LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
October 27/17
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani

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Bible Quotations
I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world
Saint Matthew 13/31-35/:"Jesus put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’ Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet: ‘I will open my mouth to speak in parables; I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.’"

What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel
First Letter to the Corinthians 09/13-18/:"Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is sacrificed on the altar? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this so that they may be applied in my case. Indeed, I would rather die than that no one will deprive me of my ground for boasting! If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe betide me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 26-27/17
Saudi Arabia’s Fresh Rhetoric/Ghassan Charbel/ Asharq Al-Awsat//October 26/17
Why Germany Is Better at Resisting Fake News/Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg View/October 26/17
Facebook, Social Media, Aiding Jihad; Censoring Those Who Counter Jihad/Benjamin Weingarten/Gatestone Institute/October 26/17
US quits UNESCO in support of Israel/Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi/Al Arabiya/October 26/17

Titles For Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on October 26-27/17
Al-Sabhan Calls for 'Punishing' Those who 'Cooperate' with Hizbullah
U.S. House Approves Legislation to Thwart Hizbullah's Cash Flow
U.S. House Approves Bill to Sanction Iran for Ballistic Missiles
Hizbullah Slams U.S. Sanctions, 'Political Exploitation' of Hay el-Sellom Events
Cabinet Convenes amid Divisions over Voter Cards, Pre-Registration
Army Arrests Ain el-Hilweh Terror Fugitive
Kaag Concludes Her Mission in Lebanon to Serve as Dutch Trade Minister
Conflicting Reports on Arrest of Man who Cursed Nasrallah
Report: Extremist Mawlawi Flees Hideaway in Ain el-Hilweh to Syria
Report: Ministerial Committee on Refugees Studies Solution Plan
Conflicting Reports on Arrest of Man who Cursed Nasrallah
US Treasury Secretary Threatens Firm Measures against Hezbollah, Iran
Aoun to visit Kuwait next week to boost bilateral ties

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on October 26-27/17
UN report finds Syrian regime responsible for sarin attackTillerson Calls for Assad Departure as U.N. Envoy Announces New Peace Talks
Terrain, Geopolitics Make for Tricky Last Battle on IS
Iraq PM Wins Iran Support as Forces Battle IS, Kurds
U.N. Security Council Pushes Iraq, Kurds to Hold Talks
Turkey Says Freezing Iraqi Kurd Vote is 'Not Enough'
Iraq PM Visits Ally Iran as War on IS, Kurd Dispute Hot Up
Iraq Forces Advance in 'Last Den' of IS Jihadists
PLO Says Israel 'Annexation' Plan Means End of Two-State Solution
Trump Envoy Haley in Troubled Eastern DR Congo
French Army Kills 15 Mali Jihadists as Mine Kills 3 Peacekeepers
Brazil President Says 'Truth Won' after Escaping Corruption Trial

Latest Lebanese Related News published on October 26-27/17
Al-Sabhan Calls for 'Punishing' Those who 'Cooperate' with Hizbullah
Naharnet/October 26/17/Firebrand Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan tweeted anew against Hizbullah on Thursday, commenting on the sanctions that were approved overnight by the U.S. House of Representatives. “In order to rein in the 'terrorist militia party', those who work and cooperate with it politically, economically and journalistically should be punished,” al-Sabhan said. “Serious efforts must be exerted to clip its wings domestically and externally and to confront it with force,” the minister added. Al-Sabhan has taken to Twitter to blast Hizbullah several times in recent months. Earlier in the day, Hizbullah denounced the new U.S. sanctions that are designed to thwart the group's cash flow, calling them an "aggression" against Lebanon. In a statement, the Iranian-backed group said the new measures were a "blatant intervention in Lebanese internal affairs, a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and an unacceptable targeting of the Lebanese people." The statement came a day after the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation to block the flow of allegedly illicit money to the group and to sanction it, describing Hizbullah as Iran's “leading terrorist proxy.”The bill targeting Hizbullah's finances, sponsored by Reps. Ed Royce and Eliot Engel, directs the Trump administration to sanction the people and businesses engaged in fundraising and recruitment activities for the group. Joseph Torbey, head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, told reporters earlier this week that U.S. officials have reassured a Lebanese banking delegation that visited Washington recently the sanctions won't target Lebanese banks as long as they abide by American regulations. The new sanctions come at a time when the Trump administration is increasing pressure on Iran, Hizbullah's main backer that has been supplying the group with weapons and money for more than three decades. A Hizbullah official earlier this month told The Associated Press that U.S. sanctions will not affect the operational activities of the group, calling it part of ongoing efforts to "demonize" Hizbullah.

U.S. House Approves Legislation to Thwart Hizbullah's Cash Flow
Associated Press/Naharnet/October 26/17/The U.S. House of Representatives approved bipartisan legislation Wednesday to block the flow of money to Hizbullah and to sanction the Iran-backed group for allegedly using civilians as "human shields" during the 2006 war with Israel, describing Hizbullah as Tehran's "leading terrorist proxy."The measures were approved by voice vote. The bill targeting Hizbullah's finances, sponsored by Reps. Ed Royce and Eliot Engel, directs the Trump administration to sanction the people and businesses engaged in fundraising and recruitment activities for the group. Royce, a California Republican, is chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Engel of New York is the panel's top Democrat. Hizbullah is a member of Lebanon's coalition government and the House measure touched off alarms in Beirut, where officials feared major damage might be done to the country's banking sector if the bill is signed into law. But Joseph Torbey, head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, told reporters earlier this week that U.S. officials have reassured a Lebanese banking delegation that visited Washington recently the sanctions won't target Lebanese banks as long as they abide by American regulations.
Washington considers Hizbullah a "terrorist organization" and has previously imposed sanctions on the group and its top commanders. The expected new sanctions come at a time when the Trump administration is increasing pressure on Iran, Hizbullah's main backer that has been supplying the group with weapons and money for more than three decades. Legislation sponsored by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., calls on the president to push for the U.N. Security Council to impose international sanctions against Hizbullah for the group's alleged use of civilians as human shields. A separate House resolution that also passed Wednesday urges the European Union to designate Hizbullah in its entirety as a "terrorist organization." The measure says the EU in 2013 gave only the terrorist designation to the group's so-called "military wing." Hizbullah "continues to conduct illicit narco-trafficking, money laundering, and weapons trafficking throughout Europe," according to the resolution. "These critical measures will impose new sanctions to crack down on Hizbullah's financing, and hold it accountable for its acts of death and destruction," Royce said. The House is scheduled to vote Thursday on legislation that would hit Iran with new sanctions for its pursuit of long-range ballistic missiles without derailing the 2015 international nuclear accord. The bill, also sponsored by Royce and Engel, would require the Trump administration to identify for sanctions the companies and individuals inside and outside of Iran that are the main suppliers of Tehran's ballistic missile programs. Both Royce and Engel opposed the nuclear agreement when it was forged two years ago, but neither lawmaker is in favor of ditching the deal now as President Donald Trump has threatened to do. The nuclear deal, according to Engel, doesn't prevent Congress from "slapping sanctions on Iran for its behavior," which he said ranges from developing and testing ballistic missiles to supporting terrorism and violating human rights.

U.S. House Approves Bill to Sanction Iran for Ballistic Missiles
Associated Press/Naharnet/October 26/17/The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation Thursday that would slap new sanctions on Iran for its pursuit of long-range ballistic missiles without derailing the 2015 international nuclear accord that President Donald Trump has threatened to unravel. Reps. Ed Royce and Eliot Engel sponsored the bill, which requires the Trump administration to identify for sanctions the companies and individuals inside and outside of Iran that are the main suppliers of Tehran's ballistic missile programs. Lawmakers voted 423-2 to pass the measure. Royce, a California Republican, is chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Engel, who is from New York, is the panel's top Democrat. Both opposed the nuclear agreement when it was forged two years ago, but neither lawmaker is in favor of ditching the deal now. Lawmakers are aiming to hold Iran accountable for what they say is reckless, destabilizing behavior while they debate how to meet Trump's new demands for fixing what he and other Republicans argue are serious flaws with the nuclear agreement. Royce has said that despite the deal's defects, he wants the U.S. and other nations that are party to the accord to "enforce the hell out of it." That includes making certain that international inspectors have better access to possible nuclear sites in Iran, according to Royce, and addressing "sunset" provisions in the agreement that will begin to expire in year 10 of the accord, heightening concerns Iran may be able to build an atomic bomb even before the end of the pact. Engel has said unwinding the agreement would send a dangerous signal to allies and adversaries alike. He backs aggressive policing of the agreement to ensure Iran doesn't violate the terms. The House vote comes less than two weeks after Trump refused to certify that Iran is complying with the accord, which is aimed at preventing Iran from assembling an arsenal of atomic weapons. But Trump, breaking his campaign pledge to rip up the agreement, did not pull the U.S. out or re-impose nuclear sanctions against Iran. Trump instead punted the issue to Congress, instructing lawmakers to toughen the law that governs U.S. participation in the deal and calling on the other parties to the accord to fix a series of deficiencies. If they can't, Trump said he would likely pull the U.S. out of the deal and reinstate previously lifted U.S. sanctions on Iran's nuclear program. That would probably be a fatal blow for the pact between Iran and world powers. The vote on the Iran sanctions bill came a day after the House passed bipartisan bills to block the flow of money to Iran-backed Hizbullah and to sanction the group for allegedly using civilians as "human shields" during the 2006 war with Israel.

Hizbullah Slams U.S. Sanctions, 'Political Exploitation' of Hay el-Sellom Events
Naharnet/October 26/17/Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc on Thursday blasted what it called “cheap political and media exploitation” of the latest crackdown on street vendors in Hay el-Sellom and the uproar that followed it. “As the bloc highly appreciates the patience of our people and their endurance of the dire economic and social situations and the state's negligence towards the development of their regions, it stresses that the constant demand of Beirut's southern suburbs is the implementation of the law, the enforcement of social security and the removal of illegal violations,” said Loyalty to Resistance in a statement issued after its weekly meeting. It called for “the widest cooperation with the measures aimed at enforcing the law,” rejecting “any excuse aimed at justifying the violations that harm our people in Beirut's southern suburbs before anyone else.” A police raid against unlicensed street vendors in Hay al-Sellom has caused a rare public expression of anger in a stronghold of Hizbullah. The raid early Wednesday was carried out by the Internal Security Forces, which used bulldozers to take down shacks where vendors mainly sold coffee and mobile phones. Dozens of angry residents poured into the streets, burning tires and blocking some roads to prevent the police from approaching their properties. The protest turned against Hizbullah, which had promoted the campaign against violators. In an usual move, some took their grievances to live TV, demanding compensation from Hizbullah and even cursing the group's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Public displays of anger against Hizbullah in Lebanon are rare, especially in the group's strongholds. Separately, the Loyalty to Resistance bloc described the latest U.S. sanctions on Hizbullah as a “U.S. aggression against Lebanon, its people and its sovereignty.” “The financial sanctions law that the U.S. House of Representatives voted for yesterday is a blatant interference in Lebanese domestic affairs, a violation of national Lebanese sovereignty and an unacceptable attack against the Lebanese people,” the bloc said.
It also warned against “the risks of submission or fear from this policy,” calling for “a firm sovereign stance” and “practical rejection of this behavior.”

Cabinet Convenes amid Divisions over Voter Cards, Pre-Registration
Naharnet/October 26/17/In light of continued assurances that Lebanon's parliamentary elections will be staged on time, Lebanon's Cabinet convened on Thursday to look into several problematic files as parties remained divided over whether to issue biometric voter cards or initiate pre-registration of voters for the May 2018 polls. Briefing reporters after the session, Information Minister Melhem Riachi said the Cabinet approved a book of conditions for organizing a call for tenders for setting up waste thermal disintegration plants, in addition to projects related to the Costa Brava and Bourj Hammoud landfills. Asked about the Tele Liban appointments, Riachi said that the file is being resolved. As for the issue of biometric voting cards, the minister admitted that the differences were not resolved, noting that a ministerial panel will continue the discussion of the topic on Friday. Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil had assured ahead of the meeting held at the Grand Serail that the “elections will not be staged without pre-registration of voters,” who wish to cast ballots in their places of residency. “The elections is a national issue that deserves waiting a little. The elections will be held on time,” assured Interior Minister Nouahd al-Mashnouq.
For his part head of the Lebanese Democratic Party and Minister of the Displaced Talal Arslan fired accusations, without naming anyone in particular, of deliberately “snaring the elections law and of procrastination.” Ministers of various political parties remain divided over the mechanism of the elections. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister and Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil accused Mashnouq of “impeding” the elections. Mashnouq argues that “the pre-registration of voters has become inevitable,” but sees “inability” to create voter cards—as per Bassil's insistence-- due to lack of time. Lebanon's elections will be held under a complex proportional representation law for the first time in Lebanon's history. The electoral law was reached after years of political wrangling and three extensions of parliament's term. The government will reportedly address other files during its meeting mainly the file of appointments at State hospitals and the State-owned television, Tele Liban.

Army Arrests Ain el-Hilweh Terror Fugitive
Naharnet/October 26/17/The army on Thursday announced the arrest of a terror fugitive who was hiding in the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp. “As a result of a delicate security operation carried out by the Intelligence Directorate, Palestinian terrorist Ali Naim Hmeid, aka Ali Nejmeh, was arrested after being lured from the Ain el-Hilweh camp,” the army said in a statement. It said the detainee belongs to the group led by notorious Islamist militant Bilal Badr. An investigation has since got underway under the supervision of the judiciary, the army added.
On Friday, the army arrested an Islamic State group fugitive, Omar al-Bustani, in a similar operation. By long-standing convention, the Lebanese Army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps, where security is managed by joint committees of Palestinian factions. Ain el-Hilweh is an impoverished, overcrowded camp near the coastal city of Sidon, and is home to some 61,000 Palestinians, including 6,000 who have fled the war in Syria.

Kaag Concludes Her Mission in Lebanon to Serve as Dutch Trade Minister
Naharnet/October 26/17/The Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon informs that U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag concluded Thursday her assignment in Lebanon in order to join the government of the Netherlands as Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, her office said. Upon her departure, Kaag expressed her “sincere gratitude to the Government of Lebanon and the Lebanese people for three years of excellent cooperation,” the office added.“It has been an honor for me to serve in this country. Lebanon is a model of coexistence and diversity for the region and I hope it will continue the path towards sustainable peace, stability, security and development,” Kaag said. Deputy U.N. Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Philippe Lazzarini, will meanwhile serve as Officer-In-Charge of the Office of the U.N. Special Coordinator until further notice, the office said.

Conflicting Reports on Arrest of Man who Cursed Nasrallah
Naharnet/October 26/17/Conflicting media reports emerged Thursday on whether or not the army's Intelligence Directorate had arrested a man who cursed Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on live TV. Some media reports said army intelligence agents arrested the man, identified as Ali Abdul Rahim Shamas, on drug-related charges. But several TV networks later said that the Intelligence Directorate has denied "media reports about the Intelligence Directorate's arrest of certain individuals following the removal of the violations in the Hay el-Sellom area." The man in question had railed at Nasrallah on Wednesday when police raided and removed unlicensed street structures, including his, in Beirut's southern suburb of Hay el-Sellom. The man had spilled his anger on TV when reporters interviewed him together with other angry residents. The move has caused a rare public expression of anger in a stronghold of Hizbullah.  The raid was carried out by the Internal Security Forces, which used bulldozers to take down shacks where vendors mainly sold coffee and mobile phones. Dozens of angry residents poured into the streets, burning tires and blocking some roads to prevent the police from approaching their properties. The protest turned against Hizbullah, which had promoted the campaign against violators. In an usual move, some took their grievances to live TV, demanding compensation from Hizbullah and even cursing the group's leader Nasrallah. Public displays of anger against Hizbullah in Lebanon are rare, especially in the group's strongholds.

Report: Extremist Mawlawi Flees Hideaway in Ain el-Hilweh to Syria
Naharnet/October 26/17/Fugitive militant Shadi al-Mawlawi has reportedly left his hideaway in the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Sidon and fled to Syria together with other suspects, media reports said on Thursday. A well-informed security Palestinian source told VDL (93.3) radio that the latter has left the camp five days ago and has fled to Syria with two other militants one of them from the group of extremist cleric Ahmed al-Asir and another individual from the Tripoli area. Mawlawi has left the camp during clashes that erupted in the Mieh Mieh refugee camp which means that the clash was deliberate to cover their exit, said the source. He said a video footage documenting Mawlawi's escape will likely be broadcast today in order to reassure the people of the camp and the Palestinian Follow-up Committee. It added that an Islamic faction inside the camp might have helped and organized his escape.VDL added that Lebanon's security forces have not denied nor affirmed the news. Mawlawi had led armed groups that engaged in deadly gunbattles with the army in Tripoli and its surrounding in 2014.

Report: Ministerial Committee on Refugees Studies Solution Plan
Naharnet/October 26/17/A ministerial committee tasked with handling the file of displaced Syrians in Lebanon will convene on Thursday to study an outline prepared by the ministries of interior, foreign and the displaced affairs in cooperation with a work group of the Prime Minister, al-Mustaqbal daily reported. Sources informed about the plan told the daily it “sets the basis for the principle of the return of displaced persons in a manner that ensures their safe, dignified and non-coercive return.”Thursday's meeting is set to highlight the needed measures to regulate the presence of Syrian refugees, reduce the number of displaced persons in Lebanon, take specific measures as for the Syrian workforce and birth registrations, according to the daily. More than 1.5 million Syrians have taken refuge in Lebanon since their country's conflict began in March 2011, equal to a quarter of the tiny nation's native population. The influx has strained Lebanon's limited resources and infrastructure, and caused resentment in some quarters.

Conflicting Reports on Arrest of Man who Cursed Nasrallah
Naharnet/October 26/17/Conflicting media reports emerged Thursday on whether or not the army's Intelligence Directorate had arrested a man who cursed Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on live TV. Some media reports said army intelligence agents arrested the man, identified as Ali Abdul Rahim Shamas, on drug-related charges. But several TV networks later said that the Intelligence Directorate has denied "media reports about the Intelligence Directorate's arrest of certain individuals following the removal of the violations in the Hay el-Sellom area."The man in question had railed at Nasrallah on Wednesday when police raided and removed unlicensed street structures, including his, in Beirut's southern suburb of Hay el-Sellom. The man had spilled his anger on TV when reporters interviewed him together with other angry residents. The move has caused a rare public expression of anger in a stronghold of Hizbullah. The raid was carried out by the Internal Security Forces, which used bulldozers to take down shacks where vendors mainly sold coffee and mobile phones.Dozens of angry residents poured into the streets, burning tires and blocking some roads to prevent the police from approaching their properties. The protest turned against Hizbullah, which had promoted the campaign against violators. In an usual move, some took their grievances to live TV, demanding compensation from Hizbullah and even cursing the group's leader Nasrallah.
Public displays of anger against Hizbullah in Lebanon are rare, especially in the group's strongholds.

US Treasury Secretary Threatens Firm Measures against Hezbollah, Iran
Asharq Al-Awsat//October 26/17/US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Saudi Arabia is the most important US partner in the region in the fight against financing terrorism, pointing out that the Saudi Crown Prince's call for openness and moderation would lead the region to a promising future. Mnuchin said that during his current visit he will discuss with US allies in the region opportunities to work together to counter Iran’s threatening activities through its Revolutionary Guard Corps. This will include a focus on taking aggressive actions against Hezbollah, whose main benefactor is Iran. “Hezbollah poses a threat across the Middle East and beyond, and we must jointly use our authorities to disrupt its financiers and financial networks,” Mnuchin noted on the sidelines of the Future Investment Initiative Conference, which is taking place in Riyadh. “We also remain focused on stopping the support networks of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, such as the Taliban. We are working on disrupting the Taliban’s ability to raise funds domestically and abroad,” he added. The US Treasury Secretary said that he is pleased to add to these critical efforts by opening the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center and to serve as a co-chair of this Center with Saudi Arabia. “The Kingdom is one of our important partners on countering the financing of terrorism. We have curtailed charities that finance al-Qaeda, issued joint designations with Saudi Arabia, targeting the fundraising networks of al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, the Taliban, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and we will continue to look to Saudi Arabia to be a leader on these issues in the Gulf.”Over the years, Treasury has designated thousands of individuals and entities, contributing to US and allied efforts to stop terrorist regimes, disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations and target those that will do the US any harm.
Sanctions and other Treasury measures, combined with active diplomatic and law enforcement efforts, are central to applying maximum economic pressure to counter a wide range of threats, said Mnuchin. “We have targeted individuals and entities facilitating funds and procurement in support of North Korea's weapons program.”In September, President Trump authorized Treasury to impose a new range of sanctions on shipping networks that support the Kim regime. “We now have the ability to suspend correspondent accounts and freeze assets of any foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts significant transactions in connection with any trade with North Korea. We will use these new tools carefully to cut off flows of funds available to North Korea to pursue its dangerous and destabilizing nuclear and missile programs.”Mnuchin also pointed out that ISIS has raised hundreds of millions of dollars through the theft of oil, kidnapping, and extortion, adding that sanctions and targeted operations have been effective in reducing these flows and degrading ISIS’s ability to exploit the international financial system to further its extremist ideology.

Aoun to visit Kuwait next week to boost bilateral ties
Hasan Lakkis/The Daily Star/October 26/17/BEIRUT: President Michel Aoun will head to Kuwait on Nov. 5 for a two-day official visit in which he will hold talks with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. Aoun will lead a ministerial delegation that includes Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, Telecommunications Minister Jamal Jarrah, Minister of State for Administrative Development Inaya Ezzeddine, Minister of State for Human Rights Affairs Ayman Choucair, as well as former Minister Elias Bou Saab who currently serves as Aoun’s adviser on international cooperation. General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim and head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction Nabil al-Jisr will also join the delegation. Aoun is expected to be received at the airport by the Kuwaiti emir before heading to the Bayan Palace for official talks between the Lebanese and Kuwaiti delegations. A meeting between Aoun and Sabah will precede the official talks. Discussions are expected to focus on strengthening bilateral ties between the countries. Ministerial sources didn’t rule out that discussions might touch on the allegedly Hezbollah-linked Abdali terror cell of several individuals accused of amassing weapons for an attack in Kuwait at the behest of Iran and Hezbollah. In the summer of 2015, Kuwaiti security service officers raided farmhouses in Abdali near the Iraqi border, uncovering the largest illegal weapons cache discovered in Kuwait’s history. The country’s Foreign Ministry sent its Lebanese counterpart a letter requesting that the government act in accordance with the Kuwaiti judiciary’s rulings regarding an alleged Hezbollah-linked terror cell discovered in 2015. The Kuwaiti statement calls on the government to take responsibility regarding Hezbollah, given that the party is an official actor in the government. Prime Minister Saad Hariri visited Kuwait in August to address this issue. Aoun’s talks might also focus on the countries’ diplomatic missions and Lebanon’s appointment of an ambassador to Kuwait. Aoun’s visit to Kuwait comes after his visits to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Jordan.

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 26-27/17
UN report finds Syrian regime responsible for sarin attack
AFP/Friday, 27 October 2017/The regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was responsible for a deadly sarin gas attack on a rebel-held town in April, a UN report found Thursday. “The panel is confident that the Syrian Arab Republic is responsible for the release of sarin at Khan Sheikhun on 4 April 2017,” stated the report seen by AFP. More than 87 people died in the nerve gas attack on the town in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province. Horrific images from the immediate aftermath of the attack drew global outrage and prompted the United States to fire cruise missiles at a Syrian air base from which the West says the assault was launched. Last month, UN war crimes investigators said they had evidence that the Syrian air force was behind the attack, despite repeated denials from Damascus.Syria ally Russia maintains that the sarin attack was most likely caused by a bomb set off directly on the ground, not by a Syrian air strike as alleged by the West.

Tillerson Calls for Assad Departure as U.N. Envoy Announces New Peace Talks
Associated Press/Naharnet/October 26/17/U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson doubled down Thursday on Washington's call for Syrian President Bashar Assad to leave power, looking past recent battlefield gains by his Russian-backed forces to insist that "the reign of the Assad family is coming to an end."Tillerson made the comments after what he called a "fruitful" meeting with U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, who later announced plans to resume U.N.-mediated peace Syrian talks on Nov. 28. It will be the eighth such round under his mediation in Geneva since early 2016. They come despite the fact that Assad's forces have just in the past year recaptured Syria's second-largest city and reached the key eastern city of Deir Ezzor, long under siege from IS fighters. The top U.S. diplomat used the occasion to reiterate Washington's longstanding, hardline position against Assad, which has been overshadowed of late by the Trump administration's focus more on defeating the Islamic State group than on ousting the Syrian leader. Tillerson also endeavored to play down Iran's role in supporting Assad. Syria's civil war has left at least 400,000 people dead and driven more than 11 million people from their homes, and the United States has been calling for Assad to go nearly from the start of the uprising against him more than 6-1/2 years ago. But this time, facts on the ground are playing more in his favor than at any time in years. "The United States wants a whole and unified Syria with no role for Bashar Assad in the government," Tillerson told reporters after the meeting at the U.S. mission in Geneva. "The reign of the Assad family is coming to an end, and the only issue is how that should be brought about." "We do not believe there is a future for the Assad regime, the Assad family," he said. Tillerson made similar statements in April — before even greater territorial gains by Assad's forces, prompting the Syrian leader to retort then that the diplomat had been "hallucinating." De Mistura announced the Nov. 28 date for the resumption of the intra-Syrian talks in an address by videoconference to the U.N. Security Council following the Tillerson meeting. He said it was time to move on the political track to end the conflict, saying "now is the moment of truth.""It would be a mistake by all of us if we think that time is on our side," the special envoy said. "The best way to proceed requires indeed instead an intensified engagement among the key players in support of the Geneva parties."De Mistura said he would work to move into "real negotiation on a constitution and U.N.-supervised elections" while exploring the issue of governance and terrorism "in parallel" files. He expressed openness to any initiative that contributes to the U.N.-led process in Geneva. Opposition delegations — which do not include Islamic State or other U.N.-designated terrorist groups — have never spoken directly to Syrian government envoys under de Mistura's mediation. Tillerson said any exit of Assad should be done through the Geneva process, but such a departure was not a "prerequisite" for that process to start. In the past year, Assad's Iran- and Russia-backed forces have recaptured Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, and last month they reached the eastern city of Deir el-Zour, which had long been under siege from IS fighters. Assad's forces and their allies have been battling IS just as U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led troops have pummeled the U.N.-designated terror group on another front: The Syrian Democratic Forces recently ousted IS from their so-called capital, Raqqa. Speaking Thursday with a Russian delegation, Assad said the battlefield gains would pave the way for political progress, and that his government was ready to hasten the pace of national reconciliation. He said his government would eventually address constitutional reforms and hold parliamentary elections. Tillerson sought to play down any idea that the Syrian government's advances might amount to a "triumph" for Iran, which has been a key backer of Assad. "I see Iran as a hanger-on," Tillerson said. "Iran has not been successful; the Russian government has been more successful. We have had success. I don't think that Iran should be given credit for the defeat of ISIS in Syria."Tillerson met with de Mistura during a stop in Geneva on his way home from a trip to the Middle East and South Asia. Officials said Tillerson had initially planned to meet with officials from the U.N. refugee and migration agencies and the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, but those meetings did not take place in his short visit in Geneva.

Terrain, Geopolitics Make for Tricky Last Battle on IS
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/The Islamic State group's empire has shrunk fast this year but the rump of its "caliphate" on the Iraq-Syria border is a hostile jihadist heartland where competing regional interests converge. After losing their main hubs of Mosul and Raqa this year, the noose continued to tighten around holdout IS fighters regrouping in the badlands where the organization was born. On Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, announced an assault in the last areas of Anbar province where IS retains a foothold, further turning up the heat on the jihadists' routed remnants. A key target of the latest Iraqi operation is Al-Qaim, one of the last towns of note still under jihadist control in Iraq. Syrian regime forces and allied militia groups still have some ground to cover before reaching Albu Kamal, which is Al-Qaim's twin town on the Syrian side of the border. The group that ruled over a "state" covering roughly the size of Britain only three years ago appears to be on its last legs but the final battle to retake its remote border heartland could be a tough one. "The geography and the society in this area are distinct from elsewhere... they make for a tougher terrain. It is difficult to navigate," said analyst Hassan Hassan, author of an acclaimed book on IS. The areas beyond the immediate fertile strip flanking the Euphrates river are arid and remote, Sunni Arab tribal hinterlands that always escaped central authority to some extent. "It is more complicated than other regions because this is where IS emerged back in the day," Hassan said of the restive region, where the population is traditionally hostile to both President Bashar al-Assad and the Kurds.
'Easy part'
Iraqi and Syrian government forces lack deep knowledge of the terrain there or local partners they can heavily rely on, such as the U.S.-backed force that retook the jihadist stronghold of Raqa last week. That Kurdish-led alliance will be involved in the final assault on IS but only further north, in mostly desert areas between the Syrian cities of Deir Ezzor and Hassakeh. Iraqi federal forces are advancing with fighters from Hashed al-Shaabi, a paramilitary organization dominated by Shiite militias loyal to Iran. On the other arm of the pincer closing in on the jihadists are Syrian regime forces, that are at least 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Albu Kamal and supported by Iraqi, Iranian, Lebanese and Afghan militia. The last IS bastions to fall are likely to be on the Syrian side where -- according to Christopher Meserole, a fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings, and several other analysts -- the group still has an estimated 5,000 fighters. Yet the jihadists have already begun reverting to an insurgency that could thrive if the disparate victors of the "caliphate" fail to work together in the region. "Defeating the Islamic State will be the easy part," said Meserole. "The hard part will be securing the peace, making sure that the forces converging on Deir Ezzor don't start fighting among themselves.""The stakes for Deir Ezzor could not be higher," he said of the oil-rich eastern Syrian province which, unlike Raqa, was a priority of recent military efforts by regime. "The Iranians want an overland route to the Mediterranean. The Kurds want a buffer between Assad's forces and their territory further to the north. In some ways, the situation is like the end of World War II, when Soviet and American forces converged on Berlin." Fabrice Balanche, a visiting fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, argued that the United States had already almost lost that contest. "The United States and their allies wanted to take the Iraqi-Syrian border. They wanted to create an Arab force capable of running this area, that also would have cut the corridor the Iranians are building," he said. "But they don't have the means to do that, or indeed maybe not the will. (U.S. President Donald) Trump appears to want to get rid of the Islamic State and not see any further."

Iraq PM Wins Iran Support as Forces Battle IS, Kurds
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose forces Thursday battled jihadists in the west of the country and Kurds in the north, won the support of Iranian leaders at talks in Tehran. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "gave his support for measures taken by the Iraqi government to defend the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq," Khamenei's office said in a statement after their meeting. Abadi also held talks with President Hassan Rouhani who said Iran "has and always will stand alongside" Iraq "when it comes to fighting terrorism, reinforcing (its) unity and preserving its territorial integrity.""The fight against terrorism and separatist goals... must be monitored and Tehran wants to contribute to reinforcing the Iraqi central government," Rouhani added, according to the presidency's website. Buoyed by the success of the campaign against the Islamic State jihadist group and operations against the Kurds, Abadi has been on a regional tour that on Wednesday saw him in Ankara. The Tehran stop came as Iraqi forces launched a new assault on Kurdish forces in a disputed area of Nineveh province, sparking heavy artillery exchanges, according to Kurdish authorities and correspondents in the region. Government forces have since last week snatched back control of thousands of square kilometers (miles) of territory long disputed with the Kurds, in a feud which has boiled over since a Kurdish independence referendum held in defiance of Baghdad on September 25. The vote organized by the leadership of autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan in the country's north angered neighbors Turkey and Iran, both fearful of anything that might stoke separatist sentiment among their own large Kurdish minorities. Also on Thursday, federal troops and allied paramilitaries launched an offensive up the Euphrates Valley towards the Syrian border in a bid to retake the last IS bastion in Iraq. Tehran has poured significant resources into the war against the jihadists in Iraq, providing weapons, advice and training to the Shiite militias which dominate the paramilitary force. Its involvement has irked Washington but has been defended by the Iraqi prime minister, who gave a firm rebuff to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over his comments on the issue. Abadi has been deeply defensive of his government's close alliance with neighboring Iran, which like Iraq is a Shiite-majority country. On a visit to Tehran's Sunni arch rival Riyadh on Sunday, Tillerson called for Iranian militias in Iraq to "go home" as the fight against IS was coming to a close. The fighters of the paramilitary force are "Iraqis who have fought terrorism, defended their country and made sacrifices to defeat (IS)", Abadi said, according to a statement from his office.

U.N. Security Council Pushes Iraq, Kurds to Hold Talks
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/The U.N. Security Council on Thursday urged the Iraqi government and regional leaders in Kurdistan to set a timetable for talks to end a crisis triggered by last month's Kurdish referendum on independence. The appeal from the top U.N. body came after Baghdad dismissed an offer from Iraqi Kurdish leaders to freeze the outcome of the referendum, which delivered a resounding yes to independence, and hold talks. "Council members noted that the federal and regional governments have both expressed willingness to engage in dialogue," said French Ambassador Francois Delattre, who holds this month's council presidency. "We encourage them to expeditiously set a timetable to hold these discussions," Delattre told reporters after the meeting. The council met behind closed doors at the request of France and Sweden to hear a report form U.N. envoy Jan Kubis on the crisis. Delattre said council members were concerned by the increased tensions and reports of violence, and were calling on both sides to refrain from using force. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi earlier rejected the Kurdish offer for a freeze and demanded the annulment of the September 25 vote for independence.

Turkey Says Freezing Iraqi Kurd Vote is 'Not Enough'
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/Turkey said on Thursday the Iraqi Kurdish offer for last month's referendum on independence to be frozen is "not enough," instead urging the Arbil government to cancel the vote. "It is an important move that the northern Iraqi administration takes a step back but it is not enough. This referendum should be canceled," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a press conference in Ankara. Turkey, along with Baghdad and other neighboring countries, strongly opposed the Iraqi Kurds' non-binding vote on independence. The Kurdistan Regional Government, led by Massud Barzani, said on Wednesday it would propose to the federal government "the freezing of the results of the referendum... and the start of an open dialogue" on the basis of the constitution. However, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Baghdad would only accept the annulment of the referendum. The Kurdish offer came after Iraq seized large areas of territory that Kurdish forces had captured over the years beyond the borders of the autonomous region. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim appeared to dismiss the impact of the offer. "The northern Iraq administration can take whatever decision it wants from now on, it is obvious the decisions will not produce a result that would compensate for the damage," he said at a press conference in Ankara with Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire. Abadi was in Ankara on Wednesday where he met Yildirim and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the vote among other regional issues. The leaders promised to strengthen cooperation as ties between their two countries as ties warm over their shared opposition to the vote.

Iraq PM Visits Ally Iran as War on IS, Kurd Dispute Hot Up
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi held talks with key ally Iran on Thursday as his forces launched an offensive against the Islamic State group's last bastion in the country. Independently of Washington, Tehran has poured significant resources into the war against the jihadists in Iraq, providing weapons, advice and training to the Shiite militias which dominate the key paramilitary Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) force. Its involvement has irked Washington but has been fiercely defended by the Iraqi prime minister, who gave a firm rebuff to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over his comments on the issue when he visited Baghdad on Monday. Abadi held talks with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and with President Hassan Rouhani. Buoyed by the success of the campaign against the jihadists, who have now been virtually confined to a stretch of the Euphrates valley straddling the border with Syria, Abadi has been on a regional tour that on Wednesday saw him in Ankara. High on the agenda of his talks has been his bitter dispute with the Kurds over the spoils of the fightback against IS. Kurdish leaders held a referendum on independence last month to the fury not only of Baghdad but also of neighbouring Iran and Turkey which have long been fearful of anything that might stoke separatist sentiment among their own large Kurdish minorities. In a statement issued by his office in Baghdad on Thursday, Abadi said that an offer by Kurdish leaders to freeze the outcome of the vote did not go far enough. He said only complete annulment would suffice. Abadi has been deeply defensive of his government's close alliance with neighbouring Iran, which like Iraq is a Shiite-majority country. When Tillerson visited Tehran's Sunni arch rival Riyadh on Sunday and called for Iranian militias in Iraq to "go home" as the fight against IS was coming to a close, he earned a sharp rebuke from Abadi. "The fighters of the Hashed al-Shaabi are Iraqis who have fought terrorism, defended their country and made sacrifices to defeat (IS)," Abadi said, according to a statement from his office. The 60,000-strong Hashed was formed in 2014 after IS seized swathes of northern and western Iraq, routing government forces. A paramilitary force mostly made up of Iranian-backed militias, it has played a key role in Iraq's successful fight against the jihadists over the past three years.

Iraq Forces Advance in 'Last Den' of IS Jihadists
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/Iraqi forces on Thursday recaptured from the Islamic State group several military bases and villages as they launched a push to wipe out remnants of the jihadists' self-styled caliphate in the country. The start of the keenly awaited offensive that the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS has dubbed "the last big fight" of the campaign came even as Iraqi troops launched a new operation against the Kurds. There had been fears the bitter dispute that has raged between the Baghdad government and Iraqi Kurdish leaders since they held a referendum for independence last month would hamper the battle against IS. But federal troops and allied paramilitary units pressed ahead with a threatened drive up the Euphrates valley towards the Syrian border in a bid to retake two Sunni Arab towns renowned as hotbeds of insurgency ever since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003. "The heroic legions are advancing into the last den of terrorism in Iraq to liberate Al-Qaim, Rawa and the surrounding villages and hamlets," Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said in a statement from neighboring Iran where he is on a state visit. "They will all return to the arms of the motherland thanks to the determination and endurance of our fighting heroes," he added. "The people of IS have no choice but to die or surrender."Regional operations commander General Qassem al-Mohammedi told AFP that government forces were advancing on four fronts -- from the east, southeast, north and south. He said that units of the federal police and the elite Counter-Terrorism Service as well as the paramilitary Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization) force were supporting the army. By early afternoon they had taken several military bases southeast of Al-Qaim, including the key army base of the region and an airbase which the fleeing jihadists had abandoned, military sources said. Iraqi forces also retook from IS half a dozen villages in the area, they added.
Insurgency bastion
Iraqi forces have recaptured more than 90 percent of the territory IS seized in the country in 2014. The jihadists are now confined to a small stretch of the Euphrates valley linked to territory in Syria where they are also battling to survive. Crucially for an offensive in an overwhelmingly Sunni Arab region, Sunni tribal volunteers in the Hashed were heavily engaged alongside the Iran-trained Shiite militias that are its mainstay. Military sources said two of those fighters were killed on Thursday. The U.S.-led coalition said it had carried out some 15 strikes on IS targets in and around Al-Qaim and the town of Albu Kamal on the Syrian side of the border. Al-Qaim has been a bastion of Sunni Arab insurgency for years. U.S. troops carried out repeated operations with names like Matador and Steel Curtain in 2005 to flush out al-Qaida jihadists. Coalition commanders are convinced Al-Qaim will be IS' last stand in its ambitions of territorial control of the cross-border caliphate it proclaimed in 2014. On the Syrian side of the border, Russian-backed government forces have been pushing down the Euphrates valley while U.S.-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters have been attacking the jihadists from their stronghold in the north. The launch of the offensive against IS' last Iraqi redoubt comes with federal troops and militia engaged in an operation to reassert central government control over thousands of square kilometers (miles) of territory long disputed with the Kurds. Loss of the territory has dealt a crippling blow to the finances of the autonomous Kurdish region and on Wednesday its leaders reached out for talks, saying they were ready to freeze the outcome of the September 25 independence referendum. Iraq's premier dismissed the offer on Thursday, saying it did not go far enough. "We will accept nothing but the annulment of the referendum and respect for the constitution," he said in a statement.
Oil pipeline in sights
Abadi, whose stock has been massively boosted by the military successes, received a fresh show of support for his fight against IS and the Kurds from his allies in Iran during a visit to Tehran. The backing came as Iraqi forces launched a new assault on Kurdish fighters in the disputed oil-rich Zummar area of Nineveh province, Kurdish authorities said. An AFP correspondent reported heavy artillery exchanges as Kurdish forces put up fierce resistance. Sources on the Kurdish side said the peshmerga fighters had destroyed three tanks and six armored vehicles belonging to the Iraqi forces. Parts of Nineveh province north and east of Iraq's second city Mosul are some of the last areas that Kurdish forces still hold outside their longstanding three-province autonomous region. Thursday's assault was close to the route of a strategic oil export pipeline linking the Kirkuk fields retaken from the Kurds with the Turkish port of Ceyhan that fell into disuse during IS' lightning sweep through northern and western Iraq in 2014. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Abadi on Wednesday he was "ready to provide any kind of support to allow the operation of the pipeline." The course of the defunct pipeline passes through the town of Faysh Khabur, near where the borders of Iraq, Turkey and Syria meet, in territory which lies undisputedly inside the autonomous Kurdish region. Meanwhile the U.S.-led coalition said on Thursday that its air and artillery strikes in Iraq and Syria over the past three years have killed "unintentionally" at least 786 civilians.

PLO Says Israel 'Annexation' Plan Means End of Two-State Solution
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi says Israeli plans to incorporate West Bank settlement blocs around Jerusalem into the city could kill hopes for an independent Palestinian state. A member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party has said that draft legislation to form a "Greater Jerusalem" municipality would go to a ministerial committee on Sunday for adoption as a government bill.Approval by the committee would fast-track its progress through parliament. Those opposed to the plans argue that it is a step towards full unilateral annexation of the West Bank settlements affected -- a move that would be sure to spark international outrage. "The government will approve the Greater Jerusalem law that will strengthen the eternal capital Jerusalem -- demographically and geographically," Likud MP Yoav Kisch wrote Wednesday on Twitter. Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's executive committee, said late Wednesday in a statement that "such efforts represent the end of the two-state solution.""Israel is in the business of prolonging the military occupation and not ending it, legalising the presence of extremist Jewish settlers on Palestinian soil, and completing the total isolation and annexation of Palestinian Jerusalem," she wrote. Israel occupied the West Bank, including, east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967. It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community. It sees the entire city as its indivisible capital, while the Palestinians want the eastern sector as the capital of their future state. Prominent members of Netanyahu's coalition openly oppose the idea of a Palestinian state and advocate annexing most of the West Bank. The major settlement of Maaleh Adumim, east of Jerusalem, would be among the areas absorbed into the enlarged city limits under the draft legislation, according to an explanatory note by its sponsors. The settlements mentioned however would not be fully annexed to Israel. Also incorporated would be the ultra-Orthodox Jewish settlement of Beitar Illit, southwest of Jerusalem, the Gush Etzion settlement bloc to the south and Efrat and Givat Zeev settlements. "The settlements joined to Jerusalem will maintain certain municipal autonomy, since they will be considered sub-municipalities of Jerusalem," the draft bill says. Haaretz newspaper on Thursday said the wording meant the settlements would be annexed to the city of Jerusalem rather than to the state of Israel. But settlement watchdog Peace Now said any difference was purely cosmetic. "The meaning of the bill is a de-facto annexation of these territories to Israel, even if it would be possible to argue that this will not constitute de-jure annexation," it said in a statement.

Trump Envoy Haley in Troubled Eastern DR Congo
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, headed Thursday for a displaced people's camp on a visit to the strife-ravaged east of Democratic Republic of Congo. Haley arrived in regional capital Goma by plane from the DRC capital Kinshasa before boarding a U.N. helicopter for Kitchanga, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) forced from their homes by violence, U.N. sources said. Haley will stay until Friday in the DRC, the last leg of a maiden trip to Africa which has taken her to Ethiopia and South Sudan. The envoy is the most senior official in the administration of President Donald Trump to visit the continent. Violence has increased in recent months in South Sudan and the DRC, despite a strong peacekeeping presence. MONUSCO, the U.N. stabilization mission deployed in the DRC, is the world's largest such force and includes some 18,000 troops and police. The United Nations first intervened before the end of the Second Congo War in 2003. According to official and diplomatic sources in Kinshasa, Haley is scheduled to hold meetings on Friday with President Joseph Kabila and also the opposition and civil society. She is expected to press Kabila to agree to a timetable for elections. Her visit comes as the vast, mineral-rich central African country is facing a humanitarian, security and political crisis. Polls were due this year under a transitional deal with the opposition aimed at avoiding fresh political bloodshed after Kabila refused to step down when his second mandate ended in December. The international community has pressed for a vote to choose a new head of state to be held as soon as possible but no timetable has been set so far. The electoral commission responsible for organizing the ballot says it will be impossible before early 2019. Under the deal, Kabila is allowed to remain in office pending the elections, ruling in tandem with a transitional watchdog and a new premier, to be chosen within opposition ranks. Several dozen opponents to Kabila held a rally outside the MONUSCO headquarters in Goma, an AFP journalist saw. One placard read, "17 years of Kabila, 17 years of poverty and unemployment. Enough is enough."Another called for "justice for Zaida Catalan and Michael Sharp," two U.N. experts -- one a joint Swedish-Canadian national and the other an American -- who were found brutally killed in March when they went to investigate violence in the central region of Kasai. In South Sudan on Wednesday, Haley voiced "disappointment" and concern about the situation in a country that has been devastated by a civil war. She was escorted out of a U.N. camp when protestors angry at South Sudanese President Salva Kiir turned up.

French Army Kills 15 Mali Jihadists as Mine Kills 3 Peacekeepers
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/The French army said Thursday it had eliminated an "armed terrorist group" linked to al-Qaida in northern Mali, killing 15 jihadists, while three U.N. peacekeepers died after their vehicle struck a mine. Army spokesman Patrick Steiger said troops from France's regional Barkhane anti-terror operation carried out a joint strike against the group with French special forces about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Kidal. The operation, backed by fighter jets and helicopters, took place overnight Monday. It "allowed us to take 15 members of this katiba out of action", Steiger said, using a local word for a militant unit.  The group was a branch of Ansar Dine, which has links to the regional Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQMI) group, he added, saying weapons and ammunition including assault rifles and grenades were destroyed in the raid. France has had some 4,000 soldiers deployed in the Sahel region -- a vast stretch of territory on the edge of the Sahara Desert -- since 2014. The announcement in Paris came as the Mali-based branch of al-Qaida, Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, claimed an attack in the north that killed two soldiers.U.S. monitoring group SITE said the claims were made on the Telegram messenger channel of the group's so-called Al-Zallaqa Media Foundation.In further violence, three U.N. peacekeepers were killed and two more injured Thursday when their vehicle struck a "mine or an improvised explosive device" in northern Mali, the United Nations Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said. The blast occurred as their vehicle was escorting "a logistical convoy" north of Kidal, MINUSMA said, adding the toll could rise.
U.N. condemnation
Interim U.N. mission head Koen Davidse vigorously condemned "such despicable acts whose sole aim is to destabilize the country and jeopardize the ongoing peace process in Mali."He added MINUSMA remained determined to work to bring peace to the country and warned attacks on peacekeepers could be construed as war crimes. This week has seen several attacks attributed to jihadists, including on gendarmerie posts in Dioro and Ouan in central Mali on Monday and a landmine blast on a Malian army vehicle in the Mopti region on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Malian defence ministry said two soldiers were killed in a "terrorist" attack in Soumpi. Islamic extremists linked to al-Qaida took control of the desert north of Mali in early 2012 at the expense of Tuareg rebels, but were chased out of Sahara towns by an ongoing French-led military operation launched in January 2013. Mali's army, French soldiers and a MINUSMA are battling for control over large tracts of the country under attack in spite of a peace accord signed with Tuareg leaders in mid-2015 aimed at isolating the jihadists. Since 2015, jihadist attacks have spread, including latterly to neighboring countries, particularly Burkina Faso and Niger. The creation of Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen was announced on March 2 as a fusion of Ansar Dine, the Al-Murabitoun of Mokhtar Belmokhtar and the "Emirate of the Sahara," a branch of AQMI.

Brazil President Says 'Truth Won' after Escaping Corruption Trial
Agence France Presse//Naharnet/October 26/17/Brazilian President Michel Temer on Thursday said "the truth won" in a congressional vote sparing him from going on trial on corruption charges. "Brazil is always stronger than any challenge and it is even stronger now that its institutions have been put to the test in such dramatic fashion these last months," Temer said in a video message. Polls show Temer is Brazil's most unpopular leader on record and among the most unpopular in the world. However, allies in the lower house of Congress managed to block a push Wednesday to force Temer to stand trial in the Supreme Court on two corruption charges. The first sitting president in the country to face criminal charges, Temer is accused of racketeering and obstruction of justice. He has retained key political support in the elite by championing austerity reforms -- particularly a reduction of the pension system -- seen by investors as helping Brazil to regain its economic footing after a deep recession."The economy has returned to growth after the worst recession in our history," Temer said. "That will be the biggest achievement of my government."

Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on October 26-27/17
Saudi Arabia’s Fresh Rhetoric
Ghassan Charbel/ Asharq Al-Awsat//October 26/17
In a horribly fragmented Middle East, no two persons can meet without despair being the third in company. Distress haunts most platforms. Public rhetoric is charged with fear mongering terms warning against civil war, militias roaming free, shaky geography, and failing economies.
Paralyzed with concern, countries and people are slowly being chewed up with anxiety. A step deeper into quicksand, statistics show rising unemployment and devastating poverty ensuring that the opportunity to board the train to the future is lost.
Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, which concludes its activities today, has set sail against the current. It is no exaggeration when saying that thousands of partakers from 70 different countries, international companies, investment and financial giants have had their expectations challenged and were presented more than what their thoughts had conceived.
For all those who had wondered as to when a new Saudi Arabia will be born and how long it would take, have found that they were standing before a novel Kingdom using a fresh choice of words. Such a transformation was further emboldened by the interactive answers given by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman at a session with ambitious partners looking forward to recreating the Saudi way to communicate with its citizens and the world. And this goes beyond reshaping a few terms to achieve an image face-lift—it broaches a comprehensive vision around moving the kingdom forward into the future.
What is more is that this vision is backed with matching figures.
The impact of such a transformation has sent a pulsing wave of hope. A wager placed on Saudi youth which makes up to 70 percent of the kingdom’s population. Clearly, this new Saudi Arabia has successfully established a strong line of communication with the slice of society under 30, which will drive this initiative forward and guard it against cultural stagnation, fear and hesitation. Saudi youth has, in turn, responded positively, creating a national wealth to access and merge with other sources of riches. All of which steered by strong political management and the powerful will of the people.
"This place is not for conventional people or conventional companies, this will be a place for the dreamers for the world," Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said, speaking on a panel at the FII conference. "The strong political will and the desire of a nation. All the success factors are there to create something big in Saudi Arabia," the Crown Prince added.
The business of building the future is a venture aiming at protecting stability with prosperity. Creating jobs, sustaining a vivacious economy and an open society all are part and parcel of a preemptive action plan to protect youth from despair and frustration playing bait to push them a step closer to radicalization and anti-world nihilism. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had made a clear-cut statement that the Kingdom will not waste time humoring extremist philosophy but has rather put in motion a series of arrangements that will guard the future.
“We will eradicate remnants of extremist dogma sooner than later,” said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Extremism will not have its way with this new Saudi Arabia, nor will it hold the Kingdom’s relationship with the world held hostage by dread, hostility, and conflict. “We are simply reverting to what we followed – a moderate Islam open to the world and all religions. 70% of the Saudis are younger than 30, honestly we won’t waste 30 years of our life combating extremist thoughts, we will destroy them now and immediately,” Crown Prince Mohammed said.
Moderation fosters acceptance, expanding common ground for deeper cooperation and partnership in producing progress—leaving a positive reflection worldwide.
It also fights off intolerance, ruling out all that is different as a threat, and prevents erecting isolating walls among societies. This novel rhetoric counteracts isolationism. The world will leave behind anyone refusing to participate in the industry of building the future. There is no solution for those who wish to save themselves a place and protect their interests other than to engage in progress. Actively engaging in progress means making maximum use of scientific development, and not dealing with technology as a strange infiltrator that threatens to corrupt society.
Technology is an opportunity to accelerate progress and make up for time lost in futile discussions over old files. More so, it is an opportunity to double capacity and improve revenue. The ability to turn technology into a weapon in the battle for progress depends on the existence of advanced education, modern universities, and open programs.
"Change" no longer stirs concern or suspicion. The world is constantly changing with the impact of scientific and technological revolutions. All must board the development-bound train in order to grow their economies and communities-- miss it, and the next train may take too long to arrive.
The ticket is paid for with modern management, planning, accounting, good use of resources, adaptability, credibility, and investment-friendly environment. Establishing ‘Neom’ along the borders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan brings into physical reality the newly adopted mindset. “Neom will attract private as well as public investments and partnerships. The zone will be backed by more than $500 billion over the coming years by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, local as well as international investors,” Prince Mohammed said.
Some want to build the world’s largest solar panel networks, employ more robots than humans, Prince Mohammed added.
Prince Mohammed’s speech invoked audiences’ thoughts— for decades now, the Middle East was perceived as a zone drenched with chaos. What the Prince was saying redirected that reality. It eschews from the impression that Arabs have lost the battle for progress, and are left only with the option of cutting loss. To bear with living in a world they do not participate in making. A new Saudi Arabia. Driven youth, strong will, thought-through planning, rightly invested capacities, moderation, openness to new interfaces, a competitive spirit, innovation, and mutual interests and partnership all spell out the overview of this transformation. This shining success will have a ripple effect across the Arab and Islamic worlds, given Saudi Arabia’s great regional role and its far-reaching influence in close and far away countries.

Why Germany Is Better at Resisting Fake News
Leonid Bershidsky/Bloomberg View/October 26/17
Modern-day elections are increasingly defined by two sides: those who trust traditional media and those who rely on the social networks to provide an alternative, which is far more likely to deliver fake news. While in the US, the nature of the conflict is clouded by the social media's prevalence, Germany is an example of a society where the battle lines are clearly drawn. Multiple studies in the US have shown that Democrats trust traditional media more than Republicans do, which makes sense. But so much of media consumption goes through the social networks that it's almost pointless to ask which party trusts it more. According to a June 2017 IPSOS poll, Democrats outmatched Republicans on social media trust:
According to the same poll, Facebook is the biggest news source for Democrats and the second biggest for Republicans, after broadcast TV.
Germany is different. Only 26 percent of Germans -- about half the US level -- follow the news through social media. More than half of news consumers go directly to the websites of their favorite news providers. But a fresh report on fake news in the run-up to last month's parliamentary election from the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung, a Berlin think tank that has followed the phenomenon from the early days of the campaign, shows that the voters of the nationalist populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, like US Republicans, are less inclined to trust traditional media than most other Germans, and especially than politically liberal ones. The social media were the most important source of information about the election for just 6 percent of Germans overall -- but for 16 percent of AfD voters. Far-right voters consumed consistently less news than others from traditional sources such as TV, online and traditional newspapers.
Because of this consumption pattern, these voters also got more fake news. Perhaps because they ignored other news sources, they tended to believe it. For example, they were far more likely than any other voters to believe that the German government pays for refugees to get driver's licenses, that a Lutheran bishop said in a speech that "All Germans are Nazis," or that refugees from a certain German state often went on vacation to their home countries.
Germany, far less "infected" by the social-network virus and years behind in the development of conservative media like Breitbart and Fox News (thanks in part to strong hate speech laws), can serve as a kind of control group for the US It's easier to track here how the social networks play an outsize role in providing news-like fare to people who don't trust professional journalists. The same, of course, is happening in the US -- only it's not as obvious from the data. A recent analysis by PC World showed that Facebook pushes more fake news and partisan spin to Donald Trump supporters than to Democrats. Facebook's newsfeed algorithm is set up to satisfy demand, and that's what it does, delivering alternatives to people who want them.
Because of this, social media platforms are the natural enemies of centrist and liberal political parties, whose agendas overlap with professional journalists. That centrist bias may also be a problem. Correcting it in Germany, for example, could mean giving more space to the problems of integrating Muslim immigrants, which editors don't like to do, fearing a backlash against the newcomers. On the whole, the social networks' surge into the underserved market for right-wing narratives is probably a bigger problem because of the total lack of editorial control, even the kind exercised by Fox News and other right-leaning US media. When it comes to news, the absence of any responsibility and restraint can be dangerous. Germany is ahead of the US in regulating the social networks (for example, requiring them quickly to remove hate speech or face large fines) because its centrist political establishment doesn't want to suffer the fate of its US counterparts. After the AfD's 13 percent result in last month's election, more government moves to limit the damage from Facebook and its peers should be expected.

Facebook, Social Media, Aiding Jihad; Censoring Those Who Counter Jihad
Benjamin Weingarten/Gatestone Institute/October 26/17
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11211/facebook-social-media-jihad
That major technology companies are openly stifling the free speech of people trying to counter jihad is bad enough; what is beyond unconscionable is that they simultaneously enable Islamic supremacists to spread the very content that the counter-jihadists have been exposing.
According to the legal complaint, the names and symbols of Palestinian Arab terrorist groups and individuals were known to authorities, and "Facebook has the data and capability to cease providing services to [such] terrorists, but... has chosen not to do so."
A separate lawsuit claims that Twitter not only benefits indirectly by seeing its user base swell through the increase of ISIS-linked accounts, but directly profits by placing targeted advertisements on them.
When jihadist content is permitted to spread unchecked across the globe via cyberspace, it is a matter of national and international security. Tragically for Western civilization, its tech and media icons have been colluding -- even if unwittingly -- with those working actively to destroy it.
For the past few years, large social media and other online companies have been seeking to restrict or even criminalize content that could be construed as critical of Islam or Muslims, including when the material simply exposes the words and actions of radical Islamists.
The recent attempt by the digital payment platform, PayPal, to forbid two conservative organizations -- Jihad Watch and the American Freedom Defense Initiative -- from continuing to use the service to receive donations, is a perfect case in point. Although PayPal reversed the ban, its initial move was part of an ongoing war against the free speech of counter-jihadists -- those working to expose the ideology, goals, tactics and strategies of Islamic supremacists, and who are trying to defeat or at least to deter the Islamic supremacist global agenda.
Examples of this kind of censorship abound. In October 2016, for instance, conservative radio host and author Dennis Prager's "PragerU" -- which produces five-minute clips presented by leading experts in the fields of economics, politics, national security and culture -- announced that more than a dozen of its videos were facing restricted access on YouTube, a subsidiary of Google. In theory, this meant that users who employed the filter for sexually explicit or violent content would be blocked from it.
Among these restricted videos however, were six relating to Islam: "What ISIS Wants," presented by Tom Joscelyn, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; "Why Don't Feminists Fight for Muslim Women?" presented by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institute and Harvard's Belfer Center; "Islamic Terror: What Muslim Americans Can Do," presented by Khurram Dara, a Muslim American activist, author and attorney; "Pakistan: Can Sharia and Freedom Coexist?" and "Why Do People Become Islamic Extremists?" presented by Haroon Ullah, a foreign policy professor at Georgetown University; and "Radical Islam: The Most Dangerous Ideology," presented by Raymond Ibrahim, author of The Al Qaeda Reader.
PragerU is now pursuing legal action against Google/YouTube, having just filed a potentially major precedent-setting suit against the internet giant in U.S. District Court in California on grounds that Google/YouTube is allegedly discriminating against and censoring PragerU's videos based on the entity's conservative political identity and viewpoint.
PragerU is not alone in having its content -- presented by reputable thinkers -- treated by social media companies as comparable to pornography, or similarly inappropriate or offensive material. For instance:
In January 2015, a mere two weeks after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg penned a #JeSuisCharlie statement in defense of free speech -- in the wake of the Islamist terrorist attack on the Paris-based satirical journal Charlie Hebdo -- Facebook censored images of the prophet Muhammad in Turkey.
In January 2016, the Facebook page "Justin Trudeau Not," which contained content critical of the Canadian prime minister's views on Islamic supremacism, was deleted by Facebook as a "violation of community standards." The offense? The page's authors "contrasted Trudeau's immediate condemnation of a pepper spray attack against Muslims in Vancouver with his complete refusal to address a firearm attack by Muslims in Calgary."
In May 2016, the administrator of a pro-Trump Facebook group was banned from Facebook for posting: "Donald Trump is not anti-Muslim. He is anti ISIS. What Trump is trying to say is that Homeland Security cannot differentiate which Muslim is [a] radical wanting to cause harm and which is a harmless refugee. Who is willing to sacrifice their family's safety for the sake of political correctness? Are you?"
In June 2016, YouTube removed a video -- "Killing for a Cause: Sharia Law & Civilization Jihad" -- elucidating the aim of Islamic supremacists to subvert the West from within.
Also in June 2016, Facebook suspended the account of Swedish writer Ingrid Carlqvist for posting a video, produced by Gatestone Institute, on "Sweden's Migrant Rape Epidemic." After Gatestone readers responded critically to the censorship, the Swedish media started reporting on the case, and Facebook reinstated the video, without any explanation or apology.
In May 2017, Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First, a party "committed to the maintenance of British national sovereignty, independence and freedom," was banned from Facebook for 30 days for "repeatedly posting things that aren't allowed on Facebook." The post that reportedly triggered the temporary ban was a meme quoting the passage from the Koran: "O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends...Allah does not guide the evildoers."
Also in May 2017, Facebook blocked and then shut down the pages of two popular moderate Muslim groups -- managed and followed by Arabs across the world who reject not only violence and terrorism, but Islam as a religion -- on the grounds that their content was "in violation of community standards."
In August 2017, a YouTube channel containing a playlist of videos featuring best-selling author and scholar Robert Spencer, the director of Jihad Watch, was removed for a supposed violation of the platform's "Community Guidelines."
Later in August 2017, the Independent reported that Instagram, Twitter and YouTube allegedly had been cooperating with the Iranian regime to block or censor "immoral" content.
In the past year, social media companies have been editing their user guidelines to broaden the scope of the type of content that may be flagged for removal. These necessarily end up targeting content and users that counter the use of jihad, or war in the service of Islam. Examples of this procedure include the following:
In September 2016, YouTube released new "Advertiser-friendly content guidelines," according to which: "Video content that features or focuses on sensitive topics or events including, but not limited to, war, political conflicts, terrorism or extremism, death and tragedies, sexual abuse, even if graphic imagery is not shown, is generally not eligible for ads. For example, videos about recent tragedies, even if presented for news or documentary purposes, may not be eligible for advertising given the subject matter." It is easy to see how such rules could be used against people trying to counter jihad.
In March 2017, Google revealed that it was seeking to improve its search function by having its 10,000 "quality raters" flag "upsetting-offensive" content. The data generating the quality ratings will then be incorporated into Google's algorithms for monitoring and forbidding content. Two months later, Google updated the guidelines for "non-English-language web pages." One example cited by Google as "upsetting-offensive" is a post titled "Proof that Islam is Evil, Violent, and Intolerant – Straight from the Koran..." In contrast, Google calls a PBS Teachers Guide on Islam a "high-quality article...with an accurate summary of the major beliefs and practices of Islam."
In August 2017, YouTube posted "An update on our commitment to fight terror content online," which is sure to put counter-jihadist content in its crosshairs:
"...[W]e have begun working with more than 15 additional expert NGOs and institutions through our Trusted Flagger program, including the Anti-Defamation League, the No Hate Speech Movement, and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. These organizations bring expert knowledge of complex issues like hate speech, radicalization, and terrorism that will help us better identify content that is being used to radicalize and recruit extremists. We will also regularly consult these experts as we update our policies to reflect new trends. And we'll continue to add more organizations to our network of advisors over time...We'll soon be applying tougher treatment to videos that aren't illegal but have been flagged by users as potential violations of our policies on hate speech and violent extremism. If we find that these videos don't violate our policies, but contain controversial religious or supremacist content, they will have some features removed. The videos will remain on YouTube behind an interstitial, won't be recommended, won't be monetized, and won't have key features including comments, suggested videos, and likes."
It bears noting here that one group cited above -- the ADL –previously negatively flagged and profiled various counter-jihadist individuals and organizations. This is in keeping with the political slant of its new president, Jonathan Greenblatt, who has taken the organization in a decidedly left-leaning direction.
That major technology companies are openly stifling the free speech of people trying to counter jihad is bad enough; what is beyond unconscionable is that they simultaneously enable Islamic supremacists to spread the very content that the counter-jihadists have been exposing. It is a practice that the Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center is actively engaged in battling through litigation. The following four lawsuits against key platforms shed light on the way in which incitement to terrorism is able to flourish unfettered on the Internet, while those trying to combat it are targeted for "hate speech."
Lakin v. Facebook: The lawsuit, representing 20,000 Israeli plaintiffs, was brought to stop Facebook from "continuing to facilitate terrorist activity directed at" those plaintiffs. The plaintiffs attributed the surge in Palestinian terrorism that began on October 1, 2015 -- during which "more than 200 stabbings, more than 80 shootings, and more than 40 attacks using vehicles" were perpetrated against Israelis – in part to a "campaign driven by Palestinian terrorists using Facebook to incite, enlist, organize, and dispatch would-be killers to 'stab' and 'slaughter Jews.'" According to the complaint, the names and symbols of Palestinian Arab terrorist groups and individuals were known to authorities, and "Facebook has the data and capability to cease providing services to [such] terrorists, but...has chosen not to do so."
Force v. Facebook: The lawsuit, representing five American victims of Hamas terrorist attacks and their families, sought monetary damages against Facebook under the U.S. Antiterrorism Act (ATA) for providing material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The suit alleged that known members of Hamas, including "leaders, spokesmen, and members," had "openly maintained and used official Facebook accounts to "communicate, recruit members, plan and carry out attacks, and strike fear in its enemies," as well as to "issue terroristic threats, attract attention to its terror attacks, instill and intensify fear from terror attacks, intimidate and coerce civilian populations, take credit for terror attacks, communicate its desired messages about the terror attacks, reach its desired audiences, demand and attempt to obtain results from the terror attacks, and influence and affect government policies and conduct." In spite of these activities, the suit claims, Facebook has knowingly allowed Hamas and related individuals and entities to use its platform, while determining in several instances that the group's Facebook pages did not violate company policies, or by deleting only certain content, yet allowing the pages to remain active. Cain v. Twitter: The case, filed in federal court on behalf of two victims/families of the Islamic State (ISIS) terror attacks in Paris in November 2015 and in Brussels in March 2016, sought damages under the ATA by alleging that Twitter has provided material support for ISIS. The suit alleges that Twitter has been used by ISIS in the way that Facebook has been used by Hamas, among other things to: recruit, connect and communicate with members; plan and carry out attacks; inflate its image through the use of twitter bots and hashtags; and distribute videos, images and magazines that contain violent messages intended to incite, while making ISIS appear more legitimate. The suit claims that Twitter has facilitated such uses by providing resources and services to the Islamic State and its affiliates – many of whom openly maintained accounts – while refusing to identify Islamic State Twitter accounts, and only reviewing them when reported by Twitter users or third parties.
The plaintiffs further argued that Twitter had protected ISIS by: notifying users if it suspects government surveillance of Twitter accounts; suing the U.S. Department of Justice to defy orders requiring Twitter to keep details of investigative subpoenas secret, even if disclosure might harm national security; barring U.S. intelligence agencies from purchasing Twitter's Dataminr analytics tool, which could be used to identify terrorist activities and threats; and using its anti-harassment policies to ban Twitter accounts of users reporting Islamic State accounts to Twitter.
Last but not least, the lawsuit claims that Twitter not only benefits indirectly by seeing its user base swell through the increase of ISIS-linked accounts, but directly profits by placing targeted advertisements on them. One example cited: "[O]n May 17, 2016, Twitter placed an advertisement for a digital marketing company, OneNorth Interactive, on the Twitter account of "DJ Nasheed" (@djnasheedis), an ISIS Twitter account used to post jihadi music videos produced by ISIS's al-Hayat Media."
Gonzalez v. Google: The case, filed in federal court on behalf of the family of a young American woman murdered in the November 2015 ISIS terror attacks in Paris, seeks damages under the ATA, based on Google's provision of YouTube access to ISIS. The suit alleges that ISIS has used YouTube to distribute violent videos, images and recordings to instill terror and bolster its image as all-powerful. It claims that YouTube facilitated these activities by refusing to identify ISIS-linked accounts known to Google -- reviewing only those accounts reported by other YouTube users.
Regardless of the legal merits of these cases, it is clear that jihadists reap significant benefits from social-media platforms, and that there are, at best, serious lapses in the platforms' policing of jihadist accounts. At worst, there is "willful blindness" in relation to jihadist material, and the application of a double-standard to posts that counter jihad. A Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) report from June 2017 reveals the extent to which jihadist content that is flagged by YouTube users is left alone, in spite of assurances that such material would be removed. In fact, of the 115 videos that MEMRI flagged on YouTube in 2015, 69 remained active as of February 27, 2017. Many are still online to this day. Some are so gruesome that the MEMRI report includes a warning to readers about "graphic images."
This is not merely a free-speech issue. On the contrary, there is evidence to suggest a direct correlation between jihadist incitement and terrorism. After the London Bridge attack in June 2017, for example, it emerged that one of the perpetrators had been inspired by videos posted online from a Michigan-based imam named Ahmad Musa Jibril. The International Centre for the Study of Radicalization found that many of Jibril's followers had joined al-Qaeda or ISIS. As early as 2005, federal prosecutors described Jibril as someone who "encouraged his students to spread Islam by the sword, to wage a holy war," and "to hate and kill non-Muslims." In spite of Jibril's background, his YouTube channel is still accessible. When asked by Conservative Review's Jordan Schachtel to comment on this, a Google spokesman did not indicate that Jibril had violated YouTube's content guidelines. A Facebook fan page and Twitter accounts dedicated to Jibril's sermons also remain online today.
A related manifestation of bias against counter-jihadist material in favor of jihadist posts on Internet platforms is additionally reflected in the promotion of the Palestinian Arab cause and simultaneous discrimination against Israel. Among other examples of this disparate treatment:
In June 2008, Google Earth was revealed to have exhibited "replacement geography," presenting Israel "as a state born out of colonial conquest rather than the return of a people from exile." Months after the report was released, "Google, Inc. [removed] a series of anti-Israel depictions from its program."
In December 2008, YouTube temporarily removed Israeli video clips of retaliatory IDF strikes against Islamic terrorists who had been launching rockets into Israeli cities from Gaza. The website subsequently restored the clips, which had been removed when Hamas-supporters complained that they were offensive. In January 2013, then-Jerusalem Post reporter and current Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow Khaled Abu Toameh had his Facebook account suspended "for security reasons," after writing about corruption in the Palestinian Authority. Although his account was reinstated the following day, the two posts over which it had been barred were deleted without explanation. Toameh responded: "It's still a matter of censorship...Now we have to be careful about what we post and what we share. Does this mean we can't criticize Arab governments anymore?"
In May 2013, Google changed the title of its "Google - Palestinian Territories" page, to "Google - Palestine," after the United Nations decision to make "Palestine" a nonmember observer state.
In September 2013, Apple released its new operating system, with a "world clock" feature that lists Jerusalem without a country.
In March 2015, Google News filed a USA Today story titled "Palestinians: Time for US to reassess Israel relations" at the top of the page, under the seemingly unrelated "Business" section, while linking to a series of negative stories about Israel directly beneath it.
In December 2016, Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center conducted an experiment on Facebook to see if the social media giant treated Palestinian Arabs and Israelis differently. It created two pages -- "Stop Palestinians" and "Stop Israelis" -- and posted several parallel derogatory and/or violent content on each. It then sent simultaneous messages to Facebook flagging the pages as being in violation of Facebook's rules. Within a day, the anti-Palestinian Arab page was shut down. Following an outcry from social media users and coverage in the Hebrew press, Facebook finally removed the "Stop Israelis" page -- six days later. A July 2017 piece in Tablet Magazine sheds light on the way in which algorithms can be and are used to perpetuate pro-Islamic and anti-Israel or anti-Semitic narratives. Writing about Google's new "Perspective API" (Application Program Interface), which employs "advanced machine learning to help moderators track down comments that are likely to be 'toxic,'" Liel Leibovitz recounts:
"I asked Perspective to rate the following sentiment: 'Jews control the banks and the media.' This old chestnut, Perspective reported, had a 10 percent chance of being perceived as toxic...I tried again, this time with another group of people, typing 'Many terrorists are radical Islamists.' The comment, Perspective informed me, was 92 percent likely to be seen as toxic."
The same, he said, applied to straight news, as in the statement of fact: "Three Israelis were murdered last night by a knife-wielding Palestinian terrorist who yelled 'Allah hu Akbar.'" That, Leibovitz wrote, was also "92 percent likely to be seen as toxic."
The reason for this, he explained, is that
"machines learn from what they read, and when what they read are the Guardian and the Times, they're going to inherit the inherent biases of these publications as well. Like most people who read the Paper of Record [The New York Times], the machine, too, has come to believe that statements about Jews being slaughtered are controversial, that addressing radical Islamism is verboten, and that casual anti-Semitism is utterly forgivable... No words are toxic, but the idea that we now have an algorithm replicating, amplifying, and automatizing the bigotry of the anti-Jewish left may very well be."
Private technology companies are within their rights to make all manner of decisions as to how they operate and whom they allow to make use of their services. In a free-market system, it is the consumers -- and competitors -- who ostensibly have the power to affect the popularity of a product. It is for this very reason that detrimental activity must be exposed -- so user and market pressure forces such pivotal firms to reform. Yet one cannot deny the global reach and scope of Facebook, Google and the other Internet giants, which make it extremely difficult for dissatisfied customers to find or create an alternative. The fact is that in today's world, individuals and businesses barely are seen to exist without having a presence on these platforms. If such platforms wish, they can cripple those who dissent from their ideological orthodoxy.
This is problematic not only for political conservatives and counter-jihadists who are treated negatively by the major media firms. It is also worrisome from the point of view of freedom of expression. When jihadist content is permitted to spread unchecked across the globe via cyberspace, it is a matter of national and international security. Tragically for Western civilization, its tech and media icons have been colluding – even if unwittingly – with those working actively to destroy it.
*Benjamin Weingarten is a writer, podcaster, and media consultant.
© 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.

US quits UNESCO in support of Israel
Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi/Al Arabiya/October 26/17
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is one of the most important and most useful international organizations for humanity. It was established in conjunction with the establishment of the United Nations. It is an extension of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation (ICCP), which was an advisory organization of the League of Nations, established after the First World War. The United Nations replaced the League of Nations after the end of the Second World War and it inherited several agencies and organizations founded by the League.
UNESCO replaced ICCP, while the International Bureau of Education (IBE), the global center of excellence in curriculum and related matters, remained a part of UNESCO maintaining its legal status. UNESCO works in the field of education, science and culture away from politics and diplomatic maneuvers.
The United States has pulled out of this world body for its alleged anti-Israel bias. However, it is difficult to know whether there is any anti-Israel bias on the part of UNESCO as claimed by the US. Was it not Israel that expelled the people of Palestine from their homeland in 1948, forcing them to live in refugee camps? Was it not Israel that launched a war against the Arab states during which it occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967, and continues to occupy it, besides laying siege to the Gaza Strip for the past 10 years? Is not this Israeli occupation the oldest and the worst form of occupation on the face of the earth? Was it not Israel that was a signatory to the Oslo Accord with the Palestinians that was based on the so-called two-state solution? Is it not Israel that has failed to abide by that agreement?
When Israel entered into negotiations with the Palestinians, it resulted in nothing more than negotiations for the sake of negotiations. At the same time, Israel continued building settlements so that there would not be any land remaining on which to establish a Palestinian state. Moreover, the Jewish state also pursued its policy of Judaization of Jerusalem through unjust laws enacted by Israel with the objective of driving the Arab population out of Jerusalem. It also constructed a segregation wall that cuts off some regions of the West Bank from others.
Unjust and illegal Israeli practices, such as the construction of the wall or Judaization of Jerusalem or the building of settlements, are in flagrant violation of international laws, United Nations resolutions and Geneva Conventions, which prohibit the occupying power from changing the demographic structure of the occupied land. Israel is engaged in the violation of all these laws and conventions with the open support of the United States of America, which, unfortunately, considers Israel to be an entity above the law.
Was it not Israel that launched a war against the Arab states during which it occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in 1967, and continues to occupy it, besides laying siege to the Gaza Strip for the past 10 years? Is not this Israeli occupation the oldest and the worst form of occupation on the face of the earth? Even though all successive US administrations have considered Jerusalem and the West Bank to be occupied territories and settlements to be illegal and an obstruction to the peace process, they have pursued a policy of quickly retreating from demanding Israel to respect international resolutions on Palestine. The US has no hesitation even in exercising its veto power in the United Nations Security Council against any resolution condemning Israel, no matter how fair, logical and objective it might be. On the other hand, the US seeks more concessions from the Palestinians and attempts to persuade them to come to the negotiating table. But what is the value of negotiations if Israel makes it an end in itself and has no desire for solutions that comply with international conventions and safeguard the rights of Palestinians even at a minimum level?
If we examine the decisions of UNESCO that have angered the United States and have caused it to withdraw from the organization, we find that these decisions are no different than the resolutions adopted by the United Nations and approved by the United States earlier. One of the major decisions of UNESCO was its denial of Israel’s right to Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that Jerusalem is an occupied city. Is there any discrimination against Israel in this so as to cause the US to withdraw from UNESCO? Is this a civilized and democratic act? Where are American values and human rights? Where is the respect for law on the part of the US? Why does it stand by Israel’s false claims? Did not Israel excavate for half a century in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque and did it find any single piece of evidence that gives it the right for any claim on the holy mosque?
Are not all the claims of Israel based on myths and lies that do not amount to the historical and archaeological facts under which UNESCO operates? The withdrawal from UNESCO does not harm the organization but it does harm the US itself. The world knows the facts and stands by them. It knows Israel’s lies, racism and injustice to the Palestinian people. The world also knows the falsity of Israel’s democracy and its practice of abhorrent apartheid against the Palestinian people, no less than the apartheid practiced by the white minority in South Africa. International pressure led to the abolition of apartheid in South Africa and its replacement with democracy with the participation of all the people of the country.
It is high time for the world in general and the United States in particular to come forward to stand by justice and truthfulness in the case of the Palestinians.