LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS
BULLETIN
May 02/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
The
Bulletin's Link on the lccc Site
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Bible Quotations For Today
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.’They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 06/28-34/:"Then they said to
him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’Jesus answered them, ‘This is
the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’So they said to him,
‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you?
What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as
it is written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat." ’ Then Jesus said to
them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from
heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the
bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the
world.’They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always."
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are
open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil
First Letter of Peter 03/01-12/:'Wives, in the same way, accept the authority of
your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be
won over without a word by their wives’ conduct, when they see the purity and
reverence of your lives. Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your
hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; rather, let your adornment
be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is
very precious in God’s sight. It was in this way long ago that the holy women
who hoped in God used to adorn themselves by accepting the authority of their
husbands. Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. You have become her
daughters as long as you do what is good and never let fears alarm you.
Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your wives in your life
together, paying honour to the woman as the weaker sex, since they too are also
heirs of the gracious gift of life so that nothing may hinder your prayers.
Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a
tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse;
but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called
that you might inherit a blessing. For ‘Those who desire life and desire to see
good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking
deceit; let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue
it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to
their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’"
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 01-02/17
Threat of War Stokes Conflict in Iran/Adel al-Salmi/Asharq Al-Awsat/May
01/17/
The Region of Prisoners/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 01/17
Terrorists Will Not Stop the People from Living/Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al-Awsat/May
01/17/
Religion and people’s exhaustion/Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/May 01/17
Fourth industrial revolution: Giving youth the skills they need for jobs of
tomorrow/Bader Al-Asaker/Al Arabiya/May 01/17
100 days of President Trump: Flip flops or pragmatic realism/Dr. Mohamed A.
Ramady/Al Arabiya/May 01/17
Palestinians: Embattled, Weak Abbas Comes to White House/Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone
Institute/May 01/17
Palestinians: Does Anyone Here Care about Muslim Women/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone
Institute/May 01/17
Titles For Latest Lebanese Related News published on May
01-02/17
Aoun denounces 'fabrication' of quotes
Hariri congratulates the Lebanese on Labor Day
Hariri on Labor Day: Govt. Took Steps to Cut Refugees Competition for Lebanese
Labor Force
Riachy for an electoral law that achieves true equality, Jarrah for keeping
Lebanon away from surrounding fires in the region
Ghareeb at Labor Day ceremony: For escalating confrontation against sectarian
discourse
Kabbara at GLC ceremony: No for election law which splits amongst Lebanese
Report: Army Apt to 'Liberate' Lebanon's Outskirts from Militants
Report: Berri Adheres to Law Proposal that Includes Creation of Senate
Sit-in outside Baalbek Serail in Protest at 'Security Chaos'
Communists Clash with ISF at Dahr al-Baydar Checkpoint, 1 Hurt
Hizbullah MP Calls for Shunning Incitement over Electoral Law
Top Hizbullah Official Says Party 'Open to All Choices' on Electoral Law
Seven Grenades Explode Overnight in Ain el-Hilweh Camp
Jumblat Warns of Economic 'Abyss', Slams 'Polluted' Power Ships
Man Critically Hurt in Hermel Shooting, 4 Injured in Akkar Clash
Four young men injured in a clash between two families along BebninBerqayel Road
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
May 01-02/17
Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on Mental Health Week
Human Rights Watchdog Reports Regime Massacre in Syria after Peace Talks
Relaunch
Al-Qaida Leader Says Group Fought alongside US-Backed Forces
US-Backed Forces Seize 80% of Syria's Tabqa from IS
Erdogan Seeks to Send Trump Stern Message on Syrian Kurds
US-Led Strikes against IS Have Killed 352 Civilians, Says Pentagon
HRW Says Damascus Used Nerve Gas in Four Recent Attacks
Iran Big Winner from Region Turmoil, Says Arab League Head
Three women arrested in London under anti-terror laws
Kurdish-Arab alliance advances against ISIS near Syria’s Raqqa
Syrian Democratic Forces liberate Tabqa from ISIS
Hamas to soften stance on Israel, Muslim Brotherhood in policy document
Police use tear gas to disperse May Day protests in Istanbul
After Saudi Arabia, Germany’s Merkel arrives in the UAE
Turbulence injures passengers on Aeroflot plane headed to Bangkok
Who are the three most influential terrorists in the Jeddah cell?
Details emerge about ISIS cell members involved in the Prophet's Mosque attack
Know the aims of Saudi Arabia’s national identity program
India mob kill two Muslim men over suspected cow theft
Tony Blair announces return to British politics to fight against Brexit
Israel Official: 870 Palestinians Remain on Hunger Strike
N. Korea Warns of Nuclear Test 'at Any Time'
Latest Lebanese Related News published on
May 01-02/17
Aoun denounces 'fabrication' of quotes
The Daily Star/May 01, 2017/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun Monday
blasted media outlets for using external sources to quote him, describing them
as "totally untrue.""The press is releasing alleged quotes or positions from
President Michel Aoun referring to 'sources from Baabda Palace'," Aoun said in a
statement released by his press office. "The press office affirms that positions
made by the president are announced through the press office or through the
president himself, and are sent through official statements to media outlets,"
the statement added. "The press office...guarantees that anything about Aoun
outside of these means is totally untrue and unreliable."
Hariri congratulates the Lebanese on Labor Day
Mon 01 May 2017/NNA - On the occasion of Labor Day, Prime
Minister Saad Hariri congratulated all Lebanese laborers on Monday, and hoped
that the coming months would bring solutions to their problems and difficulties
and that the government would offer more employment opportunities and improve
social benefits. Hariri said: "We know that the situation of workers in Lebanon,
who form the basic pillar of the production cycle, is not satisfactory at the
moment. This is due to the difficulties caused by the increased competition in
the labor market as a result of the unusual flow of Syrian workers due to the
Syrian crisis, and to the economic regression in recent years resulting from
political polemics and the presidential vacancy." He added: "Despite its limited
duration and its action focused on the preparation of the draft electoral law
and the organization of the elections, our government has spared no effort to
resolve the problems of the workers and their sufferings. It has already begun
to take measures to curb the competition suffered by Lebanese workers on the one
hand, and to boost the economic cycle and encourage investment to increase
employment opportunities on the other hand, and consider the salaries scale as a
priority." Hariri concluded: "We pay tribute to the workers and stress that we
will do our best to improve the labor market in Lebanon in their favor, and do
our utmost so that they live with dignity in their homeland."
Hariri on Labor Day: Govt. Took Steps to Cut Refugees
Competition for Lebanese Labor Force
Naharnet/May 01/17/Prime Minister Saad Hariri marked Labor Day on Monday
assuring that the Lebanese government has already begun taking a series of
measures to reduce competition for the Lebanese labor market. “Our government,
despite its limited age and focus on the preparation of the draft electoral law
and staging the elections, has spared no effort to address the problems of
workers and to alleviate their suffering as much as possible,” a statement
issued by Hariri's press office said on Monday marking Labor Day. “The
government has already begun taking measures to reduce competition for the
Lebanese labor force, actuating the economic cycle and encouraging investments
to increase employment opportunities, and putting the demand for the wage scale
on its priority list,” added the Premier. Shedding light on the competition from
Syrians in the Lebanese working market, he added: “We know the Lebanese workers,
who are the pillar of the general production cycle, are not in suitable
conditions these days due to increased competition in the labor market as the
result of the influx of Syrian workers, the decline of the economic cycle and
political bickering.”Hariri concluded assuring that the government “will do the
utmost to improve the labor market in Lebanon in their favor and to provide
suitable conditions for them to live in dignity in their homeland.”Syrian
refugees are competing with Lebanese citizens for jobs, access to public
services and infrastructure and, in particular, already scarce and fragile
natural resources, such as land, water and forests. The situation threatens the
country’s delicate sectarian balance, institutional and political stability, and
regional peace and security., the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO) said in a report.
Riachy for an electoral law that achieves true equality,
Jarrah for keeping Lebanon away from surrounding fires in the region
Mon 01 May 2017/NNA - Information Minister Melhem Riachy highlighted the need
for an "electoral law that ensures proper representation of Christians and
achieves real equality with their fellow Muslim partners in the country." "The
other side of the nation's renaissance is through coming-up with a new law for
the parliamentary elections and lifting injustice off Christians, which is a
main goal for the Lebanese Forces," added Riachy. His words came during the
annual dinner banquet organized on Sunday by the Lebanese Forces Party's
telecommunications department marking Labor Day, where he represented Party
Leader Samir Geagea. Riachy emphasized LF's keen concern for fairness and
equality, stressing that the Party accepts no injustice towards any side in the
country."The nation is in need of peace, and peace is in need of Samir Geagea,"
said Riachy, reiterating the Party Leader's words to "always look up."In turn,
Telecommunications Minister Jamal Jarrah, who was also present at the event,
called for "keeping Lebanon away from the raging fires in the surrounding
region." He also highlighted the need "to adopt efficiency and qualifications in
State jobs, giving employees their rights so that they do not have to seek the
help of political sides in demanding what is naturally and rightfully theirs."
Ghareeb at Labor Day ceremony: For escalating confrontation
against sectarian discourse
Mon 01 May 2017/NNA - The Secretary General of the Lebanese Communist Party,
Hanna Gharib, called for rendering "the first of May a platform for escalating
the popular movement in the street", and to escalate confrontation against
sectarian and confessional discourse which splits amongst the Lebanese.
Ghareeb's fresh words came on Monday in his address at the ceremony marking the
International Labor Day on May 1, at Riad Solh Square, in the presence of scores
of syndical, cultural and labor dignitaries. The ceremony was preceded by a
demonstration called forth by the Lebanese Communist Party, which kick-started
on Monday morning in front of the headquarters of the National Union of Workers
and Employees' Syndicates in Lebanon. The demonstration passed by Corniche el-Mazraa
and Mar Elias, far-reaching till Riad Solh Square. Head of the National Union of
Workers, Castro Abdullah, delivered a word on the occasion.
Kabbara at GLC ceremony: No for election law which splits
amongst Lebanese
Mon 01 May 2017/NNA - Labor Minister Mohamed Kabbara voiced adherence to a vote
law which secures proper representation and equity, saying it is unacceptable to
hold the forthcoming parliamentary elections on the basis of a law which splits
amongst the Lebanese. Minister Kabbara represented on Monday President of the
Republic Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the ceremony organized by
the General Labor Confederation at its headquarters, marking May 1, Labor Day.
"We hope that the new election law would secure proper representation and
fairness with a united national dimension," Kabbara said, underlining the dire
need for an absolute unity amongst the Lebanese amidst the existing crises in
the region and the world. The ceremony was also attended by the representative
of House Speaker Nabih Berri, MP Qassem Hasehm, and scores of party, political,
labor, military and industrial dignitaries. Kabbara saluted all workers on their
Day, hailing their sacrifices for the sake of the continuity of institutions'
work.
Report: Army Apt to 'Liberate' Lebanon's Outskirts from Militants
Naharnet/May 01/17/The number of militants spread out in some of
Lebanon's outskirts have remarkably dwindled due to the army's measures, which
makes any military operation to entirely liberate the outskirts much easier than
before, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. Security and intelligence
reports said the number of militant groups has decreased significantly because
of the Lebanese army's siege, in addition to members who get killed as the
result of army shelling. Reports have shown that no more than 500 militant
fighters still exist on the outskirts which makes a military action against them
much easier than before, said the daily. A senior military source told the
newspaper: “The army is studying its plans well and is ready for any
confrontation, including the liberation of the outskirts. The political decision
is available, but accurate calculations are made for any battle. “The US
permanent military aid for the army and the arrival of planes to the Riyaq
airport give several indications. The Americans are ready to help us in any war
to clean up the Islamic State group and al-Nusra Front.”The source stressed that
“Lebanon is part of the international coalition against the IS. The
international community is helping us fight terrorism and it will backs us in
any future battle.”The sources affirmed that the Lebanese army is fighting alone
on Lebanon's soil and is ready to make more sacrifices to liberate any area on
its land. Militants from the IS and al-Nusra Front, which rebranded itself as
Jabhat Fateh al-Sham when it split from the al-Qaida movement, are entrenched in
rugged areas along the undemarcated Lebanese-Syrian border and the army
regularly shells their posts while Hizbullah and the Syrian army have engaged in
clashes with them on the Syrian side of the border. The two groups briefly
overran the town of Arsal in August 2014 before being ousted by the army after
days of deadly battles. The retreating militants abducted more than 30 troops
and policemen of whom four have been executed and nine remain in the captivity
of the IS group
Report: Berri Adheres to Law Proposal that Includes
Creation of Senate
Naharnet/May 01/17/Speaker Nabih Berri affirmed adherence to a new electoral law
format he presented last week, stressing that he “will not change one single
character,” in his proposal, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday. “I
suggested the format being the best way out. It is in their hands and I adhere
to it as it is. I will not change one single character,” Berri told his visitors
on Sunday. Berri lamented how some political parties tend to obstruct an
agreement on a new law for the upcoming parliamentary elections, “the
performance of some shows that they only care about putting sticks in the
wheels. I wonder where do they plan to take the country to with their sectarian
and inciting rhetoric.”However, the Speaker pointed out that a number of
deliberations are taking place before the cabinet convenes on Thursday. Berri
proposed the creation of a senate as part of efforts to resolve the electoral
law crisis. He called for forming a body consisted of 32 Muslim senators and 32
Christian senators and for allocating its presidency to the Druze community.
“Should an agreement be reached on allocating its chairmanship to the Greek
Orthodox community, the Druze community would be given either the deputy speaker
post or the deputy premier post,” reports quoted Berri as saying. Berri's
proposal calls for electing a senate under a sectarian voting electoral system
and a parliament under an electoral law fully based on proportional
representation.
Sit-in outside Baalbek Serail in Protest at 'Security
Chaos'
Naharnet/May 01/17/A number of merchants, mayors, dignitaries and activists on
Monday took part in a sit-in outside the serail of Baalbek after calls on social
media for protesting the security deterioration in the city, the National News
Agency said. “The crisis of the Baalbek region is caused by the lack of security
and safety... Our chronic crisis that has been running since the first days of
independence is still the same: the political class in Lebanon has abandoned
Baalbek and Hermel,” Dr. Saleh al-Shill said at the sit-in. “Without security
there will be no stability, and here we ask where are the MPs and ministers?
Have they forgotten Baalbek and Hermel? They think of strategic issues and
forget about people's interests,” he lamented. The head of the Baalbek Traders
Association, Nasri Othman, decried that “the security situation in Baalbek has
become unbearable.”“The economic and social situations are deteriorating and
we're being impoverished day after day. Without security the economy cannot be
revived and we call on all officials to take practical measures,” Othman added.
Hassan Abbas, one of Baalbek's mayors, meanwhile said “this city and its
components and diversity” are “stronger” than those tampering with its security.
“We will all stand in the face of those conspiring against this city and its
residents,” Abbas added. The sit-in comes days after a man was shot dead over a
traffic dispute in the city.
Communists Clash with ISF at Dahr al-Baydar Checkpoint, 1
Hurt
Naharnet/May 01/17/A clash erupted Monday at the Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint
between the members of the Internal Security Forces and supporters of the
Lebanese Communist Party who were returning from the annual May Day demo in
Beirut. The National News Agency said the LCP supporters were on a bus. The
dispute broke out “after the bus passengers refused to pull flags hoisted from
the windows into the vehicle so that they don't rub against ISF members and
other vehicles,” NNA said. The clash resulted in the wounding of one person who
was transferred to the Chtaura Hospital, the agency added.
Hizbullah MP Calls for Shunning Incitement over Electoral
Law
Naharnet/May 01/17/MP Ali Fayyad of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc on
Monday urged an end to “incitement” over the thorny issue of the electoral law.
“The ongoing national debate is important, essential and vital, but it doesn't
require this level of polarization,” he said. “To the contrary, it needs further
patience, responsibility and flexibility in order to reach results based on
settlements and agreements and conforming to the constitution, National Pact and
the Taef Accord,” Fayyad added. “Accordingly, we urge everyone to return to the
national identity and shun incitement, whether it is political, religious or
sectarian,” the MP went on to say.
Top Hizbullah Official Says Party 'Open to All Choices' on
Electoral Law
Naharnet/May 01/17/Sheikh Ali Daamoush, the deputy head of Hizbullah's Executive
Council, on Monday announced that his party is “open to all choices” regarding
the electoral law. “The political forces' margin of maneuvering is tightening,”
Daamoush said, calling on political forces to “seize the remaining chance”
before the expiry of the electoral deadlines. “Hizbullah is a facilitating
factor and it has spared no effort to bring all parties together over a law that
suits everyone, and it is open to all choices that lead to a consensus that
prevents a clash among the Lebanese,” the Hizbullah official added. He also
noted that the ongoing deliberations among the political forces “might lead to a
result.”Hizbullah has long called for an electoral law based on full
proportional representation and a single or several large electorates.But amid
the reservations of several parties over full proportional representation,
Hizbullah and the rest of the political forces are negotiating a so-called
hybrid electoral law that mixes proportional representation with the
winner-takes-all system. Electoral laws based on full proportional
representation and proposals for the creation of a Senate are also still on the
table.
Seven Grenades Explode Overnight in Ain el-Hilweh Camp
Naharnet/May 01/17/Seven grenade bomb explosions were heard in the southern
refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh late on Sunday and early on Monday without any
casualties being reported, the National News Agency reported. One grenade
exploded at 10:30 pm on Sunday inside the said camp at the junction of the
vegetable market in Hay al-Tiri. It was followed by another bomb after almost
one hour, NNA said. The third bomb was tossed at 12:30 am. Four other grenades
followed until 4:00 am. No casualties were reported, it added. Such incidents
have become frequent in recent years in Ain el-Hilweh, the largest of Lebanon's
12 Palestinian refugee camps.
Jumblat Warns of Economic 'Abyss', Slams 'Polluted'
Power Ships
Naharnet/May 01/17/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat on Monday
warned that the country will face an economic “abyss” in the absence of reform.
“Excessive impotence and failure to reform might lead into an abyss from which
no one would save Lebanon,” Jumblat said in a series of tweets marking May Day.
“As far as I know, the World Bank has warned,” he added. “The Karadeniz/Karpower
firm is building new polluted (power generation) ships at the expense of the
Lebanese citizen and treasury. Build factories and enough with ships and
commission money,” Jumblat said.
Man Critically Hurt in Hermel Shooting, 4 Injured in Akkar
Clash
Naharnet/May 01/17/The young man M.N. was critically wounded on Monday in the
eastern town of Hermel after he received two gunshots to the chest during a
dispute in the town's market, the National News Agency said. “Security agencies
have since launched a probe into the incident,” NNA added.
In a separate security incident elsewhere, a dispute between young men escalated
into an armed clash between the al-Omari and al-Masri families in the northern
district of Akkar. “H.O., O.O. and H.M. were wounded as a fourth person was
injured by mistake. They were transferred to the al-Youssef Medical Center in
Halba and the conditions of two of them have been described as very critical,”
the news agency said. “Security forces have intervened to contain any
repercussions and have launched an investigation into the incident to determine
the causes,” NNA added.
Four young men injured in a clash between two families
along BebninBerqayel Road
Mon 01 May 2017/NNA - A clash broke out between young men of al-Amri and al-Masri
families along Bebnin-Beqayel public road, which developed into shooting,
causing the injury of 4 persons, with 2 cases described as being extremely
critical, NNA correspondent in Akkar reported on Monday evening. Security forces
intervened immediately to control the situation and began their investigations
into the incident.
Young man seriously injured during a dispute in Hermel
Mon 01 May 2017/NNA - A young man was shot in the chest during a clash in Hermel
on Sunday and was rushed immediately to al-Batoul Hospital for medical
treatment, while security forces began investigating the incident, NNA
correspondent reported.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 01-02/17
Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on
Mental Health Week
Ottawa, Ontario
May 1, 2017
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on
Mental Health Week:
“This week, I encourage all Canadians to #GetLoud to raise awareness about
mental health, an important, but sometimes invisible, aspect of our general
health.
“This year’s campaign, led by the Canadian Mental Health Association, asks us to
speak up to make sure Canadians get the mental health care they need, when they
need it. Mental health is a core part of our well-being, but too often long wait
times or limited services stop Canadians from getting the mental health care
they need.
“That is why the Government of Canada will provide $5 billion over the next 10
years to provinces and territories to support mental health initiatives. These
investments will help improve access to evidence-based interventions and mental
health services and care for people across the country. With a particular focus
on youth and young adults, this will help as many as 500,000 young Canadians.
“We also know that providing greater access to care and support is just half of
the equation. Having access to safe, adequate and affordable housing, and being
able to find and keep a good paying job are also part of what makes a difference
in people’s health. That is why the Government of Canada is making major
investments in both housing and employment initiatives. As part of the new $5
billion National Housing Fund, persons with mental health and addiction issues
will receive greater support.
“The Government of Canada remains committed to help communities address their
unique mental health challenges. To build on Indigenous-led initiatives like the
First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework and the National Inuit Suicide
Prevention Strategy, Budget 2017 pledges over $200 million over the next five
years to increase support for mental health services for First Nations and
Inuit. This includes making available, for the first time, the services of
traditional healers as part of the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program
administered by Health Canada.
“The struggles of mental illness have affected so many of us, including my own
family. For everyone who has struggled with a mental illness: thank you for
sharing your stories, and for showing that being open is a strength. You are not
alone. Today, I join Canadians to celebrate your resilience, and to get loud
about the need for timely access to mental health services and support.
Together, we can make sure all Canadians have the care and support they need to
live full and healthy lives.”
Human Rights Watchdog Reports Regime Massacre in Syria
after Peace Talks Relaunch
Asharq Al-Awsat/May 01/17/The Syrian Network For Human Rights(SNHR) has released
a report entitled: “The Syrian Regime Perpetrates a Massacre in Hamouriya Town
Two Days After Geneva Talks’ Fifth Round Start”. The report documents a massacre
in Hamouriya town, in Damascus suburbs, that took place on Saturday, March 25,
2017. The report relies on accounts from city residents, eyewitnesses, and
survivors. Also, the report includes verified footage and videos showing great
destruction that resulted from bombardment, and pictures of child victims. SNHR
is an independent non-profit non-governmental Syrian human rights organization.
It was established in June 2011 in the wake of the systemically increasing human
rights violations against the Syrian people and as a response to the need for
various human rights groups that can contribute to exposing these practices and
bring justice to the victims.
According to the report, targeted areas were civilian, where no military centers
or weapon warehouses for armed opposition factions or extremist groups were to
be found before or during the attack. Fixed-wing Syrian regime forces warplanes
fired four missiles targeting the center of al Rawda Street at the main market
in the middle of Hamouriya town, which resulted in the death of 17 civilians
including three children and seven women, and injured no less than 30 others,
said the report.
Additionally, al Rawda Mosque was heavily damaged, and tens of shops were
destroyed as well as a number of cars. The Syrian regime has, beyond any doubt,
violated Security Council Resolutions 2139 and 2254 which both states that
indiscriminate attacks must be halted, the report stressed. Also, the regime
violates Article 8 of Rome Statute through the crime of willful killing, which
constitutes war crimes. Targeting unarmed civilians, Syrian forces have violated
the rules of the international human rights law which guarantee the right to
life. Additionally, these violations were perpetrated in a non-international
armed conflict which amount to a war crime. The report called on the United
Nations’ Security Council to take additional measures against the incessant
bombardment of civilians, stressing that all warring parties to must respect
these steps, and adhere to the rules of the international humanitarian law.
Also, the report gave emphasis to further supporting the International,
Impartial and Independent Mechanism that was established in accordance with
General Assembly Resolution 248/71, adopted on December 21, 2016. The report
called for referring the Syrian case to the International Criminal Court and
holding all those who were involved accountable, and for the implementation of
the international commitment known as “Responsibility to Protect” in order to
save the lives of Syrians, culture, and arts from being destroyed, looted, and
ruined. A request was also made on expanding sanctions so that they include all
prominent figures in the Syrian and Iranian regimes who are directly involved in
committing crimes against humanity and war crimes against Syrians.
Al-Qaida Leader Says Group Fought alongside US-Backed
Forces
Associated Press/Naharnet/May 01/17/The leader of al-Qaida' branch in Yemen says
his militants have often fought alongside Yemeni government factions — remarks
that could embarrass the U.S.-backed coalition fighting the impoverished Arab
country's Shiite rebels. Qasim al-Rimi leads the group known as Al-Qaida in the
Arabian Peninsula, considered by Washington to be the most dangerous offshoot of
the global terror network. He says al-Qaida militants have on occasion fought
alongside Yemeni government factions, including "the Muslim Brotherhood and also
our brothers among the sons of tribes" against Yemen's Shiite rebels known as
Houthis. Al-Rimi, who is on the U.S. most-wanted list with a $5 million reward
for his capture, spoke to AQAP's media arm al-Malahem on Sunday. He succeeded
Nasir al-Wuhayshi, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike nearly two years ago.
US-Backed Forces Seize 80% of Syria's Tabqa from IS
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 01/17/US-backed fighters have captured 80
percent of Syria's Tabqa from the Islamic State group, a monitor said on Monday,
a week after they first entered the town. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
broke into Tabqa from the south last week and have steadily advanced north,
cornering IS in three contiguous neighbourhoods on the bank of the Euphrates
River. The strategic town of Tabqa sits on a supply route about 55 kilometres
(35 miles) west of Raqa city, the de facto capital of IS territory in Syria. At
dawn, IS fighters withdrew from the western-most district towards the other two
quarters, said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights. "The SDF now controls more than 80 percent of Tabqa," Abdel Rahman said.
"In the whole town, IS only holds those two neighbourhoods, known locally as the
first and second quarters," he told AFP. Clashes and bombing raids by the US-led
coalition were rocking the town on Monday morning, the Observatory reported. The
assault on Tabqa began in late March when SDF forces and their US-led coalition
allies were airlifted behind IS lines.
The SDF -- composed of Arab and Kurdish fighters -- then surrounded Tabqa in
early April before pushing into the town on April 24. The assault on Raqa,
dubbed "Wrath of the Euphrates", was launched in November and has seen SDF
fighters capture large swathes of countryside around the city. More than 320,000
people have been killed in Syria since the country's war began with
anti-government protests in March 2011.
Erdogan Seeks to Send Trump Stern Message on Syrian Kurds
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 01/17/By launching air strikes against Syrian
Kurdish fighters and threatening more action, Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan is seeking to send a tough message to Donald Trump in the hope of
bringing about a major U-turn in US Syria policy.
Turkey last week bombed targets of the Kurdish Peoples' Protection Units (YPG)
in Syria, earning the wrath of its NATO ally Washington and on Sunday Erdogan
warned more action could be imminent. "We can come unexpectedly in the night,"
said Erdogan. "We are not going to tip off the terror groups and the Turkish
Armed Forces could come at any moment."The YPG has been seen by the United
States as the best ally on the ground in the fight against Islamic State (IS)
group jihadists in Syria and Trump has inherited a policy from Barack Obama of
actively supporting the group.
But Ankara says the YPG is a terror outfit and the Syrian branch of the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who have waged an insurgency since 1984 inside
Turkey that has left tens of thousands dead.
- 'Sign of impatience' -Analysts say the dispute will be the number one issue
when Erdogan meets Trump for the first time as president on May 16 in the United
States. Failing to resolve the problem could seriously harm US efforts to
destroy IS in Syria. "The strikes are manifestly a sign of impatience by Turkey
and part of a long line of appeals telling the US to stop supporting the YPG,"
said Jean Marcou, professor at Sciences Po Grenoble and associate researcher at
the French Institute of Anatolian Studies. Since Trump's election, Turkey had
indicated it wanted a "change in US policy on the YPG support. But in reality
Erdogan has obtained nothing for now," he said.
The cooperation between Washington and the YPG, which saw the United States send
a limited number of forces to work with the group, led to bitter tensions
between Ankara and Washington in the dying months of the Obama administration.
The US backed the formation of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), dominated by
the YPG but also including Arab fighters, yet Ankara contends it is merely a
front from the Kurdish group. In an unusual move after days of border clashes
between the Turkish army and YPG that followed the air strikes, the US sent
military vehicles to the Syrian side of the frontier to carry out patrols in an
apparent bid to prevent further fighting. Erdogan said the sight of American
flags in the convoy alongside YPG insignia had "seriously saddened" Turkey.
- 'Tensions help IS survival' -The Turkish president, fresh from winning the
controversial April 16 referendum on enhancing his powers, has indicated that
the rewards for Washington in breaking up with the YPG could be high by spurring
Turkish involvement in a joint operation to take the IS fiefdom of Raqa.
Together the United States can "turn Raqa into a graveyard for Daesh (IS),"
Erdogan said on Saturday. But Ankara has made clear it will have nothing to do
with any operation involving the YPG and analysts say Turkey could even be a
threat to a Raqa operation if it is not included.
"Washington was reluctant to launch the Raqa operation before Turkey's April 16
referendum to avoid potential complications with Ankara," said Aykan Erdemir,
senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He said the Turkish
air strikes -- which were combined with strikes against the PKK in Iraq --
brought "another unanticipated challenge" to coalition efforts against the
jihadists.
"Tensions among coalition members have been one of the key factors for the
Islamic State's continued survival," he said. - 'Singular dilemma' -The
International Crisis Group (ICG) said in its latest report on the Syria crisis
that the US had "a singular dilemma" on the future of its relationship with the
YPG
It said the YPG "is indispensable" to defeat IS but there is also "no avoiding
the fact" that the US is backing a force "led by PKK-trained cadres in Syria
while the PKK itself continues an insurgency against a NATO ally." It said that
Turkey had pressed ahead with the air strikes despite US objections and this
"should serve as a warning for what could lie in store."But it said while the
YPG was counting on American and also Russian support as a bulwark against
Turkey, the importance of the country will mean Trump will have an ear for
Erdogan's concerns.Ultimately Washington "will likely view relations with Turkey
–- a NATO member and critical ally –- as more important to its broader strategic
interests," it said.
US-Led Strikes against IS Have Killed 352 Civilians, Says
Pentagon
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 01/17/US-led strikes aimed against the Islamic
State group have "unintentionally" killed 352 civilians since the offensive
began in 2014, according to the US military. The tally from the Combined Joint
Task Force did not include findings from an investigation the coalition said it
had launched into one allegedly particularly deadly strike on March 17 in west
Mosul. US General Stephen Townsend had said coalition forces "probably had a
role in those casualties."The statement released Sunday by Operation Inherent
Resolve -- the coalition fighting the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria --
said 42 reports of civilian fatalities were still under review. From November
2016 to March 9, 2017, coalition strikes killed 45 civilians, the statement
said. Three separate strikes near Mosul in early March of this year left 26
civilians dead. The statement said the coalition had in February and March
finished an audit of its civilian casualty report tracking. The Pentagon said 80
civilian casualties caused by US-led strikes in Iraq and Syria from August 2014
to date had not previously been publicly announced. Two civilian deaths that had
previously been reported were found not to be attributable to the coalition, the
statement said. Critics, including monitoring groups, say the real total number
of civilian casualties is much higher than the official tally reported by the US
military. The coalition insists the IS group has targeted civilians and used
them as human shields, making it difficult to avoid civilian casualties despite
its state-of-the-art technology.
HRW Says Damascus Used Nerve Gas in Four Recent Attacks
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 01/17/Syrian government forces used deadly
nerve gas in Khan Sheikhun and in three other recent attacks, Human Rights Watch
said Monday, describing a "clear pattern" of chemical weapons use that could
amount to crimes against humanity.President Bashar al-Assad's forces are also
stepping up chlorine gas attacks and have begun using surface-fired rockets
filled with chlorine in fighting near Damascus, the U.S.-based rights group said
in a new report. "The government's use of nerve agents is a deadly escalation --
and a part of a clear pattern," said Kenneth Roth, the executive director of
Human Rights Watch. "In the last six months, the government has used warplanes,
helicopters, and ground forces to deliver chlorine and sarin in Damascus, Hama,
Idlib and Aleppo.""That's widespread and systematic use of chemical weapons," he
said. Human Rights Watch interviewed 60 witnesses and collected photos and
videos providing information on the suspected chemical attack in Khan Sheikhun
on April 4 and on three other alleged uses of nerve gases in December 2016 and
March 2017. At least 92 people including 30 children died in the suspected sarin
gas attack in Khan Sheikhun on April 4, according to local residents and
activists. Hundreds more were injured. Residents said a first bomb believed to
be carrying the deadly agent sarin was dropped near the town's central bakery
and was followed by three or four high-explosive bombs a few minutes
later.Dozens of photos and videos provided by residents of a crater from the
first bomb showed a green-colored metal fragment that Human Rights Watch said
was likely the Soviet-produced KhAB-250 bomb.
Three suspected attacks in Hama
Human Rights Watch said 64 people died from exposure to nerve agents after
warplanes attacked territory controlled by the Islamic State in eastern Hama on
December 11 and December 12.
Activists and local residents provided names of the victims, while Human Rights
Watch interviewed four witnesses and two medical personnel about the alleged
attack. A third suspected nerve agent attack in northern Hama on March 30 caused
no deaths but injured dozens of civilians and combatants, according to residents
and medical personnel, the report said. All four suspected nerve agent attacks
were in areas where anti-government fighters were threatening government
military air bases, according to Human Rights Watch. The alleged attacks were
systematic and in some cases directed against civilians, which would meet the
legal criteria to be characterized as crimes against humanity, the rights group
said. Last month, Assad told AFP in an interview that the suspected sarin attack
in Khan Sheikhun was "100 percent" fabricated, serving as a pretext for U.S.
missile strikes on a Syrian air field. The rights group said the string of
suspected attacks cast doubt over Syrian and Russian claims that toxic agents
were released in Khan Sheikhun after a bomb struck a chemical weapons depot on
the ground. "It would not be plausible that conventional bombs struck chemical
caches repeatedly across the country," said in the report titled "Death by
Chemicals."The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is
investigating allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria along with the joint
U.N.-OPCW panel (JIM) which is tasked with assigning responsibility for the
attacks. Citing mounting evidence of repeated chemical weapons use, Human Rights
Watch said the U.N. Security Council should once again ask the International
Criminal Court to open a war crimes investigation. Such a move by the council in
2014 was blocked by Russia, Assad's top ally, and China.
Iran Big Winner from Region Turmoil, Says Arab League Head
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 01/17/Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit
warned Monday that Iran and Israel were the main beneficiaries of turmoil across
the Arab world, which he described as the worst he has ever seen. "I have never
seen anything worse than what we are now seeing," Abul Gheit said at the Arab
Media Forum in Dubai. "Iran is enjoying what the Arab world is going through.
There are those in Iran who are watching and waiting for us to destroy
ourselves." Ties between Iran and Arab states have grown increasingly tense in
recent years, with Tehran backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Yemen's
Shiite Huthi rebels and armed Shiite groups in Iraq. Arab governments largely
back Syrian opposition groups. Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have for the
past two years battled the Huthis, who control the capital and strategic ports
along the Red Sea coastline. Israel also stood to benefit from conflicts across
the region, Abul Gheit said. "Israel was under enormous pressure to find a
solution with the Palestinians," he said. "If I were the prime minister ... I
would have thought these were the happiest days for Israel." Long-stalled peace
talks between Israel and the Palestinians have been overshadowed by global
concerns over the Syrian war and Islamic State group jihadists.
Three women arrested in London under anti-terror laws
Reuters, London Monday, 1 May 2017/Three women were arrested under Britain’s
anti-terror laws in east London on Monday, police said, in connection with
investigations into a plot that was thwarted last week. The Metropolitan Police
said it arrested two 18-year-olds and a 19-year-old on suspicion of the
commission, preparation and instigation of terrorist acts. “The arrests were
made as part of an ongoing intelligence-led operation in connection with an
address on Harlesden Road,” the police said in a statement, referring to a
location where a woman was shot on Friday during an armed raid which police said
disrupted a militant plot.
Kurdish-Arab alliance advances against ISIS near Syria’s
Raqqa
AFP, Beirut Monday, 1 May 2017/US-backed fighters have captured 80 percent of
Syria's Tabqa from ISIS, a monitor said on Monday, a week after they first
entered the town. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) broke into Tabqa from the
south last week and have steadily advanced north, cornering ISIS in three
contiguous neighborhoods on the bank of the Euphrates River. The strategic town
of Tabqa sits on a supply route about 55 kilometers (35 miles) west of Raqa
city, the de facto capital of ISIS territory in Syria. At dawn, IS fighters
withdrew from the western-most district towards the other two quarters, said
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "The SDF now
controls more than 80 percent of Tabqa," Abdel Rahman said. "In the whole town,
ISIS only holds those two neighborhoods, known locally as the first and second
quarters," he told AFP. Clashes and bombing raids by the US-led coalition were
rocking the town on Monday morning, the Observatory reported. The assault on
Tabqa began in late March when SDF forces and their US-led coalition allies were
airlifted behind ISIS lines. The SDF -- composed of Arab and Kurdish fighters --
then surrounded Tabqa in early April before pushing into the town on April 24.
The assault on Raqqa, dubbed "Wrath of the Euphrates", was launched in November
and has seen SDF fighters capture large swathes of countryside around the city.
More than 320,000 people have been killed in Syria since the country's war began
with anti-government protests in March 2011.
Syrian Democratic Forces liberate Tabqa from ISIS
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 1 May 2017/A spokesman for the Syrian
Democratic Forces Brigadier General Talal Sallou confirmed the control of the
entire city of Tabqa from the grip of ISIS. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a
coalition of Kurdish and Arab factions backed by Washington, controlled
yesterday more than 70 percent of the city of Tabqa, according to the Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights. The Syrian Democratic Forces published pictures
showing weapons and ammunition in the recently controlled neighborhoods of the
city. Since 2014, the city of Tabqa has strategic importance as it opens the way
for Syria's democratic forces to al-Raqqa area which has the largest water dam
in the country. The full control comes a week after Syria's demilitarized forces
entered the town 55 km west of Raqqa. Syria's democratic forces face fierce
resistance from ISIS fighters, who are also using armed planes against the Iraqi
forces, which are trying to expel them from the northern city of Mosul.
According to the observatory, ISIS constantly utilize suicide bombers and car
bombs to target locations of the Syrian Democratic forces, in an attempt to
obstruct their progress. This is a strategy they implement whenever they lose
their control over a location. The city of Tabqa is a major ISIS base near an
important dam bearing its name, and has a prison that is still under the control
of the organization Recapturing the city of Tabqa is part of the “Wrath of the
Euphrates” operation initiated by the Syrian Democratic Forces, with the support
of the International Coalition in November to expel ISIS.
Hamas to soften stance on Israel, Muslim Brotherhood in
policy document
Reuters, Doha Monday, 1 May 2017/The Palestinian group Hamas will remove a call
for Israel’s destruction and drop its association with the Muslim Brotherhood in
a new policy document to be issued on Monday, Gulf Arab sources said. Hamas’s
move appears aimed at improving relations with countries in the region, which
label the Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, as well as with Western
countries, many of which classify Hamas as a terrorist group over its hostility
to Israel.
Police use tear gas to disperse May Day protests in
Istanbul
AFP, Istanbul Monday, 1 May 2017/Turkish police on Monday used tear gas to
disperse a group of protesters as they sought to defy a ban and march to
Istanbul’s Taksim square to celebrate May Day, an AFP journalist reported.
Police tried to stop around 200 protesters in the Gayrettepe district on the
European side of Istanbul who wanted to walk to the famous square in spite of
the ban by city authorities. The protesters -- made up of left-wing groups --
unfurled anti-government banners as May Day comes after the April 16 referendum
brought President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a narrow win to expand his powers. “Long
Live May Day, No to dictator!” the banners read. At least one protester was
detained, according to the AFP journalist. Turkish authorities imposed a ban on
any demonstration at Taksim square, with police sealing off the avenue with
barricades. Several thousand people attended celebrations in an officially
designated area in Bakirkoy district near the international airport on the
city’s western side.
After Saudi Arabia, Germany’s Merkel arrives in the UAE
The Associated Press, Dubai Monday, 1 May 2017/German Chancellor Angela Merkel
has landed in the United Arab Emirates, her second stop on a two-nation Gulf
tour taking in the Arab world’s largest economies. The German leader was greeted
by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme
Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, upon her arrival on Monday in the capital,
Abu Dhabi. The crown prince is the half-brother of the country’s ailing
president and his presumed successor. Merkel arrived in the seven-state
federation following a visit to neighboring Saudi Arabia, where she held talks
with King Salman and other senior leaders that touched on women’s rights and the
war in Yemen. Trade is also high on the agenda. Merkel’s delegation includes
prominent German business leaders looking to strengthen ties with the country’s
two largest trading partners in the Middle East.
Turbulence injures passengers on Aeroflot plane headed to
Bangkok
AFP Monday, 1 May 2017/Passengers on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Thailand
were slammed into the ceiling after their aircraft hit a patch of severe
turbulence injuring 27 people, some of them suffering fractured bones, witnesses
and officials said Monday. The terrifying ordeal occurred when the plane flew
through a pocket of “clean air” turbulence -- so-called because there is no
cloud warning of its presence -- shortly before landing in Bangkok after
midnight, the airline said. Denis Antonyuk, an official at Russia’s embassy in
Bangkok said 24 Russian nationals and three Thais were injured. “Fifteen
Russians and two Thais are still in hospital,” he told AFP, adding the rest had
been discharged. Passenger phone footage broadcast by Rossiya 24 state
television channel showed a scene of chaos inside the cabin, with injured
passengers on the floor, smears of blood on luggage racks and oxygen masks
hanging down. “We were hurled up into the roof of the plane, it was practically
impossible to hold on,” a passenger who gave her first name Yevgenia, told
Rossiya 24 by phone. “It felt like the shaking wouldn’t stop, that we would just
crash,” she added. The head of the Russian embassy’s consular department
Vladimir Sosnov told RIA Novosti news agency that some of the injured were
undergoing operations but he could not give exact numbers. He added that none of
the injuries were life-threatening. “All the injured were taken to a local
hospital with injuries of varying degrees of severity -- mainly fractures and
contusions. Some need an operation,” the Russian embassy in Bangkok said in a
statement. Officials at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport did not respond to
requests for comment. Thailand has become a very popular destination for
sun-seeking Russian tourists with dozens of flights a day from across the
country. Numbers dropped off a few years back when the rouble weakened but they
have since bounced back. Last year just over one million Russians visited the
country, most flocking to the southern beach resorts. Early May is an especially
popular time of the year for Russians to head abroad with two public holidays in
the first two weeks of the month.
Who are the three most influential terrorists in the Jeddah
cell?
Staff writer, Al Arabiya.net Monday, 1 May 2017/On Sunday, the Saudi interior
ministry identified three main members of the Harazat terror cell, which was
responsible for last year’s attacks on the Prophet’s Mosque in Jeddah. Major
General Bassam Attia said Khaled al-Sarawani, Nadi al-Anzi and Hussam al-Juhani
are the most influential members of the terrorist cell that was uncovered in
Jeddah. Khaled al-Sarawani was arrested in 2008 and was charged for providing
shelter to terrorist members. The organization nicknamed Sarawani as the Prince
of Hijaz. He was an extremist who was influenced by what is happening in Iraq
and Afghanistan. ISIS asked Hussam al-Juhani to pledge allegiance to the
leadership of the organization in a written statement sent over the Telegram
application linking him to Khaled al-Sarawani. Husam al-Juhani supported
al-Qaeda and was first arrested between 2005 and 2007 and then in 2017 for
joining the terrorist organization of ISIS. Juhani joined ISIS with the help of
Ibrahim al-Zahrani. Their relation evolved and Juhani was questioned by the
organization’s operations mediator regarding the date of his release and his
financial status, and other questions. Juhani was in direct contact with the
operations’ mediator in Syria. He was supposed to be a marked member in charge
of transferring weapons and explosive belts to the organization’s members.
Marzouq al-Anzi, who blew himself up, was the owner of the “Monasseroun”
(meaning supporters) account that has helped hacking dozens of Saudi citizens’
accounts on Twitter through an automated application. The names of the 3
terrorists were linked to other brutal crimes related to the terrorist operation
targeting the Prophet’s Mosque and the other one that took place in the parking
lot of Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital in Jeddah. Major General Attia revealed 7
locations used by the organization in less than a year. He pointed out that the
security raids startled al-Harazat cell that started to witness differences and
lack of cohesion. Attia noted that the attempt to target the Prophet’s Mosque is
the most serious operation, because it has gone through six stages, starting
with the manufacture of the belt and its storage in the Wadi Naaman rest house.
Details emerge about ISIS cell members involved in the
Prophet's Mosque attack
Staff writer, Al Arabiya.net Monday, 1 May 2017/Further information has been
released regarding the identified members of a terrorist cell believed to be
responsible for a number of attacks in Saudi Arabia. The group has been named as
the "Harazat cell" after the name of the town they operated in, located in
Jeddah. The Saudi interior ministry revealed information about Hussam al-Juhani,
who became a leading member of an extremist organization in 2003 and supported
al-Qaeda and ISIS. He was first arrested between 2005 and 2007 and then in 2017
for joining the terrorist organization of ISIS.Juhani joined ISIS with the help
of Ibrahim al-Zahrani. He accepted Zahrani’s suggestion and was questioned by
the organization’s operations mediator in Syria about his age, date of arrest,
wife, financial and family status, and other questions. Juhani was in direct
contact with the operations’ mediator in Syria. He was supposed to be an
“evident” member in charge of transferring weapons and explosive belts to the
organization’s members. He was asked to pledge allegiance to ISIS in a written
statement. He was placed under the command of Khalid al-Sardani, who was known
within ISIS as Amir al-Hijaz. Hussam Saleh Samaran Al-Juhani was arrested in an
apartment in al-Naseem District in Jeddah, where he had logistical ties with a
rest house in Harazat. The house was used as a shelter and a laboratory for the
manufacture of explosive belts and devices. Terrorists Khalid Ghazi Hussein al-Sarwani
and Nadi Marzouq Khalaf al-Madhyani al-Anzi, blew themselves up when they were
raided by the security forces. Further to the ongoing investigations carried out
by the security authorities on the activity of this cell, the authorities found
that this cell was directly involved in other terrorist crimes. The
investigations proved that the cell was involved in the terrorist operation that
targeted worshipers at the Prophet’s Mosque last year, by providing the suicide
bomber, Naer Musallam Hammad al-Nujaidi – a Saudi national – with the explosive
belt. The suicide bomber blew himself up when security men prevented him from
entering the Prophet’s Mosque; 4 security men were martyred and 5 others were
wounded. It was also proven that this terrorist cell was involved in the
terrorist operation that took place in the parking lot of Dr. Sulaiman Fakih
Hospital in Jeddah last year. It has also provided the suicide bomber, Abdullah
Qulzar Khan – a Pakistani national – with the explosive belt. The latter blew
himself up when security men tried to stop him for his suspicious behavior.
Know the aims of Saudi Arabia’s national identity program
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English Monday, 1 May 2017/The program of strengthening
national identity, which is one of the 10 programs which the Saudi Council of
Economic Affairs and Development recently identified to achieve Saudi Vision
2030, aims to enhance individuals’ national identity on the basis of Islamic and
national values. It also aims to enhance the personal and psychological
characteristics that contribute to motivating individuals towards success and
optimism and to forming an efficient generation. The kingdom also plans to work
to protect individuals from religious, social and cultural threats. This program
therefore plans to play a substantial role in altering the kingdom’s image in
foreign countries.
India mob kill two Muslim men over suspected cow theft
AFP, India Monday, 1 May 2017/Two Muslim men have died after they were attacked
by Indian villagers who suspected them of stealing cows, police said Monday, the
latest such attack over the animal Hindus consider sacred. Police in the
northeastern state of Assam said they had registered a murder case over the
deaths of Abu Hanifa and Riyazuddin Ali who were beaten with sticks on Sunday.
Two suspects have been detained for questioning. “They were chased and beaten
with sticks by villagers who said the two boys were trying to steal cows from
their grazing field,” Debaraj Upadhyay, Nagaon’s top cop, told AFP by telephone.
“By the time we took them to the hospital at night they had succumbed to their
injuries,” he added. The incident comes amidst a wave of rising tensions over
the killing and smuggling of cows in Hindu-majority India, where the animal is
considered sacred and its slaughter is a punishable offence in many states.
There have been a spate of attacks in recent months by ‘cow protection’
vigilante groups, who roam some highways inspecting livestock trucks for any
trace of the animal.A Muslim man died last month after his truck carrying cows
was attacked by a group in western Rajasthan state. But Updadhyay dismissed any
suggestion that a vigilante group or association was involved in the latest
incident. In 2015, a Muslim man was lynched by his neighbors over rumors that he
had slaughtered a cow. Police later said the meat was mutton. Critics say the
vigilantes have been emboldened by the election in 2014 of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Last year Modi
criticized the cow-protection vigilantes and urged a crackdown against groups
using religion as a cover for committing crimes.
Tony Blair announces return to British politics to fight
against Brexit
AFP, London Monday, 1 May 2017/Former British prime minister Tony Blair said
Monday he was plunging back into domestic politics in order to fight against
Brexit. Blair, who led the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007, will not be standing
in the June 8 general election. But he said he wanted to build a political
movement to shape the policy debate as Britain starts its negotiations to leave
the European Union. Blair, 63, who was prime minister for a decade from 1997 and
whose legacy has been defined by the Iraq war, said he knew he would face
intense criticism for doing so. But the ardent Europhile, who has largely been
working on Middle East and African issues since leaving office, still wanted to
get his "hands dirty" and re-enter the fray, saying voters should have the
chance to change their mind once the final EU exit deal becomes clear. "This
Brexit thing has given me a direct motivation to get more involved in the
politics," he told the Daily Mirror newspaper. "You need to get your hands dirty
and I will. "I know the moment I stick my head out the door I'll get a bucket of
wotsit poured all over me, but I really do feel passionate about this. "I don't
want to be in the situation where we pass through this moment of history and I
hadn't said anything because that would mean I didn't care about this country. I
do. "I am not sure I can turn something into a political movement but I think
there is a body of ideas out there people would support." He said his push was
not about defying the vote to leave the European Union. He said leaving the
European single market and seeking a free trade agreement, as is Conservative
Prime Minister Theresa May's intention, would be "relegating ourselves" from the
top order. Opinion polls put the Conservatives far ahead of Labour, a few weeks
out from the general election. Blair, who won three straight general elections
as Labour leader, was from the most centrist strain of the party, while current
leader Jeremy Corbyn is from its strident leftist wing that reviles Blairite
politics. "Unless you are providing answers for the future you are not going to
win," Blair warned.
Israel Official: 870 Palestinians Remain on Hunger
Strike
Associated Press/Naharnet/May 01/17/Popular support for a hunger strike by
hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel has been gaining momentum with
West Bank marches, sit-ins and a social media campaign showing video clips of
celebrities from across the Arab world drinking salty water in solidarity. The
strike is one of the largest such protests in recent years, with potential
fallout beyond the prisoners' demands for better conditions in Israel lockups.
Still, on Monday, the 15th day of the fast, the number of participating
prisoners had dropped to 870, from a high of 1,300 a week earlier, according to
an Israeli official. The strike has catapulted organizer Marwan Barghouti, who
is serving five life sentences, back into the spotlight and boosted his national
leadership credentials. Barghouti, behind bars since 2002, has consistently led
in polls as the most popular choice to someday succeed 82-year-old Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas had attempted to sideline the 58-year-old
Barghouti in their Fatah party, despite Barghouti's strong showing in internal
leadership elections late last year.
This week in downtown Ramallah, an iconic photo of Barghouti wearing a brown
Israeli prison uniform — shackled hands raised defiantly above his head — was
plastered on house walls, shop windows and sit-in tents where relatives of
prisoners held framed photos of the detainees.
A large rally in support of the hunger strikers has been scheduled for
Wednesday, the day Abbas is to meet President Donald Trump at the White House
for the first time.
Those involved in mobilizing support for the hunger strikers say they are not
trying to upstage Abbas. But the contrast is stark between widespread
indifference to another attempt by Abbas to resume U.S.-led negotiations with
Israel on Palestinian statehood and the Palestinian public's emotional show of
support for the prisoners.
Prisonershave been a consensus issue among Palestinians.
In the half-century since Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east
Jerusalem, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been imprisoned at one
time or another for fighting against Israeli rule, for acts ranging from
stone-throwing and membership in groups outlawed by Israel to carrying out
attacks that wounded or killed Israelis. Israel has branded those involved in
violence as terrorists. Currently, about 6,500 Palestinians are being held in
Israeli prisons, including several hundred without charges or trial, according
to Palestinian figures. Barghouti was convicted of a role in attacks that killed
five people during the second Palestinian uprising; he never put up a defense,
refusing to recognize the jurisdiction of an Israeli court. Assaf Librati, a
spokesman for the Israel Prison Service, said Monday that 870 prisoners are
still on hunger strike, down from a peak of about 1,300 last week. Librati did
not say why more than 400 prisoners had ended the fast. He said the hunger
strikers are being held separately from other prisoners, and that several of
them are being kept in isolation. Barghouti's supporters have said he was moved
into isolation on the first day of the protest, but Librati would not comment on
Barghouti's status. The spokesman said the hunger strikers are being monitored
by medical staff. All their personal items, including books, were taken from
them at the start of the protest, he said. Qadoura Fares, who heads an advocacy
group for Palestinian prisoners, alleged that the Israeli authorities are trying
to weaken the resolve of the hunger strikers by isolating Barghouti and
negotiating separate deals for each prison.
Fares said that Barghouti would continue with the strike "even if he was alone,
until he achieves the goal."In support of the hunger strikers, a general strike
last week shuttered shops and schools in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. A
campaign called "water and salt," initiated by the Barghouti family, is
spreading on social media and at sit-in tents across the West Bank. Participants
drink salty water in a show of solidarity. Several celebrities in the Arab world
have already taken part, including the host of "Arabs Got Talent," who drank the
salt water at the opening of his popular Beirut-based TV show over the weekend.
Others included a prominent Iraqi football player and a Lebanese artist.
Palestinian analyst Ahamd al-Azem said the hunger strike is helping mobilize
younger Palestinians who have been largely apathetic in recent years because
paths to statehood appear to be blocked.
"This will be a very important step for a new generation to think how we can
start again because politically, we are in a crisis," said Azem. "Nothing is
working, negotiations are not working, the occupation is continuing."
N. Korea Warns of Nuclear Test 'at Any Time'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 01/17/North Korea warned Monday that it will
carry out a nuclear test "at any time and at any location" set by its
leadership, in the latest rhetoric to fuel jitters in the region. Tensions on
the Korean peninsula have been running high for weeks, with signs that the North
might be preparing a long-range missile launch or a sixth nuclear test -- and
with Washington refusing to rule out a military strike in response. A spokesman
for the North's foreign ministry said Pyongyang was "fully ready to respond to
any option taken by the US". The regime will continue bolstering its "preemptive
nuclear attack" capabilities unless Washington scrapped its hostile policies, he
said in a statement carried by the state-run KCNA news agency. "The DPRK's
measures for bolstering the nuclear force to the maximum will be taken in a
consecutive and successive way at any moment and any place decided by its
supreme leadership," the spokesman added, apparently referring to a sixth
nuclear test and using the North's official name, the Democratic Republic of
Korea. The North has carried out five nuclear tests in the last 11 years and is
widely believed to be making progress towards its dream of building a missile
capable of delivering a warhead to the continental United States. It raises the
tone of its warnings every spring, when Washington and Seoul carry out joint
exercises it condemns as rehearsals for invasion, but this time fears of
conflict have been fuelled by a cycle of threats from both sides.
The joint drills have just ended, but naval exercises are continuing in the Sea
of Japan (East Sea) with a US strike group led by the aircraft carrier US Carl
Vinson. The Pyongyang foreign ministry spokesman said if the North was not armed
with "the powerful nuclear force", Washington would have "committed without
hesitation the same brigandish aggression act in Korea as what it committed
against other countries".The statement reasserts the North's long-running
rhetoric on its military capabilities. Seoul also regularly warns that Pyongyang
can carry out a test whenever it decides to do so. Pyongyang's latest attempted
show of force was a failed missile test on Saturday that came just hours after
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pressed the UN Security Council to do more
to push the North into abandoning its weapons programme. Tillerson warned the UN
Security Council last week of "catastrophic consequences" if the world does not
act and said that military options for dealing with the North were still "on the
table". In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS television network's "Face the
Nation" programme, Trump said that if North Korea carries out another nuclear
test "I would not be happy". Asked if "not happy" signified "military action",
Trump answered: "I don't know. I mean, we'll see."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 01-02/17
Threat of War Stokes Conflict in Iran
Adel al-Salmi/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 01/17/
Tehran- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday slammed election
slogans of outgoing President Hassan Rouhani on the removal of the “shadow of
war” from Iran by signing the nuclear deal. Iranians should not thank Hassan
Rouhani’s policy of detente with the West for any reduction in the threat of
war, Khamenei said on Sunday, stepping up his criticisms of the president as
elections approach. Hours later, Rouhani renewed his position, but softened his
tone. At the same time, Iran’s Election Commission announced that it received
complaints from four candidates in the presidential elections because of the
issues witnessed in the first debate. Ebrahim Raisi, Tehran Mayor Mohammad
Bagher Ghalibaf, and conservative presidential candidate Mustafa Merslim
protested against the way the debate was moderated and accusations made against
competitors.
In comments that appeared to favor hardline candidates in the May 19 vote,
Khamenei played down the benefits of Rouhani’s landmark agreement to curb Iran’s
nuclear activities in return for a lifting of international sanctions. “Some say
since they took office the shadow of war has been faded away. This is not
correct,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by state media. “It’s been people’s
presence in the political scene that has removed the shadow of war from the
country.”Khamenei and his hardline supporters have also criticized the nuclear
deal — which stiffled talk by Washington of possible military action against
Iran — for failing to deliver promised economic benefits. But speaking at the
opening of a refinery that Iran says will make it self-sufficient in oil
products, Rouhani defended his position. “The nuclear deal was a national
achievement. We should make use of its advantages. But some have started a fight
over it,” Rouhani said. He cited the new refinery, in the Gulf port city of
Bandar Abbas as a result of the deal and “interaction with the world”. One of
Rouhani’s main challengers, Raisi, an influential cleric with decades of
experience in the hardline judiciary, said Iran had no need of foreign help to
improve the economy and could always defend itself. “We should not warn our
people of wars and crises. We have full security in the country,” Raisi said in
a recorded address on state television. “This approach, that we should wait for
foreign investment and for foreigners to resolve our issues, is wrong.“This is
wrong, to wait years and years for foreign investors to come … We should resolve
issues by relying on domestic capabilities,” Raisi said in comments that echoed
those previously made by Khamenei, Iran’s highest authority. Rouhani has said
Iran needs foreign capital to modernize its oil, gas, transportation and
telecommunication sectors after decades of international isolation. However,
foreign investors are still cautious about trading with or investing in Iran,
fearing penalties from remaining unilateral US sanctions and President Donald
Trump’s tough rhetoric on the Islamic Republic. This has caused long delays in
contracts that Iran seeks with international firms to develop its oil and gas
fields.
The Region of Prisoners
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 01/17
Any Arab witnessing the bravery of the Palestinian prisoners inside the
occupation’s jails would feel proud, angry and pain. He would be proud because
the long detention behind the bars did not break the will of people demanding
the restoration of their land, rights and freedom — a number of fundamentals the
world claims it does not allow their violation. It is the will of a prisoner
that challenges the executioner no matter how skilled he is at torture. The
captive’s strokes on the wall of his cell kill whatever serenity the jailer
might be feeling, and sometimes shackles him in his oppression. I can almost
assume that the determination of the prisoners’ fists can achieve what the
factions were not capable of doing. Those fists rejuvenate the Palestinian
dream, while most factions are dying under the pressure of their narrow
calculations or their transformation into chips in major bargains. The Arab
would feel angry because the current status of the nation does not permit
keeping up with the prisoners’ determination to light the freedom torch of their
occupied land. Over the past few years, Israel achieved a tremendous historic
victory without even going into battle. The enemy’s generals could have just
been satisfied with watching through their binoculars the fast descent of the
nation towards the abyss. A few of the nation’s downfalls: the Iraqi army’s
absence and awakening of Iraqi groups asking for independence; the removal of
the Syrian army out the equation and its retreat to pouring its anger on some of
its people.
Syria no longer poses a threat to Israel. It has rather become a threat to
itself and its other neighbors.
The Arab is in pain because the central Palestinian cause is no longer the core
of the Arab and international interests, despite efforts at the recent Arab
Summit. This is the painful truth, but should we continue to bury our heads in
the sand? Other issues, such as terrorism, border infiltration, the Iranian
meddling, demographic change, Sunni-Shi’ite struggle and regional countries’
confusion over the Kurds have imposed themselves on the agenda and have even
come on top of priorities. Clearly, the world is busy in developing methods to
fight terrorists and lone wolves, as well as sparks coming from failed states.
It is a shame to witness the struggle of Palestinian prisoners in a region full
of captives. We are not exaggerating if we say that region is captive of its own
deep fear that is crippling its policies and reactions. Countries worry about
their international borders that are under the attack by terrorists and regional
coup engineers. They fear the awakening from within their boundaries that may go
beyond the map’s borders. Today, we are paying the price of the absence of fair
and safe coexistence between the major components in the region: Arabs,
Persians, Turks and Kurds. We also have to live with the missing fair and safe
coexistence within the borders themselves. The ordeals of recent years have
uncovered the frailty of the states. Storms are now capable of uprooting them.
The people have turned into anxious groups that are controlled by their deep
intolerance and are looking for a force outside of the system that would
guarantee their power. This led to the emergence of militias and small armies
aimed at carrying out vengeance.
These groups are not bound by the constitution or hindered by regulations,
leaving us with captive groups and captive armies.
The horrors of the Syrian slaughter and the years past revealed that we are sons
of a region that is still trapped in the past. The earthquake awakened grudges
and suppressed dreams. Nations that are asleep on the memory of an empire are
delusional in believing that they can rectify what they consider was once
wrongly done to them by history. Everyone became greedy to intervene and turn
equations around. Countries that were previously founded on urgent agreements
among its components now find themselves mired in bloody negotiations to
re-divide the country between all parties. It is not easy at all to accept the
rebirth of a new map of powers within a single map after feasts of blood and
hatred. Today, we are paying the price of insisting on living in the past. We
are paying the price of decisions we did not dare to take. If the French and
British gave up to their memories, their wars would still be raging till this
day. The same goes for the French and the Germans. Making it out of the wounds
of memory is an inevitable condition for building the policy of bridges on the
ruins of the policy of hate. We also suffer from the lack of a major decision to
belong to the era, its accomplishments, treaties and the idea of a state. Our
own elections produce captives. Our universities and schools create prisoners.
Our own television screens deepen our confinement behind the bars of our old
convictions. Our tragedy is cultural before it is political. We are hurt by
seeing Palestinian prisoners inside the occupation’s jails. It is our duty to
raise our voice and challenge the rusty international conscience. It is our
obligation as well to fear for our children and grandchildren if the Middle East
remains in the caves of the past as a region of prisoners.
Terrorists Will Not Stop the People from Living
Salman Al-dossary/Asharq Al-Awsat/May 01/17/
At the heart of the city of London, a wave of dead-end traffic once again
clogged city veins as police forces enforced a security lockdown after a bearded
man was arrested with a knife near Westminster offices, which were attacked last
month. I asked the cab driver, who in turn was irked with the hour he spent
stuck in traffic, on what was happening. “The police closed off all main routes
as usual, and here we are stuck behind cars and buses as you can see,” said the
chauffeur. “These terrorists won’t stop pestering us, but we will carry on with
our lives—we will not humor their attempts, but we will move on,” he added.
It might be that London suffered a grief lesser than Paris or Brussels — two
capitals which fell victim to some of the most brutal terror attacks in Europe —
but it too is a city targeted by terror that desires to impede people’s
lifestyle every now and then. Resiliently, the people of London, Paris, Cairo,
Istanbul, Riyadh, Manama or any other part of the world threatened by terrorism
have pushed full steam ahead. Even though, they may pause for a moment of grief
and worry, they soon hit back the ground running. In July, 2016, an attack
struck the French city of Nice when a 19 ton cargo truck was deliberately driven
into crowds celebrating Bastille Day on the Promenade des Anglais, resulting in
the deaths of 84 people. It left a large number of people struck with horror,
bringing out France’s then Prime Minister Manuel Valls to call for national
unity in the face of terrorism.
“Times have changed and we should learn to live with terrorism. We have to show
solidarity and collective calm. France has been hit in its soul on July 14, our
national day,” Valls had said. His speech received much criticism for
demoralizing the French, but what he had said is the proper recipe for
countering the fear-spurring and terrorizing strategy adopted by terrorists.
Terrorists stoke fear among all social elements, cultures and religions, and
they are well aware that attacking Westminster will not harm any government
official. Nevertheless, attacking Westminster would horrify people, bringing
them a step closer to achieving their goals. Terrorism thrives on fear that
makes resistance all the more futile and impossible. Fueled by religious
disregard and immorality this threat has succeeded in infecting the world with
anxiety, doubt and hatred. Members of society cannot be blamed for naturally
fearing threats posed against their lives. But a thought worth having is that
the fear will not help in preventing terrorist attacks from happening. It would
only prevent the people from going on with their lives and moving forward. As
governments spend tremendous military and security efforts to make the world a
safer place, societies have to also aid in rejecting a reality where terrorism
plays out its rules and goals. Losses suffered are a harsh work of fate and not
a choice. A central part of the war on terror is for the people to coexist with
terrorism, but governments don’t have to.
Religion and people’s exhaustion
Turki Aldakhil/Al Arabiya/May 01/17
What was significant during the seminar, organized by Riyadh newspaper two days
ago, was the statements made by officials at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
The officials included Dr. Tawfiq al-Sudairi, Sheikh Saad al-Yahya, Sheikh
Abdullah al-Sheikh, Sheikh Abdullah al-Nasser, Dr. Hamad al-Alayan and Dr. Saleh
al-Zahrani. Demonstrating the responsibility of their position, they addressed
the challenge of religious rhetoric in the Islamic world getting hijacked and
voiced the importance of restoring the renewed religious rhetoric as the latter
must dominate amid the regression due to terrorism. Sudairi said that the
September 11, 2001 attacks marked a transformation point that changed the West’s
view of the Islamic world. We need to overcome this perception that religion is
on the verge of demise. God’s religion will stay and those claiming that people
are exhausted are in fact the ones exhausting people
Public speeches
Yahya said that the Ministry of Islamic Affairs supervises around 100,000
mosques and those who are picked to deliver speeches there, adding that they
undergo certain exams before they are assigned. We hope that orators address
matters related to education, behavior and civil life instead of delivering
speeches that insult this or that figure or party. We need to overcome this
perception that religion is on the verge of demise. God’s religion will stay and
those claiming that people are exhausted are in fact the ones exhausting people!
Fourth industrial revolution: Giving youth the skills they
need for jobs of tomorrow
Bader Al-Asaker/Al Arabiya/May 01/17
We are living in an age of disruption and globalization. Technology is changing
the way we live and work, while the growth of global trade and international
brands is impacting the opportunity to create jobs for the future. The challenge
facing many fast-growth and emerging market economies, therefore, is how to
capitalize on their young and growing populations to create meaningful jobs
which add value and drive economic growth and development. Nowhere is this
challenge more acute than in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Two-thirds of Saudi Arabia’s population, for example, is under 29 years old. In
Jordan, the figure is an astonishing 70 percent according to the OECD. As a
result, the MENA region needs to create 100 million jobs in the next decade to
simply absorb the growing population says the World Bank. Yet, even in
fast-growing and emerging market economies, employers are reporting a gap
between the talent they need and that which is actually available on the market.
In short, economic growth and job creation are being impacted by the paradox of
both an unemployment challenge and a skills crisis as firms struggle to recruit
trained, role-specific talent.
As countries like Saudi Arabia strive to bridge the gaps between jobs, skills
and access to talent, it is vital that the public and private sectors work
together with civil society to ensure young people are empowered
Crippling imbalance
Such an imbalance can be crippling to economic progress. It puts a strain on
governments to provide support, perpetuating a vicious cycle of long-term
unemployment and stagnation, constraining the ability of nations to grow and
innovate. Action must be taken to not only develop government policies which are
inclusive of youth, but also implement programs which deliver real, tangible
results to give them the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow, in an
increasingly automated and technology driven workplace.The onus for change
should not be solely the responsibility of government. In Europe, for example,
multi-stakeholder public-private partnerships are tackling the lack of
information and communication technology (ICT) skills. At the launch of the
initiative by the European Commission in June 2013, a number of organizations
made pledges to help provide a Europe-wide pathway to training and
certification.
A 2014 report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) suggests that there is
a pressing need for such a pathway in the Middle East, with the skills gap set
to widen as demand for third platform technologies – mobile computing, social
media and analytics, cloud computing and big data – rises, and the supply of
local skills lags.
Saudi Arabia is taking positive action to diffuse this imbalance. Among the
targets set out in Vison 2030 by HRH Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is
a plan to have at least five Saudi universities among the top 200 in
international rankings by 2030, with the Kingdom developing modern curricula
focused on rigorous standards in literacy, numeracy, skills and character
development.
The MiSK Foundation
Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia is also focusing on the development of youth-led
NGOs. The MiSK Foundation, for example, is working to hasten the shift to a
knowledge-based economy by promoting practical schemes to support young people
in developing the right entrepreneurial and cognitive skills.
One example of a MiSK Initiative program which has delivered real impact is a
hackathon; the most recent ran over 48 hours and was focused on developing
solutions to healthcare issues through applied technology. The winning team
developed a groundbreaking application to match blood donors with recipients, a
LinkedIn for blood donations. MiSK is also working with organizations like
Udacity, Google, Boston Consulting Group and Harvard to provide not only
technology skills, but also critical thinking skills and professional
development training. As countries like Saudi Arabia strive to bridge the gaps
between jobs, skills and access to talent, it is vital that the public and
private sectors work together with civil society to ensure young people are
empowered and equipped to pursue higher education, build companies, create
wealth and contribute to future development.
This is why it is important that the Saudi capital, Riyadh, is hosting this week
(3rd and 4th May, 2017) the seventh edition of the International Forum of NGOs,
bringing together more than 350 global NGOs in official partnership with UNESCO,
as well as more than 1,600 youth representatives and experts under one roof.
Intended as a platform to co-create initiatives and select ideas to enable the
full engagement of young people within their societies and allow them to become
the change-makers of tomorrow, it promises to be a landmark event for the global
development of youth-focused NGOs and for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as it
continues on its path of ambitious reform.
100 days of President Trump: Flip flops or pragmatic realism?
Dr. Mohamed A. Ramady/Al Arabiya/May 01/17
Just like pundits were split on President Trump’s election success and the
reasons behind it, we are now again witnessing many acres of print in assessing
the presidential first 100 days. They are focused on whether this represents the
real pragmatic Trump who had to learn the realities of the job quickly, or of a
President who habitually flip flops from one cherished pledge to another and
causing uncertainties amongst both friends and foes alike. Determining a
presidency’s success by inspecting its “first 100 days” is a bit of an
artificial construct but it has now become the norm and a peer assessment of
success or failure. The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s presidency have been
anything but boring or slow but gave everyone something to talk about and go
into a deep analysis mode on the true meaning of the action, the flip flop or no
action, but how much of it was sound and fury and how much entailed real action?
This is not a laughing matter as political leaders around the globe are having
now to scramble and reassess where they stand following volte face changes, and
for those especially accustomed to a steady international relations, the flip
flops will do nothing to alleviate anxieties. So where were the departures from
the campaign promises and does it really matter if they have been discarded in
the bigger picture of things to Trump followers, who by all account still have
great faith in him and are putting the blame on false news and the media? Even
for the President, with the lowest approval rating for any US President in his
first 100 days in office, the ratings are a big lie and he believes he has the
highest rating of all times, making one dread on what he will do next to jack up
those low rating figures.
The wall
Let’s start with the wall, not the president’s only promise, but certainly one
of his oldest, most high-profile ones with election candidate Trump constantly
promising of the great wall that he plans to build along the US-Mexico border,
and whipping the crowds in a frenzy when he said Mexico would pay for the
project. By the end of the 100 days, all the thunder had gone and as usual one
had to learn about the fate of the wall via a tweet which simply said:
“Eventually, but at a later date so we can get started early, Mexico will be
paying, in some form, for the badly needed border wall”. The laughter from the
Mexican side of the border could be heard all the way in Washington. Then there
was Obamacare and the campaign promise to disband it from day one, only to have
another President Trump comment that “nobody knew healthcare could be so
complicated.” Sometimes one wonders what will be written on one’s tombstone as
an epitaph, but if the Trump presidency collapses under the weight of broken
promises, this quote from the president who has majority control over both
legislative houses, will make a fitting inscription for a tombstone.
As for immigration and keeping the bad dudes out, Mr Trump may have a bit of a
mixed record when it comes to fulfilling his promises on immigration, but it's
not for a lack of trying.
His administration has taken two shots at curtailing the US refugee program and
preventing citizens of a handful of majority Muslim nations from entering the
US. But those executive actions have been stymied by a handful of court judges
showing that the powers of checks and balances in the US were still alive, even
if the President alluded to the Hawaiian judge as a “so-called” judge. However
it is on foreign policy matters that there is most confusion, with the 100 days
ending on a doomsday note of “will he or wont he” push the nuclear button
against a seemingly unhinged North Korean leader who it seems takes great
pleasure in goading President Trump with a string of useless missile launches.
Slowly but surely, Trump has begun to resemble something less menacing and more
normal than his foes predicted and that may be he is finally being sucked into
mainstream politics by the very establishment he so derided and loathed on his
campaign trail
ISIS, Iran and China
Candidate Trump spoke of getting tough on ISIS, Iran and China, reaffirming an
alliance with Israel and mending relations with Russia. He promised to put
American priorities first and downplayed support for US allies and international
alliances that he deemed too burdensome. He pulled the US out of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership as promised and has begun a review process for the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) although that is bow being
downplayed. Trump’s self-defeating campaign promise to pull the US out of Nafta,
the trade agreement he once described as a “total disaster” was dropped after
Trump realized that it would decimate the very jobs and industry in the American
heartland that voted him into power. After saying that NATO has gone by its past
due date, he has recently acknowledged the value of NATO membership. Russia is
now emerging as a troublesome country and the matter is not helped by multiple
investigations involving President Trump’s advisors on the extent of their
relationship with Russia and what effect this had on the recent US elections.
The rhetoric and practical steps taken against Russia are now more evident. The
Trump administration rejected a request from ExxonMobil to get a waiver to
explore energy exploration in the Black Sea, despite the fact that he chose
Exxon-Mobil's chief executive officer, Rex Tillerson as his Secretary of State.
Then there was the Number One international currency manipulator China, but he’s
taken a softer line and backed away from his promise to label the nation a
“currency manipulator” or impose steep import tariffs, instead seeking the
nation’s help in dealing with North Korea.
While the Chinese were pleased at this, they were somewhat taken back, to put it
mildly, at being told over a “lovely piece of chocolate cake” that the President
had ordered a multiple tomahawk missile strike against Syria following that
government’s use of chemical weapons on its own people. This was the kind of
action that the candidate Trump had condemned in no uncertain terms in 2013,
when Barack Obama proposed his own Syrian intervention. To his credit, the
president signed a raft of executive actions, authorizing the construction of
the Keystone XL pipeline and instituting a federal hiring freeze (which has
since been lifted) – but in the vast scheme of things these are small change to
the President. So how will history judge him – by specific policy metrics or
something far bigger in what he represents?
‘The Washington swamp’
Mr Trump is far from a traditional president, so perhaps it’s unfair to evaluate
the first few months of his presidency in traditional ways, such as by tallying
up his policy accomplishments and failures. His voters largely didn’t back his
candidacy based on specific promises but because of his attitude and his promise
to shake up the political system and “drain the Washington swamp”.Mr Trump has
indeed taken some executive actions to limit administration officials from
becoming lobbyists after they leave government service. On the other hand, his
promises to avoid conflicts of interest over his wide-ranging business empire
have proven vague and unenforceable and he’s stocked his administration with the
kind of financial insiders and Wall Street billionaires he regularly railed
against on the campaign trail. If the performance metric is how much the Trump
presidency has disrupted politics as usual, Trump has posted a clear victory as
no one can now take him and his past election promises for granted, and this has
to be factored in from now on by the many leaders that he will meet including
those in the Middle East in his planned May visit to the region. In the final
analysis, Mr Trump has displayed many flaws, and shown he is human after all,
and, despite criticism, these flaws have not yet posed an existential threat to
the US Republic. He has obeyed the courts, even as he has derided their
decisions on twitter. He has reversed himself on Russia, much to the delight of
the Washington establishment, although a Trump – Putin summit can easily reverse
this. Slowly but surely, he has begun to resemble something less menacing and
more normal than his foes predicted and that maybe he is finally being sucked
into mainstream politics by the very establishment he so derided and loathed on
his campaign trail. oreign leaders, however, should be more alert and prepared
just when being served another “nice chocolate cake” in case the President
advises, as a matter of passing, that World War III has just started , as now he
talks of a “major, major” conflict with Pyongyang’s rogue regime. Taking this as
bluff or at his word, is at your choice and peril.
Palestinians: Embattled, Weak Abbas Comes to White House
Khaled Abu Toameh/Gatestone Institute/May 01/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10301/mahmoud-abbas-trump-white-house
The joke among Palestinians is that were it not for Israel is sitting smack in
the middle, the two warring Palestinian states [the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip] would be dispatching rockets and suicide bombers at each other.
Abbas is well aware that the Palestinian house is on fire. Instead of working to
extinguish the blaze, however, Abbas spends his time spreading the lie that
peace in our time is possible, if only Israel would succumb to his demands.
The story of Gaza -- which went straight to Hamas after Israel handed it to
Abbas -- is not a tale Abbas likes to tell. The same scenario is likely to be
repeated in the West Bank if Israel makes a similar move.
This week, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and US President
Donald Trump will sit down together to talk. This is the first such meeting
since the US presidential election, and it comes at a time when the Palestinian
scene is characterized by mounting internal tensions, fighting and divisiveness.
The disarray among the Palestinians, where everyone seems to be fighting
everyone else, casts serious doubt on Abbas's ability to lead the Palestinians
towards a better future. The chaos also raises the question whether Abbas has
the authority to speak on behalf of a majority of Palestinians, let alone sign a
peace agreement with Israel that would be acceptable to enough of his people.
Abbas, however, seems rather oblivious to the state of bedlam among the
Palestinians, and appears determined to forge ahead despite the radical
instability he is facing.
He is travelling to Washington to tell Trump that he and his PA leadership seek
a "just and comprehensive" peace with Israel through the creation of a
Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
In the meeting, Abbas is likely to repeat his long-standing charges that Israel
continues to "sabotage" any prospect for peace with the Palestinians.
Abbas is not likely to mention the mayhem that the PA leadership is facing at
home. Nor is the fact that the Palestinians are as far as ever from achieving
their goal of statehood likely to be a preeminent subject. Why bother discussing
inconvenient truths, such as the deep divisions among the Palestinians and
failure to hold presidential and parliamentary elections, when you can point the
finger of blame at Israel?
Abbas's trip to Washington coincides with a peak of tension between his PA and
Hamas, the Islamic movement that rules the Gaza Strip. The rivalry between Hamas
and Abbas's PA, which climaxed in 2007 when the Islamic movement violently took
over the Gaza Strip from Abbas loyalists, has created a reality where the
Palestinians are divided, physically, into two separate entities.
Since 2007, the reality on the ground is that the Palestinians already have two
small states: one in the Gaza Strip and another in the West Bank. These two
states have since been at war with each other. The joke among Palestinians is
that were it not for Israel is sitting smack in the middle, the two warring
Palestinian states would be dispatching rockets and suicide bombers at each
other.
This war, which is currently a war of venomous words between the PA and Hamas,
has left many Palestinians wondering whether their leaders will ever be able to
move beyond their personal animosities and bring the people closer to achieving
statehood. Many attempts by Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar
and Yemen, to resolve the dispute between Hamas and the PA have failed. Neither
side appears to be willing to make any concessions that would pave the way for
national reconciliation in the Palestinian arena.
For the past several weeks, thousands of Palestinians have taken to Gaza's
streets to denounce Abbas as a traitor and Zionist agent. It is worth noting
that the protesters are not only supporters of Hamas, but also include many
disgruntled PA employees who are protesting Abbas's decision to slash their
salaries by 30%. Abbas suspects that these employees, who are affiliated with
his Fatah faction, have switched their loyalty to his arch-rival, Mohamed Dahlan,
the ousted Fatah leader who has been publicly calling for the removal of Abbas
from power.
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas (left) recently decided to
slash by 30% the salaries of PA employees in Gaza. Abbas suspects that these
employees, who are affiliated with his Fatah faction, have switched their
loyalty to his arch-rival, Mohamed Dahlan (right). (Image sources: U.S. State
Dept., M. Dahlan Office)
Hardly a day passes in the Gaza Strip that demonstrators do not burn photos of
Abbas and his prime minister, Rami Hamdallah (who is also based in the West
Bank).
Yet, it is not only money that is bringing the Palestinian population to the
streets. Hamas and many Palestinians hold Abbas responsible for the ongoing
electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip, which has left tens of thousands of
families without power for up to 20 hours a day.
Last week Abbas's government told Israel that it will stop paying for
electricity that Israel supplies to Gaza. Palestinians say Abbas is planning
more punitive measures against the Strip in the near future. His goal is to
drive desperate Palestinians there to revolt against Hamas. In the meantime,
however, it seems that Abbas's measures are boomeranging, and Gazans are, for
now, hurling their fury at him and the PA government.
Abbas's plate is quite full in the Gaza Strip. Alongside Hamas, he has thousands
of Dahlan loyalists to deal with. Then there are several other Palestinian
groups, such as Islamic Jihad, that have long been challenging Abbas and his
autocratic rule. Recently, the leaders of these groups stepped up their harsh
criticism of Abbas, with some calling for his "execution" in a public square.
"Why does Abbas take the donors' money that is intended for the Gaza Strip?
asked Marwan Abu Ras, a senior Hamas official. In the view of Abu Ras, Abbas has
reached the "highest degrees of treason" and must face a popular and legal
trial. "He must be hanged in the public square in front of his people because he
is the biggest traitor the Palestinian cause has ever had," the Hamas official
declared.
Another top Hamas official, Mahmoud Zahar, said that Abbas has long lost his
legitimacy and was no longer the president of the Palestinians. He accused Abbas
and his senior aides of laying their hands on Arab and Western funds and using
them for their personal interests. "Abbas is committing crimes against humanity
in the Gaza Strip," Zahar charged. "Abbas cut off the electricity to the Gaza
Strip and salaries to the (PA) employees. He is involved in a conspiracy to
liquidate the Palestinian cause."
How Abbas would fare if he ever returned to Gaza is anyone's guess. Since 2007,
Abbas has not been able to even go back to his private house in Gaza. In light
of Hamas's daily threats to kill him, it is unlikely that the 82-year-old Abbas
will ever see the Gaza Strip from the inside again.
Abbas's senior aides, meanwhile, are not sitting silent in the face of the Hamas
threats. One of his top advisors, Mahmoud Habbash, last week called on
Palestinians to revolt against Hamas. Habbash also stated that it would be fine
to destroy and burn the Gaza Strip in order to get rid of Hamas.
The threats against Abbas are coming not only from Hamas, but also from Dahlan
and other senior Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip, who think of themselves as
sacrificial victims in the war between Abbas and Hamas. The Gaza Strip, then,
hosts not only a Fatah-Hamas war, but also a war within Fatah. And tensions
between all these parties are only headed toward escalation.
Adding to his problems stemming from the Gaza Strip, Abbas has his hands full
inside PA-controlled territories in the West Bank. A hunger strike organized by
jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti is seen as directed not only against
Israel, but above all against Abbas and the PA leadership. Barghouti, who is
serving five life terms in prison for his role in terrorist attacks, has been
imprisoned for 15 years. He and his fellow inmates are convinced that Abbas is
not interested in their release, which accounts for why he is not doing much to
help their cause. Abbas, it is said, fears Barghouti's popularity, and prefers
him in Israeli prison over having him at large.
The hunger strike has triggered a wave of protests in the West Bank not only
against Israel, but also against Abbas and his PA government. Abbas is also
facing enmity for cracking down on public freedoms, lack of economic reforms and
his continued security coordination with Israel.
Is it any surprise, then, that Abbas prefers to spend his time outside Ramallah
and the PA-controlled territories? He rarely visits Jenin, Hebron or Nablus, but
Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf states are a second home to him.
Abbas is well aware that the Palestinian house is on fire. Instead of working to
extinguish the blaze, however, Abbas spends his time spreading the lie that
peace in our time is possible, if only Israel would succumb to his demands.
The story of Gaza -- which went straight to Hamas after Israel handed it to
Abbas -- is not a tale Abbas likes to tell. The same scenario is likely to be
repeated in the West Bank if Israel makes a similar move. It remains to be seen
whether Trump and the new administration are aware of the extreme anarchy
reining among the Palestinians, and act accordingly. Will the world see past
Abbas's lies this time?
**Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.
© 2017 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do
not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No
part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied
or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.
Palestinians: Does Anyone Here Care about Muslim Women?
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/May 01/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10211/palestinian-women
These are embarrassing truths that the pro-Hamas feminist, Linda Sarsour does
not want to hear. The rights of women who are being oppressed by Hamas are the
last thing on her mind.
Sitting in the comfort of the U.S. and other Western countries, Linda Sarsour
and her colleagues are too busy inciting against Israel to remember the plight
of women in most Arab countries, including those living under the Palestinian
Authority (PA) and Hamas. Sarsour's claim, that Zionism and feminism are
incompatible, is nothing but a grimy lie.
The Palestinian Hamas terror movement recently banned Palestinians living under
its control in the Gaza Strip from celebrating International Women's Day. Hamas
dismissed a decision by the Palestinian Authority (PA) government in the West
Bank to give all civil servants a day off on this occasion, arguing that
International Women's Day was a "Western and foreign" event that is incompatible
with Islamic traditions and teachings.
The Islamic movement also issued a warning to all public and private
institutions in the Gaza Strip, including schools and universities, to refrain
from marking the occasion.
Hamas's decision drew sharp criticism from many Palestinians, especially women's
groups and human rights organizations, as well as the Palestinian Authority. The
critics maintained that the ban was a sign of Hamas's disrespect for women and
their contribution to Palestinian society.
The General Union of Palestinian Workers issued a statement in which it
condemned Hamas's refusal to acknowledge and honor the role of Palestinian
women. The statement said that Palestinian women have made huge sacrifices and
contributed remarkably to the Palestinian labor force and the development of
society.
The Hamas ban also angered many Palestinian men, who expressed outrage over the
"humiliation" of Palestinian women. Fathi Tbail, a leading Palestinian
journalist, commented: "I will celebrate International Women's Day, whether you
(Hamas) like it or not. All you represent is retardation!"
But not all Palestinians were protesting the latest Hamas insult against
Palestinian women. Take, for instance, Linda Sarsour.
Sarsour is a US-based supporter of sharia law and the anti-Israel BDS movement
who chose, instead of condemning Hamas for cancelling International Women's Day,
to spew her hatred against Israel and Zionism.
The prominent Palestinian-American feminist declared in an interview that
support for feminism and Zionism are incompatible. Sarsour told The Nation:
"It just doesn't make any sense for somebody to say, 'Is there room for people
who support the state of Israel and do not criticize it in the movement?' There
can't be in feminism. You either stand up for the rights of all women, including
Palestinians, or none. There's just no way around it."
Sarsour seems somewhat oblivious to the suffering of her fellow Palestinian
women under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. She demonstrates concern for
women's rights under one condition: when she can blame Israel.
One wonders what her position is on Hamas's cancellation of International
Women's Day. Or about severe restrictions imposed on Palestinian women in the
Gaza Strip, including denial the right to sit in a restaurant or go to the beach
unaccompanied by a male relative. How about her response to Hamas's ban on women
smoking water pipes in cafes, under the pretext that it violates traditions and
leads to divorce?
Just as an aside, is the feminist Sarsour aware that women living under Hamas
have been banned from riding motorcycles and scooters? Is she aware that Hamas
has also banned women from running in a marathon organized by the United
Nations?
These are embarrassing truths that the pro-Hamas feminist does not want to hear.
Why? Because Linda Sarsour's hatred for Israel and Zionism supersedes her
solidarity with her fellow Palestinian women. The rights of women who are being
oppressed by Hamas are the last thing on her mind. For Sarsour and her ilk in
the Palestinian-American feminist movement, the delegitimization and
demonization of Israel and Jews is what matters. Sitting in the comfort of the
U.S. and other Western countries, Sarsour and her colleagues are too busy
inciting against Israel to remember the plight of women in most Arab countries,
including those living under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
Perhaps it would be helpful to the cause of Palestinian women if Sarsour chose
to raise the case of Palestinian lawmaker and anti-corruption campaigner Najat
Abu Baker. Because of her heroic campaign and outspoken criticism against
corruption in the PA leadership, Abu Baker has been stripped of her
parliamentary immunity and expelled from the ruling Fatah faction by PA (and
Fatah) President Mahmoud Abbas. Recently, the PA also banned Abu Baker from
leaving the West Bank. She was supposed to travel to Lebanon to attend a
ceremony in which she was expected to be honored as the most respected lawmaker
in the Arab world.
Yet, Sarsour has not said a word to defend women like Abu Baker.
Prominent Palestinian-American feminist Linda Sarsour (left) demonstrates
concern for women's rights only when she can blame Israel. Sarsour has not said
a word to defend women like anti-corruption campaigner Najat Abu Baker (right),
who was stripped of her parliamentary immunity and expelled from the ruling
Fatah faction by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Nor is she interested in the enormous progress that Arab women have made in
Israel. While Abu Baker is being persecuted by the PA, Arab women serving in the
Knesset are free to speak and work without fear.
One wonders, too, what Sarsour and her fellow feminists think about the
treatment of gays living under the Hamas and PA regimes. This, at a time when an
Arab citizen of Israel, Tallen Abu Hanna, won the Miss Trans Israel contest last
year. Worse, in Iran, members of the gay community are being hanged in public.
In another sign of the empowerment of Arab women in Israel and their success,
last year the Israeli government appointed Mariam Kabaha as National
Commissioner for Equal Employment Opportunities at the Ministry of Economy and
Industry. Kabaha, an Israeli Arab woman, was chosen for the position from among
60 candidates.
While Sarsour advocates sharia law, the trend of Muslim Arab Israeli women
circumventing Islamic sharia courts in favor of Israel's civil courts has been
gaining momentum, according to Roy Brumer, a Jewish lawyer representing some of
these women. Sharia courts in Israel have jurisdiction for Muslims over personal
status issues such as divorce, marriage and conversion. However, over the past
several years, Brumer has noticed an uptick in the number of women seeking his
services.
Sarsour might take heed: Arab women in Israel enjoy more rights and freedom than
most women in Iran, Sudan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In Israel, women are free to
run in elections and go to the beach or a shopping mall without being
accompanied by a male relative. In Israel, Arab women are free to drive cars and
serve as judges in Israeli civilian courts. In Israel, women are not forced to
wear the hijab. Has Sarsour heard of Ghada Bsul, who serves as a judge with the
Haifa Court for Local Affairs? Or is that not of interest to her?
Sarsour's claim, that Zionism and feminism are incompatible, is nothing but a
grimy lie. In the Zionist state of Israel, Arab women have risen to senior
positions and enjoy a great deal of freedom in all walks of life. "Feminists"
like Sarsour, however, wish to take women's cause back centuries. With feminists
like that, who needs enemies?
**Bassam Tawil is a scholar 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.