with the Hamas Islamist movement
ruling the besieged and crowded coastal strip, official sources told AFP. In the
southern Gaza town of Rafah, devastating Israeli air strikes turned buildings
into clouds of dust and rubble, as an ambulance sped across town to help the
wounded, an AFP reporter said.
Rocket fire from Gaza intensified in the afternoon, sending Israelis living on
its borders running into shelters, according to Israeli army warnings. United
Nations chief Antonio Guterres told the General Assembly Thursday that "the
fighting must stop immediately", calling the continued exchanges of fire between
Israeli forces and Palestinian groups "unacceptable". "If there is a hell on
earth, it is the lives of children in Gaza," Guterres added. News of the Israeli
security cabinet meeting came after pressure mounted to end the bloodshed,
following US President Joe Biden's call for a "significant de-escalation".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, set to attend the evening meeting
with top security officials, earlier vowed to push on until the military
campaign reaches its objective, "to restore quiet and security" for Israelis.
- 'Intense' negotiations -
UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland was visiting Qatar for talks with
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, as part of an effort to "restore
calm," according to a diplomatic source. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said
"indirect talks" with Hamas were essential to advancing efforts toward an end of
hostilities."Of course Hamas has to be included, because without Hamas there
will be no ceasefire," Merkel said, who also spoke to Palestinian president
Mahmud Abbas Thursday, where they agreed the need "for a speedy ceasefire". Her
foreign minister, Heiko Maas, speaking earlier near Tel Aviv, expressed
Germany's "solidarity" with Israel but also called for an end to the fighting.
"Israel has the right to defend itself against this massive and unacceptable
attack," Maas said of the rockets Hamas first fired on May 10, following violent
clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians in Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque
compound.
"The number of victims is rising every day and this greatly concerns us".A
senior Hamas official told AFP: "We expect a return to calm in the coming hours,
or tomorrow (Friday), but it depends on the cessation of the aggression of the
occupation forces in Gaza and Jerusalem.
"But there is nothing definitive for the moment," added the source, indicating
that Qatar, an emirate that hosts Haniyeh and sends financial aid to Gaza, was
at the heart of "intense" negotiations. The Israeli army said Hamas and
other Islamist armed groups in Gaza have fired 4,070 rockets towards Israel, but
the overwhelming majority of those headed for populated areas were intercepted
by its Iron Dome air defenses. The rockets have claimed 12 lives in Israel,
including one child, with one Indian and two Thai nationals among those killed,
the police say. Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed 232 Palestinians, including
65 children and another 1,900 wounded, according to the Gaza health ministry,
leaving vast areas in rubble and displacing some 120,000 people, according to
Hamas authorities.Overnight, Israel continued to pound Gaza with air strikes and
artillery fire aimed at destroying Hamas tunnels and other infrastructure, the
military said.
- 'Sitting in his wheelchair' -
One Israeli strike on Gaza on Wednesday killed a disabled man, his pregnant wife
and their three-year-old child, the enclave's health ministry said. "What did my
brother do?" the man's bereaved brother Omar Saleha, 31, told AFP. "He was just
sitting in his wheelchair".Israel says it takes all steps to avoid civilian
casualties, including by phoning residents to warn them of imminent strikes, and
blames Hamas for placing weapons and military sites in densely populated areas.
The United States, a key Israel ally, has repeatedly blocked any joint UN
Security Council statement calling for a halt to hostilities, including one
proposed by France, saying it could undermine de-escalation efforts. Israel's
bombing campaign has left the two million people of Gaza, which has been under
Israeli blockade for 14 years, desperate for relief. The International Committee
of the Red Cross warned that people in both Gaza and Israel "urgently need
respite from non-stop hostilities."The military conflict has sharply heightened
tensions and sparked violence between Jews and Arab-Israelis, while Palestinian
protesters in the West Bank and east Jerusalem have repeatedly clashed with
security forces. In the West Bank, the army has killed 25 Palestinians since the
outbreak of hostilities. The worst death toll in years in the occupied
Palestinian territory includes several Palestinians who the Israeli army said
had attempted to ram or stab Israeli forces at checkpoints.
US pushes back against French resolution to halt Mideast fighting
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2021
NEW YORK / UNITED NATIONS--The US mission to the United Nations said it “will
not support actions that we believe undermine efforts to de-escalate” violence
between Israel and Palestinian militants when asked on Wednesday about a French
push for a Security Council resolution.
France circulated a draft text to council members on Wednesday, diplomats said.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi,
who was in Paris for summits on Africa, had held discussions in Paris earlier
this week on the proposed resolution. Jordan’s King Abdullah II took part in the
discussions via video-conference. “The three countries agreed on three simple
elements: the shooting must stop, the time has come for a ceasefire and the UN
Security Council must take up the issue,” the Elysee Palace said, Tuesday.
The French draft, seen by Reuters, demands an immediate cessation of hostilities
and condemns “the indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilian areas”
without laying blame. It urges protection of civilians and revival of the peace
process between Israel and the Palestinians with the aim of creating two states.
The Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with east
Jerusalem as its capital, all territory captured by Israel in 1967. French
Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he hoped the 15-member body could vote
as soon as possible. A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by
Russia, China, France, the United States or Britain to pass.
The United States has traditionally shielded its ally Israel at the United
Nations. US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told her UN counterparts on
Tuesday that a “public pronouncement right now” by the council would not help
calm the crisis.
When asked about the French push for a resolution, a spokesperson for the US
mission to the United Nations on Wednesday reaffirmed its position had not
changed. “We’ve been clear and consistent that we are focused on intensive
diplomatic efforts underway to bring an end to the violence and that we will not
support actions that we believe undermine efforts to de-escalate,” the
spokesperson said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to continue
fighting against Gaza militants after US President Joe Biden urged him on
Wednesday to seek a “de-escalation” after ten days of fighting between Israel
and Hamas militants and other groups in Gaza. France made its move at the United
Nations after Washington repeatedly opposed a Security Council statement, which
has to be agreed by consensus. French diplomats believe a resolution could raise
pressure on the parties to end hostilities and would complement other diplomatic
initiatives. “We think a unified and strong voice from the Security Council
actually carries weight, not only in this situation, but in other situations of
conflict,” a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. Analysts
say the conflict in the Middle East has stirred up a diplomatic stand-off at the
United Nations between France and the United States, the first open tension
between the two allies since Joe Biden took power. France’s latest proposal,
announced in a statement from Paris on Tuesday evening, quickly drew a firm
response from the United States, signalling it would wield its veto again if
needed. A US spokesperson at the UN told AFP “we are focused on intensive
diplomatic efforts underway to bring an end to the violence and that we will not
support actions that we believe undermine efforts to de-escalate.”At the same
time, Biden announced he had directly told Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu that he expects “significant de-escalation” on Wednesday, highlighting
the contrasting approaches to the conflict.
Multilateralism rings hollow
France did not suggest any date for a vote on its proposed resolution and the
draft text appeared to have not been widely circulated among the 15-member
Security Council. The tactics raised suggestions it was an attempt to increase
pressure on the US, or to underline that Biden was not meeting his pledge to
have a more multilateral approach to international affairs than his predecessor
Donald Trump. “It’s a bit strange considering the expectation that we all had
for the Americans to return to multilateral diplomacy,” one UN ambassador said
on condition of anonymity. “We also thought that the United States would be keen
to show the relevance of the Security Council in situations like this.”Another
said that “we are just asking the US to support a statement by the Security
Council that would pretty much say similar things which are being said
bilaterally from Washington.”French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told
parliament on Wednesday that “the American position will be quite decisive … It
is true that we have seen the United States a little behind all this.”The
palpable tension between France and the United States could leave traces and
affect other issues. The two countries have also disagreed this week on whether
to give assistance to the anti-jihadist force G5 Sahel. France, which is heavily
engaged politically and militarily in the region, has been campaigning for years
for financial, logistical and operational support from the UN to the force’s
5,000 under-equipped soldiers, provided by Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Mali and
Burkina Faso. Trump’s administration had categorically refused and France had
hoped for more support after Biden took office in January. But the US again
opposed the French stance, instead backing bilateral aid. On the Middle East,
the Security Council has been widely criticised for failing to yet adopt a
declaration, with the United States, a staunch Israel ally, already rejecting
three statement drafts proposed by China, Norway and Tunisia which called for an
end to the fighting.When France announced its draft proposal, the Elysee Palace
said “the shooting must stop, the time has come for a ceasefire and the UN
Security Council must take up the issue.”
Saudi Arabia rejects Israeli measures in occupied
Palestinian territories: FM
Ismaeel Naar and Rawad Taha, Al Arabiya English/20 May ,2021
Saudi Arabia rejected the recent measures by Israel in the occupied Palestinian
territories and said Israeli measures have caused an escalation in violence, the
Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the United Nations
General Assembly. “We reject the Israeli measures that seek to expel the
Palestinians from East Jerusalem. A solution to the Palestinian issue must be
reached on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative and we welcome efforts to
reach an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of aid,” Prince Faisal told
an emergency session on the situation in Palestine at the UNGA on Thursday. “The
Palestinian cause is central to our policy so that the Palestinians can regain
their lands,” he added. A day earlier, Saudi Arabia made clear that it is
necessary to stop provocations in East Jerusalem and the escalation in Gaza,
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said. Prince Faisal told Al Arabiya
that he sensed an understanding of the need to stop the escalation in Gaza from
the Biden administration. The top Saudi diplomat reiterated previous stances
announced by Riyadh that there would be no stability in the Middle East without
a comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The Arab Peace
Initiative is a proposal to end the Arab–Israeli conflict, which was endorsed by
the Arab League in 2002 at the Beirut Summit.
US Senator Bernie Sanders moves to block Biden’s $735 mln
weapons sale to
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/20 May ,2021
US Senator Bernie Sanders introduced a resolution blocking a $735 million
weapons sale to Israel on Thursday, mirroring a symbolic action by the House of
Representatives in response to conflict between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas leaders.
“At a moment when US-made bombs are devastating Gaza, and killing women and
children, we cannot simply let another huge arms sale go through without even a
congressional debate,” said Sanders, an independent who votes with Democrats.
Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration approved the potential sale of
$735 million in weapons to Israel this year, and sent it to Congress on May 5
for formal review. The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Foreign
Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees all backed the sale during an
informal review before May 5. And lawmakers predicted efforts to stop the sale
would fail, given traditionally strong bipartisan support in both the House and
Senate for arms sales to Israel. Senator Bob Menendez, the Democratic chairman
of Senate Foreign Relations, said he would oppose the Sanders resolution. He
also said he was not certain that Sanders had filed it within a required 15-day
period. “I can’t imagine that passing,” Senator Jim Risch, the committee’s top
Republican, told reporters. The clashes have prompted calls from some lawmakers
for a more concerted US effort to stop the violence, including Israeli
airstrikes that have killed dozens of civilians, most of them Palestinians in
the besieged Gaza Strip. Sanders, a former candidate for Democratic presidential
nomination, said Americans need to take a “hard look” at whether the weapons
sales fuel conflict between Israel and Palestinians. His resolution follows a
measure introduced by US Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mark Pocan
and Rashida Tlaib, which has at least six other co-sponsors, including some of
the most left-leaning Democrats in the House.
Merkel Backs 'Indirect Talks' with Hamas on Mideast
Conflict
Agence France Presse/May 20/2021
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that "indirect talks" with armed
Islamist group Hamas were essential to advancing efforts toward a Middle East
ceasefire. "Of course there must be indirect talks with Hamas," Merkel told a
forum on Europe, noting that Egypt and other Arab countries were already trying
to mediate between Israel and the Gaza Strip's Islamist rulers. "Of course Hamas
has to be included because without Hamas there will be no ceasefire."Merkel was
speaking as her foreign minister, Heiko Maas, began a one-day diplomatic mission
to the region. He spoke with Israeli officials and was also due to meet
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. But
the German minister had no plans to meet with Hamas, which the European Union
considers a terrorist organization. His visit was part of stepped up efforts
toward a ceasefire to stem 10 days of deadly violence between Israel and armed
Palestinian groups in Gaza. Egypt has sought to mediate a ceasefire between
Hamas and Israel since the deadly violence erupted on May 10. Merkel called
Cairo "a very very important major player in every issue when it comes to
whether there will be a ceasefire."
WHO Issues Urgent Appeal for $7 Million to Fund Gaza, West
Bank
Agence France Presse/May 20/2021
The World Health Organization Thursday issued an urgent appeal for $7 million
needed over six months in response to a health crisis in Gaza and the West Bank
amid a conflict with Israel. The funds were required to "enable a comprehensive
emergency response in the next six months," the WHO said in a statement,
following the escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians since
May 10.
Turkey Rejects U.S. Claims of Erdogan's anti-Semitism
Agence France Presse/May 20/2021
Turkey on Wednesday rejected accusations by the United States that President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan made "anti-Semitic" remarks in his criticism of Israeli
strikes in Gaza, his party's spokesman said. "Accusing our president of
anti-Semitism is an illogical and untrue approach. This is a lie said about our
president," Omer Celik tweeted.
US envoy : No positive Iranian engagement to end Yemen war
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2021
DUBAI - The United States is imposing sanctions on two Houthi military officials
leading the Iran-backed militia’s offensive to seize Yemen’s gas-rich Marib
region, the US special envoy to Yemen said on Thursday. Tim Lenderking, who has
been pushing for a ceasefire between the Houthis and a Saudi-led military
coalition, also told a virtual media briefing that all ports and airports in
Yemen should be opened to ease a humanitarian crisis. Riyadh had in March
proposed a nationwide ceasefire and the reopening of air and sea links to
bolster efforts to end a conflict fueled in great part by Iran’s interference in
the conflict through their Houthi proxies. The Saudi initiative has effectively
been rejected by the Houthis who are seeking to impose a number of prior
conditions, including fully lifting the coalition’s blockade before any truce
deal. Lenderking said the United States would on Thursday impose sanctions on
the head of the general staff leading the Houthi offensive in Marib, Mohamad
Abdulkarim al-Gamali and on a prominent leader of Houthi forces assigned to the
advance on Marib, Yousuf al-Madani. “If there were no offensive, if there were
commitment to peace, if the parties are all showing up to deal constructively
with the UN envoy there would be no need for designations,” he said. The Houthi
offensive in Marib was going nowhere and was only endangering more than one
million people, he said. The envoy welcomed direct talks between Saudi Arabia
and Iran as constructive but said he has not yet seen positive Iranian
engagement towards ending the conflict in Yemen, which has killed tens of
thousands of people and pushed millions to the brink of famine. He called on
Tehran to support peace talks and said Washington wants a long-term solution
that goes beyond a ceasefire, which the envoy said was the only way Yemenis
would get the humanitarian relief they require. In the meanwhile, The Houthi
contiue their attacks against Saudi targets. The Saudi-led coalition fighting
the Houthis in Yemen intercepted and destroyed an explosive-laden drone launched
by the Iran-aligned group in the direction of the Saudi border province of Jazan,
the kingdom’s state TV said on Thursday. This was the first cross-border attack
reported by the coalition since a lull observed for the Muslim Eid al Fitr
holiday on May 13. The Houthis did not confirm the attack.
China profits from US isolation at UN over Israel-Hamas
conflict
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2021
NEW YORK/ UNITED NATIONS – US isolation at the United Nations over efforts to
end renewed Israel-Hamas fighting has seen China seize the chance to burnish its
multilateral leadership credentials, diplomats say. The diplomatic wrangling
continued as Israel unleashed a wave of airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early
Thursday, killing at least one Palestinian and wounding several others. The
latest strikes came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against
US pressure to wind down the offensive against Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, who
have fired thousands of rockets at Israel. At least 227 Palestinians have been
killed, with 1,620 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Twelve
people have been killed in Israel. China’s drive has been helped by the US
administration’s reluctance to pressure Israel to stop strikes in Gaza or to
engage multilateral efforts at the United Nations.
For the past week the United States, a strong ally of Israel, has repeatedly
opposed a statement by the 15-member UN Security Council on hostilities between
Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza, leading China’s Foreign Minister Wang
Yi to publicly call out Washington for “obstruction.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that if UN action “would
actually effectively advance the objective, we would be for it.”
“The US position is a gift to China, frankly,” said Richard Gowan, UN director
at the Crisis Group think tank. “The US has been trying to put pressure on China
to back UN action over situations like Myanmar, and now Washington is stopping
the Security Council speaking on the Middle East,” Gowan said. “This is hurting
the Biden team’s reputation at the UN and leaves China looking like the
responsible power.” A week ago, Western states and rights groups angered Beijing
by holding an event at the United Nations on accusations that authorities are
repressing Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. China denies the charge.
A senior US administration official said China’s government “doesn’t care about
Israel and Gaza.”“It does look for every opportunity to distract from its acts
of genocide against Uyghurs in Xinjiang. It’s the United States that is engaging
in intensive diplomacy with Israeli, Palestinian and other regional leaders to
bring an end to the violence,” the official said. At the same time, the longer
the conflict in Gaza lasts, the more Washington risks being perceived as
indifferent to humanitarian suffering in the Gaza strip as it implicitly
supports the continuation of Israeli military attacks aimed at destroying the
rocket arsenal of Islamist Hamas. The US administration points out however that
Israel has the “right to self-defence” against the militant Palestinian group
which had initiated rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for a harsh
crackdown on Palestinian demonstrators in Jerusalem.
China’s mission to the United Nations hit back at accusations from Washington,
saying the US comments were “untrue and distracting.”
“Conflict in Gaza continues, and civilian casualties increase with each passing
day. In the face of such a situation, anyone in good conscience will call for
cessation of hostilities,” a spokesperson said. “The US has every opportunity to
prove that it cares about Muslims.”Beijing has been pushing for greater global
influence at the United Nations in a challenge to traditional US leadership,
flexing its multilateral muscle as former US President Donald Trump, a
Republican, pulled Washington back from international organisations and deals to
focus on “America First” policies. Leadership position Since taking office in
January, Democrat Biden has stressed the importance of US re-engagement with the
193-member world body to challenge China. But the US objection to a council
statement on Israel and Gaza, drafted by China, Tunisia and Norway, has left a
lot of countries frustrated, diplomats said. “It is clear that China wants to
profit from US isolation over Gaza and is putting itself in an unusual
leadership position on Palestinian issues,” said a second UN Security Council
diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. A spokesman for China’s UN mission
told Reuters: “Most members of the Security Council hope to see the council play
a role in promoting a ceasefire and stopping the violence. China, as president
of the council, must fulfill its responsibility.”China recently found itself on
the other side of the argument when together with Russia, it was wary of council
involvement in the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray. After several private
discussions, the United States challenged the council’s silence. It eventually
agreed a statement. Biden’s foreign policy moves have so far largely been
centered on China, Russia and Iran, but he has now been forced to focus on the
Middle East conflict. “China has played it nicely; they are positioning
themselves as a Middle East player and with some good reason too because others
have been less engaged,” said a senior Asian UN diplomat, speaking on condition
of anonymity. Beijing has tried to be everyone’s friend in the Middle East, but
has had to tread carefully, cultivating close ties with Israel and the
Palestinians, as well as with Iran and its regional rival Saudi Arabia. China
has repeatedly attempted to act as a peace broker in Middle East conflicts but
to very limited effect, as it does not have the influence in the region of the
other permanent UN Security Council members, the United States, France, Britain
and Russia.
Egypt says water supplies safe despite Ethiopia dam threat
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2021
CAIRO--Egypt’s foreign minister has said that moves by Ethiopia to resume
filling its vast dam on the Nile in the coming months would not adversely affect
water supplies to Egyptians. “Egyptians can rest assured that we have enough
water supplies in the Aswan Dam reservoir,” Sameh Shoukry said in an interview
with an Egyptian talkshow host. “We are confident the second filling of the dam
by Ethiopia won’t affect Egyptian water interests adversely. We can deal with it
through strict management of our water resources.” Shoukry was speaking late
Tuesday from Paris, where he was accompanying President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for
an international summit on Sudan. On the other hand, Egypt’s Minister of Water
and Irrigation Mohamed Abd el-Atty explained that Ethiopia’s second filling for
the dam will affect Egypt and Sudan . However, he said the effect will differ
depending on how far the two countries are well prepared to absorb the water
shocks. In statements to DMC news channel El-Atty said that ‘water shocks’
include drought, floods and other crises that could affect water. “Ethiopia’s
filling is a shock, because it is a kind of artificial drought to both Cairo and
Khartoum as Addis Ababa is planning to store 13 billion cubic metres of water,”
he said. He also explained that Egypt has been preparing its infrastructure
during the past five years to absorb this shock as far as possible and so reduce
negative consequences. Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile has sparked fears in downstream nations
Sudan and Egypt, over their own vital water supplies.Cairo and Khartoum have
been pushing for a binding deal on the filling of the vast reservoir behind the
dam. But Ethiopia has said it will push ahead with a second phase of filling in
July and August, even if no agreement has been reached. Shoukry warned that
“Egypt will spare no effort in defending its water interests and taking measures
to preserve them” if Addis Ababa uses the mega-dam “for any other purpose than
what it is originally intended for – generating electricity.”Ethiopia says power
produced by the GERD will be vital to meet the needs of its 110 million-strong
population and has vowed to continue with the second stage of filling the dam’s
reservoir as scheduled during the upcoming rainy season. Egypt relies on the
Nile for almost all of its water.
UAE to allow full foreign ownership of companies, in bid to boost business
The Arab Weekly/May 20/2021
ABU DHABI--The United Arab Emirates announced Wednesday it will lift a cap on
non-local ownership and allow full foreign control of business ventures from the
start of June. The reform, originally flagged in 2019, will make it easier to do
business in the Gulf state and encourage investment, the economy ministry said.
“The amended Commercial Companies Law aims at boosting the country’s competitive
edge and is a part of UAE government efforts to facilitate doing business,” said
Economy Minister Abdulla bin Touq al-Marri. He added the amendments introduced
by the new Commercial Companies Law will boost the UAE’s appeal as an attractive
destination for foreign investors, entrepreneurs and talents. The decision
abolishes a long-standing law that limits foreign ownership to just 49 percent.
To dodge the limit, some of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, including
Dubai, have for years established free trade zones where foreigners can own up
to 100 percent of their business. The UAE’s economy is the second-largest in the
Arab world, behind Saudi Arabia. It ranks as the most diversified, particularly
thanks to Dubai which gains 95 percent of its income from outside the oil
industry. The capital Abu Dhabi sits on the majority of the UAE’s vast oil
reserves. The country ranks 16th in the World Bank’s index on the ease of doing
business. The decision opens up 13 major economic sectors to unrestricted
foreign investment, including renewable energy, agriculture, transport and
e-commerce. In 2019, the UAE was the top destination for foreign direct
investment in the Arab world, attracting nearly $13.8 billion, according to the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
US to sanction Houthi officials for their role in Marib
offensive: Lenderking
Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya English/20 May ,2021
The United States will sanction two Houthi officials for their leading roles in
the offensive on Yemen's Marib, a senior US diplomat said Thursday, in a sign of
Washington's frustration with the lack of positive engagement from the
Iran-backed group. “The United States is dissatisfied with Houthi actions,” US
Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking told reporters during a phone call.
Lenderking, who has made five trips to the region since being appointed by
Biden, said the US was imposing sanctions on the two officials to show the
international community that Washington “does have levers to press; the United
States is dissatisfied with the actions of the Houthis.” During the US
diplomat's most recent trip to the region, the Houthis refused to meet with UN
Special Envoy Martin Griffiths. Lenderking, again, scolded the group for
rejecting the meeting. Asked if he met with Houthis, Lenderking did not say when
his last meeting with the previously-designated terrorist group was. “As you
know, we have met with the Houthis over the years, on a number of occasions and
at different levels. Certainly, there is no restriction from the administration
on my meeting with them, and I consider that constructive engagement,”
Lenderking said.Despite the US going “out of its way” to send strong signals to
the Houthis that it wants to be constructive in Yemen, Lenderking voiced his
frustration with the group’s behavior. The Houthis are “not winning in Marib,”
he said, referring to the group's offensive on one of the Yemeni government's
last strongholds in the north. “If there were no offensive, if there was
commitment to peace, if the parties were all showing up to deal constructively
with the UN envoy there would be no need for designations,” Lenderking said.
European Union tells Azerbaijan to speed up release of
Armenian prisoners
AFP, Brussels/20 May ,2021
The European Union on Thursday called on Azerbaijan to free “without further
delay” all remaining Armenian prisoners held since a war last year over disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh. “The release of all Armenian detainees is essential for
building confidence and trust and would be an important political gesture,”
European Commission member Helena Dalli told European lawmakers on behalf of
foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. “We welcomed the release of five Armenian
detainees on the 29th of January and of three on the 4th of May. We insist that
all remaining detainees be released without further delay.”Armenia suffered a
harrowing defeat in the six-week war last year in which 6,000 people died, as
Azerbaijan won back swathes of territory it lost in fighting some three decades
earlier. Under a Russia-brokered peace deal on November 9 to halt the bloodshed,
the two sides agreed to return all prisoners of war and the remains of those
killed in the fighting. Armenia says it has returned all the captives it took
but accuses Azerbaijan of keeping an unknown number of detainees as a bargaining
chip. Azerbaijan insists it has returned all prisoners of war -- but does admit
it is holding some who were captured in clashes after the peace deal was signed.
Baku says they were not covered by the Russian-brokered agreement and are
“terrorist-saboteurs” who should go on trial. EU lawmakers echoed Brussels by
approving a resolution in the European Parliament on Thursday calling for “the
immediate and unconditional release of all Armenian prisoners, both military and
civilian, detained during and after the conflict.”
The Latest LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 20- 21/2021
Turkish Anti-Semites Celebrate Rockets against Israel
Uzay Bulut/Gatestone Institute/May 20/2021
According to Hamas's charter and statements by its leaders, its aim is the
destruction of Israel, genocide of the Jewish people, and replacing the state
with an Islamist one. This, a religious war, is the real reason Hamas and its
enablers are conducting an unprovoked, jihadist assault against Israel. The
tweets posted by Turks calling for further attacks against Jews just reaffirm
the repeated vow of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "reconquer"
Jerusalem, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, as part of a new caliphate for
Islam.
The tweets posted by Turks calling for further attacks against Jews just
reaffirm the repeated vow of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "reconquer"
Jerusalem, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, as part of a new caliphate for
Islam.
Israeli civilians have indiscriminately been targeted by the rockets of Islamist
terrorist groups in Gaza for more than a week now. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic
Jihad have fired more than 3,000 of them at Israel since the outbreak of the war
on May 10, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Ten people in Israel,
including a young child, have been killed in the rocket fire, and hundreds have
been injured.
As Tel Aviv was bombed by terrorists based in Gaza on May 11, the Turkish users
filled Twitter with Jew-hating posts, calling for more bombardments and murders
of more Jews. Some Twitter users, celebrating the attacks and praying for more,
shared photos of fires and explosions caused by rockets not intercepted by
Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.
The Turkish news website Avlaremoz reported these posts. Some include:
"Hell all broke loose for you. Fear the Muslim. You'll burn in hell. May your
fire be abundant. Murderers, terrorists. May Allah's curse be upon you. Jewish
flocks. Despicable, cursed Israel. #TelAviv"
"If only I was in Jerusalem now and fighting against Israeli terrorism. If only
I could kill Jews in Tel Aviv now and be al-Qassam [the Syrian Muslim preacher
Izz ad-Din al-Qassam who launched attacks against British and Jewish targets in
the 1930s]. Allah, you know about this much better than I do."
"The best Jew is a dead Jew."
"Ya Allah bismillah, inshallah, there won't be a single alive Jew left until
morning."
"Cowardly Jews are hiding in shelters in Tel Aviv. The Jew only fears power and
death."
"Jerusalem belongs to Islam. Jerusalem is ours."
"Jewish dogs are looking for a corner to hide from the rockets launched from our
Gaza. Inshallah, you will be crushed under those rockets."
"Beautiful news from Palestinian friends. 9 Jews are dead and more than 30
injured as a result of rockets launched at Tel Aviv."
"If only you could send 100 TB2 [Turkish unmanned combat aerial vehicles]....
There would no longer be a Tel Aviv or a single Jew left."
On May 10, the Twitter account of the Turkish Chief Rabbinate Foundation -
Turkish Jewish Community issued a statement expressing their respect for "all
Abrahamic religions" and calling for "a peaceful resolution" in Jerusalem rather
than violence. The statement said:
"On the eve of Ramadan, we follow with great sadness and concern the latest
developments in Jerusalem, which is sacred to Abrahamic religions and cultures,
all of which we respect.
"In this context, we ask and pray to almighty ALLAH that [those involved] will
come together for a peaceful resolution as soon as possible; violence will be
replaced with embracing each other and the blessed Ramadan will be celebrated in
peace and quiet."
In return, they received incitements to violence against Turkish Jews and
Israel. According to Avlaremoz, such as:
"I don't want Jews in my country."
"The most peaceful solution is to destroy the terror state of Israel."
"The only religion in the presence of Allah is Islam. The Israelites will be
wiped off from the face of the earth.
"[Life on] these lands should be made unbearable for you!!!"
One Twitter user referred to the seventh-century Muslim massacre against Jews in
Khaybar in Arabia, and the Muslim Sultan Saladdin, who invaded Jerusalem in the
twelfth century:
"Allah willing, we will remind you of Khaybar, and the grandchildren of Saladdin
are coming."
The continued war against Israel is blamed by some in the West on Israel,
allegedly because of disputes over the ownership of several homes in Jerusalem,
and the response of a few rogue Israelis (immediately condemned by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) to riots on the Temple Mount near the al-Aqsa
Mosque.
The truth, however, is that the disputed homes are owned justly by Jews, who
have legal documentation of their ownership going back to the 19th century. The
Arab squatters who reside in them have refused to pay any rent since the 1980s.
The Israeli Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether the owners can evict the
families who "squat" on the properties. As for the al-Aqsa mosque, it was used
as a place from which to initiate violent attacks, so the Israeli police had to
respond.
Unlike Hamas, the IDF tries its best to avoid harming innocent civilians in the
Gaza Strip. The IDF calls the residents of buildings and warns them to evacuate
before targeting military sites that Hamas has deliberately hidden among
civilians in Gaza. As Israelis use weapons to protect their civilians, Hamas
uses civilians to protect their weapons.
Sadly, it will not be possible to make an agreement with Hamas that will ensure
lasting peace. In Islam, no agreement may extend for more than 10 years, as
Mohammad did with the Quraysh tribe at Hudaibiya, and even then, it is meant
only to provide time to strengthen the jihadi army, and be broken after a few
years as Mohammad did. The best one can hope for is a temporary cease-fire,
called a hudna, or calm.
The Turkish media's coverage of Hamas is unimaginably distorted and biased
against Israel, and attempting to stoke even more hatred against the Jewish
people. When Turkish anti-Semites on Twitter are calling for more murders of
Jews and destroying Israel, they are well aware that Israeli civilians are being
targeted by Hamas rockets. They openly celebrate it. When the Turkish Jewish
community calls for "peace" and "embracing each other" rather than "using
violence," that is not enough for these anti-Semites. This week, Turkish Jews
were condemned for "not openly condemning Israel;" for "crying crocodile tears"
and for supposedly hatching secret schemes.
Facts, for the anti-Semites, do not matter. The Palestinian Arab leadership has
rejected offers for a state at least six times -- in 1937, 1948, 1967, 2000,
2008 and in 2020 -- in the last 90 years. All of the offers were either made or
accepted by the Jews. The main thing keeping the Palestinian leadership
stateless seems an unwillingness to share land. In Islam, any land that has once
been under Muslim rule, such as with Spain (al-Andalus), must be under Muslim
rule, held in trust for Allah, forever.
On September 12, 2005, for instance, Israel completed its unilateral withdrawal
from Gaza, hoping that such a gesture for peace might lead to a peaceful
resolution of the dispute. Less than two weeks after the Jews left Gaza,
however, on September 24, 2005, the Palestinian Arabs in Gaza continued using it
as a base from which to fire their post-disengagement rockets into Israel. In
January 2006, in a free and fair election, Hamas won majority of seats in
Palestinian legislative elections. Palestinian rocket attacks then continued.
According to Hamas's charter and statements by its leaders, its aim is the
destruction of Israel, genocide of the Jewish people, and replacing the state
with an Islamist one. This, a religious war, is the real reason Hamas and its
enablers are conducting an unprovoked, jihadist assault against Israel. The
tweets posted by Turks calling for further attacks against Jews just reaffirm
the repeated vow of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to "reconquer"
Jerusalem, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, as part of a new caliphate for
Islam.
*Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the
Gatestone Institute. She is currently on assignment in Israel.
© 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.
Europe: Anti-Israel Protests Descend into Anti-Semitism
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/May 20/2021
The current crisis of anti-Semitism is a testament to the failure of European
multiculturalism, which is making Jewish life in Europe increasingly unviable.
"Open, disgusting hatred of Jews and Israel, but not only: It was also hatred of
our free, tolerant democracy." — Peter Wilke, correspondent, Bild.
"It is astonishing that, only 76 years after the Shoah, many people fail to
understand that the Jewish state cannot accept a threat to its existence without
being able to defend itself. The anti-Semitic attacks of the past few days have
once again made it clear how fragile Jewish life is in Germany." — Andrei
Kovacs, managing director, "321-2021: 1700 Years of Jewish Life in Germany."
"Angela Merkel's refugee policy, which no longer bothers to identify true war
refugees, has imported hundreds of thousands of times an ideology that focuses
on the Jew as an eternal enemy... Too many streets were in the hands of people
at the weekend who want a different Germany, a country without Jews." — Julian
Reichelt, editor-in-chief, Bild.
"A large part of this mob consists of people who came here as refugees and
brought their hatred of Jews with them and continued to expand it here." —
Michal Kornblum, German commentator.
"German politicians have not understood that immigration from Iraq and Syria,
from the Arab countries, also brings more anti-Semitism to Germany. Anyone who
says that is immediately branded as right wing and there is no fair discussion
or debate about it." — German-Egyptian political scientist and author Hamed
Abdel-Samad, Die Welt.
"In the end, not even schools can talk about anti-Semitism or the Middle East
conflict. Or about Erdogan or about Islamism. Even at universities, Muslim
students refuse to speak about such topics. Universities should be a safe haven
for opinions. But for many Muslim students, universities are now safe spaces
from opinions and criticism, even though that is where we have to start." —
German-Egyptian political scientist and author Hamed Abdel-Samad, Die Welt.
"This isn't about Gaza. We've never seen such hate after any Western action in
Syria or Afghanistan. No British crowds marching through malls to protest
airstrikes in Iraq. This is bigotry in its most ugly, rawest form. Gaza is an
excuse to find a socially acceptable way to publicly express Jew-hatred while
pretending that your hate is righteous.... Arab persecution of Palestinians is
ignored by the anti-Israel crowd as well." — Elder of Zion blog.
On May 13, a highly aggressive group of at least 200 people brandishing
Palestinian and Turkish flags and shouting anti-Semitic slurs gathered in front
of a synagogue in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Police were deployed to prevent the
mob from entering the building. Pictured: Policemen guard the Gelsenkirchen
synagogue during a vigil of the Initiative against Anti-Semitism Gelsenkirchen
on May 14, 2021. (Photo by Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations in cities across Europe have descended into
unrestrained orgies of anti-Semitism after protesters opposed to Israeli
military action in the Gaza Strip openly called for the destruction of Israel
and death to Jews.
The protesters, numbering in the tens-to-the-hundreds of thousands, include a
hodgepodge of anarchists, hard-left anti-Israel activists and immigrants from
the Middle East and North Africa. Many demonstrators — carrying flags of Muslim
countries, including Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia, Turkey and Syria, as
well as the green flag of the Islamist terrorist group Hamas and the black flag
of global Jihad — have shouted Islamist chants such as 'Allahu Akhbar' ('Allah
is the Greatest'), and have openly called for Jews to be murdered or raped.
The anti-Semitic nature of the anti-Israel protests is further evidenced by
there having been no anti-China protests, despite overwhelming evidence that
massive human rights abuses are being carried out by the Chinese Communist Party
against millions of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Pro-Palestinian protesters, who also have been silent about the plight of
Muslims in Afghanistan, Iran, Syria or Yemen, among other places, clearly are
exercising selective outrage with their single-minded concern for Muslim human
rights in Gaza.
The spiraling anti-Semitism, and the apparent inability or unwillingness of
European governments to stop it, has sounded alarm bells among Jewish
communities in Europe, where anti-Jewish hatred is reaching levels not seen
since the Second World War.
The violence has also shed renewed light on the consequences of mass migration
to Europe from Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and especially on the failure
of governments to require newcomers to integrate into European society.
Some European lawmakers and security officials are now calling for migrants who
commit anti-Semitic hate crimes to be deported back to their countries of
origin. Given the iron grip of political correctness in Europe, this is unlikely
to happen. In any event, it may be too little, too late for Europe's Jewish
communities. The current crisis of anti-Semitism is a testament to the failure
of European multiculturalism, which is making Jewish life in Europe increasingly
unviable.
Germany: Ground Zero for Anti-Semitism in Europe
Since the clashes between Israel and Hamas began on May 9, anti-Semitic protests
have been held in dozens of cities across Germany, where mostly Arab and Turkish
protesters have been chanting anti-Israeli slogans, burning Israeli flags and
threatening Jews.
The current wave of protests appears to have begun in earnest on May 13, when a
highly aggressive group of at least 200 people brandishing Palestinian and
Turkish flags and shouting anti-Semitic slurs gathered in front of a synagogue
in Gelsenkirchen. Police were deployed to prevent the mob from entering the
building.
North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul vowed to prosecute the
perpetrators:
"I find it unbearable when anti-Semitic slogans are chanted on German soil. Our
police are pursuing the perpetrators with all resoluteness so that they can be
punished."
Synagogues and Jewish memorials have also been attacked in Bonn, Düsseldorf,
Mannheim, Münster and Solingen.
In Berlin, on May 15, at least 3,500 protesters gathered in different parts of
the city to denounce Israel and Jews. Some brandished anti-Semitic slogans —
"Israel Child Killers" and "Stop Doing What Hitler Did to You" — and chanted
"Bomb Tel Aviv!"
Some held banners describing Israel as a "genocidal settler state" and Zionism
as racism. Others openly rejected Israel's right to exist. A large red banner
stated: "Palestine is sick and tired of paying the price for Europe's Holocaust
of the Jews." Other banners called for the total elimination of Israel, which
would be replaced by a "free Palestine" from the Jordan River to the
Mediterranean Sea. Protesters attacked an Israeli film crew reporting on the
protests.
Nearly 1,000 police officers were deployed to break up the demonstrations. They
were pelted with stones, bottles and firecrackers. A total of 93 officers were
injured in the melees.
Correspondent Peter Wilke, who was assaulted by the mob, said that most of the
protesters were Arabs or Turks. Writing for the German newspaper Bild, he
reported that the protests in Berlin were "a new dimension of hatred and
violence." He added: "Open, disgusting hatred of Jews and Israel, but not only:
It was also hatred of our free, tolerant democracy. Uninhibitedly displayed!"
Anti-Israel protests also took place in Bremen, Cologne, Frankfurt, Göttingen,
Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig, Osnabrück and many other German cities, where
demonstrators chanted anti-Jewish slogans and burned Israeli flags.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said that Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan is partially responsible for the anti-Semitic protests taking
place in Germany:
"These protests are predominated not by the far right, but rather by those who
are Muslim oriented and provoked by the brutal speeches of President Erdoğan and
others who believe that clashes must spread to German streets. If they do not
possess German citizenship or permanent residence permits and if the laws allow,
these people should leave our country."
Gerhard Schindler, a former head of Germany's BND foreign intelligence service,
warned that a red line of anti-Semitism had been crossed and that it cannot be
ignored. In an interview Bild, he urged the government to deport migrants who
commit anti-Semitic hate crimes in Germany:
"The developments of the last few days are frightening and unbearable because
they violate the German raison d'etre [Staatsräson]. Burning flags, throwing
stones at synagogues, shouting anti-Semitic hate slogans on German soil — this
is simply incompatible with our history.
"Of course, we must not downplay anti-Semitism within the German population. But
the anti-Semitism that we are seeing now among migrants is a fact that we have
to face.
"These people disregard our hospitality in two ways. On the one hand, by
committing anti-Semitic crimes — insulting, threatening, depriving Israel of its
right to exist. And secondly, by violating our basic socio-political consensus,
namely that no anti-Semitic agitation should take place on German soil.
"This is not a trivial offense. It affects the DNA of the German understanding
of the state.
"The security authorities can only address the symptoms. The basic cause of this
problem is a social problem that everyone must address.
"It is not enough that we address this fact openly. We also have to get those
who abuse our hospitality out of the country.
"We need these people to be better integrated. They are here, and we have to
take care of them. But those who do not allow themselves to be helped must be
removed from the country."
Scores of German political leaders have condemned the anti-Semitism. Apart from
platitudes, however, few appear able or willing to take effective measures to
remedy the problem — presumably because it would require them to admit that
German multiculturalism is a failure.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose open-door migration policies have greatly
contributed to the current situation, has so far refused to personally make a
statement on the anti-Semitic violence raging in Germany. Instead, she had her
spokesman, Steffen Seibert, issue an anodyne declaration, summarized in the
following tweet:
"Chancellor #Merkel sharply condemned the missile attacks against #Israel and
anti-Semitic incidents in Germany. Our democracy will not tolerate anti-Semitic
rallies."
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said:
"Our Basic Law guarantees the right to freedom of expression and freedom of
demonstration. But anyone who burns flags with the Star of David on our streets
and shouts anti-Semitic slogans not only abuses the freedom to demonstrate, but
also commits crimes that must be prosecuted.
"Nothing justifies the threat to Jews in Germany or attacks on synagogues in
German cities. Hatred of Jews — regardless of whom — we do not want and will not
tolerate in our country."
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, one of Europe's leading apologists for
Iran's Islamic regime, which is dedicated to the elimination of Israel, said:
"All of us are called on to make it very clear that it is unacceptable if Jews
in Germany — either in the streets or on social media — are made responsible for
the events in the Middle East."
German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer issued a vague threat to crack down on
anti-Semitism:
"We will not tolerate the burning of Israeli flags on German soil and attacks on
Jewish facilities. Anyone who spreads anti-Semitic hatred will feel the full
force of the law. Germany must not be a safe haven for terrorists. The security
authorities are wide awake and do everything to protect the people in our
country. Jews in Germany must never again live in fear."
German Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said:
"This anti-Semitic hatred is shameful. I condemn the most recent attacks on
Jewish synagogues and the burning of Israel flags here in Germany. The
perpetrators must be identified and held accountable. Synagogues and Jewish
institutions must be consistently and comprehensively protected."
Wolfgang Schäuble, Speaker of the German Bundestag, added:
"Our country protects the freedom of expression and people can criticize
Israel's policies and protest against them, but there is no justification for
anti-Semitism, hatred and violence. We will not allow the conflict to be carried
on here at the expense of Jewish Germans."
Berlin Mayor Michael Müller, a major proponent of mass migration to Germany,
tweeted:
"The violent riots at the demonstrations in Neukölln are unacceptable and
intolerable for a free and cosmopolitan metropolis — and they have no place in
our society. We will take a resolute stand against violence, anti-Semitism,
hatred and agitation and protect the people who are affected by it."
Meanwhile, Germany in 2021 is marking 1,700 years of Jewish life in the country,
which is now home to approximately 200,000 Jews. Andrei Kovacs, a
Jewish-Hungarian descendant of Holocaust survivors, and who is managing director
of the association, "321-2021: 1700 Years of Jewish Life in Germany," questioned
the continued viability of a Jewish presence in Germany:
"Sadly, what we are experiencing these days is part of a recurring pattern.
Unfortunately, living with anti-Semitically motivated hostility to Israel is
part of the everyday normality for German Jews. For many years it has been
tolerated and often even supported by numerous people and organizations. As soon
as Israel is forced to defend its existence, these forms of anti-Semitism break
out again.
"It is astonishing that, only 76 years after the Shoah, many people fail to
understand that the Jewish state cannot accept a threat to its existence without
being able to defend itself.
"The anti-Semitic attacks of the past few days have once again made it clear how
fragile Jewish life is in Germany — and how resentments can be misused for
political purposes...
"Unfortunately, when you see the pictures from Gelsenkirchen and other cities in
Germany, it doesn't feel like a respectful coexistence."
United Kingdom
In London, a motorcade of cars with Palestinian flags drove past a Jewish
community center on Finchley Road. A man, using a megaphone, shouted: "F*ck the
Jews, f*ck their daughters, f*ck their mothers, rape their daughters and free
Palestine."
At the same time, an estimated 100,000 people gathered in downtown London, where
many chanted, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." One protester
was filmed tearing apart an Israeli flag after he was unable to light it on fire
because it was raining. An on-duty uniformed female police officer joined the
protesters and shouted, "Free, free Palestine!"
Later, dozens of members of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamist movement dedicated to
establishing an Islamic caliphate, waved the black flag of Islamic Jihad and
held signs calling for "Muslim Armies" to "liberate" Jerusalem. A large banner
stated: "Whole of Palestine is occupied and all of it must be liberated." One
protester openly called for jihad:
"This goes out to the Muslim armies. What are you waiting for? Jihad is your
responsibility. Wipe out the Zionist entity. How dare they occupy Muslim lands.
How dare they. Have you no honor? We, the Muslims in the West, are with you. We
don't fear anyone but Allah."
In Manchester, a mob carrying Palestinian flags gathered in front a bagel shop
at Arndale Center, a large shopping mall, where the crowd appeared to be
targeting Jewish shoppers.
As in Germany, politicians in Britain have condemned the anti-Semitism, but few
appear to know how to stop it from spreading.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted:
"There is no place for antisemitism in our society. Ahead of Shavuot [a Jewish
holiday], I stand with Britain's Jews who should not have to endure the type of
shameful racism we have seen today."
Conservative MP Christian Wakeford said:
"As the Member with the largest Jewish community outside of London, I have been
contacted by constituents scared to take their children to synagogue due to the
appalling scenes on the streets of the UK over the weekend."
MP Robert Jenrick added:
"As the father of Jewish children it shocks me every time I take my children to
synagogue or to their nursery to see individuals stood there in stab proof vests
guarding the entrance to those places."
Elsewhere in Europe
Austria: In Vienna, pro-Palestinian protesters held signs stating, "Well done
Israel, Hitler would be proud" and "The Nazis are still around, they call
themselves Zionists now." Other signs read: "F*ck Zionism," "End Zionism," and
"It is Kosher to boycott Israel." One protester shouted at pro-Israel
counter-demonstrators: "Shove your Holocaust up your ass!"Dozens of people,
including many youths, burst into applause.
Belgium: In Brussels, protesters chanted, "Khaybar, Khaybar, Jews, remember
Khaybar, the army of Mohammed is returning." The chant refers to the seventh
century when Muslims massacred and expelled Jews from the town of Khaybar,
located in modern-day Saudi Arabia. It is a battle cry for attacking Jews.
Protesters also shouted, "Death to Jews."
France: In Paris, thousands of people disobeyed a ban on protests. Mobs chanted
slogans including "Death to Israel." Police used water cannons to disperse the
crowds.
Greece: In Athens, police used tear gas and water cannons against hundreds of
protesters gathered in front of the American and Israeli embassies. Protesters
held signs accusing Israel of "ethnic cleansing." Other signs said: "Stop doing
what Hitler did to you." A protester tweeted: "Until we free Palestine from the
river to the sea, we will not stop." In Thessaloniki, leftist groups and
anarchist collectives organized anti-Israel protests that were attended by at
least 700 people.
The Netherlands: In Amsterdam, thousands of people protested against Israel at
Dam Square, a central plaza that is the country's main monument in remembrance
for those who died in the Second World War. They carried signs accusing Israel
of genocide and vowed that, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
In The Hague, protestors shouted anti-Semitic slogans, including "Jews are a
cancer" and "Heil Hitler."
Spain: In Madrid, thousands of hard left and Arab protesters, some chanting 'Allahu
Akhbar' ('Allah is the Greatest'), gathered in the city center and falsely
accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. In Oleiros, a
municipality in the northern Spanish region of Galicia, local officials,
misusing outdoor municipal billboards, posted messages stating, "Zionist
Terrorism in Palestine," called for Israeli leaders to be investigated for war
crimes.
Select Commentary
Julian Reichelt, editor-in-chief of Germany's top-selling Bild newspaper, in an
essay titled, "Our Country is in Peril," wrote:
"What we saw on our streets on Saturday was nothing less than a historical
threat. Enabled by our government, belittled by our public media, an
anti-Semitic mob, which was clearly Arab-Muslim, marched through almost all
major German cities and hatefully demanded the erasure of Israel.
"On Saturday I took my own pictures of the demos and came to the bitter
realization: We who want Jewish life in our country are losing. We may be more
numerically. But those who want Israel and Jewish life erased from us rule the
streets whenever they want.
"They do not fear the police, they have nothing to fear from our federal
government, they bring their children to these demonstrations and raise the next
generation of Israel haters in Germany. Their youth culture and their rap music
conjures up the murderous myths that Hamas also glorifies. Their idols fire
rockets from Gaza at Tel Aviv while they hunt kippah wearers in Berlin and other
cities.
"It is not Islam, but rampant Islamism, that is making German cities an
inhospitable, dangerous country for Jews, as has already happened in France and
Sweden. Angela Merkel's refugee policy, which no longer bothers to identify true
war refugees, has imported hundreds of thousands of times an ideology that
focuses on the Jew as an eternal enemy. Here she has fallen on the fertile
ground of failed integration.
"Their identification mark is a map from which Israel has been wiped out, and
their followers carry this mark roaring through German cities. To be clear: you
cannot carry these banners and at the same time pretend to recognize our
constitutional state, one of the foundations of which is Israel's right to
exist. Only one or the other is possible. Too many streets were in the hands of
people at the weekend who want a different Germany, a country without Jews.
"'We can do it!' was Angela Merkel's most famous refrain in the refugee crisis.
It was also her promise that our country would not change fundamentally, would
not be shaped by political-religious ideologies that sow death and annihilation
elsewhere.
"This promise was broken a thousand times over this weekend. I would finally
like to hear what the Chancellor intends to do about it, what her personal,
unequivocal words are to these Jew haters, what she wants to DO against the rise
of this extermination ideology, before she leaves office.
"Angela Merkel should take responsibility for what has become a threat to our
liberal society and oppose it with all her might."
The chairwoman of the Liberal Jewish Community in Hanover, Rebecca Seidler, in
an interview with Norddeutscher Rundfunk, said:
"The escalating situation in Israel... has massive effects on the Jewish
communities and institutions here in Germany. Jews are seen as representatives
of the State of Israel and are held responsible.... I would like to emphasize
that these anti-Semitic incidents in Germany are not about expressing criticism
of the political actions of the State of Israel, but that we are dealing with
massive anti-Jewish threats, which must be condemned in the strongest possible
way....
"Ultimately, it's not a new phenomenon. It has always been the case that the
situation in Israel always has an impact on Jewish life outside of Israel. As I
mentioned, we are always seen as representatives of the State of Israel. It
should also not be denied that the hatred of Jews is very strongly represented
and anchored in Islamist milieus and is thus also expressed in Germany.
Anti-Semitism has many faces, occurs in many social environments, and also has
links between them, which can generate enormous energy. This aggressiveness,
which we are experiencing here these days, is very worrying for us as a Jewish
community."
In an interview with Die Welt, German-Egyptian political scientist and author
Hamed Abdel-Samad said:
"One can of course criticize the action of the Israeli police in Jerusalem and
also the settlement policy. I have done this in the past. But when this
criticism is used as a pretext to stir up hatred against all Jews, then the
problem begins. If you criticize Israeli politics but glorify Hamas, the problem
begins. And that's exactly what happens in Germany. I think it has nothing to do
with solidarity with Muslim victims. Muslims are victims every day in the Arab
world: in Syria, in Iraq, in Yemen. A few days ago, a school in Afghanistan was
bombed; 50 children died as a result of Taliban terror and there were no
demonstrations by Muslims on the streets in Germany. And they didn't shout:
'F*ck the Taliban!'
"There is a high level of emotionalism in this conflict. For Muslims, it is not
the victims that are important, but rather: who is the perpetrator? If the
perpetrators are Muslim terrorists, then it stays in the family. If the
perpetrators are Israel or America, then this staged indignation occurs.
"Turkish politics also play a role in this. Erdogan's speeches, the Islamic
associations here, Milli Görüs and so on. They stir up this hatred of Jews, even
though they constantly complain about anti-Muslim racism or Islamophobia.
"German politicians have not understood that immigration from Iraq and Syria,
from the Arab countries, also brings more anti-Semitism to Germany. Anyone who
says that is immediately branded as right wing and there is no fair discussion
or debate about it. For me this is a racism of lowered expectations. Let us
imagine that after every terrorist attack by Muslim terrorists, Germans take to
the streets, besiege mosques and shout 'Sh*tty Muslims.' That would be
right-wing extremism. That would be a Nazi, but when it comes from Muslims, they
say: yes, the poor things. They are emotionally charged. No, that is racism of
lowered expectations. I don't expect the same from them what I expect from
normal German young people. And that's part of the problem."
When asked about anti-Semitism in the Arab world, Abdel-Samad replied:
"People who come here also carry in their baggage many conflicts from their home
countries. Anti-Semitism is part of the educational policy in the Arab world, so
to speak. Hitler's books are sold there as bestsellers. Conspiracies like the
'Protocols of the Elders of Zion' are among the best sellers there. And these
people come here. And you are not allowed to even talk to them about such
conflicts in schools or in integration courses. The anti-racism debate is also
part of this problem, because Muslims or migrants are generally seen as a group
as victims and only the White man is considered to be the perpetrator.
"In the end, not even schools can talk about anti-Semitism or the Middle East
conflict. Or about Erdogan or about Islamism. Even at universities, Muslim
students refuse to speak about such topics. Universities should be a safe haven
for opinions. But for many Muslim students, universities are now safe spaces
from opinions and criticism, even though that is where we have to start. We need
to talk to each other. We have to have controversial discussions on all issues,
not just the Middle East conflict. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. We have a
very poisoned culture of debate in Germany. You get the stamp of racist or Nazi
if you address any grievances in immigrant milieus or with minorities. The
racist is always White, but never a Muslim or a Black or a migrant. For me that
is racism of lowered expectations."
On his Facebook page, Abdel-Samad elaborated:
"Let's imagine a mob made up of German youths shouting 'Sh*tty Muslims' and
throwing stones and fire at mosques in Germany after a terrorist attack in
Paris, London or Berlin. What would we call these youngsters? Correct: Nazis!
What would the anti-fascists and anti-racists do then? They would stir up
outrage and fear that the return of the little man with the funny mustache is
imminent.
"But why don't you hear from them now? Why do they consider terms like 'Gypsy
Sauce' [the name of a German gravy] to be racist, but 'Sh*tty Jews' to be
harmless? Why do they freak out when you ask someone with a migration background
where they come from, but do nothing when people are insulted and beaten because
of their origin?
"A. Because for them it's not about people, it's about ideology!
"B. Because in their racism industry, minorities can only be victims, and only
the White man can be Nazi and racist.
"C. Because their anti-racism is deeply intertwined with anti-Americanism and
anti-capitalism, so some of them even sympathize with Hamas.
"This is not just a double standard in dealing with the issue of racism, it is
racism by definition. Because the White man is generally regarded as a person
who was born with the original sin of racism, while all other ethnicities and
cultures are acquitted of this charge. This, too, is racism against minorities,
who are only viewed as objects of the White man and do not have to take
responsibility for themselves. It is racism of lowered expectations when one
demands something different from German young people than from Muslim young
people."
Writing for the German blog Tichys Einblick, commentator Michal Kornblum noted:
"A large part of this mob consists of people who came here as refugees and
brought their hatred of Jews with them and continued to expand it here. It is no
secret that many mosques and also left-wing German associations provide the
breeding ground for this. In Germany, the most diverse social currents converge
in anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel.
"Another indication of the failure of politics and the judiciary is that many
young Muslims from families who have been living here for two or three
generations are more radical and anti-Semitic than their parents and
grandparents, who often maintain a more Western view of the world. When the
acquired 'made in Germany' hatred of Jews meets up with the imported
anti-Semitism from Arab countries, it results in the explosive atmosphere on
German streets that we are currently experiencing....
"In reality, we are still moving from phrase to phrase in the anti-Semitism
debate. The popular saying 'no place for anti-Semitism' turns out to be one of
the biggest lies, since anti-Semitism obviously takes up a lot of space in
Germany. Repeating a phrase like a prayer wheel does not change the realities.
In the same way, 'whoever lives here must accept the Basic Law and Israel's
right to exist' tends only to be said. I am not aware of any cases of expulsions
or deportations for these reasons. The deportation of all anti-Semitic rioters
who do not have German citizenship would be a logical step."
Writing for the blog Achgut, the German-Israeli writer Chaim Noll blamed German
Chancellor Angela Merkel for the resurgence of anti-Semitism in Germany:
"The open hatred of Jews has returned to Germany, from a direction that
surprised many unsuspecting people. Gradually, the word 'Jew' has again become a
swear word, an epitome of the contemptible, in schoolyards dominated by Muslims.
This time the anti-Jewish resentment is not rooted in Europe's anti-Semitic
tradition, but in a different one. Which only a few Europeans took notice. Who
would have bothered to study the Koran, the hadith or the Hamas charter twenty
years ago? Who knew the countless passages in the religious literature of Islam
that call for the contempt, persecution or extermination of the Jews?
"The few who read about it remained silent, or if they voiced their concerns,
were declared 'Islamophobic' and ostracized. In the meantime, in thousands of
mosques and Koran schools, what Germans have for decades mutually been forbidden
to do with heavy prison sentences, has spread unhindered. All the while, the
same demon was allowed to flourish with impunity in its new environment.
Numerous reinforcements have arrived since 2015, and hatred of Jews is in
renewed bloom. The shouting at the demonstrations is getting louder from year to
year. So far, no German Muslim has been punished for hating Jews or for openly
inciting the murder of Jews, although this has happened again and again....
"The pictures that are now going around the world document Germany's new shame.
Angela Merkel can take credit for the fact that in a country where hatred of
Jews, although it existed, remained quiet or inaudible, the roar of pogroms can
be heard again. She betrayed and sold out the German Jews. And not just the
Jews. Also many Germans, for example, everyone who feels sympathy for Israel or
for whom hatred of Jews is unbearable. By demonstratively abstracting critics of
Islam in Germany, she created an atmosphere of fearful silence. Which, not
unlike in the later years of the Weimar Republic, makes the roar of the Jew
haters all the louder.
"Angela Merkel will go down in history as the Chancellor who made open hatred of
Jews in Germany possible again. She simply brushes aside decades of 'coming to
terms with the past,' of popular education and trying to overcome a traumatic
German defeat. Under her government one can in Germany again openly call for the
murder of Jews and at the same time be subsidized by the state. In the small as
in the large. Just as thousands of Jew-haters raging on German streets are
supported by state funds, so is the terrorist organization Hamas on a large
scale via obscure 'relief organizations' and NGOs, so that in the end every
rocket that hits Israel also contains a part of German money. Angela Merkel is
also silent on this."
The inimitable blog, Elder of Zion, wrote:
"This isn't about Gaza. We've never seen such hate after any Western action in
Syria or Afghanistan. No British crowds marching through malls to protest
airstrikes in Iraq.
"This is bigotry in its most ugly, rawest form.
"Gaza is an excuse to find a socially acceptable way to publicly express
Jew-hatred while pretending that your hate is righteous.
"And while it is more subtle, that is exactly what is behind nearly all the
obsessive hate of Israel we see every day of every year. Nothing else explains
this level of hate, and clearly it isn't because of the supposed victims — Arab
persecution of Palestinians is ignored by the anti-Israel crowd as well.
"The way we know that anti-Zionism is antisemitism is that the anti-Israel
Leftists who swear up and down that they are against antisemitism have not said
a word about these incidents. And certainly, none of them have popped up and
said they would protect the Jewish right to counter-protest or even walk around
unmolested."
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
From Trump to Biden Monograph-International Law
Orde Kittrie/ FDD/May 20/2021
CONTENTS
Current Policy
The Trump administration took a skeptical approach to international law, which
it saw as infringing U.S. sovereignty and restricting America’s freedom of
action. As President Trump told the UN General Assembly in 2018, “We will never
surrender America’s sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable, global
bureaucracy. America is governed by Americans.”1
The administration’s skepticism of the current international legal system was
not completely unfounded. Some aspects of the system are deeply flawed, and
several international organizations are being increasingly subverted by the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) and other authoritarian regimes. But the
administration did not, overall, improve the situation.
One way the administration’s skepticism manifested itself was in threatened and
actual withdrawals from several international agreements. Withdrawal from
international agreements typically does not violate international law;
withdrawal is almost always permissible. However, nations are typically hesitant
to withdraw, especially from legally binding agreements, as withdrawals may be
perceived by other parties as an indication of unreliability.
Legally binding agreements from which the administration withdrew included the
U.S.-Russia Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (on the grounds Russia was
“in material breach”),2 the Open Skies Treaty (in response to “Russia’s repeated
violations”),3 the U.S.-Iran Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular
Rights (in response to Iran’s use of it to sue America at the International
Court of Justice [ICJ]),4 and the Optional Protocol to the 1961 Vienna
Convention on Diplomatic Relations (in response to another lawsuit against
America at the ICJ).5
Trump also withdrew from the non-binding 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, citing
insufficient “limits on the regime’s nuclear activity – and no limits at all on
its other malign behavior.”6 The administration also exited the largely
non-binding Paris Climate Accord, calling it “an agreement that disadvantages
the United States to the exclusive benefit of other countries.”7
The Trump administration also withdrew from several international organizations.
Some did not include significant legally binding obligations, such as the UN
Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (the U.S. withdrawal
announcement cited “continuing anti-Israel bias”)8 and the UN Human Rights
Council (the administration similarly cited the organization’s “bias against
Israel”).9 By contrast, the World Health Organization (WHO) – the United States
withdrew after citing the WHO’s subservience to the PRC – did involve legally
binding obligations.10
Trump also threatened to withdraw, but did not withdraw, from the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),11 the World Trade Organization,12 the U.S.-Korea
Free Trade Agreement,13 NATO,14 and the Universal Postal Union.15 These threats
were apparently intended to spur renegotiation of the agreements’ provisions or
implementation.
The Trump administration also attacked the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The ICC was created as a court of last resort for prosecution of the most
serious international crimes, in cases where countries were unable or unwilling
to investigate themselves.16 However, the ICC prosecutor chose to pursue
politicized investigations of the United States and Israel, two non-members of
the ICC, for alleged war crimes both countries thoroughly examined.
In challenging the ICC, the Trump administration was hardly breaking new ground.
The ICC investigations were rejected as illegitimate by former Obama
administration officials in charge of ICC and detainee issues and by over 330
members of Congress from both parties.17
But Trump took the unprecedented step of responding to the investigations by
imposing sanctions on two senior ICC officials.18 Seventy-two ICC member states,
including most of America’s closest allies, condemned the U.S. move and rallied
around the ICC.19
The Trump administration was repeatedly confronted with the PRC’s effective use
of lawfare (law as a weapon of war) in the maritime, aviation, space, cyber,
international organization, and nonproliferation domains. For example, the PRC
used purportedly private actors to supply Iran’s nuclear program while Beijing
claimed to abide by its international legal commitments regarding nuclear
proliferation.20 The Trump administration did more to publicize PRC lawfare than
did its predecessor.21 But it failed to devise a clear strategy for countering
PRC lawfare.22
Assessment
Trump’s pronounced skepticism toward international law provoked criticism even
from conservatives. Jack Goldsmith, a leading conservative scholar of
international law and senior appointee in the George W. Bush administration,
denounced “the greatest presidential onslaught on international law and
international institutions in American history.”23 According to John Bellinger,
who served as the State Department legal adviser during the George W. Bush
administration, Trump “seemed to delight, both as a candidate and as president,
in ignoring and even ridiculing international law.”24
Yet Trump’s rhetoric tended to be more unprecedented than his actions. For
example, he was accused of violating the law of armed conflict with April 2017
and April 2018 cruise missile strikes on Syria and the January 2020 targeted
killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force.25 But these actions
were strikingly similar to those of the Obama administration, which undertook
540 targeted drone strikes, killing an estimated 3,473 terrorists and 324
civilians.26 These operations were generally not as heavily criticized.
In addition, Trump’s threats to withdraw from the U.S.-Korea Free Trade
Agreement, NAFTA, and the Universal Postal Union resulted in renegotiated deals
that were at least arguably more favorable to the United States.27
The U.S. withdrawals from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Accord
were clearly not illegal. The nuclear deal withdrawal, in particular, was not
shocking, as the deal was deeply flawed.
Broadly speaking, the administration’s approach to individual negotiations, as
well as to international law as a whole, antagonized U.S. allies and advantaged
U.S. adversaries.
The rules-based international order, created by U.S. leadership in the wake of
World War II, is flawed and has at times been exploited by rogue states and
authoritarians. But, on the whole, the rules-based order has benefited the
United States and given the world a greater sense of structure and
predictability. Indeed, the United States has chosen to enter into over 350
treaties and hundreds of other international agreements since 1945 – to the
overall benefit of the United States and its allies.28
The UN Security Council has provided the United States, as a veto-wielding
permanent member, with a powerful vehicle through which to create and enforce
international norms. The United States has also often benefited from the
perception that it is more law-abiding and committed to the rule of law, both
domestically and internationally, than its adversaries.
China, on the other hand, has earned a reputation for consistently spurning the
rule of law both domestically and internationally. Yet Beijing has managed to
ascend to, and exploit, leadership positions across the UN system. The PRC’s
persistent subversion of the rules-based international order is particularly
dangerous and essential to counter in this era of COVID-19, cyber hacking,
weapons of mass destruction proliferation, terrorism, and other severe problems
that recognize no borders and place a premium on effective international
cooperation.
Unfortunately, the administration made little to no effort to counter Chinese
lawfare or to reform the WHO and other international institutions that Beijing
has co-opted. The administration exposed China for its malign behavior without
taking steps to ameliorate the problem.
The administration also neglected to leverage its own counterterrorism tools to
battle lawfare. It failed to implement the bipartisan Sanctioning the Use of
Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act. While that law required the executive
branch to spotlight and punish terrorist use of human shields (a war crime) by
December 2019, it had not done so as of December 2020, despite ample evidence
that Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist organizations employ civilians as
human shields.29
In the end, Trump drew attention to some failures of the international system
but contributed little to reforming it or using it to hold U.S. adversaries
accountable for their violations of it.
Recommendations
Recommit to the rules-based international order, both rhetorically and in
practice. The United States should not ignore or ridicule international law.
However, it should also refrain from treating international law, when
misinterpreted by others, as holy writ. There is a third way: effectively using
(but not abusing) international law (and relevant domestic law) to achieve
strategic objectives in the international arena. While the United States should
diligently avoid violating international law, it should deploy and interpret it
as aggressively against foreign adversaries as an attorney deploys U.S. law in
an American courtroom.
Develop and implement a whole-of-government lawfare strategy. The United States
has the potential to be the dominant lawfare superpower. It leads the world in
the quantity and quality of its attorneys. In the absence of a U.S. lawfare
strategy, the PRC, which has explicitly adopted lawfare as a key element of its
strategic doctrine, is currently waging lawfare far more aggressively and
successfully than the United States. America should emulate Israel’s development
of an elite office focused on waging and defending against lawfare. Israel’s
approach to lawfare is a model for a robust new NATO lawfare initiative.30 The
U.S. analog should develop and refine lawfare strategy, monitor lawfare lessons
and trends worldwide, provide relevant training, cooperate with relevant civil
litigators and other private sector experts as appropriate, and coordinate the
offensive and defensive lawfare tools available to various federal agencies.
Spotlight, and impose accountability for, PRC violations of international law,
including by countering PRC use of proxies. In many arenas, the PRC is working
to alter international laws to its benefit. In other arenas, including human
rights, the PRC itself flagrantly violates international law. In the maritime,
cyber, and nonproliferation law arenas, Chinese violations are often undertaken
by purportedly private-sector proxies so that the PRC can maintain plausible
deniability. The United States must develop and deploy the public diplomacy and
legal tools necessary to deter and counter such actions by the PRC and its
policymakers.
Spotlight, and impose accountability for, terrorist violations of international
law. Terrorists and their state sponsors successfully use human shields and
otherwise abuse the law of armed conflict to hamstring U.S. and allied
warfighters. The United States must counter such tactics more effectively,
including by implementing the Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless
Shields Act.
Reinvigorate partnership with NATO and other U.S. allies. NATO has a special
unit and strategy dedicated to tracking lawfare developments worldwide, deriving
lessons learned, and incorporating them into training and operations. U.S.
lawfare against the PRC, terrorist organizations, and other adversaries will be
more successful if it rebuilds its transatlantic coalition. In addition, many of
America’s closest allies have both the motivation and the leverage (including as
key donor countries) to help Washington reform the WHO and other important but
flawed international institutions and agreements.
Encourage allies to reform the ICC. In recent years, a handful of close U.S.
allies – led by Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy – have
contributed more than half of the ICC’s budget. They have ample justification to
restore the ICC to its core mission as a court of last resort for prosecutions
of the most serious international crimes, in cases where countries are unable or
unwilling to investigate themselves. Many of these allies have military
personnel stationed abroad who could be negatively impacted by precedents set by
ICC prosecution of U.S. or Israeli troops.31 The recently published final report
of an Independent Expert Review of the ICC, commissioned by the ICC member
states, criticized as “unsustainable” the ICC’s current pursuit of too many
cases, including some with “limited feasibility” and insufficient “gravity”
(apparent references to the investigations of the United States and Israel).32
The United States should strongly encourage its allies to leverage the review to
restore the ICC to its core mission.
Notes
President Donald Trump, The White House, Address delivered before the 73rd
Session of the UN General Assembly, September 25, 2018. (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-73rd-session-united-nations-general-assembly-new-york-ny)
Shannon Bugos, “U.S. Completes INF Treaty Withdrawal,” Arms Control Association,
September 2019. (https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2019-09/news/us-completes-inf-treaty-withdrawal);
“INF nuclear treaty: US pulls out of Cold War-era pact with Russia,” BBC News
(UK), August 2, 2019. (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49198565)
Michael R. Gordon, “Trump Exits Open Skies Treaty, Moves to Discard Observation
Planes,” The Wall Street Journal, November 22, 2020. (https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-exits-open-skies-treaty-moves-to-discard-observation-planes-11606055371);
Senior Bureau Official and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Policy,
Emerging Threats, and Outreach Thomas DiNanno, U.S. Department of State, “United
States Withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies,” July 6, 2020. (https://www.state.gov/united-states-withdrawal-from-the-treaty-on-open-skies)
“Trump Administration Announces Withdrawal from Four International Agreements,”
American Journal of International Law, Vol. 113, Issue 1, January 14, 2019,
pages 131–141. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/trump-administration-announces-withdrawal-from-four-international-agreements/83E4D3458A857770EA66160233E5382C);
Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, U.S. Department of State, Remarks to the
press, October 3, 2018. (https://perma.cc/2V8J-3FPS)
“Trump Administration Announces Withdrawal from Four International Agreements,”
American Journal of International Law, Vol. 113, Issue 1, January 14, 2019,
pages 131–141. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-international-law/article/trump-administration-announces-withdrawal-from-four-international-agreements/83E4D3458A857770EA66160233E5382C)
Taliban maintains close ties with al Qaeda, DIA reports
Thomas Joscelyn/ FDD's Long War Journal/May 20/2021
The Taliban has “maintained close ties with al Qaeda” and is “very likely
preparing for large-scale offensives against population centers and Afghan
government installations,” according to the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
The DIA’s analysis is cited in a report prepared by the Department of Defense’s
Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel in Afghanistan.
The inspector general’s report was released on May 18. That same day, Zalmay
Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation,
testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.
During his testimony, Khalilzad claimed that the Taliban has made “substantial
progress” on its counterterrorism commitments, though he failed to provide a
single example. Khalilzad’s claim is contradicted by the DIA’s assessment, as
well as other official reporting since the U.S. State Department entered into
its agreement with the Taliban on Feb. 29, 2020.
Khalilzad was questioned by Congressman Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York
who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“There is a question of whether or not you were able to negotiate a commitment
from the Taliban to separate from al Qaeda,” Rep. Meeks said. “Did you negotiate
that or not?”
In response, Khalilzad simply summarized his terse three-plus page agreement
with the Taliban. “Our agreement specifies that the Taliban will not host, will
not allow training, will not allow fundraising, will not allow recruitment of
terrorists, including al Qaeda, that would threaten the security of the United
States and our allies,” Khalilzad said.
Rep. Meeks then pressed Khalilzad on this point, asking: “So, of those
commitments, what would you say the Taliban has done, or demonstrated that it is
upholding them, or not?”
“Mr. Chairman, what I can say in this setting is that they have made substantial
progress in delivering on those commitments, but we would like to see more,”
Khalilzad responded.
By claiming that was all he could say “in this setting,” Khalilzad implied that
there is some secret intelligence showing how the Taliban has been secretly
complying with its supposed counterterrorism assurances. There is no hint that
this is the case in any publicly-available reporting, and al Qaeda has
celebrated Khalilzad’s deal with the Taliban as a “victory” for the mujahideen.
Contrary to Khalilzad’s assurances, the DIA assesses that the Taliban and al
Qaeda “have reinforced ties over the past decades, likely making it difficult
for an organizational split to occur.” The DIA reported that al Qaeda “is likely
awaiting further guidance from the Taliban.” The two continue to fight side by
side against their common foes inside Afghanistan, despite some erroneous
reports suggesting that the Taliban was going to disband foreign fighter units.
While the DIA’s reporting is inconsistent with Khalilzad’s assurances, it is in
line with other official assessments.
In May 2020, the Lead Inspector General for Operation Freedom’s Sentinel
reported that the Taliban’s leadership was “reluctant to publicly break with al
Qaeda.”
In a May 27, 2020, analysis, a monitoring team working for the United Nations
Security Council reported that the Taliban “regularly consulted with al Qaeda
during negotiations with the United States and offered guarantees that it would
honor their historical ties.” That same U.N. report cited multiple points of
contact between senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders, as well as other details
concerning how the two organizations are intertwined.
In Jan., the U.S. Treasury Department reported that al Qaeda was “gaining
strength in Afghanistan while continuing to operate with the Taliban under the
Taliban’s protection.” Al Qaeda “capitalizes on its relationship with the
Taliban through its network of mentors and advisers who are embedded with the
Taliban, providing advice, guidance, and financial support.”
Treasury said that al Qaeda “maintains close contacts with the Taliban.” And
this remained true as of May 2020 — that is, a few months after the Feb. 29
agreement between the U.S. and Taliban in Doha — as al Qaeda and the Taliban
“maintained a strong relationship and continued to meet regularly.”
Treasury also referenced intelligence showing that senior Haqqani Network
officials “have discussed forming a new joint unit of armed fighters in
cooperation with and funded by al Qaeda.” The Haqqani Network, led by Sirajuddin
Haqqani, is an integral part of the Taliban and also closely allied with al
Qaeda. Sirajuddin is the Taliban’s deputy emir.
The Taliban has refused to admit that al Qaeda operates inside Afghanistan, let
alone break with the group. The Taliban regularly lies about the presence of al
Qaeda and affiliated jihadists.
On the other hand, Thabat News Agency, which likely serves as an al Qaeda media
arm, regularly claims operations inside Afghanistan. The claims are included in
Thabat’s weekly newsletter. In addition, U.S. and Afghan forces have repeatedly
targeted al Qaeda figures and fighters in the Taliban’s territory since Feb. 29,
2020. There are also multiple reports indicating that al Qaeda and al
Qaeda-affiliated groups continue to assist the Taliban in its insurgency.
Against all of this evidence, Khalilzad has yet to produce a single example of
the Taliban’s compliance with the counterterrorism assurances he negotiated.
*Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.
Help NATO by Holding Hamas Accountable for Terrorist War Crimes
Orde Kittrie/The National Interest/May 20/2021
Every time Hamas uses innocent civilians to shield its weapons and fighters from
lawful attack, it commits a war crime, a violation of the Fourth Geneva
Convention.
Hamas is yet again relying heavily on one of the most nefarious tools in the
terrorist arsenal during its various rounds of conflict with Israel: the use of
civilians as human shields. Every time Hamas uses innocent civilians to shield
its weapons and fighters from lawful attack, it commits a war crime, a violation
of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The use of human shields by terrorist groups is no mere technical violation of
the law of war. Rather, it has been a pivotal contributor to the tragic loss of
civilian lives in several recent conflicts, including those pitting the United
States against the Islamic State and the Taliban.
The “Sanctioning the Use of Civilians as Defenseless Shields Act” (“Shields
Act”), passed unanimously by Congress in 2018, requires the U.S. government to
hold terrorist leaders accountable for using human shields. Former President
Donald Trump never implemented it. President Joe Biden should do so now,
starting with Hamas.
In addition to Hamas, the Islamic State, and the Taliban, groups including Al
Qaeda and Hezbollah have also repeatedly used human shields against U.S.,
Israeli, NATO, or other Western armed forces. Hamas and other terrorist groups
use human shields to give American, Israeli, and other Western militaries an
impossible choice. The Western military either forgoes an attack on the
terrorist military target, thereby putting its own civilians at risk from
terrorist attacks, or strikes the terrorist target and faces false accusations
that the Western military has committed war crimes such as wrongfully killing
the civilians behind which the terrorist group is hiding.
The use of human shields by terrorists is a major concern for the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization. In 2019, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen.
Curtis Scaparrotti, called upon NATO member countries to increase their efforts
to hold terrorists accountable for using human shields.
NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander said that he considered the use of human shields
“an important obstacle for the effectiveness and success of current and future
NATO operations and missions.” He explained that NATO’s adversaries, notably in
the Middle East, “have not hesitated to use the prohibited practice of human
shields” as it forces NATO troops “to choose between not taking action against
legitimate military targets or seeing their actions, and the overall mission,
delegitimized.”
The terrorist group’s extensive use of human shields in recent years is well
documented. During this most recent conflict, Hamas has reportedly already been
caught hiding a terror tunnel under a school, using civilian apartment buildings
for military planning and operations, and locating weapons factories in the
heart of densely populated civilian areas. The United Nations has called on
Hamas to “cease immediately” these violations of the law of war.
Yahya Sinwar, the top Hamas political leader in Gaza, has made clear that Hamas
has a deliberate policy of using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Sinwar
said Hamas has “decided to turn that which is most dear to us—the bodies of our
women and children—into . . . a dam to prevent the racing of many Arabs towards
the normalization of ties with the plundering entity.” Sinwar has further
boasted that the plan worked, as “our people have imposed their agenda upon the
whole world,” forcing onto “the world’s television screens . . . the sacrifice
of their [Palestinian] children as an offering for Jerusalem.”
Here in the United States, the “Shields Act” requires the president to submit to
Congress a list of, and impose financial sanctions on, each foreign person
involved in using human shields and authorizes similar steps in response to
other terrorist groups using human shields.
However, despite strong evidence of terror groups extensively using human
shields, the Trump administration never imposed any sanctions pursuant to the
Shields Act. Biden should do so. Designating and sanctioning Sinwar and other
Hamas leaders for their use of human shields, which could lead to follow-on
sanctions by the European Union, the United Kingdom, and other U.S. allies.
Singling them out would also help counter the Hamas narrative, demonstrating
that Hamas’ leaders are war criminals and helping educate the public about the
use of human shields in advance of future conflicts elsewhere.
Specifically, imposing Shields Act sanctions on Hamas would be an important step
toward countering the use of human shields against the U.S. and allied
militaries by groups including the Islamic State and the Taliban. In his 2019
request to NATO member countries, the NATO Supreme Allied Commander said, “[I]t
is essential that further measures be taken at the national level to maximize
enforcement of the international legal prohibition of the use of human shields.”
Scaparrotti specifically urged “imposition of sanctions” and “spotlighting of
violations.” In light of the frequency and effectiveness of human-shields use
against NATO forces, Scaparrotti said that such national measures “would
decidedly become a major and substantial contribution” to NATO operations.
The latest use of human shields by Hamas should spur the U.S. government to
finally start holding terrorist leaders publicly accountable for this brutal war
crime.
*Orde Kittrie is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
and law professor at Arizona State University. He previously served for ten
years as a U.S. State Department attorney. Follow him on Twitter @ordefk. FDD is
a nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.
America’s Foreign Policy ‘Experts’ Are Projecting Their Own
Failures Onto Jared Kushner
Shany Mor/Newsweek/May 20/2021
For the past four years, there was no greater laughingstock in the American
foreign policy cognoscenti than Jared Kushner. A full-on consensus reigned that
cast the previous administration’s Middle East policies as hopelessly ignorant
and one-sided, a view that went unchallenged in the smart set’s Op-Ed pages.
There was no easier laugh to be had, no quicker way to pull a nodding agreement,
than to mock the intelligence and good will of the former president’s
son-in-law, charged with crafting an American peace plan, and obviously in way
over his head.
But the Young Pretender in charge of the Mideast portfolio is gone, and the
mommies and daddies are back in charge, their think tanks falling over each
other producing glossy full-color booklets promoting policies that would bring
to bear the priorities of people who actually understood a thing or two about
Israelis, Palestinians, international law, justice, and most importantly,
American strategic interests.
And four months into the methodical implementation of all the bright ideas
reflecting off those glossy booklets, the situation on the ground in Israel and
the Palestinian Territories has taken a dramatic turn for the worst.
Though Kushner is long gone, this latest conflagration has been laid at his
feet. His name trended on Twitter for days as hostilities between Israel and
Hamas escalated. “They really put Jared Kushner, the slumlord millionaire who
couldn’t properly fill out security clearance forms, in charge of Peace in the
Middle East. Failure was inevitable,” read one viral tweet. “Kushner’s Absurd
Peace Plan Has Failed” blared the headline to Michelle Goldberg’s New York Times
column.
This is not just wrong; it’s complete projection. Kushner-era policies—on
Jerusalem, UNRWA, and regional diplomacy—were promised again and again to lead
to an “explosion,” but didn’t. The return of the experts was supposed to improve
lives and prospects for Israelis and Palestinians alike, but hasn’t. In fact, it
was the foreign policy intelligentsia’s values and vision that have led to
disaster.
Back in March, mere weeks into the new Biden administration, a leaked internal
State Department memo outlined the contours of a new direction on American
policy toward the Palestinian issue. The document called for renewed diplomatic
ties with the Palestinian Authority, restoring aid that had been cut, renewing
American contributions to UNRWA, putting pressure on Israel for moves in
Jerusalem that would make a new Palestinian Authority election possible, and
pursuing a two-state arrangement based roughly on the pre-1967 lines.
These were all priorities of the smart set miffed by a previous administration
that was too close to Israel for their tastes. But they were also terrible
ideas. Take the renewal of UNRWA funding. UNRWA is the U.N. agency dedicated to
perpetuating, rather than solving, the Palestinian refugee problem. By
cultivating the myth of a non-existent “right of return” rather than
rehabilitating displaced persons and their descendants, UNRWA ensures that a
negotiated two-state deal cannot be reached.
What possible U.S. interest is served by rescuing an institution that actively
works against U.S. policies and interests?
But it was the election issue that ended up being the most fateful, and it was
another huge smart set mistake to include it on the leaked wish list. Elections
have not been held in the Palestinian Territories since 2006, and for good
reason: Involving Hamas in the election would risk handing control of the West
Bank to the terrorist group that already rules Gaza. Banning them from the
election would risk undermining the process. And cancelling the election
promised to invite a violent provocation from Hamas to assert its primacy in
Palestinian politics.
That is exactly what happened in the end; we’re seeing that violence unfold
right now. Who could have foreseen this eventuality? Anyone, actually, with any
understanding of the region. So why weren’t these scenarios carefully considered
before any of this disaster started to unfold?
If the leak of the memo is to be believed, the issue that concerned the State
Department was pushing Israel to allow voting in East Jerusalem along the lines
of previous elections. And it revealed how ridiculous the mindset that authored
it is.
The fundamental problem of the election has nothing to do with Israel. It’s that
a terrorist organization whose charter calls for genocide is actually quite
popular in Palestinian politics and could be poised to bring to the West Bank
the governance it has already brought to the Gaza Strip. And this was something
the U.S. administration seemed to believe would just solve itself.
Until it didn’t. With the election first called and then cancelled, Hamas had to
make a bid for its supremacy in Palestinian politics. Using the playbook that
has suited Palestinian factions since at least 1928, it sought a “provocation”
related to al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as an excuse for violence, and then began
lobbing rockets into Israeli cities. A grimly predictable escalation ensued with
no sign of how or when it might end.
One again, the reign of peace process experts lead to spasms of violence.
When this happens, and then an interregnum of policy by people mocked by experts
leads to four mostly quiet years, and then the return of the experts leads to a
new round of violence, it’s fair to ask if there might be a pattern and what
might lie behind it. Instead, the smart commentary chose to pin the current
failures, however implausibly, on Kushner himself. It brings to mind the
repeated insistence in the 1990’s after each suicide bombing and each Arafat
pronouncement about jihad, that the Oslo framework was a good one and its
Israeli critics were just opposed to peace.
Whether he was aware of it or not, Kushner’s approach to peacemaking in the
Middle East was based on three core assumptions: First, that there really was an
Arab-Israeli conflict. Second, Israel largely won that conflict. And third,
acknowledging this is not a bad thing.
The upshot of this was a regional diplomatic push on peace moves that could
benefit all interested parties and an end to the pattern of incentivizing
rejectionism by rewarding each new round of violence with better terms for the
side that rejected peace, initiated war, and was defeated.
This didn’t involve any new ideas in conflict resolution, but rather the
application of standard diplomatic procedure that has been used in mediating
international conflict in nearly every context for centuries—except, for some
reason, conflicts involving the Jewish state.
Why that was treated as such a great departure from precedent and common sense
by people smart enough to know better is a separate question. It certainly
wasn’t because their approach has brought anything remotely resembling better
results.
*Shany Mor is an adjunct fellow at The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
and a lecturer at IDC Herzliya. Follow him on Twitter @ShMMor. FDD is a
nonpartisan think tank focused on foreign policy and national security issues.
Cover-Ups of WHO Misconduct Expose Leadership Failures and Compromised Agency
Culture
Craig Singleton/Policy Brief/FDD/May 20/2021
The World Health Organization (WHO) reportedly covered up sexual assault
allegations involving senior agency officials, while Italian prosecutors are
investigating another top WHO figure for making false statements. These abuses,
in which the WHO’s director-general was allegedly complicit, reinforce the need
for improved governance and transparency protocols throughout the organization
to address its compromised culture.
An investigation by the Associated Press (AP) found that a WHO staffer and three
experts working in Congo in 2019 reported sexual abuse allegations involving
Boubacar Diallo, a WHO official who bragged about his connections to
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Diallo allegedly offered women
well-paying WHO jobs in exchange for sexual favors. He also allegedly sexually
assaulted one woman who refused his overtures. Diallo’s WHO work continued after
these concerns were raised to Dr. Michel Yao, then responsible for leading the
WHO’s Ebola campaign. During a 2019 trip to Congo, Tedros singled out Diallo for
his performance, and pictures of the two men were later posted on the WHO’s
website.
At the time, WHO officials reportedly told whistleblowers that “controlling the
Ebola outbreak was more important” than addressing reports of misconduct, noting
that Diallo was “untouchable” because of his relationship with Tedros. WHO
investigators failed to interview either the victims or the whistleblowers.
Internal emails revealed that senior WHO leaders were alarmed but neither fired
Diallo nor put him on administrative leave.
In 2019, Yao was also informed about sexual misconduct involving another WHO
official, Dr. Jean-Paul Ngandu, whom a young woman accused of impregnating her.
The WHO did not discipline Ngandu, who continued working for the organization
until his contract ended in 2019. He remains in talks with the WHO regarding
potential future employment.
The WHO initially denied knowledge of either incident in response to AP
inquiries. Several WHO officials, however, privately acknowledged to the AP that
the WHO failed to tackle sexual exploitation during the Ebola outbreak.
Recordings of internal WHO meetings obtained by the AP reveal that staff
considered the problem systemic. During one meeting, Andreas Mlitzke, director
of the WHO’s Office of Compliance, Risk Management and Ethics, stated that the
WHO typically “takes the passive approach” in its investigations and could not
be expected to uncover wrongdoing among staffers.
But the wrongdoing is coming to light anyhow.
Italian prosecutors are also investigating another WHO official, Dr. Ranieri
Guerra, for making false statements about a spiked agency report concerning
Italy’s coronavirus response. Guerra previously served as the WHO’s liaison to
the Italian government. Before that, he was a top official in the Italian Health
Ministry, responsible for updating the country’s pandemic protocols. The
investigation centers on whether Guerra and the WHO pulled the report from its
website to spare the Italian government, and Guerra himself, from criticism,
embarrassment, and legal liability for Italy’s failure to update its pandemic
preparedness plan in the years before COVID-19.
In WhatsApp messages, Guerra claimed, “[I]n the end I went to Tedros and got the
document removed.” Guerra has denied any role in the report’s removal, claiming
that the original impetus came from the WHO’s Beijing office, which objected to
a politically sensitive timeline of the virus’ origins in China.
Previous organizational reviews have raised red flags about the WHO’s
institutional culture, including its prioritization of political over technical
considerations. In 2016, an independent panel urged the WHO to overhaul its
human resources management and to establish an inspector general’s office. While
some measures were instituted to address governance deficiencies, many of the
2016 panel’s recommended reforms remain unrealized.
The U.S. government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which together
provide a third of the WHO’s budget, should use their financial leverage to
bring about reform. This could include congressionally earmarking future
voluntary U.S. contributions to fund independent investigations into these
incidents, including Tedros’ possible role in suppressing investigations
involving his friends. The WHO should also restructure its sexual assault
reporting framework and address attempts to interfere in the publication of
COVID-19-related information, whether in Italy, China, or elsewhere.
Craig Singleton, a national security expert and former U.S. diplomat, is an
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Israel-Gaza Violence Means Biden Must Avoid Emboldening
Hamas in Any Cease-Fire Deal
Ghaith al-Omari/Washinton Institute/May 20/2021
Boosting aid and addressing provocative policies will need to be discussed soon,
but doing so prematurely would only further the terrorist group’s power struggle
against the nonviolent Palestinian Authority.
When President Joe Biden entered office in January, he parked the simmering
Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the back burner, only to find it boiling over by
May. His reasons for de-emphasizing the issue made sense, but as so often
happens in the Middle East, events on the ground outpaced U.S. planning, and the
Biden administration is now facing growing calls to forge a cease-fire as the
fighting in Gaza escalates.
A cease-fire, which Biden said he supports but has yet to call for outright, is
urgent given the scale of the unfolding humanitarian disaster and the loss of
lives on both sides. The U.S. is the only international actor capable of
brokering one because of its close relationship with Israel and its unique
ability to mobilize regional Arab allies to compel Hamas, the Islamist group
that controls the Gaza Strip, to accept a cessation.
But it’s not as simple as stopping the bloodshed triggered when Hamas started
firing rockets at Jerusalem last week: Biden needs to ensure that the terms of
the cease-fire don’t allow Hamas to claim a victory. Such an outcome would
embolden Hamas and significantly empower the terrorist organization in its
intra-Palestinian contest with the secular Palestinian Authority, which is in
charge in the West Bank.
In fact, this internal power struggle is one of the backdrops for this latest
episode of hostilities. The Palestinian Authority’s commitment to diplomacy and
its security cooperation with Israel are unpopular because they have failed to
produce tangible benefits for the Palestinians in recent years. The tensions
only intensified after the authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, last month
canceled the first Palestinian elections since 2006.
In this context, Hamas sought to capitalize on the Palestinian public’s
discontent by presenting itself as the defender of Palestinian rights and
interests. At the end of this round of fighting, Hamas will want to declare that
its “resistance” was able to force Israel to change its policies. Its spokesmen
are already claiming to have established deterrence against Israel, and point to
the intercommunal Arab-Jewish violence that has spread throughout Israel to
claim that its foe is in retreat.
A cease-fire must therefore focus only on ending the hostilities and not on
shaping post-conflict diplomacy. Issues such as providing international aid for
Gaza reconstruction and addressing the policies that led to tensions preceding
the Hamas rocket attacks and Israeli strikes will need to be discussed soon—but
not in the context of a cease-fire.
Using Egypt as a mediator provides the best chance of success. Egypt borders
Gaza, giving it tremendous leverage vis-a-vis Hamas, while also being committed
to denying Hamas a political victory, since Hamas is part of the Muslim
Brotherhood movement that Egypt sees as an existential threat to its own
stability.
Just as crucial as Biden achieving a cease-fire, however, is that he not change
his game plan once the fighting ends. There is bound to be an impulse to “go
big” and try to relaunch negotiations, and there are already voices urging the
president to take bolder action. This is understandable in that ultimately the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict can only be resolved through a negotiated two-state
solution, and until such a solution is reached, the situation will remain
volatile with occasional, tragic flare-ups. But today such an outcome is not
realistic, and trying to achieve it when the time isn’t ripe wouldn’t serve the
Palestinians, Israelis or, indeed, the U.S.
Diving headfirst into high diplomacy almost certain to fail could make the
situation on the ground—and of Biden’s standing in the Middle East—considerably
worse. Another fruitless round of negotiations would only add to the loss of
faith in diplomacy as a way to end the conflict, increase the sense of despair
among Palestinians and Israelis and add to the volatility. And the U.S. doesn’t
need another Middle East breakdown that makes it look incompetent and distracts
from other foreign policy priorities.
Biden, perhaps having learned something from his decades on the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee and eight years as vice president, wisely decided on a
different course from every president who preceded him since George H.W. Bush.
Instead of seeking a comprehensive Palestinian-Israel peace, Biden would avoid
grandiose, high-level initiatives in favor of smaller but realistic goals with
minimal engagement from top U.S. officials.
The Biden team correctly concluded that this conflict, while remaining
important, was now less of a priority both for the region and for U.S.
interests. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict was once seen by most Arab states as
the central issue in the region; today, they see countering Iran’s nuclear
ambitions and malicious regional activities and dealing with the conflicts in
Syria and Yemen (to mention but a few of the region’s woes) as more pressing.
Last year’s Abraham Accords normalizing relations between Israel and four Arab
nations stand as a testament to this receding importance.
The Biden administration also concluded, correctly again, that Israeli and
Palestinian politics do not lend themselves to the kind of compromises needed to
resolve deeply sensitive and foundational issues. Israel has just conducted its
fourth round of inconclusive elections in two years, with a fifth one possibly
on the horizon. Meanwhile, the cancellation of any elections at all on the
Palestinian side attests to the depth of its political stalemate.
So Biden opted for a more modest but achievable approach: recovering from the
disruptive years under Donald Trump, in which he departed from longstanding U.S.
and international diplomatic positions that led to cutting off all relations
with the Palestinian Authority. Biden has re-established those relations,
restored aid and identified concrete areas that could improve Palestinian and
Israeli lives, such as progress on the economy, infrastructure and security.
Once a cease-fire has been achieved, doubling down on the administration’s
initial impulse—working to better the lives of Palestinians on the ground—has
acquired added urgency, as it’s not only the right thing to do but can help
shift the narrative. The U.S. also needs to engage Israel to change some of the
practices that contributed to increasing tensions before the beginning of this
month’s hostilities, particularly in Jerusalem. Finding a way to stop the
eviction of Palestinian families in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh
Jarrah and strengthening the Jordanian role in the Temple Mount/Haram
al-Sharif—the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque—will be crucial to prevent future
escalation.
Resolving such issues through diplomatic means in conjunction with the
Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt can give credit to diplomacy and to
constructive actors. Enlisting the support of the Abraham Accords countries can
lend additional heft to these efforts, providing the authority with additional
diplomatic cover and helping finance economic development for the Palestinians.
Even if a comprehensive peace remains out of reach for now, diplomacy must not
be among the victims in this latest tragic conflagration. In the midst of the
current despair, the world, under U.S. leadership, needs to demonstrate to the
Palestinians that a cooperative, peaceful approach can be a viable alternative
to Hamas’ violent ways.
*Ghaith al-Omari is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute and former
advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team. This article was originally
published on the NBC News website.
*Also published in NBC News
Arabs: Hamas Does Not Care About Palestinian Suffering
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 20/ 2021
These Arabs evidently understand what the anti-Israel activists around the world
fail to see -- that Hamas has brought nothing but disaster and despair to the
two million Palestinians living under its rule in the Gaza Strip.... [They] also
seem to understand that Israel is not waging war on the Palestinians, but
against an Islamist terrorist group.....
These Arabs can also see that if one cares about the Palestinians, why would one
want them ruled by terrorists who place weapons caches near hospitals and
schools, and use children as human shields?
Criticism of Hamas does not make you anti-Palestinian; on the contrary, holding
Hamas responsible for the violence and bloodletting actually serves the
interests of the Palestinians.
The Hamas terrorist group "Was well prepared for this war by building trenches
in which its members can take shelter, while innocent Palestinians were being
killed. Hamas likes to play the role of victim and kill Palestinians to win
Arab, Islamic and international sympathy." — Abdulah Bin Binjad Al Otaibi, Saudi
writer and researcher, Al-Ittihad, May 17, 2021.
"Hamas did not use the children of Ismail Haniyeh, Khaled Mashaal or Ali
Khamenei as human shields. Hamas used the Palestinian people [as human
shields]." — Ahdeya Ahmed Al Sayed, President of the Bahrain Journalists
Association, Twitter, May 16, 2021.
The criticism shows that a growing number of Arabs are fed up with the
continuous efforts of Iran to destabilize the Arab countries with the help of
the mullahs' proxies in the Middle East, including Hamas.
Inexplicably, these Arab voices are generally ignored by the international
community and the mainstream media in the West. Those who are demonstrating
against Israel and Jews in the US, Canada and Europe might want to tune in to
what Arabs themselves are saying about Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah and other
terrorist groups. If they bothered to listen, they would understand that as far
as many Arabs are concerned, the real threat to the future of Arab and Muslim
children is coming from Iran and Islamic terrorist groups, and not from Israel.
Prominent Arab writers and political analysts hold the Iranian-backed Hamas
responsible for the violence and bloodshed in the Gaza Strip over the past week.
These Arabs can also see that if one cares about the Palestinians, why would one
want them ruled by terrorists who place weapons caches near hospitals and
schools, and use children as human shields?
While many in the West denounced Israel for its military strikes in the Gaza
Strip over the past week, prominent Arab writers and political analysts held the
Iranian-backed Hamas responsible for the violence and bloodshed.
These Arabs evidently understand what the anti-Israel activists around the world
fail to see -- that Hamas has brought nothing but disaster and despair to the
two million Palestinians living under its rule in the Gaza Strip.
These Arabs also seem to understand that Israel is not waging war on the
Palestinians, but against an Islamist terrorist group whose charter openly calls
for jihad (holy war) and the elimination of Israel.
These Arabs can also see that if one cares about the Palestinians, why would one
want them ruled by terrorists who place weapons caches near hospitals and
schools, and use children as human shields?
Those who are condemning Israel for defending itself against the rocket and
missile attacks need to see what article 15 of the Hamas charter says:
"The day the enemies usurp part of Muslim land, Jihad becomes the individual
duty of every Muslim. In the face of the Jews' usurpation, it is compulsory that
the banner of Jihad be raised."
The message that the Arab writers and political analysts are trying to send to
those Westerners who consider themselves "pro-Palestinian" is: Hamas serves as a
pawn in the hands of Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood in the fight against Israel
and the West.
There is another message that the Arabs are seeking to send to those in the West
who are demonstrating against Israel: Criticism of Hamas does not make you
anti-Palestinian; on the contrary, holding Hamas responsible for the violence
and bloodletting actually serves the interests of the Palestinians.
How ironic that Arab Muslims are lashing out at Hamas while Israel-haters around
the world see no evil in its actions, including the indiscriminate firing of
thousands of rockets and missiles into Israel.
"Real sympathy with the Palestinian people means searching for solutions for an
actual and practical peace that guarantees their safety, security, and
development," commented Saudi writer and researcher Abdulah Bin Binjad Al Otaibi.
"The solutions should also stop those [Hamas] who are ready to burn Palestine
and its people."
The Hamas terrorist group, he said, "was well prepared for this war by building
trenches in which its members can take shelter, while innocent Palestinians were
being killed. Hamas likes to play the role of victim and kill Palestinians to
win Arab, Islamic and international sympathy."
Denouncing Hamas for persecuting the Palestinians, Al Otaibi noted that the
terrorist group carried out a bloody coup in 2007 against the Palestinian
Authority in the Gaza Strip.
"Some ask, is this the right time to present the crimes of Hamas," he added.
"This is precisely the best time to do so. The reader can conduct a quick search
on the Internet to learn about the crimes that Hamas has committed against the
Palestinians. Hamas has the right to destroy its homes with its own hands, but
it has no right to destroy the homes of Palestinians and underestimate their
blood and the blood of their children."
Saudi writer Abdullah Nasser Al Otaibi called on Arab countries to help the
Palestinians get new leaders.
"Hamas and its Muslim Brotherhood patrons do not care about the suffering or
interests of the Palestinians," Al Otaibi wrote. "They only care about
demonizing those who stand against them. Hamas is saying: Let the Palestinians
die for the sake of a Muslim Brotherhood victory."
Another Saudi writer, Mishary Dhayidi, warned that Hamas was aligned with Iran
and the enemies of the Arabs.
Dhayidi pointed out that Hamas has been associated with the Houthi militia in
Yemen, Hezbollah, Egyptian terrorists and Qasem Soleimani, the commander of
Iran's Quds Force who was killed last year in a US targeted drone attack near
Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.
Emirati writer Al-Sheikh Wuldalsalek accused both Palestinian Authority
President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas of "trafficking" in the Palestinian issue.
"Abbas wants to cover up for this decision to postpone the Palestinian elections
so that he can continue to sit on the presidential chair at the expense of
Palestinian blood," Wuldalsalek remarked. "Hamas aspires to increase its
popularity and drain the pockets of those who see it as a resistance movement by
launching futile missiles that harm it more than doing any good."
He accused Iran and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of "exploiting
Palestinian blood without any shame or conscience."
"A few months ago, we were very happy with the signing of the Abraham Peace
Accords [with Israel], which the people rely on to create peace that benefits
everyone politically, economically and socially," Wuldalsalek wrote. "But the
extremists are working to kill this dream. It is sad that some are working hard
for peace, while others are working hard for the sake of war and the
continuation of the conflict."
Egyptian writer Khaled al-Berry advised that "criticism of Hamas is in the
interest of the Palestinians, now and tomorrow."
Criticism of Hamas, he said, "Is a message of awareness, caution, and a warning
about the consequences of its organizational and regional ties."
Former Jordanian Minister of Information Saleh Al-Gholab said that Hamas should
choose between being a Palestinian group or "a Muslim Brotherhood movement
belonging to Iran." Al-Gholab pointed out that in 2007 Hamas launched a bloody
coup against the Palestinian Authority and threw members of its rivals in Fatah
from rooftops.
Ahdeya Ahmed Al Sayed, President of the Bahrain Journalists Association, wrote
on Twitter:
"Those who support the terrorist militias [Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah,
Houthis, and the Iranian regime] are considered terrorists. The Palestinian
issue does not need terrorists and traffickers. The Palestinian issue does not
need traitors."
In another tweet, Al Sayed commented:
"Hamas did not use the children of Ismail Haniyeh, Khaled Mashaal or Ali
Khamenei as human shields. Hamas used the Palestinian people [as human shields].
Shame on you to defend Hamas. This is a major betrayal!"
Such critiques of Hamas and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups are relatively
new in the Arab world. The criticism shows that a growing number of Arabs are
fed up with the continuous efforts of Iran to destabilize the Arab countries
with the help of the mullahs' proxies in the Middle East, including Hamas.
Inexplicably, these Arab voices are generally ignored by the international
community and the mainstream media in the West. Those who are demonstrating
against Israel and Jews in the US, Canada and some European countries might want
to tune in to what Arabs themselves are saying about Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah and
other terrorist groups. If they bothered to listen, they would understand that
as far as many Arabs are concerned, the real threat to the future of Arab and
Muslim children is coming from Iran and Islamic terrorist groups, and not from
Israel.
*Khaled Abu Toameh is an award-winning journalist based in Jerusalem.
© 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.
Biden must halt nuclear talks with Iran
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/May 21/2021
As the negotiations between Washington and Tehran continue, and the chances
increase of reviving the 2015 nuclear deal and lifting sanctions against Iran,
the regime in Tehran appears to be growing more emboldened and empowered to
escalate its destabilizing and destructive behavior in the Middle East.
Instead of attempting to broker calm and peace, the Iranian leaders appear to be
adding fuel to the fire in the conflict between Hamas and Israel. In a recent
telephone call with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, for example, Esmail Ghaani, the
head of Iran’s Quds Force, which is part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps, applauded Hamas for the attacks.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say on Iranian
foreign policy, seemed to incite a continuation of rocket attacks when 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.”
Twitter’s policy states that it can suspend accounts “due to the risk of further
incitement of violence,” and many users have slammed the platform for not taking
action to ban Khamenei for breaking this rule.
In addition a number of US senators last week urged the Biden administration to
halt its negotiations with the Iranian regime. In a joint letter to the
president, they wrote: “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.”
The Iranian regime may also view the conflict between Hamas and Israel as a form
of retaliation for the assassination by the US of Quds Force commander Gen.
Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. In fact, one member of the Iranian parliament,
Ahmad Naderi, described the conflict as a “blessing” and said the “clock will
tick faster for Israel’s annihilation.” He added: “This is the blessing (brought
on) by the blood of (Soleimani).”
Iran is also attempting to project its power toward the US and Israel. Since the
establishment of the regime in 1979, Iranian leaders have repeatedly projected
the false impression and narrative that their objective in the Israel-Palestine
conflict is to help and support the Palestinian people. In reality, their main
objective is linked to an aspiration for regional hegemonic supremacy, rather
than the humanitarian reasons.
Before the revolution, Iran was allied with Israel, supported it fully and
received weapons from it. After the revolution, one of the major foreign policy
objectives and revolutionary ideals of the regime became its rivalry with
Israel.
It is crucial to understand that this rivalry was not in any way influenced by
the struggles of the Palestinian people. Instead, it was mainly prompted by
Israel’s alliance with the US, which became the regime’s primary enemy and the
main focus of its foreign policy after the revolution.
The Iranian leaders believe that they can project their power and influence in
the Arab world by interfering in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Iranian regime also labels other countries its enemies as a tool it uses to
suppress domestic opposition and to advance Iran’s ideological and hegemonic
ambitions in the region.
In May 2020, Iran’s supreme leader surprisingly admitted that his regime is a
weapons provider.
“Iran realized Palestinian fighters’ only problem was the lack of access to
weapons,” he said “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
leaders believe that they can project their power and influence in the Arab
world by interfering in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In the past four decades, the Iranian regime’s alliances with some Palestinian
political parties have shifted to favor those that better align with its foreign
policy objectives.
For example, Tehran cut ties with Hamas at the start of the Syrian civil war,
because of the latter’s stance on President Bashar Assad. The strategic alliance
was later renewed, in part because the Iranian regime views Hamas as important
to its efforts to advance its foreign policy, strategic and geopolitical
objectives in the region.
By meddling in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Tehran is attempting to project
the narrative that the regime does not only have influence among Shiites (in
Iraq, in Assad’s Alawite state, among followers of Hezbollah, etc.) but also in
Sunni nations.
In a nutshell, the Iranian regime appears to be pouring fuel onto the fire of
the conflict between Hamas and Israel, and it is incumbent on the Biden
administration to halt its negotiations with the country’s leaders at this
critical time.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian American political scientist.
He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a businessman and
president of the International American Council. He serves on the boards of the
Harvard International Review, the Harvard International Relations Council and
the US-Middle East Chamber for Commerce and Business. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
Did Iran use Iraqi militias to fly drone into Israel? - analysis
Seth J. Frantzman/Jerusalem Post/May 21/2021
Netanyahu used the drone as an example of Iran’s supplying of infrastructure to
terrorist groups. Details about the drone being shot down are still relatively
scarce.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of launching an armed drone that
flew into Israeli airspace in the midst of the war in Gaza. In a meeting with
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Netanyahu brought a piece of the drone and
said that “Iran sent an armed UAV into Israel from Iraq or Syria.” It was
intercepted near the border with Jordan in an area near where another armed
drone flown from Syria was shot down in February 2018. The fact that Iraq was
mentioned as a possible place the drone came from speaks to a larger Iranian
threat that links Iraq and Syria. This threat has been known for years but may
be growing.
Netanyahu used the drone as an example of Iran’s supplying of infrastructure to
terrorist groups. Details about the drone being shot down are still relatively
scarce. It was shot down on May 18 and pieces of it fell in an area near Beit
Shean. Iranian media has not concentrated on the drone story. A short piece in
Sputnik News in Arabic mentioned it. Al-Mayadeen, which is generally supportive
of Iran and Hezbollah, also briefly mentioned the drone incident.
The drone story is part of a wider issue. Hamas has published photos they claim
were taken by one of their surveillance drones over Israel and Hamas has used a
new drone based on the Iranian Ababil drone.
Now let’s look at Iraq’s role. In August 2018, Reuters revealed that Iran was
moving ballistic missiles to Iraq. This was based on western intelligence
sources, they said. In December 2019, the US said that Iran was again moving
missiles to Iraq. It appears that Iran had Kataib Hezbollah, a part of the
pro-Iranian Hashd al-Shaabi group of militias in Iraq, use a drone to attack a
Saudi Arabia pipeline in May 2019. More threats emerged from Iraq on Saudi
Arabia in February 2021 when a drone flying from Iraq attacked a royal palace.
Kataib Hezbollah was previously run by Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis until he was killed
by the US in January 2020 alongside Qasem Soleimani. The Washington Institute
for Near East Policy says that this group is pioneering sophisticated drone use
in Iraq. Michael Knights and Crispin smith wrote on May 14 that “Iraqi militias
are now fielding a twelve-foot wingspan drone similar to the Sammad-1, an
Iranian-designed aircraft with a range of 500 km, used by both the Houthis and
Lebanese Hezbollah.”
Drones were used against US forces in Erbil in the Kurdistan region in mid-April
2021 and against al-Asad base west of Baghdad on May 8. Are the photos of the
drone wreckage in Erbil appears to be the same grey of the drone that was downed
in northeast Israel. This points to the Iranian origin of the drones. However,
the reference to Iraq as a potential location from where the drone was flown or
came from also hints at Iraqi militia participation.
Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq are called the Hashd al-Shaabi or PMU. These
include groups like Qais Khazali’a Asaib Ahl al Haq. He came to Lebanon in 2017
to threaten Israel and say he would work alongside Hezbollah. Muhandis and
Kataib Hezbollah were part of the IRGC Quds Force network across the Middle East
aiding Iran and Hezbollah. Other militias in Iraq are close to the IRGC and
Iran. After the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on May 10 there were
attempts by pro-Iran groups in Iraq to organize fighters to fight Israel. On May
16 reports said Kataib Hezbollah had organized some volunteers. Harakat
Hezbollah al-Nujaba and Kataib Sayed al Shuhada reputedly also wanted to go
fight Israel from Iraq. A deputy from Nujaba said on May 17 that the group was
ready to go and in Iraq protesters were launch condemning Israel and the US.
Reports indicated that Kataib Hezbollah was in touch with Palestinian Islamic
Jihad. At the same time Esmail Ghaani of the Quds Force had written a letter to
Hamas commander Mohammed Deif in Gaza. Ghaani spoke with Haniyeh on May 15.
The question is whether the drone that entered Israeli airspace on May 18 was
flown from Syria or Iraq. What is the Iraq connection. Iran flew a drone from
Syria in February 2018 from T-4 base. A Hezbollah drone team of several
Hezbollah operatives tried and failed to launch drones into Israel in August
2018. Israel carried out an airstrike against them. Israel has downed multiple
drones from Lebanon over the past year. In January and April. The April drone
belonged to Hezbollah, Israel’s IDF said.
If Iraqi-based militias are preparing to fight Israel, hosting Iranian ballistic
missiles and potentially using drones against Israel this marks a serious
escalation. Israel has operated to prevent Iranian entrenchment in Syria. In
July and August 2019 pro-Iranian groups in Iraq accused Israel of several
airstrikes in Iraq. US officials in August 2019 appeared to confirm those
airstrikes in quotes published in VOA in the US.
It is known Kataib Hezbollah used a headquarters in Albukamal up until June 2018
when it was hit with an airstrike. The US has also carried out airstrikes in
Syria against Iraqi militias that operate there. This illustrates the network of
Iraqi militias that are linked to Iran that operate in Syria and use the border
are to aid Iran in its “road to the sea,” a network of Iranian nodes that are
used to move weapons to Hezbollah and are active in Iraq and Syria among
pro-Iranian groups. These now include the trafficking of drone technology, much
as Iran has helped the Houthis in Yemen develop drones to attack Saudi Arabia.
The distance from Iraq’s Al-Qaim or areas in Anbar province where drones could
be flown from is at the extreme end of the range of these types of drones,
around 600km. That would mean any drone flown from Iraq would either represent
the distance of the threat that can be achieved or that it was flown from Syria.
Netanyahu said that it came from Iraq or Syria. The mentioning of Iraq appears
to indicate that Iraq is of importance in this new threat equation.