LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
February 17/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
Let your word be "Yes, Yes" or "No, No"; anything more than this comes from the evil one
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 05/27-37/:"‘You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. ‘It was also said, "Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce." But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. ‘Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, "You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord."But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Let your word be "Yes, Yes" or "No, No"; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come
Letter to the Hebrews 13/09-16/:"Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings; for it is well for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by regulations about food, which have not benefited those who observe them. We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 16-17/17
Is Israel linked to Hezbollah’s agenda/Khairallah Khairallah/Al Arabiya/February 16/17
Europe's Deadly Inaction and Misguided Policy on Iran/By Farzin Hashemi/NCRI Iran News/February 16/17
Trump to American Muslims: Embrace Christianity, Pay Jizya, or Die/Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/February 16/17
Palestinian Assault on Freedoms/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/February 16/17
UK: Free Speech for Dictators Only/Robbie Travers/Gatestone Institute/February 16/17
Turkey: Record-Breaking Purge in Academia/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/February 16/17
The Arab-Israel Conflict: Back to the Future/Shoshana Bryen/Gatestone/Institute/February 16/17
Akram al-Hawrani: Syria’s left-wing populist and the United Arab Republic/Christopher Solomon/Syria Comment/ February 16/17
Should we walk behind Trump/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/February 16/17
When stability becomes a dream/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/February 16/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on February 16-17/17
U.S. State Department Issues New Lebanon Travel Warning
Israeli Minister Warns Hizbullah after Threats to Hit Reactor
Aoun: I Won't Allow Any Foreign Party to Interfere in Domestic Affairs
Aoun blames social media for killing the press, vows support
Aoun to Visit the Vatican and Kuwait
Lebanon Moves towards Scrapping Controversial Rape Law
Nasrallah Advises Israel to Dismantle Nuclear Reactor, Says Hizbullah Power, Aoun Stance Preventing War
Sami Gemayel: Lebanon to Witness a Crisis after February 21
Report: Jumblat Suggests New Electoral Law Format
Change and Reform Defends Aoun's Stances, Reveals Presence of 'Advanced' Electoral Law Proposal
Judge Charges Ten Suspects Linked to IS Group
Electricity Outage to Shrink in Return for Increase in Tariffs
Israel Court Delays Deadline for Emptying Toxic Tank Threatened by Hizbullah
Report: Jumblat Suggests New Electoral Law Format
Syrian Held in Border Area for Carrying Lebanese Military Suit
Arab states considering alliance with Israel, say Arab officials
France's Le Pen to meet leaders in Lebanon on Monday
Riachy at USEC gathering: Bill to exempt audio visual media outlets from 70% of Ministry dues in the offing
Is Israel linked to Hezbollah’s agenda
Khairallah Khairallah/Al Arabiya/February 16/17

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 16-17/17
Canadians from Iran and Pakistan rally against the “Islamophobia” law
Canadian House of Commons divided over motion against Islamophobia
Huge Baghdad Car Bomb Kills at Least 45
Arab League Chief Says Mideast Peace Requires Two-State Solution
24 Civilians Killed in Bombing on Syria Town
UN Envoy Urges Greater Syria Peace Efforts in Moscow
Turkish Minister Defends Syria 'Safe zones' Idea
Trump Travel Ban Targeted 'Terrorists' Not Syrian People, Assad Says
Joint Session on Syria to Go Ahead
Russia Warns US ahead of Military Chiefs' Meeting
Assad Vows to Retake Raqa and 'Every Inch' of Syria
Saudi Arabia dismantles four ISIS cells, arrests 18 individuals
At least 30 killed in attack targeting shrine in Pakistan’s Sindh province
Egypt to appoint its first woman governor
Canada proposes anti-Islamophobia motion in wake of mosque shooting
Iran Regime's Leader: "The Real War Is the Economic War and Sanctions"
Iran: Security Forces Shoot to Death Young Iranian Arab
Protest Gatherings of Various Sectors of the Iranian Society Outside Parliament
IRAN: MPs Warn Khuzestan Electricity, Water and Communication Blackout Is Becoming National Threat
European Lawmakers Call on the EU for a Change of Policy Towards Iran

Links From Jihad Watch Site for February 16-17/17
Canadians from Iran and Pakistan rally against the “Islamophobia” law
President Trump: “I will not back down from defending our country”
House Dems hush up how Muslim IT employees compromised Intelligence Committee networks
Pakistan: Islamic State jihad suicide bomber murders 100 at Sufi mosque
Robert Spencer in PJ Media: U.S. Bishops Welcome Blocking of Trump Travel Ban
UCLA bans “Islamophobic” book from free speech event
Canadian government supports “anti-Islamophobia” motion, will likely pass
How a pro-Palestinian American reporter changed his views on Israel
South Korea warns against visiting Paris Muslim no-go zone after tourist coach looted
Jammu and Kashmir: Muslims kill six Indian soldiers in jihad surge
China: Muslim murders eight in knife attack in Xinjiang

Links From Christian Today Site for February 16-17/17
Archbishops Call For 'Radical New Christian Inclusion' After Synod Blocks Sexuality Report
Church Of England's Gay Marriage Vote: Did It Fail By Accident?
Has Trump Killed The Two-State Solution For Israel-Palestine – And What Are The Alternatives?
Sir Mo Farah Has Athletics Track Named After Him At Catholic University
Christian Agency Fires 140 Staff Helping Refugees As 'A Direct Result' Of Trump's Executive Order
Pope Signals Support For Native American Campaign Against Trump-Backed Dakota Access Pipeline
Justin Welby: Having An Alcoholic Parent Is One Of The Most Disruptive Experiences A Child Can Have
Evangelicals Most Likely To Back Trump's Johnson Amendment Repeal
Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Under Fire From Bishops Over Respect For Islam

Latest Lebanese Related News published February 16-17/17
U.S. State Department Issues New Lebanon Travel Warning
Naharnet/February 16/17/The United States has issued a new Lebanon travel warning to its citizens, saying it “supersedes the Travel Warning issued on July 29, 2016.” “The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to avoid travel to Lebanon because of the threats of terrorism, armed clashes, kidnapping, and outbreaks of violence, especially near Lebanon’s borders with Syria and Israel,” the department says in a statement published on its website. “U.S. citizens living and working in Lebanon should be aware of the risks of remaining in the country and should carefully consider those risks,” it adds. The new travel warning mentions Hizbullah by name. “Violent extremist groups operate in Lebanon, including U.S. government-designated terrorist organizations Hizbullah, ISIL (Da’esh), al-Nusra Front (ANF), Hamas, and the Abdullah Azzam Brigades (AAB),” the statement says.

Israeli Minister Warns Hizbullah after Threats to Hit Reactor
Associated Press/Feb. 16, 2017/Israel warned Hizbullah on Thursday against attacking it after Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah threatened to strike Israel's nuclear reactor in any future war. The comments by Nasrallah marked the first time his group explicitly threatened to target the reactor in the southern Israeli town of Dimona. "If Nasrallah dares to fire at the Israel homefront or at its national infrastructure, all of Lebanon will be hit," Yisrael Katz, Israel's Minister of Intelligence, said in response to Nasrallah's threats. Earlier in the day, Nasrallah advised Israel to "dismantle the Dimona nuclear reactor," warning that it poses a threat to Israel's existence if hit by his group's missiles. A 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah killed about 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and around 160 Israelis mostly soldiers before ending in a United Nations-brokered cease-fire. The Israel-Lebanon border has remained mostly quiet since the 2006 war but there have been sporadic outbursts of violence.

Aoun: I Won't Allow Any Foreign Party to Interfere in Domestic Affairs
Naharnet/February 16/17/President Michel Aoun pledged Thursday that he “will not allow any foreign party to interfere in the Lebanese domestic affairs.”During a meeting with a delegation from the national media council, Aoun also noted that the stances he has been declaring “do not discriminate between one Lebanese group and another” but are rather aimed at “preserving Lebanon's unity and domestic solidarity in the face of possible external attacks.”The president also reiterated that he will not allow anyone to “violate the constitution and laws” during his tenure, noting that “there are positive indications in the efforts to agree on a new electoral law.”

Aoun blames social media for killing the press, vows support
The Daily Star/Feb. 17, 2017/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun said Thursday that the turmoil facing the Lebanese media sector was to be expected given new technologies, during a meeting with a visiting delegation from the National Audiovisual Media Council headed by Abdel-Hadi Mahfouz. “The advance and development of social media made things difficult for the written and print sector,” Aoun said. He added that “the development of technology has allowed print media to come to our homes.” Aoun expressed his support for media outlets facing financial crises that have left employees without pay for months. “Journalism is a part of the Lebanese society that was affected by the economy and its weak financial situation,” Aoun said. However, he vowed renewed support for the industry, echoing recent comments by both the current and former information ministers. “We will look to help after making trips abroad, which should positively help the sector,” Aoun said, suggesting that foreign nations may assist Lebanon’s media sector. Mahfouz renewed the call for more help for print media. “The written media sector is not in a good situation,” he said. “Political issues negatively affect it at times ... but freedom of the press is the demand.”He said that respect and freedom for journalists were paramount, while also calling for reporters to respect the general public. Mahfouz added that there must be legal protection of the freedom of press to end the current chaotic media situation. Aoun and Mahfouz’s meeting comes after fresh clashes between political supporters and the media. Hundreds of Amal Movement supporters rallied in front of Al-Jadeed TV’s headquarters in Hadath Tuesday night, throwing stones and fireworks at the building and damaging windows and offices after the station aired a skit protesters deemed offensive to Amal supporters. The political movement headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has not issued an official statement over the matter. Al-Jadeed responded by taking the case to court and filing a lawsuit against the supporters. The station’s vice chair and news director Karma al-Khayat denied the station had insulted Amal Movement founder Imam Musa Sadr, saying that “what they [protesters] did was an insult to Sadr, who was the No. 1 advocate for the freedom of press.”Information Minister Melhem Riachi has promised to draft an integrated subsidy plan to support the media, but no concrete measures have yet been taken. Prominent newspaper As-Safir announced on Dec. 10, 2016, that it would be closing at the end of the year, after 42 years of publication. With its reputation for press freedom, Lebanon has long been an influential player in media in the region.

Aoun to Visit the Vatican and Kuwait
Naharnet/February 16/17/Following his tour that included several Arab countries, President Michel Aoun prepares to kick start a trip that will involves the Vatican and Kuwait, media reports said on Thursday. A specific date has not been set as yet, but reports said it will be some time soon. Aoun will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican, while his visit to Kuwait comes upon the invitation of Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah. After his election as president in October, Aoun launched an Arab tour his first-leg as president was to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, and Qatar. On Tuesday, Aoun wrapped up a visit that included Egypt, the Arab League and Jordan where he met with the state's leaders.

Lebanon Moves towards Scrapping Controversial Rape Law
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 16/17/A Lebanese parliamentary committee has forced a vote on scrapping a controversial law that allows rapists to escape punishment by marrying their victims, an NGO said Thursday. Parliament would need to ratify the decision to change the law, but NGO Abaad said the committee's decision on Wednesday was a key first step. "We hope that parliament will move quickly to cancel this article and make the other amendments" proposed by the committee, said Alia Awada, advocacy manager for Abaad's campaign to drop Article 522 of the penal code.The controversial article deals with rape -- including against minors -- assault, kidnapping and forced marriage. "If a valid marriage contract exists between the perpetrator of one of these crimes... and the abused, the prosecution is suspended," the article reads. "If a verdict has been issued, the implementation is suspended." A proposal to scrap the article was introduced last year but the committee only approved it Wednesday, along with changes to other sections of the penal code.
The panel proposed raising the penalty for assaults against girls aged under 15 to a maximum of seven years. Awada said she was hopeful that parliament would vote the changes into law. "The committee took its time during discussions to reach consensus among all the members from the main political parties to avoid any obstacles to the vote in the parliament later," she told AFP. There are no precise figures on how many rapists marry their victims to avoid punishment, but Awada said the practice mainly took place in rural areas. "Many girls come under pressure to marry their rapists under the guise of 'protecting honor' or 'avoiding scandal,'" she said. In December, the New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Lebanon to repeal Article 522, saying it "allows for a second assault on a rape survivor's rights." "Protecting honor should be about ensuring that attackers are punished and promoting social attitudes that support survivors of sexual violence instead of stigmatizing them," the rights watchdog said. Lebanon largely leaves so-called personal status issues to the discretion of religious authorities of the country's 18 recognized sects.

Nasrallah Advises Israel to Dismantle Nuclear Reactor, Says Hizbullah Power, Aoun Stance Preventing War
Naharnet/February 16/17/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Thursday called on Israel to “dismantle the Dimona nuclear reactor,” warning that it poses a threat to Israel's existence if hit by Hizbullah's missiles in any confrontation. “Israel is continuing to launch threats against Lebanon and speak of the third Lebanon war and of what it will do during this third war... This intimidation is not new and it seems that there is a permanent Israeli objective to pressure the resistance community in Lebanon, and after (Donald) Trump was elected U.S. president, this intimidation has returned,” said Nasrallah in a televised speech commemorating Hizbullah's slain leaders. “We've been hearing these threats since the end of the July 2006 war. Every other day we hear statements about the third Lebanon war and about the coming vengeance. The new threats are based on the election of Trump, but the policy of the new American administration in the region is not clear,” Nasrallah added. “Trump's election does not scare us, even if claims that he will give (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu the green light to wage a war on Lebanon turn out to be true, seeing as the issue of war on Lebanon is not hinging on the American permission,” Hizbullah's chief noted. He also noted that the alleged “Arab cover” that “allowed Israel to attack Lebanon in 2006 is also still present.”“The issue is not about the U.S. permission or the Arab cover but rather whether or not they will be able to achieve a victory. This is the main question,” Nasrallah pointed out. He however reassured the Lebanese public opinion that “the strength and firmness of the resistance and President Michel Aoun's unwavering stance will deter Israel from waging any war.”Commenting on an Israeli court's order that an ammonia container in the northern city of Haifa be emptied of its toxic content, Nasrallah also advised Israel to "dismantle the Dimona nuclear reactor," warning that it poses a threat to Israel's very existence if hit by his group's missiles. And questioning Israel's ability to send ground troops into Lebanon in any future war, Nasrallah stressed that “aerial war alone cannot decide the fate of the battle and cannot achieve victory.” “Had it not been for the Syrian army's fighting on the ground in Syria, it would not have been able to achieve decisive victory,” he noted. Nasrallah added: “The resistance must remain prepared and ready and the enemy understands this because this is what's deterring it.” “I tell the enemy's leaders that they would be mistaken if they think that they have enough information about the resistance, seeing as we always have hidden surprises, which is part of our strategy and military creed,” Nasrallah warned.

Sami Gemayel: Lebanon to Witness a Crisis after February 21
Naharnet/February 16/17/Kataeb Party leader MP Sami Gemayel stressed from the Grand Serail on Thursday, that Lebanon faces unfavorable options if political parties fail to agree on a new electoral law for the upcoming parliamentary polls before the deadline on February 21 to call the electorate bodies. “If a new electoral law is not agreed before Feb. 21 it would mean that we are heading towards bad options,” said Gemayel, noting that shall elections be staged based on the controversial 1960 law it would call for an automated extension of the parliament term. After a meeting he held with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Gemayel added: “We still have a few days that separate us from a very important phase. Afterwards, Lebanon's democratic regime will be subject to enormous problems. “We are facing a new problem that will start on Feb. 21,” he added and urged the government to shoulder the responsibility and submit a draft law to the parliament. Political parties are bickering over amending the current 1960 majoritarian election law which divides seats among the different religious sects. While al-Mustaqbal Movement has rejected that the electoral law be fully based on proportional representation, arguing that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds, MP Walid Jumblat has totally rejected proportional representation, even within a hybrid law, warning it would “marginalize” his minority Druze community. Hizbullah, Mustaqbal, Berri's AMAL Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces have discussed several formats of a so-called hybrid law. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next vote is scheduled for May.

Report: Jumblat Suggests New Electoral Law Format
Naharnet/February 16/17/As endeavors to endorse a new electoral law for the upcoming parliamentary polls stutter, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat recently submitted to Speaker Nabih Berri a new draft law proposal that was kept away from media spotlight, media reports said on Thursday. “Jumblat has submitted some general ideas about an electoral law that involves specific acceptable proportionality, agreeable for him, and very much unlike other formats that tend to marginalize some political components,” unnamed sources following up on electoral law discussions told al-Joumhouria daily.
While Berri kept mum about the proposal presented by leader of the Democratic Gathering bloc, Jumblat, he only told those who inquired about the matter that “it is worthy of discussion.”For their part, PSP sources told the daily: “Some are trying to obstruct efforts to reach a new electoral solution and attempt to blame us for that,” adding that the PSP only supports a just electoral law that marginalizes no one. “Based on that, MP Jumblat has submitted new ideas, that we believe are just about applicable. They are in the hands of Berri whom we trust is capable of taking things to the shore's safety,” added the sources.
Political parties are bickering over amending the current 1960 majoritarian election law which divides seats among the different religious sects. While al-Mustaqbal Movement has rejected that the electoral law be fully based on proportional representation, arguing that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds, MP Walid Jumblat has totally rejected proportional representation, even within a hybrid law, warning it would “marginalize” his minority Druze community. Hizbullah, Mustaqbal, Berri's AMAL Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces have discussed several formats of a so-called hybrid law. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next vote is scheduled for May.

Change and Reform Defends Aoun's Stances, Reveals Presence of 'Advanced' Electoral Law Proposal
Naharnet/February 16/17/The Change and Reform parliamentary bloc on Thursday defended the latest stances of President Michel Aoun regarding Hizbullah's arms, while revealing that it is “awaiting answers” on an “advanced” electoral law proposal. “President Michel Aoun's stances are very clear and do not need any extensive interpretation and will not lead to any violation or repercussions on Lebanon's international commitments and obligations,” said the bloc in a statement issued after its weekly meeting and recited by Justice Minister Salim Jreissati. “The presidential tenure's firm slogan is general stability and the president has voiced remarks in this regard, and these remarks do not contradict with the international treaties and obligations,” the bloc added. “The president of the republic understands the requirements of his presidential oath of office,” Change and Reform stressed. Several parties have criticized Aoun's remarks on Hizbullah's controversial arsenal of weapons, warning that they contradict with Lebanon's international commitments, especially towards U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. “As long as there is Israeli-occupied land and as long as the army is not strong enough to fight Israel, we sense that there is a need for the presence of the resistance's arms so that they complete the army's weapons,” Aoun had told Egypt's CBC television in an interview on Saturday. Turning to the issue of the electoral law, the bloc stressed that the 1960 electoral law “is no longer valid because it contradicts with the Taef Accord.” It also revealed that “there is an advanced proposal -- contrary to the current pessimism -- which mixes the winner-takes-all and proportional representation electoral systems according to unified standards.”“We are awaiting viable answers to this proposal,” Change and Reform added. While al-Mustaqbal Movement has rejected that the electoral law be fully based on proportional representation, arguing that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds, Druze leader MP Walid Jumblat has totally rejected proportional representation, even within a hybrid law, warning that it would “marginalize” the minority Druze community. Hizbullah, Mustaqbal, AMAL Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces are meanwhile discussing several formats of a so-called hybrid law. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next vote is scheduled for May.

Judge Charges Ten Suspects Linked to IS Group
Naharnet/February 16/17/Lebanon's judiciary charged ten suspected Palestinian and Lebanese militants with involvement with the Islamic State terror group, the National News Agency reported on Thursday. Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr charged the ten suspects, three of whom are already in detention, on charges of involvement with the IS terror group, executing terror operations in Syria, planning to carry out terror assaults in Lebanon and assassination attempts of Lebanese officials, NNA added. The judge referred the file and the detainees to the First Military Magistrate, it added. The news agency neither specified the time of the arrest of the suspects nor their identities.

Electricity Outage to Shrink in Return for Increase in Tariffs
Naharnet/February 16/17/Lebanon's electricity outage will be decreased three hours per day by the end of February, to be paralleled by a “slight” increase in electricity tariffs, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Thursday. Sources well-informed on Lebanon's longtime problematic electricity file, told the daily that a new supply program will increase power supply by 3 hours per day, starting at the end of February. “The (EDL) institution has shortly finished establishing two new power plants that will kick start work with a production capacity of nearly 270 megawatts. They will be linked to the core network for the distribution of electricity,” the sources said speaking on condition of anonymity. In that regard, Energy Minister Cesar Abi Khalil told the daily in an interview: “We are preparing a plan to ease the electricity bill on citizens which shall pass through a number of stages including an increase in the hours of power supply, which in turn means a reduced reliance on private electricity generator services. “Thus, the overall total (monthly energy) bill paid by the citizen will be cut down. When we finish this study it will be presented to the cabinet and later put out in front of the public,” added the minister. Asked about reports circulating on a hike on an already costly electricity tariff, the Minister said astounded: “How can these criticisms arise now while the ministry has not even started the study yet? “The plan includes an increase in hours of supply and a slight increase in tariffs, in return for a decreased dependence on private generators. In the end we will reach a 24/24 feed. The total bill will eventually become much lower than what the citizens are paying today.” Lebanon is plagued with frequent power cuts because of outdated and damaged infrastructure. Local generator companies have filled the gap by providing power when state electricity cuts off -- but they often charge exorbitant prices. The poor condition of the state's power infrastructure has been a major source of public frustration.

Israel Court Delays Deadline for Emptying Toxic Tank Threatened by Hizbullah
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/February 16/17/An Israeli court Wednesday postponed the deadline for a container in Haifa capable of holding 12,000 tons of ammonia to be emptied of its toxic content, judicial sources said. The court gave Haifa Chemicals until February 26 to remove the liquid-form chemical from its tank, located in the northern city's Mediterranean bay, the sources said. An initial ruling on Sunday had given the company until February 22 to clear out the container. Lawyers representing Haifa Chemicals argued in an appeal hearing that data put forward by the municipality to justify the container's closure were "exaggerated" and "intended to spread fear among the population."They also argued that a halt on ammonia supplies would paralyze activity at "sensitive security installations such as the Dimona nuclear station" in the south of the country as well as military companies. But they did not give further details of how ending ammonia supplies would affect activity at the Dimona plant in the Negev desert, which foreign experts believe is key to Israel's undeclared nuclear arsenal. The Haifa municipality asked to close the ammonia tank after a decades-long campaign by environmental groups. The push received added urgency last year when Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the ammonia tank would be like "a nuclear bomb" if hit by his group's missiles. Nasrallah, whose group targeted the Haifa area in a 2006 war with Israel, echoed warnings from experts and activists cited in Israeli media that "tens of thousands of people" would be killed if the container was struck. Ammonia, used in fertilizers, is poisonous to humans.

Report: Jumblat Suggests New Electoral Law Format
Naharnet/February 16/17/As endeavors to endorse a new electoral law for the upcoming parliamentary polls stutter, Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat recently submitted to Speaker Nabih Berri a new draft law proposal that was kept away from media spotlight, media reports said on Thursday.
“Jumblat has submitted some general ideas about an electoral law that involves specific acceptable proportionality, agreeable for him, and very much unlike other formats that tend to marginalize some political components,” unnamed sources following up on electoral law discussions told al-Joumhouria daily.
While Berri kept mum about the proposal presented by leader of the Democratic Gathering bloc, Jumblat, he only told those who inquired about the matter that “it is worthy of discussion.” For their part, PSP sources told the daily: “Some are trying to obstruct efforts to reach a new electoral solution and attempt to blame us for that,” adding that the PSP only supports a just electoral law that marginalizes no one. “Based on that, MP Jumblat has submitted new ideas, that we believe are just about applicable. They are in the hands of Berri whom we trust is capable of taking things to the shore's safety,” added the sources.
Political parties are bickering over amending the current 1960 majoritarian election law which divides seats among the different religious sects. While al-Mustaqbal Movement has rejected that the electoral law be fully based on proportional representation, arguing that Hizbullah's arms would prevent serious competition in the party's strongholds, MP Walid Jumblat has totally rejected proportional representation, even within a hybrid law, warning it would “marginalize” his minority Druze community. Hizbullah, Mustaqbal, Berri's AMAL Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces have discussed several formats of a so-called hybrid law. The country has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has instead twice extended its own mandate. The last polls were held under an amended version of the 1960 electoral law and the next vote is scheduled for May.

Syrian Held in Border Area for Carrying Lebanese Military Suit
Naharnet/February 16/17/A Syrian national was arrested Wednesday in a northern border region for carrying a Lebanese military suit, state-run National News Agency reported. “An army checkpoint in Akkar's al-Abboudiyeh area arrested the Syrian national M. M. for carrying a Lebanese military uniform,” NNA said. “He will be handed over to the Military Police department of the North for further investigations,” the agency added.

Arab states considering alliance with Israel, say Arab officials
MEE staff//Middle East Eye/Thursday 16 February 2017
The Trump administration is in discussions about the formation of a regional Arab alliance with Israel as a counterbalance to Iran's influence in the Middle East, according to Arab officials. The alliance would include Egypt and Jordan, both of whom recognise and have peace treaties with Israel, as well as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, neither of whom recognise Israel but are known to have covertly shared intelligence in the past. "They've been asking diplomatic missions in Washington if we'd be willing to join this force that has an Israeli component," one Arab diplomat said, according to the Wall Street Journal. "Israel's role would likely be intelligence sharing, not training or boots on the ground. They'd provide intelligence and targets. That's what the Israelis are good at." Speaking at during a Wednesday joint news conference with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the plan would potentially have an enormous impact on the balance of power in the Middle East, which is currently seeing a regional rivalry and proxy wars between Saudi Arabia and Iran. "It is something that is very different, hasn't been discussed before," said Trump. "And it's actually a much bigger deal - much more important deal in a sense. It would take in many, many countries and would cover a very large territory."Netanyahu, who has previously boasted of the cooperation between Israel and the Gulf states, also praised the idea. "I believe that the great opportunity for peace comes from a regional approach from involving our newfound Arab partners," he said. The effect of the agreement would be similar to the NATO alliance's mutual defence policy, where there is a collective responsibility to respond if one member is attacked. Such an alliance between would prove controversial as, apart from the Gulf states not officially recognising Israel, the populations of those countries are resolutely pro-Palestinian. However, another Arab official told the WSJ that the Trump administration could use the designating of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation - which the Egyptian government has already branded the group - as an incentive for Egypt to join the alliance. The officials added that the Trump administration had approached Egypt to host any combined force, but that Saudi Arabia was also keen to do so. Any alliance would effectively expand upon the Saudi-led coalition that already exists currently launching air strikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Though Trump has repeatedly said his government would be the most pro-Israel ever, he has recently stepped back from a promise to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move which would be illegal under international law. According to the officials, this may be another concession to the Arab states in order to incentivise the creation of the regional alliance. Major General Ahmed Asiri, a military adviser to Saudi Arabia's defence ministry, refused to comment on the proposal to the WSJ. "With Israel, we don't have official relations," he said. However, he added that the "the Israelis are facing the same Iranian threat, exactly like us".

France's Le Pen to meet leaders in Lebanon on Monday
Reuters/February 16/17/France's far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen is due to visit Lebanon this weekend and will meet Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and President Michel Aoun on Monday, officials said. Le Pen's visit, confirmed to Reuters by a member of her entourage, will come nine weeks from a French election in which she is among the leading candidates competing with conservative Francois Fillon for the presidency. Many Lebanese fled to France, Lebanon's former colonial power, during their country's 1975-1990 civil war and became French citizens. A Lebanese source said Le Pen's visit may be aimed partly at winning their votes ahead of the election. A spokeswoman for Hariri said a meeting would take place on Monday. The Le Pen official said she would also meet Aoun. Sources in Aoun's office confirmed the meeting, set for Monday. Both Aoun and Hariri have close ties to France and have both lived there for many years. Sunni Muslim Hariri, whose family has close links to conservative former French President Jacques Chirac, still has a home there. Aoun lived in exile in Paris after being forced from Lebanon at the end of the civil war by the Syrian army. During his time in exile, Aoun built strong ties with French politicians while campaigning against Syria's military domination of Lebanon. Emmanuel Macron, a socialist candidate for the French presidency, also visited Lebanon last month. (Reporting by Gerard Bon Paris and; Samia Nakhoul in Beirut; Editing by Toby Chopra and Editing by Dominic Evans)

Riachy at USEC gathering: Bill to exempt audio visual media outlets from 70% of Ministry dues in the offing
Thu 16 Feb 2017/NNA - Information Minister, Melhem Riachy, disclosed on Thursday that he is in the process of signing a project law designed to exempt all audio-visual media outlets from paying 70% of their dues to the Ministry of Information, to be forwarded later to the Cabinet for approval. "Audiovisual media will only pay now 15% of the remaining 30% and the other in installments," Minister Riachy said during a gathering held by the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) under the title of "Radio Transformation" marking the International Radio Day. The gathering was attended by University Vice President for Administrative Affairs, father Talal Al-Hashem, and scores of journalists, faculty deans, professors and students. Riachy said that he shall forward the project law to the Cabinet in its first regular session to be taking place after the termination of the national budget discussion. The Minister underlined the paramount importance of the content of radio output and programs for its sustainability.

Is Israel linked to Hezbollah’s agenda?
Khairallah Khairallah/Al Arabiya/February 16/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=52405The pertinence of Hezbollah’s agenda can be viewed through its flexibility to continuously identify with the Iranian project countering Israeli interests. However, this agenda was not always nor exclusively anti-Israel.
President Michel Aoun has long asserted that Hezbollah’s agenda does not contradict with the interests of the Lebanese state. Hence he justified the existence of Hezbollah with the Israeli occupation. Yet, the president’s statements are now obsolete when dealing with Israel and would only deserve Lebanon through a renewal of the devastating scenario of summer 2006.
The president’s declaration sparked outrage and some even described him as covering for illegal weapons and questioning the ability of the Lebanese army at a time when the latter is undergoing efforts to restructure and elevate the country military institution.
Nonetheless, insinuating a link between Israel and Hezbollah is quite inadequate since the latter is but a permanent custodian of the Revolutionary Guard. Hence, Hezbollah serves solely the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran whose project, in its turn, revolves around funding and igniting sectarian interests.
Furthermore, any link between Israel and Hezbollah is misplaced within the Lebanese context as well as the region in general, and addresses more important questions revolving around the threat posed by the Iranian project. This inadequacy could be explained in different ways.
Indeed, from the perspective of the United Nations, Israel does not occupy any Lebanese territory since by the turn of the century the UN officially declared Israel’s withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in implementation of resolution 425 previously adopted by the United Nations Security Council in 1978. As for the occupied Shebaa farms, which were originally Lebanese territory, they are also subject to the UN Security Council’s 242 decision (already applied in 1967 on the Syrian Golan Heights).
It is impossible to ignore Hezbollah’s role in intensifying militia and sectarian divisions in Iraq as well as deteriorating Lebanese-Arab relations
Tripartite aggression
It is no secret that the Shebaa Farms were occupied by Syria in 1956 following the tripartite aggression against Egypt. As demonstrated by President Sami Solh, who was prime minister in 1956 during the era of Camille Shamoun, Syria employed Israeli threat as an excuse to gain a strong foothold in Shebaa.
To this day, the Syrian regime has refused to acknowledge that the Shebaa Farms are Lebanese territory. If it did, it would have provided a strong argument to force the Israeli withdrawal from the region, consequently annexed to Syria.
Yet, in contrast excuses and flimsy justifications where used to legitimize the persistent presence of Hezbollah in Lebanon despite the application of resolution 425 and the withdrawal of Israel from the South of Lebanon. In fact, Hezbollah’s presence allowed a continuous trade connection between Syria and Iran through the Shebaa Farms and the Golan Heights which in turn opposed the interests of both the Lebanese and Syrians.
The Iranian project
The particularity of Hezbollah lies in its aptitude to constantly identify with the Iranian project. As a matter of fact, Hezbollah’s agenda did not always seek to resist and oppose Israel and long strived to eliminate leftist Lebanese parties engaged into Israeli resistance. These parties were prematurely silenced before the creation of the Amal movement. The latter was involved in violent clashes and thousands of deaths in Lebanon and finally co- opted for a truce and a coexistence with Hezbollah within Lebanon.
Thus, before even the withdrawal of Israel from Lebanon, Hezbollah used the Palestinian agenda so as to serve the interests of Iran and held the Shiite community in Lebanon as a hostage to Iran. Nonetheless, even after Israel’s withdrawal, Hezbollah’s agenda served other interests ultimately with the aim of turning Lebanon into a sort of colony through which Iran can operate against other Arabic countries, especially in the Gulf.
Furthermore, Hezbollah’s involvement in Yemen is clearly perceptible even when knowing little of the country’s political developments. In fact, Hezbollah has supported the Houthis (Ansar Allah) for over 15 years. It is needless to point out Hezbollah’s responsibility in the military training received by rebels in Yemen and abroad.
It is also pointless to highlight the latter’s complicity in recent occurrences in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and even Jordan at some point. It was precisely these involvements which prevented the presence of King Abdullah II from the Arab summit held in Beirut in March 2002. Hence, the role played by Hezbollah outreached the Lebanese borders for a long time, but also came to play an important role in the displacement of Syrians from their land amidst an absolute coordination between Russia and Israel regarding Syria.
Sudan and Egypt
In this context, it is also possible to mention Hezbollah’s entanglements in the politics of Sudan and Egypt during the era of President Hosni Mubarak. Hezbollah was responsible for the smuggling of weapons into Gaza as well as the West Bank and proceeded in the interests of Hamas as well as parties hostile to the Palestinian national authority.
On another note, it is impossible to ignore Hezbollah’s role in intensifying militia and sectarian divisions in Iraq as well as deteriorating Lebanese-Arab relations. However, it is important to recognize that Hezbollah’s agenda has been long used on a domestic level and that on several occasions.
Indeed, the latter endeavored to protect the main suspect in the assassination of Rafik Hariri and his companions and prevented the House of Representative from electing a president for more than two years. Countless examples exist of Hezbollah’s accountability in spreading the culture of “hate” in Lebanon.
Furthermore, this agenda breaches both resolution 1559 and 1701 issued by the Security Council although Hezbollah approved of each character in resolution 1701, which halted the hostilities with Israel of summer 2006.
The altercation with Israel was not only ignited by Hezbollah but turned out into a testimony of Israel’s victory. Till this day, Lebanon is suffering from the consequences of that war. It led to illegal weapons in and outside the Lebanese territories as well as constant threat to the country’s institutions, including its army and security forces.
**The article is also available in Arabic

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on February 16-17/17
Canadians from Iran and Pakistan rally against the “Islamophobia” law
Robert Spencer/Jihad Watch/February 16/17/The supporters of the Canadian bill condemning “Islamophobia” insist that it will not restrict the freedom of speech, but interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose was more realistic: she said that she was concerned that charges of “Islamophobia” would be used “to intimidate rather than to inform,” and added: “I do worry that some of my work trying to empower women and girls in Muslim communities could be branded as ‘Islamophobic’ if I criticize practices that I believe are oppressive.”Of course she is absolutely right. That is exactly what happened to Pamela Geller and me when we held a conference about honor killing. The interviewees in the video above come from Iran and Pakistan and are against the bill because they know what it leads to. As one of them said, “I know how it starts.” This is how.'

Canadian House of Commons divided over motion against Islamophobia
Terri Coles/Yahoo Canada/Ottawa/Canada/February 16/17Liberal MP Iqra Khalid’s motion to condemn Islamophobia has divided MPs. Photo from CP
Liberal MP Iqra Khalid made it clear that she isn’t changing the content of M-103, her motion to denounce Islamophobia, despite personal attacks and growing dissent among other MPs and Conservative leadership candidates.
“We cannot address a problem if we fail to call it by its true name,” Khalid, an MP for Mississauga-Erin Mills, told the Commons Wednesday. Her party reiterated their agreement after debate on M-103 in the House of Commons on Wednesday evening, with Heritage Minister Melanie Jolie saying the Liberal government strongly supported the private members’ motion.
But Conservative leadership candidates and MPs remain divided on the motion, which will be voted on by the House at a later date.
Liberal government backing controversial motion on condemning Islamophobia
Conservative MP David Anderson asked that “Islamophobia” in the motion be changed to “hatred against Muslims,” and his party plans to introduce its own motion without the word “Islamophobia” on Thursday.
And as the House of Commons debated Wednesday evening, Conservative leadership candidates Kellie Leitch, Chris Alexander, Brad Trost, and Pierre Lemieux attended a Toronto rally against the motion that was organized by right-wing website The Rebel.
What would M-103 do?
M-103, placed on notice on Dec. 1, motions that the government should “recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear” and “condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.” Since it is a motion and not a bill, M-103 can attract the House’s interest to something important and suggest a course of action but does not create or change legislation.
The text of the motion also asks that the heritage committee study the development of a government-wide approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia, and that the government collect data to contextualize hate-crime reports and conduct needs assessments with affected communities.
Who supports the motion?
Justin Trudeau: The prime minister spoke in favour of motion M-103 during a town hall meeting in Yellowknife on Friday. Trudeau responded that the individual rights enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms have to be balanced with other rights in Canadian society and that the motion is aimed at protecting a community that is currently vulnerable. “You’re not allowed to call ‘Fire!’ in a crowded movie theatre and call that free speech. That endangers our community,” Trudeau said at the town hall. “And as we saw 10 days ago in Quebec City, there are other things that can endanger our communities. And we need to stand strongly and firmly against that.”
Michael Chong: Conservative leadership candidate and MP Michael Chong said Tuesday that he would support the motion, pointing out in a statement published on
Tuesday that he would support the motion, pointing out in a statement published on Facebook that the House of Commons has at various times passed similar motions denouncing discrimination against other religious groups including Yazidis and Jews. Chong also said that the motion will not curb free speech rights and in no way constitutes Sharia Law. “In denouncing Islamophobia, the motion is simply denouncing discrimination and prejudice against Muslims and people of the Islamic faith. Nothing more or less,” the statement reads. “Motion 103 will not prevent anyone from criticizing Islam or radical Islamic terrorists.”
Liberal and NDP MPs: Several other MPs in both the governing Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party have expressed their support for M-103. Mulcair told the Globe and Mail Wednesday that he supports the motion, and believes that his caucus agrees with him.
Who opposes it?
Maxime Bernier: Bernier, like Chong, is in the crowded race for leadership of the Conservative Party. But unlike Chong, he has said he will not support a motion that singles out Islamophobia specifically. “Is this motion a first step towards restricting our right to criticize Islam?,” Bernier wrote in a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday. “Given the international situation, and the fact that jihadi terrorism is today the most important threat to our security, I think this is a serious concern we have to take into account.” Bernier said in the statement that the House instead should affirm everyone’s right to their religious beliefs regardless of what they are.
Kellie Leitch: Tory leadership candidate Kellie Leitch also shared her thoughts on M-103 on social media, posting on Twitter in late January that she opposed the motion because she believed all religions should be treated equally. “I am opposed to #m103,” Leitch posted. “No religion should enjoy special privileges.” On Tuesday and Wednesday Leitch posted tweets asking supporters to sign a petition opposing the motion.
Brad Trost: Saskatchewan MP and Conservative leadership candidate Trost is also opposed to the motion. In a statement posted on his website, Trost said that Jewish Canadians are more often victims of religious hate, Christians are the group most likely to experience discrimination for their beliefs, and Muslims in Canada benefit from “extraordinary acts of accommodation.” Trost also refers to incidents of Islamophobia as isolated, though police-reported hate crimes against Muslim Canadians more than doubled between 2012 and 2014 even as the total number of hate crimes decreased and reported hate crimes against Muslims spiked in Quebec after a shooting during prayers at a Quebec City mosque last month killed six men.
Rona Ambrose: The interim Conservative leader indicated that any support for the motion would be contingent on some changes and she would vote against it as it is currently written. A spokesperson told CBC News that Ambrose wouldn’t support the motion without an amendment but did not specify what that amendment might be. Ambrose’s spokesperson did say, however, that the vote on the motion is a free vote.

Huge Baghdad Car Bomb Kills at Least 45
Agence France Presse/NaharnetFebruary 16/17/A massive car bomb ripped through a used car market in southern Baghdad Thursday, killing at least 45 people in the deadliest such attack this year, security officials said. The Amaq propaganda agency linked to the Islamic State group (IS), which has claimed nearly all such attacks recently, reported the blast and described it as targeting "a gathering of Shiites." Mobile phone footage circulated on social media showed charred bodies and extensive destruction in the Bayaa neighborhood where the explosion went off around 4:15 pm (1315 GMT). "A terrorist car bomb attack struck near car dealerships in Bayaa and resulted in the deaths of 45 people," a spokesman for the Baghdad Operations Command said in a statement. An interior ministry official gave the same figure and said at least 60 people were also wounded. He said the emergency services were struggling to cope with the scope of the attack and warned that the death toll may rise. The explosion occurred in the same Bayaa neighborhood in southern Baghdad where a car bomb blast killed at least four people on Tuesday. At least 11 people were also killed in a suicide car bomb attack claimed by IS Wednesday in a northern neighborhood of the Iraqi capital. Baghdad was rocked by a wave of deadly suicide bombings during the first days of 2017 but relatively few explosions had been reported since then until this week.

Arab League Chief Says Mideast Peace Requires Two-State Solution
Agence France Presse/NaharnetFebruary 16/17/Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Thursday resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would require a two-state solution, a day after Washington signaled it would drop that demand. Abul Gheit affirmed that the conflict "requires a comprehensive and just peace based on a two-state solution with an independent Palestinian state," a statement said after he met UN chief Antonio Guterres in Cairo. His comments came a day after US President Donald Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and suggested a two-state solution was not necessary.

24 Civilians Killed in Bombing on Syria Town
Agence France Presse/NaharnetFebruary 16/17/Turkish bombardment of an Islamic State group-held town in Syria has killed 24 civilians, a monitor said Thursday, but Turkey's army said only "terrorists" died in the operation. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the dead in air strikes and shelling on the town of Al-Bab in the last 24 hours included 11 children. Turkey's army, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency said it had killed 15 "terrorists" in air strikes, artillery fire and clashes. Al-Bab is IS's final stronghold in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo and has come under fierce attack by Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels in recent months. The joint force entered Al-Bab over the weekend, and Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday that the town had "largely been taken under control." The Observatory however said Turkish forces had made little progress since entering the town from the west. Turkey began military operations in Syria in August, targeting both IS and Kurdish fighters. Initially its forces advanced quickly, but they stalled around Al-Bab in December. The town is also a key target for Syrian government forces, who had been advancing towards from the south. But they have yet to enter Al-Bab, instead focused on clearing IS-held territory in the surrounding countryside in recent days. More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests. The war has displaced over half the country's population and drawn in jihadists and international militaries.

UN Envoy Urges Greater Syria Peace Efforts in Moscow
Agence France Presse/NaharnetFebruary 16/17/UN envoy Staffan de Mistura called Thursday for greater efforts in the push for peace in Syria, as he visited Moscow ahead of a fresh round of talks in Geneva. De Mistura was in Russia for meetings with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as the United Nations gears up to hold negotiations in Switzerland on February 23. "Now is the right time to step up efforts to normalise the political process in Syria," de Mistura told Lavrov in comments translated into Russian by the state-run TASS news agency. TASS reported that de Mistura said the UN "supports" Russian-led peace efforts in the Kazakh capital of Astana, where armed opposition groups and Syrian regime representatives are set to hold a second round of indirect talks on Thursday. The talks in Kazakhstan -- co-sponsored by Turkey and Iran -- are being billed as a prelude to the Geneva meeting, with negotiations expected to focus on shoring up a shaky ceasefire on the ground. Moscow has increasingly taken the lead on shaping Syria's future after its military intervention on the side of leader Bashar al-Assad helped turn the tables in the protracted conflict. Russia says the Astana process is meant to support the Geneva talks, but there has been speculation that it is working with Ankara to develop an alternative to the UN-led initiative.

Turkish Minister Defends Syria 'Safe zones' Idea
Agence France Presse/NaharnetFebruary 16/17/Turkey's foreign minister, on a visit to Qatar on Wednesday, defended the idea of "safe zones" in war-ravaged Syria and pressed the need for them to be properly funded. Mevlut Cavusoglu said that only through making the zones habitable would tens of thousands of Syrians be encouraged to return home.
"Firstly, we need to defend this idea," said Cavusoglu. "Secondly, when it becomes a safe zone, we need to build houses, schools and facilities, therefore we need to raise funds together to develop the safe zone area so the people can live in a proper conditions."
Cavusoglu was speaking at the inauguration of a Turkish hospital which has been built in Doha. He added: "When we have the safe zone with the infrastructure... I am sure many refugees will prefer to go back." The minister was part of a high-level Turkish delegation, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visiting Qatar as part of a Gulf tour also taking in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Cavusoglu's comments follow a call by Erdogan earlier this month for a safe zone in northern Syria, "free of terrorism." Turkey believes such a zone could help to alleviate the burden of accommodating Syrian refugees. Millions of Syrians have been displaced since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. Although the idea of "safe zones" has not always had the support of some in the West, it was reported by U.S. media last month that the Pentagon would be given 90 days to draw up a plan to set up such areas.
Erdogan was due to leave Doha on Wednesday evening. During his visit he met Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Turkey and Qatar are particularly close allies and last year the first call Erdogan received from a foreign leader during the July 15 coup was from the Qatari emir. Qatar also hosts a Turkish military base. Both states are united in their backing for rebels fighting Assad's regime.

Trump Travel Ban Targeted 'Terrorists' Not Syrian People, Assad Says
Agence France Presse/NaharnetFebruary 16/17/Syrian President Bashar Assad defended President Donald Trump's ban on Syrians entering the U.S., saying it targeted "terrorists" and not the Syrian people, in an interview broadcast Thursday. Trump last month summarily denied entry to all refugees for 120 days and barred Syrian refugees indefinitely. The highly controversial decree, which was suspended by a federal judge, also barred travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Syria, for 90 days. In an interview with French media Assad expressed understanding for the ban. "It's not against the Syrian people... it's against the terrorists that could infiltrate some of the immigrants to the West and that happened. It happened in Europe, mainly in Germany and could happen in the United States," he told Europe 1 radio and TF1 television channels in the interview in Damascus.
"For me, as president, I would not worry about that," he said, accusing Trump's critics of seizing on the ban "as the fuel for the conflict with Trump."The interview came as Syrian government representatives and rebel groups began new peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana, brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran. The talks aim to shore up a faltering six-week truce and pave the way for new U.N.-brokered talks on a political solution to the six-year conflict. Assad revealed that retaking the Islamic State's Syrian bastion of Raqa -- a key objective of the U.S.-led coalition battling the jihadists -- was not a priority for his forces."Raqa is a symbol," he said, "You have ISIS close to Damascus, you have them everywhere," Assad said, using another acronym for IS. "For us it is all the same, Raqa, Palmyra, Idlib, it's all the same," vowing to win back "every inch" of Syrian territory.
The French particularly have been pushing for an operation to flush IS out of Raqa, as the suspected incubator of some of the attacks that have claimed 238 lives in France over the past two years. Across the border, Iraqi forces are four months into a massive operation to drive IS out of the city of Mosul. In Syria, an Arab-Kurd rebel alliance has begun advancing on Raqa with the aim of liberating the city. Winning hearts In the interview, Assad again denied recent allegations by Amnesty International of executions and atrocities perpetrated at a prison near Damascus. Assad said Amnesty's "biased" report contained "not a single fact (or) evidence" to support allegations that some 13,000 people were hanged at the Saydnaya prison between 2011 and 2015. On the use of torture, he said, "We don't do this, it's not our policy," adding: "Torture for what? ... For sadism?... to get information? We have all the information."He argued: "If we commit such atrocities it's going to play into the hands of the terrorists, they're going to win. It's about winning the hearts of the Syrian people, if we commit such atrocities... we wouldn't have (popular) support (through) six years" of war. He was also scathing of the West's fruitless attempts to mediate in the six-year conflict that has claimed more than 300,000 lives. The West, he said, "did not want to achieve peace in Syria."Over the past year, Russia and Iran have helped turn the tables in Assad's favor with their military backing, while Turkey supports rebels fighting to oust the strongman. The talks in Astana are viewed as a warm-up for U.N.-led negotiations that are due to begin in Geneva on February 23.

Joint Session on Syria to Go Ahead
Agence France Presse/NaharnetFebruary 16/17/Kazakhstan said a new round of talks on the Syria conflict backed by Russia, Turkey and Iran and endorsed by the United Nations were going ahead Thursday after a day's delay.  A plenary session involving all three power-brokers and delegations from the Syrian government and opposition is scheduled to begin at 1600 local time (0900 GMT), a Kazakh foreign ministry official said at a press briefing in Astana on Thursday. On Wednesday Kazakhstan said talks initially slated for February 15 had been moved to February 16 for unspecified "technical reasons". Bilateral consultations ahead of the plenary session are reported to have been underway since Wednesday, as parties seek an end to the conflict that has claimed more than 300,000 lives since 2011. Rebel spokesman Yehya al-Aridi told AFP Wednesday the opposition was participating, but as a "smaller" delegation than the one it sent for the talks in Astana last month, when it refused to negotiate directly with Damascus. The rebels, who initially cast doubt over their participation in the latest meeting will be led by Mohammad Alloush, a leading figure of the Army of Islam (Jaish al-Islam), he confirmed. The Syrian regime is represented in Astana by its ambassador to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari. He told Russian agency Ria Novosti on Wednesday that one-on-one meetings between the opposition and the government were "not planned". The first set of talks on Syria that took place in the Central Asian country's capital in January did not result in any significant breakthrough. The latest round of discussions will focus mostly on bolstering a faltering six-week truce with negotiations over any political settlement expected to wait for February 23 talks in Geneva. Russia has sent presidential envoy Alexander Lavrentiev to the event while Iran dispatched deputy foreign minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari. UN envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura said he would not participate personally in the latest Astana meeting but that his office would be represented by a "technical team". Russia and Iran have helped turn the tables on the ground in the war-torn country with their military backing for strongman Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has supported rebels fighting to oust the strongman.

Russia Warns US ahead of Military Chiefs' Meeting
Agence France Presse/NaharnetFebruary 16/17/Russia's defense minister on Thursday warned Washington not to try to negotiate with Moscow "from a position of strength" ahead of the first meeting between their military chiefs since Donald Trump became US president.
"We are ready to restore cooperation with the Pentagon," minister Sergei Shoigu said in a statement. "But attempts to build a dialogue from a position of strength in relation to Russia have no prospects." Shoigu was responding to a comment to NATO by new Pentagon chief James Mattis on Wednesday in which he said Washington wanted to make sure its diplomats had the upper hand in any talks with Russia. "We remain open to opportunities to restore a cooperative relationship with Moscow, while being realistic in our expectations and ensuring our diplomats negotiate from a position of strength," Mattis said in Brussels. The comments come as the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Joe Dunford is set to hold talks with his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov in Azerbaijan's capital Baku. The meeting takes place as Trump's administration battles to fend off reports that aides had repeated contact with Russian intelligence during the presidential campaign. Ties between Russia and the US have slumped to their lowest point since the Cold War over Moscow's meddling in Ukraine and intervention in Syria. Trump has repeatedly held out the prospect of cooperating with Russia in the fight against the Islamic State group, a goal that the Kremlin has long been pushing for. The United States insisted, however, that Wednesday's meeting between the military bosses was not political in nature and had been planned for months. The Pentagon said the two men will discuss "the importance of consistent and clear military-to-military communication to prevent miscalculation and potential crises". The two sides currently have a system set up to help them avoid any confrontations in the air over Syria where both nations are flying bombing campaigns.

Assad Vows to Retake Raqa and 'Every Inch' of Syria
Agence France Presse/NaharnetFebruary 16/17/President Bashar Assad on Thursday said Raqa is not a priority target for his forces, saying his goal is to retake "every inch" of Syrian territory. "Raqa is a symbol," Assad said in an interview with French media, while asserting that jihadist attacks carried out in France were "not necessarily prepared" in the Islamic State group (IS) stronghold in Syria. "You have ISIS close to Damascus, you have them everywhere," Assad said, using another acronym for IS. "Everywhere is a priority depending on the development of the battle," he said, as a new round of peace talks was set to kick off in the Kazakh capital Astana. "They are in Palmyra now and in the eastern part of Syria," he said in the interview in Damascus with Europe 1 radio and the TF1 and LCI television channels. "For us it is all the same, Raqa, Palmyra, Idlib, it's all the same."
The Syrian leader said it was the "duty of any government" to regain control of "every inch" of its territory. After a string of major losses in both Iraq and Syria, the jihadists' two main strongholds of Mosul and Raqa are both under attack from forces backed by a US-led coalition. After a massive, four-month campaign, Iraqi forces are tightening the noose on Mosul, while in Syria, an Arab-Kurd alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces, has begun advancing on Raqa. Also in the interview, Assad categorically denied that his government practises torture and reiterated his rejection of recent allegations by Amnesty International of executions and atrocities perpetrated at a prison near Damascus. Assad said Amnesty's "childish report" contained "not a single fact (or) evidence" to support allegations that some 13,000 people were hanged at the Saydnaya prison between 2011 and 2015.
- Winning hearts -"They said they interviewed few witnesses, who are opposition and defected. So it's biased," the Syrian president said. Regarding torture, he said, "We don't do this, it's not our policy," adding: "Torture for what? ... For sadism?... to get information? We have all the information."
He argued: "If we commit such atrocities it's going to play into the hands of the terrorists, they're going to win. It's about winning the hearts of the Syrian people, if we commit such atrocities... we wouldn't have (popular) support (through) six years" of war. Concerning international negotiations to end the conflict that has claimed more than 300,000 lives, Assad said Western countries had "lost their chance of achieving anything in Geneva twice."While Turkey, Russia and Iran take the lead in the talks in Astana, the West has become "passive", he said, denouncing the coalition for supporting "those groups that represented the terrorists against the government. "They did not want to achieve peace in Syria." Russia and Iran have helped turn the tables on the ground with their military backing for Assad, while Turkey has supported rebels fighting to oust the strongman. A new round of the Astana talks was set to kick off on Thursday after a one-day delay for "technical reasons". The talks -- pushed by key Assad supporter Moscow -- are viewed as a warm-up for UN-led negotiations that are due to begin in Geneva on February 23.
The meeting in Geneva, the fifth time negotiators have gone to Switzerland, has been pushed back twice already, in part to give the opposition more time to form a unified delegation.

Saudi Arabia dismantles four ISIS cells, arrests 18 individuals
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishThursday, 16 February 2017/Saudi Arabia has dismantled at least four Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) cells made up of 18 individuals inside the kingdom, officials from the interior ministry confirmed. Fifteen of those arrested were Saudi nationals while the remaining three were from Yemen and Sudan, the ministry said in statements made on Thursday. The ministry also said that ISIS cells in Saudi Arabia have spread to Mecca, Medina, Riyadh and Qassim regions of the country. In addition, nearly two million riyals were confiscated from the cells upon arrest. “Some of those arrested were involved with supplying materials to the ISIS cells in the al-Yasmeen cells in Riyadh and others were linked to the two suicide attackers in Harazat rest area of Jeddah, both of which were dismantled in recent months,” said Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry.

At least 30 killed in attack targeting shrine in Pakistan’s Sindh province
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishThursday, 16 February 2017 /At least 30 people were killed and 100 others injured when a suicide bomber targeted the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, a city located in the Jamshoro District in the Sindh province of Pakistan. Taluka Hospital Medical Superintendent Moinuddin Siddiqui confirmed that at least 30 bodies have been brought to the hospital while more than 100 injured were shifted to the hospital, Dawn News reported. “The loud explosion took place inside the complex of the shrine near the gate,” the Assistant Superintendent of Police in Sehwan told Geo News. The shrine is known to be frequented by large numbers of people on Thursdays.

Egypt to appoint its first woman governor
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 16 February 2017/Five new provincial governors are to be sworn-in by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Thursday, including a woman for the first time. Nadia Abdou will be become the first female governor in Egypt, local news portal VetoGate reported. She will be named as governor of al-Beheira Governorate after her remarkable efforts to promote Hepatitis C treatment in the city, the report said. Abdou was appointed as the deputy governor of Behiera in August 2013. She graduated in 1968 with a degree in chemical engineering and then received a masters degree in health engineering from Alexandria Univeristy. She also headed a drinking water company for 12 years. Abdou was previously nominated to be a governor of Alexandria after receiving the Dubai-based Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Excellence Award for outstanding Arab women managers.

Canada proposes anti-Islamophobia motion in wake of mosque shooting
Jillian D'Amours/Middle East Eye/Wednesday 15 February 2017
TORONTO, Canada – The Canadian government has put its weight behind a parliamentary motion condemning Islamophobia, in spite of attacks from right-wing politicians and activists who say it infringes on freedom of speech. Motion 103 calls on the federal government to “recognise the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear,” and condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious-based discrimination. “This is a motion that seeks to continue the important conversation about how we can strengthen our Canadian fabric by studying systemic racism and discrimination, including Islamophobia,” said Iqra Khalid, the Liberal party MP who proposed the motion last December. “The first step towards engaging in these conversations of inclusion is to recognise that we have a problem,” Khalid said on Wednesday during the debate. The non-binding motion does not rise to the level of a bill or law, but it calls for a parliamentary committee to look into ways to reduce systemic racism in Canada, including Islamophobia, and to collect data on reported hate crimes. 'The first step towards engaging in these conversations of inclusion is to recognise that we have a problem' - Iqra Khalid The motion comes after an online petition, E-411, was posted last year calling on the government to condemn all forms of Islamophobia and recognise that extremists do not represent Islam. That petition garnered almost 70,000 signatures. It also comes after an attack on a mosque in Quebec City in late January that killed six Muslim worshippers as they prayed. Since the deadly shooting, Muslim community groups across the country have called on Canada to condemn all forms of racism, including Islamophobia, and work to stem hate speech and hate crimes. “It’s not about one race over another. It’s not about one religion over another. Hate does not discriminate,” Khalid said. But earlier this week, a growing chorus of Conservative Party politicians, many of whom are vying for the party leadership, voiced opposition to the motion. Some said the lack of a clear definition of Islamophobia in the motion leaves it open to interpretation and may outlaw any criticisms of the religion.

Iran Regime's Leader: "The Real War Is the Economic War and Sanctions"
NCRI/Thursday, 16 February 2017/The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei on February 16th appeared in public to meet the people of East Azerbaijan. His speech was actually a sort of confession of the international pressures as well as the fear of social discontent. He tried to blame Hassan Rouhani for the current critical economic condition. Khamenei stated that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has eliminated the risk of military war and by that he tried to deduce the significance of Iran Nuclear Deal as a way to cover "the real war". He stated:"the European authority says to our officials that the war would have been imminent in Iran if the Nuclear Deal had not been signed. This is a blatant lie! Why do they say "war"? In order to distract the minds from the real war! The real war includes economic battles, sanctions and extorting the work and technology of the country. The real war is of the cultural sort."
Ali Khamenei then admitted to the critical economic situation, blaming Hassan Rouhani. He stated:"the authorities should show what they have done instead of saying this happened and that occurred. The high cost of living, unemployment, and recession are crucial issues. Today the enemy intends to place pressure on the economy of the country so that people face problems and become discouraged towards the regime. The people are complaining about discriminations, slacks, and negligence to problems."
The Supreme Leader raised the issue of national reconciliation and stated: “some people talk about the "national reconciliation". This makes no sense. Why do you say "reconciliation"? Are the people in break-up with each other? Yes, they are in a sulk with those who stepped out into the streets in Ashura Day (the uprising of 2009), attacking Basijis (regime’s militia forces). The people will never reconcile with them."
It is noteworthy that defying Khamenei, Tajzadeh, a so called reformist element said: One reason for the importance of national reconciliation is the current international situation, especially now that Trump is in white house, there are things that threaten us, and their elimination requires the cooperation and coordination of all forces, because it appears that Trump is seeking an excuse to settle accounts with Iran. He added: In order to prevent new problems, we need major overhauls in different fields that need national unity and none of the factions alone can carry this big burden ... Accordingly, “national unity” has no meaning unless political forces recognize each other.

Iran: Security Forces Shoot to Death Young Iranian Arab
NCRI Statements/Thursday, 16 February 2017 /A rally staged by the people of Shadegan in southwest Iran and the resulting clashes with repressive forces continued for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, February 14. On Monday, February 13, locals demonstrated and protested the killing of a young Iranian Arab by the name of Hassan Albu Ghabish after state security forces gunned him down on February 9. Iranian regime authorities had banned the grieving family from holding any ceremony, saying they will only hand over the corpse if they bury him in the city of Qom, 700 kilometers from the young man’s hometown. In measures aimed at reining in and controlling the February 13 demonstration the inhumane mullahs’ regime dispatched anti-riot units from neighboring cities and provinces, and arrested numerous leaders of the Albu Ghabish tribe. The security forces’ attacks on the protesters resulted in clashes that left a number of protesters injured. The angry crowd responded by setting a local police station on fire. Afzal Mirzaie-far, the public prosecutor of Shadegan resorted to threats targeting the protesting youth.
“The judiciary will take serious action against those disrupting public security and individuals posting fake news on the internet,” he said. (State-run ILNA news agency – February 12, 2017)
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran/February 14, 2017

Protest Gatherings of Various Sectors of the Iranian Society Outside Parliament
NCRI/Thursday, 16 February 2017/Various sectors of Iranian society held protest gatherings in Tehran on Tuesday February14. According to reports, about 700 people looted by the Caspian Institute held a protest in front of the Iranian regime's parliament.
The demonstrators waved placards on which it was written: I've let my money somewhere in trust that it was written on its ‘Tthe Caspian credit institution licensed by the Islamic Republic’. Also reports indicate that today a group of engineers and experts of Telecom protested in front of parliament and called for their job security. On Tuesday, February 14, a group of engineers and operators of high voltage electricity (yellow caps) staged a protest rally outside the parliament. The demonstrators were calling for the cancellation of transfer of high-voltage electricity substations to the private sector.
They waved placards on which it was written: "Leasing out high-voltage substations is the violation of the rights of employees, workers and engineers of the company. We are calling for the cancellation of transfer of high-voltage substations to the private sector ".
A group of rural managers also held a protest in front of parliament. The demonstrators were calling for job security.
The rural managers also demanded to change their employment status, solving insurance problems and reform of the regulations of rural management in the country.
On the morning of Tuesday, February 14, approximately 150 retired teachers of 2016 gathered in front of the Planning and Budget Organization and demanded their bonuses of 30 years. Protesters said, “All government departments give bonuses after 30 years to their retirees, but they have been playing with us for a year and eventually loot our bonuses”.

IRAN: MPs Warn Khuzestan Electricity, Water and Communication Blackout Is Becoming National Threat
NCRI Iran News/ Thursday, 16 February 2017/NCRI - Members of the Iranian regime’s parliament and experts warn the recent electricity, water and communication blackout in southern oil reach province of Khuzestan which has revealed ‘negligence’ by authorities is becoming a national threat. on February 11 a number of power stations in the Khuzestan province failed and water and electricity in most major cities of this province were cut off. The situation was blamed on heavy dust and humidity of almost 100%. Jalil Mokhtar, the member of regime’s parliament from city of Abadan and chairman of the social committee of the parliament says that the critical situation in Khuzestan on the one hand is due to the issue of particulates and on the other hand is related to lack of expert updates on structural and facility sections of war torn cities of this province.
The MP said on February 13: “The government must apologize to the people of the province for insulting them, and in order to solve the recent crisis, end this crisis by holding a cabinet meeting in this province”, according to state-run Mehr News Agency,
Another MP, Abdullah Sameri, referring to a visit to Khuzestan by Minister of Energy said: "For the minister to come and go to Khuzestan, does not remedy any of pains of the people of Khuzestan. Coming to Khuzestan must yield results and the people of Khuzestan province must see the result," state-run ISNA reported.
Abbas Papizadeh, MP from city of Dezful, said air and water pollution in the province has led to increased respiratory and skin diseases so that at times 20 thousand people go to hospitals that lack the capacity to accept them.
He told state-run told the YRC website that the government has removed the budget for combating particulates and “The Khuzestan province for years has been struggling with the issue of particulates but this issue now is becoming a national threat.”
An expert of the Ministry of Energy who asked not to be named said in an interview expressed regret that mismanagement of water resources caused by "absolute imprudence" in industrial and agricultural logistics in neighboring provinces, has led the plain of Khuzestan, the second fertile province of the country, to gradually turn into desert.
Abadan representative in the parliament urged to deal with "incompetent" officials. He said “Why the President does not take more seriously the problems of Khuzestan in the phenomenon of dust, the problem of desertification, blackouts, sewage problems and unemployment, and does not end the incompetence of some officials?”Mohsen Haji Mirzaee, Secretary of the Cabinet, told state-run Fars News Agency: "Today these incidents unveil neglects, and all those things that should have been corrected with prediction, today are considered through incidents."
Maryam Rajavi: The Only Solution for the Acute Crises in Khuzistan Is to Escalate Popular Protests and Rise up to Drive Back the Clerical Regime
The people of Ahwaz have taken to the streets today for the third consecutive day to protest the disastrous air pollution and frequent water and power cut-offs in the capital of Khuzistan Province.
The clerical regime has intervened by suppressive forces and machine-gun-mounted vehicles over the past days and blocked the streets leading to the Governor's Building, the suspended bridge and the Firefighting Sq. to curb the spread of protests.
The protesters chant, "Death to tyranny", "death to repression", "we, the people of Ahwaz, won't accept oppression", "incompetent officials must be expelled", "impostor (Massoumeh) Ebtekar, resign, resign", "clean air is our right, Ahwaz is our city", "Shame on the State Security Force", and "unite, unite!"
They also shouted slogans against the Governor of Khuzistan. The Iranian regime has carried out an array of treacherous plans in Khuzistan Province which have led to a disastrous environmental condition in the area and jeopardized people's health and living. The plans including the diversion of Karoun and Karkheh rivers' water, excessive building of dams, and the Oil Ministry's use of quick and cheap methods of oil extraction, have dried up the ponds and lakes in the area including the famous Hoor al-Azim wetland and Shadegan lagoon.
Underlining the environmental crisis and the increasing problems of the people of Ahwaz and Khuzistan, the Iranian Resistance's President-elect Maryam Rajavi called on the nation to help decrease the pressure on the deprived people of this area, especially the sick and vulnerable.
The Iranian mullahs' regime is the source of all the acute problems that have caused frequent water and power cut-offs and led to unemployment and various diseases, Mrs. Rajavi said. She pointed out: One cannot expect the mullahs and the regime's leaders and officials provide any solutions. The solution lies in the people's escalation of protests and uprising to drive back the regime and its officials who have created so many problems in their daily life. The Iranian Resistance's President-elect hailed the people of Ahwaz and Khuzistan, particularly the women and youths, and urged them to unite their ranks to continue their protests and demonstrations in solidarity.

European Lawmakers Call on the EU for a Change of Policy Towards Iran
IRAN NEWS/ Thursday, 16 February 2017
Press release- Strasbourg- 16 February 2017
On the occasion of the 38th anniversary of the 1979 Iranian revolution, Friends of a Free Iran (FOFI) group at the European Parliament held a conference in Strasbourg on Wednesday 15 February 2017, chaired by MEP Gérard Deprez. The meeting was well attended by many members of the European Parliament. Mohammad Mohaddessin from the Iranian democratic opposition was the guest speaker. Mr Mohaddessin, a former political prisoner under the shah’s dictatorship, is a renowned writer of several books on Iran and Islamic fundamentalism and chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee of the political coalition NCRI. He gave a very interesting update and analysis of the current situation in Iran and prospects for a democratic change. Overall sixteen MEPs from various political groups spoke in this meeting. They focused on the violation of human rights in Iran and urged the EU and European governments to condition their relationships with this theocratic regime to a clear progress on human rights and a halt to executions. Iran under the “moderate” government of President Rouhani is the number state-executioner in the world per capita. In public comments on Iranian TV, Rouhani had stressed that executions “are either God’s commandments or laws made by parliament that belongs to the people and therefore must be implemented.”
MEPs were critical of the current policy of the EU and EEAS towards Iran where economic interests have been given priority over human rights. The speakers touched on the growing role of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) which runs a big chunk of the Iranian economy. Many of the companies and business in Iran are either owned by IRGC or affiliated to IRGC. So when the European governments and the EU High Representative, Mrs Mogherini, are encouraging to invest in Iran after the nuclear deal, they are really risking dealing with IRGC.
IRGC has been active and fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and also in Syria in killing the Syrian opposition to save Bashar Assad and has helped create a variety of Shiite militant proxy groups. Its crimes and what they have done to the Sunnis, is very much the same as ISIS. MEPs called for IRGC to be designated as a terrorist organization which must be immediately expelled from Syria, Iraq and other countries in the region. Many MEPs expressed their support for the opposition PMOI and the political coalition, NCRI and the 10 point plan of the opposition leader, Mrs Maryam Rajavi, who calls for a secular democratic Iran and the abolishment of death penalty as the alternative to the current regime. The successful transfer of Iranian dissidents from camp Liberty in Iraq to Europe was also discussed in the conference.
The so called presidential “elections” in May was discussed, where no opposition candidates are allowed to take part, which has no resemblance to any elections in democratic countries.
Gérard Deprez MEP
Chair, Friends of a Free Iran
European Parliament
Friends of a Free Iran (FoFI) is an informal group in the European Parliament which was formed in 2003 and enjoys the support of around 300 MEPs from various political groups

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on February 16-17/17
Europe's Deadly Inaction and Misguided Policy on Iran
By Farzin Hashemi/NCRI Iran News/February 16/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=52403
On Tuesday, 14 February 2017, the US representative office of the National Council of Resistance revealed in a press conference in Washington D.C. new information about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) hosting terrorist training camps for foreign fighters. The information was obtained by the network of the Peoples Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
The network has found that every month, hundreds of forces from Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan -- countries where the regime is involved in frontline combat -- receive military training before being returned to their home countries. Other, smaller groups are also trained in other countries for terrorist acts and operations. For operations in countries where there is no open warfare - including Persian Gulf countries such as Bahrain and Kuwait -- terrorist teams are trained.
The NCRI further revealed that in addition to the forces who are trained for military action as part of the regime’s overall meddling in the region, terrorist units of the Quds Force are also trained in separate and secret units and are dispatched to various countries.
The destructive role of the IRGC and its involvement in terrorism is “beyond reasonable doubt” under the highest standard of a court of law.
Right from its inception, simultaneous with its role in suppression of the Iranian people, it has been engaged in terrorist activities throughout the region. It created Hezbollah in Lebanon in early 1980s, which took Western hostages under IRGC direction.
In 1990 the IRGC set up an extraterritorial Force called the Quds Force, which aimed to further expand its meddling in other countries and its support for terrorism. There was very little European response to hostage taking in the 1980s and to increasing numbers of assassinations of Iranian dissidents in Europe. Europe certainly failed to grasp the devastating consequences of its conciliatory policies. Those consequences included but were not limited to emboldening terrorist acts by the IRGC and its affiliates. Western neglect of the IRGC effectively encouraged Sunni extremists to counter Iranian influence by taking the same path and resorting to their own terrorism in pursuit of their objectives. After all, if Iran can force Europe to make concessions by resorting to terrorism and blackmail why wouldn’t other extremists follow the same path?
Today, where does Europe stand on the IRGC and its role in Syria? Where does Europe stand on the IRGC’s role in formation of paramilitary terrorist groups in Iraq or its role in Yemen helping the Houthi? Are they still failing to recognize the connection between the IRGC’s spread of extremism and terrorism and the negative impact of their own policy towards the heart of Islamic fundamentalism?
Despite the IRGC’s undeniable conduct in Syria, which can only be described as war crimes, and despite its role in domestic suppression, it seems as though it is business as usual for Europe. The European countries seem to be so eager to get their hands on Iranian market that they are prepared to not only ignore Tehran’s rogue behavior and its consequence for Western interests and the Iranian people, but also to trample on their own principles and values.
This ignorance was on display this week when a Swedish delegation traveled to Iran headed by the country’s Prime Minister. Female members of the delegation had agreed, perhaps voluntarily, to cover their hair while they were in Iran. The film of these women marching before Rouhani could only be seen as humiliating for Europeans, surrendering to the demand of a fundamentalist regime has rightly been recognized as the leading state sponsor of terrorism. It is also insulting to the true Muslims who are dismayed that their religion is being misrepresented by forcing other women to act against their conviction only to appease the mullahs in Tehran.
Europe is not only accepting humiliation but is also helping the very entity that is responsible for war crimes and support for terrorism. The IRGC, through its various subsidiaries, is currently dominating Iran’s economy.
Minister of Defense Hossein Dehghan announced in early January 2017 that the main government plans regarding petroleum, gas, oil, transport, dams, water transfer, telecommunication and IT are currently assigned to Khatam-al Anbiya, a major corporation affiliated with the IRGC.
Reuters also reported on 19 January 2017 that “of nearly 110 agreements worth at least $80 billion that have been struck since the [nuclear] deal was reached in July 2015, 90 have been with companies owned or controlled by Iranian state entities.”
The Europeans are fully aware that the Iranian companies dealing with them are affiliated with the IRGC. As one European businessman who had recently visited Iran acknowledged we could see that the decision makers are not those who were negotiating with us but the quiet man in the meeting who was from the IRGC.
For many years through its network in Iran, the MEK has exposed mullahs’ secret nuclear weapons program being run by the IRGC, as well as IRGC engagement in terrorism, missile program and atrocities against Iranian peoples, but so far Europeans have decided to ignore these facts.
It is time for Europe to end its deadly inaction vis-à-vis the IRGC and its policy on Iran. It is, indeed, time to revise its approach on Iran by looking beyond short term economic interests. The negative consequences far outweigh the short-term benefits of helping, through business, the leading state sponsor of terrorism and in particular its most suppressive arm, the IRGC. More important, European governments should realize that the clerical regime is very vulnerable and shaky at home. Europe should not put all its eggs in one basket, nor give away crucial leverage. It should be reminded that the clerical regime is desperately in need of relations with Europe, and could be forced to make important sacrifices in pursuit of those relations.
Toward this end, the following steps must be taken:
1. Stop all business with the IRGC and its affiliate companies, and make all trade with Tehran contingent upon its halting executions and ending IRGC meddling in other countries and support for terrorism.
2. Call for immediate removal of the IRGC and its affiliates from Syria, or impose punitive sanctions if Tehran refuses to do so.

Trump to American Muslims: Embrace Christianity, Pay Jizya, or Die?
Raymond Ibrahim/FrontPage Magazine/February 16/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=52391
As American liberals/leftists continue to portray Donald Trump’s immigration ban on seven Muslim nations in the worst possible terms—from “racist” to “Islamophobic”—and as Muslim activists continue to claim “shock and trauma,” a lone Egyptian man has asked some relevant questions that few Muslims care to face.
The man in question is Dr. Ahmed ‘Abdu Maher, a researcher and political activist who regularly appears on Arabic language television and who has a long record of exposing Islamic institutions like Al Azhar for using texts and curriculums that promote terrorism in the name of Islam. On February 6, Maher posted a brief video of himself speaking in Arabic, relevant portions of which I translate below:
Friends, in regards to the presidential victory of Donald Trump, we wanted to ask our brothers—the fuqaha [jurists of Islamic law] and the ulema [scholars of Islam]—a question: if this man who has on more than one occasion announced that he doesn’t want Muslims … were to coerce, through the power of arms, the greater majority of Muslims living in America … to become Christians, or pay jizya, or else he takes over their homes, kills their men and enslaves their women and girls, and sells them on slave markets. If he were to do all this, would he be considered a racist and a terrorist or not? Of course, I’m just hypothesizing, and know that the Bible and its religion do not promote such things, but let’s just assume: Would he be a racist or not? Would he be a terrorist or not? How then [when one considers] that we have in our Islamic jurisprudence, which you teach us, and tell us that all the imams have agreed that the Islamic openings [i.e., conquests] are the way to disseminate Islam? This word “openings” [futuhat]—we must be sensitive to it! The Islamic openings mean swords and killing. The Islamic openings, through which homes, castles, and territories were devastated, these … [are part of] an Islam which you try to make us follow. So I wonder O sheikh, O leader of this or that Islamic center in NY, would you like to see this done to your wife and daughter? Would you—this or that sheikh—accept that this be done to your children? That your daughter goes to this fighter [as a slave], your son to this fighter, a fifth [of booty] goes to the caliph and so forth? I mean, isn’t this what you refer to as the Sharia of Allah? … So let’s think about things in an effort to discern what’s right and what’s wrong.
To those unacquainted with the subject matter, Maher is referring to history’s Islamic conquests, which in Muslim tradition are referred to in glorious terms, as altruistic “openings” (futuhat) that enabled the light of Islam to shine through to mankind. For centuries, Muslim armies invaded non-Muslim territories, giving the inhabitants three choices: convert to Islam, or else pay jizya (tribute money) and accept third class status as a “humbled” dhimmi (see Koran 9:29), or else face the sword, death, and slavery.
Not only is this how Muslims behaved vis-à-vis non-Muslims for nearly 1,400 years—forging the bulk of what is today called “the Muslim world”—but Islamic law, believed to be based on the transcendent, unchanging will of Allah, still prescribes this approach to non-Muslims.
In this context, asks Maher, what are Muslims complaining about? All that Trump has done is banned immigration from Muslim nations closely associated with terrorism. What if he actually treated Muslims in America the way Muslims have always treated non-Muslims under their authority—the way Islamic law, Sharia, demands—that is, by making them convert, pay extortion money and live as third class subjects, or else killing and enslaving them.
It should be noted that if Maher is among the minority of Muslims who openly expose the hypocrisy and double standards of their coreligionists, most of the world’s Muslims—including if not especially those in America currently feigning trauma at Trump’s “hurtful” words—know precisely what he is talking about.
http://raymondibrahim.com/2017/02/16/trump-american-muslims-embrace-christianity-pay-jizya-die/

Palestinian Assault on Freedoms
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/February 16/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9950/palestinians-freedoms
The Palestinians seem to be marching towards establishing a regime that is remarkably reminiscent of the despotic and corrupt Arab and Islamic governments.
By failing -- or, more accurately, refusing -- to hold the PA accountable for its crackdown on public freedoms, American and European taxpayers actively contribute to the emergence of another Arab dictatorship in the Middle East.
Palestinian professor Abdel Sattar Qassem, who teaches political science at An-Najah University in Nablus, is facing trial for "extending his tongue" against PA President Mahmoud Abbas and other senior PA officials.
Many Palestinians used to say that their dream is that one day they would have a free media and democracy like their neighbors in Israel. But thanks to the apathy of the international community, Palestinians have come to learn that if and when they ever have their own state, its role model will not be Israel or any Western democracy, but the regimes of repression that control the Arab and Muslim world.
A novelist, a journalist and a university professor walk into a bar. Sounds like a joke, but it stops being funny when these three figures are the latest victims of the Palestinian Authority's (PA) crackdown on public freedoms, above all, freedom of expression.
The crackdown is yet more proof of the violent intolerance that the Western-funded PA has long shown its critics.
It is also a sad reminder that more than two decades after the foundation of the PA, Palestinians are as far from democracy as ever. In fact, the Palestinians seem to be marching in the opposite direction -- towards establishing a regime that is remarkably reminiscent of the despotic and corrupt Arab and Islamic governments.
PA officials like to boast that Palestinians living under their rule in the West Bank enjoy a great deal of freedom of expression, especially compared to the situation under Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, a good look at the actions of the PA and its various security branches shows that they are not much different than those enforced by Hamas.
Sometimes it even seems as if the PA and Hamas are competing to see which one of them can most successfully silence critics and cracks down on journalists. This is the sad reality in which Palestinians living under the rule of these two parties have found themselves.
While it is understandable why an extremist Islamic movement like Hamas would seek to muzzle its critics, there is no reason why a PA government funded by Americans and Europeans should not be held accountable for persecuting dissidents and throwing objectors into prison.
By failing -- or, more accurately, refusing -- to hold the PA accountable for its crackdown on public freedoms, American and European taxpayers actively contribute to the emergence of another Arab dictatorship in the Middle East.
Hundreds of Western-funded non-governmental organizations (NGOs), operating in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip, pay scant attention to the real problems facing Palestinians as a result of the actions of their PA and Hamas governments. The same applies to Western mainstream media and human rights organizations and advocates.
This willful neglect by the West encourages the Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to continue repressing their own people. There are times, however, when the international community pays attention to the plight of Palestinians: when the complaints concern Israel.
The PA government bans a Palestinian novel and confiscates copies from bookstores. Where is the outcry? There is none to be heard from the international community - because Israel was not behind the incident.
This is what happened last week when the PA Prosecutor-General issued an order banning the novel "Crime in Ramallah" by the author Abbad Yahya under the pretext that it contained "indecent texts and terms that threaten morality and public decency, which could affect the public, in particular minors."
Yahya said he was summoned for questioning and his editor, Fuad Al-Aklik, was detained for 24 hours. PA policemen raided several bookshops in a number of Palestinian cities and confiscated all copies. The author, who is on a visit to Qatar, has since received multiple death threats and is afraid to return home.
The decision to ban the novel prompted 99 Palestinian writers, academics and researchers to sign a petition criticizing the PA authorities and calling for rescinding the ban. The petition called on the PA to cancel its punitive measures, which "cause harm to the Palestinians and their struggle for freedom from oppression, dictatorship and censorship." The petition warned that the ban was a "grave breach of freedom of expression and creativity" and creates a situation where authors are forced to practice self-censorship.
The petition signed by the prominent Palestinians does not seem to have left an impression on the PA leadership in Ramallah.
Undeterred, PA security forces arrested journalist Sami Al-Sai, from the city of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, for allegedly posting critical comments on Facebook. The PA has accused Al-Sai, who works as a correspondent for a private television station, of "fomenting sectarian strife."
This is an accusation that is often leveled against journalists or authors who dare to criticize the PA leadership. A PA court has ordered Al-Sai remanded into custody for 15 days. Protests by some Palestinian journalists against the arrest of their colleague have thus far fallen on deaf ears.
Meanwhile, Palestinian professor Abdel Sattar Qassem, who teaches political science at An-Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus, is facing trial for "extending his tongue" against PA President Mahmoud Abbas and other senior PA officials. He is also charged with spreading "fake news" and "fomenting sectarian strife." The decision to prosecute Qassem came following a TV interview where he strongly criticized Abbas and commanders of the PA security forces. Qassem has long been a vocal critic of the PA leadership and as a result he has been arrested on a number of occasions; shots have been fired at his home.
Professor Abdul Sattar Qassem (left) is facing trial for "extending his tongue" against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (right) and other senior PA officials.
These three cases are only the tip of an iceberg of oppression. It is very difficult to distinguish between Mahmoud Abbas's government and the Arab and Islamic dictatorships, where human rights violations and assaults on public freedoms are the established norm. In his despotic behavior, Abbas has also shown himself to be rather akin to his clampdown-prone predecessor, Yasser Arafat.
Dr. Khalil Assaf, member of the Palestinian Public Freedoms Committee in the West Bank, accused the PA of systematic assaults on public freedoms and human rights.
He noted, for example, that refusing to issue or renew passports was one the measures taken by the PA to punish its opponents. He also accused the PA of "inventing" a law that authorizes its governors to order the detention without trial of any Palestinian. He pointed out that although the Palestinian High Court had ruled that this law was illegal, the PA governors continue to use it to detain Palestinians.
"Palestinians are being detained for days without being brought before a judge and houses are being searched without warrants," Dr. Assaf complained. "Detainees are often prevented from contacting their families to inform them of their incarceration." He also noted that Palestinians are sometimes denied driving licenses or jobs because of their political activities. Palestinians are also being detained or summoned for interrogation because of their posts on Facebook, he added.
Many Palestinians used to say that their dream is that one day they would have a free media and democracy like their neighbors in Israel. But thanks to the apathy of the international community, the Palestinians have come to learn that if and when they ever have their own state, its role model will not be Israel or any Western democracy, but the regimes of repression that control the Arab and Muslim world.
*Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.
© 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.

UK: Free Speech for Dictators Only
Robbie Travers/Gatestone Institute/February 16/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9951/uk-trump-dictators
How come, then, that John Bercow did not think it advisable to oppose the Emir of Kuwait's visit due to its "sexism" and "immigration ban"? No, Bercow granted the Emir a speech in the Queen's Robing Room.
It is evidently acceptable to be a representative of some of the world's most repressive dictatorships, with policies far worse than President Trump's, and yet visit Parliament, but a democratically-elected leader in the free world and a key ally, who may hold some views with which Bercow disagrees, makes him unacceptable.
What is it that the people trying to keep Trump from speaking are afraid others might hear?
When Theresa May announced, to the gathered press at the White House, an invitation for Donald Trump to make an official state visit to the United Kingdom, there were some in Britain who apparently oppose his views -- and, in a democratic and free society, express their opposition. There also were, however, concerns that these critics may have been acting hypocritically, as well as without considering due process.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May meets with US President Donald Trump at the White House, January 27, 2017. (Image source: UK Prime Minister's Office)
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow declared that he would not invite Trump to make a speech before Parliament due to the president's alleged "sexism" and "racism," and the British Parliament's opposition to those stances, as well as, further, due to Trump's temporary restrictions on immigration until better procedures for vetting applicants can be put in place .
Bercow, however, never adhered to due process: he should first have consulted the Speaker of the House of Lords or the Lord Chamberlain.
If Bercow thought that a ban from addressing Parliament would stop Trump from addressing the British people, he seems to have been wrong. Press reports suggest that Trump is planning massive stadium events. Perhaps that is the repeated failure of Trump's opposition: to see his appeal to the masses.
Furthermore, where was Bercow when Emir of Kuwait visited? Kuwait has a poor record on women's rights, and refuses entry to those with Israeli passports. Kuwait Airways and even dropped its flights between New York and London not to "break the law" by possibly carrying Israeli passengers.
How come, then, that Bercow did not think it advisable to oppose the Emir of Kuwait's visit due to its "sexism" and "immigration ban"? No, Bercow granted the Emir a speech in the Queen's Robing Room.
Bercow also granted a speech in Westminster Hall to the President of Indonesia -- a country that canes women for "standing too close to their boyfriends"; that has applied sharia law and that has put the homosexual community under "unprecedented attack".
In addition to these seeming slip-ups, Bercow also received a representative of the North Korean regime for afternoon tea in Parliament, and received representatives from the Communist single-party state of Vietnam.
So, it is evidently acceptable to be a representative of some of the world's most repressive dictatorships, with policies far worse than Trump's, and yet visit Parliament, but a democratically elected leader in the free world and a key ally, who may hold some views with which Bercow disagrees, makes him unacceptable.
Some MPs have rightly raised concerns that the Speaker is "using the Speaker's chair to pontificate on international affairs." The Speaker in Britain's Parliament is supposed to be impartial; some MPs have alleged that Bercow has "broken his employment contract with members of parliament," in which he is bound to remain impartial.
Others open to allegations of hypocrisy include Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, who demanded that Donald Trump not to be allowed a state visit or even to enter the UK for his incorrectly-named "Muslim ban" -- actually, only a temporary ban on people from seven countries, designated by former President Barack Obama, and over which Congress gave the president the power to restrict people who might be security risks.
On the same day in which Sadiq Khan made these comments, he then hosted a party to which he invited the ambassadors of Bangladesh, Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen – all of which ban Israelis, and some of which even ban peopled holding passports stamped by Israel. Where was the outrage then, the mass protests, the marches against Khan for welcoming them?
Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, also made it clear that he would not welcome Trump addressing Parliament and that he opposed a state visit. How ironic from someone who has welcomed former members of the IRA to Parliament, shortly after the IRA bombed the Conservative Party conference. He also welcomed Hezbollah and Hamas, and called them his "friends". Hamas is a genocidal organisation that remains dedicated to killing Jews and destroying Israel, and Hezbollah is dedicated to the obliteration of Israel.
It seems that there is a double standard here: Trump may have previously made tasteless remarks, but are his policies really worse than those of the Iran or North Korea?
As the British author George Orwell is alleged to have said, "Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
What is it that the people trying to keep Trump from speaking are afraid others might hear?
**Robbie Travers, a political commentator and consultant, is Executive Director of Agora, former media manager at the Human Security Centre, and a law student at the University of Edinburgh.
© 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.

Turkey: Record-Breaking Purge in Academia
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/February 16/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9949/turkey-purge-academics
Turkey suffered the largest decline in freedoms among 195 countries over the past year, according to Freedom House.
Erdogan's academic purge is 38 times bigger in size than the generals' after the 1980 military coup.
According to data compiled by Turkey Purge, PEN International, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Stockholm Center for Freedom, 128,398 people have been sacked, while 91,658 are being detained.
Worse, neither the academics on the purge list nor their students were allowed to protest peacefully. Their attempted protest on February 10 at the School of Political Sciences in Ankara met a huge police force and was crushed.
You have all the freedoms you want -- so long as you are a pro-Erdogan Islamist.
Nearly three centuries later -- and slightly revising the historian Shelby Foote's famous line -- "A Turkish university, these days, is a group of buildings around a small library, a mosque and classrooms cleansed of unwanted scholars."
The "Great Turkish Purge" launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist, autocratic government in the aftermath of a coup attempt in July surprised many in its size. It should not have done. The failed putsch gave Erdogan's government a golden opportunity to advance his crackdown on dissent of every kind. No wonder Erdogan, on the night of the attempt, said: "This [coup attempt] is a gift of God".
In its annual "Freedom in the World" report, entitled "Populists and Autocrats: The Dual Threat to Global Democracy," the Washington-based Freedom House said on January 31 that Turkey suffered the largest decline in freedoms among 195 countries over the past year. Turkey's aggregate score declined 15 points to 38 out of 100 (the most free) -- from having been in 53rd place in the 2016 report. It did manage to maintain its "partly free" status for "freedoms" together with 59 other countries. "[A]n attempted coup in July... led the government to declare a state of emergency and carry out mass arrests and firings of civil servants, academics, journalists, opposition figures, and other perceived enemies," the report said.
Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz said that a total of 33,065 personnel have been dismissed from his ministry, most of them teachers, educators and administrative staff. Of those purged, 3,855 have been detained on charges of "terrorism".
Qualitatively speaking, the situation at Turkish universities is no better. Most university presidents, appointed by Erdogan, staunchly ally with his party politics and dismiss academics they view as "Erdogan's political adversaries."
In the aftermath of a military coup d'état on September 12, 1980 (the third time the military took over in modern Turkish history), the generals issued decree no. 1402, dismissing a total of 120 scholars from the universities. By comparison, on February 7, Turkey's "civilian" government issued a decree purging 330 scholars from universities. Erdogan's public sector purge now amounts to around 100,000 officials, including nearly 5,000 university scholars. In other words, Erdogan's academic purge is 38 times bigger in size than the generals' after the 1980 coup. According to data compiled by Turkey Purge, PEN International, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Stockholm Center for Freedom, 128,398 people have been sacked, while 91,658 are being detained.
Worse, neither the academics on the purge list nor their students were allowed to protest peacefully. Their attempted protest on February 10 at the School of Political Sciences in Ankara met a huge police force and was crushed. In the brawl, the police attacked the crowd; many in it were injured, manhandled, trapped in their robes and dragged along the ground.
One of the purged, Professor Yuksel Taskin, from an Istanbul department of journalism, tweeted: "This is a pure political 'cleansing'. But my conscience is clear. Let my students know that I shall never, ever bow down!"
Professor Yuksel Taskin, who was recently purged from an Istanbul department of journalism, tweeted: "This is a pure political 'cleansing'. But my conscience is clear. Let my students know that I shall never, ever bow down!" (Image source: Hakan YÜCEL video screenshot)
Emre Tansu Keten, from the same school, wrote: "I am simply proud to be in the same list along with my senior colleagues who are thrown out because of the opinion they expressed."
Turkish journalist Yavuz Baydar commented:
"Widening more by each and every decree, this is now a country resembling Germany of 1930, which ended up chasing out its elite beyond its borders. What I know for certain, that there will no longer be any possibilities for our academicians 'cleansed' to find work and, live in decency and honor."
Baydar is not the only person to feel that the situation in Turkey increasingly resembles Nazi Germany. Melih Kirlidog, a Turkish scholar specializing in internet censorship and surveillance, said: "It resembles the atmosphere of 1933 Germany to me."
Similarly, prominent Turkish novelist Zulfu Livaneli, who was imprisoned several times during the 1971 coup in Turkey, thinks the comparison is justified: "Some [scholars] resist, some collaborate with the regime so as to continue their work, and some turn a blind eye in silence."
After he came to power in November 2002, Erdogan promised to make Turkey a land of freedoms, devoid of the military's tutelage. Since then, he has tamed the once-secular military establishment. Nevertheless, his Islamist "land of freedoms" vision has only been partially materialized: You have all the freedoms you want -- so long as you are a pro-Erdogan Islamist.
**Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey's leading journalists, was just fired from Turkey's leading newspaper after 29 years, for writing what was taking place in Turkey for Gatestone. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 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.

The Arab-Israel Conflict: Back to the Future
Shoshana Bryen/Gatestone Institute/February 16/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/9953/arab-israel-conflict
What is commonly called the "Palestinian-Israeli conflict" is, in fact, the "Arab-Israel conflict."
Jordan illegally annexed the West Bank in 1950, and from that time Palestinian nationalism has been deadly for the Kingdom.
"I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror... to build a practicing democracy, based on tolerance and liberty. If the Palestinian people actively pursue these goals, America and the world will actively support their efforts.... A Palestinian state will never be created by terror -- it will be built through reform. And reform must be more than cosmetic change, or veiled attempts to preserve the status quo." — President George W. Bush, 2002.
"There's no way a deal can be made if they're not ready to acknowledge a very, very great and important country." — President Donald J. Trump, 2017.
The burden, then, is on the Arab states and the Palestinians.
The optics, certainly, were fine. It was good to see an American president and an Israeli prime minister standing together on the podium with what appeared to be genuine good will. Most important, and promising for the future, perhaps, was how they dealt with the "two state solution" mantra. There was, for the first time in years, nuance in both the American and the Israeli position toward what has become a slogan without meaning.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated the possibility of two states with caveats he noted:
Palestinian acceptance of the legitimacy of Jewish sovereignty, echoing the words of the UN Partition Plan for Palestine for "a Jewish state."
Israeli security control from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River. "Israel must retain the overriding security control over the entire area west of the Jordan River. Because... otherwise we'll get another radical Islamic terrorist state in the Palestinian areas exploding the peace, exploding the Middle East."
President Donald Trump deferred, as befits someone who won't live with the consequences of actions taken 6,000 miles away:
"I like the (solution) that both parties like... I can live with either one. I thought for a while that two states looked like it may be the easier of the two. To be honest, if Bibi and the Palestinians, if Israel and the Palestinians are happy, I'm happy with the one they like the best."
Between them, it was clear that the door has been opened to other possibilities. There were references to meetings (present and possibly future) with Sunni Arab states that are increasingly willing to be seen in Israel's company.
It should be noted here that Qatar's representative in Gaza said last week that he had "excellent relations" with a number of Israeli officials. He told the Times of Israel that the Palestinian Authority (PA) was "standing in the way of solutions to the power shortages and other problems" in Gaza. "I am in contact with senior Israeli officials and agencies and the relationship is great," said Muhammad al-Amadi.
It is still true that Qatar funds a variety of jihadist movements and has been Hamas's primary funder. But the U.S. Treasury Department praised Qatar for moves to deny jihadists access to funds, and Qatar's patronage may decline further with the secret-ballot election of Iranian ally Yahye Sinwar to head the organization in Gaza. Trading Qatar for Iran in Gaza is not a plus for Israel, but it may benefit Israel's Gulf State relations.
Saudi relations with Israel are an open secret -- they use third parties to import Israeli high-tech and water technology. Israel has had a diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi since 2015. Through similar cutouts, Israel has sold defense equipment to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Relations with Egypt, particularly on security, are close and growing. Israel's relations with Jordan have been key to Hashemite monarchy's survival -- and the monarch knows it.
None of this should be taken as a sign that Israel is anyone's long-term friend or partner, but the opening for conversation other than "two states" is there. Where might that conversation go?
Back, perhaps, to the future.
What is commonly called the "Palestinian-Israeli conflict" is, in fact, the "Arab-Israel conflict." The Arab states rejected Israel's independence in 1948 and made war against it multiple times. UN Resolution 242 was designed to provide Israel with the security and legitimacy it had been denied by its accepting Israel's control of territory beyond the 1949 Armistice Line until the Arabs came forward. Demonstrable Arab acceptance of UN Resolution 242 would pave the way for the "secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force" to which Israel is entitled.
It would also pave the way for a return to the 1993 Oslo Accords, which made no mention of statehood for the Palestinians, but which envisioned a "permanent settlement based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338."
Jordan illegally annexed the West Bank in 1950, and from that time Palestinian nationalism has been deadly for the Kingdom. The 1970 Black September uprising against King Hussein caused thousands of casualties and resulted in the PLO being expelled from Jordan to Lebanon. King Hussein renounced Jordan's illegal claim to the West Bank in 1988, paving the way for the Jordan-Israel peace treaty, but also trying to withdraw Jordan from a mess of its own creation. Continuing low-level violence in Jordan is the result. Without further discussion between the Palestinians and King Abdullah II, Palestinian nationalism continues to threaten an important American ally.
A settlement based on UN Resolution 242 could include a Palestinian relationship with both Israel and Jordan that is more than autonomy and less than statehood, with economic and social integration across the Jordan River.
As an adjunct, it is useful to remember that American support for the Palestinian experiment was not full-fledged support for statehood without conditions -- until the Obama administration. It was President Clinton who signed the "something less than statehood" Oslo Accords, and President George W. Bush in his 2002 Rose Garden speech on Palestinian nationalism said:
I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror... to build a practicing democracy, based on tolerance and liberty. If the Palestinian people actively pursue these goals, America and the world will actively support their efforts.
And when the Palestinian people have new leaders, new institutions and new security arrangements with their neighbors, the United States of America will support the creation of a Palestinian state whose borders and certain aspects of its sovereignty will be provisional until resolved as part of a final settlement in the Middle East.
A Palestinian state will never be created by terror -- it will be built through reform. And reform must be more than cosmetic change, or veiled attempts to preserve the status quo.
This turns full circle to President Trump's statement on the podium with Prime Minister Netanyahu:
"The Palestinians have to get rid of some of that hate that they're taught from a very young age. They're taught tremendous hate. I've seen what they're taught. And you can talk about flexibility there too, but it starts at a very young age and it starts in the schoolroom. And they have to acknowledge Israel -- they're going to have to do that. There's no way a deal can be made if they're not ready to acknowledge a very, very great and important country."
The burden, then, is on the Arab states and the Palestinians to meet obligations dating as far back as 1948 and proceeding through 1967 and 1993. When they arrive in the 21st century, a "solution" will be found for Israel, the Palestinians, and Jordan and even, perhaps, the unhappy residents of Gaza.
But not until then.
**Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of the Jewish Policy Center.
© 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.

Akram al-Hawrani: Syria’s left-wing populist and the United Arab Republic
By Christopher Solomon/Syria Comment/ February 16/17
As the pro-Assad forces recaptured the last sections of rebel-held Aleppo in December, they excitedly declared that these areas now had “green eyes” (eyoon khadara) in reference to the twin green stars found on the national flag. Now heavily associated with President Bashar Al-Assad’s Baathist government, the flag’s origins can be traced to the United Arab Republic (UAR), which was founded in February 1958 and last until September 1961. The green stars represented Syria and Egypt’s unification and the tricolor served as inspiration for several other Arab countries with Pan-Arab ideological foundations. For the Baath Party, this union was the long-awaited realization of their key political tenant which would propel the Arab World towards unity.
Recently, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi has slowly begun to depart from the stance of the rest of the Sunni Arab bloc and rebuild ties with Assad’s government. There has been a noted emphasis by
Egypt on the need for enhancing bilateral security and military cooperation. What this means for Syria in the remaining years of the conflict and, eventually the post-conflict era, is not yet clear. The history of Egyptian-Syrian relations is long, at the center, looms the UAR. In order to understand Syria’s place in the UAR, its importance for the Baath Party’s history, and its impact in the social and political direction of the country, one should look to Akram al-Hawrani, now a relatively obscure personality in more recent Middle Eastern history, as an important and revolutionary Syrian political figure of this bygone era.
Early Life in Hama
Hasan Akram al-Hawrani was born in 1911 to a respected Sunni family which followed a Sufi religious order that emphasized helping the poor and disadvantaged. His father, Rashid al-Hawrani, was a textile weaver and upon entering local politics, won a seat on the Hama City Council. Hawrani’s childhood had seen his family’s wealth squandered and he subsequently grew up loathing the land owning elite that dominated the countryside. Hawrani’s life in politics began in the city of Hama as a social leader and agitator. The center of his focus were the elite Hama area families – the Azms, the Kaylanis, and the Barazis – who ruled over the region with ruthless and unchecked power. They controlled over 100 villages and had their own private armies to enforce their will. It was Hawrani’s tireless quest during the backdrop of this extreme class divide to fight and to obtain social justice for Syria’s rural peasants that won him vast popularity with Syria’s poor and impoverished. In his home city, Hawrani would build his populist movement into a force to be reckoned with that radically influenced and changed Syria’s society and politics. Hawrani had taken the reigns of leadership over the Youth Party of Hama that had been founded by his cousin, Uthman al-Hawrani. Violent battles between Hawrani’s movement and the landowning families were frequent. His early victories against the Landowner’s paid thugs won him widespread praise. Likening him to knights of old, common people wore badges with his picture and hung his photo in their homes.
Onset of Nationalism
Aside from social justice, Hawrani had strong nationalist sentiments as well. His childhood memories recalled the 1920 French’s victory which destroyed the short-lived Arab Kingdom of Syria that had been established after World War I by Faisal bin Hussein. When the 1941 Rashid Ali revolt broke out in neighboring Iraq, Hawrani used his connections in the Syrian army to recruit officers to join him in the fight against the British. When the revolt failed, he was captured by the French upon crossing the border and was detained at their desolate military base in Deir el-Zor for a short period of time. Among his cellmates were two other figures who would later become central leaders in the formation of the UAR, the Baathist thinker Dr. Jamal al-Atasi and the leftist army officer Afif al-Bizri.
Hawrani also was known to have used his early affiliation with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) which he viewed primarily as an opportunity to cement his anti-Imperialist credentials and to bolster his movement. It was the party’s militant nature that appealed to Hawrani along with its desire to end foreign domination in the Levant, to eradicate feudalism, and to establish a secular and socially progressive state.
To cover up his activities with the SSNP, he established the Arab Socialist Movement. In reality, Hawrani’s ties to the Pan-Syrian party were relatively thin. Ultimately, he felt that the SSNP was too intellectual and cumbersome to grow into an effective mass political organization. It would be his army connections and the ideology of Arab nationalism that ultimately determined his fate in Syria’s political future.
In 1943, Hawrani secured a seat in Syria’s national parliament where he first met Michel Aflaq and Salal al-Din Bitar. Aflaq was an urban intellectual who had founded his Baath movement (Baath translates to renaissance or resurgence) in the late 1940’s in Syria’s cities, schools, and universities. Though Hawrani did not join their Pan-Arab party at this stage, he became friends with the two men and frequented the party’s headquarters in Damascus. Along with the Baath, Hawrani built ties with the Communist Party and the Muslim Brotherhood. It was in Damascus where Hawrani established a reputation as an ardent champion of freedom of speech and as a fighter, sometimes quite literally, with fist fights breaking out on the floor of Syrian parliament between him and supporters of President Shukri Quwatli’s old guard.
Being primarily active in Hama, Hawrani’s proximity to the Homs military academy made it possible to link his movement to the support of army officers nearby. He also joined his friend and military figure Adib al-Shishakli (also an early member of the SSNP) in attacking the local French garrison in Hama. These violent actions were so successful that he was instructed by Syrian independence leaders to stop since these facilities would eventually fall into Syrian hands after the anticipated departure of the French. Hawrani’s network within the army was also further extended with his participation in campaigns on the frontlines of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The full extent and endurance of Hawrani’s power base would be tested during Syria’s era of military coups.
Hawrani and Syria’s military coups
Although Hawrani did not directly plan and implement Syria’s first coup headed by General Husni Ziam, he supported them politically. In his view, it was an opportunity to implement his land reform schemes. Hawrani was later able to land a spot as the general’s advisor with the help of the nationalist officers in the army. He had also channeled members of his youth movement towards careers in the military. However, it wasn’t long before a rift grew between Hawrani and Ziam. This was due to Ziam’s close ties with Hawrani’s archenemies from the old landowning clans in Hama. After Colonel Sami Hinnawi overthrew Ziam, Hawrani become the Minister of Agriculture in the new regime.
The Baath, for their part, had grown in size and popularity due to their criticism of the government’s defeat in the Arab-Israeli War. Consequently, the party was repeatedly repressed during the periods of military rule. Aflaq spent a couple spells in Mezzeh Prison in Damascus. This practice of authoritarianism was something the Baath learned from and would eventually come to utilize themselves.
It wasn’t until Hawrani’s friend Shishakli seized control that he was able to finally introduce his land reform program with the backing of the national government. Order Number 96 restricted the expansion and ability of landowners to obtain unregistered land, which was reallocated to peasants.
During the Shishakli period, Hawrani gave a speech in 1951 before a crowd of 10,000 in Aleppo, “My friends! We are weak when we are alone, but stronger than iron and fire when united! With the blood of our ancestors flowing through our hearts, we can rebel against tyranny and injustice!”
The growing use of the automobile brought about the ability to shuttle peasants on buses from the countryside to the cities to attend political demonstrations and thus project a show of force. It also served to add new members to his party. The Arab Socialist Party grew by merging the rural peasants with the urban industrial workers. In the countryside, Hawrani’s “This Land Belongs to the Peasants” campaign took a violent turn with villagers taking up firearms against the wealthy landowners.
When Shishakli began to assert his crack down on political opposition (which was largely in response to several plots against him that were uncovered) the Arab Socialist Party, along with the Baath Party, was banned. In January of 1953 Hawrani, Bitar, and Aflaq went into exile where they began to plan Shishakli’s downfall. With the support of friendly officers in the army, Hawrani, Bitar, and Aflaq were able to create a coalition (in large part with help from the military) that opposed Shishakli’s rule from exile and force him to resign. The trio returned to Syria where the country experienced a brief revival of democracy.
In the years that followed his overthrow, Shishakli traveled to Beirut to discuss the potential coup with the SSNP against the Syrian regime, his old friend and associate, Hawrani, was allegedly one of the names compiled on the hit list for the SSNP’s assassination squads. However, Shishakli’s coup plans with the SSNP never materialized.
In 1952, while in exile in Lebanon, Hawrani had reached an agreement with Aflaq to merge the Arab Socialist Party with the Baath Party, thus becoming the Arab Socialist Baath Party, the name by which it is known today. The marriage of rural peasants and poor laborers to the student and urban intellectuals turned the party into the mass popular movement it had to become in order to secure and sustain power. This merger was officially blessed during the Baath Party’s 2nd Congress in 1954 that followed the overthrow of Shishakli.
United Arab Republic
Hawrani seated next to Abdel Nasser during a meeting with Lebanese leaders on the Syrian-Lebanon border following the 1958 Lebanon crisis. Note the appearance of the two starred flag of the UAR.
Following the Suez War of 1956, there was a renewed push within Syria to move ahead with the proposed union with Egypt. Dr. Jamal al-Atasi touted the pro-Nasserist line through the party newspaper. Afif al-Bizri, with his strong leftist leanings, was now chief of staff in the army. He was instrumental in packing the army with pro-Nasser officers. Furthermore, Bizri led purges against politicians with anti-Nasser sentiments. Bizri’s supposed communist ties generated much fear in the West that Syria was quickly becoming a Soviet satellite state. The purges led to a moment of heightened tension in the Cold War which subsequently saw Egyptian troops land in Syria in order to check the mobilization of Turkish troops along Syria’s northern border.
Syrian women of the Popular Resistance Committees during the Suez War shows Hawrani’s wife, Naziha al-Homsi (center) in 1956
Syrian Communist Party leader Khaled Bakdash (second on the right) and his wife, Wisal Farha Bakdash, with a Chinese delegation in 1957
Meanwhile, the competition between the Baath and the Communists was increasing dramatically. Each side had their own views on how to implement a union with Egypt and Khalid Bakdash, the head of the Syrian Communist Party (SCP), personally disliked Nasser due to his frequent imprisonment of Egypt’s communists. The challenges from the SCP brought about pressure from the Baath’s own left flank which caused the party to struggle with internal divisions. A critical turning point for the Baath Party and Hawrani’s political future was his decision as Speaker to cancel the Baath’s participation in the November 1957 elections. Hawrani used his position as the Speaker of Parliament to forge ahead with the formation of the UAR, becoming the Vice-President in Nasser’s UAR government.
Stamp with the date February 1, 1958 showing a bridge linking Syria and Egypt with the inscription reading al-Jumhuriyah al-Arabiyah al-Muttahidah (United Arab Republic)
For his part, Nasser had preached for Arab unity but was quietly skeptical since he was personally opposed to the practice of political pluralism. In order to achieve their goal of Arab unity, the Baath Party made the hard decision to suspend all party activity as demanded by Nasser. For Bakdash, the decision to disband the SCP was an ideological anathema. His continued protests during the UAR years brought about a crackdown against the communists which in turn led Bakdash to leave Syria for safety in the Soviet Union.
Though many Syrians had long waited for a union with Egypt, the new life in the UAR was not what many had expected. Syrians found Nasser’s rule to be far more politically repressive than anything they had experienced under Shishakli. With the help of Nasser’s Syrian ally, Colonel Abdul Hamid Sarraj, their country had essentially become a police state under the domination of Egypt. In addition, Nasser’s heavy-handed rule brought about much disenchantment with the union and his extreme nationalization policies alienated many former supporters in the business community and the army.
Political Exile
Although Hawrani had been instrumental in the creation of the UAR, he began to fall out with Nasser who had eventually turned his sights on the Baath. Disillusioned with the UAR project, Hawrani made the fateful decision to add his name to the document in circulation that would bring about Syria’s succession and lead to the dissolution of the UAR. For the Baath, this move would dramatically change the face of the party. In 1961 the Syrian army implemented a successful coup which forced the Egyptians out of Syria. Egypt returned the favor by expelling the nearly one thousand Syrians working in various government or military positions in Cairo back to Syria. One of these men was a young Alawite air force officer named Hafez al-Assad.
For the Baath Party this was a painful period where the long awaited dream of forming an Arab federation was now dashed. For many party members, especially the young military officers, they still held strong pro-Nasser sentiments and soon aligned themselves with the remaining Nasserist elements in Syria. This brought about the 1963 Neo-Baathist coup that overturned the secessionist government. The small and tentative steps towards returning democratic practices to Syria were destroyed.
Akram al-Hawrani in exile in his later years with a friend in Strasbourg, France in 1972
Hawrani’s personal support within the Baath was destroyed as well. His name had been attached to the secessionist movement and he was never able to recover from this stigma. Hawrani reestablished his Arab Socialist Party but, as the Neo-Baathist commenced their purges, he left Syria again for good, living his remaining years in exile until his death in 1996. However, the Neo-Baathists were ultimately unable to reignite the UAR project. Syria would soon divert its focus from Pan-Arabism to objectives closer to home, eventually aligning the Baath’s emerging geopolitical interests in Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel with the SSNP.
Many historians have argued that Hawrani was within a hair of becoming the Syrian Fidel Castro. For Hawrani’s ideology was not built on the direct influence of Marxist thought but rather through his own values and interpretation of Arab culture and religion, along with his political experience which was formed during his time with the SSNP. The Pan-Syrian party had regarded feudalism as a foreign invention that would forever keep the Arab World in a socially regressive state.
Hawrani’s war on feudalism forever changed Syrian society and politics. Hawrani’s speeches mobilized thousands of disadvantaged minority sects into influential positions in the military (Hafez al-Assad, being a poor rural Alawite, was one of the people who answered Hawrani’s call) and took on the foundations of Syria’s stuffy, old Sunni merchant elite. He transformed the Baath Party into a populist party that was able to capture the imagination of masses and establish a political union that was once unthinkable.
Now, once again Syria and Egypt are taking tentative steps to build a relationship in a time of rapid change and political uncertainty. As the Syrian government continues to battle the remaining Islamist factions and confront Kurdish aspirations, Egypt will continue to step into the picture, lending its political and military support.
The UAR and its flag only lasted a few years before the Baathist Pan-Arab dream ended, and with it, much of its original ideological composition. The party soon became an organizational tool for Assad’s governing structure. It may have been the Neo-Baathist under Hafez al-Assad that would later resurrect the UAR flag by hoisting it as Syria’s official flag in the 1980’s, however, it was Hawrani and his time in Syria’s echelons of power that set about the political trajectory for the country. For now, the flag of the United Arab Republic survives, unlike the union it once herald into existence, and will likely to continue fluttering over Syria, along with an unknown future for the government it now represents.
*Christopher Solomon is an analyst with Global Risk Insights. Chris traveled to Lebanon and Syria in 2004 with the CONNECT program at the University of Balamand. He earned his MA from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA) at the University of Pittsburgh. He also interned at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC. Follow him on Twitter @Solomon_Chris
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Should we walk behind Trump?عبد الرحمن الراشد: هل نسير خلف ترمب؟
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/February 16/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=52407
Some people view agreeing with the Trump administration’s policy on Iran as walking behind a warmonger and as being dragged into dangerous adventure. This is greatly exaggerated.
Policies change based on circumstances. The new American president has decided to adopt a policy that confronts Iran’s ongoing efforts to build dominance in the region. This threatens everyone but no one said anything about launching wars or engaging in military confrontations as there is a long list of measures which they will choose from to punish Iran after the American decision maker decides what the level of confrontation is.
The president does not have to send warships to, for instance, occupy Bandar Abbas Port to put an end to the Iranians’ armament of the Houthis. It is enough for American fleets to monitor navigation activities in front of Yemeni ports to end smuggling of arms. The level of confrontation may be limited to reviving economic sanctions which do not contradict with the nuclear agreement and which former President Barack Obama lifted.
These sanctions, which the Congress approved and which were imposed at the beginning of Obama’s term, proved to be the most effective. They are less dangerous than all military operations that can be used against Tehran’s regime in the region.
Those criticizing any Arab cooperation with President Trump against Iran out of fear that he will launch a war against it can rest reassured that this war will not happen as no one has said it’s one of the options
Effective sanctions
These sanctions were so effective that Tehran had to request negotiating, and for the first time ever, it gave up its stubbornness to resume its nuclear program. The two most significant sanctions included prohibiting oil companies from investing and working in Iran and, what was more painful, preventing Iran from using the American dollar in its commercial transactions.
Those criticizing any Arab cooperation with President Trump against Iran out of fear that he will launch a war against it can rest reassured that this war will not happen as no one has said it’s one of the options. If Trump decides to launch an expanded military war against Iran, it’s normal to worry and to refuse to walk behind him. But I do not think this will happen and of course we will address different developments accordingly.
Tension may cause naval clashes or it may cause clashes in conflict zones but there are limited percentages to these possibilities. There will not be major wars with Iran. No war has erupted before and launching a war is not even part of both countries, i.e. the US and Iran’s, threats. Everyone wants to avoid reasons that may lead up to a clash and the Iranians and Americans have succeeded at doing so for decades. No one wants tensions to emerge again.
Back to basics
It is shallow to view Gulf consensus with Washington’s new stance as a wrong policy that has dangerous consequences, like some intellectuals have put it. Actually, Trump is the one who approached the policy of Gulf countries and it’s not the latter which moved in his direction. The new administration in Washington has decided to go back to the same square which Obama had left when he secretly negotiated with the Iranians.
Some critics say it’s not possible to trust the US policy and their proof to that is that the US abandoned its cooperation with the Gulf to confront Iran, like Obama did. However, this is the nature of politics and each country decides its own policy based on its interests. If the Iranian government had been serious about abandoning its use of power and giving up its policy of intervention, no one would have needed this partisanship and establishment of alliances.
Some view relations according to the analysis of Iran and its allies. When they sign reconciliation and rapprochement agreements with the West, seal deals to buy airplanes and sign oil contracts with the US, they view this as a great accomplishment that broke the siege but when other Arab countries do the exact same thing, they consider them submissive and believe they are being dragged behind foreign agendas!
**This article was first published in Asharq Al-Awsat on February 16 2017.

When stability becomes a dream
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/February 16/17
Recent years of unrest have altered a major balance. Earlier we used to count the number countries witnessing unrest but now it’s the stable countries that can be counted on the fingers of one hand. There’s an ongoing struggle for stability in the region. It is as if sudden earthquakes have harmed everything and swallowed whatever is left of institutions and countries. Some people are trying to piece things together and become coherent again. Tunisia, for instance, is taking firm steps toward strengthening institutions and maintaining the state’s structure. However, the country continues to struggle against terrorism which is a challenge facing all countries. Gulf countries appear to be the only region in the world that has thwarted unrest despite vigorous attempts to ignite trouble
Cost of unrest
Stability is everyone’s dream at the moment. Unrest has been scary and puts us all on the same platform. It harms everyone and has the potential to destroy the whole country, their demographics, history, civilization and resources and even relics of the past.
Gulf countries appear to be the only region in the world that has thwarted unrest despite vigorous attempts to ignite trouble. I believe we are blessed with stability during this era especially considering only few of the region’s countries enjoy it. We must act strongly to preserve it.
**This article was first published in Okaz on February 16, 2017.