llLCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
May 21/16
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com/newsbulletin16/english.may21.16.htm
News Bulletin Achieves Since 2006
Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006
Bible Quotations For Today
I will do
whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If
in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 14/08-14:"Philip said to
him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’Jesus said to him,
‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?
Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the
Father"?Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The
words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in
me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;
but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly,
I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in
fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will
do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it."
Repent and turn to God so
that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the
presence of the Lord
Acts of the Apostles 03/11-21:"While he clung to Peter and John, all the people
ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s Portico, utterly
astonished. When Peter saw it, he addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do
you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or
piety we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed
over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release
him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer
given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.
To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made
this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has
given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you. ‘And now, friends,
I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. In this way God
fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would
suffer. Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may
send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven
until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his
holy prophets."
Pope Francis's Tweet For
Today
The firm commitment for human rights springs from an awareness of the unique and
supreme value of each person.
L’engagement décisif pour les droits humains naît de la conscience de la valeur
unique et irremplaçable de chaque personne.
يولد الالتزام الحازم من أجل حقوق الإنسان من الوعي للقيمة الفريدة لكل شخص
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials
from miscellaneous sources published on May 20- 21/16
14 March. Just Mayhem/Ahmad El-Assaad/May 21/2016
The coming parliamentary stitch-up/Alex Rowell/Now Lebanon/May 20/16
Moshe Ya'alon - proud soldier, great defense minister, lousy politician/Noam
Amir/Maariv Hashavua/J.Post/May 20/16
Netanyahu's Sudden Coalition Shift: Early Implications/David Makovsky/Washington
Institute/May 20/16
Failure of Syria diplomacy in Vienna/Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/May 20/16
A strong message from London against the ‘Clash of Civilizations/Eyad Abu Shakra/Al
Arabiya/May 20/16
Key reasons behind Iran’s extension of power in Yemen/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al
Arabiya/May 20/16
Will Sisi Squander His Chance to Fix Egypt's Economy/David Schenker/National
Interest/May 20/16
Arab governments to Netanyahu: Let's talk about the Saudi peace initiative/J.Post/May
20/16
Ghost of September 11 Attacks/Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/16
Tighten Our Belts For President Trump/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/16
Titles Latest Lebanese Related News published on May
20- 21/16
Kaag Assures
Ban Made no Mention of Lebanon in Refugees Report
Nasrallah Says to Avenge Badreddine by 'Dealing Final Blow to Takfiri Groups' in
Syria
Report: Fadlallah Affirms Internet Probe Continues Until Results are Reached
Municipal Elections in Bcharre Town Postponed over 'Local Tensions'
Foreign Ministry Offers Condolences to Sisi over Plane Crash
Hariri: Attempts to Change Our Identity and Import Extremism and Terrorism Will
Fail
Jones Reassures Salam: We Understand the Sensitivity of the Issue of Refugees in
Lebanon
Asiri Gathers Lebanese Leaders over Dinner, Hopes for President Election 'before
Eid al-Fitr'
Aoun hopes Jezzine polls to clinch same political line as in 2009
Jumblatt from Kuwait: No danger of settlement in Lebanon
Geagea announces municipal lists in Jebbit Bsharri
14 March. Just Mayhem.
The coming parliamentary stitch-up
Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 20-21/16
White House Put
on Lockdown after Police Report Shooting Nearby
Syria regime strikes kill 21 civilians
Coalition Flyers Urge Residents to Quit IS Syria Bastion
NATO may take on new air surveillance role in ISIS fight
Egyptian army ‘finds crashed EgyptAir debris’
Turkey Approves Controversial Law Scrapping Immunity for MPs
Suspected ISIS suicide explosion during Turkish police raid
ISIS militant killed as detonates bomb during Turkish police raid
Citing Netanyahu rift, Israeli defense minister quits
Arabs demand that UN remove a panel from Israeli exhibit
Drought in 80 percent of Iran
Iranian Resistance calls for the immediate release of ailing political prisoner
Alireza Golipour
IRAN: Street vendors harassed in Ahwaz
Senior Saudi Cleric in Apparent Swipe at Iran
Protesters Break into Baghdad Green Zone, Head to PM Office
Israel Defense Minister Quits Accusing Govt. of Extremism
Netanyahu-Liberman government shows signs of fascism,' Ehud Barak says
Israeli officials pledge support of Druze community
Links From Jihad Watch Site for May 20- 21/16
Pope to welcome Muslim leader who has justified anti-Semitism and crucifixion of
“enemies of Allah” to Vatican
EgyptAir flight attendant posted picture on Facebook of plane crashing a year
before she died in flight MS804
Video: Robert Spencer on The Saad Truth — Is Opposition to Jihad Terror
“Bigotry”?
India: Doctor repeatedly advised patients that practicing Islam would cure them
‘Islamophobia Studies’ Are Coming To A College Near You, And There Won’t Be Any
Debate About It
Raymond Ibrahim: Pope Francis’ Jihad on Christianity
Clinton hits Trump on Muslim ban; Trump: “Ask Hillary who blew up the plane last
night”
Uganda: Muslim murders Christian pastor for saying Christ conquered the Islamic
jinn
Islamic museum to be built with Sharia-compliant financing on site of failed
Ground Zero Mosque
Daniel Greenfield Moment: The 2.5 Million 90-Foot-Tall Virgins
Awaiting Jihadists in Islamic Paradise
Latest Lebanese Related News published on May20- 21/16
Kaag Assures Ban Made no Mention of Lebanon in Refugees Report
Naharnet/May 20/16/U.N. Special Coordinator Sigrid Kaag stated on Friday that
the controversial report of U.N. chief Ban Kin-moon on the refugees did not
mention naturalizing or granting the Lebanese nationality for Syrian refugees in
Lebanon. “Ban knows well that the Lebanese constitution does not allow
naturalization. His report did not mention Lebanon,” said Kaag after a meeting
with Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil. “The solution to the Syrian refugees in
Lebanon will only be through a political solution for the Syrian crisis and when
the circumstances permit,” she added. Kaag was scheduled to make a statement on
Friday related to the latest message of Ban that triggered fears of naturalizing
Syrian refugees in Lebanon, An Nahar newspaper reported. Kaag will deliver the
statement after she holds a meeting with Bassil and later with PM Tammam Salam,
the daily added. According to An Nahar, Ban had said in a report he submitted to
the Vienna conference on Syria that refugees have the right to obtain the
nationalities of the countries they live in.His remarks triggered a storm of
criticism and the cabinet declared Thursday that it unanimously rejects any
attempt to naturalize Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The cabinet's statement said:
“The cabinet reaffirmed the Lebanese consensus on rejecting naturalization and
any policies that encourage the refugees to stay where they are, seeing as the
only solution to the refugee crisis is the Syrians' speedy return to their
country, which contradicts with the principles of voluntary return, integration
and naturalization.” The cabinet also agreed to “conduct the necessary contacts”
and “demand clarifications regarding Ban Ki-moon's remarks on the naturalization
of refugees.”
Nasrallah Says to Avenge
Badreddine by 'Dealing Final Blow to Takfiri Groups' in Syria
Naharnet/May 20/16/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah stressed Friday that
the killing of the group's top military commander, Mustafa Badreddine, will not
push Hizbullah to withdraw its fighters from war-torn Syria.
“Until today, the martyrdom of any of our leaders has not pushed us to leave any
battlefield and Badreddine's blood will push us to a bigger presence in Syria...
We will remain in Syria and more leaders will go into Syria,” said Nasrallah in
a televised speech marking one week since Badreddine's death in a blast near
Damascus airport. Hizbullah had said Saturday that Badreddine was killed by
“artillery bombardment carried out by takfiri groups.” “We will continue the
battle and we are confident that our efforts, blood and modest contributions,
alongside all the other efforts, will lead to defeating the U.S.-Israeli-takfiri-Saudi
scheme,” Nasrallah said in his speech.
“They won't be able to control Syria, its leadership or its people and the
entire project will fall in Syria and consequently in the entire region,” he
added. “Our big vengeance will be achieved through maintaining and boosting our
presence in Syria in order to deal the final blow to the takfiri groups and
through preserving and improving the Islamic Resistance... This is our loyalty
and this is our responsibility,” Nasrallah vowed. Commenting on media reports
that questioned Hizbullah's statement about Badreddine's death or suggested that
he was killed by other parties, Nasrallah added: “Unfortunately, our malicious
Israeli enemy was fair towards us but some Arabs were the ones who circulated
rumors when they said that Hizbullah did not accuse Israel of killing Mustafa
out of cowardice because that would have obliged it to retaliate.”“Throughout 34
years of conflict with Israel, the enemy admitted that we have never lied about
our achievements or retaliation pledges,” he noted.
“The Israelis acknowledged our honesty while some Arabs, who are the biggest
liars and hypocrites, did not believe anything we said,” Nasrallah went on to
say. “We did not find any indications that lead to Israel in the probe into our
commander's assassination, and although we don't acquit Israel we are also not
accusing it,” he added. He also stressed that Hizbullah “does not launch
political accusations,” even against Israel. Our history is a proof that when we
vow to retaliate we honor our pledges, like we did after the Quneitra attack,
and when the evidence points to Israel, we would openly say that Israel is the
perpetrator,” Nasrallah underlined.
“We reiterate our warning to Israel that we will retaliate if it targets any of
our jihadi fighters, and our response will go beyond the Shebaa Farms,” he
warned.
Separately, Nasrallah dismissed media reports suggesting that the U.N.-backed
Special Tribunal for Lebanon might ask for DNA samples to confirm Badreddine's
death. “To us, the file of the STL does not exist and we're not concerned with
anything it may request,” he said.
The STL had indicted Badreddine with being the head of the alleged Hizbullah
squad that perpetrated the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri. Badreddine
and four other Hizbullah operatives are being tried in absentia over the murder.
Badreddine was the highest-ranking Hizbullah militant to be killed since the
group joined Syria's conflict four years ago. The area on the southern edge of
the Syrian capital is known to host positions of several militant groups,
including al-Qaida's branch in Syria, known as the al-Nusra Front. Hizbullah and
the Syrian army have a heavy presence around the Damascus airport, which
includes a military base, and the area comes under regular shelling. But Rami
Abdul Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights,
said that according to his network of activists in the area, there had been no
shelling in the airport area on the day that Badreddine was reportedly killed.
Hizbullah has sent thousands of fighters to Syria to back President Bashar
Assad's regime against rebels and jihadists trying to remove him from power. The
55-year-old Badreddine had directed Hizbullah's operations in Syria since its
fighters joined Assad's forces in 2012, the group's biggest-ever military
intervention outside of Lebanon. Thousands of guerrillas fighting alongside
Syria's military were crucial to tipping battles in the government's favor on
multiple fronts, from the suburbs of Damascus to the northern province of
Aleppo.
Report: Fadlallah Affirms
Internet Probe Continues Until Results are Reached
Naharnet/May 20/16/Head of the parliamentary media committee MP Hassan Fadlallah
emphasized that the committee will carry on efforts with regards to the illegal
internet file until it reaches the final results that safeguard Lebanon's
national security and the state's finances, As Safir daily reported on Friday.
“The committee will follow up closely on the internet file and all its branches.
The file will not be closed until we reach final results that safeguard the
national security and the state's finances,” Fadlallah told As Safir. “The
committee will be meeting on May 31 where we will be waiting for the judicial
data in light of the official investigations related to the file,” he added. The
MP also pointed out that the committee will receive some information by
Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb on which it will build on its next step.
For his part, Harb expressed concern over a failure to reach results in the
thorny file, saying: “The probability that the file could enter a stage of
clinical death is still a source of concern for me.”Nevertheless, he expressed
confidence in Lebanon's judiciary but urged it to speed up the trials, saying:
“The turtle walk does not fall in the interest of the investigation.”He was
referring to the slow progress in the file after it was referred to the
judiciary. He reiterated calls not to provide cover for anyone who is found
proven to be involved in the case. In March, the parliamentary media committee
unveiled what it described as a “mafia” that is taking advantage of internet
services by installing internet stations that are not subject to the state
control. The owners of these stations are buying international internet
bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they are selling back
to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices. It has been reported that wireless
internet towers and technical equipment were placed illegally in some
mountainous terrains including Tannourine, al-Dinnieh, Sannine and al-Zaarour.
Early in May, the Financial General Prosecutor sent a request to Harb asking for
permission to pursue some of the employees at his ministry, particularly
telecommunication company OGERO employees and its chief Abdul Moneim Youssef as
a suspect in the case. Smuggled internet services initiate risks namely the
possibility of security breaches as they lack the basic control standards
exposing Lebanon's security to third parties including Israel.
Municipal Elections in Bcharre Town Postponed over 'Local Tensions'
Naharnet/May 20/16/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq announced on Friday the
postponement of the municipal elections in a town on the northern region of
Bcharre, reported the National News Agency. He said that the elections have been
postponed “indefinitely” in the town of Torza due to “local tensions” These
tensions could cause security clashes between families in the town, especially
after a number of candidates withdrew from the elections, he explained.
Residents of Torza had filed a petition requesting the delay. The municipal
elections kicked off in Beirut and the eastern Bekaa region on May 8. The second
round was held in the Mount Lebanon region on May 15, while the next round is
set for the South and Nabatieh on May 22. The final round cover the North and
will be held on May 29.
Foreign Ministry Offers
Condolences to Sisi over Plane Crash
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 20/16/Lebanon's Foreign Ministry sent a cable
of condolences on Friday to Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi over the
crashing of an EgyptAir flight carrying 66 people from Paris to Cairo. “The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants offers its deepest condolences to
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, to the families of the victims and to the people
of Egypt,” said the statement. “The ministry extends its condolences to the
leadership and people of France and other brethren and friendly countries, who
lost citizens in this terrible incident,” added the statement. An EgyptAir
Airbus A320 flight from Paris to Cairo crashed in the Mediterranean on Thursday
with possible wreckage spotted off a Greek island, as investigators probed
whether it was downed by a bomb. A massive search was under way for the plane.
EgyptAir said 15 French citizens were among the 26 foreign passengers on the
plane, who also included a Briton and at least one Canadian. They included a boy
and two babies.
Hariri: Attempts to Change
Our Identity and Import Extremism and Terrorism Will Fail
Naharnet/May 20/16/Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri stressed
Thursday that any attempt to “change Lebanon's identity” or import “extremism
and terrorism” will fail. “Neither the franchise of changing our identity, nor
the franchise of sectarianism, extremism, violence and terrorism, will succeed
in Lebanon,” said Hariri at the annual dinner of the Beirut International
Franchise Forum and Exhibition (BIFEX 2016), which was organized by the Lebanese
Franchise Association. “Some may wonder whether the time is suitable for
investment in Lebanon in light of the political and economic context in the
country. The answer is simply Yes,” Hariri added. “Investment in Lebanon should
be seen as long-term investment and put within the framework of the promising
opportunities that will definitely arise once a president is elected and the
work of the constitutional institutions returns to normal,” he noted.
Stressing the importance of “electing a president and putting an end to the
vacancy,” Hariri pledged that he will always adhere to “coexistence, national
unity, Christian-Muslim parity and free economy.”“I will always adhere to
moderation, openness, building the modern civil state, and individual,
religious, political and intellectual freedoms, so that Lebanon remains a
message and an exemplar to all human, political and economic successes in the
region and the world,” Hariri vowed.
Jones Reassures
Salam: We Understand the Sensitivity of the Issue of Refugees in Lebanon
Naharnet/May 20/16/U.S. Chargé d’Affaires in Lebanon Richard Jones declared
Friday that Washington prefers that the Syrian refugees in Lebanon be resettled
in other countries, after remarks attributed to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon sparked
concerns that the international community was seeking the naturalization of the
refugees in Lebanon. “We discussed the statement that was issued last night or
yesterday afternoon by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees office here,
which I think is a helpful clarification of the situation and the views of the
United Nations,” said Jones after talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the
Grand Serail. “Certainly, I think the United States fully supports that
statement, that we understand the sensitivity of the issue of refugees in
Lebanon,” he added. “We believe that the preferable solution is for them to
voluntarily return to their country as soon as conditions allow and if that
becomes impossible, that they be taken for resettlement in other countries,”
Jones explained.Noting that the United States is trying to do its part, the U.S.
envoy pointed out that President Barack Obama has “already announced an increase
in our refugee quotas for this year and suggested that they will be increased
further for next year.”“But it is a difficult issue for all countries and we
understand that,” he added. Earlier in the day, U.N. Special Coordinator for
Lebanon Sigrid Kaag reassured that Ban Ki-moon's report “makes no mention of any
specific country and seeks primarily to promote more collective action.”
“The report does not advocate in any specific case for naturalization or
granting of citizenship for refugees. National policies and laws prevail with
regard to issues of integration or citizenship,” she said. “Potential
integration is a sovereign question at the discretion of the Lebanese
government. The Secretary-General has at no time called for the permanent
settlement of Syrian refugees in Lebanon”, Kaag stressed. On Thursday, the
Lebanese government unanimously reaffirmed “the Lebanese consensus on rejecting
naturalization and any policies that encourage the refugees to stay where they
are.”The government also agreed to “conduct the necessary contacts” and “demand
clarifications regarding Ban Ki-moon's remarks on the naturalization of
refugees.”
Asiri Gathers
Lebanese Leaders over Dinner, Hopes for President Election 'before Eid al-Fitr'
Naharnet/May 20/16/Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri threw a dinner
banquet Friday in honor of Lebanon's political, security and religious leaders
and hoped a new president will be elected “before Eid al-Fitr,” which will be
observed in early July. “The presidential vacuum is about to enter its third
year and the more it protracts the more the State and its institutions are
nearing the edge of the abyss,” Asiri said in a speech at the dinner. “I urge
you to find the political will and consensual solutions to resolve this issue,
so that Eid al-Fitr can be celebrated in the presence of a new president,” he
added. The dinner was attended by Prime Minister Tammam Salam, a representative
of Speaker Nabih Berri, al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri, Free
Patriotic Movement founder MP Michel Aoun, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea,
MP Suleiman Franjieh's son Tony, ex-presidents Amin Gemayel and Michel Suleiman,
ex-PMs Najib Miqati and Fouad Saniora, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, a
representative of Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi and Greek Orthodox
Archbishop Elias Aude. It was also attended by Army chief General Jean Qahwaji,
Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous, General Security chief
Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, a number of Arab and foreign ambassadors, several
current and former ministers and MPs, and a number of political, military,
spiritual, social and economic figures. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all its
leaders will remain the main supporter of national accord and political and
security stability in Lebanon and the supporter of the Muslim-Christian
coexistence, and it is not true that it has abandoned Lebanon,” Asiri added.
“But, in return, Lebanon is required to stay loyal to its history and harmonious
with itself and with its neighborhood,” he went on to say. “Yes to Lebanese
unity, yes to Lebanese coexistence, yes to Lebanese reconciliation and yes to a
new president in Lebanon. Yes to a better tomorrow and yes to peace, stability
and prosperity,” Asiri said. “I hope that the ongoing municipal polls -- which
are taking place in a civilized and democratic way -- will be a step towards
holding the presidential and parliamentary elections,” he added.
Aoun hopes Jezzine polls to clinch same political line as in 2009
Fri 20 May 2016/NNA - Head of Change and Reform bloc, MP Michel Aoun, addressed
on Friday the locals of Jezzine, holding out hope that the polls would clinch
the political line just like what happened during the elections in 2009."The
importance of Jezzine is in its unity and healthy political line," he said via
OTV. He also hoped that on Sunday, "we would have the sole legitimate lawmaker
in the Parliament."
Jumblatt from Kuwait: No
danger of settlement in Lebanon
Fri 20 May 2016/NNA - MP Walid Jumblatt met on Friday the invitation of the
Lebanese Embassy in Kuwait, to gather with the Lebanese Diaspora, in presence of
Public Health Minister, Wael Abu Faour. In his word, Jumblatt highlighted the
necessity to respect the laws of Kuwait, hoping Kuwaitis would return to
Lebanon. He also reminded of the role played by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia "when
they succeeded in Syria at the time."Jumblatt mainly warded off fears of
settlement of refugees, deploring what he termed as "racist positions against
the Syrian people."On the local situation, he said that Hezbollah was part of
the Lebanese configuration, hoping for better Iranian-Arab ties.
Geagea announces municipal
lists in Jebbit Bsharri
Fri 20 May 2016/ANI - Lebanese Forces MP, Sethrida Geagea, held a news
conference in Maarab on Friday to announce the municipal lists of "Development
and Loyalty in Jebbit Bsharri" in the presence of a number of political and
municipal figures. She then announced the list of 10 localities in Jebbit
Bsharri notably Ban, Hadchit, Bsharri, Bkerkacha, Bkakafra, Bazoun, Hasroun,
Hadath Al Jebbeh, Kenat, and Abdeen including three elected by acclamation. The
MP also talked about the projects and needs of the region.
14 March. Just Mayhem.
Ahmad El-Assaad/May 21/2016
It is rather strange that even after 11 years since its liberation from the
Syrian tutorship, Lebanon has not yet been able to set an electoral law better
than the one set in 1960.
Countries worldwide are staying up-to-date with the changes, through their
electoral laws. They update them according to the requirements of the present
and the future. But it seems that we, in Lebanon, desire to stay stuck in the
twentieth century, as if we wished to stop there, in the year 1960 in
particular!
This, of course, could not be blamed on the Lebanese people’s lack of ideas on
the matter, nor on their inability to determine which law is better for the
country. Everybody realizes that what Lebanon needs now more than ever is to
pump new blood in this expired political class, which led the country to where
it is at today. It simply turned Lebanon into a paralyzed State on all levels.
Everyone knows that the best way to pump new blood into the political body, is a
new electoral law based on proportions, in a way or another.
In fact, passing and implementing such a law is no hard task. During the past
few years, a number of good drafts, all based on the principle of proportion,
was put forth. But the problem is the lack of the political will to pass such a
law, in the majority of the political class.
Unfortunately, instead of most Lebanese politicians favoring Lebanon’s interest
above all other, it seems like we are dealing with a political class that puts
its own, narrow interests first, not caring for anything other than achieving
these interests.
Everything these politicians care about is to protect their slice of the pie,
i.e. Lebanon. If the Free Patriotic Movement and the Lebanese Forces are the
only ones truly seeking a proportional electoral law, that doesn’t mean that
they do so out of ethics and principle alone. They certainly have done their
homework, and found that such a law promotes their strength and presence.
As for the other main political parties, whether in the group called “14 March”,
or in “8 March”, they all want to continue to go by the 1960 law, so that they
could keep their seats in the Parliament, and preserve their presence, without
considering what might be for the good of Lebanon.
Thus, we have proof once again that the political class, be it 14 or 8 March,
has no consideration whatsoever to what is called a “noble cause”. Instead, it
is always ready to make deals among each other, and to set aside all slogans
that mean to defend such a cause, in order to achieve their own, selfish
interests.
Today, more than any time before, it has become clear that we must no longer
call these groups “14 March” or “8 March”. Instead, we should just call them
“The Mayhem Bunch”.
The coming parliamentary
stitch-up
Alex Rowell/Now Lebanon/May 20/16
After independents surprise at municipal polls, MPs move to ensure the same
won’t happen in next year’s parliamentary elections
It’s a favorite journalist’s cliché – this writer has no doubt used it as
abundantly as the next – that Lebanon’s politics is tremendously “divided” (as
though politics did not, by definition, deal in division). To call a statement a
cliché is not, of course, to say it’s false. But rarely, if ever, before have
the conventional “divides” in Lebanon seemed more like distinctions without
differences.
Whether it’s the reconciliation (and now electoral alliance) between the
Lebanese Forces (LF) and the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) after decades of
literally murderous rivalry, or the unanimous opposition of all parties to
demonstrators’ calls for the environment minister’s resignation during last
summer’s environmental crisis (and the silence of March 14 when Amal Movement
fanatics repeatedly assaulted those demonstrators), or March 8’s happy
partnership with March 14 in this month’s municipal elections in the capital,
what unites the establishment factions today is so strong they’ve forgotten what
it was that “divided” them to begin with.
Indeed, the far more palpable rupture or segregation today isn’t among the
traditional parties themselves, but rather between them and the new grassroots
and civil-society-led currents that came of political age during the August 2015
trash catastrophe (which, incidentally, was never solved, and may be about to
relapse once more). It’s the difference between the party faithful and the more
than 100,000 who protested in Martyrs’ Square and Riad al-Solh nine months ago;
between the 54% of Beirut voters who opted for the status quo coalition on May
8, and the 37% who chose Beirut Madinati.
Which is one salient reason why the revived interest this week in a
parliamentary electoral law merits close attention. A debate over an electoral
law might seem a strong contender for the dullest-sounding development of the
year, but it happens to be crucial, because this is how the coming stitch-up by
the establishment of any potential independent challengers in next year’s
parliamentary elections is going to happen.
First, all sides profess themselves very displeased with the current
winner-takes-all law, dubbed the ‘1960 law’ for the year it was first
formulated. This is indeed what happened at the joint parliamentary committee
meeting yesterday, with lawmakers from the LF, FPM, Future Movement and
Hezbollah all duly rejecting the 1960 law, and the Kataeb’s Sami Gemayel going
as far as to call it a “massacre.”
Second, the committee goes through the motions of ‘studying’ proposals for
alternative laws. Again, this happened yesterday, with agreement reached that
two “hybrid” laws – electing some MPs by proportional representation and the
remainder by majoritarianism – would be contemplated at another meeting next
week.
Third, and finally, when deliberations over alternative laws break down amid
disagreements real and contrived, and if the elections aren’t unconstitutionally
postponed for a third time, they’ll take place under one iteration or another of
the 1960 law. While most MPs quoted after yesterday’s meeting insisted nothing
of the sort would happen, the FPM’s Alain Aoun broke ranks by admitting the
committee was essentially just “killing time,” and lamenting his colleagues’
“mockery of public opinion by [the claim] that we’re working on a new law.”
This is for the simple reason that proportionality – always in reality unpopular
with the key powerbrokers – has never posed as much of a threat to the
establishment as it does today. This is especially true of the two groups who,
ostensibly, have been the most open to proportionality in the past: the
Christian parties and Hezbollah. According to preliminary results from Beirut’s
municipal elections earlier this month, it was in Christian districts more than
anywhere else that the nonpartisan technocrats of Beirut Madinati made headway.
As for the Party of God, surely the most undertold story of this municipal
election season has been the proliferation of opposing contestants in what ought
to be its ‘safest’ terrain – the Bekaa Valley, the South, and Beirut’s southern
suburbs. That unaffiliated rivals were able to gain over 40% of the vote in as
critical a city as Baalbek cannot have pleased Hezbollah’s leadership, who are
unlikely to want to see the experience repeated at the parliamentary polls next
year.
In that sense, the new independents can draw no small amount of satisfaction.
They’ve truly put the wind up the ruling establishment, and it’s plain that the
arc of history, frustratingly lengthy though it may be, is bending in their
favor. At the same time, however, the parties are now on their guard, and no one
should be in any doubt about their capabilities, and resilience. The sectarian
client-patron networks that form the basis of Lebanon’s political system, so
often derided as weak and unstable, have in reality survived a World War
(1939-45); three Arab-Israeli wars (1948, 1967, 1973); the rise of Jamal Abd
al-Nasser (with its attendant frenzy of military coups elsewhere in the region);
two civil wars (1958, 1975-90) and subsequent occupations by both Israel and
Syria; three further rounds of fighting with Israel (1993, 1996, 2006); and now
a civil war in neighboring Syria; and have done so essentially unscathed and
unchanged in any fundamental way. Maneuvers like the coming one on the electoral
law should serve to remind that, for the time being, the big boys are still
firmly in the saddle.
Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on May 20-21/16
White House Put on Lockdown after
Police Report Shooting Nearby
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 20/16/The White House was on lockdown Friday
after police reported a shooting near the seat of U.S. presidential power, amid
reports that the assailant brandished a weapon at Secret Service agents. CNN
said the suspect approached a Secret Service checkpoint, where he drew a weapon.
Officers shot the suspect, who was in custody. President Barack Obama was not on
the premises -- the White House said earlier he had gone to play golf at Andrews
Air Force Base. But CNN reported that Vice President Joe Biden was at the White
House and taken to a secure location during the incident.
Syria regime strikes kill 21
civilians
AFP, Beirut Friday, 20 May 2016/At least 21 civilians, including seven children,
were killed on Thursday in regime air strikes that targeted several towns in
central Syria, a monitoring group said. Fourteen civilians – four of them
children – were killed when a barrage of barrel bombs hit the town of Al-Houla
and neighboring villages, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights.Barrel bombs are indiscriminate weapons typically dropped from
helicopters. Their use in Syria’s war has come under fierce criticism by rights
groups but the regime denies using them. Seven civilians, three of them
children, were also killed on Thursday in government air strikes on the besieged
town of Rastan, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said. Rastan is one of the
last rebel strongholds in the central province of Homs, and the town has
suffered a devastating government siege since 2012 as well as deadly regime
attacks in recent weeks. On Wednesday, 13 member of the same family, including
eight children, were killed there in regime bombardment. The Observatory relies
on a network of sources inside Syria to gather its information on the
five-year-old conflict, which has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced
millions.
It says it determines whether strikes were carried out by Syrian, Russian or
US-led coalition aircraft based on the location of the raids, flight patterns
and the types of planes and munitions involved. Watch: 92 bodies recovered after
Houla carnage.
Coalition Flyers Urge Residents to
Quit IS Syria Bastion
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 20/16/The U.S.-led coalition fighting the
Islamic State group has dropped flyers on Syria's Raqa urging residents for the
first time to leave the jihadist stronghold, an activist and a monitor said
Friday. "It's not the first time that coalition airplanes have dropped flyers on
Raqa but it's the first time that they've addressed residents and asked them to
leave," a founding member of the citizen journalist group Raqa is Being
Slaughtered Silently (RBSS) said. Flyers usually address IS fighters in the
city, telling them "Your time is coming, your end is coming", Abu Mohammad said.
On its Facebook and Twitter accounts, RBSS shared an image of what they said was
the flyer dropped on the jihadists' de facto capital in Syria. "The time you
have been waiting for has come, the time has come to leave Raqa," reads the top
of the comic book style water-colored sketch. It shows residents -- three men
wearing backpacks, a veiled woman and a child -- fleeing a grey battered city
into an idyllic green countryside, running past dead soldiers and IS fighters
and a sign marked: "IS, Raqa province, checkpoint". Abu Mohammad said that IS
fighters in Raqa were increasingly using residents as human shields against
coalition air strikes. "Their positions used to be clear but since the beginning
of the air campaign against them, they've started to resort to hiding among
civilians," he said. At least 408 civilians have died in coalition air strikes
in Syria since they began in 2014, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights. "It's the first time residents have been advised to leave the city,"
Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said. But "these flyers are just a part of
the propaganda campaign against IS," he added. Kurdish forces, which control a
swathe of territory north of Raqa, are regarded by Washington as the most
effective fighting force against IS in Syria and have received U.S. military
support. "There has been information circulating about the Kurds preparing a
campaign against IS in Raqa with the support of the international coalition,"
Abdel Rahman said. But "that's not likely now because (retaking) Raqa will
require planning a massive battle, and huge preparation of fighters and popular
support," he said. "If the extremist group had feared a battle against it in
Raqa, it wouldn't have sent its best fighters to take part in fighting in the
north of Aleppo province."IS and its jihadist rival Al-Qaida are not party to a
February ceasefire between government forces and other rebel groups. Air strikes
against them have continued, not only by the coalition but also by the Syrian
government and its ally Russia.
Coalition flyers urge residents to
quit ISIS Syria bastion
AFP, Beirut Friday, 20 May 2016/The US-led coalition fighting the ISIS group has
dropped flyers on Syria's Raqqa urging residents for the first time to leave the
jihadist stronghold, an activist and a monitor said Friday. "It's not the first
time that coalition airplanes have dropped flyers on Raqqa but it's the first
time that they've addressed residents and asked them to leave," a founding
member of the citizen journalist group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS)
said. Flyers usually address ISIS fighters in the city, telling them "Your time
is coming, your end is coming", Abu Mohammad said. On its Facebook and Twitter
accounts, RBSS shared an image of what they said was the flyer dropped on the
militants' de facto capital in Syria. "The time you have been waiting for has
come, the time has come to leave Raqqa," reads the top of the comic book style
water-colored sketch. It shows residents -- three men wearing backpacks, a
veiled woman and a child -- fleeing a grey battered city into an idyllic green
countryside, running past dead soldiers and ISIS fighters and a sign marked:
"IS, Raqqa province, checkpoint".Abu Mohammad said that ISIS fighters in Raqqa
were increasingly using residents as human shields against coalition air
strikes. "Their positions used to be clear but since the beginning of the air
campaign against them, they've started to resort to hiding among civilians," he
said. At least 408 civilians have died in coalition air strikes in Syria since
they began in 2014, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "It's
the first time residents have been advised to leave the city," Observatory chief
Rami Abdel Rahman said. But "these flyers are just a part of the propaganda
campaign against IS," he added. Kurdish forces, which control a swathe of
territory north of Raqqa, are regarded by Washington as the most effective
fighting force against ISIS in Syria and have received US military support.
"There has been information circulating about the Kurds preparing a campaign
against IS in Raqqa with the support of the international coalition," Abdel
Rahman said. But "that's not likely now because (retaking) Raqqa will require
planning a massive battle, and huge preparation of fighters and popular
support," he said. "If the extremist group had feared a battle against it in
Raqqa, it wouldn't have sent its best fighters to take part in fighting in the
north of Aleppo province."ISIS and its militant rival Al-Qaeda are not party to
a February ceasefire between government forces and other rebel groups. Air
strikes against them have continued, not only by the coalition but also by the
Syrian government and its ally Russia.
NATO may take on new air
surveillance role in ISIS fight
AFP, Brussels Friday, 20 May 2016/NATO's secretary general said Thursday that
the alliance could expand its support for the US-led fight against ISIS in Iraq
and Syria with the deployment of sophisticated surveillance aircraft. Jens
Stoltenberg told a press conference at NATO's Brussels headquarters that the
alliance's AWACS monitoring aircraft could be flown over "NATO territory and
international airspace" to help the fight against the jihadist group. AWACS are
aircraft with powerful radars that allow them to monitor airspace for hundreds
of kilometres around. They can also be converted into command posts for bombing
raids and other air operations. In February the alliance agreed "in principle"
to a US request to deploy its AWACS air surveillance aircraft to help in the
fight against ISIS. The agreement stated that NATO planes would not be directly
involved in monitoring extremists, but would instead fill in for US and allied
aircraft that would be re-tasked to gather intelligence over ISIS
hotspots.Several European NATO members have been wary of becoming too involved
in the bloody fight against ISIS. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter
Steinmeier said Thursday that "explicit and formal involvement of NATO in the
fight against ISIS is certainly not the answer". NATO decided not to act on a US
request to fully join the anti-ISIS alliance, instead pledging to provide
non-frontline support.
NATO to join struggle against ISIS
"On Iraq, we discussed the request by Prime Minister (Haider) Al-Abadi to expand
our training and capacity-building into Iraq itself," said Stoltenberg. "We
agreed to send an assessment team to Iraq as soon as possible to explore the
possibility of NATO training inside Iraq, and how to ensure that any such
efforts would be complementary to what the global coalition is doing."NATO is
already involved in training Iraqi officers in Jordan.
Egyptian army ‘finds crashed
EgyptAir debris’
AFP and Reuters Friday, 20 May 2016/Egyptian authorities found luggage, a seat
and a body part during the search for an EgyptAir jet which plunged into the
Mediterranean, Greece's defense minister said on Friday. "A short while ago we
were briefed by the Egyptian authorities ... on the discovery of a body part, a
seat and baggage just south of where the aircraft signal was lost," Defence
Minister Panos Kammenos told reporters in Athens. Egyptian military said on
Friday it had found parts of debris from the missing EgyptAir plane 290
kilometers north of the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria. The navy has
been also sweeping the area looking for the plane's black box, the military said
in a statement. The news comes after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
demanded authorities “intensify the search” for the wreckage, his office said.
“The president has issued instructions to all concerned state bodies, including
the ministry of civil aviation... naval and air forces to intensify the search
for the Egyptian plane and to take all necessary measures to find the plane
debris,” said the statement. EgyptAir Flight 804, an Airbus A320 with 56
passengers and 10 crew members, went down about halfway between the Greek island
of Crete and Egypt’s coastline, or around 175 miles (282 kilometers) offshore,
after takeoff from Charles de Gaulle Airport. It was earlier reported that there
were possible debris from the plane found near Karpathos island. This was later
retracted. EgyptAir Vice Chairman Ahmed Adel said the debris found in the
Mediterranean Sea was not from Flight 804, CNN reported on Thursday. Greek
rescue workers found lifevests and bits of plastic floating in the Mediterranean
after an EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo
disappeared from radar. “We stand corrected on finding the wreckage because what
we identified is not a part of our plane. So the search and rescue is still
going on,” Adel said.
French investigators arrive
Investigators from France's air accident authority and Airbus have arrived in
Egypt to help probe the mysterious crash of an EgyptAir plane in the
Mediterranean, the French embassy said Friday. Three BEA civil aviation experts
and an Airbus technical adviser arrived in Cairo overnight, while search and
rescue teams hunted for signs of wreckage, embassy spokeswoman Ines Ben Kraiem
told AFP.
Turkey Approves Controversial Law
Scrapping Immunity for MPs
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 20/16/Turkey's parliament on Friday adopted a
highly controversial bill that would lift immunity for dozens of pro-Kurdish and
other MPs and could see them evicted from parliament, sparking fresh domestic
and international concern. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will raise concerns
over the legislation during a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan next
week, his spokesman said. The EU is increasing pressure on Ankara to narrow its
definition of terror to stop prosecuting academics and journalists for
publishing "terror propaganda."The bill was backed by 376 MPs in the 550-seat
legislature, parliament speaker Ismail Kahraman said, meaning it will become law
directly without being put to a referendum. Only 140 voted against the
measure.Under current law, Turkish lawmakers have the right to full immunity
from prosecution. The bill -- which still needs Erdogan's approval before
becoming law -- would lift the immunity of 138 deputies from all parties who
face potential prosecution. The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) says
the measure is aimed at expelling its members from parliament.
'Sword of Damocles'
The move could see dozens of HDP deputies facing criminal prosecution and losing
parliamentary seats on accusations of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers'
Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency in the southeast. Erdogan
has repeatedly made clear that Turkish authorities see "no difference" between
individuals carrying weapons or in indulging in "terrorist" propaganda. Aykan
Erdemir, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said the
law would be a "sword of Damocles" hanging over the heads of opposition
deputies, particularly pro-Kurdish MPs. "This is a historic step toward the
dismantling of parliamentary democracy in Turkey. Turkey has taken another big
step toward authoritarianism and one-man rule."The HDP, the third largest party
group in parliament, has said the bill could lead to the prosecution of 50 HDP
deputies out of its total contingent of 59.
Should a number of HDP deputies leave parliament, it would ease the way for
Erdogan to realize his dream of changing the constitution to create a
presidential system and further beef up his powers. Erdogan's government sees
the HDP as political front for the PKK considered a terrorist group by Ankara
and its Western allies. Following the collapse of a two-year ceasefire in summer
2015, Turkey has been waging an intensive offensive against its militants and
the renewed conflict has claimed hundreds of lives.Erdogan on Friday lauded the
"historic" vote in parliament and said: "My people do not want to see guilty
lawmakers in this parliament especially the supporters of the separatist
terrorist organization."HDP MP Filiz Kerestecioglu tweeted: "You're saying yes
to a coup attempt. That's how history will remember you. So be it."
'Concerns over democracy'
The legislation sparked concerns over the state of democracy in Turkey, with
Merkel's spokesman saying she would raise concerns during a meeting with Erdogan
next week. "For the domestic stability of every democracy, it is important for
every relevant group in society to be also represented in parliament," Steffen
Seibert said. "The situation will certainly be raised by the chancellor on the
sidelines of the humanitarian summit with Turkey's president," he added,
referring to the two-day gathering in Istanbul. Merkel, who spearheaded efforts
to conclude a migrant deal with Ankara, has become a target of criticism for
compromising on rights abuses in Turkey in return for its cooperation on curbing
Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War II. EU interior ministers
meanwhile on Friday adopted a so-called emergency brake that would allow the
bloc to swiftly halt visa-free access to Europe for Turks and other
nationalities if key conditions were violated. Visa-free travel to the EU is a
key demand by Ankara in exchange for taking back migrants who land in Greece
under the migrant deal and Erdogan has ruled out any change to Turkey's
counter-terror laws while its army is battling PKK militants. The Turkish
parliament's session opened with a group of opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP) lawmakers walking out in protest against parliament speaker Kahraman, who
stirred controversy in April when he proposed a religious constitution. Before
leaving the parliament floor ahead of the secret ballot, MPs chanted: "Turkey is
secular and will remain so." The bill sparked violent scuffles in parliament
this month with frustrated lawmakers exchanging fisticuffs and kicks. And it
received initial support in a secret ballot on Tuesday.
Suspected ISIS suicide
explosion during Turkish police raid
AFP, Istanbul Friday, 20 May 2016/A suspected ISIS militant carried out a
suicide bombing during a Turkish police operation at a house near the Syrian
border on Thursday, local media reported. “A terrorist found in a Daesh (ISIS)
hideout activated his bomb belt,” when police arrived, Dogan reported.
Several ambulances were rushed to the scene but the state-run Anatolia news
agency said no police officers were hurt in the incident. The suicide bomber was
killed and another person was arrested in the house in Gaziantep, southern
Turkey, close to border with Syria. Turkey is on maximum alert after being hit
this year by a series of deadly attacks attributed to ISIS militants or Kurdish
separatists. Security was particularly high on Thursday, a national holiday
commemorating the 1919 start of Turkey’s war of independence.
A car bomb attack on May 1 in Gaziantep killed three police officers. No one
claimed responsibility for that attack which was attributed to an ISIS-linked
terror group. Turkey, a member of NATO and the US-led anti-terror coalition,
appears to have increased its operations against ISIS in northern Syria, where
militants control areas near the joint border.
ISIS militant killed as detonates bomb during Turkish police raid
Reuters, Istanbul Thursday, 19 May 2016/An ISIS militant was killed after
detonating explosives strapped to their body when Turkish police raided a
militant cell in a house in the southeastern city of Gaziantep on Thursday, the
Dogan news agency reported. Turkish police on Monday issued a nationwide warning
about possible ISIS attacks on Thursday, a national holiday, after the army
stepped up attacks on the militants in Syria.Gaziantep Governor Ali Yerlikaya
told state-run Anadolu Agency that one militant was captured alive in the
evening raid by counter-terror police. Nobody else was hurt in the operation,
which was continuing. It was not clear if the dead militant was male or female.
Both ISIS and Kurdish militants have staged bomb attacks in Turkey in recent
months, fueling concern about the spillover of conflict from its southern
neighbor. Turkish military sources say Turkish and U.S.-led coalition forces
have killed dozens of ISIS fighters in shelling and air strikes in northern
Syria in recent weeks after months of rocket fire from ISIS-controlled territory
targeted a Turkish border town, killing 21 people.
Citing Netanyahu rift, Israeli
defense minister quits
Reuters, Jerusalem Friday, 20 May 2016/Israel's defense minister announced his
resignation on Friday, citing poor faith in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
after Netanyahu proposed replacing him as part of a move to expand the coalition
government."I informed the PM that after his conduct and recent developments,
and given the lack of faith in him, I am resigning from the government and
parliament and taking a break from political life," Defense Minister Moshe
Yaalon said on Twitter.
Arabs demand that UN remove a
panel from Israeli exhibit
The Associated Press, United Nations Friday, 20 May 2016/Arab and Islamic
nations are demanding that the United Nations remove a panel from an Israeli
exhibition that calls Jerusalem "the spiritual and physical capital of the
Jewish people."A letter from the Palestinian UN mission to Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon and General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft circulated Thursday
evening expressed "vehement rejection" at the description, echoing protests by
Arab nations at the UN and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. The
letter said any references "which purport to assert Israeli sovereignty on this
land ... are legally, politically and morally incorrect and
unacceptable."Palestinian Charge d'Affaires Feda Abdelhady-Nasser said the
"misleading and inappropriate depictions of Jerusalem ... negate the Palestinian
existence in the city as well as its historical Arab, Muslim and Christian
identity and heritage over the centuries."She said the UN Security Council and
General Assembly "have clearly rejected Israel's illegal annexation of east
Jerusalem" and called on Ban and Lykketoft to take "the necessary measures for
the removal of the ... panel."
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Israeli mission followed the rules for
mounting an exhibition. While the UN tries to balance the wishes of the country
wishing to exhibit without offending another country, he said, it "is not an
exact science and ... is not always easy." The exhibition, in a corridor near a
popular cafe in the UN basement, includes panels on Israel's Arabs, its
technology innovations and other aspects of Israeli life.
Drought in 80 percent of Iran
Friday, 20 May 2016/NCRI – More than four fifth of Iran is facing drought
despite heavy rainfall in some areas of the country, according to the regime’s
officials and state media. Shahrokh Fateh, head of the National Drought Warning
and Monitoring Center at the Iran Meteorological Organization (IRIMO), told the
state-run ISNA news agency on May 6 that the state of underground water will not
improve with short term rainfalls. “Our country is suffering from accumulated
drought, and this is a long-term problem that has not improved despite the
recent heavy rainfall,” he said. Acknowledging the drought crisis of past years,
he added: “In the long-term drought of the country, we have an accumulated great
debt to nature which should be erased with time. According to the 7-year
observation of drought, in addition to 80% of the country, even in sections
where we had heavy rainfalls recently, we still face accumulated drought.” The
Tabnak website, affiliated with a former commander of the regime’s Revolutionary
Guards, reported on April 4, 2015: “Concurrent with the diminishing levels of
water reservoirs in the dams, we also hear about the drying up of lakes and
ponds which had endured for centuries while we see our lives engulfed in dust.
Among the sources of this dust is the alluvium that had accumulated in the
basins of these lakes and as they dry up the wind picks them up and brings upon
us this plague.”The Iranian regime’s officials have admitted in the past year
that the country is also facing water shortages. Last September, Mrs. Maryam
Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, described the catastrophic
water shortage in Iran a consequence of the Iranian regime’s antinationalistic
policies and unbridled corruption by the regime’s leaders and the Revolutionary
Guards (IRGC) in wasting the country’s assets on nuclear projects and export of
terrorism and fundamentalism. She emphasized that the first step in saving the
country from this crisis is to topple the religious fascism and establish
democracy. To resolve this crisis, not only all economic and industrial
resources have to be used, but antinationalistic nuclear projects and export of
terrorism and fundamentalism have to be done away with and their colossal
expenses should be allocated to restoring and revitalizing the water resources.
However, as long as the mullahs’ regime is in power, it will continue with its
destructive policies that spread and exacerbate the water shortage catastrophe.
Iranian Resistance calls for
the immediate release of ailing political prisoner Alireza Golipour
Friday, 20 May 2016/Regime’s Judiciary has condemned Mr. Golipour to 39 years in
prison. The Iranian regime’s judiciary has condemned Mr. Alireza Golipour, a
30-year-old political prisoner, to 39 years in prison for insulting the regime’s
supreme leader, supporting the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK),
and bogus charges of espionage. He was a communications student and employee of
the Ministry of Communications who was arrested during the course of the 2009
uprising. He was arrested again in October 2012. Following months of torture and
solitary confinement, the regime transferred him to the ordinary prisoners’ ward
of Evin Prison where he has been harassed by the regime’s criminal gangs.
Despite suffering from a cancer tumor, acute lung infection, cardiac problems
and severe bleeding in the nose, and despite physicians testifying of his
“inability to tolerate the punishment,” Mr. Golipour is deprived of necessary
medical care and is in dire physical condition. Tormenting political prisoners
to death is a well-known method employed by this regime.The Iranian Resistance
calls on international human rights defenders, particularly the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel
and inhumane punishments, the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Iran to condemn this cruel verdict and to take
immediate measures for Mr. Golipour’s unconditional release. Secretariat of the
National Council of Resistance of Iran/May 19, 2016
IRAN: Street vendors harassed
in Ahwaz
Friday, 20 May 2016/NCRI - According to reports from inside Iran, in the past
two weeks street vendors in Ahwaz, southwestern Iran, have been subject to
harassment by municipal agents. On May 16, municipal agents surrounded the
street vendors market in Naderi Street in Ahwaz and prevented people from
entering the market, thus preventing the vendors’ from working. This action is
thought to be a reprisal against vendors who recently protested their work
conditions. On May 10, a number of the street vendors of Naderi Street staged a
gathering to protest the unsuitable location of their businesses. Similarly, on
May 3 they gathered in front of the Governor’s Building and demanded a place be
allocated to them for their work. The vendors carried placards which read
“Vendors have no bread, have right to life” and “A piece of justly-earned bread
is our right” and demanded a more suitable place for their work.
On May 6, one of these vendors threw himself under a train and lost his life in
protest against the confiscation of his property by municipal agents. The
victim, Mehdi Afravi, had no other means of livelihood for his family, and the
municipal agents had deprived him of that by confiscating his goods. The Tasnim
News Agency, affiliated to the regime’s Revolutionary Guards Quds Force, on May
15 reported Jalal Kazemi, a member of the regime’s Parliament, as saying “We
have to acknowledge that the domestic situation, especially in the realm of
livelihood and economy, is not befitting of the Islamic Iran in the region and
the world. The economic growth rate is very low if not negative and the
unemployment of the young, particularly the educated, is like a time bomb
ticking towards zero.”Nasser Seraj, head of the regime’s Department of
Inspections, in an interview with the regime’s official IRNA news agency,
announced on November 25, 2015: “Someone received oil from Iran’s Ministry of
Petroleum and we’re to pay the government for it, but he has taken around $30
million and run away to Canada.”
Senior Saudi Cleric in
Apparent Swipe at Iran
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 20/16/A senior Saudi religious leader on
Friday warned against those who would "wreak havoc" under the guise of
pilgrimage, an apparent swipe at the kingdom's rival Iran. The comments by
Sheikh Saleh bin Abdullah bin Hameed at the Grand Mosque in Mecca coincide with
a dispute between Shiite Iran and its Sunni regional rival Saudi Arabia over
this year's hajj. "When Muslims travel to this country as pilgrims they
represent their unity and forget their differences. They recognize that the holy
lands are not fields to address their differences and settle scores," Hameed
said during his weekly sermon at Islam's holiest site. In comments carried by
the official Saudi Press Agency, he accused "aggressors" of trying to exploit
the pilgrimage to divert attention "from the suffering" in their own country.
"They want to take advantage of the worship season and the gathering of Muslims
and the holy sites for political gain, to wreak havoc and cause chaos, and that
leads to divisions and sowing discord," said the imam, whose website lists him
as an adviser to the Saudi Royal Court. On May 12 Iran said its nationals will
miss the annual hajj in September this year and accused Saudi Arabia of
"sabotage". The hajj dispute is the latest strain between the two countries
which have had no diplomatic relations since January. Riyadh cut ties with
Tehran after demonstrators burned its embassy and a consulate following the
Saudi execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. In the first dialogue since ties
were severed, a delegation from Tehran held four days of talks in Saudi Arabia
last month aimed at reaching a deal for Iranians to join the pilgrimage. But
talks became deadlocked.
Among the points of contention, the Iranians demanded to be able to hold their
own rituals, including protests chanting "Death to America, death to Israel,"
according to a statement from the Saudi hajj ministry carried by Al-Riyadh
newspaper. Saudi Arabia seeks to keep political slogans out of the pilgrimage.
"Chanting slogans and gathering and rallying are not religious and not what God
or the Prophet (Mohammed) ordered," Hameed said. "And so it is the kingdom's
policy not to allow anyone or any entity to tamper with the security of the holy
sites or the security of the pilgrims," he said. Another contentious issue has
been security, after a stampede at last year's hajj killed about 2,300 foreign
pilgrims including 464 Iranians. Iran and Saudi Arabia are at odds over a raft
of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they
support opposing sides. The annual hajj and the lesser pilgrimage known as umra
draw millions of faithful from around the world each year to Saudi Arabia, the
birthplace of Islam.
Protesters Break into Baghdad Green
Zone, Head to PM Office
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 20/16/Supporters of Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr
on Friday broke into Baghdad's fortified Green Zone and headed towards the
office of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, an AFP photographer said. Thousands of
demonstrators demanding reforms initially met tough resistance from the security
forces but were eventually able to break into the restricted area in the heart
of the Iraqi capital.
Israel Defense Minister Quits
Accusing Govt. of Extremism
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/May 20/16/Israel's defense minister resigned
Friday, saying extremists had taken over the country, after he clashed with
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the army's handling of a wave of
Palestinian violence. Moshe Yaalon said he no longer had any trust in Netanyahu
after the hawkish premier offered his post to a hardliner loathed by the
Palestinians, in a bid to expand the governing coalition's majority. The
surprise move by the respected former armed forces chief follows a series of
disputes over the military's values and role in society between ministers in
Netanyahu's government and top generals backed by Yaalon. "I told the prime
minister this morning that due to his conduct in recent developments, and in
light of my lack of trust in him, I am resigning from the government and Knesset
(parliament) and taking a break from political life," Yaalon said on Twitter.
Netanyahu said that he had wanted Yaalon to remain in government and take the
foreign affairs portfolio but he "insisted" on retaining the defense post. "I
think that he should have continued to be a full partner in the governance of
the state, in the post of foreign minister," Netanyahu said on Twitter. "The
change in distribution of portfolios was not a result of a crisis of trust
between us. It was a result of the need to broaden the government in order to
bring stability to the state of Israel in the face of the great challenges ahead
of us," he added. Yaalon's resignation came two days after former foreign
minister Avigdor Lieberman said he could bring his far-right Yisrael Beitenu
party into Netanyahu's governing coalition if a number of conditions were met,
including his being named defense minister. Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party
pressed talks with Yisrael Beitenu on Friday on the terms of a deal to boost the
coalition's wafer-thin majority in parliament. Yaalon's resignation does not
take effect for two days and, hours after it was announced, he warned in a
broadcast address of a rising tide of extremism in the ruling Likud party and
the country as a whole. "Extremist and dangerous elements have taken over Israel
and the Likud and are threatening (society)," he said in Hebrew. He urged the
"sane majority" of Likud voters as well as the rest of the nation "to realize
the severe implications of the extremist takeover of the center, and fight this
phenomenon."Yaalon said he had recently "found himself in serious dispute over
professional and moral issues with the prime minister, a number of ministers and
lawmakers."Yaalon had been an outspoken defender of the army's handling of an
upsurge of Palestinian violence since last October in the face of criticism from
hardline ministers and lawmakers.He had also insisted on senior officers' right
to "speak their mind" after deputy armed forces chief Major General Yair Golan
enraged Netanyahu by comparing contemporary Israeli society to Nazi Germany.
Sane and balanced voice
Center-left opposition lawmaker Merav Michaeli said Yaalon's departure deprived
the country of a voice of moderation. "We lost a sane and balanced voice in the
dangerous and deranged right-wing government Netanyahu is leading," she said.
President Reuven Rivlin, known for having a difficult relationship with
Netanyahu, said he was "greatly saddened" by Yaalon's resignation, which he
called "understandable, and even appropriate" under the political circumstances.
Ironically, Yaalon's resignation will move the Likud parliamentary party further
to the right as his seat in parliament will be taken by religious hardliner
Yehuda Glick, who is next on the party list. The 50-year-old U.S.-born rabbi is
an outspoken campaigner for a change to rules governing Jerusalem's most
sensitive site, the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, to allow Jews to pray as well as
visit. Palestinian fears that the government might be preparing such a change
were one of the triggers for the wave of violence that erupted last year. Glick
survived a 2014 assassination attempt by a Palestinian, and recently renewed his
visits to the mosque compound, revered by Jews as the Temple Mount. The expected
return of Lieberman, who served as foreign minister under Netanyahu from 2009 to
2012 and again from 2013 to 2015, is likely to raise international concern about
his government's political direction -- especially on the conflict with the
Palestinians. As defense minister, Lieberman, who lives in a Jewish settlement
in the occupied West Bank, would oversee military operations in the Palestinian
territories and have a major say in policy towards the settlements.The
international community considers the settlements illegal and regards their
persistent expansion by successive Netanyahu governments as one of the biggest
obstacles to peace.
Netanyahu-Liberman government shows
signs of fascism,' Ehud Barak says
J.Post/May 20/16/Former prime minister Ehud Barak said on Friday the current
governing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is exhibiting
signs of fascism." In an interview with Channel 10, Barak offered withering
criticism of Netanyahu's decision to appoint Avigdor Liberman as defense
minister in place of Moshe Ya'alon in a move to expand his coalition and
solidify his hold on power. Ya'alon resigned from the government on Friday, even
as Netanyahu tried to compensate him by offering him the job of foreign
minister. Ya'alon notified Netanyahu of his resignation from the government on
Friday morning. In a statement he posted on his social media accounts, Ya'alon
said that he took the decision to leave "following the recent conduct" of
Netanyahu, and "in light of my lack of faith in him."
"I am resigning from the government and Knesset, and am taking a time out from
political life," Ya'alon said. Prior to Ya'alon's announcement on Friday
morning, it had been believed that Netanyahu would offer him the job of foreign
minster as compensation. Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick is the next person
on the Likud list and will become an MK in place of Ya'alon. Netanyahu and
Ya’alon had sparred over the defense minister’s support for embattled IDF Deputy
Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan and Netanyahu’s support for a soldier who
opened fire on an already “neutralized” Palestinian in Hebron on March 24. Last
week Netanyahu, summoned Ya’alon after he said IDF commanders should continue to
speak their minds on issues of morality and ethics, in an apparent reference to
the controversy that followed Golan's Holocaust Remembrance Day comments.
In his impassioned remarks to Channel 10, Barak implied that Liberman did not
have the temperament to serve as defense minister. "Appointing unfit defense
ministers have already led to bad results," Barak said, an apparent reference to
Amir Peretz, the union leader who assumed the post of defense minister in Ehud
Olmert's government after capturing the chairmanship of the Labor Party. "We
will apparently have to pay the price for this appointment," the former premier
said. "I pray that the price won't be too hefty."Barak seemed to be echoing
Ya'alon in his remarks, saying: "Extremist elements have taken over the State of
Israel." "The outgoing defense minister, Moshe Ya'alon, was the victim of a
purge," Barak said. "In the initial months, Liberman will give off the
impression that he is moderate. Sooner or later, however, we will see the price
we have to pay." Barak said that he has encountered on his travels around the
world many "world leaders" and "leading shapers of public opinion" who "do not
believe the Israeli government [and its stated desire for peace]."Liberman's
office issued a response to Barak, saying: "The legacy left behind by Ehud Barak
following his term as prime minister and defense minister include a country on
fire, smoldering ruins, failed military operations, and a number of shady and
suspicious arms and weapons deals."
Israeli officials pledge support of
Druze community
Hillel Maeir/TPS/Ynetnews/05.20.16/As Druze celebrate holiday of Ziyarat al-Nabi
Shu'ayb at Jethro's tomb outside of Tiberias, Minister Aryeh Deri and President
Reuven Rivlin pledge funds to assist the Israeli religious minority. Israeli
officials have pledged renewed support of the minority Druze population as
Minister Aryeh Deri visited the Druze leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif at the Nabi
Shu’eyb shrine - also known as Jethro’s tomb - on Thursday . “I told the leaders
of the Druze community that we will offer all the tools necessary to help the
community succeed and improve its quality of life,” said Deri, Minister of the
Development of the Negev, Galilee and Periphery and chairman of the
ultra-Orthodox Shas party, in a tweet. Tarif is the spiritual leader of the
Israeli Druze community. Jethro's tomb in Kfar Zeitim near Tiberias is
religiously significant to the Druze community. A key figure in Druze culture,
Jethro – known to the Druze as Shu’eyb – is known to Jews as Moses’
father-in-law.On April 25, the Druze celebrated the holiday of Ziyarat al-Nabi
Shu’ayb by making pilgrimages to Jethro’s tomb. President Reuven Rivlin attended
the ceremony and addressed community members, discussing a recent government
grant of NIS 2 billion over five years to develop the Druze and Circassian
communities in Israel. “This is an unprecedented project, and I as president
will do everything I can to encourage the government to do its part so equality
will not only be spoken about, but practiced,” Rivlin said. “We talk a lot about
the ‘blood pact' between the Druze community and the rest of Israeli society,"
Rivlin said. “I always emphasize that this alliance is ‘a covenant of life’,
which has been built upon for many years, through the endless devotion of (Durze
and Circassian) community members and their concern for Israel’s safety and
well-being.”According to a report released by Israel’s Central Bureau of
Statistics in April on the occasion of the Nabi Shu’ayb holiday, there are
138,000 Druze in Israel today, making up 1.6% of the population. At the time of
Israel’s founding, the Druze made up 1.4% of the population with just 14,000
people. Deri visited the Druze town of Isfiya for Israel’s Memorial Day last
week, laying a wreath in memory of the fallen Druze IDF soldiers who “symbolize
the brave covenant and shared destiny of the Druze and the State of Israel,”
Deri said.This story has been reprinted with permission from TPS
Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources
published on May 20-21/16
Moshe Ya'alon - proud soldier, great
defense minister, lousy politician
Noam Amir/Maariv Hashavua/J.Post/May
20/16
The eyes of the soon-to-be-former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon told the whole
story. It was as if the light had been switched off. The eyes told a story of
hurt. They were a window to the months-long ordeal that had befallen him.
Contrary to the widespread sentiment shared by media commentators, Ya'alon
wasn't blindsided by the move. What did take him by surprise was the manner in
which it was executed. "If only the prime minister had called him in to his
office and explained to him the political challenges that he faced and had asked
him to sacrifice his post for the sake of political survival, it would have
ended differently," a Ya'alon associate said. The minister was cognizant of the
headlines in the press and the coalition talks that Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu was engaged in with Isaac Herzog. These negotiations were ongoing for
weeks. He also knew that behind the scenes there were those who had expressed
the desire to see Avigdor Liberman enter the government instead of Herzog.
Ya'alon also heard the calls from within his own party and other parties in the
coalition wishing for his ouster from the defense minister's job. Some of these
calls were overt, while others were made directly to the prime minister in
private. He understood that his position was tenuous even as far back as after
the previous elections last year. That was when Bayit Yehudi head Naftali
Bennett cast a ravenous gaze at Ya'alon's seat. Ya'alon even demanded
clarifications from the premier that his job was safe. That is why this week's
events did not take him by surprise.
Ya'alon saw how the pressure was building up on Netanyahu in recent weeks. That
is why he chose to send his boss a message this past Independence Day, when he
hosted the Israeli military high command at the Defense Ministry compound in Tel
Aviv. He took advantage of the opportunity to implore the officers to speak
their minds without fear of criticism.
This was a clear, unequivocal message to the senior IDF leadership, but it was
also intended for the ears of the prime minister. It was as if to say, "I'm
here, and I'm not to be taken for granted." Netanyahu elected to exploit this
opportunity in order to castigate his defense minister, although the end result
was a laconic joint statement. "This story is behind us," the two men announced.
If only that were so. This story was right in front of them, sitting there on
the table. Ya'alon was an excellent defense minister. This is beyond dispute.
When it came to job performance, he scores a perfect 10. On the political side,
however, he was never at ease. When it comes to politicking, he deserves a
three. He never knew how to walk the tightrope between being the defense
minister of the State of Israel and being a member of the Likud central
committee. When he publicly took a stand against the extremists and fulminators,
they excommunicated him.
The straw that broke the camel's back from Ya'alon's perspective was the
demeaning attitude broadcast by Netanyahu toward the job. Ya'alon stood aside
and watched as the prime minister was hawking the Defense Ministry as if he were
manning a stall in an open air market.
Defense minister is one of the most sensitive jobs in the entire Middle East,
and the most sensitive position in the Israeli government. Watching Netanyahu
barter with it hurt him personally. The treatment he received as a Likud member
– the most loyal Likud member to the premier – was not as hurtful. But the
give-and-take surrounding his job simply broke him.
"There's no chance he'll participate in the ceremonial changing of the guard at
the Defense Ministry," a ministry employee said. "He won't give Liberman the
satisfaction. There also won't be on-the-job training to ensure a smooth
transition. Liberman can forget about that."
Ya'alon faxed his letter of resignation to the Prime Minister's Office on Friday
so that Netanyahu can hand over the reins to Liberman. Ya'alon could have waited
until Sunday morning, but instead chose to dedicate this time to the one place
where he garners respect – the General Staff of the IDF.
One after another, the generals of the IDF will stand and salute the departing
defense minister, a commander who gave them his full backing over the objections
of the Likud central committee. He chose them rather than cheap populism.
Netanyahu's Sudden Coalition Shift: Early Implications
David Makovsky/Washington Institute/May 20/16
The prime minister has made a seemingly bitter tradeoff: although he is gaining
six seats to ensure his political survival, he has saddled himself with a fierce
rival, potentially alienated a loyal, experienced defense minister, and left the
door open to unfavorable international initiatives.
In a stunning turnaround this week, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu
suddenly ended months of quiet talks to bring the Labor Party into his coalition
government. Instead, he ousted Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and replaced him
with longtime political rival Avigdor Liberman, gaining the right-wing Yisrael
Beitenu Party's six seats in the process.
ODD BEDFELLOWS CURB A CENTRIST TURN
Netanyahu's move is likely the product of forces on the left and right edge of
Israeli politics inadvertently making common cause against efforts to bolster
the center. On May 17, his talks with Labor leader Isaac Herzog seemed to be on
the verge of finalization. The next day, however, Netanyahu reversed course.
Apparently, young coalition members Yariv Levin, Zeev Elkin, and Justice
Minister Ayelet Shaked were unhappy with some of the prime minister's policy
pledges to Herzog, such as placing limitations on settlement activities,
reviving Palestinian-related diplomatic moves, and pressing for a regional peace
conference. Yesterday, Herzog enumerated the pledges Netanyahu had made to him,
noting, "I demanded to have all the agreements in writing. The prime minister
refused." Thus far, Netanyahu has neither confirmed nor denied Herzog's account.
Meanwhile, Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi urged all Israeli factions
earlier this week to work together for peace. According to various reports, he
spoke at the encouragement of longtime envoy Tony Blair, who was acting as an
informal back-channel mediator with Jerusalem. Cairo was even apparently willing
to host the proposed regional peace conference. As Herzog noted, "There were
messages that got to me and to Netanyahu from senior regional and international
officials who are saying 'There is a significant regional opportunity to restart
the [peace] process, don't miss that opportunity'...Al-Sisi's remarks were
significant. These things were not coordinated in advance but they fell on
sympathetic ears, as Bibi has been telling the region he wants to move forward
but that he has been politically restricted. For the first time in many years,
an Arab president is saying things so clearly."
At the same time, Herzog excoriated former Labor head Shelly Yachimovich for
trashing every effort to find common ground with Netanyahu and broaden the
government, calling her the "radical left." Indeed, many Labor legislators have
been attacking Herzog lately, accusing him of "crawling" into the government
without even waiting to see what policy modifications he could extract from
Netanyahu. Then, in domino-like fashion, half of Herzog's faction made clear
that they would not go with him if he joined the government, making his unity
bid even less attractive to others.
Taken together, these developments suggest that the prime minister may now be
more beholden to Liberman and Naftali Bennett, head of another key right-wing
faction, Jewish Home. The hard right is unlikely to trust Netanyahu at the
moment given the concessions he was willing to make to Herzog, and he has burned
his bridges with the Labor leader in light of the sudden turnaround.
Netanyahu will also face a much steeper uphill battle on upcoming diplomatic
challenges, such as a planned two-part French peace parley, a new Quartet report
about Israeli settlement activities, and the prospect that the UN Security
Council will seek to impose an Israeli-Palestinian solution toward year's end.
Coincidentally or not, the French proposal was on hold as political developments
played out in Israel, but now a date has been set for June 3. It was just
announced today that Secretary of State John Kerry would attend. Previously, he
had held off committing to any such conference -- if this reticence was his way
of giving space for a Netanyahu-Herzog government to take measures of its own,
the latest move seems to have spurred him to finalize. France has certainly made
Kerry's participation a priority. More broadly, the takeaway message for
diplomats watching Israeli developments unfolding this week is that Netanyahu is
politically incapable of making midcourse coalition adjustments that could
preempt diplomatic challenges.
THE LIBERMAN DIMENSION
This week's shift raises many questions about how Liberman will work with
Netanyahu as defense minister and what impact he might have on Israeli foreign
policy. An immigrant from Moldova, Liberman began his political career as
director-general of the Prime Minister's Office during Netanyahu's first term in
1996. Although he was initially helpful in attracting Russian immigrant support
for Netanyahu, the two had a falling out and Liberman started his own immigrant
party. He has since made no secret of his desire to lead the Israeli right,
becoming a bitter critic of the prime minister. Last year, he shocked the
country when he decided to stay out of the current government, alleging that
Netanyahu was too cozy with ultraorthodox parties that have questioned the
Jewish lineage of some immigrants from the former Soviet Union. He has also
accused the prime minister of radiating "weakness" on terrorism; just two weeks
ago he called on Netanyahu to resign for this reason.
Indeed, Liberman takes glee in issuing very provocative statements. During the
Gaza war of 2014, he was the only cabinet minister to publicly call for full
Israeli reoccupation of that territory. At other times, he has called for Israel
to bomb the Aswan Dam and said that former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak
should "go to hell" if he did not want to visit Israel. As foreign minister from
2009 to 2015, however, he demonstrated greater pragmatism, publicly noting that
Israel has to initiate its own peace ideas or else others will take action of
their own.
Nevertheless, given his statements about Gaza, his appointment as defense
minister will make some wonder whether another war with Hamas is in the offing.
Previously, Netanyahu had named former senior generals as defense minister:
Yitzhak Mordechai in 1996, Ehud Barak in 2009, and Yaalon in 2013. In contrast,
Liberman has never held a senior position in the Israel Defense Forces, and it
is far from clear how he will get along with top IDF brass. Since peace talks
collapsed in 2014, the military leadership has sought to play a stabilizing role
in the Israeli-Palestinian arena, particularly over the past few months -- an
approach seemingly vindicated by a recent decrease in the wave of stabbing
attacks (see "The Israeli Defense Forces Fill the Void"). For his part, Liberman
is publicly identified with calls for a major crackdown in the West Bank. He
also visited the courtroom of IDF soldier Elor Azaria, who is on trial for
manslaughter after shooting a Palestinian stabber in Hebron who was lying
motionless on the ground. Liberman has called for mandatory death sentences on
terrorists so that they cannot be released in prisoner exchanges, which some
Israelis believe would deepen the spiral of retaliation. It is far from clear
that Israel's Supreme Court would approve such a measure.
Interestingly, Liberman may try to use his new post to reach out to Mohammad
Dahlan, a rival of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas who is
currently living in Abu Dhabi. Liberman reportedly has significant contacts with
him; both men are withering critics of Abbas, and Dahlan sees himself as a
potential successor to the eighty-one-year-old leader.
Apart from policy issues, it will be interesting to see if Liberman seeks to
rejoin Netanyahu's Likud Party. He may view the Likud as a better political
launchpad for a succession struggle than his own party, which is based on a
Russian immigration wave that occurred twenty-five years ago.
YAALON'S FUTURE
It is unclear whether Netanyahu will offer to make Yaalon foreign minister and,
if so, whether he would even accept. Netanyahu has yet to explain why he ousted
the general, and the whole situation must grate on Yaalon.
In all likelihood, the move was purely a political maneuver to broaden the
coalition. Liberman had made no secret of his desire to be defense minister as
part of his longer-term plan to become prime minister in the future. At the same
time, Yaalon has offered full-throated backing for IDF statements about the
importance of maintaining the military's Western values -- not just on the
Azaria case, but in terms of enhancing economic opportunities for Palestinians
and speaking out against any Israelis who support discrimination. This suggests
that he was at increasing odds with some of the young guard in the coalition;
Netanyahu likely believed that he could not allow such an impression to take
hold, and his continued silence will be seen as endorsing this narrative.
CONCLUSION
It is possible that Netanyahu genuinely wanted Herzog to join his government but
was unwilling or unable to stand up to those who opposed the move. Whatever the
case, he has now made a difficult tradeoff: although he gained six seats to
ensure his political survival, he brought in a fierce rival who has made no
bones about his low regard for the prime minister and his desire to succeed him.
In the process, he is losing a loyal, experienced, and cooperative defense
minister. Netanyahu also seems to be closing the door on a policy shift that
could have blunted a string of international initiatives that are definitely not
to his liking. Instead, he now has a harder uphill climb at home and abroad, and
it is difficult to see how he has come out ahead.
David Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and director of the Project
on the Middle East Peace Process at The Washington Institute.
Failure of Syria diplomacy in Vienna
Mshari Al Thaydi/Al Arabiya/May 20/16
The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) left the Geneva talks not admitting
their failure, but that is the conclusion of the statements made by foreign
ministers and by the team of UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura. The ISSG
includes the United States, Russia, European countries, Saudi Arabia and even
Iran, as well as three international organizations. The aims of the Vienna talks
were to solidify the ceasefire, deliver humanitarian aid and begin a political
transition. However, the Syrian regime and its allies did not respect any of
these goals, nor did the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Al-Nusra
Front, which are not part of the talks. Humanitarian needs have not been met,
resulting in death by starvation in places such as Madaya and Al-Waar, so the
Vienna talks agreed to aid airdrops. Washington and Moscow disagree over a
political transition, with Russia stubbornly refusing to see Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad as the problem
US and Russia
Washington and Moscow disagree over a political transition, with Russia
stubbornly refusing to see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as the problem.
Philip Gordon, a former National Security Council aide to US President Barack
Obama, criticized US policy in this regard, saying: “Many have consistently
underestimated Russia’s determination to prevent [the Assad] regime from
falling.”There have been many news reports on European frustration over
US-Russian disagreement on Syria. This contradicts US Secretary of State John
Kerry’s repeatedly optimistic statements. Europe believes the Syrian conflict
has caused security, social and political problems in its countries due to the
refugee influx and the rise of far-right parties as a result. This in addition
to ISIS recruitment of Europeans, some of whom are converts to Islam. The Obama
administration has always acted gradually on Syria, and after provocative
hesitation that made matters worse, emboldening Russia and Iran in their support
of Assad. After the Vienna talks ended, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir
told reporters: “We believe we should have moved to a Plan B a long time ago.”
A strong message from London
against the ‘Clash of Civilizations’
Eyad Abu Shakra/Al Arabiya/May 20/16
Last Thursday morning I voted early in the London suburb where I live, before
taking the train to my office in Central London. To be frank, a few weeks before
election day I was not very keen to vote, given how many times I have been
disappointed with politics during the last 15 years. During this period I almost
lost all trust in politicians, especially, when they claim “the high moral
ground” and start lecturing ethical values and human rights. Incidentally, I
never bothered to join a political party – neither in Lebanon nor in the UK
despite my strong political convictions – until 1996, when I joined the British
Labor Party. However, I suspended my party membership in 2003 as the Iraq War
was looming when I realized that the party establishment was unwilling to listen
to any voice critical of its policies and decisions. Those days, like many, I
was not a great fan of Saddam Hussein, but was insistently seeking one
convincing answer to my question(s): “What about the day after? … How will the
post-Saddam Hussein Iraq look like?” At that time it became obvious that the
British Prime Minister Tony Blair had chosen to sheepishly follow President
George W Bush and his neocon backroom operators. He later let down and relieved
his cabinet of two of its best and most principled members: Foreign Secretary
Robin Cook due to disagreements on Iraq, and Northern Ireland Secretary Mo
Mowlam who was never given credit for her courage and efforts in securing peace
in that troubled region. Anyway, after my disappointment with Blair and his
party, I decided to take it easy, observe, follow, and vote tactically. Then,
after Blair left I thought for a while of returning to the fold, but later chose
to wait and see how Labor would re-invent itself. By then I had met Jeremy
Corbyn, the firebrand Leftist, ‘champion’ of the causes of suppressed and
dispossessed – including, of course, the Palestinian cause –, and the
unflinching enemy of imperialism and racism. Corbyn was and continues to be an
honest man; magnanimous, modest, honorable and idealistic… maybe a bit too
idealistic! Furthermore, he was never seriously regarded a leadership project,
let alone prime minister material.
Corbyn’s leadership
Even when the Labor leadership campaign was underway, Corbyn encountered
difficulties in gathering enough nominating votes. Later on when some MPs chose
to put their names as nominators, many of them declared that they won’t be
voting for him, but rather intended to have an open debate that included all
views within the party.Corbyn was and continues to be an honest man;
magnanimous, modest, honorable and idealistic… maybe a bit too idealistic.
However, the moment Corbyn’s nomination became official, Labor MPs lost control
of the election process to the party’s grassroots activists, constituency
parties and trade unions. This assured the Leftist maverick of a stunning
victory to the shock and dismay of the party’s moderates who believe that with
Corbyn at the helm Labor will surely be in political limbo for years to come.
The last time Jeremy Corbyn and I met was a couple of years ago (before his
election as party leader) when he invited me to lunch at the House of Commons.
Our talk over lunch ended when my host blocked any path of meaningful
discussion, by implicitly repeating the claims of some Arab Leftists that Bashar
Al-Assad’s regime was a bastion of steadfastness against (American) imperialism,
and a platform for the struggle of a free Palestine!
Thus, from the refusal of the Blairite ‘cabal’ to listen on Iraq, to reaching a
dead-end with Corbyn on Syria, I simply relinquished any lingering hopes of
re-joining Labor. My decision was soon proven right when the truth began
emerging from across the Atlantic about the real principles and ethical values
of the Barack Obama administration. In November 2004 I wholeheartedly celebrated
the election victory of Obama, a self-proclaimed progressive liberal, after
becoming worried about the destructive internal and external policies of the
Republican’s conservative Right. However, the unfolding tragedy of Syria proved
to me beyond doubt that there was not much difference between Blair and Obama;
and he who was willing to throw Iraq into the ‘unknown’ does not differ from he
who conspires against the Syrian people. The fake and duplicitous ‘ethical
foreign policy’ which Blair trumpeted for years before it was undone by his
subservience to Bush Jr and his ‘neocons’ is now being replayed in Washington
with the non-existent humanity of Obama’s junta’ including Ben Rhodes, Denis
McDonough, Susan Rice and Valerie Jarrett. Given the above I stopped believing
claims of progressive and liberal British and American imposters, and ceased to
go forward attacking windmills “Don Quixote-style”.
Conservative propaganda
This was the reason why I thought there was no need to vote in the local
elections. But the same reason that pushed me to join a political party 20 years
ago pushed me to vote a few days ago. It is the negative propaganda the
Conservative Party has mastered and perfected after decades of experience, and
that is always ready to stoop low pandering to racists and xenophobic bigots
through ruthless and efficient media onslaughts. In 1996, after winning four
consecutive general elections the Conservatives embarked on scaring the voters,
warning them against voting Labor because Labor – as they claimed – “should not
be trusted with the economy” and that they will destroy the economy due to their
‘lack of experience in government’ after being in opposition since 1979. The
Conservatives were also assured of the last resort scare tactic which was the
alleged ‘invasion of immigrants and foreigners’, especially, from the Indian
subcontinent. This time around too, when the campaign managers of the
Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith noticed that he was trailing his
Labor opponent Sadiq Khan, the son of a Pakistani Muslim immigrant, they began
insinuating that Khan “appeared” with extremist Muslims. This tactic infuriated
even Goldsmith’s sister Jemima, the divorcee of the world famous Pakistani
cricketer and politician Imran Khan. This picture hit my memory augmented by the
‘isolationist’ feelings the anti-Europe and anti-immigrants UK Independent Party
succeeded in entangling the Conservatives with; in addition to the poisonous
racist climate created throughout Europe by the heinous Paris and Brussels
attacks, and the memories of the 7/7 attacks in London in 2005 perpetrated by
four assailants, three of whom were Muslims who hailed from the Indian
subcontinent.These facts led me to believe that voting has become a duty, and
Sadiq Khan’s victory has become a civilized message sent by London to the world.
Thankfully, as things turned out, London, the tolerant and venerable great city,
did well. Its message has been loud and clear against “the Clash of
Civilizations”.
Key reasons behind Iran’s extension of power in Yemen
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Al Arabiya/May 20/16
When a conflict erupts in a state, some countries which are not bordered with
the conflict-affected state use political opportunism to direct the war in their
interest. Massoud Jazayiri, deputy head of Iran’s Armed Forces, recently told
Iran’s Tasnim news agency, that Iran is ready to copycat the process it adopted
in Syria and use it in Yemen as well. He added that Iran is prepared to send
“military advisers” in support of the Houthis in Yemen. Several of Iran’s
weapons shipments, which were likely heading to war-torn Yemen, had also been
seized. The statement by the deputy head of Iran’s Armed Forces, referring to
repeating Iran’s role in Yemen, is more of an exaggerated political posturing
than reality. Iran’s role in the war in Yemen is multidimensional. On the
surface, Yemen does not seem to bear geopolitical or strategic significance for
the Iranian leaders. Yemen’s conflict also does not pose a national security
threat to Iran. But, why Iran is determined to have a role in Yemen’s war and
direct it in its favor?
The ideological factor
One dimension of Iran’s involvement in Yemen is ideological. One core pillar of
its foreign policy is anchored in its Islamic revolutionary principles. The key
decision maker in Iran’s foreign policy is the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, who pursues the ideology of his predecessor, Ayatollah Rooh Allah
Khomenei, the founding figure of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khamenei has
shown almost no deviation from Khomeini’s ideals. In addition, Khamenei gives
weight to the information he receives from his close advisors in the Office of
the Supreme Leader (not the President, the foreign minister, or other powerful
clerics) and the hardline senior cadre of Iran’s revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Since Khamenei views himself as the leader of Muslims, he has naturally
positioned himself to view Saudi Arabia as a competitor and rival. One of
Khamenei’s underlying revolutionary values is that he views himself as the
leader of the Islamic world and he views Iran as the vanguard of Muslims. In
fact, his official website refers to him as the “Supreme Leader of Muslims”, not
the Supreme Leader of “Iran” or solely the “Shiites”. As a result, from
Khamenei’s perspective, as a supreme leader of Muslims, using rhetoric,
influencing, and directing the political affairs of every Muslim country,
including Yemen, is his religious and ideological duty. In addition, since
Khamenei views himself as the leader of Muslims, he has naturally positioned
himself to view Saudi Arabia as a competitor and rival. Showing his ideological
influence in Yemen gives him leverage against Riyadh. Other revolutionary ideals
include anti-Americanism. Khamenei regards his rhetoric and projection of Iran’s
increasing role in Yemen’s conflict is a tactic to counter-balance the US role
in the region.
The geopolitical and strategic reasons
Iran considers itself, and desires to be treated, as the paramount power in the
Middle East because of it strategic significance, geographic location, military
capabilities, economic strength, wealth and natural resources (such as holding
the second and fourth largest gas and oil reserves in the world), and size of
its population (second largest most populous nation in the Middle East after
Egypt). Iran’s regional hegemonic ambitions direct the Iranian leaders to pursue
policies which are aimed at countering the power of other regional state actors
(mainly Saudi Arabia), and weakening their strategic, economic and geopolitical
significance in order to tip the regional balance of power in favor of Tehran.
While Yemen does not pose a national security threat to Iran, it does to Saudi
Arabia since it shares a border with Riyadh. Iran seizes this opportunity, by
supporting the Houthis, to challenge Saudi Arabia, making it look more
vulnerable, all while Tehran is showing off its regional significance to Saudi
Arabia and how it can cause a security threat to Riyadh.In addition, by
diverting the Saudi’s attention to Yemen, Iran is attempting to create a
quagmire for Riyadh in Yemen, making it bogged down in Sanaa, in order to draw
it away from Syria and Iraq; Iran’s main allies. Iran also seizes the
opportunity to increase its leverage against Riyadh and use Yemen as a strategic
bargaining chip, to push Saudi Arabia to change it policy toward Damascus,
Baghdad, Bahrain or other countries where Iran exerts influence.
Economic, ethnic and sectarian factors
Economically speaking, Yemen is not as costly for Iran as Syria is, but it
brings many benefits. Furthermore, Iran’s strategy of expanding its influence in
the region is to create proxies in Muslim countries and make a political reality
out of them to influence the domestic affairs of those nations (as it has done
with Hezbollah and other Shiite groups in Iraq). Ethnically speaking, and in
terms of nationalism, Iran views one layer of its competition against Saudi
Arabia as the rivalry between Persians and Arabs. Iran’s influence in Yemen
helps Tehran in this respect. Finally, although Iran views itself as the
vanguard of both Sunnis and Shiites, it does contain a covert sectarian agenda
in supporting the Shiites (or an offshoot of Shiism) to improve and extend its
influence in other countries.
Will Sisi
Squander His Chance to Fix Egypt's Economy?
David Schenker/National Interest/May 20/16
The latest bailout from Saudi Arabia may be the last, so Cairo needs to focus on
helping itself by implementing complex subsidy and tax reforms.
Ever since Saudi King Salman's early April visit to Cairo, Egypt's President
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been in damage control mode, trying to contain a crisis
sparked by two nearly simultaneous announcements: that Egypt would be
transferring sovereignty of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, and that Riyadh
would be providing an enormous economic aid package to Cairo. This news --
coupled with reports that King Salman had showered senior Egyptian officials and
parliamentarians with Rolexes -- led many to conclude that Sisi had "sold" the
islands.
The optics were awful, and catalyzed Cairo's largest demonstrations in years,
with thousands once again calling to topple the regime. Amidst the intense focus
on the islands, however, the significance of the Saudi grant has largely been
overlooked. Absent the $22 billion in Saudi aid, Egypt was seemingly on a glide
path to economic collapse.
Egypt has long faced economic challenges, but over the past two years -- since
Sisi took power in a military coup -- the situation has markedly deteriorated,
precipitated by declining tourism and Suez Canal revenues, as well as a
persistent Islamist insurgency led by ISIS. With foreign reserves dwindling to
dangerous levels, a staggering 9 percent annual inflation rate, over 13 percent
unemployment and an annual budget deficit of about 12 percent, Cairo's finances,
the Sisi administration's durability and Egypt's stability were all increasingly
at risk.
While he has made concerted efforts to encourage foreign direct investment, Sisi
has not tackled Egypt's core structural economic problems, chief among them the
military's oversized role in the financial system -- the army controls an
estimated 30 percent of the economy -- and food and energy subsidies, which
account for nearly 20 percent of the annual budget. These subsidies, along with
salaries for the seven million employees in the state's bloated bureaucracy, and
debt servicing, equate to 80 percent of annual government spending.
Complicating matters, a new baby is born about every nineteen seconds,
constituting an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent, which means that Egypt's
population is poised to double to 180 million by 2050. Already, nearly half of
Egyptians subsist on less than $2 per day.
The situation is so bad that even in Egypt, where denial is a perennial hallmark
of the government, this past March Prime Minister Sherif Ismail was compelled to
issue a dour 205-page policy statement on the state of the economy.
Even as popular anger about the islands persists, Saudi Arabia's latest largesse
could enable Sisi's Egypt to reverse the current trajectory. The aid package
consists of $20 billion to underwrite Egypt's purchase of Saudi petroleum
projects, as well as some funding to expand power generation capacity, and $1.5
billion to jumpstart some economic development in the Sinai Peninsula, where the
ISIS insurgency has taken root.
This funding, which covers the next five years, couldn't have come at a better
time. In 2015, an Italian firm discovered an estimated three hundred trillion
cubic feet of natural gas one hundred miles off Egyptian shores. The find, which
is worth as much as $100 billion and will come online in two or three years,
represents a potential boon to Egypt's economy. Until this natural gas starts
flowing, Riyadh's grant will provide a critical cushion, helping Cairo to bridge
its substantial and increasing funding gaps.
More important, this Saudi funding represents an opportunity for Sisi to finally
undertake serious structural reforms, including increasing taxes on Egypt's
wealthiest, who currently pay a marginal rate of just 22.5 percent, phasing in
value-added and capital-gains taxes, reducing public-sector wages, and
streamlining regulations to improve the business and investment environment. The
government says it will also better ration energy subsidies to the poor, cutting
these expenditures by 43 percent next year. The tax increases and energy-subsidy
reductions, while onerous, will allow Cairo to raise food subsidies for the
legions of impoverished suffering under high inflation, while at the same time
lowering the crippling deficit.
Regrettably, it's unclear that Egypt will capitalize on this opportunity.
Implementing these measures will require political capital, which in the
aftermath of the island-transfer scandal is in short supply for Sisi. The last
time when Sisi was flush with cash -- Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait gave
Egypt $20 billion in 2013 -- instead of making difficult decisions, Cairo
muddled through, squandering the windfall and the chance for real and enduring
change.
Washington and the International Monetary Fund, which in the coming weeks is
poised to loan billions to Egypt, shouldn't let Sisi miss yet another
opportunity. Cairo has a history of deferring economic reforms, but the window
may be closing. At a minimum, Saudi Arabia's increasingly precarious economic
situation means that two years from now, Egypt cannot count on another megagrant.
Despite Sisi's currently diminished stature, the erstwhile general demonstrated
-- by improving the consistency and capacity of Egypt's electricity grid in 2015
prior to the onset of the sweltering summer -- that he is capable, when focused
and committed, of implementing complex policies and delivering some positive
change. While the controversy over the islands may eventually dissipate, Egypt's
economic crisis will not subside unless and until Cairo embraces reform.
**David Schenker is the Aufzien Fellow and director of the Program on Arab
Politics at The Washington Institute.
Arab governments to Netanyahu: Let's
talk about the Saudi peace initiative
J.Post/May 20/16
Moderate Sunni Arab governments in the region have communicated to Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu their willingness to engage in negotiations with
Israel over possible changes to the Saudi peace initiative so that it may serve
as the agreed-upon basis of renewed talks with the Palestinians, Channel 10 is
reporting on Friday.
Arab regimes led by Egypt and the wealthy Gulf sheikhdoms have signaled their
desire to publicly change their posture toward Israel, according to Channel 10.
Officials in Arab capitals are now awaiting Netanyahu's response to their offer
of substantive discussions on the Saudi initiative so as to make it more
palatable for Israel.
During a Twitter chat he held in the courtyard of his Jerusalem home in honor of
Israel’s 68th Independence Day, Netanyahu said Israel is ready to talk about an
amended Saudi peace initiative.
One of the questioners asked him in Arabic about the 2002 Saudi Initiative,
otherwise known as the Arab Peace Plan, which calls for a two-state solution on
the pre-1967 lines with a just settlement for Palestinian refugees. In exchange
the Arab world would offer Israel normalized relations.
“Why don’t you accept the Arab initiative and what are the reasons why it is not
implemented,” Twitter questioner @abosarah7 asked.
Netanyahu responded, also in Arabic, that an updated initiative which “addresses
our concerns merits further discussion. Israel will always seek peace.”
In Arabic, Hebrew and English, the prime minister fielded a number of questions
about the two-state solution and the peace process with the Palestinians has
been frozen since April 2014.
In response to Sam Rubinstein from Brown University, Netanyahu said in a short
video response, “I am willing to meet President Abbas today, right now. He can
come to my home here in Jerusalem or I can go to his home here in Ramallah. Now
I want you to forward that question to President Abbas and see what he says, #askAbbas.”
Channel 10 cites Western diplomatic sources as saying that a number of
emissaries have relayed conciliatory Arab messages to Netanyahu, one of them
being former British premier Tony Blair.
The Arab regimes are eager to hear Netanyahu's response to their invitation for
talks on the Saudi plan. In addition, Arab capitals expect the Israeli
government to take confidence-building steps on the ground in the West Bank so
as to enable them to change their public stance toward Jerusalem.
Earlier this week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi made an unusual
impromptu appeal to both Israelis and Palestinians to take historic steps for
peace, just as his country had done in 1979.
“If by our combined efforts and real desire, we can all achieve a solution to
this problem and find hope for the Palestinians and security for the Israelis,
history will write a new page that will be no less and might even be more of an
achievement than the signing of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel forty
years ago,” Sisi said during a speech in the southern city of Assiut.
Netanyahu responded immediately that he is open to working with Egypt and other
Arab nations to advance a diplomatic process to end the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
“I welcome Egyptian President Sisi’s remarks and his willingness to make every
effort to advance a future of peace and security between us, the Palestinians
and the peoples of the region,” Netanyahu said.
“Israel is ready to participate with Egypt and other Arab states in advancing
both the diplomatic process and stability in the region. I appreciate President
Sisi’s work and also draw encouragement from his leadership on this important
issue,” Netanyahu added.
Sisi’s remarks come amid a push by France to jump-start the peace process, which
has been frozen since April 2014.
In what was construed as an Arab plea for a national unity government that would
include the Zionist Union, the Egyptian president urged all political factions
both in Israel and the Palestinian territories to put aside their differences so
they could strengthen the peace process.
“I ask Israeli factions and the Israeli leadership to please agree on finding a
solution to the crisis, and this should be in return for nothing but good for
the current, future generations and children,” Sisi said.
Should such a solution be found, he said, “I can guarantee, and we can all
guarantee peace and security for both sides.”
Israel, instead, experienced a political earthquake in the wake of the news that
Avigdor Liberman, the hawkish former foreign minister from the right-wing
Yisrael Beytenu faction, would assume the role of defense minister. The stunning
development left observers skeptical that the Israeli government was eager to
advance diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians and other Arab states.
In his speech, Sisi added: “I say to our Palestinian brothers, you must unite
the different factions – and I won’t add anything else to this point – in order
to achieve reconciliation and quickly.”
Sisi called on the Israeli media to broadcast his speech. He said that he spoke
in the hope of a two-state solution, rather than as a bid for Egypt to lead the
process.
There are many peace processes that Israelis and Palestinians could chose to
adhere to in order to end the conflict, Sisi said.
“There is currently an Arab initiative, a French initiative, there are American
efforts and there is the Quartet that are all working toward a solution to this
issue. In Egypt, we do not intend on playing a leading role or to be leaders of
this issue, but we are prepared to exert all efforts that will contribute to
finding a solution to this problem,” Sisi said.
He noted that he had spoken of the matter just a few days ago when he met with
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Cairo. Abbas has welcomed the
French initiative and any internationalized process, but has refused to hold
direct talks with Israel outside of such frameworks. He has insisted that before
negotiations can resume, Israel must halt settlement activity, including Jewish
building in east Jerusalem.
He has also insisted that Israel must agree to a withdrawal to the pre-1967
lines.
Netanyahu in turn has called for direct talks with out preconditions and has
opposed the French initiative, which he warned proscribed a solution and gave
the Palestinians an excuse to return to the negotiating table.
In Ramallah, Abbas called on Netanyahu to hold such talks under the auspices of
the French initiative.
“Let’s leave everything in the past and let’s meet,” the Palestinian leader said
as he met with a group of visiting Meretz politicians.
“When two sides are invited to a meeting, one cannot present preconditions,” the
Palestinian leader said.
“It’s the international community that should determine what is right and what
isn’t.”
When asked by The Jerusalem Post’s Hebrew-language sister publication, Ma’ariv,
why he refuses the Israeli demand to explicitly recognize Israel as a Jewish
state, Abbas refused to comment.
**Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
Ghost of September 11 Attacks
Abdulrahman Al-Rashed/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/16
When it turned out that 15 out of the terrorists who participated in the Sept.
11 attacks were Saudis, we realized at that time that we will be facing a
long-term crisis in relations between the two countries, which have always been
friends and allies. Years have passed since 2001, the investigation committee
confirmed Saudi Arabia’s innocence, and the file was closed.However, recent
weeks have witnessed great tension between Riyadh and Washington after the
Senate has passed a bill unanimously, thus allowing the victims of the attacks
to sue Saudi Arabia if they prove in court that it was involved.Despite American
investigators not finding any evidence of the Kingdom’s involvement, all
evidences pointed to al-Qaeda, number-one enemy for Saudi Arabia’s, which has
been fighting the terrorist organization since the 1990s. There is no possible
way that any U.S. political, who is well-informed about Middle Eastern affairs,
or any security or intelligence expert could link the attacks, which were
carried out by al-Qaeda militants, to Saudi Arabia; especially that the
terrorist organization has carried out various other attacks in New York,
Washington, and in other areas around the world.
In fact, this silly accusation has only become a serious political affair
recently, when relations cooled due to several issues, and as Iran opened up to
the West.
Even the final 28 pages of the Congressional report on the Sept. 11 attacks were
hidden by former President George W. Bush’s government, which was keen to avoid
harming relations with Saudi Arabia at a time when anger failed to discriminate
between mistakes and intentional actions.Back then, I asked a Saudi official
about these 28 pages, and he said Saudi Arabia had not requested Washington to
classify them and did not mind publishing them as all the facts were clearly
known by the investigation committee. The classified pages have now been
published and they will be used by Saudi Arabia’s rivals in the ongoing
political controversy, yet they are not a condemnation document.
Riyadh has never had any relation with al-Qaeda for the whole 20 years since its
establishment though it has been confirmed that Tehran has dealt with the
organization and sheltered dozens of its leaders who escaped U.S. bombings in
Afghanistan in 2001. The Washington Post has earlier published documents that
the Americans found in Osama bin Laden’s safe in his hideout, where they killed
him. They revealed how he gave instructions to his men not to harm Iran or Iraqi
Shiites because Tehran is an ally of al-Qaeda that supplies it with funds, men,
arms and communication equipment.Not to forget the role of Iran’s ally, the
Syrian regime, which hosted thousands of al-Qaeda militants who entered Iraq and
carried out most of the operations against U.S. troops; killing around 4,000 of
them. Most of these operations were carried out under the name of the Iraqi
resistance. On the other hand, the dispute issues between Riyadh and Washington
are not significant. In the past, the most serious ones were related to
extremists’ activities, including radical preachers, funders and media outlets
that used to release programs in favor of al-Qaeda.These issues were also
overcome after the Saudi Ministry of Interior succeeded in destroying the
pillars, which ideologically supported terrorism, and arrested thousands of
those who recruited jihadists. In addition to that, the Kingdom allowed U.S.
federal investigators to examine all suspicions that have occurred during the
investigation process.Tehran, which adopted a hostile policy against Washington,
realized after 30 years that it was the only one harmed by this rivalry;
therefore, it decided to reconcile and make concessions.Nevertheless, the nature
of the Iranian regime will prevent it from achieving a real transformation
toward the West and from maintaining permanent relations with it.
United States, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Al-Qaeda, September 11 attacks, investigation
committee.
Tighten Our Belts For
President Trump
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al Awsat/May 20/16
With the primary season in the US presidential election campaign almost over,
what was marketed by some pundits as “unthinkable” a month ago is now branded
“inevitable”. Not only will Donald Trump be the Republican Party’s nominee for
the coming showdown in November, he now seems to have a chance of winning, too,
at least according to some opinion polls. If memory serves me right, no recent
US presidential hopeful has attracted so much opprobrium as Trump has,
especially from the intelligentsia who see him as a semi-literate vulgarian who
happened to inherit a fortune from his dad. The three million or so who voted
for him in the primaries are dismissed as uneducated lumpens or bigots. A huge
majority of the Republican Party’s elected officials and other grandees are not
prepared to rub shoulders with Trump, let alone endorse him. Some are even
flying kites about a third party candidate to make sure Trump doesn’t get
anywhere near the White House. A few have gone further by hinting they might
campaign for Hillary Clinton, the Republicans’ bete-noire for three decades, or
Bernie Sanders, the standard bearer of an ersatz Socialism made in Brooklyn.
A Trump presidency, we are told, would lead to ethnic and sectarian conflict in
the United States not to mention a Third World War.
Is there anything to justify such jeremiads? In real terms, I think not. Trump
hasn’t offered any concrete policies. His promise to build a wall on the Mexican
border, and to impose a temporary ban on Muslims visiting the US, have become
part of political folklore and feature in dinner-table chats across the globe.
But they don’t amount to policies. The truth is that we don’t know what a
President Trump may offer in concrete policy terms. This is not surprising
because US presidential elections often resemble a beauty contest rather than a
serious examination of policy options. What voters are interested in is the
candidates’ life-story, demeanor and charisma or lack of it. Much also depends
on the public mood of the moment. An angry mood partly caused by America’s
humiliation in Iran helped Ronald Reagan win in 1980. A mood of fatigue, partly
caused by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, helped produce an unexpected victory
for Barack Obama in 2008. The voting habits of Americans mean that those who
feel more intensely about the ambient state of the nation secure a much bigger
say in picking the president.
Several studies of voting patterns in US show that only a third of those
eligible to vote do so regularly. Another third vote only occasionally,
sometimes only four or five times in a life. The remaining third never vote. The
typical turnout in presidential elections hovers around 55 per cent with the
outcome often decided by around 20 per cent labelled “independents”.Those who
say they are “horrified” by Trump’s success so far ignore two facts. The first
is that democracy spells out the rules of the game but does not guarantee the
outcome. In a sense it is like a game of tennis which, to be valid, must be
played according to the rules while no one knows who might win. There is no
guarantee that democracy would provide us with the best possible government and
the most reasonable political programme. Those who want those things had better
look to Plato and his “Republic” or to Sir Thomas More and his “Utopia”.
Perhaps a better image of democracy would be that of a supermarket in which
shoppers, standing in for voters, shop around, weigh brands and prices against
each other, and fill their trollies as they like, then move to the cashier. No
one could know in advance how all those shopping trollies are going to be loaded
and with what products. But we know that it is the shopper who pays, including
for his or her mistakes.
If that sounds too prosaic or even bland the reason is that, devoid of romantic
fluff, democracy is prosaic and bland. The trouble is that human nature always
craves for some flourish and romance. In democracy that craving is catered for
by charisma. In the case of Trump, the fact is that, though he may not be your
cup of tea, he does have charisma for many Americans both because of his
appearance and his “life story”. He is no Gary Cooper but, his controversial wig
notwithstanding, he does look like what used to be regarded as “the average
American” before the melting pot turned into a salad bar. He is riding a wave of
anger among white Americans of Anglo-European stock who, according to one of
Trump’s loudest cheer-leaders Sarah Palin feel they are “losing” their country
to a rainbow of immigrants, especially Mexicans and Muslims. Those who may see
this as evidence that Trump supporters are racists miss the point. Aristotle
believed that in a democracy the ruler must resemble the average citizen as much
as possible. For a chunk of white American electorate, Trump, who is partly of
German and Scottish extraction, passes the test of averageness with
flying-colors just as Obama did for the black chunk of voters eight years ago.
Not being American or Republican it may sound pretentious for me to offer
advice. But I think Republicans would be wrong to try to sabotage Trump’s
nomination through undemocratic cabals. If he is the choice of a majority of the
party he should be allowed to bear the party’s standard in November even with
defeat foretold.
The American presidential system suffers from a more fundamental problem. In it
one man is granted immense powers which are, in turn, hampered through
separation of powers. The American founding fathers, all of them English,
quietly shared Herodotus’ belief that monarchy was the best system of government
if only because it had stood the test of time over millennia. However, having
just rebelled against the English King in the name of independence, they
couldn’t immediately re-plunge into the ideological Anglosphere. The American
voter is always looking for a savior, a man or, thanks to political correctness,
a woman, who would act as what Germans call “Ganzemacher” (The All-Doer). This
is why so many US presidents came from the ranks of the military while others,
notably Franklin D. Roosevelt and, in a different context, Ronald Reagan, also
filled that slot.
The French have had a similar experience. Having disposed of Louis XVI with the
guillotine, they have been looking for a “providential man” ever since. They had
the two Bonapartes, uncle and nephew, then looked to Gambetta after the 1870
defeat, to Petain after the 1940 debacle and, in 1958, to De Gaulle in the
middle of the Algerian war. All in all, both the US and France might have done
better with a parliamentary system in which the head of state stands above
partisan politics. But that’s another story.
For the time being, we may have to tighten our belts, meaning safety belts, and
prepare for President Trump, just in case.
**Amir Taheri was the executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran from
1972 to 1979. He has worked at or written for innumerable publications,
published eleven books, and has been a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat since 1987.
Mr. Taheri has won several prizes for his journalism, and in 2012 was named
International Journalist of the Year by the British Society of Editors and the
Foreign Press Association in the annual British Media Awards.