LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
June 09/17

Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations For Today
The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 14/08-14/:"Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

You killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses
Acts of the Apostles 03/11-21/:"While he clung to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly astonished. When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. ‘And now, friends, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 08-09/17
Aounists In Diaspora: Denial, confusion and Grandiose Delusions/Elias Bejjani/June 07/17
Is Harriri`s Visit to Saudi Arabia actually for Umra Rituals/François Bainy/Face Book/June 08/17
Lebanese Diplomatic and Special Passports are under investigation/François Bainy/Face Book/June 07/17
A Measured Response to Bishop George Browning and Others Interested in the Palestinians/
Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/June 08/17
History, Precedent and Comey Statement Show that Trump Did Not Obstruct Justice/Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/June 08/17
Qatar Isn’t Castro’s Cuba/Ghassan Charbel/ASharq Al Awsat/June 08/17
Palestinians: Crocodile Tears and Terrorism/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/June 08/17
How the UK media helps promote terrorism/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/June 08/17
Qatar, when the bliss becomes a curse/Radwan al-Sayed/Al Arabiya/June 08/17

Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 08-09/17
Aounists In Diaspora: Denial, confusion and Grandiose Delusions
Is Harriri`s Visit to Saudi Arabia actually for Umra Rituals
Lebanese Diplomatic and Special Passports are under investigation
Associates of Hamoush's Suspected Killer Held as Young Man Laid to Rest
Qaouq: New Electoral Law Only Way to Rescue Lebanon, Hizbullah Seeking to Resolve Obstacles
New Ideas to 'Rescue 15-District Law' as Four-Party Meetings Resumed
Army Arrests Abdullah Azzam Brigades Member Wanted on Multiple Charges
U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Sees 'Sustained Solidarity' with Lebanon but Urges More Funds
Lassen Inaugurates EU-Funded Premises in Tripoli's Prison and Palace of Justice
Arsal Man Arrested over Ties to Terrorist Groups
Two Killed and Two Wounded in Akkar Town Clash
Aoun to Tackle Security, Electoral Law, Regional Crises in Key Speech
Mashnouq Expects Agreement on Electoral Law before June 12 Session

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 08-09/17
Comey Testifies about Trump's Possible 'Obstruction of Justice' in Dramatic Hearing
Qatar Rejects 'Interference' in Its Foreign Policy, Sees No 'Military Solution'
Egypt calls for UN probe on Qatar giving terrorists in Iraq $1 billion
US shoots down pro-Syrian regime drone firing on coalition forces: official
Tripoli counter-terrorism force: Manchester bomber radicalized in Britain
UN: ISIS killed over 200 civilians fleeing Mosul
Syrian government warplanes strike ISIS near Raqqa city
Israel advances plans for further 1,500 settler homes
Trump to Iran: States backing terror risk ‘falling victim’ themselves
US Senate advances Iran sanctions bill, eyes new Russia sanctions
Syrian regime replicates the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces
Hamas Leader Killed In Accidental Gaza Explosion
Israel Advances Settlement Plans despite Trump Plea

Latest Lebanese Related News published on June 08-09/17
Aounists In Diaspora: Denial, confusion and Grandiose Delusions

العونيون في بلاد الإنتشار: انكار وضياع وأوهام عظمة
Elias Bejjani/June 07/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56048
It is very sad and extremely disappointing that certain top notch Aounists in Diaspora in general, and in the USA in particular, are currently entirely detached from reality, overwhelmed in denial, and still according to their derailed and frozen minds living in the pre 2005 era.
During the pre 2005 era, the Aounists were loudly, courageously and openly against Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy terrorist organization, and extremely active in opposing the Syrian Stalinist regime, as well as in exposing its bloody, criminal and oppressive conduct in both Lebanon and Syria.
In fact, the Diaspora Aounist activists were among the most influential and prominent groups that lobbied successfully for the passing of the USA, “Syria accountability and Lebanese sovereignty restoration act of 2003.”
The patriotic history and achievement record of these Diaspora Aounists seems to be 100% contradicting their current political affiliations, lobbying and agenda.
The FPM Lebanese Party, that they are officially or unofficially affiliated to, and since 2006 has boldly joined forces on all levels, and in all domains with both the Syrian and Iranian terrorists regimes.
At the same, the FPM Lebanese Party has adopted all the Iranian-Hezbollah anti Lebanese, anti Arab and anti Western doctrines.
Accordingly, The Diaspora Aounists at the present time are not mentally, intellectually or politically oriented to time, place and person, because falsely believe that they are still serving the independence and sovereignty of their homeland, Lebanon, and its people.
In the time disorientation domain, they are still living in the pre 2005 era, and unconsciously denying the fact that it is now the 2017 year.
In the person category of mental confusion, they are unable to see or grasp the actual shocking reality that their Lebanese FPM party’s leadership are not any more serving or representing the Lebanese Sovereignty, independence, Freedom, history, people or the common-coexistence living role of Lebanon.
They intentional blinded themselves in a bid not to recognize and not to admit that the FPM leadership has turned to be mere puppets and Trojans in the hands of the Iranian regime, and its terrorist Hezbollah armed proxy.
Their sickening denial and detachment from reality is making them politically confused and living in an Alzheimer mental like status, to the extent of total blindness.
In actuality and reality they are suffering from a chronic and ongoing sickening ailment of severe and devastating denial.
They are unconsciously denying the fact that their party, the FPM, and its leadership, that they are affiliated to, support, and lobby for are not serving Lebanon any more, but turned to be mere pro Iranian – Hezbollah tools and robots.
In conclusion, the Aounists in Diaspora did blemish and destroy all their pro Lebanese hard and genuine work record that took place in the pre 2005 era.
At the present time these Aounists are serving consciously or unconsciously (no difference) the Iranian-Hezbollah terrorist and expansionism agenda that aims to destroy any thing and every thing that is Lebanese, to keep Lebanon under occupation, and at the same time use Lebanon as a military and a propaganda base for their global terrorism, and their evil Anti Lebanese-Anti Arab schemes.
May Almighty God Bless Lebanon and its loving peace people

Is Harriri`s Visit to Saudi Arabia actually for Umra Rituals
هل زيارة الحريري للسعودية هي لإداء العمرة، أم انه استدعاء على خلفية تسلبط باسيل على قراراته والمواقف
François Bainy/Face Book/June 08/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56076

It's so easy, and so comfortable, for Lebanon's Sunni PM, Saad Hariri, to say "My visit to Saudi Arabia aims to execute the Religious ``Umra Rituals in the holy city of  Mecca".
But in reality the visit, as we and other analysts believe came in response to an urgent official Saudi summoning call.
We strongly believe that he was summoned in the realm of the solid and loud Saudi stance in regards to the current and very serious Qatari-GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) crisis.
It is worth mentioning that the GCC is loudly and officially accusing Qatar of sponsoring, financing and using several Islamic extremist groups and organization among which is Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood.
In a recent political analysis we expected that PM, Hariri will be urgently summoned by the Saudis in a bid for him to explain and justify his official stance as PM of Lebanon in regards to the last Arab-Islamic Summit. His stance was blurred and very hesitant
As a reminder, a follow up committee for the Arab-Islamic Summit was established to observe the implementation of all the recommendations which the Saudis strongly insist that they crucial, final, decisive and extremely binding to all the countries that participated in the summit and adopted them, including the Lebanese government.
Apparently the Saudis expect Mr. Hariri to fully execute his `constitutional duties as PM in putting an end to Hezbollah's on going hegemony all over the Lebanese institutions, or otherwise Lebanon with no doubt  shall face the same dire consequences that Qatar is currently encountering .
In this context, the  Arab-Islamic Summit follow up committee clearly realised that after the Summit, President Aoun and FM. Gobran Bassil have totally marginalized the importance of the Summit recommendations and decided to bow and kneel for the terrorist Hezbollah and give him the final say in the appointment of more than 40 new Lebanese Ambassadors, among which are the ambassadors in Paris and Washington.
In this realm, the Saudi Newspaper, Al watan, published two days ago a lengthy editorial addressing and exposing the Iranian criminal schemes targeting the Arabic Peninsula, as well as Lebanon and other Arab countries. The editorial strongly condemned Aoun`s-Bassil`s and Hezbollah's decision to appoint , Mr. Gabi Issa, an American Lebanese citizen as Lebanon's ambassador in the USA. Mr. Issa is well known with his ongoing strong ties with Hezbollah, Aoun and the Syrian regime.
The follow up committee, as well as the Saudi officials are not happy at all that Mr. Hariri is not playing his role as PM, and letting Aoun`s son in-law the FM, Gobran bassil to control and run his decision making process.
The Lebanese constitution gives the Prime Minister and his government full powers of governing, Meanwhile, Mr. Hariri is abandoning his responsibilities and letting Bassil to prevail and confiscate his authorities and role.
Hariri's twisting and submissive rhetoric and rationale are not tolerated any more by the Saudis. Hariri's rhetoric states that there are major differences with Hezbollah inside and outside Lebanon, but cooperation with him is a must for stability and governing.
Observers believe that the Saudis are going to reject Hariri's submissive rhetoric and rational and will give the last chance to play completely and effectively his PM leadership role.
Meanwhile, President Aoun is taking advantage of his alliance with Dr. Samir, Leader of the Lebanese Forces Party and providing Hezbollah with a Christian protective Umbrella. Aoun is not fulfilling any of his promises and commitments to gradually get rid of his alliance with Hezbollah.
Therefore Mr. Hariri has to call upon Dr. Geagea to help Lebanon and contain Hezbollah's hegemony before it is too late.
Mr. Hariri and Dr. Geagea have a patriotic obligation to join forces again with all 14th of March parties and politicians in bid to end Hezbollah's hegemony and reclaim Lebanon independence and sovereignty before it is too late, and before the Qatari crisis is replicated with Lebanon.
 
Lebanese Diplomatic and Special Passports are under investigation
جوازات السفر اللبنانية الدبلوماسية والخاصة تحت مجهر منظمات مكافحة الإرهاب

François Bainy/Face Book/June 07/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56066

Several Western and Arabic Anti-Terrorist Agencies are thoroughly and seriously investigating reports claiming that a number of Diplomatic and Special Lebanese Passports have been issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Hezbollah members and affiliates.
The anti terror Agencies are looking into antecedents of Hezbollah and other Iranian backed Terrorist Groups with Venezuela .
In Venezuela more than 15 Thousands passports had been issued (by Vice President Tarek El Aissami) to pro Iranian groups in order to promote their criminal activities against several Western and Arab countries.
The issuing of these passports required the approval of President Chaves and President Maduro..
The investigators are direly concerned because:
Hezbollah controls the political Lebanese scene,
President Aoun and his son in-law, FM, Gibran Bassil are Hezbollah's closest Allies and have no choice but to approve the issuing of these passports when and if Hezbollah's General Secretary, Sayyed, Hassan Nasrallah requests them
More questionable and suspicions points are being discussed in these investigations:
The Diplomatic cover that Hezbollah and The Iranian Regime have been resorting to in most of their international subversive activities, via their own Embassies and friendly Embassies as well ....
In the present time, Lebanon needs to appoint over 40 new Ambassadors in order to fulfill the vacant posts.
The nomination of these potential ambassadors is being handled covertly.
In the middle of a triangulation between President Aoun, Minister Bassil and Hezbollah's, Hassan Nasrallah...Aoun has granted for Himself the two Embassies in Paris and Washington. The candidates to fill these posts are required to loyal to both Aoun's FPM party and Nasrallah's Hezbollah...
The rest of the Embassies will be divided on candidates loyal to Hezbollah, House Speaker Nabih Berri and other pro Syrian-Iranian politicians and parties.
In summary Hezbollah has forcibly stepped in to fully control the Lebanese Diplomatic Delegations in the both Western and Arabic countries.
(To Be Continued).

Associates of Hamoush's Suspected Killer Held as Young Man Laid to Rest
Naharnet/June 08/17/Security forces on Thursday arrested two associates of Roy Hamoush's suspected killer Mohammed al-Ahmar, as the young man who was murdered in cold blood at dawn Wednesday was laid to rest in Mansourieh. The two men were arrested in two separate operations, according to media reports. “After a delicate surveillance operation and following cooperation with the other security agencies, a patrol from the Directorate General of State Security managed to arrest H.M. in the Nahr Ibrahim area, and he is one of the individuals who took part in the killing of the young man Roy Hamoush overnight Wednesday in the Karantina area,” a State Security statement said. “The 25-year-old detainee hails from the Baalbek district town of Jrabta,” the statement added. State-run National News Agency later said that security forces had managed to arrest the third culprit in the case, identifying him as A.Gh., “the driver of the BMW that was also carrying his companions H. al-Mawla and M. al-Ahmar.” Al-Ahmar, who reportedly shot Hamoush in the head, had been arrested Wednesday evening in the Bourj Hammoud area by the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch. According to reports, Roy and his friend Johnny Nassar were in the latter's car when it crashed into the vehicle of the three culprits in the Jal el-Dib area. The accident led to a dispute that soon escalated into a car pursuit. The three suspects then managed to intercept Roy and his friend in the Karantina area where Hamoush was shot dead at the hands of al-Ahmar. Nassar managed to escape and inform authorities of the incident. According to reports, al-Ahmar has a criminal record. President Michel Aoun has called on security and judicial agencies to "probe the real causes of the crime and hand the culprits and instigators the harshest penalties."

Qaouq: New Electoral Law Only Way to Rescue Lebanon, Hizbullah Seeking to Resolve Obstacles

Naharnet/June 08/17/Hizbullah central council official Sheikh Nabil Qaouq stressed Thursday that the approval of a new electoral law is “the only solution and only way to rescue Lebanon and immunize it from the threats to its political, economic and social stability.”“The Lebanese are still clinging to the positive atmospheres that followed the meeting of the three presidents in Baabda and Hizbullah calls on all political forces to benefit from these atmospheres in order to finalize the new electoral law,” Qaouq said. “Hizbullah is determinedly working to resolve the few remaining obstacles,” he noted. “This path should be continued through understanding and positivity in order to spare Lebanon any threat to its stability at the political, economic and social levels,” Qaouq went on to say. The country's main political parties have recently agreed that the new electoral law should be fully based on proportional representation and 15 electoral districts but they are still wrangling over the electoral system's mechanisms and technicalities, especially those related to the representation of sects.Lebanon has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has since extended its own term twice. The second extended term will expire on June 20.

New Ideas to 'Rescue 15-District Law' as Four-Party Meetings Resumed
Naharnet/June 08/17/“Positive indications” have surfaced regarding the possibility of reaching a new electoral law soon, topped by the resumption of the so-called four-party meetings, a media report said on Thursday. The four-party meeting that was held overnight at the Foreign Ministry gathered Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil, Speaker Nabih Berri's aide Ali Hassan Khalil, Hizbullah secretary-general's assistant Hussein al-Khalil and Prime Minister Saad Hariri's adviser Nader Hariri, al-Akhbar newspaper said. “The four-party meeting was revived after negotiations reached a dead end during the Grand Serail meeting that was held on Tuesday,” the daily noted. It quoted unnamed sources as saying that the disagreements during that meeting revolved around the issues of vote counting mechanisms and expat voting. But “the four-party meeting witnessed the suggestion of new ideas aimed at rescuing the 15-district law, amid keenness from the conferees on rejecting any return to the 1960 law or vacuum,” al-Akhbar added. “The Foreign Ministry meeting pumped some positivity into the relation between the FPM and AMAL Movement,” the daily said. It added that “Bassil is still clinging to the issues he has raised in recent days, specifically his demand that any candidate should get at least 40% of votes from their own sect to become eligible to win a seat, amid total rejection from AMAL, Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal Movement.”The country's main political parties have recently agreed that the new electoral law should be fully based on proportional representation and 15 electoral districts but they are still wrangling over the electoral system's mechanisms and technicalities, especially those related to the representation of sects. Lebanon has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has since extended its own term twice. The second extended term will expire on June 20.

Army Arrests Abdullah Azzam Brigades Member Wanted on Multiple Charges
Naharnet/June 08/17/The army's Intelligence Directorate has managed to arrest Faisal Hussein Mamlouk, a member of the jihadist group Abdullah Azzam Brigades, the army said on Thursday.The militant had taken part in the 2014 deadly assault on the eastern border town of Arsal, said an Army Command statement. He is accused of “carrying out acts of terror, encircling army posts, and storming the Internal Security Forces building in Arsal and clashing with its members, which resulted in the death of several servicemen and the wounding of others,” the army statement said. Mamlouk is also accused of “smuggling arms and ammunition to the terrorist groups” in Arsal's outskirts, the army statement added.

U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Sees 'Sustained Solidarity' with Lebanon but Urges More Funds
Naharnet/June 08/17/International funding for Lebanon's 2017 refugee response plan demonstrates “sustained solidarity by the international partners but the level of disbursements needs to increase,” U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Philippe Lazzarini has said.
“At the end of May 2017, committed resources to Lebanon amounted to USD 1.41 billion, which includes USD 1.10 billion in donor assistance and USD 309.6 million carried over from 2016 by partners and pooled funds,” as shown by the latest funding update released by the Lazzarini's office.
“For 2018 and beyond, donors have so far committed USD 350 million in support of Lebanon. A total of USD 236.3 million has been provided in the first quarter of 2017 to U.N. agencies and NGOs in support of activities under the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP), which is less than half of the assistance reported last year during the same period,” the statement said. While commending the solidarity towards Lebanon, Lazzarini stressed that continued support and faster deliveries are essential. “While the data collected show that the aid to Lebanon in 2017 will most likely reach a similar volume as last year, it also highlights a lower level of disbursements in certain sectors at this time of the year, putting in jeopardy the smooth running of some critical activities as well as a lack of visibility regarding commitments beyond 2018,” the U.N. official warned. Commenting on the pledges to Lebanon beyond 2018, Lazzarini added that “investment in stabilization and job creation programs need to scale up not only to anticipate the decrease of humanitarian funding, but also to fulfill our commitment to support Lebanon's social, economic, and environmental stability throughout the crisis and pave the way towards sustainable development.”
The Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) 2017-20 was launched in February 2017. With a US$2.8 billion appeal, the LCRP brings together more than 104 partners to assist 2.8 million highly vulnerable people living in Lebanon. It aims to provide protection and immediate assistance to 1.9 million Syrian refugees, vulnerable Lebanese and Palestine refugees and deliver basic services to 2.2 million people as well as to invest in Lebanese infrastructure, economy and public institutions. On April 5, the Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region Brussels conference brought together representatives of over 70 countries, international organizations and civil society to confirm commitments made last year in London and raise new funding to meet immediate and longer-term needs of people whose lives are being torn apart by the conflict.

Lassen Inaugurates EU-Funded Premises in Tripoli's Prison and Palace of Justice
Naharnet/June 08/17/Ambassador Christina Lassen, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, inaugurated Thursday in Tripoli new premises in the northern city's prison and a Forensic and Psychological Unit in the Palace of Justice. Both are direct results of projects funded by the European Union and implemented by Restart Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture (RESTART).“These projects show the EU’s support to justice, rule of law and human rights in Lebanon,” an EU Delegation statement said. The inaugurations took place in the presence of representatives from several ministries, the Internal Security Forces, embassies, international organizations, municipalities, the Tripoli and Beirut Bar Associations and civil society organizations, as well as judges and doctors.Minister of Justice Salim Jreissati attended the inauguration of the Forensic and Psychological Unit at the Palace of Justice. In Tripoli prison, a Medical Center and a Rehabilitation Center were established, and a bridge was built to serve as an emergency exit and connect the male prisoners' block to the medical center, within the framework of the project "Support to a comprehensive prison reform in Lebanon".
The project aims to bring Lebanese prisons' management and detention conditions closer to international standards and human rights obligations. “The new premises will significantly improve the detention conditions of the prisoners,” the EU Delegation statement said.
The inauguration took place under the patronage of Minister of Interior and Municipalities Nouhad al-Mashnouq, who was represented by General Mounir Shaaban. Ambassador Lassen said: "The facilities will serve to make a better use of the space available and that in-house service delivery to prisoners will be carried out in better conditions.''She added: "We are fully aware that the needs and challenges in Lebanon are huge. We have to remember though, that infrastructural works and training for the personnel are important, but will not be enough if not accompanied by effective legal reforms."
Together with Justice Minister Jreissati, Lassen inaugurated the Forensic and Psychological Examination Unit in the Palace of Justice in Tripoli. The unit has been established by the project "Joint Action for an Effective Prosecution of Torture and enhanced commitment to Prevention of inherent crimes." This project aims to support the effective prevention and prosecution of torture and ill-treatment of detainees. Speaking at the inauguration, Lassen highlighted that this particular project ''delivers the first unit of this type in Lebanon, and therefore represents a remarkable step forward to address torture and ill-treatment.”
She stated: "The Committee Against Torture (CAT) highlighted the creation of the unit as a positive step taken by Lebanon to amend its policies and procedures in order to ensure greater protection of human rights and to apply the Convention against Torture. We know that much remains to be done and the CAT's report on Lebanon is a hard reminder of that fact. This is why we all need to do more.''Ambassador Lassen also highlighted the importance of the openness and cooperation of all security agencies, political support and the expertise and commitment of the civil society for the promotion of human rights in Lebanon. According to the EU Delegation statement, the European Union is the biggest donor to Lebanon in the field of human rights. In 2016, a total of 14 EU-funded projects were implemented to tackle pressing human rights issues relating to detention conditions, the fight against torture and all forms of ill-treatment, access to legal aid and a fair trial, countering violent extremism and the right to vote, amongst others.

Arsal Man Arrested over Ties to Terrorist Groups
Naharnet/June 08/17/Army intelligence agents arrested Thursday Arsal resident F.H.M. On charges of having ties to the terrorist groups that are entrenched in the outskirts of the eastern border town, state-run National News Agency said. He was referred to the relevant authorities for further investigations, the agency added. Militants from the rival jihadist groups Islamic State and Fateh al-Sham Front are entrenched in the outskirts of Arsal and other eastern border towns. They overran in Arsal in 2014 before being ousted by the army after days of deadly clashes. The retreating militants abducted more than 30 Lebanese troops and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain in IS' captivity.

Two Killed and Two Wounded in Akkar Town Clash
Naharnet/June 08/17/Two young men were killed and two others were wounded overnight in a clash in the Akkar town of Kfar Melki, media reports said on Thursday. The armed clash that started with a dispute over “traffic priority” pitted young men from the Hammoud family and others from the Eid family, the reports said. The exchange of gunfire resulted in the death of Ali Mohammed Eid and Ammar Khodor al-Ashqar and the wounding of two other men, LBCI television said. Eid and al-Ashqar were laid to rest on Thursday amid a state of tension in the town, reports said. LBCI said the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch has managed to arrest one person and that efforts were underway to arrest the rest of the culprits.

Aoun to Tackle Security, Electoral Law, Regional Crises in Key Speech
Naharnet/June 08/17/President Michel Aoun is expected to address the latest rapid developments in Lebanon and the region in a key speech on Friday, a media report said. Aoun will deliver the speech at a ceremony marking the 156th anniversary of the foundation of the Internal Security Forces, which will be held in the morning at the Martyr Major General Wissam al-Hassan Barracks in Dbaye. It will be the first such ceremony that Aoun sponsors as president, al-Joumhouria newspaper said. Informed sources told the daily that the president will underline his vision for the hot topics of the current period, especially regarding security. “In addition to the security concerns, he will tackle the developments in the efforts to reach a new electoral law as well as Lebanon's stance on the developments in the region, especially the ongoing events in Syria and the region and the crisis that has erupted in the Arab Gulf,” the sources added. The country's main political parties have recently agreed that the new electoral law should be fully based on proportional representation and 15 electoral districts but they are still wrangling over the electoral system's mechanisms and technicalities, especially those related to the representation of sects. Lebanon has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has since extended its own term twice. The second extended term will expire on June 20.

Mashnouq Expects Agreement on Electoral Law before June 12 Session
Naharnet/June 08/17/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq has said that he expects that the political parties will manage to reach an agreement on the new electoral law before the June 12 parliamentary session. “I expect that there will be a law before the June 12 session,” Mashnouq told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks published Thursday, although he noted that “the current proposals require major national agreements that are not available at the moment.”“Anyhow, there are serious discussions aimed at reaching a law, because vacuum is prohibited and it has become clear that even one hour of vacuum is unacceptable,” the minister added. The country's main political parties have recently agreed that the new electoral law should be fully based on proportional representation and 15 electoral districts but they are still wrangling over the electoral system's mechanisms and technicalities, especially those related to the representation of sects. Lebanon has not organized parliamentary elections since 2009 and the legislature has since extended its own term twice. The second extended term will expire on June 20.

Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on June 08-09/17
Comey Testifies about Trump's Possible 'Obstruction of Justice' in Dramatic Hearing
Associated Press/Naharnet/June 08/17/Former FBI Director James Comey accused the Trump administration Thursday of spreading "lies, plain and simple" about him and the FBI in the aftermath of his abrupt firing, in dramatic testimony that threatened to undermine Donald Trump's presidency.
As he opened his much anticipated first public telling of his relationship with Trump, Comey disputed the Trump administration's justification for his firing last month, declaring that the administration "defamed him and more importantly the FBI" by claiming the bureau was in disorder under his leadership. And in testimony that exposed deep distrust between the president and the veteran lawman, Comey described intense discomfort about their one-on-one conversations, saying he decided he immediately needed to document the discussions in memos. "I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting, so I thought it really important to document," Comey said. "I knew there might come a day when I might need a record of what happened not only to defend myself but to protect the FBI." Comey made his comments as the packed hearing got underway, bringing Washington and parts of the country to a halt as all eyes were glued on televisions showing the hearing. He immediately dove into the heart of the fraught political controversy around his firing and whether Trump interfered in the bureau's Russia investigation, as he elaborated on written testimony delivered Wednesday. In that testimony he had already disclosed that Trump demanded his "loyalty" and directly pushed him to "lift the cloud" of investigation by declaring publicly the president was not the target of the FBI probe into his campaign's Russia ties. Comey also said in his written testimony that Trump, in a strange private encounter near the grandfather clock in the Oval Office, pushed him to end his investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
The Senate intelligence committee chairman, Richard Burr of North Carolina, asked Comey the key question about that encounter: "Do you sense that the president was trying to obstruct justice, or just seek a way for Mike Flynn to save face, given he had already been fired?"
"I don't think it's for me to say whether the conversation I had with the president was an effort to obstruct," Comey replied. "I took it as a very disturbing thing, very concerning. But that's a conclusion I'm sure the special counsel will work towards to try and understand what the intention was there and whether that's an offense."
Later, in a startling disclosure, Comey revealed that after his firing he had tried to spur the appointment of a special counsel by giving one of his memos about Trump to a friend of his to leak to the press. "My judgment was I need to get that out into the public square, " Comey said.
The Republican National Committee and other White House allies worked feverishly to lessen any damage from the hearing, trying to undermine Comey's credibility by issuing press releases and even ads pointing to a past instance where the FBI had had to clean up the director's testimony to Congress. Republicans and Trump's own lawyer seized on Comey's confirmation, in his written testimony, of Trump's claim that Comey had told him three times the president was not directly under investigation.
Trump himself was expected to dispute Comey's claims that the president demanded loyalty and asked the FBI director to drop the investigation into Flynn, according to a person close to the president's legal team who demanded anonymity because of not being authorized to discuss legal strategy. The president has not yet publicly denied the specifics of Comey's accounts but has broadly challenged his credibility, tweeting last month Comey "better hope there are no 'tapes'" of the conversations. "Lordy, I hope there are tapes," Comey remarked at one point, suggesting such evidence would back up his account over any claims from the president.
But it was a Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who asked the question that many Republicans have raised in the weeks since Comey's firing as one media leak followed another revealing Comey's claims about Trump's inappropriate interactions with him.Raising the Oval Office meeting where Comey says Trump asked him to pull back the Flynn probe, Feinstein asked: "Why didn't you stop and say, 'Mr. President, this is wrong,'?""That's a great question," Comey said. "Maybe if I were stronger I would have. I was so stunned by the conversation I just took it in."Comey was also asked if he believed he was fired because of the bureau's investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election as well as Russia's ties with Trump's campaign. "Yes," Comey said. "Because I've seen the president say so." The hearing unfolded amid intense political interest, and within a remarkable political context as Comey delivered damaging testimony about the president who fired him, a president who won election only after Comey damaged his opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the final days of the campaign. Clinton has blamed Comey's Oct. 28 announcement that he was re-opening the email investigation for her defeat. She's argued she was on track to a victory when Comey's move raised fresh doubts about her. "If the election were on Oct. 27, I would be your president," Clinton said last month. Many Democrats blame Comey for Clinton's loss, leading Trump to apparently believe they would applaud him for firing Comey last month. The opposite was the case as the firing created an enormous political firestorm that has stalled Trump's legislative agenda on Capitol Hill and taken over Washington. Under questioning Thursday, Comey strongly asserted the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia did indeed meddle in the 2016 election. "There should be no fuzz on this. The Russians interfered," Comey stated firmly. "That happened. It's about as unfake as you can possibly get." Trump has begrudgingly accepted the U.S. intelligence assessment that Russia interfered with the election. But he has also suggested he doesn't believe it, saying Russia is a "ruse" and calling the investigation into the matter a "witch hunt."

Qatar Rejects 'Interference' in Its Foreign Policy, Sees No 'Military Solution'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 08/17/Qatar's foreign minister Thursday rejected interference in his country's foreign policy, ruling out a military solution to a crisis which has seen Riyadh and its allies cut ties with Doha. "No one has the right to intervene in our foreign policy," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told the AFP news agency. "We don't see a military solution as an option" to the crisis, he added. A top United Arab Emirates official on Wednesday told AFP that the unprecedented measures against Qatar aim to pressure Doha into making drastic policy changes.
"This is not about regime change -- this is about change of policy, change of approach," state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said, accusing the government in Doha of being in "denial." Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain lead a string of countries that this week cut ties with Qatar over what they say is the emirate's financing of extremist groups and its ties to Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional arch-rival. Qatar denies having any ties to extremists. The UAE's Gargash on Wednesday told AFP the measures against Doha were limited to diplomatic and economic ties, but warned that no one could project the "dynamic of a crisis." "Like any crisis, you cannot really control the dynamic... this is one of the dangers of any crisis. There is no intention for us to seek anything but what we look at as economic spheres of activities," he said. The four Arab countries have suspended all flights to and from Doha and closed off sea and air links to Qatar. Saudi Arabia has also closed off Qatar's only land border, a crucial lifeline for food imports. Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar could nonetheless survive "forever," adding that it respected international agreements and would continue supplying liquefied natural gas to the UAE.
Qatar is the world's largest exporter of natural liquefied gas. The emirate is also home to leaders of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian Hamas and the Afghan Taliban.Analysts say the crisis is in part an extension of a pre-existing dispute which saw Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain temporarily recall their ambassadors from Doha in 2014 over Qatari support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt calls for UN probe on Qatar giving terrorists in Iraq $1 billion
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Thursday, 8 June 2017/Egypt on Thursday has urged the UN Security Council to open investigation over Qatar giving a “terrorist group active in Iraq” $1 billion as ransom, On Monday, the Financial Times reported that Qatar paid $1 billion to release members of its royal family who were kidnapped in Iraq during a hunting trip. Commanders of militant groups and government officials in the region told the Financial Times that “Doha spent the money in a transaction that secured the release of 26 members of a Qatari falconry party in southern Iraq and about 50 militants captured by jihadis in Syria.”The paper said Qatar the money went to two blacklisted forces of the Middle East “an al-Qaeda affiliate fighting in Syria and Iranian security officials.” Qatar has denied trying to pay ransom money to secure the release of 26 Qataris, including members of the country's ruling royal family, abducted in Iraq by unidentified gunmen. The Qataris were released in April, some 18 months after they were abducted during a hunting trip in southern Iraq. “It is everywhere in the news that Qatar paid up to $1 billion to a terrorist group active in Iraq in order to release members of its royal family,” senior Egyptian UN diplomat Ihab Moustafa Awad Moustafa told the Security Council. “This violation of the Security Council resolutions, if proved correct, shall definitely have a negative bearing on counter-terrorism efforts on the ground,” he said. “We propose that the council launch a comprehensive investigation into this incident and other similar incidents.” Qatar’s mission to the United Nations was not immediately available for comment on Egypt’s call for an inquiry. UN Security Council resolutions call on states “to prevent terrorists from benefiting directly or indirectly from ransom payments or from political concessions and to secure the safe release of hostages.”“We also want to know how the Security Council can address such violations, these flagrant violations of its resolutions,” Moustafa said. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is ready to support any diplomatic efforts to resolve tensions between Qatar and other Gulf Arab states “if desired by all parties,” his spokesman said on Thursday. “The Secretary-General is following the situation in the Middle East with deep concern,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “He urges countries in the region to avoid escalating tensions and work instead to overcome their differences.”With Reuters)

US shoots down pro-Syrian regime drone firing on coalition forces: official
Reuters, Washington Thursday, 8 June 2017/The United States shot down a pro-Syrian regime armed drone that was attacking US-led coalition forces in Syria on Thursday, a US military spokesman said, the first time the regime had attacked coalition forces. US Army Colonel Ryan Dillon, who is a spokesman for the US-led coalition fighting ISIS, said the MQ-1 like armed drone was destroyed after it fired upon coalition forces carrying out a patrol outside a deconfliction zone in southern Syria. Dillon said there were no coalition casualties. Dillon said that earlier in the day the United States had also carried another strike out against pick-up trucks with weapons who had moved against US-backed fighters near the town of At Tanf.

Tripoli counter-terrorism force: Manchester bomber radicalized in Britain
Reuters Thursday, 8 June 2017/The suicide bomber who killed 22 people at a concert in Manchester last month was radicalized in 2015 while living in Britain, his brother has told Libyan counter-terrorism investigators in Tripoli. Salman Abedi’s brother Hashem also said he had bought equipment for the attack in Britain, though he did not know where it would be carried out, Ahmed Bin Salem, a spokesman for Tripoli’s Special Deterrence Force (Rada), told Reuters.
Rada is a counter-terrorism force aligned with the UN-backed government in Tripoli. It detained Salman Abedi’s father, Ramadan, and his younger brother, Hashem, in the days after the attack, and has been questioning them and other members of the family.
“Hashem said that he and Salman got the ideology of ISIS in Manchester in 2015 from the internet and some friends in the UK,” said Bin Salem. “He added that they used to watch videos and had sympathy for children in Syria and wanted to do something for Daesh to help.”
Salman and Hashem flew to Libya on April 18, Bin Salem said. Salman traveled back to Manchester about a week before the attack, after telling his parents he was going on pilgrimage to Mecca. “Hashem said that he bought all the necessary things for Salman for the attack from the UK and added that Salman was planning to carry out an attack but he did not know where,” Bin Salem said. He said Salman Abedi also phoned Tripoli on May 15 before carrying out the attack to “say goodbye to his family before the attack”.
PLEA FOR FORGIVENESS
“Salman phoned Hashem’s phone on the day of the attack to talk with his family. The mother had refused to talk with him because they were angry with him as he lied,” Bin Salem said. “Hashem knew about the attack and convinced his mother to talk to him … he said ‘please, please mum, talk to him’. (The mother) said during the investigation that he asked for forgiveness from her and she could not understand why.”It was not possible to access the Abedis or verify under what conditions they had been questioned and whether they were offered any legal representation. British consular officials have been granted access by Rada. The suicide bombing killed 22 children and adults attending a concert by US singer Ariana Grande. A total of 21 people have been arrested so far in the investigation into the attack. Twelve were released without charge and nine remain in custody. Rada had previously said that Hashem had been plotting an attack in Tripoli, though Bin Salem said he could not give details for security reasons. He said Hashem had told investigators he had spent time in Germany working as a driver between December last year and his return to Tripoli in April. The mother told Rada that Salman was “an introvert, an anti-social person”, and that video games had had a bad influence on both Salman and Hashem when they were young, according to Bin Salem. She said Ramadan Abedi, who moved to Britain during the rule of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and returned to Libya during the country’s 2011 revolution, had taken both sons to the frontline for one day that year. Bin Salem said the father did not currently face any charges, but Rada were seeking more information on him, including possible links to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a militant Islamist organization formed by Libyans who traveled to Afghanistan in the 1980s. Ramadan Abedi told Reuters last month just before his arrest that he praised the LIFG but did not belong to the group.

UN: ISIS killed over 200 civilians fleeing Mosul
Reuters, Geneva Thursday, 8 June 2017/Children trying to flee western Mosul have been shot dead by ISIS militants, the UN human rights office said on Thursday, saying it had reports of a “significant escalation” in civilians’ deaths in the battle for the Iraqi city. It also said it was investigating reports that 50-80 people had died in an air strike on the Zanjili district of Mosul on May 31. It did not say who carried out the strike. The killing of fleeing civilians by ISIS militants occurred in the al-Shifa neighborhood on May 26, June 1 and June 3, it said. “Credible reports indicate that more than 231 civilians attempting to flee western Mosul have been killed since 26 May, including at least 204 over three days last week alone,” the UN human rights office said in a statement. “Shooting children as they try to run to safety with their families - there are no words of condemnation strong enough for such despicable acts,” the statement quoted UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein as saying. Iraqi government forces retook eastern Mosul in January and began a push on May 27 to capture the remaining ISIS-held enclave in the western side of the city, where about 200,000 people are trapped in harrowing conditions. Last week Iraqi police said at least seven civilians had been killed by ISIS mortar shells in the Zanjili area of western Mosul. But a young man told Reuters he had been wounded when an air strike hit a group of 200-250 civilians collecting water because an ISIS fighter was hiding among them. The UN statement said the deaths in Zanjili were reportedly caused by one of several recent air strikes that had inflicted civilian casualties and it was seeking further information about those attacks, without elaborating. “The murder of civilians, as well as the intentional directing of an attack against civilians who are not directly taking part in hostilities, are war crimes,” it said.ISIS’s self-declared “caliphate” is in retreat across Iraq and Syria. US-backed Syrian forces this week launched an operation to capture Raqqa, ISIS’s de facto capital in Syria.

Syrian government warplanes strike ISIS near Raqqa city
Reuters Thursday, 8 June 2017/Syrian government warplanes struck ISIS positions west of Raqqa city on the southern bank of the Euphrates river on Thursday, state media said. “The air force destroyed positions and armored vehicles” in the western Raqqa countryside, about 70 km (44 miles) from the city, state-run news agency SANA said. US-backed militias have separately been pushing into the edges of Raqqa city in the first days of their attack to seize ISIS’s base of operations in Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters, launched an assault this week to take the northern city. The SDF has been closing in for months with the help of air strikes and special forces from the US-led coalition. ISIS militants have made enemies of all sides in the six-year Syrian conflict, losing territory to several separate military campaigns over the past year. The Syrian army has made gains against ISIS in the east of Aleppo province, bringing them to the provincial border with Raqqa which is largely under SDF control. The Russian-backed Syrian army and allied militias then crossed into Raqqa province this week from neighboring Aleppo. The strikes on Thursday targeted areas near the provincial border, along a highway linking Raqqa to Aleppo and close to the Tabqa area the SDF captured from ISIS in May. The Syrian government described the Kurdish-led war against ISIS as “legitimate” last month. Damascus also said its military priorities were ISIS-held Deir al-Zor and the Badia region at the border with Jordan and Iraq, suggesting it does not intend to challenge the Raqqa campaign underway.

Israel advances plans for further 1,500 settler homes
AFP, Jerusalem Thursday, 8 June 2017/Israel has advanced plans for a further 1,500 homes in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Peace Now said on Thursday, the second such announcement in a week. More than 3,000 units have been advanced this week, a spokeswoman for the NGO that tracks settlement building in the Palestinian territory told AFP. On Tuesday, Israel advanced 1,500 units, with the potential to add around another 900, Peace Now said. These 900 were confirmed on Wednesday by an Israeli defense ministry planning committee, it added. In a separate process, 688 homes were advanced by the committee late on Wednesday and will now go out for a 60-day public comment period during which objections can be filed. Peace Now’s Hagit Ofran told AFP a total of 3,178 units were advanced this week. The plans are at various stages in the process and the units are located in a number of settlements across the West Bank. Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, which are seen as a major obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Trump to Iran: States backing terror risk ‘falling victim’ themselves
AFP, Washington Thursday, 8 June 2017/US President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed sympathy for the victims of a terror attack in Iran that killed 13 people, but issued a barbed warning that the country was reaping what it sowed. Gunmen and suicide bombers, acting almost simultaneously, attacked Iran’s parliament and a shrine to the revolutionary leader Ayatollah Khomeini. “We grieve and pray for the innocent victims of the terrorist attacks in Iran, and for the Iranian people, who are going through such challenging times,” Trump said in a brief statement. “We underscore that states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote.”Earlier, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that “the depravity of terrorism has no place in a peaceful, civilized world.” “We express our condolences to the victims and their families, and send our thoughts and prayers to the people of Iran,” she added.
Campaign rhetoric
Trump has long accused Iran of backing terrorism. During last year’s presidential campaign, he suggested that one of his top priorities was to dismantle the “disastrous” 2015 deal aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. As president, he has maintained his criticism of Iran – during a visit to Israel last month Trump said Tehran now feels “emboldened” by the nuclear accord – but has not tampered with the agreement. Even as Washington expressed its condolences over the terror strike, the US Senate advanced legislation Wednesday that would impose new sanctions on Iran, partly for what the bill described as the Iranian regime’s “support for acts of international terrorism.”
Procedural hurdle
Lawmakers voted 92 to 7 to clear a procedural hurdle, setting up a later vote on final passage. But Republicans and Democrats alike said they are eager to add an amendment that would slap fresh sanctions on Russia in response to US intelligence conclusions that the Kremlin conducted or approved cyberattacks on US targets in an effort to sway the presidential election. “In the last eight months, what price has Russia paid for attacking American democracy? Hardly any at all,” Republican Senator John McCain said. “We need a strong Russia sanctions amendment. We need it now.”Senate Democrat Dianne Feinstein said it was “the wrong time” to pass fresh sanctions on Iran. “The country has just suffered from two significant terrorist attacks after electing a moderate government with 57 percent of the vote,” she said. “We need to give Iran the opportunity to recover and set a new course.”
Zarif calls it repugnant
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump’s reaction to the deadly group attacks in Tehran was “repugnant”.“Repugnant WH (White House) statement... as Iranians counter terror backed by US clients,” Zarif tweeted. He was responding to Trump’s comment that “states that sponsor terrorism risk falling victim to the evil they promote”.

US Senate advances Iran sanctions bill, eyes new Russia sanctions

By Reuters, Washington Thursday, 8 June 2017/The US Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to advance a bill that would impose new sanctions on Iran, the same day at least 12 people were killed in attacks in Tehran, as lawmakers planned to add a package of sanctions on Russia to the measure. The vote was 92-7 on a procedural motion to end debate on the Iran sanctions bill, clearing the way for a vote later on passage of the legislation. Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, said most members of his party supported the Iran bill, but that they would only agree to let it go ahead because they expected it would be amended to include “a strong package” of new sanctions on Russia as well. Many lawmakers have been clamoring for new sanctions on Russia over its alleged meddling in the 2016 US election, annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and support for Syria’s government in that country’s six-year-long civil war. Schumer said he was negotiating with the Senate’s Republican leaders on the Russia sanctions.

Syrian regime replicates the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces

Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Wednesday, 7 June 2017/The Syrian regime began to form new militias under the name of “Popular Mobilization Forces,” similar to those in Iraq.The main members are sons of clans in Al-Hasakah region, Al Arabiya news channel reported on Wednesday. The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces have allegedly become a model for the Syrian regime.News agencies and sites close to the regime spoke in the name of this militia, which involves mainly the sons of tribes who will form the regime’s forces within its operations. The “Popular Mobilization Forces” belonging to the regime consists of volunteers and retired people from both the tribal, the compulsory and standby services. The leader of the force, Ali Hawass al-Khalif, is a member of Al-Rashed tribe, and an employee of the regime living in Damascus. The crowd is formed in coordination with the Military Intelligence Division. Some suggested to name the militia “Island’s shield” and “Sons of Tribes” About 500 people are joining the militia, mostly from the villages of Damkhya, Safiah and Abu Zuwail near Al-Hasakah. The establishment of the regime's mobilization came at a time when Kurdish forces were advancing towards the entrances of Raqqa, which had always feared the tribes alliance with the regime.

Hamas Leader Killed In Accidental Gaza Explosion
Jerusalem Post /June 08/17/Another "accidental" explosion kills Hamas militant in the Gaza Strip. A prominent leader of Hamas' Izzadin Kassam brigade was killed Wednesday in an "accidental" explosion in southern Gaza, according to PA news outlet Ma'an. The explosion occurred at a Hamas post near Rafah, injuring three other militants, according to the Palestinian news agency. Hamas described Ibrahim Hussein Abu al-Naja as a prominent leader and said the source of the explosion was not clear. This is not the first time militants have been killed in mysterious Gaza Strip explosions, with Ma'an reporting that numerous Hamas "resistance posts" have been destroyed over the past few years.On April 26, an "accidental" explosion killed an Islamic Jihad military member during preparatory work in the site, the terrorist group announced. The Gaza Ministry of Health later stated that another Palestinian was wounded in the same "accident."

Israel Advances Settlement Plans despite Trump Plea
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/June 08/17/Israel has advanced plans for more than 3,000 homes in West Bank settlements this week, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's call to hold back on such projects as he seeks ways to restart peace efforts. Israel pushed forward with the plans as it also marked 50 years since the Six-Day War, fought from June 5-10, 1967 and which began its continuing occupation of the West Bank. A total of 3,178 housing units were advanced in a number of different settlements, the Peace Now NGO that tracks settlement growth told AFP on Thursday. They are the first new settlement announcements since Trump's visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories last month, when he tried to encourage both sides back to the negotiating table. Trump has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold back on settlement building for now, but the right-wing Israeli leader has been under intense pressure from settler leaders. The powerful settler movement wields heavy influence in Netanyahu's right-wing governing coalition. On Tuesday, a defense ministry planning committee advanced 1,500 units, while more than 900 more were added on Wednesday, Peace Now said. In a separate process, 688 homes were advanced by the committee late on Wednesday and will now go out for a 60-day public comment period during which objections can be filed. The plans are at various stages in the process and the units are in a number of settlements across the West Bank.
'Ultimate deal'
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the plan for the new housing units.Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. More than 600,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, including in annexed east Jerusalem. They live alongside some three million Palestinians. Settlements are considered illegal under international law and are seen as a major obstacle to peace and the so-called two state solution -- the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Israel blames Palestinian incitement and intransigence for the ongoing conflict. While the majority of the planned homes are in pre-existing settlements, some will be built in the first new official settlement in some 25 years, Peace Now said.Last month, Trump visited Israel and the Palestinian territories, meeting both Netanyahu and Abbas as he seeks what he has called the "ultimate deal." However, Trump has given no details about how he plans to restart talks, and there is deep skepticism over whether such an effort would have any chance of success. Netanyahu has said he still supports a two-state solution, but peace advocates say his actions show otherwise. On Tuesday, the premier told settlers he would keep building across the West Bank.
Strong pressure'
"Netanyahu has been trying to hold back but he has been under very strong pressure from the settlement movement," Ofer Zalzberg of the International Crisis Group think tank said. "In the last two weeks there has been an all-out war and he caved in." Abbas' spokesman called Netanyahu's statements a "challenge" to Trump and the international community. "It is a challenge to (Trump's) efforts to create an appropriate atmosphere for a serious political process, and a blatant challenge to the international community as a whole," a statement said. Hugh Lovatt, Israel coordinator at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said the new settlements would not totally derail Trump's push. The Palestinians have previously demanded a settlement freeze as a precondition to returning to negotiations, but there have been suggestions Abbas has dropped this since Trump came to power. "Prior to Trump's election the announcement by Israel of new settlement homes would be seen as torpedoing hopes for negotiations and would see the Palestinians walk away," Lovatt said. "Now Abbas has indicated he is no longer holding Israel to even a partial freeze -- he will go back into negotiations without preconditions." But Zalzberg said more settlement announcements could push the two sides further apart. "It is becoming more difficult to square the circle to get negotiations going," he said.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on June 08-09/17
A Measured Response to Bishop George Browning and Others Interested in the Palestinians
Denis MacEoin/Gatestone Institute/June 08/17
https://ww.gatestoneinstitute.org/10434/bishop-george-browning-palestinians
Wafa al-Biss is only one among hundreds if not thousands of Palestinians who have tried to smuggle guns, knives, suicide vests and bombs into Israel. Should anyone be surprised if Israel uses checkpoints and other security measures to save Jewish, Christian and Muslim lives?
In the wave of terror that has continued for the past eighteen months, Palestinians, including children, have used knives, scissors, and machetes to stab Jews, and cars to ram and kill pedestrians or police. Palestinians also suffer from the security this demands, by having to wait in queues at checkpoints or searches. That is regrettable, but hardly a reason to condemn Israel.
The Palestinian narrative and the wider Arab and Muslim demand that Israel must be wiped out is not a Christian narrative. It is an Islamic narrative.
A few days ago, some friends in Australia alerted me to a blog post written by former Bishop George Browning, who had been the 9th Anglican bishop of Canberra and Goulburn. Entitled, "Capitalism, Anti-Semitism & the Judaeo-Christian Ethic" (5 May 2017), this was an anti-Israel rant of biased and profoundly inaccurate misdirection, mixing outright lies with exaggerations. Towards the end, Browning denies that his article is anti-Semitic ("... rather than this critique being anti-Semitic, I believe it to be..."). Is he aware of the leading modern definition of anti-Semitism written by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and recognized by some 32 countries? This definition, like others before it such as the European EUMC and US State Department definitions, includes several clauses that identify unfair, incorrect and biased criticism of Israel, the world's only Jewish state, or setting double standards for it, that are anti-Semitic. Unfortunately, Browning's article, as shall be seen, falls without reserve into that definition. It is hard to understand how a man of his intelligence and personal involvement in Israeli-Palestinian matters should not know of or respect the IHRA definition. In order to make this clear, here are two clauses from the IHRA definition:
Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor.
Applying double standards by requiring of it a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation.
Now, let me turn to several statements made by Browning.
"Universal justice appears to have become an unwelcome stranger in the land of Israel. Zionism's compulsive identification with land, has replaced justice as its core value."
What on earth can he mean? People all round the world have high regard for their land, and over centuries have fought and died for it. Patriotism is a common position for the Irish, the Scottish, the English, the Americans, the French, the Italians, the Tibetans, and hundreds more. The Palestinians, to whom Browning is intensely loyal -- he is, after all, President of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network -- talk about little else but their right to the land and their love for it. But in Browning's mind, Jewish love of their ancestral land, a place to which Jews prayed to return for more than two millennia, supposedly overturns the ancient Jewish love for justice in a way other nations' love for their land does not. That is anti-Semitism.
Just after this he writes:
"The having, holding and conquering of land has seemingly become the arbiter of nationhood..."
Does Browning know so little about history? Jews did not conquer the modern land of Israel: they have lived on that land for three thousand years; and were officially given it first through the League of Nations Mandate system, then the United Nations Partition resolution, both reinforced by UN resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), all internationally-recognized and binding agreements.
In 1947, the Palestinian Arabs rejected the offer of a Palestinian state alongside a Jewish state, and in 1948, five Arab countries launched an offensive war to drive the Jews out. Although this war failed, the Palestinians lost Gaza to Egypt and the West Bank to Jordan, but few Palestinian Arabs complained. In 1967, Israel, fighting another defensive war, forced Egypt and Jordan out, but later made peace treaties with both countries, and in 2005 moved out of Gaza completely. Settlements within the West Bank, (originally the Jewish territories of Judea and Samaria) are legal under international law despite claims to the contrary, and all borders will be negotiated when and if the Palestinian leadership agrees to a peaceful resolution. Such offers that have been made in 1947, 1967, 2000, 2001, and 2008, but turned down every time by the Palestinians and their Arab allies.
Browning might do better to talk about the way Muslim Arabs originally seized not only the Holy Land -- by military conquest -- but also, over the centuries, Persia, the Byzantine Empire, North Africa and the Middle East, Greece, northern Cyprus, Spain, and most of eastern Europe. The only reason the Muslims insist on holding land is because of a ruling in jihad law that refuses to relinquish land once conquered, in the instance of Israel, by the Ottoman Empire. Is Browning actually aware of any of this, or is he just making things up as he goes along? Does he, a Christian, know he is advocating for the application of Islamic law? Or does he not care?
The bishop next tackles several positive statements made about Israel, but summarily dismisses them one by one. First is this:
"Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. Hang on, no it is not. First of all, on who's [sic] definition of democracy? Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are afforded no rights while Arabs in Israel have differing and reduced rights to their Jewish counter parts."
What guff. First of all, the Palestinians wanted autonomy; Israel gave it to them; and this is how the Palestinians -- not the Israelis -- rule themselves. Gaza was completely evacuated by the Jews in 2005; in 2007, Hamas pushed Palestinian Authority leaders from the top floors of high buildings and threw all Fatah leadership, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, out of Gaza.
Moreover, what other democracies does Bishop Browning know of in the Middle East? Syria? Lebanon, under the control of the Iranian terrorist organization Hizbullah? Turkey, under the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Erdogan? Egypt? Iraq? Saudi Arabia? Qatar? Yemen? Iran?
Israel is neither a dictatorship nor a theocracy. It is by all measures a true democracy in which every adult citizen has the right to vote, to form or join a political party, and be elected to parliament. Arabs in Israel have exactly the same rights as citizens as Jews: they have political parties, they serve in the parliament (the Knesset), some serve as judges in Israeli courts, including the Supreme Court, some serve as diplomats, they are free to worship (whether Muslims or Christians), their places of worship are protected under the Law for the Protection of Holy Places. Unlike all other countries in the Middle East, women in Israel (Muslims, Christians or Jews) have the same rights as men. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive cars or go out without male escorts. In Israel, many women are fighter pilots. Not a true democracy?
Arabs in Israel have exactly the same rights as citizens as Jews: they have political parties, they serve in the parliament, and some serve as judges in Israeli courts, including the Supreme Court. Pictured: Israel's supreme court justices, along with PM Netanyahu and President Rivlin. Salim Joubran, an Israeli-Arab Supreme Court justice, is in the middle of the second row. (Image source: Spokesperson unit of the President of Israel)
As for the West Bank, Palestinians certainly have rights. Under the Oslo Accords, the region is divided in three: Area A (where there are no Jews or Israeli settlements) is under the full civil and security control of the Palestinian Authority (whose president, Mahmoud Abbas, is now in the undemocratic twelfth year of a 4-year term of office). Area B (also without Jews or Israeli settlements) is under joint Palestinian and Israeli control, and only Area C is under full Israeli control. The Israeli security presence is there to defend Israeli civilians from the thousands of terrorist attacks that have been, and still are, being launched by Palestinians. Since the majority of Palestinians live in Areas A and B, any ill-treatment they may suffer must chiefly be the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority, not Israel.
Israel is not a perfect democracy. Nor is Australia. Nor is the UK. Nor is the US. And so on. So why does Browning both lie about Israel and single it out above other democracies as not a democracy? 68 percent of Israeli Arabs say they would rather live in Israel than in most Arab countries, because there they flourish.
Next comes Browning's most egregious lie:
"Israel is the only country in the Middle East that enables freedom of religion. Well, no. Israel claims to be a Jewish State. By definition the statement excludes those who are not Jews. The idea of Jerusalem as an historical centre for Jews, Christians and Muslims alike is being constantly eroded."
The fact that Israel is a Jewish state (or the Jewish state) no more impinges on freedom of religion there than being a Christian nation deters freedom of religion in the UK, US, Australia or elsewhere. Meanwhile, all the countries around Israel and beyond define themselves as Muslim, and there is no religious freedom in any of them. In fact, minorities are routinely persecuted or worse: Baha'is in Iran, Coptic Christians in Egypt, Hindus in Pakistan, Christians in the West Bank and Gaza all suffer fierce discrimination and often murder.
Take the Baha'is as an example. They are the largest religious minority in Iran, yet they are persecuted, executed, imprisoned and more by the state. All their holy places -- once visited by the author -- have been demolished. In Israel, they have their two holiest shrines, the seat of their international governing body, and their international archives and other bodies. These and their world-famous gardens have won them status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Israel allows them complete freedom. They are as much loved by the Jewish state for their peaceful and tolerant values as they are hated in their homeland.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Christian populations are being slaughtered and expelled in the hundreds of thousands. Israel is the only country in the region where the Christian population has increased year on year since the state's foundation in 1948. One wonders why Bishop Browning doesn't take this into account and prefers the Palestinian territories where hundreds of Christians have been killed or expelled.
Peace-loving Ahmadi Muslims, persecuted in Pakistan and other Islamic countries, live and worship freely in Israel: "Israel is the only country in the Middle East, where Ahmadi Muslims can openly practice their Islamic faith". All the mosques and holy places of Israel's Muslim communities are kept safe and secure, again by the country's Law for the Protection of Holy Places. The Palestinians, to whom Bishop Browning is so partial, kill and persecute Christians, murder apostates from Islam, and teach their children in schools to hate Jews and kill them. The evidence for this is overwhelming. Has Bishop Browning ever set eyes on it?
Finally says Browning:
"Israel is the only country in the Middle East that lives by the rule of law. Well, no, it does not."
Actually, it does. Certainly, it imprisons many Palestinians, but only Palestinians who have gone out to stab, shoot, ram, or bomb Israeli citizens (whether Jews or Arabs). Back in Northern Ireland, we used to imprison people for crimes like that, too. No one was ever imprisoned or interned without due process. Israel never executes its prisoners, even mass-murderers, and its jails are of a higher standard than most in other countries (the only capital crime is genocide, for which the Nazi war criminal, Adolf Eichmann, was put to death). No-one is imprisoned without an open and fair trial requiring Western standards of proof. In 1999, Israel's supreme court banned even the use of moderate physical pressure on terrorist suspects. In other words, there is no torture in Israeli prisons.
Israeli law is based on a series of Basic Laws that act as a constitution, as is England, and Israeli justice is open, transparent, and witnessed by international observers, journalists and countless human rights groups. In 2010, for instance, Moshe Katsav, who was president of Israel from 2000-2007, was sentenced to seven years in prison on rape and sexual harassment charges. The presiding judge at the Supreme Court was one George Karra, a Christian Arab. But I forgot, George Browning insists that Israeli Arabs have few rights.
Problems can indeed arise within the Israeli legal system. But the same applies to all other democracies with equal force. Why does Browning single Israel out and deny its basic lawfulness? Israeli law has remedies for miscarriages of justice, and the country's parliament is empowered to reform specific pieces of legislation should they prove in need of it. In countries such as Saudi Arabia, that are ruled under Islamic law, shari'a, heads are lopped off, limbs amputated, adulterers and homosexuals stoned to death. In Saudi Arabia, women have few rights at all and must suffer greatly in their daily lives. Yet Saudi Arabia now chairs the UN Women's Rights Commission. Why does Bishop Browning not focus on genuine cases of the abuse of law that harm innocent people? Why does he not take his Arab friends to task for their blatant disregard for human rights?
That mention of homosexuals reminds me that there are no laws in Israel against the rights of LGBT persons. In fact, Tel Aviv has a reputation as the most friendly city for gay men and women. Not a single Arab or Muslim country -- including the Palestinian Authority territory and Gaza under Hamas -- affords such rights even to the most limited degree. Come out as gay in Israel and you may be shown the way to the nearest gay bar. Do that in any Muslim state and you will be taken to the nearest high building and thrown from the roof.
In the last section, Browning also writes:
"The occupying force protects the illegal settlers and not the Palestinian civil population. Essential services are provided to the illegal settlers and restricted or denied the Palestinians."
Here again, this is without context or explanation. Browning only knows one side of the story. Israel has handed a large swathe of the West Bank to Palestinian control. As for denial of essential services to the Palestinians, how does Browning explain the fact that Gaza, under viciously anti-Israel rule by terrorist group Hamas, currently receives a thousand truckloads of essential goods daily through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel: humanitarian aid continued to be sent even while Hamas was firing thousands of rockets into Israel civilian centres. The amount of water sent to Palestinian territories has increased from 5 million cubic meters per year to 10 million. The Israel Electric Corporation has for years been supplying electricity to Gaza and the West Bank. The Palestinians often avoid paying for it, and currently owe the corporation about NIS 2 billion (about $555 million, nearly 500 million in euros) in debt.
Every year, thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank are treated in Israeli hospitals. Palestinian children are given heart surgery through an Israeli organization called Save a Child's Heart, along with children from around the world. Currently, hundreds of injured Syrians are treated in Israeli hospitals. Internationally, the World Health Organization has named Israel the leading country in the world for the field hospitals it builds in disaster zones, where Israel is a major player in providing aid. Special treatment for Jews alone? Really?
And here is something Bishop Browning might like to think hard about. In 2005, a young woman from Gaza, Wafa al-Biss, was taken to Israel's Soroka Hospital, where she received over several months treatment for severe burns suffered in a domestic fire. When released, she was given permission to return regularly for out-patient treatment. Not long after, she arrived at the Erez Crossing carrying a bomb strapped to her leg, which had been given to her by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. She had been told to explode it in the hospital in the same unit that had saved her life, and to kill as many children as possible.
Al-Biss is only one among hundreds if not thousands of Palestinians who have tried to smuggle guns, knives, suicide vests and bombs into Israel. Should anyone be surprised if Israel uses checkpoints and other security measures to save Jewish, Christian and Muslim lives? In the wave of terror that has continued for the past 18 months, Palestinians, including children, have used knives, scissors, and machetes to stab Jews, and cars to ram and kill pedestrians or police. Palestinians also suffer from the security this demands, by having to wait in queues at checkpoints or searches. That is regrettable, but hardly a reason to condemn Israel. Or would the good bishop prefer to see all this security abandoned, so that murderers could come onto Israeli streets, as they have done so often before, and take an ever-growing toll of innocent Israeli lives?
Browning is an outright anti-Semite who promotes the Palestinian narrative. He is far from being the only Christian clergyman who does so. What he and they may not realize is that the Palestinian narrative and the wider Arab and Muslim demand that Israel must be wiped out is not a Christian narrative. It is an Islamic narrative.
That demand is also what drives the Palestinian and wider Islamic demands for the creation of a vast Palestinian state that will replace Israel (even though there is already one unofficial Palestinian state: Jordan). Why does a Christian cleric prefer a Muslim understanding of affairs to an understanding of why, from Old Testament times on, Jews have linked their worship of God to the land they believe God gave them? For a Christian, Islamic law should have no standing whatever. But Jesus was a Jew who worshipped in the Temple in Jerusalem and would be, if he returned, dismayed to learn that the Temple Mount is occupied by two Islamic buildings and that Jews are forbidden to go there or to pray there.
I do not take George Browning at his word. He is interested neither in justice nor in peace. He wants to deny the Jewish people the right to live on the only land that historically has been their sanctuary, their sole refuge from another Holocaust (a Holocaust that Browning's Palestinian friends daily threaten to repeat), the sole haven of democracy and Judaeo-Christian values in a troubled, disintegrating and often despotic Middle East. As Christianity declines across the globe and the forces of Islam gain strength, the day may yet come when Browning and his followers turn their eyes to Israel as a model of human achievement and promise for the future. And even perhaps as a refuge for his co-religionists in a region of death and destruction.
*Dr. Denis MacEoin (PhD Cambridge 1979) is a former lecturer in Arabic an Islamic Studies at a UK university and currently a Distinguished Senior Fellow at New York's Gatestone Institute. He is chairman of North-East Friends of Israel in the UK.
© 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.

History, Precedent and Comey Statement Show that Trump Did Not Obstruct Justice
Alan M. Dershowitz/Gatestone Institute/June 08/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56091
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10497/trump-comey-obstruction-justice
The statement may provide political ammunition to Trump opponents, but unless they are willing to stretch James Comey's words and take Trump's out of context, and unless they are prepared to abandon important constitutional principles and civil liberties that protect us all, they should not be searching for ways to expand already elastic criminal statutes and shrink enduring constitutional safeguards in a dangerous and futile effort to criminalize political disagreements.
The first casualty of partisan efforts to "get" a political opponent — whether Republicans going after Clinton or Democrats going after Trump — is often civil liberties. All Americans who care about the Constitution and civil liberties must join together to protest efforts to expand existing criminal law to get political opponents.
Today it is Trump. Yesterday it was Clinton. Tomorrow it could be you.
In 1992, then President George Walker Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger and five other individuals who had been indicted or convicted in connection with the Iran-Contra arms deal. The special prosecutor, Lawrence Walsh, was furious, accusing Bush of stifling his ongoing investigation and suggesting that he may have done it to prevent Weinberger or the others from pointing the finger of blame at Bush himself. The New York Times also reported that the investigation might have pointed to Bush himself.
This is what Walsh said: "The Iran-contra cover-up, which has continued for more than six years, has now been completed with the pardon of Caspar Weinberger. We will make a full report on our findings to Congress and the public describing the details and extent of this cover-up."
Yet President Bush was neither charged with obstruction of justice nor impeached. Nor have other presidents who interfered with ongoing investigations or prosecutions been charged with obstruction.
It is true that among the impeachment charges levelled against President Nixon was one for obstructing justice, but Nixon committed the independent crime of instructing his aides to lie to the FBI, which is a violation of section 1001 of the federal criminal code.
It is against the background of this history and precedent that the statement of former FBI Director James must be considered. Comey himself acknowledged that,
"throughout history, some presidents have decided that because 'problems' come from Justice, they should try to hold the Department close. But blurring those boundaries ultimately makes the problems worse by undermining public trust in the institutions and their work."
Comey has also acknowledged that the president had the constitutional authority to fire him for any or no cause. President Donald Trump also had the constitutional authority to order Comey to end the investigation of Flynn. He could have pardoned Flynn, as Bush pardoned Weinberger, thus ending the Flynn investigation, as Bush ended the Iran-Contra investigation. What Trump could not do is what Nixon did: direct his aides to lie to the FBI, or commit other independent crimes. There is no evidence that Trump did that.
With these factors in mind, let's turn to the Comey statement.
Former FBI Director James Comey's written statement, which was released in advance of his Thursday testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, does not provide evidence that President Trump committed obstruction of justice or any other crime. Indeed it strongly suggests that even under the broadest reasonable definition of obstruction, no such crime was committed.
The crucial conversation occurred in the Oval Office on February 14 between the President and the then director. According to Comey's contemporaneous memo, the president expressed his opinion that General Flynn "is a good guy." Comey replied: "He is a good guy."
The President said the following: "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this thing go."
Comey understood that to be a reference only to the Flynn investigation and not "the broader investigation into Russia or possible links to the campaign."
Comey had already told the President that "we were not investigating him personally."
Comey understood "the President to be requesting that we drop any investigation of Flynn in connection with false statements about his conversations with the Russian ambassador in December."
Comey did not say he would "let this go," and indeed he did not grant the president's request to do so. Nor did Comey report this conversation to the attorney general or any other prosecutor. He was troubled by what he regarded as a breach of recent traditions of FBI independence from the White House, though he recognized that "throughout history, some presidents have decided that because 'problems' come from the Department of Justice, they should try to hold the Department close."
That is an understatement.
Throughout American history -- from Adams to Jefferson to Lincoln to Roosevelt to Kennedy to Obama -- presidents have directed (not merely requested) the Justice Department to investigate, prosecute (or not prosecute) specific individuals or categories of individuals.
It is only recently that the tradition of an independent Justice Department and FBI has emerged. But traditions, even salutary ones, cannot form the basis of a criminal charge. It would be far better if our constitution provided for prosecutors who were not part of the executive branch, which is under the direction of the president.
In Great Britain, Israel and other democracies that respect the rule of law, the Director of Public Prosecution or the Attorney General are law enforcement officials who, by law, are independent of the Prime Minister.
But our constitution makes the Attorney General both the chief prosecutor and the chief political adviser to the president on matters of justice and law enforcement.
The president can, as a matter of constitutional law, direct the Attorney General, and his subordinate, the Director of the FBI, tell them what to do, whom to prosecute and whom not to prosecute. Indeed, the president has the constitutional authority to stop the investigation of any person by simply pardoning that person.Assume, for argument's sake, that the President had said the following to Comey: "You are no longer authorized to investigate Flynn because I have decided to pardon him." Would that exercise of the president's constitutional power to pardon constitute a criminal obstruction of justice? Of course not. Presidents do that all the time. The first President Bush pardoned Caspar Weinberger, his Secretary of Defense, in the middle of an investigation that could have incriminated Bush. That was not an obstruction and neither would a pardon of Flynn have been a crime. A president cannot be charged with a crime for properly exercising his constitutional authority
For the same reason President Trump cannot be charged with obstruction for firing Comey, which he had the constitutional authority to do.
The Comey statement suggests that one reason the President fired him was because of his refusal or failure to publicly announce that the FBI was not investigating Trump personally. Trump "repeatedly" told Comey to "get that fact out," and he did not.
If that is true, it is certainly not an obstruction of justice.
Nor is it an obstruction of justice to ask for loyalty from the director of the FBI, who responded "you will get that ('honest loyalty') from me."
Comey understood that he and the President may have understood that vague phrase — "honest loyalty" — differently. But no reasonable interpretation of those ambiguous words would give rise to a crime. 
 Many Trump opponents were hoping that the Comey statement would provide smoking guns.
It has not.
Instead it has weakened an already weak case for obstruction of justice.
The statement may provide political ammunition to Trump opponents, but unless they are willing to stretch Comey's words and take Trump's out of context, and unless they are prepared to abandon important constitutional principles and civil liberties that protect us all, they should not be searching for ways to expand already elastic criminal statutes and shrink enduring constitutional safeguards in a dangerous and futile effort to criminalize political disagreements.
The first casualty of partisan efforts to "get" a political opponent — whether Republicans going after Clinton or Democrats going after Trump — is often civil liberties. All Americans who care about the Constitution and civil liberties must join together to protest efforts to expand existing criminal law to get political opponents.
Today it is Trump. Yesterday it was Clinton. Tomorrow it could be you.
Then-Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey, testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, May 3, 2017, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
**Alan Dershowitz, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus, at Harvard Law School and author of "Taking the Stand: My Life in the Law" and "Electile Dysfunction: A Guide for the Unaroused Voter."
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10497/trump-comey-obstruction-justice

Qatar Isn’t Castro’s Cuba
Ghassan Charbel/ASharq Al Awsat/June 08/17
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/?p=56089
Countries with modest geographic stretch often are tempted by large-scale roles—the small country syndrome, whereby investing in rogue policy comes to compensate for what has been denied by limited territory. Sooner or later, these countries cave into temptation found in playing dangerous strings affecting neighboring states, believing that doing so buys them more security or larger cut in regional politics. Normally, countries are always engaged in enhancing and polishing the roles they play in larger arenas, but it is conditioned that engagement is made with transparency and through over-the-table legitimate interactions. Taking backdoors and mobilizing unwritten policy to reform the general status quo is an approach fraught with danger and is genuinely frowned upon.
‘Small’ here is by no means used for derogatory purposes. It merely reflects facts dictated by geography. I myself happen to be a national from a country, Lebanon, which is small and fragile at the same time. Over time, massive role-playing which once was decided based on population densities, army size, location changed.
Any country which can secure strategic influence or what is known as ‘soft power,’ a heard media platform and hefty income from rich resources can easily book itself a starring role in regional politics.Egypt’s second President Gamal Abdel Nasser led a legacy on defying borders in the name of pan-Arab unity, in hopes of redrawing regional contours. Such history had opened up the doors for many rulers to strive for hegemony.
The Nasser experience has inspired the likes of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi. It remains to be said that Libya had paid highly for Gaddafi’s obsession with biting off more than what his country can chew. But to weigh in different political playgrounds and countries, you first need to get involved. Swaying rulers, legal parties or organizations is crucial in outlining a country’s ability to mediate for or impede change.
Some countries have been pushed to a fragile breaking point so much that foreign players are an unavoidable touchstone to push for a truce, manage a hostage situation or even establish an understanding with extremists. In the Cold War, a small nation dotted with tobacco fields called Cuba filled in as a catalyst for US-Soviet confrontation, which would had been a devastating military standoff to say the least.
What came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis later ended by the US ensuring that the regime of Fidel Castro will no longer be challenged in exchange for Cuba uninstalling nuclear-armed Soviet missiles. For years, Uncle Sam did not get over what happened in Cuba. Supporting anti-US uprisings and revolutions in Latin America and Africa, Castro was increasingly fixated on doing anything to trouble the US.
But Castro’s long journey ended as he returned to the ‘small country complex’ after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Same could be said on Libya’s notorious dictator, Gaddafi—the mad-driven policy of the Libyan leader was so far committed that he ordered the Lockerbie bombing which killed 243 passengers and 16 crew members in Scotland.
Nestled on the Arabian Peninsula’s northeastern coast, gas-rich Qatar had fallen for the bait of political pre-eminence and gone to extremes. Having rebellious dreams, it began to feed its desire to reshape regional politics.
For years on, we heard rumors of a Syria-Qatar-Turkey axe replacing the Syria-Saudi-Egypt axe, but such a venture is far too volatile and risky for it to carry the day — excerpts of historical roles played by each country in the region can aid in clarifying that ambiguity.
Qatar’s regional role can be understood through the ‘Doha Agreement,’ which mediated for a political crisis in Lebanon after Hezbollah militants invaded and took control of western Beirut, weighing in on the Palestinian Authority to ensure Hamas’ slice of the cake, and its state-funded Al Jazeera media company broadcasting videotapes for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The messages for Osama were aired at the wrong time and place, with poverty, public frustration, unemployment, and ancient hatreds.
Then came Arab Spring uprisings during which Qatari leadership dived deeper into its attempt at changing the region. Doha’s fingerprints found all over the conflict map, whether it be in Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen.
Qatar had clearly bet on the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) rise to power in the Egyptian version of the Arab Spring uprisings. Not only that, but it refused to cut its losses when it was clear that a MB agenda and reality are to different things.
In its desire to establish communication channels with everyone, Qatar fell victim to a vicious paradox of hosting a US air base while nurturing ties with blacklisted terror groups.
The chance of moderate mindsets prevailing was slashed by Qatar’s approach in Arab Spring countries.
It is safe to say that Qatar’s approach largely targeted Saudi and Egyptian roles, especially that Doha chose to support anti-gulf opposition whether it be home-grown or foreign.
Doha’s animosity is evident in its persistent attempts to burn its neighbor’s fences down.
The method to Qatar’s madness raised many questions. Is it Doha’s right to exploit strategic influence to punish Egyptians for determining their fate? Is it right that Doha gets to choose what warring party in Libya retains the upper-hand over the other? Or for it to give an advantage to one Palestinian party?
It is also worth considering that grievances of Qatar’s destabilizing interferences come at a time when Iran –without hesitation- endeavors on ripping the region apart with unprecedented sectarian strife.
Neighbor states of Qatar have had their fill of its presumptuous policy. This peninsula state can no longer play an efficient and positive role in the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council so long that it is chasing Cuba-styled dreams.
It remains to say that all what Arab states boycotting Qatar demand is that it falls back in line with its natural role, for it to reflect Cuba which fit its geographic mold, and not Castro’s rogue Cuba.

Palestinians: Crocodile Tears and Terrorism
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/June 08/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10485/palestinians-terrorism-hypocrisy
This apparent repudiation of terrorism is a startling development for Abbas. The only catch is that when it comes to Israel, Abbas takes quite the opposite line.
For the past two years, Palestinians have been waging a new type of "intifada" against Israel -- one that consists of knife and car-ramming attacks, similar to the ones carried out in Britain, France and Germany. This wave of attacks, which began in September 2015, has claimed the lives of 49 people and injured more than 700. Since then, Palestinians have carried out more than 177 stabbings, 144 shootings and 58 vehicular attacks.
Adding to the hypocrisy, Abbas and his PA leadership often point an accusing finger at Israel for killing the terrorists. Instead of condemning the perpetrators, Abbas and the Palestinians regularly accuse Israel of carrying out "extra-judicial killings" of the terrorists. In other words, Palestinian leaders save their condemnation for Israeli soldiers and policemen for defending themselves and firing at those who come to stab them with knives and axes or try to run them over with their cars. How would the British or French governments react if someone condemned them for killing the terrorists on the streets of Paris and London?
Who says that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas does not condemn terror attacks against civilians?
As it turns out, he and his Palestinian Authority (PA) do indeed condemn terrorism -- when it is directed against anyone but an Israeli. Israeli blood, it seems, is different.
Abbas led the international outcry after the June 3 London Bridge terror attack that left seven people dead and 48 injured.
A brief statement issued by Abbas's office read:
"The President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, on Sunday condemned the terror attack in the British capital of London. His Excellency (Abbas) offered his deep condolences to Britain - its queen, government and people, and to the families of the victims of the terror assault. He affirmed his permanent rejection of all forms of terrorism."
This statement is in line with others Abbas has made recently. Just two weeks ago, Abbas, during a joint press conference with visiting U.S. President Donald Trump in Bethlehem, condemned the May 23 terror attack in the British city of Manchester, the deadliest attack in the United Kingdom since July 7, 2005, in which 23 people were killed and 119 were injured, 23 critically.
Abbas described the terror attack as a "heinous crime" and said that the Palestinians were prepared to work with the U.S. as "partners in the war on terrorism in our region and the world."
Two days later, Abbas was among the first leaders to condemn a terror attack that killed 28 Coptic Christians in central Egypt. Once again, Abbas said that he and the Palestinians stood with Egypt and its president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in the war against terrorism.
This verbal charade has been going on for some time.
Last April, Abbas was quick to condemn the terrorist attack that took place on the Saint Petersburg Metro, in Russia, in which 15 people were killed and 45 injured. Abbas, in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that he and the Palestinians support Russia in its war against terrorism.
Abbas also ran to condemn the wave of terrorist attacks that has hit Belgium, France and Germany in the past two years. This apparent repudiation of terrorism is a startling development for Abbas. The only catch is that when it comes to Israel, Abbas takes quite the opposite line.
For the past two years, Palestinians have been waging a new type of "intifada" against Israel -- one that consists of knife and car-ramming attacks, similar to the ones carried out in Britain, France and Germany. This wave of attacks, which began in September 2015, has claimed the lives of 49 people and injured more than 700. Since then, Palestinians have carried out more than 177 stabbings, 144 shootings and 58 vehicular attacks.
This wave of terrorism is the direct result of incitement by various Palestinian groups and leaders, including Abbas himself.
Days before the violence erupted, Abbas stated:
"Every drop of blood that has been spilled in Jerusalem is holy blood as long as it is for Allah. Every martyr (Shahid) will reach paradise, and everyone wounded will be rewarded, Allah willing. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is ours, and they [Jews] have no right to defile it with their filthy feet. We will not allow them to [defile it], and we will do everything in our power to protect Jerusalem."
A few days later, Palestinians heeded Abbas's call by launching the newest wave of terrorist attacks against Israelis. These deadly attacks continue until this day. Abbas's remarks served as a catalyst for the new "intifada", one that is precisely parallel to the attacks we are witnessing on the streets of Paris, London and Berlin.
Yet Abbas, the world's newest renouncer of terror, has chosen to refrain from rescinding his explicit call for Palestinians to butcher Jews in order to prevent them from "defiling" the Aqsa Mosque. Needless to say, Jews have neither desecrated nor caused any harm to the mosque. All they have been doing, as is permitted, is visiting the outdoor Temple Mount compound as tourists. Never have any of these Jews set foot inside the Aqsa Mosque.
But Abbas and the Palestinians have been exploiting Jewish visits to the Temple Mount to incite against Israel, thus triggering the current wave of stabbings and vehicular attacks.
Not only has Abbas failed to withdraw his deadly appeal to Palestinians to engage in terrorism, he has also refused to condemn the attacks that have claimed the lives of scores of Israelis and wounded hundreds of others.
So, here is the take-home: Abbas is against terrorist attacks anywhere in the world. Except in Israel, perpetrated by his own people and prompted by him.
Adding to the hypocrisy, Abbas and his PA leadership often point an accusing finger at Israel for killing the terrorists who are carrying out attacks. Instead of condemning the perpetrators, Abbas and the Palestinians regularly accuse Israel of carrying out "extra-judicial killings" of the terrorists. In other words, Palestinian leaders save their condemnation for Israeli soldiers and policemen, for defending themselves and firing at those who come to stab them with knives and axes or try to run them over with their cars.
How would the British or French governments react if someone condemned them for killing the terrorists on the streets of Paris and London?
Has anyone in the West noticed Abbas's double standards in dealing with terrorism against civilians?
But Abbas not only stays silent when his own people mow down Israelis: he names streets and squares after such "heroes." Moreover, he rewards them and their families financially, with the help of American and European taxpayer money.
Perhaps it is time for Westerners to realize that there is no difference between a terrorist who sets out to kill Jews and a terrorist who kills British, French and German nationals. In fact, it has become clear that the terrorists in Europe have copied the tactics of the Palestinians in carrying out stabbings and vehicular and suicide-bombing attacks.
Abbas's crocodile tears are intended to disguise tears of joy that terrorism is alive and well -- certainly when it comes to the Israeli blood that his own people spill in the name of Allah.
Who says that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas does not condemn terror attacks against civilians? He is against terrorist attacks anywhere in the world -- except in Israel, perpetrated by his own people and prompted by him. Abbas's crocodile tears are intended to disguise tears of joy that terrorism is alive and well. (Image source: Muhammed Muheisen-Pool/Getty Images)
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim based in the Middle East.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

How the UK media helps promote terrorism
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/June 08/17
One of the terrorists who attacked London last week has been revealed as a former acolyte of Anjem Choudary. This is hardly surprising. Choudary has been at the heart of Britain’s radical Islamist scene up until he was imprisoned for encouraging support for ISIS last yeat. But how did Choudary find himself with so much power and influence over the minds of so many young Muslims? And how did any of them get to the point of committing terror attacks?
The tragic fact is that the media has made Choudary what he is today. And in doing so, they have done more to help promote militancy in Britain than most other forces that conspire against our safety. Choudary is and never has been an imam or cleric. He has no Islamic credentials – to be an imam one needs over a decade of formal study of the Qur’an, and be recognised as an authority by other scholars. He has never been taken seriously by the mainstream Muslim community in Britain and has been expelled out of virtually every mosque in the country.
What Choudary did have, however, was a quick tongue and a fiery demeanor. And he was wearing a traditional Islamic robe. All he needed to qualify him as the go-to “Muslim preacher” when a sensationalist publication or broadcast were looking for an “interesting character” to give their news stories or their angle on the Muslim community in Britain a bit of edginess. The price for that “journalistic edge” has been to give this opportunistic spiv a veneer of popularity, which has helped him ensnare a cohort of weak-minded, troubled individuals to his hateful vision of the world. The tragic fact is that the media has made Choudary what he is today. And in doing so, they have done more to help promote militancy in Britain than most other forces that conspire against our safety
Public consciousness
What is more, the media have not only given him a presence in the public consciousness, but they also put him there as a punch-bag. Someone towards which we could vent our disdain and hostility. And both the disdain and hostility were well deserved.
But we have also allowed, nay encouraged, him to portray himself, at least in the mind of some, as a representative of the Muslim community. And this has allowed him to claim that the disdain and hostility was not directed just towards him: but toward Muslims in general. Another brilliant recruitment tool for jihadism.
And Anjem Choudary is but one of example of how the media has, with ghoulish compulsion, elevated a series of gobby self-promoters to national prominence for no other purpose than to cause intercommunal strife – strife which sells newspapers and TV advertisment slots, but the price of which is now paid in blood in Britain’s streets. Omar Bakri Muhammad, Abu Hamza and many others have graduated from the British media’s inadvertent programme of Islamist propaganda.
Nor is there much evidence that lessons have been learned. Or at least that the right lessons have been learned. Yes, Islamist propaganda is given less airtime on our televisions these days. But the tradition of elevating gobby, unscrupulous self-promoters so that we can all collectively gawp and marvel at how awful they are while they gleefully go about poisoning our society with bile and hate and sow deep divisions for the future is alive and well.
Legitimizing bigotry
Nigel Farage, Katie Hopkins and many others of their ilk, are still allowed to broadcast hate speech and legitimize bigotry with impunity on the national airwaves. As was Nick Griffin before them.
What exactly is the difference between Katie Hopkins and Anjem Choudary? Hopkins is not advocating a deadly ideology? The terrorist attack which claimed the life of Jo Cox MP stands as evidence against that. Just in these last weeks, Hopkins advocated internment without trial and final solutions. And she continues to be given air time by broadcasters.
The media keeps piling on politicians for not doing enough to combat terrorism. But they have it within their power to do more to combat terrorism than any individual politician: all they would need to do is to stop advertising hate preachers of all ilks, stop lavishing individual terrorists with hours upon hours of coverage, and stop stoking on social tensions with that false air of naivite under the guise of “reporting the facts”.
Yes, social strife sells newspapers. And the more contrived the conflict, the better. But surely by now we understand how irresponsible that is. And that the cost is now counted in the lives of innocent people.

Qatar, when the bliss becomes a curse
Radwan al-Sayed/Al Arabiya/June 08/17
I remember I heard this phrase about Qatar when disputes between it and its ally Bashar al-Assad worsened at the end of 2011. What happened to Qatar also happened to its ally Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish and Qatari regimes bet on the “strategic relation” which has linked them to the new Syrian president since 2004. Through this relation based financial generosity, the Qataris and Turks advised Bashar to make reforms and not use violence against his people. However when he did not take their advice into consideration, they resorted to the same methods they had advised Assad against.
They armed extremists who destroyed the Syrian revolution without causing the least damage to Assad. The entire world thus came to combat terrorism alongside the peaceful, secular and enlightening regime that cannot harm a fly! What happened in Syria also happened in Lebanon and Qatar had a hand in it.
Supporting terror
After the 2006 War and Hezbollah’s claims that it achieved “divine victory,” Qatar’s former emir visited Lebanon and toured Beirut’s Dahiyeh (southern suburb) in solidarity with the resistance. Meanwhile, the resistance accused the Lebanese government, which helped reach the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 to protect Lebanon from Israel, of working for the enemy. What was a mere piece of news became a public behavior clearly seen in the massive transactions and deals in Syria and Iraq. These deals were against the interest of the Syrian and Iraqi people
When the Lebanese government began collecting donations to rebuild what the Israeli aggression had destroyed, Qatar refused to donate funds to the Lebanese government but directly donated to Hezbollah and to the Amal Movement to rebuild four towns in South Lebanon.
Qatar was rewarded with banners lifted in Dahiyeh. The banners read: “Thank you Qatar.” Qatar was thanked again later when Hezbollah invaded Beirut to force the Lebanese cabinet to quit. Back then Hezbollah rewarded Qatar by holding a meeting in Doha for rival Lebanese parties and Hezbollah took what it wants from the defeated parties of the March 14 coalition.
Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood
The third and more important incident related to these Qatari policies is Qatar’s stance from the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the people’s election of a president to replace Mohammed Mursi. Qatar viewed what happened as a coup and harbored Brotherhood fugitives and their leaders. For more than three years now, Qatar has been launching a massive campaign against Egypt. It also equipped and funded the Brotherhood’s activity. Qatar claims its interest in the Brotherhood has humanitarian basis. However Qatar’s actions went way beyond that when it considered itself launching a military campaign to bring Mursi back to power through Al-Jazeera television channel. And what’s greater than Al-Jazeera channel! No one must be fooled into believing that Qatar’s stance from Egypt is based on concern over legitimacy as it’s claimed. In Libya, for example, Qatar stands with different armed groups against the elected parliament and the Libyan national army.
Alliance with Iran
Let’s go back to the major subject which is the Iranian one. More than two years ago, news about an agreement – that resembled an alliance – between Iran and Qatar was leaked. Among the agreement’s items is training the Qatari navy in the Iranian island of Qeshm. This was surprising because between 2011 and 2013, the two parties publicly clashed due to Qatar’s stance from the Syrian revolution and Iran and its militias’ interferences in favor of Assad. Back then, someone told me that Qatar shares a gas field with Iran and does not want to harm relations with it. This is definitely not an excuse because sharing a gas field must not push towards allying against Arab and Gulf neighbors! What was a mere piece of news became a public behavior clearly seen in the massive transactions and deals in Syria and Iraq. These deals were against the interest of the Syrian and Iraqi people.
The result of these deals were seen through al-Nusra Front’s release of Lebanese soldiers and an Iraqi Shiite militias’ release of Qatari “fishermen.” Displacing people and altering Syria’s demography is happening by Qatari arrangements which the Iranians and their militias, including Hezbollah, and the Syrian regime benefit from.
The curse
The Qatari wealth was a bliss to the Qatari people and to all Arab and foreign workers in the country. However, due to playing smart and the determination to increase influence, Qatar’s bliss turned into a curse on the Qatari people and other Arabs. We used to say so about Qaddafi’s regime as Qaddafi used to break the norm and harm brothers and close ones for no logical reasons. Qatar must return to its senses and look after its commitments and respect its sense of belonging. This is what must be done for the bliss to remain a bliss and for Arabs to remain brothers. We are in no need for further exhaustion by supporting extremist groups. It’s not right to be biased towards the rival and the enemy, be it Iran or Israel, to be spared from evil because by doing so, one brings trouble upon himself.