LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
December 22/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations
Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles, Keep away from them
Romans 14/01-23: "Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 21-22/17
General Security chief mediating in Aoun-Berri feud/Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/December 21/2017
Now, this is presidential obstruction/Jonathan S. Tobin/New York Post/December 21/17
Stabilizing Lebanon Is Iran's Way of Helping Hezbollah Take Over/Hanin Ghaddar/The Washington Institute/December 21/17
Trudeau becomes first prime minister found in violation of ethics law/Jordan Press, The Canadian Press/December 21/2017
Netanyahu Slams UN as 'House of Lies' Ahead of Thursday's Vote Against Trump's Jerusalem Recognition/Almog Ben Zikri/Haaretz/December 21/ 2017
Canada: Obsessed with "Islamophobia"/Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/December 21/2017
Twilight over the "Palestinian Cause"/Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/December 21/2017
Egypt's Paper-Peace with Israel/A. Z. Mohamed/Gatestone Institute/December 21/2017

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on December 21-22/17
Lebanon Conducts First-Ever Census of Palestinian Refugees
Hariri: Int'l Community Liable for Worsening Conditions of Palestinian Refugees
Hariri: This is the Best Time to Invest in Lebanon
Teen Goes Missing after Leaving for School
Activists Rally at Justice Palace in Support of Press Freedom
Lebanon Rolls Out New Car Plates
Army Arrests Terrorist in 2014 Haret Hreik Bombing
Lebanon’s monetary situation stable: Salameh to Aoun
Preparations Start for Three International Conferences to Support Lebanon
General Security chief mediating in Aoun-Berri feud
President Aoun underscores independence of judiciary
Now, this is presidential obstruction
Stabilizing Lebanon Is Iran's Way of Helping Hezbollah Take Over

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on December 21-22/17
Trudeau becomes first prime minister found in violation of ethics law
Palestinian Envoy: U.N. Jerusalem Vote 'Massive Setback' for U.S.
Netanyahu Says He's 'Satisfied' after U.N. Vote on Jerusalem
Palestinians Welcome Support after U.N. Vote on Jerusalem
Israel 'Will Never be Driven from Jerusalem,' Envoy Tells U.N.
Netanyahu Slams UN as 'House of Lies' Ahead of Thursday's Vote Against Trump's Jerusalem Recognition
U.N. Votes 128-9 to Reject U.S. Decision on Jerusalem amid 35 Abstentions
Raul Castro to Step Down as Cuba's President in April 2018
14 Hurt as Car Driven into Crowd in Melbourne

Latest Lebanese Related News published on December 21-22/17
Lebanon Conducts First-Ever Census of Palestinian Refugees
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 21/17/More than 174,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, authorities announced Thursday, in the first-ever census of its kind for a country where demographics have long been a sensitive subject. The census was carried out by the government's Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee in 12 Palestinian camps as well as 156 informal "gatherings" across the country. The result of 174,422 Palestinian refugees is much lower than previous estimates of up to 500,000. Palestinians began taking refuge in Lebanon with the creation of Israel in 1948, setting up camps that have since transformed into bustling, urban districts. But their presence has long been a controversial in Lebanon, with many blaming it for the eruption of the bitter war that ravaged the country between 1975 and 1990. Lebanon has not carried out a census of its own citizens since 1932, making the 2017 count even more remarkable. It sheds light on the living conditions of 174,422 Palestinian refugees, as well as another 18,601 Palestinians who fled the neighboring conflict in Syria to camps in Lebanon. It found the population split evenly between men and women, but nearly half of the total are 24 or younger. Around 7.2 percent are illiterate, but an impressive 93.6 percent of children aged between three to 13 were enrolled in schools. Around 18 percent of the workforce is unemployed. Lebanon's Palestinian camps suffer serious problems, with varying degrees of poverty, overcrowding, unemployment, poor housing conditions and lack of infrastructure. Announcing the results, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Lebanon had a "duty" towards Palestinians. "Over the past decades, the social and humanitarian problems faced by Palestinian refugees have accumulated, and the reality in the camps has become tragic on all levels," Hariri said at the Grand Serail. But he insisted Lebanon would, under no circumstances, accept their naturalization. Palestinian officials have also consistently rejected permanent resettlement in Lebanon because of their longstanding demand that those who fled or were forced out of their homes with the creation of Israel be granted the right of return. The census result is much lower than the 469,331 people registered in Lebanon with the U.N.'s Palestinian refugee agency. "UNRWA does not have a headcount of Palestinian refugees who are currently residing in Lebanon. What we have as an agency are official registration records for the number of registered Palestine refugees in Lebanon," spokeswoman Huda Samra told AFP. "If someone registered with UNRWA in Lebanon decided to live outside Lebanon, they don't notify us," she said.
Hariri: Int'l Community L

Hariri: Int'l Community Liable for Worsening Conditions of Palestinian Refugees
Naharnet/December 21/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri shoved aside exaggerations on the number of Palestinian refugees residing in Lebanon, announcing that only 174,422 live on Lebanese soil as he blamed their deteriorating conditions worldwide to the international community's inaction. Hariri's remarks came at the Comprehensive Census of Population and Housing in Palestinian Camps and Gatherings in Lebanon, a project of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee at the Grand Serail.“The figures of this comprehensive census in the camps and Palestinian gatherings in Lebanon paint a clear and honest picture of the reality of the situation of refugees and contribute to the formulation of projects and management plans,” said Hariri. The Prime Minister pointed to “exaggerations” as for the number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon which estimated the count at 600,000. He said the “actual number is 174,422,” assuring that the State adheres to its responsibilities. “Our goal must be clear and that is to fight the abolition of the UNRWA and to support it. The reason for the situation of Palestinians today is because of the international community's failure to resolve the crisis. If the international community wants to stop spending money on refugees, what should we say to this community and how do we believe in it?” Hariri asked. The PM stressed that Lebanon will not evade its duties, as he rejected resettlement or any form of action that strips Palestinians from their right to return to their homeland. "Lebanon believes the international, Arab and United Nations organizations have a responsibility to address these situations," he said. Pointing to the UNRWA's financial crisis, he said: “It directly affects the basic requirements of refugees in Lebanon. We call upon donor countries to increase their contributions and support to enable UNRWA fulfill its obligations to meet the needs of refugees and ensure a just solution to their cause in accordance with international resolutions.” Hariri lamented how “some parties in the international community wish to offer no help but instead want to disrupt and offset the UNRWA.”

Hariri: This is the Best Time to Invest in Lebanon
Naharnet/December 21/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Thursday that “this is the best time to invest in Lebanon,” after the Lebanese showed “wisdom” during the November political crisis. “This is the best time to invest in Lebanon because, thanks to this political stability and security in our country, we have been able to establish that the country is capable of confronting crises in a wise manner,” Hariri said during a discussion with the participants in the Global Business Summit, organized by Endeavor Lebanon and LIFE at the Four Seasons Hotel. He added that the government's goal is to ensure that the fiscal deficit will not increase from 2017 to 2018, and that the country will be able to meet all financial challenges next year. “Over the course of this year, we achieved many things. People did not believe at first and thought that this consensus could explode at any time. But it enabled us to overcome a very difficult situation in a wise way,” Hariri said. As for Lebanon's ties with Arab Gulf countries, the premier said: “I think the Gulf has a problem with one political party and not with the whole of Lebanon. The Gulf is not going to take steps against all of Lebanon.”“I assure you that we have the best relationship with Saudi Arabia and very good relationship with the UAE and most of the Gulf,” he added. “We will make sure that our disassociation policy will satisfy everyone and not only Lebanon,” Hariri reassured.

Teen Goes Missing after Leaving for School
Naharnet/December 21/17/Seventeen-year-old teenager Paul Boulos Sfeir has been missing since Tuesday morning, the National News Agency reported on Thursday. It said the teenager disappeared after leaving his home in Jounieh for school. The Jounieh police department has launched an investigation into the case, the agency added.

Activists Rally at Justice Palace in Support of Press Freedom
Naharnet/December 21/17/A number of civil society groups rallied Thursday outside the Justice Palace in Beirut in support of press freedom and to reject “the muzzling of voices.”The activists raised pens in the air as a symbol of freedom of speech and carried banners defending the press. “Lebanon is the Symbol of Freedom and Democracy, You Can't Change Lebanon's Identity”, read one of the banners. Protesters stressed that they will not allow “the return of Lebanon to the tutelage era.” The demonstration comes in the wake of the prosecution of Marcel Ghanem, one of Lebanon's most prominent talk show hosts, over an episode in which he hosted Saudi journalists who labeled the Lebanese president and parliament speaker as “terrorists.” Prime Minister Saad Hariri voiced solidarity with Ghanem on Thursday, saying the case has been blown out of proportion. Ghanem's episode was broadcast live last month, when tensions were very high between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia over the shock resignation of Hariri, announced from the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Lebanon Rolls Out New Car Plates
Naharnet/December 21/17/Lebanon's Interior Ministry and the Traffic Management Center released on Thursday the new license plates. Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq told reporters that plates can not be forged and will limit the ability of culprits for terror acts. “The security situation is under control and it's our duty to intensify the procedures to keep it stable. Changing the number plates is part of these procedures,” Mashnouq told reporters. “Forged plate cars were used in the majority of assassinations and bombings in Lebanon. This will not happen again with the new safe plates,” he added. The new plates have 3D engraved cedar tree and a serial number. “They are available starting this week and priced at LL 15,000,” said the Minister.

Army Arrests Terrorist in 2014 Haret Hreik Bombing
Naharnet/December 21/17/A major suspect involved in the 2014 bombing that targeted Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik was arrested late on Wednesday along with 10 other militants in the northeastern border town of Arsal, the National News Agency reported. Lebanon's armed forced arrested Abdul Basset Ammoun in Arsal along with ten other suspects. The arrests included a man from the Ghadada family nicknamed al-Zaim, a man from the Ammoun family, M.al-Abed a relative of IS leader Wahid al-Abed, a man from Ghadadi and three others from the Rashak family, NNA said. The deadly 2014 suicide bombing in Haret Hreik killed four people and left more than 77 wounded.

Lebanon’s monetary situation stable: Salameh to Aoun
The Daily Star/December 21/2017/overnor Riad Salameh assured the stability of Lebanon’s monetary situation to President Michel Aoun Thursday, according to a statement from Baabda Palace. Salameh and Aoun met to discuss the state of Lebanon’s banking and finance sector, ways to finance projects geared toward activating the economy and the monetary vision for 2018. The statement quoted Salameh as saying that measures taken by the bank help maintain the financial stability in the country. Aoun also held separate meetings with former Minister Fadi Abboud, Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria Hussam Diab and Francesco Rocca, the president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, who assured his organization supported Lebanon in all its humanitarian needs. Rocca also thanked Aoun for the official support that the Red Cross and Red Crescent receive in Lebanon. He added that he recently visited Syria, in his first visit to the country since his election as president of the humanitarian organization. Aoun welcomed Rocca and expressed his appreciation for the role the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are playing in the world, especially in Lebanon and other Arab countries, which he said are witnessing conflicts that “should be solved politically.”The president also touched on the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon, and called for “working on facilitating their return to safe zones in Syria as well as distributing aid to them.”

Preparations Start for Three International Conferences to Support Lebanon
Beirut- Paula Astih/Asharq Al Awsat/December 21/17/Preparations have started for the three international conferences scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2018 in Paris, Rome and Brussels to rally support for Lebanon at the economic, security and political levels, and to prepare for the return of the Syrian refugees, which will alleviate the burdens carried by the country over the past seven years.Meetings between European officials and their Lebanese counterparts are currently taking place to discuss the details of these conferences, although no final dates have yet been set. On Wednesday, Lebanese President Michel Aoun met with France’s representative to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Ambassador Pierre Duquesne, with whom he discussed preparations for the Paris 4 conference. In earlier remarks, the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that the conference would be held in March, pointing out that it would focus on investments to support Lebanon’s economy and infrastructure. In parallel, Defense Minister Yacoub Sarraf met with Italy’s Ambassador to Lebanon Massimo Marotti to discuss preparations for the International Conference in Support of the Lebanese Armed Forces in Rome, which will be called "Rome 2". In addition to the Paris 4 and Rome 2 conferences, a conference will be held in Brussels, most likely in April, to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis. France, according to its foreign minister, expects the conference to be "an opportunity to show progress in the safe return of displaced Syrians to their country and in a way that preserves their dignity." Presidential sources said that the preparations for the Paris 4 conference have begun a while ago, pointing out that an official of the French President’s team met on Wednesday with Aoun to discuss the preparations for the conference, which would be centered on investments and economic support for Lebanon. The first conference in support for Lebanon's political, security and economic stability after the recent political crisis, took place earlier in December in Paris. The international support group for Lebanon, chaired by the United Nations and France, underlined the “need to protect Lebanon from crises that destabilize the Middle East.”Now, this is presidential obstruction
Jonathan S. Tobin/New York Post/December 21/17
What if a president used his power to interfere with a federal investigation involving foreign powers committing serious crimes in the United States as well as elsewhere? Such a thing would be considered a terrible scandal and, no doubt, lead to a federal probe by a special counsel who would be expected to get to the bottom of such a mess. But if you think this is a reference to the investigation led by Robert Mueller into possible collusion with Russia during the 2016 campaign and obstruction of justice once President Trump took office, you’re wrong. While proof that the Trump campaign actually plotted with Russia still has yet to be presented, evidence of another scandal involving President Barack Obama and Hezbollah, Iran and the Russians has just been uncovered in an investigative story by Politico. The tale involves an administration decision to spike Project Cassandra, a federal probe into international drug smuggling, money laundering and terrorism by Hezbollah. The motive for interference with the justice system was to appease both Moscow and Tehran during Obama’s quest for a nuclear deal with Iran. It happened because, as Politico’s sources made clear, a decision was made at the highest levels of the Obama administration to prioritize making nice with Iran and Russia over the federal government’s obligation to protect US citizens. It’s the sort of thing that ought to rock Washington. An actual plot that placed the interests of foreign powers over those of the US by Obama. Project Cassandra was built upon previous efforts by the Drug Enforcement Agency and US intelligence agencies to deal with the growing reach of Hezbollah around the globe. By the time Obama took office, Hezbollah’s crimes financed terrorism to the tune of more than $1 billion while also furthering the interests of the ayatollahs pulling their strings in Tehran. But the Obama administration wasn’t interested. By the time Obama’s second term began, he had in place CIA Director John Brennan, who had long advocated better relations with Hezbollah “moderates,” and Secretary of State John Kerry, who was determined to make every conceivable concession to Iran — including legalizing their nuclear program and allowing restrictions on it to eventually lapse — in order to get an agreement. That was the beginning of the end for Project Cassandra.
Orders from on high precluded indictments and operations designed to hinder Hezbollah. Ali Fayad, a Lebanese arms dealer who was indicted on charges of planning the murders of US government workers, had been captured in the Czech Republic. But, bowing to Russian pressure, the US made no effort to extradite him and Fayad was allowed to evade justice and go back into business in Lebanon.
Another top Hezbollah operative involved in chemical weapons also got a pass. Possible indictments of Hezbollah personnel were quashed. A top operative involved in trafficking chemical weapons also got a pass and requests to lure others involved in this mafia-style group to countries where they could be apprehended were denied. Those US agents who protested this were told not to “rock the boat.” While the CIA was leery of DEA efforts to prosecute a group they sought to influence, the Obama administration was interested in neither law enforcement nor covert operations against Hezbollah as their push for an agreement with Tehran became more serious. Meanwhile, the terrorists were sending planeloads worth of cash from Latin America drug trafficking and even the proceeds from Islamist-run used-car companies in the US back to Lebanon. Cash reserves in a Beirut account that was awash in Hezbollah drug money doubled. A regular shuttle flew from Venezuela to Iran, with illegal drugs and cash flowing one way and Hezbollah and Iranian agents (who were then supplied with fake identities by Venezuela) the other. But to the frustration of those involved in Cassandra, the US didn’t act when it could to capture those in the scheme. The message the task force received was that their work could not interfere with a diplomatic charm offensive directed at Iran and Russia. By the time Trump took office, US efforts to stop Hezbollah had been derailed. Worse than that, as it became clear that Obama had zero leverage in the negotiations, there was little he wouldn’t do to keep the ayatollahs happy.
In order to win the release of US citizens being held hostage by Tehran after the nuclear deal had been concluded, the United States was no longer just turning a blind eye to Hezbollah transferring criminal profits there. In 2016, Obama sent $400 million packed onto wooden pallets as part of a ransom payment to Iran of unfrozen assets. These gifts to Iran and Russia had far-reaching consequences. It doesn’t just make a nuclear deal that was already a disaster, that didn’t fulfill any US objectives, look even worse. It also highlights the way the US stood by as Iran’s quest for regional hegemony became a reality, endangering American allies as well as making the world safer for Islamist narcoterrorists. Congress and the Department of Justice should investigate these revelations. They ought to light a fire under US efforts to renegotiate a nuclear deal so as to end its sunset provisions as well as to reinvigorate efforts to crack down on Hezbollah. But it may be that the country is so obsessed with Trump’s uncivil discourse that it may not care much about Obama aiding and abetting terrorism. If so, you don’t have to be a fan of Trump’s to understand there is something deeply wrong with giving Obama a pass for decisions that look far worse than anything Trump is accused of doing.

Stabilizing Lebanon Is Iran's Way of Helping Hezbollah Take Over
حنين غدار: الإستقرار في لبنان وسيلة إيران في مساعدة حزب الله السيطرة عليه
Hanin Ghaddar/The Washington Institute/December 21/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=61212
Despite issuing threats through its proxies, Iran shares the international community's interest in Lebanon's near-term stability, but its motivations are hardly benevolent.
Earlier this month, Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Asaib Ahl al-Haqq, showed up in southern Lebanon to issue threats against Israel alongside fellow Shia militants from Hezbollah. At first glance, highly publicized video of the incident seemed to signal that Tehran might expand its military activities from Syria into Lebanon. As he gazed along the border, Khazali announced that his militia was "fully prepared and ready to stand as one with the Lebanese people and with the Palestinian cause." In rhetorical terms, the move served as a message to Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who recently returned to Lebanon from Saudi Arabia, recanted his resignation, and reiterated the country's policy of "dissociation" from regional conflicts. But for all its tough talk, Tehran does not want to spark a fight in Lebanon, which is far too important to Iranian interests to be turned into another battlefield—at least not before Hezbollah solidifies its grip there in the coming months.
STABILITY AT WHAT COST?
The video of Khazali's visit—a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701's prohibition on foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent of its government—coincided with the December 8 meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon, which took place in Paris and was attended by officials from Britain, China, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United States, the European Union, the Arab League, the UN, and the World Bank. In addition to emphasizing implementation of Security Council Resolutions 1559 and 1701, participants called on the Lebanese government and individual parties to preserve stability by staying out of foreign conflicts. Yet Beirut's dissociation policy will not force Hezbollah to withdraw from the Syria war or other regional clashes. Although the militant party's ministers agreed to the policy, they have not pulled their fighters and advisors from battlefields in Syria, Iraq, or Yemen, and no Lebanese political mandate seems likely to force them into doing so.
International reactions have unintentionally sent a similar signal to Hezbollah. After Hariri's defiant resignation and departure, French president Emmanuel Macron intervened to bring him back to Lebanon, while the U.S. State Department and White House issued statements supporting him as prime minister and highlighting the importance of stability. To Hezbollah's ears, the message was clear: so long as Lebanon is kept stable, the group will be left alone to continue its takeover there. At the same time, Hezbollah and Iran still needed to reaffirm that no one in Lebanon can stop the group from intervening wherever it likes—hence the release of Khazali's video.
In short, the past few weeks have simply confirmed the understanding that no one is willing to change the status quo in Lebanon. Europeans are worried about another wave of refugees, since Lebanon hosts more than 1.5 million displaced Syrians. Saudi Arabia was too busy with Yemen to continue its role in the resignation drama, while U.S. officials announced a new $120 million military aid package after meeting with Hariri last week. But this kind of stability will come at the cost of helping Hezbollah, whose leaders know that the international community's fear of disrupting Lebanon's political dynamics is stronger than its desire to contain Iranian influence there.
HEZBOLLAH'S NEXT MOVE
Hariri's return protected Hezbollah from a crisis that it preferred not to deal with at the moment. Prior to his resignation, the group had managed to keep him as prime minister of a "National Unity Government" that provided political cover for Hezbollah operations at home and abroad. His reversal preserved that cover—since returning home, Hariri has been more critical of his own allies than of Hezbollah. On November 30, he told Paris Match magazine that the group is a regional problem, not a domestic one: "In Lebanon, Hezbollah has a political role. It has weapons, of course, but it is not using them on Lebanese soil." This caused outrage among his supporters, who were quick to note that Hezbollah members used weapons against the Lebanese people during the domestic unrest of May 2008 and are still under indictment for assassinating Hariri's own father in 2005.
Such critics are now under fire. Hariri has made hostile statements against former justice minister Ashraf Rifi and "Lebanese Forces" party leader Samir Geagea, while public figures and journalists associated with the March 14 coalition have been summoned for interrogation by security authorities. A number of other individuals—including Kataeb Party leader Samy Gemayel, March 14 member Fares Souaid, and journalist Marcel Ghanem—are being prosecuted for criticizing Hariri and President Michel Aoun as well as questioning the prime minister's rumored business partnership with Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, a Hezbollah ally.
Amid this intimidating context, Hezbollah can now proceed to take advantage of international support for Lebanon in order to prepare for its next move. The cover provided by the dissociation policy may buy the group enough time to position itself for victory in the May 2018 parliamentary elections. With the new electoral law that Hariri's government passed this summer, Hezbollah will probably manage to bring its allies into parliament and consolidate its power democratically. This in turn would allow it to choose the next prime minister and president, make top military and security appointments, and even change the constitution as it sees fit.
For example, Hezbollah could alter the power-sharing distribution in parliament from half Christian/half Muslim to a three-way system between Christians, Sunnis, and Shia, thereby guaranteeing itself perpetual power in Lebanon's institutions. The group has revealed this idea in the past but failed to implement it for lack of a parliamentary majority. That may not be a problem after the next elections—hence the importance of encouraging serious support for anti-Hezbollah candidates among all sects, including the Shia community.
CONCLUSION
Hezbollah and its Iranian patron do not want war in Lebanon for many reasons, so the status quo works very well for them in the short term. Tehran is still trying to establish its presence in Syria while awaiting the Iraqi parliamentary elections in April 2018, which it hopes will consolidate its influence in Baghdad. Yet Lebanon is more important than these other client countries because Iran wants to keep using it as a stable operations room for regional conflicts. Khazali's video tour was just the tip of the iceberg—all of Iran's Shia militias have a strong presence in Lebanon, and they are increasingly establishing political offices and media institutions inside the Dahiya suburb of Beirut. They also receive military training at camps in Lebanon, often by Hezbollah operatives.
Preserving Lebanon's stability remains important in a region rife with sectarian wars, but any state of calm that empowers Iran and fails to challenge Hezbollah will be a transitory one. Likewise, stability cannot safeguard Lebanon's politics or economy if it compromises democratic freedoms and bolsters corruption. On the contrary, it will only intensify tension between sects and further damage Lebanon's institutions. The international community should therefore buttress its talk of stability with a focus on reforming state institutions in order to protect Lebanon's values of freedom and diversity. Perhaps more important, Hariri's dissociation policy needs to be accompanied by more aggressive measures against Hezbollah and its regional operations, though that seems unlikely given his recent moves.
*Hanin Ghaddar, a veteran Lebanese journalist and researcher, is the Friedmann Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/stabilizing-lebanon-is-irans-way-of-helping-hezbollah-take-over#.WjvdtyYLHLw.facebook

December 21-22/17
Trudeau becomes first prime minister found in violation of ethics law
by Jordan Press, The Canadian Press/Dec 20, 2017
OTTAWA – Justin Trudeau, who came into office vowing to set the gold standard for transparency and ethical behaviour, became Wednesday the first prime minister found to have violated federal conflict of interest rules.
Federal ethics commissioner Mary Dawson concluded Trudeau violated the rules when he vacationed last Christmas at the private Bahamian island owned by the Aga Khan and when his wife and children vacationed on the same island months earlier in March 2016.
Dawson found the Trudeaus’ visit to the island — and the prime minister hopping aboard the Aga Khan’s private helicopter to get there — broke sections of the Conflict of Interest Act that prohibits a minister or any member of their family from accepting gifts or “advantages” that could reasonably be seen as influencing government decisions.
Moreover, she found Trudeau didn’t properly recuse himself on two occasions in May 2016 from private meetings about the Aga Khan and a $15-million grant to the billionaire philanthropist’s endowment fund of the Global Centre for Pluralism.
The outgoing ethics commissioner’s long-awaited report suggested Trudeau could have avoided this outcome had he come to her before going on the trip that began on Dec. 26, 2016. She concluded he failed to follow his own ethics rules for cabinet ministers and that he should have recognized that going on the trip would be seen as a real or apparent conflict of interest.
Trudeau publicly apologized Wednesday for not asking Dawson for her clearance — something Dawson hinted in her report that she may have given. He said he didn’t believe the vacation would be an ethical concern because he’d been told — he didn’t specify by whom — there was no issue since the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the world’s Ismaili Muslims, is a friend.
During a hastily-called news conference, Trudeau took responsibility for the ethical lapse and said, in future, he’ll ask the ethics commissioner in advance to clear all his personal vacations.
“We need to make sure that the office of the prime minister is without reproach and in the future including on (vacations with) family friends and personal family trips, we will be proactively working with the office of the commissioner to ensure that there is no conflict of interest, no appearance of conflict of interest,” Trudeau said.
The public shaming will be the biggest penalty Trudeau faces for violating the rules.
The Conflict of Interest Act empowers the commissioner to impose only fines on those who fail to meet reporting requirements and Dawson’s office confirmed Wednesday that those penalties don’t apply in this case.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he wants the ethics commissioner to be empowered to apply sanctions or reprimands in cases like this one.
“Right now, the ethics commissioner does not have the power to do anything. There’s actually no consequences to this finding. That to me is extremely unacceptable,” Singh said in Toronto
Trudeau may have avoided Dawson’s finding had she agreed that Trudeau and the Aga Khan were friends, since ethics rules make an exception for gifts given by a friend. But Dawson said that exception didn’t apply because Trudeau and the Aga Khan’s friendship blossomed only after the prime minister became Liberal leader in 2013.
Before that, the two hadn’t spoken for 30 years.
A year after becoming Liberal leader, the Aga Khan sent a standing invitation for Trudeau and his family to visit Bells Cay, suggesting it would provide Trudeau with some private family vacation time. It was Trudeau’s wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, who contacted the Aga Khan’s daughter about vacationing on the island in March 2016 and then over Christmas last year.
In both cases, the Trudeaus were told the Aga Khan and his family may not be present, which led Dawson to remark: “These circumstances do not suggest that Mr. Trudeau and the Aga Khan were seeking to fulfil opportunities to spend private time together as friends.”
While he said he fully accepts Dawson’s report, Trudeau continued to insist that the Aga Khan, an honorary pall bearer at his father’s funeral, is “someone who has been a long-time friend of my family’s, a friend of mine, a friend to Canada as well.”
But Dawson said she found it unlikely Trudeau would have been offered use of the island had he not been a “significant player on the Canadian political scene” and had Aga Khan not had official dealings with the government.
Still, she found no evidence that Trudeau took part in any decisions on federal funding to the Aga Khan’s organizations, nor gave them any preferential treatment.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said it wasn’t enough for the prime minister to comply with the law — he must go above and beyond the law, neither of which Trudeau did.
“It is a serious lapse in judgement for the prime minister not to realize that there was a conflict in the first place,” Scheer said.
“I accept him at his word today, but it does seem like this prime minister made the decision (that) it was easier to ask forgiveness than to ask for permission.”
The Trudeau family was accompanied on last December’s vacation by Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan and his husband, and Liberal party president Anna Gainey and her husband, Tom Pitfield. They all flew on the Aga Khan’s private helicopter, which is the main link between the Bells Cay and Nassau.
—with files from Kristy Kirkup in Ottawa and Daniela Germano in Toronto

Palestinian Envoy: U.N. Jerusalem Vote 'Massive Setback' for U.S.
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 21/17/The Palestinians' U.N. envoy on Thursday described as a "massive setback" for the United States a U.N. vote in favor of a motion rejecting Washington's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "One hundred twenty-eight versus nine -- that's a massive setback for the United States of America," Ambassador Riyad Mansour told AFP, commenting on the result of the vote at the General Assembly.

Netanyahu Says He's 'Satisfied' after U.N. Vote on Jerusalem
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 21/17/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned a U.N. vote on Thursday that rejected a U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but expressed satisfaction at the number of countries that didn't vote for the measure. "We reject the decision of the U.N. but we are satisfied by the high number of countries that didn't vote in favor of this decision," the Israeli leader said in a Hebrew-language statement. "Thank you to President Donald Trump for his clear position regarding Jerusalem and we say thank you to countries that voted together with Israel and together with the truth."
The motion was backed by 128 countries and opposed by nine, with Guatemala, Honduras, Togo, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and the Marshall Islands joining Israel and the United States in voting against the measure.
But 35 countries abstained including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Mexico, the Philippines, Romania and Rwanda. Ukraine, which supported the draft resolution at the Security Council, was among 21 countries that did not turn up for the vote.
Trump had warned ahead of the vote in the 193-nation assembly that "we're watching" and threatened reprisals against countries backing the measure, which reaffirms that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations.

Palestinians Welcome Support after U.N. Vote on Jerusalem
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 21/17/The Palestinian president welcomed Thursday a United Nations General Assembly resolution criticizing the U.S. government's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "This decision reaffirms once again that the just Palestinian cause enjoys the support of international law, and no decision by any party can change the reality," a statement from Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas' spokesman said, stressing it showed "that Jerusalem is occupied territory under international law." "We will continue our efforts in the United Nations and all international forums to end the occupation and create a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem," the statement added. The General Assembly adopted the motion rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump's December 6 decision by 128 votes to nine, with 35 abstentions. Trump had warned ahead of the vote in the 193-nation assembly that "we're watching" and threatened reprisals against countries backing the measure, which reaffirms that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations. The measure was sent to the General Assembly after it was vetoed by the United States at the Security Council on Monday, although all other 14 council members voted in favor.

Israel 'Will Never be Driven from Jerusalem,' Envoy Tells U.N.
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 21/17/Israel's envoy to the United Nations vowed Thursday that his country would never be "driven" from Jerusalem as U.N. member states prepared to vote on rejecting Washington's recognition of the Holy City as its capital. "No General Assembly resolution will ever drive us from Jerusalem," Ambassador Danny Danon told an emergency session of the 193-nation assembly. A draft resolution rejecting the U.S. move was sent to the General Assembly after it was vetoed by the United States at the Security Council on Monday, although all other 14 council members voted in favor.

Netanyahu Slams UN as 'House of Lies' Ahead of Thursday's Vote Against Trump's Jerusalem Recognition
Almog Ben Zikri/Haaretz/December 21/ 2017
Ahead of UN General Assembly's vote Thursday afternoon, Netanyahu says 'it took 70 years for the U.S. to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, it will take years for the UN to do the same'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday sharply criticized the UN General Assembly's planned vote, which seeks to reject U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and called it 'a house of lies.'
The State of Israel rejects this vote outright," Netanyahu said. "Jerusalem is our capital, we will continue to build there and additional embassies will move to Jerusalem."
Speaking at the opening dedication of the Assuta hospital in Ashdod, Netanyahu said that "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, whether or not the UN recognizes this. It took 70 years for the United States to formally recognize this, and it will take years for the UN to do the same."
Netanyahu noted that various countries around the world are changing their attitude toward Israel, "and this will eventually seep into the walls of that house of lies."
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that vote in favor of the resolution rejecting Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
peaking to reporters at the White House Wednesday, Trump also expressed support for a letter sent by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, in which she warned member states against supporting the resolution.
The UN General Assembly is set to meet on Thursday at 5 P.M. Israel time (10 A.M. EST) for an emergency discussion on the unilateral American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Turkey and Yemen requested the meeting after an Egyptian draft resolution against the recognition was presented to the Security Council and was vetoed by the United States, although the 14 other members of the council voted for it.

U.N. Votes 128-9 to Reject U.S. Decision on Jerusalem amid 35 Abstentions
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 21/17/Defying President Donald Trump's threat to cut off funding, the United Nations overwhelmingly approved on Thursday a motion rejecting the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The 193-member General Assembly adopted the motion by 128 to nine with 35 abstentions, in what Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour called a "massive setback" for the United States. Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo joined the United States in opposing the measure. Among the countries that abstained were Argentina, Australia, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Romania and Rwanda.Speaking ahead of the emergency session, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley warned the General Assembly that the United States "will remember this day." "America will put our embassy in Jerusalem," Haley said in defense of the U.S. move, which broke with international consensus and unleashed protests across the Muslim world. "No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that," Haley said. "But this vote will make a difference on how Americans look at the U.N. and on how we look at countries who disrespect us in the U.N." "When we make generous contributions to the U.N. we also have a legitimate expectation that our goodwill is recognized and respected," she said. The resolution reaffirms that the status of Jerusalem must be resolved through negotiations, and that any decision reached outside of that framework must be rescinded.Without explicitly referencing the U.S. move, it "affirms that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council."
'Unprecedented test'
The motion was sent to the General Assembly after it was vetoed by the United States at the Security Council on Monday, although all other 14 council members voted in favor. While resolutions by the General Assembly are non-binding, a strong vote in support carries political weight. Ahead of the vote, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the U.N. as a "house of lies," saying Israel "rejects outright this vote, even before it passes.""No General Assembly resolution will ever drive us from Jerusalem," vowed Danny Danon, Israel's envoy to the United Nations. Palestinian foreign minister Riad al-Malki called the vote an "unprecedented test" for the U.N., and referenced the U.S. warning that it was "taking names." "History records names, it remembers names -- the names of those who stand by what is right and the names of those who speak falsehood," al-Malki said. "Today we are seekers of rights and peace." Trump's decision on December 6 to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital prompted a flurry of appeals to the United Nations. The status of the Holy City is one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides claiming it as their capital.
Trump warned that Washington would closely watch how nations voted, suggesting, like Haley, there could be financial reprisals for those that back the motion put forward by Yemen and Turkey on behalf of Arab and Muslim countries. "They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars and then they vote against us," Trump said at the White House. "Well, we're watching those votes. Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care."
'House of lies'
The resolution mirrored the text that was vetoed at the Security Council on Monday, and although it does not mention Trump's decision, it expresses "deep regret at recent decisions" concerning the city's status. No country has veto powers in the General Assembly, unlike in the 15-member Security Council where the United States, along with Britain, China, France and Russia, can block any resolution. Among the 14 countries voting in favor on Monday were Britain, France, Italy and Japan and they did so again on Thursday. Ukraine, which supported the draft resolution in the Security Council, was among 21 countries that did not turn up for Thursday's vote. Israel seized the largely-Arab eastern sector of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed it, claiming both sides of the city as its "eternal and undivided capital."But the Palestinians want the eastern sector as the capital of their future state and fiercely oppose any Israeli attempt to extend sovereignty there. Several U.N. resolutions call on Israel to withdraw from territory seized in 1967 and the draft resolution contains the same language as past motions adopted by the assembly.

Raul Castro to Step Down as Cuba's President in April 2018
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 21/17/Cuban President Raul Castro will step down in April 2018 straight after his successor is chosen by a top governing council, according to a vote Thursday in the island state's National Assembly. The vote by lawmakers pushed back the date of general elections, which were initially to be held at the end of February. The delay was necessary due to disruption caused by Hurricane Irma, which ravaged much of Cuba in September. It means that Castro, 86, will stay on a couple of months later than planned. The modification to Cuba's election calendar means general elections choosing the National Assembly's 600 members will be moved to a date yet to be decided. Cuba's president is not directly elected by the people, but by the Council of State which is chosen by the National Assembly. The lawmakers' election of the Council of State posts -- including that of its president, who will also be the president of Cuba, replacing Raul Castro -- was set for April 19. The National Assembly session deciding these changes was closed to international media.

14 Hurt as Car Driven into Crowd in Melbourne
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 21/17/A car ploughed into a crowd in Australia's second-largest city on Thursday in what police said was a "deliberate act" that left more than a dozen people injured, some of them seriously. Witnesses said people were thrown through the air after being hit by the vehicle, which did not appear to be trying to stop as it "mowed everybody down". Victoria state police said they had arrested two men, including the driver of a car that "collided with a number of pedestrians" at a busy intersection in downtown Melbourne. "We believe based on what we have seen that it is a deliberate act. The motivations are unknown," Victoria Police's Commander Russell Barrett told reporters. Barrett would not comment on whether the incident was terror-related, only saying "it is the early days of the investigation and that is unknown". Paramedics had taken a number of people to hospital, some of them with serious injuries, ambulance officials said. Sky News Australia reported they included a pre-school child with a grave head injury. Photographs from the scene showed one man wearing a long-sleeved top being dragged from a white Suzuki Grand Vitara, while a bearded second man wearing a red checked shirt was seen handcuffed and sitting on the ground. 'Thump, thump' -In a tweet, police appealed to members of the public to upload any images they might have of the incident to help assist with their investigation. A witness, named only as Sue, told Melbourne radio station 3AW that she heard screams and saw "people flying everywhere". "We could hear this noise, as we looked left, we saw this white car, it just mowed everybody down," she said. "People are flying everywhere. We heard thump, thump. People are running everywhere." Another witness, John, told ABC Radio Melbourne that he saw an "SUV coming at high speed". "(I) really just heard the collision with people with bags and what must be shopping trolleys -- and I hope not prams," he said. "I've really never seen anything like this before and I haven't stopped shaking." The intersection is one of Melbourne's busiest, a local shop owner told national broadcaster ABC, and is particularly crowded at this time of the year ahead of the Christmas break, with school holidays under way. Vehicle attacks -The incident came months after a car mowed down pedestrians in Melbourne's busiest mall in January, killing six people. The driver, whose case is still being heard in court, had been pursued by police prior to the rampage after he had allegedly stabbed his brother. The attack, which was not terror-related, shocked Australians and took place near Melbourne Park where top tennis stars were playing in 2017's opening Grand Slam. Canberra has become increasingly worried about homegrown extremism and officials say they have prevented 13 terror attacks on home soil in the past few years. The Australian government in August unveiled a strategy aimed at preventing vehicle attacks in crowded public places.
Suggested steps include deterrent options like fencing and closed circuit cameras, and delaying approaches such as trees and bollards to slow down vehicles. Melbourne has also been installing a public siren system and more security cameras to warn people of a possible terrorist attack or other serious threats. But the Age newspaper said the warning sirens had not been activated for Thursday's incident, and police did not appear to have enacted counter-terrorism lock-down strategies either. - Maim and kill -While the circumstances surrounding Thursday's incident were still unclear, there have been several cases of vehicles being used to deliberately maim and kill. The most deadly such case was in the southern French city of Nice on July 14, 2016, when 31-year-old Tunisian Mohamed Lahouaiej-Bouhlel ploughed a 19-tonne truck down a beachside promenade, killing 86 people and injuring hundreds more.
Almost exactly one year ago, on December 12, another Tunisian national, 24-year-old Anis Amri, hijacked a truck and slammed it into crowds of people at a Christmas market in Berlin. A total of 12 people died in that attack with dozens injured. Amri was shot dead four days later in Milan, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility. More recently, eight people were killed in New York when a pick-up truck was driven into cyclists and pedestrians, in what was described as the first deadly "act of terror" in the city since the September 11, 2001, attacks. Other deadly attacks using vehicles have taken place this year in London, Stockholm and Barcelona.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 21-22/17
Canada: Obsessed with "Islamophobia"
Judith Bergman/Gatestone Institute/December 21/2017
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11554/canada-islamophobia
The current government seems not to believe that Islamic terrorism in Canada even exists.
The RCMP guide is premised on the belief that radicalization occurs because of perceptions of "injustice" (not because of perceptions of jihad). Islamic groups are not mentioned. The message is that terrorism is "diverse" and has nothing to do with Islam. However, Public Safety Canada's list of terrorist entities contains 54 terrorist groups, 46 of which are Islamic terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, the war on free speech in Canada grinds on: Ottawa Public Library cancelled the screening of "Killing Europe", a documentary about, ironically, among other things, the death of free speech in Europe. Ottawa Public Library deemed this content not suitable for Canadians -- apparently snowflakes, not allowed to know about the rise of migrant rape crime, anti-Semitism, far-leftist violence and other irritants in Europe.
While worried about graffiti, Canadian authorities appear far less concerned about deterring Canadian imams from preaching jihad, Jew-hatred and the murder of Jews to their Muslim congregations, despite Jews being approximately twelve times more likely to be targeted for hate crimes than Muslims are. For anti-Muslim graffiti, you go to jail for five months, but inciting an entire congregation to kill Jewish citizens does not even merit prosecution.
In September, the Canadian parliament began its study on how to combat "Islamophobia" as decided upon in the M-103 motion. A parliamentary committee, the M-103 committee, was established for that very purpose. Although motion M-103 was not binding, Samer Majzoub, a Muslim Brotherhood affiliate of the Canadian Muslim Forum, tellingly advertised:
"Now that Islamophobia has been condemned, this is not the end, but rather the beginning... so that condemnation is followed by comprehensive policies."
Majzoub's statement presumably meant that the next steps would be to make M-103 binding.
Part of the problem, however, with any study of "Islamophobia", as with any motions about it, is that it is never clearly defined.
Now fresh statistics released at the end of November 2017, showed that in Canada, hate crimes against Muslims actually fell in 2016, but those against Jews increased:
Hate crimes against Muslims:
2015, there were 159
2016, there were 139
Hate crimes against Jews:
2015, there were 178
2016, there were 221
In Canada, with a population of 36 million people, approximately 330,000 are Jews and slightly more than 1,000,000 are Muslims.
Should not parliament, then -- if anything -- instead be studying how to combat Jew-hatred? Statistics, of course, do not mention who is behind the rise in hate crimes against Jews. Moreover, the Canadian media is not investigating what might be causing it, or whether the regular preaching of Jew-hatred in many mosques might have something to do with it. Canadian politicians? They are too busy studying "Islamophobia".
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently labelled a question about putting returning ISIS jihadists in jail from Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer, part of a pattern of "Islamophobia". (How can that be, if ISIS supposedly has "nothing to do with Islam"?)
Trudeau said that Canada needed to ensure that resources would be "in place to facilitate disengagement from violent ideologies, in particular [for] children who return from conflict zones [and] require tailored solutions... we're also there to help them to let go of that terrorist ideology."
"The Prime Minister," said Scheer during the debate, "is using a broad spectrum that includes poetry and podcasts, and all kinds of counselling and group hug sessions. When," he asked, "will the Prime Minister take the security of Canadians seriously and look for ways to put these ISIS fighters in jail?"
Trudeau's response was to accuse Scheer of Islamophobia:
"Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party... ran an election on snitch lines against Muslims, they ran an election on Islamophobia and division, and still they play the same games, trying to scare Canadians... They play the politics of fear, and Canadians reject that."
Trudeau's own Public Safety Minister, Ralph Goodale, also appears to disagree with the policy that you can hug terrorists back into society. He recently said that the chances of turning around someone who has actively engaged in terrorist activities in a war zone were "pretty remote".
Scheer has repeatedly demanded to know how many ISIS fighters "are now being welcomed back to Canada by the prime minister with the promise of reintegration services to help them."
The government does not appear to have an answer to that, or, if it does, appears unwilling to share it. Apparently, 180 Canadians were involved in terrorist related activities overseas -- 100 of them in Turkey, Iraq or Syria -- and about 60 had returned, according to the testimony of Former Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director Michel Coulombe before a senate committee in March 2016, citing figures from 2015. None of those figures, however, includes the supporters of terrorist groups at home or potential jihadists who tried to leave the country but were prevented from doing so. "Every extremist prevented or deterred from traveling abroad may become an individual at home that requires ongoing investigation," Coulombe said.
Another document, produced in 2016 by Public Safety Canada, stated that among the returnees, "law enforcement agencies are investigating approximately 63 cases involving 90 individuals."
Last month, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale repeated the 2015 figures, stating that "about 60" foreign fighters returned to Canada. According to news reports, the use of that number "raised eyebrows among national security experts and sparked calls for the government to clarify how it is dealing with individuals who return from having fought with the brutal terrorist group in Iraq and Syria".
What is clear, however -- even if the Canadian government is not inclined to reveal it -- is that returned jihadists are walking around freely in Canada. It is not known how many have been charged, as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) do not comment on individual cases. One jihadist, Abu Huzaifa, who was repeatedly questioned after his return from Syria, where he had gone to joined ISIS in 2014, was never charged. Instead, he has been receiving counselling for the past year.
It seems the authorities do not seem to be trying particularly hard to charge returning jihadists: "In other cases, we've assessed that they're back, they're sorry, they're working to try to get their heads straight and we're relying on family members or other professionals," RCMP commissioner Bob Paulson said on the matter in March 2016.
The current government, in fact, seems not to believe that Islamic terrorism in Canada even exists. In the 2016 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada, the government acknowledged that groups such as Islamic State and Al Qaeda do in fact constitute the main terrorist threat to Canada. However, according to the Minister of Public Safety, Ralph Goodale, who wrote the foreword to the report:
"It is a serious and unfortunate reality that terrorist groups, most notably the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), use violent extremist propaganda to encourage individuals to support their cause. This group is neither Islamic nor a state..."
Unfortunately, however, its self-described "caliph," Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, received his PhD in Koranic studies from Iraq's Saddam University in 2007.The group correctly claims that everything it does is based on Islamic literature.
Similarly, the RCMP -- Canada's national law enforcement service and as such responsible for the protection of Canadians from terrorism -- published the Terrorism and Violent Extremism Awareness Guide in 2016. The purpose of the guide was to raise awareness about terrorism and to help the public better understand the early warnings of radicalization and signs of terrorist-planning activities. The guide, however, is premised on the belief that radicalization occurs because of perceptions of "injustice" (not because of perceptions of jihad) and mainly argues that fringe groups on the far-right and the far-left constitute the terror threat against Canada. Islamic groups are not mentioned. The message is that terrorism is "diverse" and has nothing to do with Islam. However, Public Safety Canada's list of terrorist entities contains 54 terrorist groups, 46 of which are Islamic terrorist groups. Strangely enough, none of the right-wing or left-wing groups mentioned in the RCMP guide as the "leading extremist groups nationally and internationally" are on Public Safety Canada's list.
Canada has also made life easier for jihadists in some ways. The recently passed Bill C-6 has ensured that dual citizens will no longer lose their Canadian citizenship if convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage.
Meanwhile, the war on free speech in Canada grinds on: Ottawa Public Library cancelled the screening of "Killing Europe," a documentary about, ironically, among other things, the death of free speech in Europe. The film featured interviews with, among others, Lars Hedegaard, Lars Vilks, a former Muslim Somali activist and many others, but the Ottawa Public Library deemed this content not suitable for Canadians -- apparently snowflakes not allowed to know about the rise of migrant rape crime, anti-Semitism, far-leftist violence and other irritants in Europe. Catherine McKenney, a library board member, said she "wholeheartedly" supported the library's decision to cancel the screening and promised "better discussion in the future about what the library chooses to allow".
Ottawa Public Library cancelled the screening of "Killing Europe", a documentary about, ironically, among other things, the death of free speech in Europe. Ottawa Public Library deemed this content not suitable for Canadians -- apparently snowflakes, not allowed to know about the rise of migrant rape crime, anti-Semitism, far-leftist violence and other irritants in Europe. (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
In September, a man who had written, "No More Muslims" on Durham Region Transit shelters was sentenced to five months in jail. Whether his message was genocidal, or merely an expression of not wanting more Muslims to enter Canada, is unclear. The judge said:
"Mr. Porco's message left black marks on a public bench but even after the words are scrubbed away with a guilty plea, it leaves stains that may be more permanent... Mr. Porco's message was both hateful and hurtful to the community and needs to be deterred."
While worried about graffiti, Canadian authorities appear far less concerned about deterring Canadian imams from preaching jihad, Jew-hatred and the murder of Jews to their Muslim congregations, despite Jews being approximately twelve times more likely to be targeted for hate crimes than Muslims are.
Two imams who, in 2014, in a Montreal mosque, called for the death of Jews, will not be prosecuted, due to the amount of time that has passed, Canadian authorities decided. For anti-Muslim graffiti, you go to jail for five months, but inciting an entire congregation to kill Jewish citizens does not, "for technical reasons," even merit prosecution.
**Judith Bergman is a columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
© 2017 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.

Twilight over the "Palestinian Cause"
Guy Millière/Gatestone Institute/December 21/2017
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11565/palestinian-cause
Reports from the West Bank after the Six Day War show that the Arabs interviewed defined themselves as "Arabs" or "Jordanians", and evidently did not yet know that they were "the Palestinian people". Since then, they were taught it. They were also taught that it is their duty is to "liberate Palestine" by killing Jews. The Palestinians are the first people invented to serve as a weapon of mass destruction of another people.
"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality, today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese." — PLO leader Zuheir Mohsen, interview in the Dutch newspaper Trouw, March 1977.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the European Union has become the main financier of the "Palestinian cause", including its terrorism. They are also contributing to war.
Iran, strengthened enormously by the agreement passed in July 2015 and the massive US funding that accompanied it, has been showing its desire to become a hegemonic power in the Middle East.
The grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh, recently issued a fatwa saying that "fighting the Jews" is "against the will" of Allah and that Hamas is a terrorist organization.
For many years, "Palestine" has not stopped aspiring to new heights in the so called "international community". "Palestine" has been present at the Olympic Games since 1996, and, later, became a permanent observer to UNESCO and the United Nations. The vast majority of the 95 "embassies" of "Palestine" are in the Muslim world; many others are in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. In 2014, the Spanish Parliament voted in favor of full recognition of "Palestine." A few weeks later, the French Parliament did the same.
There is no other instance in the history of the world where a state that does not exist can have missions and embassies presumed to function as if that state did exist.
Now the time has probably come for the "Palestinians" to realize that they have lost and fall back to earth, as noted by the scholar Daniel Pipes.
Have "Palestinian" leaders been showing by their speeches and actions that they are ready to rule a state living in peace with their neighbors and with the rest of the world? All "Palestinian" leaders have incessantly incited terrorism, and do not hide their wish to wipe Israel off the map.
Is there a long-standing aspiration by the "Palestinian people" to have a state and to live peacefully within that state? The answer is actually no. The "Palestinian people" were invented in the late 1960s by the Arab and Soviet propaganda services. As PLO leader Zuheir Mohsen told the Dutch newspaper Trouw in March 1977:
"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality, today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese."
Reports from the West Bank after the Six Day War show that the Arabs defined themselves in interviews as "Arabs" or "Jordanians"; they evidently did not know that they were the "Palestinian people". Since then, they were taught it. They were also taught that it is their duty to "liberate Palestine" by killing Jews. The Palestinians are the first people invented to serve as a weapon of mass destruction of another people.
Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the PLO, at the Arab League summit in Rabat, Morocco, 1974. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Is there at least a historic past that gives legitimacy to the aspiration to create a "Palestinian state"? The answer again is actually no. There is no Palestinian culture distinct from the cultures of the Muslim Arab world, no monument that can be defined as a "Palestinian" historic monument, except by falsifying history.
More basically, would a hypothetical "Palestinian state" be economically viable? Again, the answer is actually no. Territories occupied by the Palestinian movements survive only thanks to international financial assistance from the West.
How then could so many countries wish for so long to create a state whose rulers would likely be regressive, corrupt "Palestinian" leaders; whose inhabitants would be used as killing machines, whose history is non-existent-to-falsified and whose economic potential seems zero?
The answer is simple.
Behind their support for the creation of a "Palestinian state", those countries have been pursuing other goals. For decades, countries of the Muslim world obsessively wanted one thing: the destruction of Israel.
They tried to reach their goal through conventional warfare, then terrorism, then diplomacy, then propaganda. They blamed only Israel for all the evils of the Middle East.
All the while, they know who the "Palestinian" leaders are and what they do. They know that the "Palestinian people" were invented. They know why the "Palestinian" people were invented. They know that a "Palestinian state" will not have a viable economy. Yet they have been committed to a strategy of destabilizing and demonizing a non-Muslim nation, Israel.
They call the "Palestinians" "victims"; terrorism, "militancy"; and incitement to kill, "resisting occupation". They have been trampling rightful history and replacing it with myth.
They press "Palestinian" leaders to "negotiate", knowing perfectly well that no agreement will ever be signed and that negotiations will end in bloodshed.
They propose only "peace plans" they know Israel must reject – those which include the "'49 'Auschwitz' armistice lines" or the "right of return" for "Palestinian refugees", who numbered half a million in 1949, but near five million today. They recognize a "Palestinian state" while knowing that the "state" they recognize is not a state, but rather a terrorist entity without defined borders or territory, and imbued with a will to spill more blood and create more mayhem.
They have relied on turmoil, blackmail and lies to encourage the rest of the world to think the situation requires drastic international intervention.
They have been saying they want a "Palestinian state", but never that they want this state to renounce terrorism and end the conflict.
Instead, they have been waging a vicious war they have long hoped to win.
For more than thirty years, they benefited from the support of the Soviet Union. It financed wars (1967, 1973), terrorism, diplomacy and propaganda. The Soviet Union made the "Palestinian" enterprise an "anti-imperialist" cause -- a means of strengthening Soviet positions and galvanizing the enemies of the West. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, but the effects of its support for the "Palestinian cause" for a time remained. Many countries hostile to the West still support and recognize the "Palestinians" while pretending to ignore that they are recognizing a terrorist entity. They are contributing to war.
Countries of the Western world, subjected to the pressures of the Muslim world and the Soviet Union for many years, have gradually given way, some even before any pressure was applied.
France chose its camp in 1967, when General Charles de Gaulle launched what he called an "Arab policy" after its defeat in Algeria. French foreign policy become resolutely "pro-Palestinian" -– in an apparent effort to deflect terrorism, obtain inexpensive oil and compete with the US -- and has remained so to this day. Western European countries have gradually adopted positions close to those of France. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the European Union has become the main financier of the "Palestinian cause", including its terrorism. Western European leaders know what the real goals are, yet they repeat without respite that creating a "Palestinian state" is "essential". They are also contributing to war.
Although a long-time ally of Israel, the United States changed its Middle East policy in the beginning of the 1990s to positions closer to those of the Muslim world. American politicians and diplomats pressured Israelis to negotiate with "Palestinian" leaders and seemed to have lost sight of what the "Palestinian cause" was secretly about. Wishful Israeli leaders agreed to negotiate. The tragic result was the Oslo Accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority (PA). It quickly became a new base of anti-Israeli terrorism. A wave of lethal, anti-Israel attacks started immediately, with a stepped-up anti-Israel diplomatic and propaganda offensive right after. A "two-state solution" was invoked. American leaders, as if they had slept through several years, started to say that a "Palestinian state" had to exist. Three American Presidents proposed "peace plans", also contributing to war.
An additional "peace plan" is expected soon, but the parameters will be profoundly different. President Donald Trump appears to wish to break with the past. He recently told Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that "Palestinian" leaders were liars. None of the American negotiators he chose seems to have the slightest illusion about the "Palestinian" leadership or the "Palestinian cause".
The Taylor Force Act, passed on December 5 by the US House of Representatives, plans to condition US aid to the "West Bank and Gaza" on "the actions taken by the Palestinian Authority to end violence and terrorism against Israeli citizens"; the Act could be adopted soon by the Senate. The PA rejected all the requirements in the Act.
The Muslim world is also undergoing change. Iran, strengthened enormously by the agreement passed in July 2015 and the massive US funding that accompanied it, has been showing its desire to become a hegemonic power in the Middle East. The mullahs' regime now holds three capital cities in addition to Teheran: Baghdad, Damascus, and Beirut. Iran attacks Saudi Arabia and supports the war led by the Houthi militia in Yemen; it intends to seize Sanaa and take control of Bab El Mandeb, the gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Qatar and Turkey have established close ties with Iran.
Saudi leaders appear aware of the danger. King Salman chose his son, Mohamed bin Salman, as heir to the throne, and gave him broad powers. "MBS", as he is known, seems intent on leading a real revolution. Militarily, he is head of the 40-member Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, and has declared his desire to "end terrorism". Economically, he is in charge of an ambitious reform project aimed at making his country less dependent on oil: Saudi Vision 2030. All Saudi leaders in disagreement with the new orientations of the country were placed under arrest and their assets confiscated. Mohamed bin Salman has identified Iran as the main enemy, and recently described its Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, as a "new Hitler." Qatar and Turkey have been subjected to intense Saudi pressure to distance themselves from the Iranian regime. The grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh, recently issued a fatwa saying that "fighting the Jews" is "against the will" of Allah and that Hamas is a terrorist organization.
Mohamed bin Salman has the support of the Trump administration; Vladimir Putin who, while being allied to Iran, may want a balance of power in the Middle East, and Xi Jinping, who is facing the risk of a Sunni Islamic upheaval in China's autonomous territory, Xinjiang.
"Palestinian" leader, Mahmoud Abbas was reportedly summoned to Riyadh, where King Salman and Mohammed bin Salman told him that he had to accept the plan proposed by the Trump administration or resign, and that it would "risky" for him to consider launching an uprising – which he has anyway, although being careful to keep it lukewarm.
During the month of October, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a close ally of Mohamed bin Salman, invited the leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas to come to Cairo for a "reconciliation". He apparently demanded control of the Gaza Strip to be handed to the Palestinian Authority. It also seems that the Trump administration and President Sisi told Hamas leaders that they had to approve the terms of the "reconciliation" agreement, and that if they carried out any attacks against Israel, they risked complete destruction.
The "peace plan" evidently to be presented by the Trump administration is provoking the extreme anger of "Palestinian" leaders. The goal of the "plan" seems to be to revive an open ended "peace process", allowing Saudi Arabia and the members of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition to move closer to Israel and push the "Palestinian cause" toward the back burner.
On November 19, an Arab League emergency meeting held in Cairo strongly condemned Hezbollah and Iran. Moreover, for the first time in fifty years, a meeting of the Arab League did not even mention the "Palestinian" question.
President Trump's recognition on December 6 of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has led to restlessness and acrimony both in the Muslim world and among Western European leaders. Sunni leaders allied to Saudi Arabia, however, as well as Saudi Arabia itself, seem too concerned about the Iranian threat to quarrel with Israel, the United States or really anyone. Western Europe has almost no weight in what is taking shape; all it has shown is cowardice, fear, and continued contempt for a fellow Western democracy: Israel.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, now in the twelfth year of his four year term -- and apparently seeing that he is getting little support -- appeared to seek divine intervention: he asked the Pope for help. There would be "no Palestinian state without East Jerusalem as its capital," Abbas said. He sounded as if he had begun to understand that the "Palestinian cause" could be fading, and, with other "Palestinian" leaders, called for "three days of rage". A few protesters burned tires and American flags – the usual.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to convene in Istanbul on December 13, and urged leaders of Muslim countries to recognize Jerusalem as the "occupied capital of the Palestinian state". Saudi King Salman stayed well away as did almost all other Sunni leaders. He only sent a message saying that he calls for "a political solution to resolve regional crises". He added that "Palestinians have right to East Jerusalem" – the least he could do; he did no more. Erdogan is mainly supported by Iran, today's foremost enemy of Saudi Arabia and other Sunni countries.
"It will not be the end of the war against Israel," said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, "but it could be the beginning of the end of the "Palestinian cause".
It now seems a good time for Western European leaders who still blindly support the "Palestinian cause" to cut their losses, both politically and economically. Taking the side of Erdogan and the mullahs in order to support a terrorist entity that will never be a "state" will do nothing to help them fight either terrorism or the increasing Islamization of Europe.
**Dr. Guy Millière, a professor at the University of Paris, is the author of 27 books on France and Europe.
© 2017 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.

Egypt's Paper-Peace with Israel
A. Z. Mohamed/Gatestone Institute/December 21/2017
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11446/egypt-paper-peace
"The greatest obstacle to the expansion of peace today is not found in the leaders of the countries around us. The obstacle is public opinion on the Arab street, public opinion that has been brainwashed for years by a distorted and misleading presentation of the State of Israel." — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Today, in spite of the lasting peace treaty between Cairo and Jerusalem, much of the media in Egypt continues to demonize Israel. Even under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with whom Netanyahu has been developing mutually beneficial security relations, prominent figures in the state-run press disseminate anti-Israel conspiracy theories.
El-Sisi now has a genuine opportunity to spread to his populace his own increasingly positive relations with a neighbor that could significantly benefit his people and his country.
The 40th anniversary of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's historic visit to the Knesset took place on November 21. There, Sadat had announced:
"I have come to you so that together we might build a durable peace based on justice, to avoid the shedding of one single drop of blood from an Arab or an Israeli."
To commemorate the occasion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an address, saying:
"The greatest obstacle to the expansion of peace today is not found in the leaders of the countries around us. The obstacle is public opinion on the Arab street, public opinion that has been brainwashed for years by a distorted and misleading presentation of the State of Israel."
Netanyahu had a point. Today, four decades later -- in spite of the lasting peace treaty between Cairo and Jerusalem -- much of the media in Egypt continues to demonize Israel. Even under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, with whom Netanyahu has been developing mutually beneficial security relations, prominent figures in the state-run press disseminate anti-Israel conspiracy theories.
Former MP Mustafa Bakri, for instance, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Al-Osboa and the host of the "Facts and Secrets" talk show on Sada El Balad TV. told the Egyptian daily Al Youm 7, as recently as November 20th, that Egypt must force the "Israeli enemy," the "Zionist entity," to return antiquities that it had supposedly smuggled out of Egypt into Israel.
Earlier in the month, when it was announced that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri had resigned (he has since suspended his resignation), Bakri said on his talk show that Israel -- which he referred to as the "State of Israeli Occupation" -- was the only party that would benefit from a new war breaking out in the Middle East. He also alleged that Israel was conspiring against Saudi Arabia, the Gulf States, Egypt and Lebanon.
During a different segment of his show in the beginning of November, Bakri denounced the 1917 Balfour Declaration as a sinister act -- a crime committed by Britain that enabled Israel to extort Palestine (which did not exist in 1917) -- and backed the Palestinian Authority's threat to sue Britain in the International Criminal Court.
In a 2016 study -- "Peace with Israel in Egyptian Textbooks: What Changed between the Mubarak and el-Sisi Eras?" -- Ofir Winter, an Egypt specialist at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, found that although the Egyptian government had revised the way in which the Egypt-Israel treaty was presented and taught to ninth-graders in the 2015-2016 academic year, the change had little effect on the Egyptian public. Winter writes:
"the book... presents peace with Israel in the current era as a strategic asset whose preservation is a basic condition for Egypt's economic revival; it illustrates the lesser centrality of the Palestinian problem in Egyptian public discourse; and it shines a more positive light than in the past upon Israel's role as a legitimate peace partner, even to the point of mentioning friendly relations."
However, according to Winter:
"Major Egyptian newspapers ignored the report, and administration officials avoided mentioning it. ... The reason ... is probably twofold. First, ... the sensitivity of the topic. Second, the changes in how peace with Israel is portrayed in the new textbook, as compared with textbooks from the Mubarak era, were limited mainly to fine nuances."
These 'nuances," as can be seen in reviewing an edition of same textbook used during the 2016-2017 academic year, actually appear to be not so "fine." British Mandatory Palestine, for example, is referred to in the book as "originally Arab" (p.57); the Zionist movement is called a "colonialist" enterprise (p.57); Israel is depicted as an aggressive entity with expansionist aspirations that threaten the Arab states (pp. 58-60); the Arab wars against Israel are described as an act of Arab self-defense and an effort to defend the Palestinians (pp. 58-66); and the peace deal with Israel is portrayed as the result of pragmatic-utilitarian considerations, not Egypt's earlier recognition of the Jews' historical right to the land (p.70).
Clearly, then, it would seem that Egypt still has a way to go before its populace can embrace more than a paper-peace with Israel. Bakri and his associates not only represent that populace, but have a direct influence on it. El-Sisi now has a genuine opportunity to spread to his populace his own increasingly positive relations with a neighbor that could significantly benefit his country and his people.
Pictured: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (right) acknowledge applause during a Joint Session of Congress in which U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced the results of the Camp David Accords, September 18, 1978. (Image source: Warren K. Leffler/Library of Congress)
**A.Z. Mohamed is a Muslim born and raised in Middle East.
© 2017 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.