LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 31/2018
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias
Bejjani
The Bulletin's Link on the
lccc Site
http://data.eliasbejjaninews.com/newselias18/english.may31.18.htm
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Bible
Quotations
For as often as you
eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he
comes
For Today/First Letter to the Corinthians 11/23-32: "I received from the
Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he
was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it
and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’
In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the
new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance
of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim
the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or
drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the
body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the
bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the
body, eat and drink judgement against themselves. For this reason many of
you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves, we
would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined
so that we may not be condemned along with the world."
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from
miscellaneous sources published on May 30-31/18
Sanctions on Hezbollah a reminder of what may unfold
for Lebanon/Makram Rabah/Asharq Al Awsat/May 30/18
The May watershed and Lebanon/Mordechai Nisan/Jerusalem Post/May 30/18
Palestinian "Treason"/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/May 30/18
Is Facebook Violating U.S. Counterterrorism Laws/Ruthie Blum/Gatestone
Institute/May 30/18
The British Media's Lockstep Lies: Who Are They and What Do They Stand
For/Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/May 30/18
Italy's Pro-EU President Flouts Voters/Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/May
30/18
Will the region explode because of Trump/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Asharq Al
Awsat/May 30/18
What constitutes an exceptional president/Ahmad al-Farraj/Asharq Al Awsat/May
30/18
Will Abadi learn from Mahathir’s example/Adnan Hussein/Asharq Al Awsat/May
30/18
Iranian regime is playing the EU masterfully/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/May 30/18
Titles For The
Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
May 30-31/18
Aoun: U.S. Should Help Lebanon Return Refugees Back to Syria
Report: LF Concerned of Bassil’s Attempt to Break their Relation with Aoun
Jumblat: All Three Druze Portfolios Are PSP’s Share
Palestinians in Lebanon Fear US Cuts Could Close UN Schools
Rahi from Paris: Formation of ‘Confidence’ Cabinet Calls for Cooperation
with Fares
Rahi from Paris: We reject displaced people's voluntary return principle
Rai meets French Prime Minister
Sami Gemayel visits Berri: The biggest challenge facing the government is
economic
Lebanese Army commander, US delegation tackle general situation
Retired Brigadier General Maroun Hitti honorary member of British Empire
Lazzarini meets Machnouk, hails successful partnership between Ministry,
UNDP
Lebanon to Begin Offshore Oil Exploration
Lawmaker Says President Share in Govt. Not Stipulated in Constitution
Inter-Christian Dispute Erupts over President’s Share in New Lebanese Govt.
I’m sorry mom’, wrote Jordanian medical student before committing suicide in
Lebanon
Lebanon charges officer for framing actor as Israel agent
Sanctions on Hezbollah a reminder of what may unfold for Lebanon
The May watershed and Lebanon
Titles For Latest LCCC
Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published
on May 30-31/18
US seeks urgent UN council meeting on anti-Israel strikes
US sanctions Iran groups, Evin Prison for rights abuses
Israel will make Hamas pay:’ Intelligence minister denies Gaza ceasefire
Grandson of prominent Iranian religious reference accused of sexual
harassment
Palestinian injured in Gaza protests dies of wounds: Ministry
US condemns Syria’s plan to recognize breakaway regions in Georgia
Israel Denies Gaza Ceasefire but Calm Returns
Top North Korean Heads to US to Meet Pompeo ahead of Summit
Yemen Forces Plan Siege of Key Rebel-Held Port
Latest LCCC Lebanese Related News published on
May 30-31/18
Aoun: U.S. Should Help
Lebanon Return Refugees Back to Syria
/aharnet/May 30/18President Michel Aoun said on Wednesday
that the United States must help Lebanon return the Syrian refugees back to
safe areas in their homeland. “The US should help Lebanon facilitate the
return of Syrian refugees to safe areas in Syria and not wait for a
comprehensive political solution to the Syrian crisis,” said Aoun. His
remarks came during a meeting with visiting U.S. parliamentary delegation
led by U.S. Representative Darrell Issa, in the presence of U.S. Ambassador
to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard. Aoun also said that Lebanon is going to
witness a stage of political stability after completing its general
elections and the formation of its Cabinet. “Lebanon is coming to an
advanced stage of political stability after its general elections and the
formation of the government,” he said. He voiced hopes that PM-designate
Saad Hariri succeeds at lining up a “comprehensive Cabinet that includes all
the national parties in order to confront the challenges facing Lebanon.”For
its part, the delegation conveyed the U.S. congratulations on the occasion
of staging “successful” parliamentary polls, hailing Aoun’s endeavors to
“protect Lebanon and defend its sovereignty and stability.”
Report: LF Concerned of Bassil’s Attempt to Break their Relation with Aoun
Naharnet/May 30/18/The Lebanese Forces emphasized eagerness to maintain good
relations with President Michel Aoun, voicing fears that outgoing Foreign
Minister Jebran Bassil “seeks to break” their ties with the “presidential
term,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday. “Bassil wants to blow the
LF relationship with the presidential term,” by allocating the share of the
president in the new government to figures belonging to his “political
line,” LF sources told the daily on condition of anonymity. They confirmed
keenness “on the position of the presidency and the role of the president,
otherwise it would not have paved the way for General Aoun to reach the
Baabda Palace through the Maarab Agreement,” they said. As political parties
wrangle over the distribution of ministerial portfolios in the new
government, the issue of the president’s share in the Cabinet triggered
controversy between the Free Patriotic Movement and LF. Bassil, head of the
FPM and Aoun’s son-in-law, had demanded six ministerial portfolios including
finance or interior for his parliamentary bloc . He also said President
Michel Aoun (FPM founder) should have four other separate portfolios. On the
other hand, the LF has vowed on Monday to be part of the President’s share
in the new government, “we in the LF consider ourselves to be a part of the
President's share, seeing as we were partners in his election,” they said.
LF sources voiced concerns that Bassil would under this heading tarnish the
LF-President ties. As per constitutional norms, Prime Minister Saad Hariri
kicked off parliamentary consultations Monday morning to explore the demands
of the parliamentary blocs regarding the line-up and policies of the new
government.
Jumblat: All Three Druze Portfolios Are PSP’s Share
Naharnet/May 30/18/Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat
emphasized that three ministerial seats allocated to the Druze community
will strictly be of the PSP’s share, noting the parliamentary elections
results that saw his Democratic Gathering bloc record significant outcome,
the daily An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday. “The entire share allocated
to the Druze community in the Cabinet shall be allocated to the PSP. We are
asking for a legitimate demand as a result of the (parliamentary) elections
no more and no less,” Jumblat said in remarks to the daily. He said the
“achievements made by the PSP in the elections should be respected.” Jumblat
was indirectly referring to his Druze rival, MP Talal Arslan who insists on
being granted a ministry for a Druze politician of his backing. The two men
are fighting a battle of Druze representation. As per constitutional norms,
PM-designate Saad Hariri kicked off parliamentary consultations Monday
morning to explore the demands of the parliamentary blocs regarding the
line-up and policies of the new government.
Palestinians in Lebanon Fear US Cuts Could Close UN
Schools
Naharnet/May 30/18/When the teacher asked the English class
how to change a sentence from the active to the passive voice, Sarah's hand
shot up from the front row, and as soon as she was called upon she answered
correctly. The 10-year-old Palestinian girl has come a long way since she
arrived in Lebanon after fleeing Syria's civil war five years ago, and is
now a star student at an elementary school run by the U.N. agency for
Palestinian refugees, which also provides trauma counseling. But those
services, and the thousands of children who rely on them, now face an
uncertain future, as the U.S. threatens to cut funding at a time when the
U.N. agency is struggling to cope with crises across the region. Sarah's
family is descended from some of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians
who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 war
surrounding its creation. The refugees and their descendants now number more
than 5 million, and mostly reside in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan,
Lebanon and Syria. Sarah's family, who asked that their last name not be
published because of safety concerns, became refugees a second time when
they fled their Damascus home after it was hit by a rocket in 2013. In
Lebanon, they enrolled Sarah at Jafna Elementary School, which is operated
by UNRWA, the oldest and largest U.N. relief program in the Middle East. The
agency provides health care, education and social services to millions of
refugees, including those displaced a second time by the Syrian civil war
and other regional unrest. The Trump administration announced in January it
was slashing its aid to UNRWA, withholding $65 million of a planned $125
million funding installment. It released $60 million so the agency wouldn't
shut down, but made clear that additional U.S. support would be contingent
on major reforms at the agency. Israel accuses UNRWA of perpetuating the
conflict by promoting Palestinian claims to a right of return, while
President Donald Trump has blamed the Palestinians for the lack of progress
in Mideast peace efforts. Other countries responded by pledging $100 million
in new funding this year, but UNRWA still faces a $350 million shortfall.
"If the financial crisis continues, there are no guarantees that we will be
able to start next year's school year," said Salem Dib, UNRWA's chief
education program officer in Lebanon. "There are dangers regarding
continuity of education for all Palestinian refugees, whether they are from
Lebanon or from Syria." Some 36,000 students, including nearly 5,500 who
were displaced from Syria, are studying at 66 UNRWA schools in Lebanon. Dib
said it is difficult for Palestinians to enroll in public schools, which are
already overcrowded with Syrian refugees.
Last month, international donors pledged an estimated $4.4 billion in
humanitarian aid for Syria and neighboring countries in 2018, falling
significantly short of the more than $7 billion the United Nations is
seeking. At the same time, refugees in Lebanon face growing hostility from
political parties that support the Syrian government, which made gains in
Lebanese parliamentary elections earlier this month and have called for the
Syrian refugees to return home.
Sarah's parents hope their daughter can get a scholarship to study outside
Lebanon, allowing the family of five to move somewhere safer. "If my
children leave school they'll be lost," her mother Fatima said.
The family recounted their ordeal from the tent they share in Lebanon's
eastern Bekaa Valley.
Sarah recalled the harrowing day of shelling in Damascus, when she and her
younger brothers took shelter on the first floor. One of the shells exploded
nearby, covering everyone in dust.
"When I saw my wife and children covered with dust and shaking, I told
myself we have to leave," her father Ghadir said. The family found relative
safety in Lebanon, but little else. They rely on U.N. assistance, and Ghadir
gets occasional work at a nearby restaurant. At one point he set up a stand
on the side of the road to sell corn, but he abandoned it when Lebanese
security forces stormed the area, fearing he would be caught without a work
permit. Despite everything she has been through, Sarah is excelling in
school. She loves learning English and dreams of being a cardiologist. Samah
Khalil, who provides counseling to students at the school, says many of the
children suffer from trauma that makes it difficult for them to study or
interact with others — but Sarah was able to recover quickly. "Sarah is a
special student, she is the best in her class and she is loved by her
classmates," she said. "She is great in every aspect."Mary Joy Pigozzi, the
executive director of Educate A Child, which provides psychological
counseling in the UNRWA schools, says EAC has worked hard to foster the
skills that young people need to become future leaders. "Like Sarah, some of
these children have had to overcome many difficult situations, which makes
it even more important that we prioritize their educational opportunities,"
she said. "Access to quality education is a human right."
Rahi from Paris: Formation of ‘Confidence’ Cabinet
Calls for Cooperation with Fares
Naharnet/May 30/18/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi currently on an
official three-day visit to Paris attended a dinner banquet on Tuesday
evening at former Deputy Prime Minister Issam Fares's Paris residence, the
National News Agency said on Wednesday. The two men held a closed-door
meeting where they discussed the general developments in Lebanon, and the
prospects of the forthcoming stage after the formation of the new
government, NNA said. "This meeting has allowed us to exchange views on all
issues. We look forward to a new phase in which we will be able to face the
current challenges and find solutions to them. This requires the
participation of the country's capable and dedicated leaders," Rahi said.
"If Lebanese officials wish to form a government that gains the Lebanese’
confidence and that of the international community, then they must cooperate
with President Fares," Rahi added, highlighting the need for trust figures
"whom Fares would find his natural place among." Earlier, Rahi held talks
with senior French officials, including French President Emmanuel Macron.
Discussions mainly focused on Lebanese-French relations, security and
economic stability in Lebanon, the Syrian refugee crisis, and commitment to
the reforms needed to support Lebanon internationally.
Rahi from Paris: We
reject displaced people's voluntary return principle
Wed 30 May 2018/NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Rahi
held a press conference at his residence in the Bristol Hotel in Paris
whereby he addressed Arab and foreign media. In response to a question about
the possibility of the Lebanese State communicating with the Syrian regime
to solve the problem of displaced persons, Rahi said "this is the
responsibility of the Lebanese State. We live in a political conflict
because the country is divided between two teams, one supporting the Syrian
regime and the other standing against it, which has led to paralysis in
politics and economy.""The Lebanese are living in poverty, in light of the
large number of displaced persons," he said, pointing out that "this
migration has created a sort of imbalance which, if it continues, would
change the identity of Lebanon.""Economically, we are living the
repercussions of the war in Syria especially that the road to the Arab world
has been cut off. We are paying a heavy economic price," The Patriarch
added. "The issue of the displaced is an international and regional concern,
and solving it is a shared responsibility," he said. "It is imperative to
encourage the displaced to return to their country. We reject the principle
of voluntary return, but international assistance is required for the
reconstruction of their homes. Friends of Lebanon are asked for help because
we are starting to feel as strangers in our own homeland." On France's
position, Rahi pointed out that "it is committed to the international
resolution, namely the voluntary return of displaced. And this is what we
reject." "The land of Lebanon is not for sale," he maintained. "Our fear is
that the longer the displaced reside [on our land] the bigger the chance for
demanding their naturalization.""Law No. 10 has two sides, one positive, as
it encourages the declaration of ownership, while the other is negative,
especially that the deadline given is short," Rahi argued. He also regretted
what he called "the absence of an international will for the return of
displaced people, and that for political reasons." Tackling the government
formation process, Rahi noted that the next government’s priority would be
to implement reforms. "We demand a colorless government, a government of
technocrats. But, as it appears, we should expect a government of fights
over interests."
Rai meets French Prime Minister
Wed 30 May 2018/NNA - A meeting is currently underway between Maronite
Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai and French Prime Minister, ةdouard
Philippe, at the French Prime Minister's residence in Matignon. Patriarch
Rai's accompanying delegation is also present during the meeting.
Sami Gemayel visits Berri: The biggest challenge facing
the government is economic
Wed 30 May 2018 at 17:01 Politics/NNA - Speaker of the House, Nabih Berri,
received this Wednesday in Ain el-Tineh, the Kataeb Party leader, MP Sami
Gemayel, accompanied by his deputy, former minister Salim al-Sayegh, and MP
Elias Hankash. In the wake of the meeting, MP Gemayel delivered a statement
in which he said "in light of the ongoing consultations on several topics,
most notably the subject of parliamentary committees and the formation of
the government, we wished on the Speaker giving priority to the issue of
administrative decentralization," suggesting the formation of a
parliamentary committee to follow-up on this matter, "thus setting a
challenge to us in the first two years of the Council's mandate to pass this
law and offer the Lebanese a new stage in developmental work." "We talked
with Speaker Berri about the economic situation. There is great fear (...)
of the economic reality we have reached today, which needs very quick steps
and measures by the government to stop the long-standing waste," Gemayel
said, assuring that the main challenge facing the country is economic and
addressing it requires the adoption of radical measures. On a different
note, Berri received the Egyptian Ambassador Nazih Al-Najari and discussed
with him developments in Lebanon and the region. Berri then met with the
World Bank's Regional Director, Saroj Kumar, with whom he tackled the Bank's
projects in Lebanon. At 2:30 pm, Berri received a US parliamentary
delegation that included Darrell Issa, Stephen Lynch and a number of aides,
administrators and US Ambassador Elizabeth Richard. Talks dealt with
developments in Lebanon and the region.
Lebanese Army commander, US delegation tackle general
situation
Wed 30 May 2018/NNA - Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, on Wednesday
received at his Yarze office, US Congressmen Issa Darrell and Stephen Lunch,
in the presence of US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard. Talks
reportedly touched on the general situation in Lebanon and the broad region.
Maj. Gen. Aoun also met with outgoing Spanish Military Attaché Colonel, Jose
Antonio Vega Mancera, who came on a farewell visit. Mancera introduced his
successor Colonel Fernando Royo.
On the other hand, President of the Arab Women Council, Lina Moukarzel, also
visited General Aoun on top of a delegation. Discussions touched on a range
of matters.
Retired Brigadier General Maroun Hitti honorary member
of British Empire
Wed 30 May 2018/NNA - In a reception hosted at his Residence, British
Ambassador to Lebanon, Hugo Shorter, annouced the appointment of Retired
Brigadier General Maroun Hitti an Honorary Member of the Order of the
British Empire (MBE), for services to Security in the Levant.
In a press release by the British Embassy in Beirut, it said: "The MBE award
was made in recognition of General Hitti's unwavering commitment to
Lebanon's sovereignty and security. As Director of Operations in the
Lebanese Armed Forces, later as Deputy Chief of Staff for Lebanese military
planning, and now as the Prime Minister's Defence and Security Advisor,
Brigadier General Maroun Hitti has been instrumental in creating the
excellent defence relationship between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the UK,
in particular in the design and implementation of the long-running project
to create four LAF Land Border Regiments and build over 70 towers and
operating basis on Lebanon's border with Syria.
General Hitti is the fourth Lebanese citizen to be awarded this honour."
At the award ceremony Ambassador Shorter said: "It is one of the greatest
honours of an ambassador to perform this duty, on behalf of Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II herself. General Hitti was instrumental in fostering the
excellent cooperation between Lebanon and the UK. From 2011, with support
from the British government, he was a central actor in designing and
implementing the enormously successful Lebanon border security project. This
ensured Lebanon was able to secure and defend its borders with Syria for the
first time in its history."
Upon receiving the award General Hitti said: "I am honoured by this
distinction and what we have achieved, but I did not do it alone; I was
assisted by many courageous men. What is important for me as a Lebanese is
that we put the authority of the State on that border area where the state
has been absent since Independence. The border project is an investment by
the British people - it did not come as a manna from heaven but through the
labour and the sweat of the British tax payers. We're really grateful for
that, and we acknowledge it."
Press release said: "The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire's motto
is For God and the Empire. It is a British order of chivalry, rewarding
contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare
organisations, and public service. It was established in 1917 by King George
V, wishing to create an Order to honour many thousands of those who had
served during the First World War."
Release noted: "The stability generated by
secure borders has allowed a delicate but very real peace to hold in Lebanon
- a unique country whose stability is an essential UK and Western interest.
This has set the scene for over one billions dollars of UK investment in
Lebanon's security, stability, and prosperity - more spending per head of
population than almost anywhere else in the world."
Release concluded: "By 2019, we will have trained around 11,000 soldiers for
frontline operations. The UK is spending £62m ($91.4) to 'train and equip'
the LAF's Land Border Regiments. This includes building 39 border
watchtowers and 37 Forward Operating Bases along the border. And they're
having great success: in 2014, Lebanon was the first nation to repel Daesh,
and in 2017 the LAF successfully expelled Daesh from Lebanese territory.
From 2019, Lebanon will have complete authority over its border with Syria."
Lazzarini meets Machnouk, hails successful partnership
between Ministry, UNDP
Wed 30 May 2018/NNA - Caretaker Interior Minister, Nuhad Machnouk, on
Wednesday received at his ministerial office Deputy UN Special Coordinator
for Lebanon, Philippe Lazzarini, who commended the Ministry's success during
the recent legislative election's process. Lazzarini also hailed the
successful partnership between the Ministry, the private sector and the
United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Discussions also touched on the
"Municipal Police Institutionalization" Project, kicked off two years ago,
in cooperation with the Institute of the Internal Security Forces and
supported by UNDP. Already accomplished stages and future measures were also
discussed.
Lebanon to Begin Offshore Oil Exploration
Associated Press/Naharnet/May 30/18/Lebanon's outgoing energy minister said
Tuesday that the first phase of oil and gas exploration off the country's
coast has begun. Cesar Abi Khalil told reporters that he has approved an
exploration plan submitted by three international companies who will search
in two of the country's 10 offshore blocks. Abi Khalil said Lebanon's first
well will be drilled next year. Lebanon last year approved the licenses for
an international consortium led by France's Total, Italy's ENI and Russia's
Novatek to move forward with offshore oil and gas development for two of 10
blocks in the Mediterranean Sea, including one that is disputed in part with
Israel.
Lawmaker Says President Share in Govt. Not Stipulated
in Constitution
Naharnet/May 30/18/A newly elected lawmaker emphasized on Wednesday that the
issue of the president’s share in the government is not subject to any
constitutional provisions. “Nothing in the constitution speaks of a share of
the President in the government,” said MP-elect Albert Mansour in an
interview to VDL (93.3). Adding: “The so-called Doha “custom” has no
constitutional value and the only constitutional value is the Taif
Accord.”The MP was referring to the allocation of four Cabinet portfolios as
part of President Michel Aoun’s share. Mansour also criticized an equation
linking the number of deputies in a specific parliamentary bloc to its
eligibility to have a minister of its backing. He stressed saying: “The
Cabinet is a task force for specific duties. Lebanon today needs an economic
renaissance. It needs to face the problem of asylum and put an end to
rampant corruption.” Mansour said the wrangling between the various
political parties over Cabinet portfolios is a “distribution of spoils,” as
he called for the formation of a national unity government.
Inter-Christian
Dispute Erupts over President’s Share in New Lebanese Govt.
Beirut - Paula Astih/Asharq Al Awsat/May 30/18
A dispute between the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the Lebanese Forces
(LF) reached an unprecedented level on Tuesday after the latter proposed
giving a ministerial portfolio that will be shared between President Michel
Aoun and his allied bloc, Strong Lebanon, in the next cabinet.
According to norms in Lebanon, presidents receive a ministerial share in
cabinet lineups. However, those presidents were never represented by another
bloc inside the same government. This is not the case of the current
cabinet, where Aoun, the founder of the FPM, has a ministerial share
separate from his party’s representation. This prompted the LF to demand
that Aoun and the Strong Lebanon bloc obtain a joint ministerial portfolio
in the new government. But, the 29-member Strong Lebanon bloc headed, by FPM
leader and outgoing Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil, insist on getting a
portfolio separate from Aoun’s. LF sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the
party’s fight in this regard is not directed against the president, but
against Bassil, who is trying to use Aoun’s share to minimize the LF shares.
“The Lebanese Forces is keen on protecting the powers and the role of the
Presidency, but we will not accept that some parties skirt the results of
the parliamentary elections,” the source said. LF and social media activists
posted on Tuesday a video showing Aoun, when he was still head of the FPM,
commenting on the issue during the term of President Michel Suleiman. Aoun
had declared that a president is not entitled to a ministerial portfolio.
However, it seems that Aoun and Bassil currently refuse to even discuss the
LF request. “The issue is already settled and not subject to any
discussion,” Aoun sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, accusing the LF of trying to
damage the powers of the president. Shiite and Sunni parties have avoided
discussing the matter, keeping the ball in the Christian court. Mustaqbal
Movement official Mustafa Alloush told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Prime
Minister-designate Saad Hariri and his party are only concerned about the
quick lineup of the cabinet away from any complications.” It is up to the LF
and the FPM to resolve issues related to the presidential shares in the next
cabinet or to any issue related to the Christian representation in the
country, he added.
I’m sorry mom’, wrote Jordanian medical student before
committing suicide in Lebanon
Staff writer, Al Arabiya English/Wednesday, 30 May 2018/A Jordanian medical
student committed suicide in Lebanon on Tuesday by using what is being
described as an overdose of pills and other substances, social media reports
have said.Social media posts said Abdullah Kashora’s body was found in the
dormitory of the Lebanese University after he ended his life. A picture of
his suicide note, in which he supposedly said goodbye to his parents and
handed his belongings to a friend named Tareq Omar, was circulated through
twitter. In the note, Kashora writes to his mother: “I’m sorry mom. I love
you but life is hard. I’ll be leaving.” Many prominent people took the
opportunity to highlight the rising cases of suicide in Lebanon. One of the
public figures to react was writer and actor Tareq Soueid who stated in a
tweet that three individuals including Kashora committed suicide within 24
hours.
According to reports, a teacher committed suicide in a school in the North
of Lebanon while her students were taking an exam.
Lebanon charges
officer for framing actor as Israel agent
AFP, Beirut/Wednesday, 30 May 2018/A Lebanese court on Tuesday charged a
high-ranking officer with “fabricating” evidence that a prominent actor and
writer had been illegally conspiring with Israel, a judicial source told AFP.
Lebanon, which technically remains at war with its southern neighbor,
upholds a boycott of Israeli products and of contact with its nationals.
Lieutenant Colonel Suzanne Hajj “was charged with fabricating the case of
collaboration with Israel brought against actor Ziad Itani, as well as
hacking websites and inventing non-existent crimes”, the judicial source
said. Hajj, who headed a unit in Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces tasked
with fighting cybercrime, was detained for questioning in March over
suspicions she had enlisted the help of a hacker to fabricate conversations
between Itani and an Israeli woman. She remained in detention until Tuesday,
and was released on the condition that she would continue to appear at the
military tribunal for hearings, the source said. The charges against her are
yet another chapter in the strange case.
Itani's case
Lebanese were shocked when news broke in November that Itani had allegedly
confessed to having been “tasked to monitor a group of high-level political
figures” and their associates on behalf of Israel. People close to the actor
said his “confession” was extracted under duress, though the authorities
have denied the accusation. Lebanese authorities released him in March and
simultaneously issued an arrest warrant for Hajj, who they suspected of
having framed him. At the time, a source close to the investigation said
Hajj had sought revenge against Itani after he shed light on her liking a
controversial post on Twitter last year, after which she was demoted. Itani
has shot to prominence in recent years because of a series of comedy plays
on Beirut, its customs and the transformations it has undergone in recent
decades. The works -- particularly “Beirut Tariq al-Jdideh”, which refers to
a majority-Sunni neighborhood of the city -- have been very well-received.
Before becoming an actor, Itani worked as a journalist with Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen
television channel and with various regional newspapers.
Sanctions on Hezbollah a reminder of what may unfold
for Lebanon
العقوبات على حزب الله تذكير بما قد تصل إليه الأمور في لبنان
Makram Rabah/Asharq Al Awsat/May 30/18
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/65016/makram-rabah-sanctions-on-hezbollah-a-reminder-of-what-may-unfold-for-lebanon-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%82%d9%88%d8%a8%d8%a7%d8%aa-%d8%b9%d9%84%d9%89-%d8%ad%d8%b2%d8%a8-%d8%a7%d9%84%d9%84%d9%87-%d8%aa/
The recent Lebanese parliamentary elections was not merely an occasion for
selecting parliamentary representatives as it also underscored the inability
of the Lebanese political elite to contain Iran and Hezbollah’s hegemony
over the Lebanese state.
Iran’s foothold on the Mediterranean coast was never essentially the outcome
of the ballot boxes but rather a combination of both political alliances
primarily with the Maronite president of the Republic Michel Aoun and his
party the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and a calculated use of its weapons
to paralyze and intimidate their opponents when needed.
Consequently, the recent US-Arab Gulf sanctions on Hezbollah were somewhat
expected or even inevitable, given progression of the events that have been
unfolding in the region and Hezbollah’s leading and effective role in
implementing Iran’s expansionary vision.
Yet these thoroughly coordinated sanctions between the Trump administration
and the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (KSA, Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait,
Oman, and Qatar) mark the emergences of a stricter Iranian containment
policy to counteract and ultimately abolish the failed appeasement policy of
the Obama doctrine.
These recent sanctions as well as the scrapping of the Iranian nuclear deal
are a stark reminder that Iran’s menacing threat goes beyond its nuclear and
ballistic missile programs.
Both the US government as well as the Arab states have warned of the
activities of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the Quds Force, that fund and
control and assortment of militias chiefly amongst them Hezbollah who are
sides in the sectarian violence and instability engulfing the region.
Recent sanctions as well as the scrapping of the Iranian nuclear deal are a
stark reminder that Iran’s menacing threat goes beyond its nuclear and
ballistic missile programs
Timing of sanctions
Equally important is the timing of these sanctions that coincide with the
impending formation of the next Lebanese government, most likely be led by
current PM Saad Hariri.
Consequently, the designation of both of Hezbollah’s military and political
wing as terrorist entities and the placing of five of its top political
brass, including its General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah and his deputy Naim
Kassem on the sanctions list is a clear warning to Hariri and to the
Lebanese state of the new perimeters that should govern the upcoming phase.
Hence, if Hariri, Aoun, and the Lebanese state by extension wishes to stay
within the fold of the Arab consensus or even continue to keep their
commitment to the disassociation policy it has adopted, the forthcoming
cabinet cannot house any members of Hezbollah or allow Hezbollah to partake
in the executive branch of government.
Propagated by many local and European factions this political heresy of
distinguishing between Hezbollah’s political and military activities has
allowed it to continue to masquerade as a grassroots national entity that
claims to be representative of the hopes and aspirations of the majority of
the Lebanese Shiites.
Now with the abolition of this dichotomy, neither the Lebanese government
nor the hordes of European diplomats’ eager to please Hezbollah can continue
to whitewash the image of Hezbollah, nor peddle the notion that Iran’s
behavior has improved over the last 3 years, since the Iranian nuclear deal
took effect.
Restrictive or punitive?
To many the sanctions are mistakenly perceived as restrictive or rather
punitive measures on the Lebanese state. In fact, they are an opening for
Saad Hariri to possibly dislodge Hezbollah from the cabinet, not merely,
because he or the Lebanese at large wish to do so but rather to avoid the
economic repercussions of refraining to do so.
Furthermore, these sanctions will place further burdens on President Aoun
and the FPM who have since 2006, after signing the famous memorandum of
understating with Hezbollah, provided it with a Christian ally anxious to
shamelessly defend its arsenal as beneficial and even imperative to the
protection of Lebanon.
While the sanctions might obviously involve Lebanon and its hapless
government, and is certain to bring forth more financial restrictions on the
Lebanese banking sector, in reality the crux of the whole US-Arab policy is
not Lebanese centric, but rather part of a wider policy.
Since 2005, the unchecked Iranian influence in the region has thrusted
Hezbollah into a more cross-regional role; and consequently these sanctions
are an attempt to confront this reality and ultimately change it.
As a result, for Lebanon to survive in these tumult regional times, the
various Lebanese political factions, even Hezbollah, should not treat these
sanctions as merely an opportunity to gain or loss more seats in the
cabinet, but rather as a chance to reassess Lebanon’s position in an
ever-changing region.
Placing Hezbollah’s senior leadership will certainly not affect their
ability to use their credit cards, it they originally have any, to shop or
to settle an online bill. Nevertheless, it is a stark reminder that for
those who actually care about their financial future and their businesses,
this sanctions list will only grow thus testing the resolve and loyalty of
anyone to claiming support to Hezbollah, including the FPM.
The May watershed and
Lebanon/
معطيات التحول في شهر أيار 2018 ولبنان
بقلم مردخاي نيسان/جريدة الجروزلم بوست
Mordechai Nisan/Jerusalem Post/May 29/18
We stand at a watershed, and the tides are shifting.
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/65009/mordechai-nisan-jerusalem-post-the-may-watershed-and-lebanon-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%AE%D8%A7%D9%8A-%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B7%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%AD/
This month of May has been exceptionally hot in the Middle East,
recording a number of major political events bound by a common thread. The
primary focus is Iran and its proxies and allies, while America’s President
Donald Trump seeks to shape a new reality. The air is filled with anxiety,
the inferno burns in Syria, Gaza, Iraq and Yemen.
• On May 6, amid charges of fraud and intimidation, Hezbollah achieved a
victory in Lebanon’s parliamentary elections. This does not change the
confessional distribution of seats, fixed at 64:64 Christian-Muslim
representation, with the Shi’ites awarded 27, but it does confirm that 67 of
the 128 deputies are lined up with the Shi’ite Hezbollah militia. While
Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri and his Sunni-led Future Party list
declined, the “strategic alliance” binding Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
with Maronite President Michel Aoun and his Free Patriotic Movement – hardly
free or patriotic –held fast.
Meanwhile Hezbollah continues to thoroughly dominate Lebanon, an armed state
within a faltering non-state, defining foreign policy, provoking Israel,
monitoring the Beirut International Airport, smuggling weapons into the
country and penetrating the command of the Lebanese Army.
• On May 8, the United States announced its withdrawal from the 2015 Iran
nuclear deal, together with the imposition of new and harsh sanctions
against the Iranian regime.
President Trump’s decision was followed by a major policy statement by
Secretary of State Pompeo on May 22, when he outlined demands addressed to
Iran: to cease its nuclear program and ballistic missile development,
withdraw its forces from Syria, end support to Mideast terrorist groups
–Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, stop threatening Israel with
destruction, and end attacks against Saudi Arabia.
The secretary inferred that the US would assure that all these demands will,
if not fulfilled by Tehran’s consent, be guaranteed by US action.
• On May 10, Israel responded to an Iranian-initiated rocket attack from
Syrian territory toward the Golan Heights with extensive aerial strikes
against Iranian targets – weapons sites and intelligence centers.
Twenty-eight Israeli planes participated in the largest attack by Israel
into Syria since 1974.
• On May 12, Iraqi parliamentary elections were held in the midst of
multiple political challenges facing that war-torn, Sunni-Shi’ite religion.
• On May 23, Israelis and Lebanese recalled the IDF withdrawal from south
Lebanon 18 years earlier in 2000. While there was an arguable security
rationale for the decision, it was carried out in total deception and
abandonment of Israel’s South Lebanese Army (SLA) ally, whose soldiers and
families were compelled to flee to Israel. The Lebanese lost their homes and
country, and suffered humiliation. This moral scar on Israel’s conscience
has not been removed to this day.
Iran was definitely at the center of things, as it has been the engine of
the evil axis since its Islamic Revolution in 1979. But now the tide was
turning against her. Protests against the regime in Iran, from Mashed to
Fars province, focused on the high cost of living, currency collapse,
unemployment, and a regime marred by corruption and old age. The political
ice in Iran was cracking at the end of the spring thaw.
The Iranian/Syrian occupation regime in Lebanon, spreading a pallor of fear
in the country, executed its oppressive control over the decades by
assassinating opposition figures from all religious denominations –
presidents, parliamentarians, army officers, religious figures and
journalists.
This modus operandi gives insight into why and how Hezbollah made gains in
the recent elections.
The American demand for Lebanon’s liberation from the ayatollahs’iron grip
is in accord with United Nations Security Council resolutions 520 (1982),
1559 (2004), and 1701 (2006). These called for the withdrawal of foreign
forces from Lebanon and for the disarming of Hezbollah.
Yet this terrorist gang and international outlaw parades the formula of
“army, people and resistance” as a Lebanese consensus position.
It may appear so only because the silent agony of the Lebanese is drowned in
tears of subjugation, while the political class – full of traitors,
opportunists, cowards and sycophants – has abandoned its responsibility as
guardians of Lebanon’s sacred mission of peace, faith and tolerance.
The lack of popular protest in the streets of Lebanon does not reflect
heartfelt acceptance of Hezbollah’s abduction of the country; rather the
people live in fear, hostages of a hostile and vicious gun-wielding pack of
ruffians.
Hezbollah took to violence in fighting Sunnis and Druse in clashes in the
streets of Beirut in earlier years, this in defiance of their promise that
its weapons are aimed only at Israel.
President Trump offers a glimmer of hope that Lebanon will return to embrace
its special national mystique when liberated – along with Iran itself – from
repression by a religiously dogmatic and repressive Shi’ite regime.
When Hezbollah’s conquest of Lebanon ends, however that may occur, the SLA
families in Israel will then be able to return home in safety and dignity.
Israel’s flagrant injustice to its Lebanese brothersin-arms will finally be
mended.
Nowhere was it written that Israel had a right to determine the fate of the
SLA fighters, because in 2000 they could have stayed to fight Hezbollah to
protect their families, homes, and native villages.
*The writer authored two books on Lebanon: The Conscience of Lebanon: A
Political Biography of Etienne Sakr (Abu-Arz) (2003), and Politics and War
in Lebanon: Unraveling the Enigma (2015).
Copyright © 2014 Jpost Inc. All rights reserved
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News
published on May 30-31/18
US seeks urgent UN council meeting on
anti-Israel strikes
AFP, US/Wednesday, 30 May 2018/The UN Security Council will meet Wednesday
at the request of the United States to discuss Palestinian rocket and mortar
attacks on Israel, diplomats said. The United States circulated a draft
statement Tuesday calling on the council to condemn “in the strongest terms
the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Palestinian militants in Gaza”
toward Israel, according to a copy of the text seen by AFP. The council is
expected to meet Wednesday to discuss the attacks from the Gaza Strip that
were claimed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, prompting Israel to respond with
air strikes on bases of the militant Palestinian groups. “Mortars fired by
Palestinian militants hit civilian infrastructure, including a
kindergarten,” US Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement. “The Security
Council should be outraged and respond to this latest bout of violence
directed at innocent Israeli civilians, and the Palestinian leadership needs
to be held accountable for what they’re allowing to happen in Gaza.”Israel’s
military has said it was not seeking an escalation, but warned Hamas, with
whom it has fought three wars since 2008, to rein in its fighters. The
exchange of fire followed weeks of deadly demonstrations and clashes along
the Gaza-Israel border. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli
fire in the unrest. The US request came as council diplomats are negotiating
a draft resolution, put forward by Kuwait, that calls for an “international
protection mission” to be deployed for the Palestinians. Diplomats said the
United States is likely to use its veto to block adoption of the measure,
but Kuwait is hoping to win backing from the 14 other council members to
highlight Washington’s isolation on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
US sanctions Iran groups, Evin Prison for rights abuses
AFP, Washington/Wednesday, 30 May 2018/US Treasury placed several Iranian
state groups on its sanctions blacklist Wednesday, accusing them of serious
human rights abuses and censorship. In the latest of a series of actions
meant to increase pressure on the Tehran regime, the Treasury department
named the semi-official paramilitary group Ansar-e-Hezbollah and three of
its leaders to its sanctions list. The goal is to lock those who are
blacklisted out of the global financial and commercial system. Ansar-e-Hezbollah
is “an organization supported by the Iranian regime that harasses and
attacks the Iranian people,” the Treasury said, citing its alleged role in
acid attacks against women seen as improperly dressed in Isfahan, and other
violent attacks on student protestors. The Treasury also sanctioned Tehran’s
Evin Prison, used to house political prisoners, saying people held there are
subject to sexual assaults, physical assaults and electric shock. Two
Iranian government officials involved in censorship, including blocking the
popular encrypted messaging app Telegram, and a government-linked tech unit,
Hanista Programing Group, were also placed on the sanctions blacklist.
Hanista, the Treasury said, creates and distributes messaging apps meant to
be alternatives to Telegram but which allow the government to monitor and
track users’ phones. “Treasury is taking action to hold the Iranian regime
accountable for ongoing human rights abuses, censorship, and other
despicable acts it commits against its own citizens,” said Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement. Wednesday’s announcement added to a
series of moves to increase political and economic pressure on Tehran after
President Donald Trump’s May 8 decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear
accord.
Israel will make Hamas pay:’ Intelligence minister
denies Gaza ceasefire
By AFP, Gaza City /Wednesday, 30 May 2018/Israeli Intelligence Minister
Yisrael Katz on Wednesday denied a ceasefire had been reached after the
worst armed flare-up between his country and militant groups in Gaza since a
2014 war. "Israel does not want the situation to deteriorate, but those who
started the violence must stop it," he told Israeli public radio, denying
ceasefire claims by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. "Israel will make (Hamas) pay
for all fire against Israel." Earlier, a senior member of Hamas said a
ceasefire agreement had been reached with Israel. Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas's
deputy chief in Gaza, said in a statement that "a number of mediators
intervened in the past hours and an agreement was reached to return to a
ceasefire in Gaza," adding that the group was committed to it as long as
Israel was.
Grandson of prominent Iranian religious reference
accused of sexual harassment
Saleh Hamid, Al Arabiya.net/Wednesday, 30 May 2018/A school supervisor in
Tehran who is the grandson of religious reference Ayatollah Mohiyeddin
Haeri-Shirazi, a former member of the Assembly of Experts, has been accused
of sexually harassing students, Iranian media outlets reported on Tuesday. A
video of the defendant’s trial shared by Iranian activists showed the
students’ parents gathered at the judge’s office as the mothers chanted
against the defendant. The police then intervened to prevent the parents
from attacking him. According to Iranian media outlets, the supervisor,
identified as Mohammed Hussein Haeri, at the all-male school in Tehran
sexually harassed at least 15 of the students by showing them movies
containing sexual content and forcing them to engage in sexual acts among
each other or with him. Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari said the
parents of 15 students said the supervisor “sexually harassed” their
children, adding that the defendant confessed to showing them videos with
sexual content but denied harassing them or raping them. According to ILNA
news agency, the education council in Tehran will decide suspending the work
of the school where the supervisor works. Social media users interacted with
the news and compared the case with that of Qur'an reciter Saeed Toosi who
is described as Ali Khamenei’s favorite Qur’an reciter and who was found not
guilty of raping 19 of his students. They voiced their fears that the school
supervisor will escape punishment like Toosi did and demanded a public
trial. Meanwhile, Khamenei ordered trying the supervisor immediately and
punishing him if found guilty.
Palestinian injured in Gaza protests dies of wounds:
Ministry
AFP, RamallahWednesday, 30 May 2018/A Palestinian shot by Israeli forces
during protests and clashes on the Gaza border died of his wounds on
Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry said. Naji Ghonaim, 23, was
wounded several days ago near Rafah in southern Gaza, the ministry said,
without giving a specific date. He was later transferred to Jerusalem for
treatment but died on Wednesday morning, the Ramallah-based ministry said in
a statement. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry also confirmed Ghonaim's
death. At least 122 Palestinians have been killed since mass protests and
clashes broke out along the Gaza border on March 30. No Israelis have been
killed. The protests peaked on May 14 when at least 61 Palestinians were
killed as thousands approached the heavily guarded border fence on the same
day the United States moved its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Israel says its actions are necessary to defend its borders and stop
infiltrations. It accuses Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas of seeking to use the
protests as cover for attacks. Palestinians say protesters in the
demonstrations against Israel's decade-long blockade of Gaza have been shot
while posing no threat to soldiers. Separately, on Tuesday Islamist groups
from Gaza fired dozens of mortars at Israel, leading to Israeli air strikes.
US condemns Syria’s plan to recognize breakaway regions
in Georgia
Reuters, Washington/Wednesday, 30 May 2018/The United States on Wednesday
condemned Syria’s efforts to recognize two breakaway regions in Georgia,
saying it fully supported Georgia’s independence and reiterating its call
for Russia to withdraw troops from the area. “The United States strongly
condemns the Syrian regime’s intention to establish diplomatic relations
with the Russian-occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,”
US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. “These
regions are part of Georgia. The United States’ position on Abkhazia and
South Ossetia is unwavering.”“These regions are part of Georgia. The United
States’ position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia is unwavering,” the statement
said. The US statement came one day after Georgia said it would sever
diplomatic relations with Syria after Damascus moved to recognize the two
regions as independent states. Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Nauru
previously recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both
of which broke away from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Following that fight in the early 1990s, Georgia and Russia fought a war
over the regions in August 2008. The United States and European Union have
backed Georgia in calling the Russian operation a naked land grab. Last
week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged deeper security and economic
support for Georgia. He also called on Russia to withdraw its forces from
Abkhazia and South Ossetia under the ceasefire agreement that followed the
2008 war. The department echoed that request on Wednesday. “We fully support
Georgia’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its
internationally recognized borders, and call on all states to ... do the
same,” Nauert said.
Israel Denies Gaza Ceasefire but Calm Returns
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/18/Israel denied it has agreed to a
ceasefire with Palestinian militants in Gaza as claimed by Hamas after the
worst military flare-up since a 2014 war, but calm returned Wednesday and
there were signs the latest crisis may be ending. The exchange of fire on
Tuesday and into the early hours of Wednesday had raised the possibility of
yet another war in the beleaguered Palestinian enclave run by Islamist
movement Hamas, which would be the fourth since 2008. Israel said it
targeted some 65 militant sites in the Gaza Strip. It also said around 100
rockets and mortars fired from Gaza either exploded in Israel or were
intercepted by air defences. Three Israeli soldiers were wounded, one
moderately and two lightly, the military said. There were no reports of
casualties in Gaza. Late Tuesday, an Islamic Jihad spokesman said a
ceasefire had been reached, and on Wednesday senior Hamas official Khalil
al-Hayya also spoke of an accord. Calm returned to the Gaza Strip and nearby
Israeli communities on Wednesday. Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz
denied talk of a deal, though a senior defence official reportedly said
Israel would refrain from further strikes if there was no more fire from
Gaza. "Israel does not want the situation to deteriorate, but those who
started the violence must stop it," Katz told Israeli public radio. "Israel
will make (Hamas) pay for all fire against Israel."
- 'Should be outraged' -Tuesday's violence followed weeks of deadly unrest
along the border between Israel and the blockaded Palestinian enclave. In a
rare joint statement, Hamas and Islamic Jihad declared shared responsibility
for the rocket and mortar fire, saying it was in retaliation for Israeli
attacks targeting their positions. Three Islamic Jihad members were killed
in an Israeli strike Sunday, and the group vowed revenge. Islamic Jihad is
the second-largest armed group in Gaza after Hamas.
The United Nations Security Council is expected to meet Wednesday to discuss
the violence, following a US request for an urgent meeting. "The Security
Council should be outraged and respond to this latest bout of violence
directed at innocent Israeli civilians," US ambassador Nikki Haley said.
Kuwait, a non-permanent council member representing Arab countries,
circulated a draft resolution calling "for the consideration of measures to
guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilian population".
Early Tuesday, some 28 mortar shells were fired toward Israel from the Gaza
Strip.
Israel said most were intercepted by its air defence systems but put
residents in the area on high alert, ordering them to stay within 15 seconds
of shelters.One mortar shell exploded near a kindergarten building, a
military spokesman said, damaging the structure. No children were present at
the time.
It was the largest barrage fired from Gaza into Israel since a 2014 war and
led to Israel's biggest response since then. Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu had vowed Tuesday to "respond to these attacks powerfully".
Shortly after he spoke, Israel's military began air strikes. Explosions
shook the Palestinian enclave and smoke rose from the sites hit. Later in
the day, further rockets and mortar rounds from Gaza were intercepted or
exploded in Israel, the army said. It said some of the mortars fired were
supplied by Iran. On Tuesday night, a rocket hit an Israeli home near the
Gaza border, but no one was hurt, the military said. 'Any upcoming
escalation' -Israel's military said it hit "military targets" including a
tunnel stretching into its territory, weapons stores and militant bases.
Hamas said in a statement Tuesday that "what the resistance carried out this
morning comes within the framework of the natural right to defend our
people". Tuesday's incidents followed weeks of deadly demonstrations and
clashes along the Gaza-Israel border, beginning on March 30. The protests
demanded that Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war
surrounding Israel's creation be allowed to return to their former homes,
now inside Israel. They peaked on May 14, when at least 61 Palestinians were
killed in clashes as tens of thousands of Gazans protested the US transfer
of its embassy in Israel to the disputed city of Jerusalem the same day.
Low-level demonstrations and clashes have continued since. At least 122
Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the unrest. No Israelis
have been killed. Israel says its actions are necessary to defend its
borders, accusing Hamas of encouraging thousands of Palestinians to break
through the border and attack Israelis. But Israel has faced international
criticism and calls for an independent investigation over its use of live
fire during the protests and border clashes.
Top North Korean Heads to US to Meet Pompeo ahead of Summit
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/18/A senior North Korean official was
Wednesday bound for New York for high-level talks with US officials as
preparations for a historic nuclear summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong
Un gathered pace. General Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the central
committee of the Workers' Party and right-hand man to Kim, will meet US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York, officials said. Trump confirmed
the general was on his way in a tweet and boasted that Washington would have
a "great team" for the talks on resolving the old foes' nuclear standoff.
The president still hopes the meeting will take place on June 12 in
Singapore. "Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more.
Kim Young Chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea, heading now to New York.
Solid response to my letter, thank you!" Trump wrote.
Trump will also meet Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington on June
7, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. "Since the president's May 24
letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the North Koreans have been
engaging," she said. "The United States continues to actively prepare for
President Trump's expected summit with leader Kim in Singapore."The North
Korean envoy was at Beijing airport Wednesday for his flight to New York, a
day after arriving in the Chinese capital. He used the restricted VIP
entrance, according to AFP journalists.
Pompeo's spokeswoman said it would be the third meeting between Pompeo --
who opened contacts with the isolated Pyongyang regime when he was still CIA
director -- and General Kim. "We're still finalizing exactly what these
meetings will look like," she said. The trip is part of a flurry of
diplomacy before the on-again, off-again summit.
- Truce village -Trump briefly scrapped the talks last week, citing "open
hostility" from the North, but since then both sides have dialed down the
rhetoric and the process appears to be back on track.
On Sunday, US negotiators, headed by Washington's ambassador to the
Philippines Sung Kim, began meeting North Korean counterparts in the truce
village of Panmunjom that divides the two Koreas.
"They plan to have additional meetings this week," Sanders said. Sung and a
team of negotiators left a Seoul hotel Wednesday in a convoy apparently
headed for Panmunjom, the Yonhap news agency reported. Chung Sung-yoon, an
analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Kim Yong Chol
would be the most senior North Korean on US soil since Vice Marshal Jo Myong
Rok met then president Bill Clinton in 2000.
The general has played a front-seat role during recent rounds of diplomacy
aimed at ending the nuclear stalemate on the Korean peninsula. He sat next
to Trump's daughter Ivanka, who is also a White House aide, during
February's closing ceremony for the Winter Olympics in South Korea, an event
that was seen as a turning point in the nuclear crisis. He also accompanied
Kim Jong Un on both of his recent trips to China to meet President Xi
Jinping, and held talks with Pompeo when he traveled to Pyongyang.
- Yawning gap -The general is a notorious figure in South Korea, where he is
blamed for masterminding the 2010 sinking of the Cheonan navy corvette that
killed 46 sailors, an attack for which North Korea denies responsibility.
From 2009 to 2016, he also headed North Korea's General Reconnaissance
Bureau, the unit tasked with cyber warfare and intelligence gathering.
During that period, North Korea ramped up its hacking programs, including a
hugely costly penetration of Sony Pictures. General Kim is one of several
North Korean officials under US sanctions, but State Department spokeswoman
Heather Nauert said she was sure that the US had taken appropriate
administrative steps to allow him to visit New York unmolested.
His journey to the US caps a frenetic few days of meetings between North
Korean and American officials. An AFP photographer saw Kim Chang Son, Kim
Jong Un's de facto chief of staff, entering Singapore's luxury Fullerton
hotel Tuesday and leaving some 30 minutes later in a three-vehicle convoy.
If the June 12 date stands, officials have only two weeks to finalize
details such as where in Singapore the talks will take place and how
internationally sanctioned North Korean officials will travel there. The key
task is to settle the agenda. The main stumbling block is likely to be the
concept of "denuclearization" -- both sides say they want it, but there is a
yawning gap between their definitions. Washington wants North Korea to
quickly give up all its nuclear weapons in a verifiable way in return for
sanctions and economic relief. But analysts say North Korea will be
unwilling to cede its nuclear deterrent unless it is given security
guarantees that the US will not try to topple the regime.
Yemen Forces Plan Siege of Key Rebel-Held Port
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 30/18/Pro-government forces in Yemen are
preparing to surround a key Red Sea port in a bid to force Huthi rebels to
surrender it without a fight, military sources said Wednesday. At least 60
fighters were killed in the latest clashes and air strikes, according to
medical sources. Loyalist fighters backed by Saudi and Emirati forces are
sending reinforcements ahead of a "new operation" to enter Hodeida city and
seize its port, a commander from one of the forces said. Hodeida port is the
main conduit for humanitarian aid into Yemen, where years of war have left
some 22 million people in need of food aid. Colonel Sadiq Duwaid, spokesman
for the "National Resistance", one of three main forces taking part in the
operation, said it was "being bolstered by new forces... that will take part
in retaking Hodeida".
"First, we will cut off supply lines, especially between (rebel-held
capital) Sanaa and Hodeida, then we will place the Huthis under siege and
bring them down, perhaps without a fight," he said. Clashes broke out east
of the port city on Wednesday while the Saudi-led coalition carried out
numerous air strikes on rebel positions, Yemeni military sources said. Seven
pro-government fighters were killed and 14 wounded, according to medical
sources in Hodeida province, while at least 53 rebels also died.
The deadly clashes come a day after an AFP reporter saw a large military
convoy heading towards Hodeida from Mokha, 180 kilometres (112 miles) to the
south.
- UN 'extremely concerned' -Hodeida lies 230 kilometres from Sanaa, which
the Huthis seized in 2014.
This prompted a Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen the following year,
aimed at propping up the internationally-recognised government of exiled
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
The coalition accuses the rebels of using Hodeida as a launchpad for attacks
on shipping in the Red Sea and for smuggling in rockets. The Iran-backed
insurgents have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against
neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the
Saudi-led alliance launched its intervention in Yemen in March 2015.
More than 2,200 others have died from cholera and millions are on the verge
of famine in what the United Nations says is the world's gravest
humanitarian crisis. The UN warned Tuesday that any operation aimed at
seizing Hodeida would disrupt the entry of aid shipments to Yemen, 70
percent of which flow through the rebel-held port. "We are extremely
concerned about the situation around Hodeida," said spokesman Stephane
Dujarric, adding that the UN had taken precautions in case of "further
escalation".
- 'Mass mobilisation' -The UAE, Saudi Arabia's main coalition ally, set up a
force in early 2018 to ramp up the coastal offensive, leading a disparate
collective of groups with the stated goal of taking Hodeida.
The forces include the "Giant Brigades" -- a former elite unit of the Yemeni
army rebuilt by the UAE -- which has been at the vanguard of the offensive,
reinforced by thousands of fighters from southern Yemen. The "National
Resistance" is made up of loyalists of Yemen's ex-president Ali Abdullah
Saleh, who was assassinated by his former Huthi allies in December. It is
commanded by his nephew Tarek Saleh. The third force, the "Tihama
Resistance", is named for a Red Sea coastal region from which it draws most
of its fighters, who are loyal to Hadi. The fighting in western Yemen has
been fierce, slowed by landmines that Yemeni military sources say have been
laid by the insurgents. The Huthis have said they are ready to thwart any
coalition operation and have urged Hodeida residents to join their ranks to
prevent the city's capture.
Hamoud Abbad, the Huthi-appointed governor of Sanaa, has called for "mass
mobilisation" to defend the front and appealed to tribesmen in the area.
Rebel-run media outlets on Wednesday claimed a drone attack on "the enemy's
air defences on the west coast" and said an overland counter-attack south of
Hodeida had "inflicted heavy losses on the enemy". But in a phone call to
Hodeida's governor, Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher called on the city's
residents to "close ranks... against the Huthi militia which is losing
strength every day".
Latest LCCC
Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on May 30-301/18
Palestinian "Treason"
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/May 30/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12392/palestinian-treasonAhmed
Majdalani is now being accused by his own people of promoting
"normalization" between Palestinians and Israel.
It is worth noting that those who took the decision to ban the PLO official
Majdalani from entering Palestinian universities are living under the
"moderate" Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, not under Hamas rule.
This is the same Palestinian Authority that receives funds from the US and
EU. In other words, Americans and Europeans are funding Palestinians who are
opposed to any form of "normalization" with Israel. If a PLO official's
visit to a conference in Israel is labelled treason, what would happen to a
Palestinian who signed a peace agreement with Israel?
The Palestinians' problem is not with a settlement or a checkpoint or a
fence. They have a problem with the existence of Israel in any borders.
Palestinians have still not come to terms with Israel's right to exist,
period; this is the essence of the Israeli-Arab conflict. They see Israel as
one big settlement that needs to be ripped out.
Palestinian leaders have spent the past few months calling for boycotts of
Israel and the US. The most recent call came just a few weeks ago, when
Palestinian Authority leaders and officials called on all countries to
boycott the inauguration ceremony of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
One of the officials who called for boycotting the ceremony was Ahmed
Majdalani, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, and a top advisor to
President Mahmoud Abbas. Majdalani is also famous for his repeated calls in
the past few years for boycotting Israel in all fields.
Now, it seems that Majdalani is being forced to taste the same medicine he
has been prescribing for Israel and the US. His efforts to promote boycotts
of Israel and the US have backfired. Ironically, the boycotter Majdalani is
now being boycotted by his own people. This is what happens when all you
preach to your people day and night is hatred, incitement and boycotts.
Eventually, you yourself become affected by the same messages of hate and
brainwashing.
Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, who stands accused
by his own people of promoting "normalization" with Israel. (Image source:
MEMRI video screenshot)
Majdalani is now being accused by his own people for actually promoting
"normalization" between Palestinians and Israel.
So what crime exactly did Majdalani commit and why has he become the subject
of fierce criticism and calls for boycotting him?
It turns out the senior PLO official and promoter of boycotts has committed
two "crimes": First, he accepted an invitation to attend the annual Herzliya
Conference organized by the Israeli think-tank, the Institute for Policy and
Strategy. Second, when Majdalani was asked to comment on the criticism from
Palestinians for his participation in the Israeli conference, he replied:
"My participation in the Herzliya Conference is not different from my
participation in events organized, for example, by Bir Zeit University."
The annual conference is held at the Interdisciplinary Center at Herzliya --
a nonsectarian research college near Tel Aviv that was founded in 1994 based
on the model of the American Ivy League Universities.
This was not the first time that Majdalani had attended the Herzliya
Conference. In the past, he also faced strong condemnations for agreeing to
be part of a conference organized by an Israeli think-tank.
This time, however, his critics decided that condemnations were not enough.
Majdalani has now been handed a severe punishment; he has been banned from
entering or speaking at any Palestinian university.
Dr. Amjad Barham, chairman of the General Workers' Union at Palestinian
Universities, announced on May 22 that his union has decided to boycott
Majdalani and not receive him at any university campus. He said the decision
would be reversed only if Majdalani, a senior PLO official, apologizes for
reportedly equating a Palestinian university and an Israeli educational
institution.
Dr. Barham explained that the decision to boycott Majdalani came on the
heels of the union's opposition to any form of "academic normalization" with
Israel. "Our union will work hard to hold accountable any official or
academic who is involved in promoting normalization with Israel and we will
ask all Palestinian universities to boycott him or her," he said. "Any
Palestinian academic who commits the crime of promoting academic
normalization with Israel will be punished and banned from setting foot in
any Palestinian university.
The Workers Union at Bir Zeit University also issued a similar call for
boycotting Majdalani. The union said it was furious with the senior PLO
official not only because he had attended an Israeli conference, but also
because he had dared draw a parallel between Bir Zeit University and an
Israeli educational institution. The chairman of the union, Sameh Abu Awwad,
said that any Palestinian who is caught involved in promoting any form of
"normalization" with Israel would be subject to punitive measures and
boycotts. "We have issued an order banning Majdalani from entering our
university," Abu Awwad said. "There is no room for normalizers [with Israel]
on our campus."
So now the PLO official is permitted to enter any Israeli university, but he
is persona non grata at Palestinian universities or other academic
institutions. How dare he draw a comparison between a Palestinian and
Israeli university? How dare he attend a conference alongside Israeli
academics, politicians and experts? An intolerable crime, from the
Palestinian point of view.
It is worth noting that those who took the decision to ban the PLO official
from entering Palestinian universities are living under the "moderate"
Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Those who banned Majdalani from
Palestinian universities and report to the Palestinian Authority's Ministry
of Education, not Hamas.
This is the same Palestinian Authority that receives funds from the US and
EU. In other words, Americans and Europeans are funding Palestinians who are
opposed to any form of "normalization" with Israel. For these Palestinians,
it would be better if Israel simply disappeared than having to engage in any
kind of collaboration with it. Anyone who opposes "normalization" with
Israel is actually acting against peace with Israel. How can there ever be
peace between Palestinians and Israel if Palestinians are staunchly opposed
to "normalization" with Israel? This leads us only to one conclusion: that
Americans and Europeans are funding Palestinians who seek the annihilation
of Israel.
Let us clarify for the sake of clarity. The Palestinians' anti-normalization
campaign against Israel means that Palestinians are not interested in peace
with Israel. What they seek is not peace with Israel, but peace without
Israel. They want to see Israel gone from the Middle East. They want to see
Jews vanish from the region.
The Palestinians' problem is not with a settlement or a checkpoint or a
fence. They have a problem with the existence of Israel in any borders.
Palestinians have still not come to terms with Israel's right to exist,
period; this is the essence of the Israeli-Arab conflict. They see Israel as
one big settlement that needs to be ripped out.
Back to Majdalani. There is no doubt that from now on this senior PLO
official will find himself welcome on campuses in Israel. In fact, he has
already spoken at various campuses and other platforms in Israel. But
Majdalani knows that from now on he will be putting his life at risk if he
ever again sets foot on a Palestinian campus.
Yet, Majdalani has only himself to blame. He has long been promoting
boycotts of not only Israel, but also the US. If, day and night, you ram
down the throats of your people that Palestinians must boycott Israel, what
do you expect your people to do when they see you participating in a
conference organized by an Israeli institution?
The controversy surrounding Majdalani's participation in the Herzliya
Conference could serve as a useful wake-up call to the West. If a PLO
official's visit to a conference in Israel is labelled treason, what would
happen to a Palestinian who signed a peace agreement with Israel? No
education for peace with Israel on the Palestinian side – rather, decades of
Palestinian education for war with Israel – translates into an interminable
Arab-Israeli conflict. And no wishful thinking on the part of anyone will
change that.
**Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East
© 2018 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.
Is Facebook Violating U.S. Counterterrorism Laws?
Ruthie Blum/Gatestone Institute/May 30/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12294/facebook-terrorism
Nearly a year has passed since the establishment of the Global Internet
Forum to Counter Terrorism, announced by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and
YouTube, but groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas -- among the 64
organizations currently designated by the State Department as Foreign
Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) -- still have Facebook pages, Twitter
accounts and YouTube videos.
The more important question, then, is whether Facebook, Twitter and other
social media platforms are providing "material support or resources" -- in
the form of a "tangible or intangible" property or service -- to FTOs and
Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The Counter Extremism Project
appears to think that the answer is yes.
"[G]iven the volume of content uploaded to Facebook by the platform's
estimated 2.2. billion active users on a daily basis, the one percent of
terrorist content that is not removed is a significant amount that needs to
be addressed." — Counter Extremism Project Executive Director David Ibsen.
During his Congressional hearings in April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was
interrogated by members of the House and Senate. Because it was evident from
their questions that many of the lawmakers were actually clueless about how
Facebook works, much time was wasted on Zuckerberg's having to explain the
basics of its tools and business model. A select few – among them Senator
Ted Cruz -- challenged Zuckerberg about the political slant of his platform,
which has led to discrimination against conservative groups and individuals.
Zuckerberg acknowledged that:
"...Facebook and the tech industry are located in Silicon Valley, which is
an extremely left-leaning place. And this is actually a concern that I have
and that I try to root out in the company is making sure that we don't have
any bias in the work that we do, and I think it is a fair concern that
people would at least wonder about."
When asked about what Facebook is doing to prevent terrorists from using the
platform to recruit and coordinate, Zuckerberg said that 200 of his (25,000)
employees monitor such content and activity in 30 languages.
The question that Zuckerberg should have been asked is why organizations and
individuals that are designated by the State Department as terrorists are
able to open pages on his platform in the first place, let alone continue to
maintain those pages, or block their content temporarily, before allowing it
to be re-posted. It would have been a particularly relevant query, given the
launch in July 2017 of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism,
announced by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube. The stated goal of
the Forum was to:
"help us continue to make our hosted consumer services hostile to terrorists
and violent extremists.
"The spread of terrorism and violent extremism is a pressing global problem
and a critical challenge for us all. We take these issues very seriously,
and each of our companies have developed policies and removal practices that
enable us to take a hard line against terrorist or violent extremist content
on our hosted consumer services. We believe that by working together,
sharing the best technological and operational elements of our individual
efforts, we can have a greater impact on the threat of terrorist content
online."
The timing of the above joint social-media endeavor is noteworthy. Four
months earlier, in mid-March of 2017, major companies began withdrawing or
reducing advertising from Google Inc., the owner of YouTube, for allowing
their brand names to pop up alongside videos promoting jihad. According to a
Middle East Research Media Institute (MEMRI) report released in June 2017 –
one month ahead of the launch of the Global Internet Forum – AT&T, Verizon,
Johnson & Johnson, Enterprise Holdings and GSK had pulled their ads from
Google for its failure to remove jihadi content that MEMRI volunteered to
assist in flagging.
Nearly a year has passed since the establishment of the Forum, but groups
such as Hezbollah and Hamas -- among the 64 organizations currently
designated by the State Department as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)
-- still have Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and YouTube videos.
Furthermore, to this day, some of the jihadist content flagged by MEMRI in
2015 remains online. One example is a clip entitled: "Shuhada (Martyrs) Of
Islam, Look They Are Smiling In Death," originally posted in 2009.
The State Department's Bureau of Counterterrorism defines FTO's as "foreign
organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance
with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended,"
asserting that "FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against
terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist
activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business." In
addition, "Under Executive Order 13224 a wider range of entities, including
terrorist groups, individuals acting as part of a terrorist organization,
and other entities such as financiers and front companies, can be designated
as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs)..."
According to the Counterterrorism Bureau:
"It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide 'material support or
resources' to a designated FTO. (The term 'material support or resources' is
defined... as 'any property, tangible or intangible, or service, including
currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial
services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false
documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities,
weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel)... and transportation,
except medicine or religious materials.'..."
The more important question, then, is whether Facebook, Twitter and other
social media platforms are providing "material support or resources" – in
the form of a "tangible or intangible" property or service -- to FTOs and
SDGTs. The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) appears to think that the answer
is yes. In a recent interview with the Telegraph, the authors of a CEP
report scheduled to be released at the end of May pointed to Facebook's
"suggested friend" feature as a main culprit. "Facebook," one explained, "in
their desire to connect as many people as possible have inadvertently
created a system which helps connect extremists and terrorists."
In the immediate aftermath of the Facebook hearings, CEP Executive Director
David Ibsen responded to Zuckerberg's claims that 99% of terrorist content
is removed from the site by stating that even if this is true, "given the
volume of content uploaded to Facebook by the platform's estimated 2.2.
billion active users on a daily basis, the one percent of terrorist content
that is not removed is a significant amount that needs to be addressed. CEP
finds extremist content on Facebook on a regular basis, which shows that
Facebook and the entire tech sector have much more work to do to stop its
proliferation on their platforms."
Such comments fall short of accusing Facebook and the other social media
platforms of engaging in the crime of violating U.S. counterterrorism laws.
But the revival of a failed civil suit against Facebook on behalf victims of
Palestinian terrorism does not.
The original $1 billion lawsuit -- filed by civil rights attorney Robert J.
Tolchin and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the founder and head of the Israel Law
Center-Shurat HaDin in July 2016 (along with a separate suit filed in 2015)
-- alleged that Hamas used Facebook "promote and carry out...terrorist
activities," including the fatal stabbing of U.S. Army veteran Taylor Force
and others. The new suit, filed on the heels of Zuckerberg's Congressional
hearings, states: "Zuckerberg's testimony makes it clear that Facebook
employs its own subjective assessment when deciding whether to censor
content. It appears that Facebook's actual policy is to sometimes censor
terrorist content and sometimes not, for reasons now known only to Facebook."
In a statement to Courthouse News, Darshan-Leitner wrote:
"It's now obvious that the social media giant has long been deeply involved
in editing and manipulating the content on its platform, and has had the
technology to block the incitement to terrorism as the plaintiffs in our
cases contend. A really moral company would be doing more than mouthing
empty 'my bads' and, instead, be reaching out to compensate these families."
In his ruling in favor Facebook's motion to dismiss the previous suit,
United State District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis cited the Communications
Decency Act of 1996, whose section on "Protection for private blocking and
screening of offensive material" states that "no provider or user of an
interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of
any information provided by another information content provider."
In other words, Facebook is not considered a "publisher," and therefore is
not liable for the content it services – no matter how treacherous. The law
clearly needs to be amended to hold social-media platforms just as
accountable as book or newspaper publishers.
Ironically, it is the same section of the Communications Decency Act that
specifies the following two aspects of U.S. policy: "to remove disincentives
for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies
that empower parents to restrict their children's access to objectionable or
inappropriate online material; and "to ensure vigorous enforcement of
Federal criminal laws to deter and punish trafficking in obscenity,
stalking, and harassment by means of computer." Why should "trafficking" in
terrorism not apply here, as well?
Still, it is the Antiterrorism Act that Tolchin is invoking in the renewed
suit against Facebook. If this time the court rules in favor of the
plaintiffs, Facebook will be forced to pay compensatory damages. This would
be an important step for the social media giant to fear future financial
repercussions over its lack of vigilance against terrorists. Whether
criminal charges for providing "material support or resources" to groups
acting and spurring others to act on their calls for mass murder remains to
be seen.
**Ruthie Blum is the author of "To Hell in a Handbasket: Carter, Obama, and
the 'Arab Spring.'"
© 2018 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here
do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone
Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be
reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of
Gatestone Institute.
The British Media's Lockstep Lies: Who Are They and
What Do They Stand For?
Bruce Bawer/Gatestone Institute/May 30/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12415/british-media-lies
Did the Daily Mail's lawyers have to check with the British government,
which had placed a gag order on reporting about the arrest, to make sure
that it was permissible to report on the protest, if not directly on the
arrest itself?
It seems fair to say that the incident has shocked, outraged, and scared
people around the world who, until now, had thought of the United Kingdom as
a free country.
"Britain used to be a bastion of free speech. Today its leaders are behaving
like North Korea and Saudi Arabia." – Geert Wilders, MP; The Netherlands
Meanwhile, Robinson remains in jail for daring to exercise his free speech,
and what the mainstream media have won back is the right to resume repeating
their lockstep lies about who he is and what he stands for.
Hundreds of supporters of Tommy Robinson filled the streets of London on
Saturday in protest against his arrest in Leeds on Friday, but it was not
until shortly after midnight on Monday that the Daily Mail posted a report
about the protest on its website. The story, which was unsigned, was updated
on early Monday afternoon. How to explain the delay? Did the Daily Mail's
lawyers have to check with the British government, which had placed a gag
order on reporting about the arrest, to make sure that it was permissible to
report on the protest, if not directly on the arrest itself?
The Mail made sure to describe the hundreds of protesters as "far-right."
How did the Mail ascertain their politics? Does it not occur to the Mail
that even if Robinson were far-right, which he is not, a British subject
would not have to be far right to want to take in a protest against his
shockingly rapid-fire arrest, trial, conviction, and imprisonment for the
sole offense of reporting from outside a courthouse?
The Evening Standard also reported on the protest – and also labeled the
participants "far-right." "The incident," wrote the Standard 's Tom Powell,
"has triggered a furious reaction from his fans." In fact, it seems fair to
say that the incident has shocked, outraged, and scared people around the
world who, until now, had thought of the United Kingdom as a free country.
In America, for example, Robert Spencer warned that "the darkness of Sharia-compliant
totalitarianism descends upon the UK." Thomas Lifson asked:
"Is Britain lost to the ranks of free nations? The land that bequeathed the
world the Magna Carta and the 'mother of parliaments' is indulging in
totalitarianism with its handling of Tommy Robinson, a famous political
activist agitating about the threat of radical Islam, and attempting to
report on the trial of a Muslim 'grooming gang' that allegedly preyed on
young English girls, forcing them into prostitution."
In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders declared solidarity with Robinson:
"Britain used to be a bastion of free speech. Today its leaders are behaving
like North Korea and Saudi Arabia."
At least the Mail and Standard ran stories about the protests. Other major
British dailies did not. The Metro website, for its part, posted a story
that made the Mail look objective: "The controversial nationalist and
far-right commentator, real name Stephen Lennon, was posing as a 'reporter'
when police officers approached him," wrote Olivia Waring in a piece
headlined "Why Was Tommy Robinson Arrested?" In fact, Robinson was not
"posing" as anything – he is a citizen journalist who at the time of his
arrest was being watched live on Facebook by supporters around the world.
Waring went on say that Robinson's supporters "abide by slogans like 'White
Lives Matter.'" She also mentioned that Robin was a founder of the English
Defence League, but omitted to acknowledge that he left the organization
after it adopted a racist line of which he could not approve. In any event,
Waring's piece did not even pretend to answer the question posed in the
title, leaving the reader to wonder exactly who is, in fact, posing as a
reporter.
Whereas Robinson was arrested for "breaching the peace" – "apparently
British police code for 'offending Islam,'" noted Spencer wryly – and was
immediately thereafter found guilty of "contempt of court" and hustled off
to the hoosegow, the savages whose case he was covering have apparently been
on trial for several weeks now. They face multiple charges, including rape,
racially aggravated assault, and inciting a child into prostitution. One of
the defendants is accused of fifty-one separate counts, including twenty-one
counts of rape. During the weeks of their trial they have, of course, had
legal representation and have apparently been allowed to go home at night.
Meanwhile Robinson's attorneys were apparently unable to contact him in the
first hours and days after his arrest.
Finally, on Tuesday, in response to complaints by the British media, the gag
order on reporting news about the Robinson case was lifted. Presumably this
counts as a modest recovery for freedom of the press in Britain. Meanwhile,
Robinson remains in jail for daring to exercise his free speech, and what
the mainstream media have won back is the right to resume repeating their
lockstep lies about who he is and what he stand for.
Bruce Bawer is the author of the new novel The Alhambra (Swamp Fox
Editions). His book While Europe Slept (2006) was a New York Times
bestseller and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. His other books
include A Place at the Table (1993), Stealing Jesus (1997), Surrender
(2009), and The Victims' Revolution (2012). A native New Yorker, he has
lived in Europe since 1998.
© 2018 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.
Italy's Pro-EU President Flouts Voters
Soeren Kern/Gatestone Institute/May 30/18
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12399/italy-president-eu
The political situation reflects the stranglehold on power wielded by the
pro-EU establishment, which is evidently determined to preserve economic
austerity at the expense of democracy.
"We need to prepare a plan B to get out of the euro if necessary... the
other alternative is to end up like Greece." — Paolo Savona, a former
industry minister who has called Italy's entry into the euro a "historic
mistake."
"In Italy, there is a problem of democracy. In this country, you can be a
convicted criminal, convicted for tax fraud, under investigation for
corruption and be a minister... but if you criticize Europe, you cannot be
the Minister of the Economy in Italy." — M5S leader Luigi Di Maio.
Italy's new populist government-in-waiting resigned on May 28 after its
choice of a eurosceptic finance minister was rejected by the country's
pro-EU president — who instead asked an unelected technocrat to form a
pro-EU government.
The political wrangling ends a bid by Italy's two anti-establishment parties
— the left-leaning Five Star Movement (M5S) and the center-right League (Lega)
— to form a populist coalition government, which would have been the first
of its kind in Europe.
The political situation reflects the stranglehold on power wielded by the
pro-EU establishment, which is evidently determined to preserve economic
austerity at the expense of democracy.
Italian president Sergio Mattarella refused to accept the nomination for
finance minister of Paolo Savona, an 81-year-old former industry minister
who has called Italy's entry into the euro a "historic mistake."
In his latest book, "Like a Nightmare and a Dream" (Come un incubo e come un
sogno), Savona called the euro a "German cage" and warned that "we need to
prepare a plan B to get out of the euro if necessary... the other
alternative is to end up like Greece."
Mattarella, who was installed by a previous pro-EU government, said that the
"uncertainty over our position in the euro has alarmed Italian and foreign
investors who purchased our government bonds and invested in our companies."
He added that "membership of the euro is a fundamental choice for the future
of our country and our young people."
Mattarella said that he wanted the next finance minister to be someone "who
is not seen as a supporter of a line that could probably, or even
inevitably, provoke Italy's exit from the euro."
Mattarella has now asked Carlo Cottarelli, a former official at the
International Monetary Fund, to form a government of unelected technocrats.
Known as "Mr. Scissors" for making cuts to public spending, Cottarelli
presumably would seek to maintain the strict fiscal discipline imposed on
the euro currency bloc by Germany.
Italian president Sergio Mattarella has asked Carlo Cottarelli (pictured
above), a former official at the International Monetary Fund, to form a
government of unelected technocrats. Cottarelli is known as "Mr. Scissors"
for making cuts to public spending. (Photo by Stephen Jaffe/IMF via Getty
Images)
On May 17, the League and M5S, rival populist parties now in a coalition,
published a 39-page agreement called "Contract for a Government of Change."
A two-page synthesis closely resembles U.S. President Donald J. Trump's
"Contract with the American Voter."
In an effort to boost economic growth, the League promised to cut taxes,
while M5S pledged to increase public spending.
Italian GDP is forecast to grow by just 1.5% in 2018, the same level as in
2017, making it the worst performer in the 19-nation euro zone.
Italy already holds the world's third-largest public debt, totaling €2.3
trillion ($2.7 trillion). Italy's current debt-to-GDP ratio is 130% of GDP,
the highest in the eurozone after that of Greece.
The League and M5S promised to reduce public debt by increasing growth by
stimulating domestic demand and by promoting exports rather than "through
tax and austerity-based interventions."
The coalition agreement also called for: a flat tax; a simplification of the
tax code; increased retirement and maternity benefits; a crackdown on
government corruption and crime; swift deportations of illegal migrants;
increased defense spending aimed at making Italy a "privileged partner" of
the United States; and a revision of the EU treaties involving monetary
policy.
M5S leader Luigi Di Maio denounced President Mattarella's pro-EU move and
called for the president to be impeached for overstepping his authority:
"In Italy, there is a problem of democracy. In this country, you can be a
convicted criminal, convicted for tax fraud, under investigation for
corruption and be a minister...but if you criticize Europe, you cannot be
the Minister of the Economy in Italy."
Lega leader Matteo Salvini, also criticized Mattarella's decision, but
declined to join Di Maio's call for impeachment:
"A government cannot be formed in Italy without the approval of Berlin,
Paris or Brussels. It is madness. I would like Italy to return to being a
free country."
Cottarelli must now form a government and then have it approved by
parliament, where M5S and Lega hold majorities in both houses. Therefore,
Cottarelli likely will only head a caretaker government until snap elections
are called, which could be held on September 9, according to the newspaper
Corriere della Sera.
Italy, the eurozone's third-biggest economy after Germany and France, has
been without a government since inconclusive elections on March 4, when the
League (which ran within a four-party center-right coalition), won a
plurality of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the Senate, thereby
becoming the main political force.
M5S, however, was the party most voted for and came in second, while the
center-left coalition led by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi came in
third. Therefore, no political group or party won an outright majority,
which resulted in a hung parliament.
"The majority of Italians (6 out 10) see it with favor," said a survey
published by the daily La Repubblica as the two party leaders, the 5Stars'
Luigi Di Maio.
Recent polls show that new elections could result in an even bigger majority
for the M5S and the Lega. Considering that their prospective coalition
government collapsed after Mattarella rejected the eurosceptic Savona, M5S
and Lega may frame the next election as a referendum on Italy's role in the
EU.
*Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute.
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Will the region explode because of Trump?
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 30/18
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which former American
President Barack Obama and the P5+1 signed with Iran will remain debatable
for years. Was the Iran deal an acknowledgment of the nuclear reality which
Iran achieved or was it a result of incompetent and bad negotiations?
Dennis Ross, a veteran diplomat who knows the region and who worked in the
Obama administration, thinks the world is better with the agreement in place
and thinks that chaos happened when Donald Trump became president and
launched his war against the agreement. There are different opinions
regarding the agreement; some commend it and think its restrains Iran’s
nuclear military program while some criticize it because it let the region
be an arena for Tehran’s regime which has destroyed the region.
I think the agreement has its positive aspects on the nuclear level; however
it cannot be acquitted of Iran’s crimes. Negotiators selfishly unlocked
sanctions in exchange of Iran stopping uranium enrichment. Tehran suddenly
found the door open and snuck out of the cage. Thousands of its forces and
its militia fighters headed to wars outside Iran. The international dyke
which established for military and economic sanctions collapsed and the
borders drawn in the sand and which specified the stances of the region’s
and the world’s countries towards Iran’s behavior disappeared.
The regional system collapsed the day we saw Iran’s foreign minister jump
for joy as he held the documents of the agreement on the balcony of his room
in the Palais Coburg hotel in the Austrian capital. During and after the
negotiations, Iran deployed its forces in such an unprecedented manner in
the region after it had settled with operating in the surroundings of
Lebanon and Gaza. Iran thus came to have the largest power on the ground in
Syria, and its leaders were seen leading battles in Iraq. Iran also launched
its missiles on Jeddah, Mecca and Riyadh and strengthened its political
control over Lebanon.
Ross thinks Iran’s audacious bullying behavior during Trump’s era, such as
launching missiles, sending drones in Israel’s airspace and targeting Saudi
cities with its missiles, is an ordinary Iranian reaction to Trump’s violent
stances against it. However, the truth we see here, from inside the region,
states otherwise. One of the major reasons Iran escalated the confrontation
was to pressure the Trump administration like it did with the Obama
administration which backed down before any crisis with the Iranian regime.
The latter realized it could blackmail the Obama administration by
escalating the situation in Iraq and Syria and things went as far as
detaining American sailors then releasing them in such a humiliating and
insulting manner.
Gates of hell
It’s true that Trump decided not to militarily fight the Iranians in Syria
but he succeeded in establishing a political and military alliance to
pressure Iran after the Iranians were celebrating because they’re confident
they completely won the war in Syria. Trump paved way for Israel, supported
armed Syrian opposition groups, pressured Russia and warned the Assad regime
that it will not stay if the Iranians and their militias stay in Syria.
Was the Iran deal an acknowledgment of the nuclear reality which Iran
achieved or was it a result of incompetent and bad negotiations?
The gates of hell thus opened against Iran and its agents in Iraq, Syria,
Gaza and Yemen where Iran was winning battles before. The Trump
administration decided to confront Iran without getting in a direct military
confrontation in conflict zones in the Middle East. This was culminated with
Trump’s decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal. This withdrawal, which
included decisions to reinstate economic sanctions and set 12 difficult
conditions to have a deal, was the biggest relapse Iran has suffered from
since the revolution erupted in the end of the 1970s.
Ross thinks that Trump is leading the region towards a huge explosion and
huge wars, and it’s actually possible that Iran will resort to escalation
and increase the extent of confrontations; however it knows that the price
is now higher than before. Trump has inflicted pain on the Iranian regime
without firing a single bullet. The restraints he imposed led to the
collapse of the Iranian currency which has become the source of internal
unrest that threatens the existence of the entire regime.
What constitutes an exceptional president
Ahmad al-Farraj/Asharq Al Awsat/May 30/18
After a candidate wins the presidency in the US, he is entitled to run for a
second four-year term. This means that the maximum duration a person can be
a president is eight years.
This was not the case when the US constitution was written as there was no
restriction on the number of terms a president could run for the elections.
However, the tradition since the days of first president George Washington,
or King George as some Americans call him, was for the president to settle
with just serving two terms and then paving way for someone else considering
that eight years in power are enough for a president to give all he’s got.
Barring a few exceptions, when some presidents tried to run for a third term
but failed; this convention was observed for about a century and a half
after George Washington. Later on, President Franklin D. Roosevelt who was
elected to the high office in 1932 and then in 1936 decided to run for the
presidency for a third time.
What helped Roosevelt in his bid to get re-elected for a record fourth
presidential term was his announcement that the US officially joined World
War II in 1941
Roosevelt exploited his popularity after the great work he’s done during the
Great Depression that hit US economy in the 1930s, and decided to run for a
third term in 1940, as allowed by the constitution. Roosevelt won. In fact,
Roosevelt according to historians and popular polls is viewed as one of the
three greatest presidents in US history.
The other two presidents are the US’ spiritual father George Washington and
Abraham Lincoln who led a war against slavery and won it uniting the US
after it was almost torn apart into two separate states, one in the North
and another in the South.
Most Americans thought that Roosevelt would end his presidential stint after
12 years in office, but to some people’s astonishment and others’ support,
he contested for a fourth time in 1944.
The World War
What helped him in his bid to get re-elected yet again was his announcement
that the US officially joined World War II in 1941 after Japan bombed Pearl
Harbor. It’s self-evident that people rally behind the head of the state
during times of war regardless of all the circumstances as the head of state
is an icon and is often the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Roosevelt won the elections the fourth time, but he did not get to fully
enjoy his victory or to witness the victory of the Allied powers in the war,
of which he was one of the main architects along with Britain’s Winston
Churchill. Roosevelt died just a few months after his fourth term began.
Thus, Franklin Roosevelt is the only US president to have won the
presidential elections four times and to have ruled the US for 13 years.
This had major consequences which I will tackle in a separate article.
Will Abadi learn from Mahathir’s example?
Adnan Hussein/Asharq Al Awsat/May 30/18
Any prime minister does not need more than 24 hours to take a decision to
combat administrative and financial corruption. He also does not need more
than one week after that to start executing his decision – that is if he
wants to make such a decision and execute it.
This is what has been clear from the experience of 92-year-old Malaysian
leader Mahathir Mohamad, who returned to government after resigning 15 years
ago.
It is an example for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who like his
predecessor Nouri al-Maliki, kept talking and making promises to combat
corruption and to launch war on the corrupt like the war launched against
ISIS. Abadi, however, ended up only making statements but took no action!
In only nine days, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad managed to outmaneuver
corruption in his country. He launched a campaign against corruption by
taking a decision in one day by instituting an effective mechanism to crack
down on the corrupt.
The campaign started by targeting former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak,
his wife Rosmah Mansor and some of their relatives with the aim of
recovering billions of dollars smuggled out of the country through money
laundering for over a decade.
On May 10, Mahathir entered the royal palace in the capital Kuala Lumpur to
take the oath of office and officially begin his work as prime minister,
after his party ‘Alliance of Hope’ won in the parliamentary elections, which
Mahathir had participated in after changing his decision of quitting
politics in 2003.
In only nine days, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad managed to outmaneuver
corruption in his country
The corruption file
The first decision Mahathir took after assuming office was opening the
corruption file. He has returned to politics and to premiership for this
specific purpose after completing 22 years in the high office (1981-2003)
during which he transformed Malaysia from being a poor agricultural and
underdeveloped country into an Asian tiger and a major industrial state, by
virtue of his integrity, efficiency and patriotism.
In this context, he issued a decision to prevent his corrupt predecessor and
his wife from traveling and began investigating the corruption cases filed
against them. He has also ordered investigating other senior officials of
the ministry of finance and the public prosecutor’s office over their
involvement in corruption cases. Mahathir announced that his government will
work toward recovering billions of dollars that have been transferred to the
US, Switzerland and other countries through money laundering.
On May 17, Mahathir established a government commission to combat corruption
in all state institutions. The next day, the commission called on the former
prime minister to appear before it while the police raided his house and
found 284 boxes of handbags and 72 bags stuffed with money and jewelry.
Mr. Abadi has now at least two months before the new government is formed,
whether under his presidency or someone else. In these two months he can do
what Mahathir accomplished in nine days if he wishes so, but does he want
to?
Iranian regime is playing the EU masterfully
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/May 30/18
The Iranian regime is playing a tactical and political game with the EU. In
concerted efforts, Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,
are continuing to impose significant pressure on the European authorities,
issuing ultimatums, adding absurd extra demands to its list, and threatening
to pull out of the nuclear deal.As a result, some European nations are
scrambling to ensure they can chart a path through which Iran’s demands are
met in order to keep the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also referred
to as the Iran nuclear deal, intact. This deal will now be between the
Islamic Republic and France, Russia, the United Kingdom, China, and Germany.
But the EU is overlooking several critical facts in its dealings with the
Iranian regime. First of all, from the perspective of Iran’s clerical
establishment, if an entity gives concessions and submits to Tehran’s
demands, it is demonstrating weakness.
When concessions are made, the modus operandi of the Iranian leaders is to
demand more. For example, when the Iranian leaders witnessed that several
European governments took Iran’s side after the US pulled out of the nuclear
deal, and when Tehran observed that some EU states gave into Iran’s pressure
and rushed into organizing meetings, Iran increased its demands.
Khamenei immediately added to his orders, even demanding that the EU “must
guarantee it will not raise the issue of the Islamic Republic’s missiles and
regional affairs.” This means that Khamenei wants that the Iranian leaders
and their military organizations to get immunity to act the way they desire
in the region. Emboldened and empowered, Iran is even demanding that the
European nations “guarantee the total sales of Iran’s oil.”
When it comes to Iran’s politics, the following saying fully applies: Give
them an inch and they will take a mile.
Secondly, the European governments should be cognizant of the reality that
the Iranian regime needs the nuclear deal more than they do.
Instead of submitting to Iran’s threats and scrambling to ensure that the
demands of the Iranian leaders are met, the EU ought to seize this
opportunity.
The financial relief emanating from the nuclear agreement is vital for the
survival of the ruling clerics. Thanks to the sanctions relief, the extra
sale of oil and gas has added billions of dollars to the regime’s revenues.
Iran’s oil exports reached approximately one billion barrels in 2017. This
means that Iran’s oil exports have gone up nearly 250 percent up since the
crippling economic sanctions against Tehran were lifted. In addition, while
Iran is currently exporting nearly 2.7 million barrels a day, it is planning
to pump up to four millions barrels a day. Some Iranian officials are
planning to ship abroad the same amount of oil that Tehran was exporting in
the 1970s — more than six million barrels a day.
As has become evident during the domestic developments of the last year, the
beneficiaries of the additional billions of dollars in revenues are not the
ordinary Iranian people. The main beneficiaries are the state’s apparatuses,
such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the office of the supreme
leader, which are strengthening their hold on power.
Iranians are continuing to protest the economic austerity that they are
facing on a daily basis. Kambiz, an Iranian computer engineer who has been
searching for a job since he graduated from Shiraz University two years ago,
said: “The government promised that it will reduce unemployment when
sanctions were lifted. But we have given up hope that any benefit from the
nuclear deal will trickle down to the people. We have given up hope that the
government will listen to its citizens’ economic difficulties. In many
respects, the financial situation of the people has become worse in the last
two years.”
In addition, in these critical times, Tehran needs sanctions relief more
than ever because its military influence and presence in the region has
significantly escalated since the nuclear agreement was reached in 2015.
This includes the Iranian regime’s increasing influence in Syria and Iraq,
the additional recruitment of foreign fighters to operate in Syria in
support of Bashar Assad, the rise in smuggling of powerful weapons to the
Houthis in Yemen, and its military support to Hezbollah and Shiite militias
across the region.
Finally, the global legitimacy that the nuclear deal grants to Tehran is
critical for the Iranian leaders. It facilitates their path toward achieving
their foreign policy and revolutionary objectives. Such enhanced legitimacy
on the international stage helps the regime in two different approaches: It
can more easily suppress domestic opposition and silence dissidents without
fearing significant repercussions from the international community; and it
offers an element of immunity with respect to expanding its influence in the
region through hard power, military adventurism, and support for militia
groups and proxies.
Instead of submitting to Iran’s threats and scrambling to ensure that the
demands of the Iranian leaders are met, the EU ought to seize this
opportunity. This is one of the ripest environments for the European nations
to pressure the Iranian regime into changing its destructive behavior and
becoming a constructive player in the region.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political
scientist. He is a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, a
businessman and president of the International American Council. Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh