LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 04/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 13/09-13/:"‘As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them. And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations. When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved."

Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!’ And immediately he got up
Acts of the Apostles 09/31-43/:"Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralysed. Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!’ And immediately he got up. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, ‘Please come to us without delay.’So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them. Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, ‘Tabitha, get up.’ Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 03-04/17
As Mosul battle nears end, Iraqi Christians wary of return/Wassim Bassem/TranslatorSahar Ghoussoub/Al Monitor/July 03/17
New UN Libya envoy faces long road to peace/Author Mustafa Fetouri/Al Monitor/July 03/17
Iran: Regime Change is Within Reach/John R. Bolton/Gatestone Institute/July 03/17
Palestinians: Mohammad Dahlan, the New Mayor of the Gaza Strip/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/July 03/17
Islamic Relief Fails a Whitewash/Samuel Westrop/Gatestone Institute/July 03/17
America Obsesses About a Russia That Misses the ’70s/Noah Smith/Bloomberg/July 03/17
Baghdadi Was Here/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al AWsat/July 03/17
Celebrating the True Meaning of Politics on July 4th/JONATHAN BERNSTEIN/Bloomberg/July 03/17
America And The New Travel Ban Rules/Noah Feldman/Bloomberg/July 03/17
Gulf demands fulfilled even before Qatar accepted them/Sawsan Al Shaer/Al Arabiya/July 03/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on July 03-04/17
Report: Govt. Action Required as Crisis of Displaced Syrians Takes 'Serious' Nature
Report: Israel Threatens to Destroy Alleged 'Iranian Rocket Factory in Lebanon'
Raad Says Israel Fate 'at Stake' if It Wages War on Lebanon
Raad's remarks come amid threats and counter-threats between Israel and Hizbullah.
Houri: Coordination with Intl. Bodies Needed to Return Syrian Refugees
Bassil: Terror Using Displacement as Cover, State Must Take Firm Decision
Lebanon Sees Tourism Rebound as Turmoil Swallows Region
German Embassy opens book of condolences upcoming Thursday on passing away of Antonius Eitel
Army Commander meets security chiefs over terrorist rings' dismantlement
President meets Health Minister, follows up on West Bekaa vital needs
Kabbara: Syrian refugee return should be coordinated with UN
Results of secondary official exams to be issued Saturday: Minister Hamade
Personal gunfight in Ain Hilweh refugee camp
Firefighters quench fire in Baalbeck's Sharawneh neighborhood
Khalil, Kaag discuss current situation

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 03-04/17
Many Hurt as Taxi Hits Pedestrians near Boston Airport
Saudi FM: We will consider Qatar’s response carefully before taking stances
UK’s May to Mohammed bin Salman: Qatar must cooperate against terrorism
Trump discusses ‘concerns’ over Qatar crisis in calls to Gulf leaders
Trump says ‘interesting things are happening’ after speaking with King Salman
Gulf Foreign Ministers to Discuss Qatar Crisis in Cairo
Qatar Responds to Demands after Deadline Extended
German FM: Arab States Not Questioning Qatar’s Sovereignty
King Salman Receives Phone Call from US President
Syrian army announces ceasefire in southern Syria until Thursday
Tour bus bursts into flames after collision in Germany, 18 killed
France's Macron says could use referendum for institutional reforms
8 Wounded in France Mosque Shooting, Not Terrorism
IS Steps Up Suicide Attacks as Mosul Battle Nears End
Iraqis Mark First Anniversary of Devastating Baghdad Blast
Erdogan Hosts Russia Defense Chief amid Syria Border Tensions
Nine Killed in Suspected Boko Haram Attack in Niger
Militants Cling on to Hundreds of Buildings in Besieged Philippine City
Islamist Extremists in Sweden Rise to 2,000
Hamas Delegation Visits Egypt
Sisi Calls for Taking Firm Stance Against Countries Sponsoring Terrorism

Latest Lebanese Related News published on July 03-04/17
Report: Govt. Action Required as Crisis of Displaced Syrians Takes 'Serious' Nature
Naharnet/July 03/17/The crisis of displacement is taking a “serious” nature, and fears arise that calls to coordinate efforts between Lebanon and Syria to help displaced Syrians return back to safe zones in their country might be exploited by some sides to restore relations between the Lebanese state and Syrian regime, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. “While the Lebanese look at the return of displaced Syrians from a Lebanese-Arab-International frame to their return to safe zones in Syria under well humanitarian and social conditions, some in Lebanon try to take this issue to another sphere that suggests 'floating' relations between the Lebanese State and Syrian regime,” political sources told the daily. However, “if there is a Lebanese consensus on the need to coordinate with the Syrian state to return displaced Syrians to their country, there has not yet been any official Syrian position that indicates the intention of the Syrian state to restore the displaced,” they added on condition of anonymity. “While the Lebanese are not opposed to dialogue with the Syrian regime with a specific aim of returning displaced Syrians, they fear that new Syrian-Lebanese dialogue will lead to negotiations on the ties between the two countries without eventually leading to the return of displaced,” the sources said. Therefore, “official sources say it is better for the United Nations to test the willingness of the Syrian regime to open its border strictly for the displaced, and to limit Lebanon's policy of openness to the issue of refugees, as long as the role of the Arab League is disabled in Syria,” they added. However, the sources revealed that “contacts of the Lebanese government with the UN have revealed the organization's reluctance because of its lack of confidence in the temporary solution based on safe areas in the war torn country.”"Lebanon is home to over 1 million registered Syrian refugees, who reside largely in settlements in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, near the border. Last week, Lebanese authorities rounded up nearly 400 Syrian refugees following an attack on military troops conducting raids in refugee camps in Arsal, town near the border with Syria.
The attack in Lebanon's northeast left a young girl dead and seven Lebanese soldiers wounded. The authorities said the raids followed a tip that a terrorist attack was planned out of the camps.

Report: Israel Threatens to Destroy Alleged 'Iranian Rocket Factory in Lebanon'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/17/Israeli authorities have reportedly issued a warning to Hizbullah over the alleged development of what they said were “rocket manufacturing installations in Lebanon mainly situated in Hizbullah strongholds,” Israeli media reports said on Monday. Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman warned “Hizbullah over the development of Iranian rocket manufacturing installations inside Lebanon,” the reports said.It added that the Israeli security services are “seriously” studying the possibility of “destroying the Iranian weapons factory.”Hizbullah and Israel have fought many battles including a devastating 34-day war in 2006 that killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. Border skirmishes have broken out occasionally since then, and Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in his latest statement that any future confrontation would be "very costly for Israel". Tensions were rising this week along the frontier, with Israel accusing Hizbullah of expanding observation posts to conduct reconnaissance missions across the border.

Raad Says Israel Fate 'at Stake' if It Wages War on Lebanon
Naharnet/July 03/17/The head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc, MP Mohammed Raad, warned Israel on Monday that its very existence will be “at stake” should it wage a new war on Lebanon. “Let the Israelis have the illusions they want, but what we have prepared for them allows us to say that the fate of their entity will be at stake should they dare to wage a hostile war against Lebanon,” Raad said at a memorial service in the southern town of Arabsalim. “The Israeli enemy has lost the ability to wage an attack on us,” Raad boasted. “This enemy has become incarcerated in the cage of the balance of deterrence that the resistance has created,” the lawmaker went on to say. And noting that Israel's latest threats and military drills are aimed at “boosting the morale of its troops,” Raad said Hizbullah possesses “the effective weapon that beats all of the enemy's weapons, even if it receives support from all countries in the world.” Referring to Hizbullah's military presence across Syria, Raad added: “Will this enemy – which was not able to defeat us when we were in south Lebanon – dare to wage a war on us now that we've become deployed across all these territories?”

Raad's remarks come amid threats and counter-threats between Israel and Hizbullah.
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has recently warned Israel against attacking Lebanon or Syria, saying "hundreds of thousands" of Arab and Muslim fighters would be ready to strike back. Hizbullah fighters from Lebanon, and Shiite combatants from Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan are battling alongside regime forces in Syria to defend the government of President Bashar al-Assad.  The powerful Lebanese, Iran-backed group and Israel have fought many battles including a devastating 34-day war in 2006 that killed 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
Border skirmishes have broken out occasionally since then, and Nasrallah has said that any future confrontation would be "very costly for Israel."The head of Israel's air force has meanwhile said that his country would have "unimaginable" military power at hand in any future conflict with Hizbullah.
"What the air force was able to do quantitatively in the... Lebanon war over the course of 34 days we can do today in 48-60 hours," Major General Amir Eshel said. "This is potential power unimaginable in its scope, much different to what we have seen in the past and far greater than people estimate," he added.

Houri: Coordination with Intl. Bodies Needed to Return Syrian Refugees
Naharnet/July 03/17/MP Ammar Houri stressed on Monday that Lebanon's government must find means to send displaced Syrians living in Lebanon back to safe zones in their war torn country. “The Lebanese government must make contacts with international bodies to send the displaced Syrians back” to their homeland, said Houri in an interview with VDL (93.3). The MP and several Lebanese officials have intensified demands lately to return displaced Syrians back to Syria after Lebanon's military troops came under an attack last week while conducting raids in Syrian refugee camps in Arsal, town near the border with Syria. Lebanese officials have said that the return of Syrian refugees living in Lebanon must be coordinated with the United Nations. Others have called for coordination with the Syrian government, a suggestion that was widely condemned by several parties as an attempt to “refloat” ties with the regime.
The MP assured that the Lebanese's support for its army and security forces is growing each day mainly after the attack that left seven soldiers wounded. “There is an agreement between Lebanon's political forces on the need to address this file,” he said, adding that the government is addressing the file “calmly” as it awaits for the end of the Syrian crisis.

Bassil: Terror Using Displacement as Cover, State Must Take Firm Decision
Naharnet/July 03/17/Free Patriotic Movement chief and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil warned Sunday that “terrorism is using displacement as a cover,” several days after the Lebanese army cracked down on Syrian refugee encampments near the town of Arsal in search of terror suspects, explosives and weapons. “Terrorism is using displacement as a cover for its acts of terror, that's why we must confront the refugee crisis bravely and through a firm decision from the Lebanese state,” Bassil said during a visit to the southern Jezzine region. The refugees' “return to Syria must take place before the political solution and their return is now possible to a lot of safe areas inside Syria,” Bassil added. The Lebanese army has dismissed allegations of abuse against hundreds of Syrian detainees in a security sweep at a refugee settlement near Arsal, saying the mass detentions were necessary to combat terrorism. A military official told The Associated Press that the detention of 355 Syrians "is not a directed aggression against anyone," and that not all would be charged with terrorism. Five suicide bombers blew themselves up Friday during military raids in two refugee settlements in Arsal, near the border with Syria. One of them detonated his payload among a Syrian refugee family, killing a girl. Another wounded three soldiers, leaving two of them in critical condition, the official said. During the early Friday raid attackers also tossed explosives at the troops, wounding four. The official said the raids on the two settlements in Arsal came after tips about the presence of explosives and a plot to carry out attacks in Lebanon. Lebanon, of 4.5 million people, has over 1 million registered Syrian refugees.

Lebanon Sees Tourism Rebound as Turmoil Swallows Region
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 03/17/Beirut's landmark Hamra Street is bustling again and hotel occupancy rates are on the rise as Lebanon's tourism industry rebounds, thanks in no small part to the misfortunes of its Middle East neighbors, engulfed by wars, chaos and political upheaval. It was just four years ago when Lebanon seemed to be losing its grip on its internal security. The specter of war spilling over from neighboring Syria hung low over the capital and Lebanese proprietors looked longingly to the stability in Turkey and the Gulf region. But now, Lebanon's tourism sector is on the rise as the Gulf and Turkey, to the surprise of many, are looking shaky. While neighboring Syria and Iraq burn, the Lebanese industry is looking — cautiously but optimistically — at the promise of a new beginning. "I know the region is going through very difficult times, but Lebanon has gotten lucky," said Tourism Minister Avedis Guidanian. Since last year's doldrums during the summer tourist season, Lebanon's notoriously slow-moving and divided politicians have gotten it together to appoint a head of state after a two-year presidential vacuum, form a government, and agree to a law governing elections that has made possible parliamentary elections that were delayed since 2013. A spate of suicide bombings has been contained and militants have been pushed back, to a large extent, across the border with Syria. Authorities have also beaten back popular unrest over corruption and non-accountability and restarted trash collection services in the capital, though the pungent smell of waste still greets travelers at the airport, thanks to a new landfill the government opened in a hurry just beyond the seaside runway. "Really, us Iraqis, we thank you, and we are always lucky to be among the Lebanese people," said veterinarian and Basra native Ali Abdul Kareem, 24, who was spotted smoking a water pipe with three companions at a restaurant off H amra Street. He said it was his first time visiting Lebanon, breaking a string of successive vacations in Iran and the United Arab Emirates. "God willing, this won't be the only time we come to Beirut and Lebanon," he said. Hotel occupancy in Lebanon, which went through 15 years of civil war that ended in 1990, is up by 25 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the president of the national hotel owners' syndicate, Pierre Ashkar, reaching 65 percent this summer. And passenger arrivals at Beirut's airport outnumbered departures by about 24,000 during the recent Eid al-Fitr holiday, compared to about 19,000 last year, suggesting travelers are staying longer, according to statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority. Beirut's airport is the only practical way to enter and leave the country for all except Syrians. In downtown Beirut, Egyptians are asking for directions for the leafy plaza by Parliament, kept off limits to the Lebanese for more than a year. Politicians were afraid the street protests of 2015 would escalate into riots. But industry veterans have been around long enough to know that profits are ephemeral, especially in an environment as uncertain as Lebanon's. There are reports daily of security operations in the country's lawless Bekaa Valley, and of personal disputes around the country that escalate into shootings. And the hardship that sparked the unrest of 2015 — nationwide shortages of water and electricity, a collapse in the trash collection services, a scarcity of good jobs — still fester today. Perhaps this is why tourism, though on the ups, has not yet reached the heights of the pre-Syria war era, or of the golden decades of the 1950s and 60s. "If we were to say, what do we aspire to, and what are we capable of in light of what's happening in Egypt, Turkey, and Arab countries, and in France and Europe because of the terrorism we should be doing much better," said Ashkar.

German Embassy opens book of condolences upcoming Thursday on passing away of Antonius Eitel
Mon 03 Jul 2017 /NNA - In a press release by the German Embassy in Beirut, it said: "On the sad occasion of the passing away of former Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Antonius Eitel, a book of condolences will be open at the new Embassy building in Dekwaneh."
Release added: "Professor Dr. Antonius "Tono" Eitel, former Ambassador of Germany in Lebanon from 1982 to 1987, member of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, has passed away on June 25, 2017. During his time in Beirut, he was well-known and much-liked by his Lebanese friends and counterparts, shared the hardships of the civil war, survived an assassination attempt in 1985 during which his driver, Mr. Souhair Daou was killed, and even after his stay, he followed developments in Lebanon with a keen and personal interest. He last served as German Ambassador to the United Nations in New York but even after his retirement was called upon to act as a special envoy on various occasions."Release said: "Germany is losing a great diplomat. Lebanon is losing a close friend.""The Embassy will open a Book of Condolences on Thursday, July 6, from 13:00 pm to 15:00, and on Friday, July 7, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm," release concluded.

Army Commander meets security chiefs over terrorist rings' dismantlement
Mon 03 Jul 2017/ NNA - Lebanese Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, on Monday held a meeting with the chiefs of the Lebanese state's security agencies, with whom he discussed the coordination of efforts and measures aimed to dismantle the subversive terrorist rings in the country. Conferees also tackled the measures to pursue the authors of celebratory gunfire. The meeting was attended by General Security Chief Abbas Ibrahim, Internal Security Forces Commander General Imad Othman, and State Security Chief General Toni Saliba.

President meets Health Minister, follows up on West Bekaa vital needs
Mon 03 Jul 2017/ NNA - President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, held talks, at Baabda palace on Monday, with Minister of Public Health, Ghassan Hasbani, over healthcare projects provided by the Lebanese state for the citizens and displaced Syrians nationwide. "I informed the President over the latest developments regarding the healthcare dossier, especially concerning the World Bank USD-150-million fund for Lebanon's healthcare sector," Hasbani told reporters following the meeting. Asked whether the Lebanese government would contact the Syrian authorities regarding the displaced Syrians' issue, Hasbani said that this matter was an international one and that it didn't concern Lebanon alone. "We are in touch with all the concerned states, as well as with the United Nations which is concerned with the humanitarian file," he added. "There are tremendous terms and restraints which we abide by as a state hosting the displaced. Therefore, we are keen on working within the frame of these restraints. There is a huge role for the international community and the UN to play regarding the return of refugees and finding safe places for them to return to," he explained. "We are working within the frames we have agreed upon with the international community and the UN," he corroborated. Separately, Aoun received Sidon Maronite Church Pastor, Bishop Maroun Ammar. He later met with Secretary of the Independent Nasserite Movement, retired general Mustafa Hamdan, with whom he discussed the current general situation on the local scene. Aoun also met today with a delegation of West Bekaa mayors, to whom he confirmed that the Cabinet would tackle the pollution of Litani River and Lake Qaraoun, as well as the Mayors Mutual Fund's issue. "These issues are among our priorities," the President stressed. "We shall take care now of the towns and villages constituting Lebanon's belt, and we shall work on providing their needs within the frame of a comprehensive plan nationwide; West Bekaa is one of those regions, because we want its sons to preserve their lands," he concluded.

Kabbara: Syrian refugee return should be coordinated with UN
Mon 03 Jul 2017/NNA - Labor Minister, Mohammed Kabbara, on Monday underlined that the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland must only occur in coordination with the United Nations, applauding the successful qualitative operation carried out by the Lebanese army in Arsal outskirts against the Daash terrorists. "Syrian refugees' return to their homeland must only be accomplished through coordination with the United Nations, after the Syrian territories are cleared out from all terrorists occupying cities, towns, homes and villages of the oppressed Syrian people," Minister Kabbara said in a statement on Monday.
Kabbara also prodded the State to carry out its full role in the fight against terror, stressing that there is no cover for any sort of terrorism.

Results of secondary official exams to be issued Saturday: Minister Hamade
Mon 03 Jul 2017/NNA - Minister of Education and Higher Learning, Marwan Hamade, on Monday announced that the results of the secondary school official exams, in all their sections, would be issued as of Saturday.

Personal gunfight in Ain Hilweh refugee camp
Mon 03 Jul 2017/NNA - A personal brawl that escalated into gunfire occurred in al-Fawqani Street in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain Hilweh, against the backdrop of the arrest of the wanted Khaled Massad, known as "Al-Seyyed", NNA reporter said. The wanted "Al-Seyyed" was handed over to the Lebanese army intelligence and General Security two days.

Firefighters quench fire in Baalbeck's Sharawneh neighborhood
Mon 03 Jul 2017/NNA - Civil Defense fire brigades managed to extinguish a huge fire that ripped a grocery shop in Baalbeck's Sharaneh neighborhood, preventing the blaze from stretching to adjacent shops and houses, NNA field reporter said. Civil defense units also quenched a fire that erupted in a gas tanker tank on the International Baalbeck's Dawres Highway.

Khalil, Kaag discuss current situation
Mon 03 Jul 2017/NNA - Minister of Finance, Ali Hassan Khalil, on Monday held talks with United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Sigrid Kaag, over the current general situation and an array of latest developments. The pair focused on Lebanon's oil recourses dossier and maritime border demarcation, in addition to the UN role in that respect. Talks also touched on the displaced Syrians' issue and the conditon of their stay in shelter encampments.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July 03-04/17
Many Hurt as Taxi Hits Pedestrians near Boston Airport
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/17/A vehicle plowed into pedestrians near Boston's international airport on Monday, causing several injuries on the eve of the Independence Day holiday in the United States, police said.
Police, paramedics and the fire department responded to the incident near the taxi pool at Logan International Airport where several pedestrians had injuries of varying severity, Massachusetts state police said. The cause was not immediately clear but some local media reported that a taxi driver appeared to have lost control.

Saudi FM: We will consider Qatar’s response carefully before taking stances
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishMonday, 3 July 2017 /Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has said that boycotting Gulf and Arab countries hope that Qatar’s response to the demands “will be positive”.“The aim of the measures taken against Qatar is to change its policies that harm it, the countries of the region and other nations of the world,” Jubeir told a press conference alongside his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel in Jeddah. “We look forward to receiving this response and studying it carefully, and then taking the appropriate steps towards it,” Jubeir added. The Saudi foreign minister said that he agreed with his German counterpart on the importance of stopping the support and financing of terrorist groups across the world, as well as stopping Qatar’s incitement of extremism through its media channels and Doha’s interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries. Jubeir spoke during a press conference alongside his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel in Jeddah. (Al Arabiya). Asked by a reporter whether Jubeir found a difference in Germany’s stance since the beginning of the crisis with Qatar, the foreign minister said: “Actually from the beginning of the crisis we found no change in Germany’s stance. They stand with us on the same principles the supporting terrorism must stop.” Jubeir confirmed that most of what was demanded from Qatar was already included in the list of requests agreed in the 2013 and 2014 Riyadh agreements signed by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Al-Thani, adding that it was agreed to extend the deadline granted to Qatar at the request of the Kuwaiti mediators.

UK’s May to Mohammed bin Salman: Qatar must cooperate against terrorism
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishTuesday, 4 July 2017/UK PM Theresa May told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call on Monday that Qatar must cooperate with its Gulf neighbors in countering terrorism and extremism, and to show clear commitment to the matter, saying “Qatar must be clearly committed to fighting terrorism.”May also welcomed the extension of Qatar's deadline for the state to respond to the list of Gulf demands by 48 hours.

Trump discusses ‘concerns’ over Qatar crisis in calls to Gulf leaders
Staff writer, Al Arabiya EnglishMonday, 3 July 2017 /President Donald Trump spoke separately to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar on Sunday to discuss his “concerns about the ongoing dispute” between Qatar and its Gulf and Arab neighbors, the White House said. “He reiterated the importance of stopping terrorist financing and discrediting extremist ideology. The president also underscored that unity in the region is critical to accomplishing the Riyadh Summit’s goals of defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability,” the White House said, according to Reuters news agency. “President Trump, nevertheless, believes that the overriding objective of his initiative is the cessation of funding for terrorism,” it said. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt broke off the ties last month over allegations of Qatar’s links to terrorism. Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is set to hand over Doha’s decision over a list of demands from boycotting countries to Kuwait on Monday, according to Al Arabiya sources. Speaking in Rome on Saturday, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the demands were made to be rejected, adding that the Arab ultimatum was aimed not at tackling terrorism but at curtailing his country’s sovereignty. But he told reporters in Rome that Doha remained ready to sit down and discuss the grievances raised by its Arab neighbors.  “This list of demands is made to be rejected. It’s not meant to be accepted or ...to be negotiated,” Sheikh Mohammed said in Rome. “The state of Qatar instead of rejecting it as a principle, we are willing to engage in (dialogue), providing the proper conditions for further dialogue.”The countries have threatened further sanctions against Qatar if it does not comply with their list of 13 demands which were presented to Doha by Kuwaiti mediators 11 days ago. The demands include closing a Turkish military base in Qatar and shutting down the Al Jazeera pan-Arab television network, which Doha also rejected. Qatar’s Gulf critics accuse Al Jazeera of being a platform for extremists and an agent of interference in their affairs. The network has rejected the accusations and said it will maintain its editorial independence. (With Reuters)

Trump says ‘interesting things are happening’ after speaking with King Salman
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 3 July 2017/United States President Donald Trump on Monday said “interesting things are happening” in the Middle East after speaking with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. In a Tweet, Trump said: “Spoke yesterday with the King of Saudi Arabia about peace in the Middle East. Interesting things are happening!”In another Tweet, Trump said he planned to talk with officials from Germany and France on Monday, but did not provide any other information. Trump will attend later this week the G20 Summit in Hamburg. The German government said the Commander and Chief is scheduled to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel before the Summit.

Gulf Foreign Ministers to Discuss Qatar Crisis in Cairo
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/17/Egypt will host the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Wednesday to discuss the crisis with Qatar, Cairo's foreign ministry said. The ministers will meet "to follow developments... concerning relations with Qatar," it said in a statement Sunday evening. The four countries announced on June 5 they were severing ties with their Gulf neighbor, accusing it of backing "terrorism" and being too close to Saudi Arabia's arch-rival Iran. Riyadh and its allies on Monday extended a deadline for Doha to accept 13 demands in return for lifting a de facto blockade.

Qatar Responds to Demands after Deadline Extended
Associated Press/Naharnet/July 03/17/Qatar on Monday responded to a list of demands from Saudi Arabia and its allies after they agreed to give a defiant Doha another 48 hours to address their grievances.Details of the response were not immediately available, but a Gulf official told AFP that Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani had delivered it during a short visit to Kuwait, which is acting as a mediator in the crisis.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt had announced in the early hours of Monday they were pushing back a deadline for Qatar to agree to a list of 13 demands they issued on June 22.
A joint statement said they were extending the ultimatum, which had been due to expire at the end of the day on Sunday, at the request of Kuwait's emir. The demands included Doha ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood, closing broadcaster Al-Jazeera, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and shutting down a Turkish military base in the emirate. Sheikh Mohammed had earlier said the list of demands was "made to be rejected".Saudi Arabia and its allies announced on June 5 they were severing ties with their Gulf neighbour, sparking the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the region in decades. They accused Qatar of supporting extremism and of being too close to Saudi Arabia's regional arch-rival Iran, which Doha has strongly denied.
The crisis has raised concerns of growing instability in the region, home to some of the world's largest energy exporters and several key Western allies who host US military bases. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who on Monday starts a tour of several Gulf states, called for "serious dialogue" to end the crisis. "We are worried that the distrust and the disunity could weaken all the parties concerned as well as the entire peninsula," said Gabriel, who will visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Trump calls leaders -Riyadh and its supporters have already severed air, sea and ground links with Qatar, cutting off vital routes for imports including food. They also ordered Qatari citizens to leave their territories and took various steps against Qatari firms and financial institutions. It is unclear what further measures will be taken if Qatar fails to meet the demands, but the UAE's ambassador to Russia Omar Ghobash warned last week that further sanctions could be imposed. As well as expelling Qatar from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, Riyadh and its allies could tell their economic partners to choose between business with them or with Doha, he told Britain's Guardian newspaper. Qatar has long pursued a more independent foreign policy than many of its neighbours, who tend to follow the lead of regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia. Doha has said it is ready for talks to end the crisis. Kuwait, which unlike most of its GCC neighbours has not cut ties with Qatar, has been heading up mediation efforts. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has also called for compromise and hosted senior Gulf officials, but his efforts have been undermined by remarks from President Donald Trump apparently supporting Riyadh's position. Trump spoke separately on Sunday with the Saudi king, Abu Dhabi's crown prince and the Qatari emir on his concerns over the dispute, the White House said. Trump "underscored that unity in the region is critical," the statement said, but also "reiterated the importance of stopping terrorist financing and discrediting extremist ideology." Egypt said it would host the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.The 13 demands have not been officially published, but a Kuwaiti diplomatic source confirmed on Monday that the list as it has appeared in the media was genuine.

German FM: Arab States Not Questioning Qatar’s Sovereignty
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 03/17/The ongoing crisis between the tiny Gulf state of Qatar and its Arab neighbors would best be solved by an agreement across the region to prevent the financing of “terrorism”, German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said.Gabriel, speaking at a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir during a tour of the Gulf region, added that he did not have the impression that other Arab states were questioning Qatar’s sovereignty. Four of Qatar’s neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, cut diplomatic and commercial ties with Qatar last month, accusing it of supporting terrorism, charges Qatar denies, and demanding that it shutter its Al Jazeera TV station and expel Turkish troops stationed there.

King Salman Receives Phone Call from US President
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 03/17/The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz has received a phone call from President Donald Trump of the United States of America, reported the Saudi state-owned news agency (SPA). During the telephone call, they reviewed the historical relations between the two countries and discussed latest developments in the region and the world. They also discussed joint efforts to combat terrorism, the drying up of its sources and confronting the countries that stand behind financing terrorism.
Enhancing the joint action between the two countries to combat extremism and seek security and stability in the region was also discussed.

Syrian army announces ceasefire in southern Syria until Thursday
Mon 03 Jul 2017/NNA - The Syrian army said it would suspend combat operations in southern Syria until Thursday, including in Quneitra province where Israel has hit army outposts in recent days, according to a statement carried by state television. The army general command said the ceasefire took effect from midday (0900 GMT) on Sunday and was being done to support "reconciliation efforts", in the second unilateral ceasefire in the last two weeks. On June 17, the army announced a ceasefire that only affected fighting in the southern city of Deraa along the border with Israel. This latest announcement extends the ceasefire alongside Deraa city to the whole of southern Syria, including the strategic southwestern Quneitra province near the border with Israel and also Sweida province in the southeast. ---Reuters

Tour bus bursts into flames after collision in Germany, 18 killed
Mon 03 Jul 2017/NNA - Eighteen people were killed when a tour bus burst into flames after colliding with a lorry on a motorway in the German state of Bavaria on Monday, police said. Thirty people were injured in the crash, which occurred shortly after 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) near the town of Stammbach, around 90 km (56 miles) northeast of Nuremberg, police said. Some were seriously injured. "It's clear now that all 18 of the missing people on the bus died in the accident," police said on Twitter. There were 48 people, mainly from the eastern state of Saxony, on the bus and they were aged between 41 and 81, police said. Speaking at the scene of the crash, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said two people were in a critical condition, he said. "The heat's development must have been intense because there is nothing flammable left on the bus. Only steel parts are recognisable so you can understand what that meant for the people in this bus," he said. Chancellor Angela Merkel described the crash as "terrible" and said: "Our thoughts are with the victims' relatives and we wish all of the injured a quick recovery, from the bottom of our hearts." ---Reuters

France's Macron says could use referendum for institutional reforms
Mon 03 Jul 2017/NNA - French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said he would go directly to voters via referendum if parliament does not vote major institutional reforms quickly enough. In a much-touted policy speech to both houses of parliament which was strong on broad principles but carried little concrete announcements, the new president confirmed he wanted to add a dose of proportionality to future parliamentary elections. He also confirmed he wanted to cut the number of lawmakers by a third and scrap a special judicial court that judges ministers. "I want all of those deep reforms that our institutions seriously need to be done within a year," Macron told lawmakers. "These reforms will go to parliament but, if needed, I will put them to voters via a referendum. ---Reuters

8 Wounded in France Mosque Shooting, Not Terrorism
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/17/Eight people including a girl were lightly wounded late Sunday in a shooting in front of a mosque in the southeast French city of Avignon, the prosecutor's office said, ruling out terrorism. According to initial accounts taken on the spot, at least two men got out of a car around 10:30 pm near the mosque and opened fire, including with a shotgun, the prosecutor's office said. None of the wounded had life-threatening injuries, it said. "From what we know this evening, the mosque was not targeted. The fact that it happened in the street of the religious establishment was unconnected with it," the prosecutor said, ruling out terrorism. Witness accounts mentioned four men in the car, all hooded. The criminal investigation department has taken charge of the case. The shooting comes a few days after a man on Thursday attempted to drive his car into worshippers outside the Creteil mosque in southeast Paris. The driver, a 43-year-old Armenian who suffered from schizophrenia, hit barriers and pillars outside the mosque with his 4x4 without causing any injuries before crashing into a traffic island. According to a source close to the investigation, the suspect had made "confused remarks in relation" to a string of jihadist attacks that have struck France, killing 239 people since 2015. Following a van attack against worshippers leaving Finsbury Park Mosque in London on June 19 which left one dead and 11 injured, France's Muslim community has also felt threatened. Some Muslim officials have described the Paris incident as an attack and called on the authorities to "strengthen protection of places of worship". The Paris police commissioner reiterated his orders for vigilance in protecting Muslim places of worship.

IS Steps Up Suicide Attacks as Mosul Battle Nears End
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/The Islamic State group has stepped up suicide attacks as it seeks to hold off Iraqi forces in the final stages of the battle for Mosul, a senior commander said Monday. More than eight months after the operation to retake Mosul was launched, IS has gone from fully controlling the city to holding a limited area on its western side. "The enemy has been using suicide bombers, especially women, for the past three days in some of the neighbourhoods," said Staff Lieutenant General Sami al-Aridhi, a senior commander in the elite Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS). "Before that, they were using snipers and bombs more," he said. "There are still at least 200 fighters from the (IS) organisation" in Mosul, most of them foreigners, he said.  Iraqi forces have been closing in on the Old City in west Mosul for months, but its narrow streets and closely spaced buildings combined with a large civilian population made for an extremely difficult fight. "The battle will end in five days to a week," Aridhi said. Civilians fleeing the fighting are receiving treatment at a makeshift clinic in Mosul. "People come from the Old City of Mosul, where fierce fighting is taking place. They're running away from (IS), running away from death, hunger and fear," said Nazar Salih, a doctor at the clinic. Shahed Omar, a 20-year-old who fled the Old City, pointed to two children at the clinic. "This one's father was killed, and that girl there, her father was killed as well," Omar said. ecurity forces recaptured a series of nearby districts, cornering the jihadists, and launched an assault inside the Old City on June 18. They have since made significant progress. But the impending end of the battle has given rise to the latest round of inter-service rivalry over who gets to declare it over.
Early victory celebrations -A statement attributed to the federal police chief circulated on Sunday, feting "their victory... which was achieved in the territory of Mosul," while police forces in the city celebrated with a band, flags and dancing. But police commander Lieutenant General Raed Shakir Jawdat later issued a statement saying that while the mission of the federal police was over, other forces were still fighting and an announcement of victory would be made later by the Iraqi premier. Iraq's Joint Operations Command on Monday said that the federal police were still fighting and had not captured all of their objectives.
"Federal police forces continue to fight fierce battles... on the southern front and are advancing toward their targets," the JOC said. IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led coalition air strikes have since regained much of the territory they lost.
The recapture of Mosul will not however mark the end of the war against IS. The jihadist group holds territory elsewhere in Iraq as well as in neighbouring Syria, and has been able to carry out attacks in government-held areas. IS has also inspired "lone wolf" attacks overseas. Highlighting the major security challenges Iraq will face after Mosul, a suicide bomber attacked a camp for displaced people west of Baghdad on Sunday, killing 14 people and wounding 13, a police major and a doctor said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Anbar province, but IS frequently carries out suicide bombings against civilians in Iraq. The camp is located west of Ramadi, a city that was recaptured from IS along with Fallujah and other parts of Anbar province, but IS still controls areas closer to the Syrian border and carries out attacks in government-held territory.

Iraqis Mark First Anniversary of Devastating Baghdad Blast
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/Iraqis still reeling from a devastating suicide bombing that killed over 320 people in central Baghdad gathered Sunday at the site of the attack to mark its first anniversary. The bombing -- the deadliest single such attack to hit the country since 2003 -- sparked raging fires in a shopping area early on July 3, 2016 as it teemed with people ahead of the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Much of the damage has been repaired, but a massive banner bearing images of the victims still hangs at the site, and the psychological wounds inflicted by the fear and loss are far from healed."I still feel as though the bombing happened yesterday. I was very close when the explosion occurred. We were not able to do anything because of the shock," said Laith Fadhel al-Hussein. "When I come here, I feel a severe (pain) in my heart," said Hussein, a 42-year-old who lost four cousins and a nephew in the attack. Food was prepared by relatives of some of the victims and distributed to the dozens of people gathered at the site of the bombing. Sadiq Issa, 43, who was filling styrofoam boxes with rice, lost nine relatives in the attack. "After hearing the news, my father had a stroke," while his mother lost all movement in her arms and legs, said Issa. Even now, "we are not sleeping," he said, holding back tears. "I am a survivor. I saw my nephews slaughtered" in the attack.
Broken promises
"This place means everything to me -- here, I lost my families and friends and neighbors and all my loved ones," he said. While surrounding areas have been repaired, the "Laith Complex" building is still empty, with the banner with pictures of the victims hanging down the front. Residents of the area said the building is in danger of collapsing and is not safe for restoration, so it may be demolished and rebuilt. But the process of restoration and paying compensation to the victims and their families is questioned by some. Firas, a 36-year-old who lost his brother in the attack, said the government has not followed through on its pledges to the victims. "They took advantage of the feelings of the people and broke all their promises," he said. Hisham Sabah, 33, also criticized the government's response. "Imagine, God forbid, if this happened in another country -- the state would help the families of the martyrs," he said. "This is the worst massacre since the fall of (Saddam Hussein's) regime," but authorities put those seeking compensation through "impossible procedures that make you hate the country."

Erdogan Hosts Russia Defense Chief amid Syria Border Tensions
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday held talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Istanbul as tension soared on the Syrian border between Turkish troops and a Kurdish militia.
Turkey and Russia were long at loggerheads over the Syrian conflict, with Ankara seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad and Moscow remaining his chief international ally. But cooperation had tightened markedly since last year, with the two countries jointly sponsoring peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana. Sunday's meeting took place at Istanbul's Tarabya Palace by the Bosphorus, the presidency said, with images showing Turkey's top general Hulusi Akar and spy chief Hakan Fidan were also in attendance. Last August, Turkey launched its Euphrates Shield cross-border operation aimed at clearing the border zone in northern Syria of both Kurdish militia fighters and jihadists. The operation was wound up in March but Erdogan has not excluded a new cross-border offensive should the need arise. Turkish troops and Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) have repeatedly exchanged cross-border fire in recent days and there is speculation Ankara may be planning an assault on the group in Afrin. Ankara considers the YPG a terrorist group and the Syrian branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has waged an insurgency inside Turkey since 1984. But Washington is arming the YPG and the group is heavily involved in the U.S.-backed operation to oust Islamic State (IS) jihadists from their stronghold of Raqa. The Sabah daily said Sunday that pro-Ankara Syrian rebels were on standby for an operation against the YPG and Russia could ensure security in the air. Asked about the possibility of an operation around Afrin, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Saturday: "We take all measures to protect our borders and national security." He said the Turkey would "instantly" hit back against any threat from Syria, be it from IS, the PKK or the YPG.

Nine Killed in Suspected Boko Haram Attack in Niger
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/Nine people were killed and dozens kidnapped after an attack in southeastern Niger by suspected members of Boko Haram, local authorities said Monday. The attack happened Sunday night, between 2100-2200 GMT. "About 30 to 40 women and children were taken by the assailants," local mayor Abari El Hadj Daouda told AFP, adding that Nigerien authorities were headed to the area to investigate. The attack took place in Kabalewa, a village near the southeastern Niger city of Diffa, which is close to Nigeria -- the second such attack in the village in a week. On Wednesday, two women bombers blew themselves up in a refugee camp in the town, killing two other people and injuring 11, in an act also blamed on Boko Haram Islamists. Boko Haram's insurgency began in northeast Nigeria and has spread to Chad, Cameroon and Niger, claiming more than 20,000 lives and displacing 2.6 million people. The group's members have since 2015 been staging regular attacks in the Diffa region, where Niger has declared a state of emergency. There are more than 300,000 refugees and displaced people sheltered in the area, but authorities said they are planning to transfer thousands of refugees and displaced to camps farther from Nigeria's border.

Militants Cling on to Hundreds of Buildings in Besieged Philippine City
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/Islamist gunmen led by one of the world's most wanted terrorists still hold about 1,500 buildings in a southern Philippine city after weeks of ferocious fighting that has left hundreds dead, officials said Monday. The Philippine military has struggled to expel scores of gunmen who rampaged across Marawi city on May 23 flying the black flag of the Islamic State group, despite day and night artillery and air strikes that have reduced swathes of the downtown area to rubble. President Rodrigo Duterte last month vowed to "crush" the militants, but several deadlines have already been missed to end a conflict that has left scores dead and forced some 400,000 people from their homes. The gunmen are led by Isnilon Hapilon, one of the world's most wanted men, who is believed to be still alive and holed up in a mosque, Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told a news conference in Manila.
In the most detailed assessment yet, he conceded there was no saying when soldiers would be able to retake all 1,500 houses and buildings still held or booby-trapped by the militants. "Since it is urban fighting a lot of our troops there are not prepared. One can say they are learning as they fight in this built-up area," he said, adding that soldiers are battling street-to-street retaking up to a hundred buildings a day. The military in Marawi suggested a slower rate, with soldiers recapturing 40 buildings on Saturday and 57 on Sunday. "The clearing operation is difficult because of the presence of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), booby traps left behind by the terrorists," said the military spokesman for the campaign, Lieutenant-Colonel Jo-ar Herrera. Eighty-two soldiers and police and 39 civilians have died in the weeks-long conflict, he said. Around a hundred militants are still entrenched in the city and the army has said they have used a water route to bring in ammunition and evacuate wounded fighters, helping them withstand the military offensive for weeks. Some 300 gunmen are thought to have been killed so far. Lorenzana said military commanders wanted a swift end to the operation, "but the enemy is also very wily and resourceful". Duterte imposed martial law over the southern Philippines soon after the fighting started, saying he needed strong powers to snuff out an IS plot to carve out territory after battlefield losses in Iraq and Syria. A botched government attempt to arrest Hapilon at a Marawi hideout touched off the fighting in May. He is supported by Marawi-based gunmen led by the Maute brothers, whose group has pledged allegiance to IS, as well as several foreign fighters, Lorenzana said.

Islamist Extremists in Sweden Rise to 2,000
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/July 03/Sweden is home to some 2,000 Islamist extremists, the nation's intelligence chief said Monday, a nearly 10-fold increase in less than a decade. Anders Thornberg, head of domestic spy service Sapo, attributed the rise primarily to the sophisticated propaganda machine of the Islamic State group. Although "few extremists" have "the will and ability" to carry out attacks, they must be found and closely followed, Thornberg said. "It's important that everyone in Sweden takes responsibility to end this trend... before we see an attack or a violent act," Thornberg told news agency TT in an interview published on Monday. Sweden has been on the edge ever since an Uzbek national, who had shown sympathies for jihadist groups including IS, used a stolen truck to mow down pedestrians on a busy shopping street on April 7, killing five people and injuring 15. Europe has seen a string of attacks in recent years including large-scale assaults in Paris Brussels and Berlin. Thornberg said that out of around 3,000 violent extremists currently in Sweden, 2,000 have Islamist motives. The remaining extremists originate from far-right and extreme-left movements. A 2010 Sapo report estimated the number of violent Islamist extremists in the Scandinavian country at 200. Sapo has previously said that about 300 people from Sweden are known to have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join IS since 2012. Around 140 have returned to Sweden and about 50 are said to have died abroad. Jihadists or sympathisers from Sweden have been linked to several terrorist attacks in recent years, as a Swedish national, Osama Krayem, has been charged with terrorist murders over the 2016 Brussels metro bombing.

Hamas Delegation Visits Egypt
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 03/17Ramallah– A delegation of senior Hamas officials left to Egypt on Sunday as Hamas continues its contacts with the Egyptian government regarding bilateral relations, as well as the electricity crisis in Gaza. The delegation is headed by Rohi Mushtaha, a member of the Hamas political bureau and close to Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar, and includes 12 members representing Hamas ministries in Gaza, including the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Finance, the Public Works Ministry, the Economy Ministry and the Energy Authority. Secretary-General of the Government Administrative Committee in Gaza, Osama Saad, said that the delegation went to Egypt to discuss the implementation of the recent understandings with Egyptian officials. Saad also said that Hamas will discuss issues related to border security, the Rafah crossing, the electricity crisis, fuel and other matters. Sources informed Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the Hamas delegation headed to Egypt to discuss mechanism of establishing the agreements between the two borders, primarily border security, the buffer zone, Rafah crossing, the electricity crisis, fuel and other matters. In addition, parties will discuss the agreements reached between Hamas and dismissed Fatah commander Mohammed Dahlan. Palestinian authority isn’t informed about the talks or the talks between Hamas and Dahlan, according to sources.The authority isn’t against any help granted to Gaza, but it is not satisfied with the way Egypt had dealt with Hamas without any coordination with the authority. Officials believe that it was better if talks focused on maintaining unity and ending the division. Yihya al-Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in Gaza, visited Cairo last month in an attempt to reach an agreement with the Egyptian government on easing the restrictions it imposes on Gaza. The talks focused on relations with Egypt, the difficult living conditions in Gaza and Palestinian political issues.
During its visit, the delegation held meetings with Dahlan and the two parties reached arrangements to deal with the strip’s crisis, according to Hamas and Dahlan movement officials. Last week, Egypt allowed the crossing of vehicles loaded with fuel to the Gaza strip for operating the electricity station and resolving power cut crisis. Earlier, authority refused any Arab attempts to bring Dahlan back which strained the relations further more. Hamas is asking Egypt for materials to complete the buffer zone including barbed wire, cameras, lighting, and heavy equipment to demolish the tunnels. The first phase would include paving the 12-kilometer borderline and setting up surveillance cameras, control towers and a light system. The buffer zone would be of a 100-meter depth and would be a closed military zone. Hamas reassured that these measures are to contribute in border security saying: “Egypt’s national security is Palestine’s national security.”“We would not tolerate any threat to the stable security situation on the southern border,” the Hamas official added. Relations between Hamas and Egypt witnessed a positive shift in the last few months especially after the movement dissociated itself from Muslim Brotherhood.

Sisi Calls for Taking Firm Stance Against Countries Sponsoring Terrorism
Asharq Al-Awsat/July 03/17/Cairo- President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on the international community to adopt a firm stance against countries that fund terrorist groups, equip them with weapons and militants and provide them with political and media support. The Egyptian President made this remark during a meeting with a delegation of US Congressmen led by Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe Senator Roger Wicker. Sisi urged the international community to launch an effective strategy to combat terrorism in the presence of Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri and members of the Congress from both Republic and Democratic parties. Notably, Egypt accuses Qatar of supporting terrorist groups in the Middle East region, and it has severed along with other countries strategic relations with Qatar. The meeting also tackled the latest regional developments and ways to handle crises in Libya and Syria, Presidential Spokesman Alaa Youssef said in a statement on Sunday. Sisi briefed the US Congress delegation on Egypt’s vision, which underlines the importance of maintaining sovereignty and unity of crisis-hit states so that regional stability could be maintained, Youssef added.
Also, the president called for stepping up international efforts aiming at reaching political settlements and forging ahead with the reconstruction process in the crises-hit countries, Youssef noted. “The current challenges require Egypt and the US to boost bilateral cooperation at all levels, which in turn help achieve the two countries’ interests,” Youssef quoted President Sisi as saying. With regard to the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, Sisi stressed the importance of continuing Egypt’s efforts to hammer out a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state principle and the resolutions of international legitimacy, according to the spokesman. For their part, members of the US delegation expressed their support for all efforts meant to foster and develop bilateral ties in different fields. The US lawmakers welcomed the great momentum in strategic relations between the US and Egypt.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on July 03-04/17
As Mosul battle nears end, Iraqi Christians wary of return
Wassim Bassem/TranslatorSahar Ghoussoub/Al Monitor/July 03/17
BAGHDAD — With the liberation of most of the city of Mosul in northern Iraq from the clutches of the Islamic State (IS), which took control of the city in June 2014, some of the displaced Christians began returning home. However, many Christians refuse to return, preferring to remain in the Kurdistan Region, Baghdad or abroad, for fear of suffering the same fate of displacement and captivity once again.
Despite the liberation of the Ninevah Plains, very few Iraqi Christians have returned to their historical homeland, while the majority of them refuse to return due to security concerns.
Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad Louis Raphael Sako voiced concerns about the Christians’ return June 18, saying in a press statement, “We have security concerns after the liberation of the land.”
On Oct. 28, 2016, Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil Rabban al-Qas said, “Christians prefer staying in Kurdistan rather than returning.” However, over the past few months, several Christian clerics have been calling for the return of Christians to the Ninevah Plains.
According to a field investigation in early 2017, after the liberation of the Ninevah Plains, many Christians were uncertain about going back.
“However, this does not mean that some of them are ready to return no matter the situation and the conditions,” priest Yaacoub al-Bartali told Al-Monitor. “I am longing to return to the city of Bartala in the Ninevah Plains. But strong sentiments are not a sufficient drive to return as I still fear IS and the extremist forces that might seek revenge.”
He added, “The most important thing that the Christians have lost in their forced migration is not property and land, but the trust in the sons and daughters of neighboring Sunni Arab areas and villages, who have joined IS.”
He noted, “Some promises made by ecclesiastical organizations and the government have yet to see the light. If it weren’t for the meager aid of humanitarian organizations, those who live in Mosul today would not have survived.”
This appeared clearly through the opinions expressed by Christians living outside the country. Ayad Kule, a young Iraqi who was displaced in 2014 to the Netherlands, told Al-Monitor via Facebook, “Returning to Mosul is difficult in light of new social conditions. Many of my neighbors chose to side with IS based on an ideological conviction. I'm working now, and my return to Mosul means I would lose my job.”
He added, “Iraqis living outside Iraq — including non-Christians — refuse to return even to the areas where security is stable, such as Baghdad and the central and southern regions, let alone Christians.”
Since 2003, many Christians have left Iraq, which reduced the number of this community inside the country with about 50%, to 1 million.
“Faced with the dilemma of refusing to return, projects and solutions that transcend the financial aspect to social and cultural plans are necessary," Luis Caro, a Christian member of parliament in Iraq, told Al-Monitor.
He said, “How is it possible that Christians return home while explosive devices are still planted in their areas. Christians must be informed that the security forces are able to protect them now. The situation is not the same as before when the withdrawal of security forces made them an easy prey for IS.”
He added, "Christians will be persuaded to return to Iraq if they receive a financial compensation to restore their destroyed homes and churches.”
Caro noted that job opportunities must be provided to those returning to Mosul and the Ninevah Plains. “This can be done quickly by recruiting an appropriate number of young Christians in the security forces and deploying them in their places of residence until the security situation is fully restored,” he said.
Perhaps this understanding is in line with the actions of Christian armed factions affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).
On Oct. 23, 2016, these factions raised the cross over the churches of the city of Bartala in the Ninevah Plains after its liberation, asserting that from now on they will defend their cities themselves.
In addition, there are those who believe that the return of the Christians is conditional on the establishment of a Christian province in the Ninevah Plains.
Nizar Abdel Sattar, a Christian Iraqi media figure and author, focused in his book “Yuliana” on the Christians of Iraq as an integral, deep-rooted part of Iraq and highlighted their suffering throughout history.
He told Al-Monitor, “The vast majority of Christians now find sanctuary and work in the Kurdish areas, Europe and the United States. They are very reluctant about returning home, given the absence of any guiding government actions. In general, the Christian community in Mosul is a rural community and Christians generally do not receive the adequate protection and assistance from the legislative and executive branches in Iraq. Therefore, the Christians’ return today depends on purely social efforts.”
Rayan al-Kildani, the secretary-general of the Christian movement Babylon Brigade affiliated with the PMU, told Al-Monitor, “The most important thing is to distance Christian areas from political and sectarian conflicts and ward off all forms of demographic changes.”
He added, “It is necessary to bring about a societal reconciliation that allows coexistence between nationalities and religions and heals the deep psychological scars left by the violent practices of forcing Christians to change their religion.”
It seems initiatives in this respect are being launched. On June 7, the youth of Mosul launched an initiative to encourage the return of the city's Christians by cleaning a number of churches and monasteries, while activists raised the largest cross in the city.
A document issued by the office of the governor of Ninevah on April 23 revealed the formation of a supreme committee tasked with stopping the confiscation of Christian homes in Mosul and giving them back to their rightful owners.
Thus, it is necessary to set the appropriate security, social and economic conditions in Christian areas before calling on Christians to return.

New UN Libya envoy faces long road to peace
Author Mustafa Fetouri/Al Monitor/July 03/17
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Ghassan Salame as his new special envoy to Libya and as the head of the UN mission in the country known as the UN Support Mission in Libya. His appointment came after months of searching for the right candidate.
Summary⎙ Print The newly appointed UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, must review all previous steps and policies his predecessors made to avoid repeating their mistakes as the war and chaos continue to weigh heavily on Libya.
In February, Guterres attempted to appoint Salam Fayyad, the former Palestinian prime minister. But the United States, a veto-holding UN Security Council member, objected to the appointment, accusing the international body of being “unfairly biased in favor of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel,” as the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, saw the matter then.
Salame’s task is not easy, and four of his predecessors have so far failed to deliver peace and reconciliation to the war-ravaged country.
Right after his first meeting with a group of Libyan politicians, before his appointment, Salame tweeted May 19, “Three days of meetings with Libyan leaders has been exhausting but I hope it will help the national reconciliation process” — indicating that he knows the difficulties facing him.
Salame is the second Lebanese to take the post after Tarek Mitri who tried his luck with the Libyans in 2012-14, before he was replaced by Bernardino Leon.
Salame’s predecessor, Martin Kobler, had failed to make the warring Libyan factions accept the UN-brokered peace agreement signed in Skhirat, Morocco, in December 2015. It was during Leon’s tenure that the breakthrough took place and the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) was signed. That agreement gave birth to the Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Fayez al-Sarraj. Since then and despite the shuttle diplomacy, nothing has been achieved and much remains to be done.
Since the toppling of its longtime leader, Moammar Gadhafi, on Oct. 20, 2011, Libya has been divided between two quarreling governments and dominated by dozens of armed militias. The country has seen little progress in terms of peace, national reconciliation and economic stability.
What Salame brings to the post is probably his experience being a former Lebanese minister who knows how difficult it is to make quarreling factions agree in the absence of serious national dialogue. In addition, he is a well-known Arab intellectual, academic and author. Before the UN job, he was founding dean of the School of International Affairs, part of the French prestigious Sciences Po think tank and university in Paris.
As the new UN envoy, he should carefully review previous UN efforts in Libya and identify what mistakes were made in tackling the Libyan crisis to avoid repeating them. One major error made by all previous UN diplomats has been the marginalization of two important potential political players: the supporters of the former regime who are a sizeable number in the tribally divided country, and the tribal fabric of the Libyan society, which can’t be sidelined for peace to have a chance.
Supporters of the former regime in exile are now organizing themselves to have Seif al-Islam, Gadhafi’s son, lead them as one group after the young Gadhafi was released from prison June 11. This brings a new dimension to the conflict, since it will be the first time a son of Gadhafi enters the political scene.
As for the tribal fabric of Libya, the majority of Libyan tribes are represented by a broad umbrella group called “The Supreme Council of Libyan Tribes and Cities” that operates from neighboring Egypt. In the past, tribes have been overlooked by all former UN envoys, a mistake Salame should not repeat.
Another major problem Salame must try to tackle is the outside interference in the Libyan affairs, particularly by regional countries. Such meddling in the internal affairs only contributed to heightened tensions, making the local small sporadic wars more of a proxy war between the United Arab Emirates and Egypt supporting the Tobruk-based government — while Turkey, Sudan and Qatar support other factions in western Libya. With Qatar on retreat, the new envoy might have more room to maneuver.
Salame should not attempt to open up the LPA for renegotiations as many parties call for the UN deal to be rewritten. In fact, what could be renegotiated is only a couple of articles related to the role of the military and downsizing the number of the Presidential Council from its current nine members to maybe three representing each of the country’s three regions: Tripolitania in the west, Cyrenaica in the east and Fezzan in the south.
Salame has good ties with France, which played a leading military role in bringing down Gadhafi’s regime in 2011 and has ever since been puzzled by the complicated mess Libya is in. He is well-known to French politicians and well-connected to decision-makers, which will help him align whatever plans he has hatched to the larger European Union ideas when it comes to tackling the Libya crisis.
He must make good use of the French veto power in the UN Security Council by making sure that those who disrupt the political process can and will be held accountable before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. A kind of carrot-and-stick tactic will certainly deter many negative moves.
UN Resolution 1973 of March 2011 still applies to Libya calling for the ICC to investigate suspected human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity. However, since 2011, no one has been investigated despite all the small wars and violence Libya has been through.
No UN envoy or mediator has any magic solution and Salame can only do so much. In the end, it is the quarreling Libyan factions that must chose peace if they care about their country and its people as much as they care about their own political interests.

Iran: Regime Change is Within Reach
John R. Bolton/Gatestone Institute/July 03/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10620/iran-regime-change
The following is a transcript of Ambassador John Bolton's speech to the Grand Gathering of Iranians for Free Iran, on July 1, 2017.
It's a great pleasure and an honor to be with you again here today. I must say, we come at a time of really extraordinary events in the United States that the distinguish today from the circumstances one year ago. Contrary to what virtually every political commentator said, contrary to what almost every public opinion poll said, contrary to what many people said around the world, Barack Obama's first Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is not the president of the United States.
So for the first time in at least eight years that I've been coming to this event, I can say that we have a president of the United States who is completely and totally opposed to the regime in Tehran. This is the true feeling of the president, and he's made it very clear -- he made it clear during the election campaign last year, he's made it clear numerous statements and even in tweets since then; he completely opposes the Iran nuclear deal signed by his predecessor.
Now, there is underway, as there often is in a new American administration, a policy review to determine what US policy will be on a whole range of issues, including how to deal with the regime in Tehran. But even as that review goes on, Congress is moving, with what for Congress is great speed, to enact new economic sanctions legislation against the regime in Iran. These sanctions, when they are put in place, will be because of the regime's suppression of its own people, and because of their continued support for terrorism around the world -- they will not be related to the nuclear issue, although the regime in Tehran has said if these sanctions are enacted into law, they will consider it a breach of the agreement.
Well, that's nothing new, since the regime has been in breach of the agreement for two straight years. And it's also it's also critical, as we look at this policy review, to understand what we want the outcome to be and what, in the United States, many of us are working toward. The outcome of the president's policy review should be to determine that the Ayatollah Khomeini's 1979 revolution will not last until its 40th birthday.
The fact is that the Tehran regime is the central problem in the Middle East. There's no fundamental difference between the Ayatollah Khamenei and President Rouhani -- they're two sides of the same coin. I remember when Rouhani was the regime's chief nuclear negotiator -- you couldn't trust him then; you can't trust him today. And it's clear that the regime's behavior is only getting worse: Their continued violations of the agreement, their work with North Korea on nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, only continues to grow.
And let's be clear: Even if somebody were to say to you that the regime is in full compliance with the nuclear deal, it doesn't make any difference. North Korea is already perilously close to the point where they can miniaturize a nuclear weapon, put it on an intercontinental ballistic missile, and hit targets in the United States. And the day after North Korea has that capability, the regime in Tehran will have it as well, simply by signing a check. That's what proliferation is, that's what the threat's about, and that's why Donald Trump's views on North Korea are so similar to his views on the regime in Tehran.
But in the region as well, we face a very, very dangerous point. As the campaign to destroy the ISIS Caliphate nears its ultimately successful conclusion, we must avoid allowing the regime in Tehran to achieve its long-sought objective of an arc of control from Iran, through the Baghdad government in Iraq, the Assad regime in Syria, and the Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon -- an arc of control, which if it's allowed to form, will simply be the foundation for the next grave conflict in the Middle East. The regime in Tehran is not merely a nuclear-weapons threat; it's not merely a terrorist threat; it is a conventional threat to everybody in the region who simply seeks to live in peace and security.
The regime has failed internationally. It has failed domestically, in economics and politics -- indeed its time of weakening is only accelerating, and that's why the changed circumstances in the United States, I think, throughout Europe and here today, are so important.
There is a viable opposition to the rule of the ayatollahs, and that opposition is centered in this room today. I had said for over 10 years since coming to these events, that the declared policy of the United States of America should be the overthrow of the mullahs' regime in Tehran. The behavior and the objectives of the regime are not going to change, and therefore the only solution is to change the regime itself. And that's why, before 2019, we here will celebrate in Tehran! Thank you very much.
**John R. Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, is Chairman of Gatestone Institute, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and author of "Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad".
© 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.

Palestinians: Mohammad Dahlan, the New Mayor of the Gaza Strip?
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/July 03/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10614/mohammad-dahlan-gaza
Dahlan will be functioning under the watchful eye of Hamas, which will remain the real de facto and unchallenged ruler of the Gaza Strip. Hamas is willing to allow Dahlan to return to the Palestinian political scene through the Gaza Strip window. But he will be on a very short leash.
Dahlan's presence in the Gaza Strip will not deter Hamas from continuing with its preparations for another war with Israel.
Dahlan will find himself playing the role of fundraiser for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip while Hamas hides behind his formidable political shoulders.
Mohammed Dahlan is an aspiring Palestinian with huge political ambitions. Specifically, he hopes to succeed Mahmoud Abbas as president of the Palestinian Authority (PA). Knowing this, Abbas expelled him from the ruling Fatah faction in 2011. Since then, Dahlan has been living in the United Arab Emirates.
Hamas, the Islamist movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip for the past decade, used to consider Dahlan one of its fiercest enemies.
As commander of the notorious Preventive Security Service (PSS) in the Gaza Strip in the 1990s, Dahlan was personally responsible for the PA's security crackdown on Hamas. On his instructions, hundreds of Hamas activists were routinely targeted and detained.
The enmity was mutual; Dahlan too considered Hamas a major threat to him and the PA regime in the Gaza Strip.
Dahlan's contempt for Hamas knew no limits. On his orders, Hamas founder and spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin was placed under house arrest.
Two other senior Hamas officials, Mahmoud Zahar and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, were repeatedly detained and tortured by Dahlan's agents. At one point, Dahlan ordered his interrogators to shave the two men's beards as a way of humiliating them.
During and after its violent takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007, Hamas targeted Dahlan's PSS and loyalists. Some were killed or incarcerated, while many others were forced to flee the Gaza Strip to Egypt and the West Bank. For many years, Dahlan was at the top of Hamas's most wanted fugitives. No longer.
Erstwhile enemies, Dahlan and Hamas today have a common foe: Mahmoud Abbas. They seem about to join forces to repay him for the humiliation they have suffered at his hands.
Dahlan has long sought revenge for Abbas's decision to expel him from Fatah and prosecute him on charges of murder and embezzlement. Dahlan will never forgive Abbas for dispatching security officers to raid his Ramallah residence and confiscate documents and other equipment. On that day, Dahlan slunk out of Ramallah.
Dahlan found refuge in the United Arab Emirates, a wealthy Gulf country whose rulers seem very fond of him. He receives millions of dollars from his Gulf hosts. Until today, Abbas regards Dahlan, who was once an intimate associate, as his main enemy.
Exile has been good for Dahlan. Thanks to the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, Dahlan has amassed enough power and money to become a major player in the Palestinian arena.
In the past few years, he has succeeded in building bases of power in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, largely with the cash that he has been providing to his loyalists and others.
More importantly, Dahlan has succeeded in building a personal relationship with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who also seems rather partial to him. While this relationship has alienated Abbas, Hamas sees it as an opportunity to rid itself of its increased isolation in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas's predicament has been exacerbated by the continued Egyptian blockade on the Gaza Strip, specifically the closure of the Rafah border crossing, and a series of punitive measures taken by Abbas in recent weeks.
These measures, which are being described by Hamas as a "declaration of war" on the Gaza Strip, include refusing to pay for electricity that Israel supplies to the Gaza Strip, halting the shipment of medicine from the West Bank, denying permits to patients to leave the Gaza Strip for medical treatment, and cutting off salaries to thousands of PA and Hamas civil servants and former security prisoners (who had served time in Israeli prisons).
Dahlan is desperate to make a comeback to the Palestinian political scene. He is fed up with exile, far from his friends in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. He is also aware that the 82-year-old Abbas may be nearing his end, especially in light of rumors concerning his failing health.
Mohammed Dahlan addresses a political rally on January 7, 2007 in Gaza City. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images)
Dahlan also sees Hamas's desperation now that its main patron, Qatar, is facing massive pressure from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to cease funding the Islamist movement and its mother group, Muslim Brotherhood.
Hamas wants to hold on to power in the Gaza Strip at any cost, even if that means swallowing the poison pill of aligning itself with someone like Dahlan.
Hamas has no intention of changing its ideology or engaging in any peace process with Israel. It will not recognize Israel's right to exist or abandon the "armed struggle" to liberate all of Palestine, "from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River." The name of the game, as far as Hamas is considered, is survival.
Hamas fears that the continued Egyptian blockade and Abbas's draconian measures may undermine its rule over the Gaza Strip.
Even worse, Hamas fears that the pressure and sanctions could trigger a Palestinian "intifada" in the Gaza Strip. Hamas knows full well that the electricity crisis and lack of medicine is destined to explode in its face.
Hamas believes it has now found a way out of the crisis.
Ironically, yesterday's number one enemy, Dahlan, could prove to be the savior -- the very Dahlan who imprisoned and tortured and killed many Hamas members and leaders. The same Dahlan who, as a security commander in the Gaza Strip, was responsible for security coordination with the "Zionist enemy." The Dahlan who is one of the main byproducts and symbols of the Oslo Accords, which Hamas continues to reject to this day.
Last month, Hamas leaders traveled to Cairo for talks with Egyptian intelligence officials and representatives of Dahlan, on ways of ending the "humanitarian crisis" in the Gaza Strip. It was the first meeting of its kind between Dahlan's men and Hamas leaders.
Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official, disclosed that the two sides reached "understandings" over a number of issues, including the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, and allowing entry of medicine and fuel for the power plants in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas also reached an agreement with the Egyptians to build a security buffer zone along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, to stop the smuggling of weapons and the infiltration of terrorists. This week, Hamas bulldozers were already seen breaking ground along the border.
The unexpected rapprochement between Dahlan and Hamas has already resulted in the return of some of Dahlan's loyalists to the Gaza Strip. Now, everyone is waiting to see if and when Dahlan himself will be permitted to return to his home in the Gaza Strip.
Sources in the Gaza Strip believe that the countdown for Dahlan's return has begun. The sources also believe that he may be entrusted with serving as "prime minister" of a new government, while Hamas remains in charge of overall security in the Gaza Strip.
In fact, Hamas already has its own "administrative committee" that functions as a government.
Dahlan's role will be to help break the blockade on the Gaza Strip, attract Arab and Western funds, and improve living conditions and the economy.
Dahlan, in short, may be on his way to become Mayor of the Gaza Strip.
Already this week, there were signs that Dahlan may have already succeeded in convincing Hamas that he is indeed the long-awaited savior: Egyptians began dispatching trucks loaded with fuel to the Gaza Strip to help solve the electricity crisis. Moreover, the Egyptian authorities have expressed readiness to reopen the Rafah terminal.
The "understandings" reached between Dahlan and Hamas may help alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and pave the way for improving the economy. However, the biggest winner will be Hamas, which is not being required to make any meaningful concessions other than allowing Dahlan and his loyalists back into the Gaza Strip.
Dahlan will be functioning under the watchful eye of Hamas, which will remain the real de facto and unchallenged ruler of the Gaza Strip. Hamas is willing to allow Dahlan to return to the Palestinian political scene through the Gaza Strip window. But he will be on a very short leash.
Dahlan's presence in the Gaza Strip will not deter Hamas from continuing with its preparations for another war with Israel.
Hamas is not going to stop digging tunnels along the border with Israel for fear of Dahlan. He will likely enjoy extensive civilian powers, but security matters will remain in the hands of Hamas and its military wing, Ezaddin al-Qassam.
Dahlan will find himself playing the role of fundraiser for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip while Hamas hides behind his formidable political shoulders.
This new reality could buy quiet in the short term. In the long term, however, Hamas is likely to emerge as stronger and more prepared for the next war with Israel.
For Dahlan and Hamas, it's win-win. No wonder, then, that Abbas and his friends in the West Bank are angry and anxious.
The unholy alliance between Dahlan and Hamas, in their view, is nothing less than an attempt to establish a separate Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip.
The international audience might wish to take note: it is now official -- the division between the West Bank and Gaza Strip marks the end of the so-called two-state solution. On the Palestinian street, it appears that the Palestinians are closer than ever to achieving two separate entities of their own -- one that is run by Abbas's Palestinian Authority and another controlled by Hamas and Dahlan.
**Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist and television presence, 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.

Islamic Relief Fails a Whitewash
Samuel Westrop/Gatestone Institute/July 03/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10600/islamic-relief-whitewash
Even if the Canadian branch of Islamic Relief claims not to have directly funded these Hamas groups, its own accounts reveal grants of millions of dollars to its parent organization, Islamic Relief Worldwide, which oversees the movement of money to a number of Hamas fronts.
Islamic Relief branches also receive money from several terror-linked Middle Eastern charities, including those established by Sheikh al Zindani, whom the US government has designated a "Global Terrorist."
Islamic Relief did not much care for the exposé. Reyhana Patel, a senior figure at its Canadian branch, first persuaded the Post to bowdlerize the article by removing some of the sourced material and adding sentences in defense of Islamic Relief.
On May 20, a Muslim cleric, Nouman Ali Khan spoke at a fundraising event in Toronto for Islamic Relief, one of the largest Muslim charities in the world.
Khan preaches that prostitutes and pornographic actors are "filth" and that "you have to punish them ... They're not killed; they're whipped. And they're whipped a hundred times." Khan has also declared that God gives men "license" to beat unfaithful wives, and that Muslim women are committing a "crime" if they object to the religious text that he says permits this abuse.
Muslim cleric Nouman Ali Khan says that God gives men "license" to beat unfaithful wives, and that Muslim women are committing a "crime" if they object to the religious text that he says permits this abuse.
Before the event took place, this author had written about Khan and Islamic Relief in the National Post, with the help of colleagues at the Middle East Forum.
Islamic Relief did not much care for the exposé. Reyhana Patel, a senior figure at its Canadian branch, first persuaded the Post to bowdlerize the article by removing some of the sourced material and adding sentences in defense of Islamic Relief.
Patel then published in the Post a response that denounced our research as "false... one-sided and unsubstantiated."
Really? In a rather major failing, she failed even to address Nouman Ali Khan's presence at the Islamic Relief event.
Instead, she boasted of her own humanitarian goodness and attacked the Middle East Forum (MEF) as an "anti-Muslim think tank" that "uses some of its resources to paint a negative picture of Islam and Muslims." MEF has always, in fact, argued the very opposite. It believes that if radical Islam is the problem, then moderate Islam is the solution. This very maxim can be found in dozens of articles on its website. MEF supports a number of moderate Muslim groups working to challenge extremism, and encourages others to do the same.
It is old habit of Islamists to accuse anti-Islamist activists of being anti-Muslim, because it allows them misleadingly to conflate Islam and Islamism. That obfuscation severely inhibits the work of moderate Muslims trying to free their faith from the grip of these extremists.
Patel's only reference to the charges of Middle East Forum, in fact, appears to be a deliberate misquote. She writes that MEF "labelled Islamic Relief Canada a 'terrorist organization which regularly gives platforms to preachers who incite hatred against women, Jews, homosexuals and Muslim minorities.'" Islamic Relief does indeed regularly give platforms to such preachers -- Nouman Ali Khan is just one example in the weekly pattern of this charity and its branches across the world.
But MEF did not claim that Islamic Relief was a "terrorist organization." I wrote that it was "financially linked with a number of terrorist groups." Islamic Relief branches have, for example, indeed given money to several groups in Gaza linked to the designated terrorist group Hamas. These include the Al Falah Benevolent Society, which the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre describes as one of "Hamas's charitable societies." And even if the Canadian branch of Islamic Relief claims not to have directly funded these Hamas groups, its own accounts reveal grants of millions of dollars to its parent organization, Islamic Relief Worldwide, which oversees the movement of money to a number of Hamas fronts.
Islamic Relief branches also receives money from several terror-linked Middle Eastern charities, including those established by Sheikh al Zindani, whom the US government has designated a "Global Terrorist."
Although MEF believes that Islamic Relief is financially linked to terror, no one wrote that the charity itself is a terrorist organization. Others, however, are less circumspect. In 2014, the United Arab Emirates designated Islamic Relief as a terrorist organization. And in 2016, the banking giant HSBC shut down Islamic Relief's bank accounts in the United Kingdom "amid concerns that cash for aid could end up with terrorist groups abroad."
Perhaps Reyhana Patel hoped that by smearing the Middle East Forum, and telling her readers about her love of "diversity ... tolerance and inclusion," she could sell Islamic Relief as a force for good. The charity's regular promotion of hate preachers and financial links to terrorist groups, however, says otherwise.
And is Patel herself really so dedicated to supporting peace and tolerance? Her social media posts and a short-lived career as a journalist suggest not. Patel has a history, it seems, of attacking organizations that oppose religious extremism. In 2014, Patel wrote an article condemning Student Rights, an British organization that works to expose homophobia, racism and other forms of extremism on campus. Without seriously addressing the group's research, Patel described the organization as "sensationalist and misleading." Sound familiar?
Patel has also defended gender-segregation imposed by Muslim student groups at Britain's public universities, and then complained that Muslim women who oppose this misogynistic behavior "seem to want to discredit and deamonise [sic] me."
Further, Patel has expressed praise for Malia Bouattia, a prominent student activist in Britain whose anti-Semitism was the subject of national media coverage. In 2011, Bouattia condemned a university with a large Jewish population as a "Zionist outpost." In 2014, she opposed a motion at a student conference that condemned ISIS on the grounds that such condemnation was "Islamophobic." That same year, a British parliamentary report concluded that Bouattia was guilty of "outright racism."
If this is the company Reyhana Patel keeps, then perhaps Nouman Ali Khan's extremism is a perfect fit for Islamic Relief Canada.
Islamic Relief was designated a terrorist organization by a pious Muslim country. Western banks have closed its accounts over terrorism concerns, and, just last month, Britain's Charity Commission starting investigating the charity for hosting a preacher who justifies killing homosexuals.
The Islamic Relief franchise is a charitable front for extremism in the West. That it has managed to build a favorable reputation is testament to the careful doublespeak of its officials. Such duplicity should not be tolerated.
**Samuel Westrop is the Director of Islamist Watch, a project of 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.

America Obsesses About a Russia That Misses the ’70s
Noah Smith/Bloomberg/July 03/17
Americans are seeing lots of stories about Russia in the news these days, mainly because of that country’s attempts to interfere in the US presidential election and other episodes of meddling in other nations’ affairs. This has led many Americans to believe that Russia is the US’s main global rival, and that its president, Vladimir Putin, is some kind of a genius. But a closer look reveals that in the economic arena, Putin hasn’t done so well. While he has managed to avoid an outright crisis, he’s done little to address his country’s fundamental economic liabilities.
For example, Russia’s economic growth has stalled since about 2012. But although income has stagnated, the gains of the 2000s haven’t been reversed — there has been no return to the dysfunction of the 1980s and 1990s. Part of this is due to prudent macroeconomic management. As the economy weakened, Russia let the ruble fall starting in 2014, though the currency has had a good deal of volatility since then.
But through skillful use of informal capital controls and judicious devaluations of the ruble, Putin and his administration managed to prevent a currency crisis without depleting the country’s stock of foreign-exchange reserves.
So while things aren’t looking rosy for Russia, they aren’t dire either — good macroeconomic management has afforded Russia a modicum of stability even in the face of low oil prices.
Still, Russia’s leaders shouldn’t become complacent. In the past, periods of stability have masked structural rot that later came back to bite. Long-term trends contain reason for Russia to worry.
One problem is creeping state control of the economy. A recent policy brief by Simeon Djankov of the Peterson Institute for International Economics reveals the extent to which Russia’s economy has been re-nationalized after the chaos of the 1990s.
While in 2005 the share of private commercial banks in total [Russian] assets was nearly 70 percent, by 2015 it had shrunk to half that percentage…By mid-2015, about 55 percent of the Russian economy was in state hands, with 20 million workers directly employed by the government.
Djankov attributes some of this change to the sanctions the US and Europe placed on Russia after its intervention in Ukraine — deprived of Western financing, many Russian companies turned to the government. But whatever the reasons, the shift toward government industries is bad news. State-owned enterprises tend to have serious corporate governance problems — inadequate transparency, political cronyism and lack of discipline from financial markets. Despite some improvements, Russia’s state-owned companies are still much less productive than its private enterprises.
Russia’s second main problem is excessive reliance on fossil-fuel extraction. As Bloomberg View’s Leonid Bershidsky has reported, about two-thirds of Russia’s exports now come from oil and gas, and some analysts argue that 70 percent of the country’s entire economy is oil-related.
That’s bad for several reasons. First, it creates huge macroeconomic risk — when oil prices fall, Russia’s economy staggers. Oil prices are traditionally very volatile. Having an entire economy depend on something as fickle as global oil prices puts Russia in constant danger. The country’s decline in per-capita gross domestic product in 2015 was probably caused by the plunge in oil prices. And with natural gas rapidly transforming into a global market, its price will also be increasingly determined by factors beyond Russia’s control.
But if short-term risk is a problem, long-term technological change is an even bigger risk. Rapid development in car batteries, combined with the advent of renewable energy, threaten to make Russia’s main commodities less and less central to the world economy. Oil has enjoyed a long reign as a transportation fuel with no real substitutes, but the next decade may see that run of luck come to an end. This is why countries like Saudi Arabia are so keen to diversify their economies.
The long-term threats of economic nationalization and oil dependence should worry Russian leaders. They are uncomfortably reminiscent of the 1970s, when Leonid Brezhnev ruled over a Soviet Union that was outwardly strong but sclerotic and stagnant at its core.
In the 1970s, as today, Russia appeared very formidable on the international stage. The U.S.’s loss in Vietnam weakened its main rival, and high oil prices, caused in part by the Arab oil embargo and the rise of OPEC, hobbled the economies of the West while sending Soviet GDP steadily higher. Soviet influence is generally believed to have hit a high point in that decade. But economic evidence shows that in the 1970s, Russian industrial productivity stopped rising. When oil prices fell in the 1980s, Soviet leaders were not prepared for the shock.
Putin has praised Brezhnev’s leadership, but he should see the 1970s as a warning. Victories abroad, and the troubles suffered by the US, shouldn’t distract him or his administration from the need to put the economy on a stronger long-term footing. Reducing the twin trends of economic nationalization and oil dependence should be top priorities.

Baghdadi Was Here
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al AWsat/July 03/17
The world has remembered three men this week. They come from different continents, different professions, and divergent interests.
In the first scene, leaders from around the world gathered at the European Parliament headquarters in Strasbourg, around the coffin of late German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
An exceptional tribute to an exceptional leader, as if the Europeans wanted their people to contemplate extensively the path of that man; the chancellor, who seized the historic opportunity to serve his country, his continent, and the world.
Kohl grabbed the moment when the Berlin wall collapsed and the Soviet Union was dissolved to achieve Germany’s reunification without a bullet or a drop of blood. That was enough for the man to enter History. But what he did was far more important. He placed the German drive at the service of the European cohesion and he deserved to be described as a “great German and a great European.”
Leaders from France, Britain, and the United States and from all over the world gathered around Kohl’s coffin. The tall chancellor succeeded in persuading the Europeans that a unified Germany would not return to the policies of belligerence and aggression. He also achieved a harder task. He convinced the Germans to relinquish the last great general in their history – the Mark – thus opening the door to the establishment of the single European currency.
Germany can say that ‘Kohl was here’ and left his mark on Germany. He led the country to unity, prosperity and future partnerships.
The second scene: another man whom the world has remembered. He is Steve Jobs, the late chairman and CEO of Apple. Ten years ago, the man offered the world a “revolutionary mobile phone” and a “supernatural Internet connection device.” On that day, the world has received the iPhone, which revolutionized the lives of hundreds of millions of people worldwide.
Steve Jobs left his mark on our days: a small device in your pocket that changes your relationship with the world, in terms of communication, messaging, photos, business and entertainment, as well as a terrible exchange of information and scenes; as if you carry in your pocket a strong force that gives you access to knowledge and connects you to others and to present and future generations.
Jobs has also changed the lives of journalists. He made of each device-holder a journalist, who takes photos, makes comments, and transmits. We, residents of the old castles of the written press, did not have the choice but to change our lives, styles, and uniforms in order to survive, and to avoid being regarded as aging horses.
Jobs, also, was here. The world remembered his famous saying: “Live each day as if it was your last”. He lifted the torch and lit the road. He was a fierce warrior fighting with science, competition, and progress. Jobs is a pride to our History.
The third scene: we are in the horrific Middle East and we have different schedules. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi announced the fall of the so-called “ISIS-caliphate”, three years after its declaration. The victory is important and necessary, and a benefit to Iraq, the Arab region, and the whole world. History must acknowledge that the Iraqi Army has offered great sacrifices to bring down the terrorist scheme, which has spread its cancers in every direction.
The Iraqi army has erased from the memory the scandal of June 10, 2014, when entire parts of it collapsed in and around Mosul while fighting ISIS, which captured a full arsenal of American weapons left behind by the defeated units.
The world has remembered a man called Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Iraq, the region, and the world have paid a heavy price for the man’s exploits in Mosul. One can say that the three years have produced a river of widows and orphans and a sea of refugees.
There is a far distance between the route taken by Steve Jobs – of a Syrian father – which led him to Apple and other major achievements, and the path taken by Baghdadi, which led him to ISIS.
Jobs was looking to improve living conditions and progress, while Baghdadi was using Jobs’ achievements to transmit images of slaughter, bombing, and destruction or to manage relations with the “lone wolves”, who were assigned with striking the stability of world capitals.
Apple’s revenues have been used for development, research and the increase of creative capabilities, while ISIS’ revenues were used to commit more invasions and woes.
It is strange that the blind warrior has turned – perhaps without knowing – into an ally of those who claimed to be his enemies. Baghdadi did not save Iraq but contributed to its partition.
He targeted the Kurds, who shed blood to defend their territory and “disputed areas”. They had an increased desire to move away from Baghdad, its policies and its wars.
ISIS has instigated strife between the Sunnis and the Shiites. Baghdadi pretended to be defending the Sunnis, while they were the ones who have incurred the major calamities. He didn’t kill others, but he killed them.
The rise of ISIS has prompted Shiite Cleric Ayatollah Sistani to issue a fatwa authorizing the bearing of arms. Tehran was quick to grab the opportunity. It made Shiite fighters part of the “mobilization forces” and succeeded in giving them a legitimate cover as a prelude to transforming them into a “Revolutionary Guard-style army.”
The rise of ISIS has given General Qassem Soleimani the opportunity to move freely in Anbar, with all the consequences that would affect the Iraqi components.
ISIS has also caused the return of American soldiers to the ground, and US and non-US fighters into the air.
The rise of ISIS in Syria was not less burdensome. It has assassinated the Syrian uprising and distracted the world from the cruelty of “barrels”.
The exploitation of foreign fighters of the Syrian territories has also justified Iran’s intervention through multinational militias.
ISIS’ practices were also a golden opportunity for the Caesar, who was waiting for the right moment. Under the pretext of fighting ISIS, Russia intervened militarily and punished the Syrian opposition before punishing the Baghdadi regime.
How far is the distance between the European farewell to Kohl and our torn and shaky maps! How far is the distance between the dreams of Apple and the practices of ISIS! It is the horrific Middle East. Jobs’ father escaped it early on. However, Baghdadi was here.

Celebrating the True Meaning of Politics on July 4th
JONATHAN BERNSTEIN/Bloomberg/July 03/17
It’s time for July 4th, otherwise known as Independence Day. It’s one of my favorite holidays for all the reasons you’d suspect: flags, patriotic songs, and fireworks. But I’m uneasy with the trend towards making the US military might the centerpiece of the occasion.
Without reservations, I’m all for the post-Vietnam agreement that we’ll all appreciate the troops regardless of how we feel about the wars they fight. But we have two national holidays for those who fought. That’s appropriate, but it’s also sufficient.
July 4th should be a celebration of the one thing that really makes the United States of America an exceptional nation. That’s politics.
The United States began as an experiment in politics, with a founding document declaring us dedicated (as Lincoln said) not to a patch of land, a religion, an ethnicity, or a culture, but to a proposition: that “all men are created equal.” The revolution was completed by a constitution which institutionalized politics, including participation by ordinary citizens. It’s not an exaggeration to say that for the framers, the ability to take part in politics was the whole point of establishing the nation.
We shy away from that idea now, for many completely understandable reasons. For many, “politics” is now associated with the very worst of our nation’s culture, rather than with our basic ability to collectively decide how we want to organize American life. We may be getting better at granting immortality to the revolutionary generation, but we’re worse at doing so for twentieth century heroes.
And yet: We still get involved in politics, conservatives and liberals, generation after generation, whether it’s Tea Party or #Resistance, ad hoc demonstrations organized over the latest app or legacy organized groups that have been around since before telephones and telegraphs were widespread. And while it’s fair to be concerned about the effects of amateurism, the impulse to get involved and do something about whatever one thinks is wrong is exactly what the nation was structured to accommodate.
Take time to appreciate the citizens who flood the Capitol switchboard with phone calls when an important bill is being considered, who show up for rallies wearing silly hats (whether they’re Tea Party tricorns or anti-Trump), and who line up for town hall meetings, at least when politicians are willing to show up in their districts. Honor the courage of those standing up to speak in a meeting for the first time, whether they’re 15 years old or 85.
It’s time for July 4th, otherwise known as Independence Day. It’s one of my favorite holidays for all the reasons you’d suspect: flags, patriotic songs, and fireworks. But I’m uneasy with the trend towards making the US military might the centerpiece of the occasion.
Without reservations, I’m all for the post-Vietnam agreement that we’ll all appreciate the troops regardless of how we feel about the wars they fight. But we have two national holidays for those who fought. That’s appropriate, but it’s also sufficient.
July 4th should be a celebration of the one thing that really makes the United States of America an exceptional nation. That’s politics.
The United States began as an experiment in politics, with a founding document declaring us dedicated (as Lincoln said) not to a patch of land, a religion, an ethnicity, or a culture, but to a proposition: that “all men are created equal.” The revolution was completed by a constitution which institutionalized politics, including participation by ordinary citizens. It’s not an exaggeration to say that for the framers, the ability to take part in politics was the whole point of establishing the nation.
We shy away from that idea now, for many completely understandable reasons. For many, “politics” is now associated with the very worst of our nation’s culture, rather than with our basic ability to collectively decide how we want to organize American life. We may be getting better at granting immortality to the revolutionary generation, but we’re worse at doing so for twentieth century heroes.
And yet: We still get involved in politics, conservatives and liberals, generation after generation, whether it’s Tea Party or #Resistance, ad hoc demonstrations organized over the latest app or legacy organized groups that have been around since before telephones and telegraphs were widespread. And while it’s fair to be concerned about the effects of amateurism, the impulse to get involved and do something about whatever one thinks is wrong is exactly what the nation was structured to accommodate.
So this year on the Fourth take time to celebrate political participation and those who get involved, whether out of self-interest or public spirit. Honor the people who form interest groups and lobby their city councils, state legislatures, and members of Congress. The business folks who join the Chamber of Commerce, the workers who join unions, and everyone else who does more than sit at home and gripe about it.
Take time to appreciate the citizens who flood the Capitol switchboard with phone calls when an important bill is being considered, who show up for rallies wearing silly hats (whether they’re Tea Party tricorns or anti-Trump pussyhats), and who line up for town hall meetings, at least when politicians are willing to show up in their districts. Honor the courage of those standing up to speak in a meeting for the first time, whether they’re 15 years old or 85.
And yes, it’s also an opportunity to remember that democracy wouldn’t work well without the party hacks: The people who stuff envelopes and hang door signs; who sit at voter registration tables; the precinct committeepeople who still, in many places, walk their neighborhoods and get to know their voters.
The US political system cannot work without politicians. But there’s no point to it working without citizens who take advantage of way the republic functions and actually get involved in politics beyond just voting every two or four years.
No, political participation isn’t for everyone, and one of the virtues of the democratic system is that it is supposed to protect the rights of even those who don’t do politics.
But democracy, especially the US variety, also means giving the opportunity to meaningfully participate in collective decision-making to anyone who wants to get involved.

America And The New Travel Ban Rules
Noah Feldman/Bloomberg/July 03/17
President Donald Trump’s administration has issued guidelines through the State Department for who will be exempt from the travel ban from six majority Muslim countries, which the US Supreme Court allowed Monday to partly go into effect. The guidelines are highly arbitrary in defining what counts as a family relationship that merits exemption. For example, your mother-in-law is close enough to come into the US, but not your grandmother, a blood relative without whom you wouldn’t exist.
That’s because the Trump administration wants to keep out as many people as it can. But it’s also the result of the Supreme Court’s decision, which created a brand new legal category of “bona fide relationship” while defining it only in connection with the plaintiffs in the case. The result will be practical difficulties as well as more litigation in the months before the justices directly address the legality of the ban.
When the justices ruled on the ban this week, they sought to craft a compromise that would preserve the temporary restrictions on the ban put in place by the lower courts while simultaneously allowing Trump to declare victory, as he in fact did.
The centerpiece of the compromise was that the travel ban would not apply to foreign nationals seeking admission to the US who have a “bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”
The court made up this category out of whole cloth. That’s allowed because the court has wide latitude to craft remedies when it is deciding on what will happen while litigation is pending. It’s exercising what is called “equitable discretion,” a legal phrase with roots in an old English legal distinction between strict law and flexible equity. When courts do equity rather than law, they don’t have to follow rules laid down in precedent or statute. They can weigh competing considerations and make up a rule to fit the specific case.
The upside of equity is that it’s flexible. The downside is that when courts make up new rules, those rules have to be applied by government officials who lack detailed guidance.
The justices told the Trump administration that there were two kinds of “bona fide relationships” that it must consider. The first was what the court called “close familial relationships,” which is said were “required.”
The court didn’t say much more than that about what counts as close. Its only examples were two of the original plaintiffs on the challenge to the ban: Ismail Elshikh, who sought to bring his mother-in-law to the US from Syria, and the unnamed plaintiff “John Doe,” who wants to bring his wife from Iran. The court wrote: “A foreign national who wishes to enter the United States to live with or visit a family member, like Doe’s wife or Dr. Elshikh’s mother-in-law, clearly has such a relationship.”
As a result of the Elshikh example, the Trump administration had no choice but to include parents-in-law and sons- and daughters-in-law in its guidelines. It also logically had to count children and siblings, who are closer than in-laws. And it made the choice to count “half” relationships including “step relationships.”
But the administration excluded grandparents and grandchildren, uncles and aunts, nieces and nephews, as well as unmarried partners, even when they are engaged.
It’s truly arbitrary to say your grandmother is not as a close a relative as your mother-in-law. Ditto your uncle.
It’s not that Trump likes his in-laws more than his grandparents. This arbitrariness is a direct product of the court’s mention of Elshikh’s mother-in-law. If he had been trying to get his grandmother in, grandparents would now be allowed — and I bet in-laws would have been out.
The Trump administration is trying to be as exclusionary as possible without violating the letter of the Supreme Court’s opinion.
Expect litigation over the grandmother issue — starting as soon as today.
Another potential legal issue is that none of the six countries has same-sex marriage, so the rule as written effectively discriminates against gay partners.
The Supreme Court may never rule on the arbitrariness issue. Its “close familial relationships” rule is only supposed to remain in place until the court addresses the merits of the travel ban in the fall. It may prefer to let the lower courts sort it out. In the meantime, the anti-grandmothers rule stands as a testament to the Trump administration’s grudging attitude toward immigrants — and the limits of the court’s equitable approach to compromise in this case.

Gulf demands fulfilled even before Qatar accepted them
Sawsan Al Shaer/Al Arabiya/July 03/17
What if Qatar does not meet Gulf demands and insists on continuing the Hamad bin Khalifa project that aims to topple Arab countries and divide them?
The current situation shows that the countries, which boycotted Qatar, have had a large chunk of their demands met without Qatar responding to them as Doha before the boycott is not like Doha after the boycott.
The boycotting countries’ shifted media coverage of Qatar for the first time and revealed its links to terrorism. This limited Doha’s activities as they have restrained the tools Qatar used to implement its project.
Qatar has succeeded in keeping its project secret as it has a spotlight, such as Al-Jazeera channel, that obscures vision in its surrounding and sheds light outside it. However, for the first time ever, anyone who even sneezes in Qatar finds himself before a fierce campaign launched by media outlets in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and by the latter’s citizens via social media networks.
This is something that Al Jazeera and its affiliates are not used to as they were the only ones which adopted a populist rhetoric. Al Jazeera and all the television channels, which Qatar spent billions on thus lost their popularity and strong influence without Qatar even shutting them down, and they’ve now shifted to defending themselves after they served as a tool for attacking others.
Qatar must keep in mind that the boycotting countries will not lose with time as time is on their side. If Doha listens to the voice of reason, it will do so in dignity but if it refuses, nothing will change for us
The international community
The boycotting countries succeeded in highlighting the situation to the international community and not just to the Gulf community. They revealed how Qatar supports terrorist organizations and figures either inside Qatar or in other countries such as Turkey and Britain. Exposing Qatar’s ties with these organizations fell within the context of combating terrorism.
The boycotting countries have utilized their network of international relations to monitor these organizations’ and figures’ activity and broadcast it to the entire world shall they make a move or issue a statement. This limited their activity and also infiltrated their bank accounts and exposed the ties between them and Qatar. All this will make their work difficult as they will have to make unprecedented efforts to disguise.
The boycotting countries also brought up an issue, which the Qatari people have been kept away from for years. Who hijacked the decision making process from them and who benefits from isolating them from their surrounding and threatening their security and stability while they enjoy security and use their money?
How do Qataris benefit from funding fighting militias in Libya and Tunisia? How do they benefit from fueling the conflict in Egypt? What do Qataris get from its leaders’ relations with terrorists in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia? Everyone now knows who prevents ending the boycott. It is the same people who prevent the Qatari people from returning to their brothers in the Gulf and prevent opening borders.
They are the decision makers in Qatar, which has been exposed by the recent boycott as it shed light on them for the first time inside Qatar. The boycott has revealed they are enemies of the Qatari people sucking their blood and exploiting their riches, while not one of them is Qatari.
Qatar’s modesty
More importantly, the boycotting countries succeeded in bringing Qatar back to its normal geographical, historical and political size. It would not have shamed Qatar if it had realized its worth. On the contrary, Qatar’s modesty would have increased its worth but punching above its weight harmed others and it has now backfired on Qatar, which is back to its normal political size. For the first time ever, the Qatari command is going through what it put Arab leaders through in the past 20 years.
It is being mocked and ridiculed while everyone is on the lookout for any mistake. It got a taste of its own medicine in less than a month. It finally realized that silence over its practices was not due to weakness but out of sense of superiority. Qatar has realized that political weight does not improve by insulting others but improves when leaders play honest roles of kindness and love to achieve peace.
Qatar learnt what its real geographic size is and realized it would not have shamed it either as there are smaller countries which, thanks to their relations with their surroundings, provided themselves with a geographic extension that helped them be more efficient and developed.
These were the tools used to execute the Hamad bin Khalifa project but the boycotting countries have negated their effects even before Qatar announced abandoning them. Not ending the boycott and escalating it in case Qatar insists to resume these policies will eliminate these tools once and for all especially after the deception that Qatar resorted to during negotiations have been exposed as it never upheld its commitments.
Qatar must keep in mind that the boycotting countries will not lose with time as time is on their side. If Doha listens to the voice of reason and returns to the Gulf fold, it will do so in dignity but if it refuses, nothing will change for us.