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Bible Quotation For Today/Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
John 17/24-26:"Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me.
I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’"

Bible Quotation For Today/Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law
Letter to the Romans 05/12-16: "Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification."

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 05-06/15
Turkey: Where Ice Cream Can Be More Dangerous than Bombs/Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/November 05/15
"We Did What We Learned: Attacking Christians"/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/November 05/15
What Would Rabin Do/David Makovsky/Politico/November 05/15
The Manama Dialogue: Searching for Unity in the Face of Chaos/James F. Jeffrey/Washington Institute/November 05/15
An Arab boycott of Palestine too/Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/November 05/15
Iran’s hardliners to Obama: Our house, our rules/Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/November 05/15
There can be no peace without justice in Syria/Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/November 05/15
Russia and Iran: Different goals behind calls for Syrian elections/Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/November 05/15

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin for Lebanese Related News published on November 05-06/15
Lebanon: Car bombing kills 10 in Lebanon’s Arsal
Deadly blast rocks Lebanon’s Arsal
More than Four Killed in Blast Targeting Muslim Scholars in Arsal
Report: Salam Studying British Proposal to End Garbage Crisis
Report: March 8 Camp Preparing Expanded Meeting at Rabieh
Jumblat Deems as 'Suicide' Boycott of Legislative Session
Report: Aoun Awaiting Clarification on Legislative Session as LF Confirms its Boycott
Report: Central Bank Governor Meets Salam to Highlight Financial Dangers Facing Lebanon
Soldier Shot in Hermel, Fugitive Arrested at Baalbek Hospital
European contingent heads to Lebanon to meet Hezbollah leader
Two Swiftly Arrested after Robbing Bank in Jnah
Acting U.S. Ambassador Richard Jones Arrives in Beirut

Titles For Latest LCCC Bulletin For Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 05-06/15
Mustard Gas Used in Syria Fighting in August
Egypt, Russia reject bomb claim over crashed plane
Report: US intel suggests ISIS bomb most likely caused Russian plane crash in Egypt
Israel begins easing some Jerusalem security measures
PalestinianTerrorist killed after attempting to stab IDF soldier at Gush Etzion Junction
‘Operational intifada leadership’ urged by Hamas
Netanyahu distances himself from comments by new adviser who suggested Obama anti-Semitic
Israel frees former hunger strike Palestinian
Syria Druze group: Regime has declared war on us
Russia reportedly sends missile systems to Syria
Syrian regime ‘profits from disappearances’
Pentagon welcomes advance by ISIS-fighting allies in Syria
France to Deploy Aircraft Carrier in Anti-IS Fight in Syria, Iraq
Russia’s Syria force grows to 4,000: U.S. officials
Syria Rebels Seize Key Regime Town on Hama-Aleppo Road
U.S., allies target ISIS with fresh round of airstrikes
France to deploy aircraft carrier in anti-ISIS fight in Syria, Iraq
Free Syrian Army reps to meet Russian officials next week
Syria rebels seize regime town on Hama-Aleppo road
U.S., UK Say Bomb May Have Downed Russian Jet, Cairo and Moscow Dismiss Concerns
Israel Frees Former Hunger Strike Palestinian
Bahrain jails five for Iran-linked militancy, strips their citizenship
5 Bahrain Shiites Get Life in Jail for 'Spying for Iran'
Sisi: Egypt ‘ready to cooperate’ to ensure tourists’ security
Egypt Court Postpones Mubarak Murder Retrial
Egypt court postpones Mubarak’s final trial over 2011 killing of protesters
Anti-air missiles in ISIS hands also imperil Saudi, Jordanian and Israeli skies
DEBKAfile Special Report November 05/2015
Saudi U.N. envoy optimistic about Yemen talks
Kurd rebels end unilateral ceasefire in Turkey
Turkey says plans anti-ISIS offensive in near future

Lebanon: Car bombing kills 10 in Lebanon’s Arsal
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Thursday, 5 November 2015/At least 10 were killed after a car bombing targeted an office belonging to Syrian religious scholars on Thursday in the northeastern town of Arsal in Lebanon near the Syrian border, Al Arabiya News Channel reported. The bomb detonated in the Sabil neighborhood of Arsal, in an area where militants linked to the conflict across the border in Syria have carried out attacks in the past. Emergency services were working to rescue people from the rubble, local media said, according to Reuters news agency.
Syrian scholars
Meanwhile, security sources said the blast was likely to have targeted an independent religious society made up of Syrian scholars. The head of the society, Sheikh Othman Mansour, was among the dead, the sources said. The last significant security incident in the area took place on Saturday, when Lebanon's army fired at a vehicle carrying Islamist militants, killing three of them. A separate attack by the Lebanese Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah in October killed five ISIS fighters elsewhere in the north of the country. Arsal is a Sunni Muslim enclave in the mainly Shiite Bekaa Valley that hosts many Syrian refugees as well as rebel fighters in the surrounding countryside.

Deadly blast rocks Lebanon’s Arsal
Now Lebanon/November 05/15/BEIRUT – A deadly explosion has targeted a meeting of Muslim clerics in Arsal, leaving at least four people dead in the latest violent incident to rock the border town. Lebanon’s state National News Agency reported early Thursday afternoon that the blast went off during a gathering of sheikhs, mostly Syrian, at the Qalamoun Scholars Committee headquarters in the town’s commercial market. The religious committee—which focuses on Syrian refugee issues in the border town—has served as a mediator seeking the release of Lebanese servicemen captured last year in Arsal by the Al-Nusra Front. Qalamoun Muslim Committee chief Sheikh Othman Mansour, a Syrian national, was critically injured by the explosion, according to local media reports. The nature of the blast remains unknown, with the NNA reporting that the blast ripped through a motorcycle outside the Committee’s headquarters. Lebanon’s state news agency earlier said that the remains of a purported suicide bomber had been taken to a local hospital. The Lebanese Armed Forces have yet to issue an official statement on the matter, while Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr tasked security forces to conduct a preliminary investigation into the blast. Lebanon’s army had rushed to the scene of the explosion to set up a security perimeter, while local residents and rescue teams worked to remove the rubble and pull out bodies. Arsal has borne the brunt of the spillover of Syria’s conflict into Lebanon, with a number of violent attacks rocking the border town that hosts more refugees than Lebanese nationals. In past years, Syrian helicopters conducted a number of airstrikes on the outskirts of the town, which has also been hit by rocket attacks. Militants have also conducted ambushes against the Lebanese army in the town. The most serious violence to beset the town came in August 2014, when Syrian Islamists conducted a cross-border rain, taking dozens of security personnel during 5-days of fierce battles.

More than Four Killed in Blast Targeting Muslim Scholars in Arsal
Naharnet/November 05/15/More than four people were killed on Thursday in a bombing that targeted a meeting of the al-Qalamoun Muslim Scholars committee in the northeastern border area of Arsal, reported the National News Agency. The head of the committee, Syrian cleric Sheikh Othman Mansour, survived the blast but was in a critical condition, LBCI television said. NNA identified four of the dead as the clerics Omar al-Halabi, Alaa Bakkour, Ali Rashaq and Fawaz Orabi. It said several bodies that are yet to be identified were also found on the scene. Several other people were injured in the blast. According to LBCI, all of the casualties are Syrian. NNA said the explosives used in the attack were hidden in a motorcycle that was parked near the meeting's venue. But a security source told AFP that the attack was carried out by a “suicide bomber.” The source said that the bomber entered the meeting of Syrian clerics and "detonated an explosive belt, leaving five people dead and six wounded until now." "The explosion definitely targeted this meeting... where usually no less than 15 people are gathered," Arsal resident Abu Ibrahim told AFP by telephone. He said the committee's deputy head, Omar al-Halabi, had been killed. "I just went to the hospital, and there were people crying and screaming," he said. Military Examining Magistrate Judge Saqr Saqr tasked the military police and army intelligence to carry out the investigations, said Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5). The Qalamoun Muslim scholars committee is concerned with aiding Syrian refugees and catering to the needs of their encampments. It was also tasked with carrying out mediations to release servicemen kidnapped in Arsal in 2014. The servicemen were abducted by al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front and Islamic State militants in the wake of clashes in the northeastern town in August 2014.

Report: Salam Studying British Proposal to End Garbage Crisis
Naharnet/November 05/15/Prime Minister Tammam Salam is studying a number of proposals on exporting Lebanon's waste, reported the daily An Nahar on Thursday. The options include transporting the waste to Syria “based on proposals made by businessmen affiliated with political parties,” it added. The cost of transporting the waste would range between 210 and 220 dollars per ton, while the price is lower for Syria, it revealed. Ministerial sources meanwhile told al-Akhbar newspaper that Salam is examining a proposal made by a British company to settle the trash crisis. They deemed the suggestion as “serious”, saying that it needs about two weeks to materialize. Technical aspects of this proposal need about three months of preparations. Lebanon was plunged in a trash disposal crisis after the closure of the Naameh landfill in July. The closure resulted in the pile up of waste on the streets throughout the country as politicians continue to fail to find a solution to the problem.

Report: March 8 Camp Preparing Expanded Meeting at Rabieh
Naharnet/November 05/15/Intense contacts are being held to prepare for an expanded meeting of members of the March 8 alliance, reported the Kuwaiti al-Anba daily on Thursday. The meeting, which will be held at Change and Reform bloc chief MP Michel Aoun's Rabieh residence, is expected to tackle various issues related to the government, national dialogue, presidential elections, and parliamentary electoral law, said the daily. The talks will serve as an opportunity to address the discrepancies in political positions among the various parties of the alliance, added al-Anba.

Jumblat Deems as 'Suicide' Boycott of Legislative Session
Naharnet/November 05/15/Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat stressed that MPs of his parliamentary bloc will attend next week's legislative session, reported As Safir newspaper on Thursday. He told the daily that a boycott of the meeting would be “suicide”. The Lebanese Forces and Free Patriotic Movement have said that they will not attend the session because the parliamentary electoral law was not included on its agenda. The Kataeb Party said it would not attend before the election of a new president for the country. “The chance to hold a legislative session does not happen everyday,” remarked Jumblat. “We should take advantage of it without delay and we should stop our self-destruction,” stressed the lawmaker. Head of the Musatqbal bloc MP Fouad Saniora meanwhile denied to As Safir claims that the bloc will boycott the session if the LF and FPM did not attend. “All sides must realize the importance of attending the meeting,” he said. The Mustaqbal bloc sees the session as an opportunity to transport Lebanon to safety, given the financial dangers it is facing, added the former premier. “We still have hope to resolve the boycott through political contacts,” Saniora said. Speaker Nabih Berri had called for a legislative session to be held on November 12 and 13. The parliament had last convened to address draft-laws on November 5,

Report: Aoun Awaiting Clarification on Legislative Session as LF Confirms its Boycott
Naharnet/November 05/15/Head of the Change and Reform bloc MP Michel Aoun revealed that his bloc is prepared to attend next week's legislative session, reported As Safir newspaper on Thursday. He added however that he is “awaiting some clarifications and explanations” over some issues before making a final decision. The Lebanese Forces meanwhile reiterated its rejection of attending a session that does not include the parliamentary electoral law on its agenda. A prominent LF source told the daily that there was no convincing reason to omit the draft-law from the agenda. It stressed that should nothing new emerge on this front, then the LF and Free Patriotic Movement will stay committed to their boycott of the legislative session. The two Christian parties had declared on numerous occasions that they would not attend a legislative session that does not include the electoral law on its agenda. Speaker Nabih Berri had set the session for November 12 and 13.

Report: Central Bank Governor Meets Salam to Highlight Financial Dangers Facing Lebanon
Naharnet/November 05/15/Lebanon is under threat of being classified as a failed state due to the paralysis of its state institutions and ongoing presidential vacuum, reported the daily An Nahar on Thursday. A prominent source told the daily that Lebanon has to reach a radical solution to the trash disposal crisis and parliament has to approve a number of draft-laws in order to avoid such a fate. To that end, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh held talks with Prime Minister Tammam Salam. The daily said that he is also set to hold similar discussions with Speaker Nabih Berri. Discussions will focus on the draft-laws on the upcoming legislative session's agenda, most notably those on money transfers from abroad and combating money-laundering. Media reports in recent weeks have highlighted the threat of Lebanon losing its international grants and loans due to the paralysis of the cabinet, which is linked to political bickering. The legislative session is scheduled for November 12 and 13.

Soldier Shot in Hermel, Fugitive Arrested at Baalbek Hospital
Naharnet/November 05/15/An army intelligence agent was shot and wounded Wednesday in the Bekaa city of Hermel as a fugitive was arrested at a hospital in Baalbek. “Members of the Allaw family opened fire at an army intelligence patrol in Hermel's al-Marah neighborhood, leaving a soldier wounded,” state-run National News Agency reported. It said the agent was rushed to al-Assi Hospital for treatment. Separately, security forces arrested a fugitive from the al-Effi family at the Dar al-Amal Hospital in Baalbek, the agency said.

European contingent heads to Lebanon to meet Hezbollah leader
ARIEL BEN SOLOMON/J.Post/November 05/15/A delegation of European politicians and cultural figures met with Hezbollah’s deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem during a recent visit to Lebanon, according to the terrorist group’s Al-Manar TV. The episode that aired on Monday asserted that a group of present and former European MPs were part of the delegation that met with the Hezbollah leader in a “show of solidarity with the resistance in its fight against terrorism,” according to a report by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute). One member was former Belgium MP Laurent Louis, who said “the Western leaders’ collaboration with terrorism has been exposed despite their false claims that they are protecting democracy and human rights.”“Your fight against terrorism constitutes a comprehensive defense of humanity and of interfaith coexistence,” said Louis, according Al-Manar. Emmanuel Navon, a lecturer in international relations at Tel Aviv University and the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, told The Jerusalem Post that Laurent Louis is an anti-Semite and a failed politician. “He joined the Belgian Islamist party, but even they came to consider him an embarrassment,” said Navon, who is also a senior fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum. Louis has accused the Belgian prime minister of being a pedophile and has accused the Jews of financing the Holocaust in order to promote Zionism, he added. “Basically, he is an unstable loser looking for publicity with this visit. It is meaningless.” MEMRI shared information with the Post on Thursday that the delegation also met with former Lebanese president Émile Lahoud. Another member of the delegation, Tunisian writer and political scientist Riadh Sidaoui, who also has Swiss nationality, said they “came as a delegation from Europe to Lebanon and Syria in order to support the steadfastness of Syria and to support the resistance.”“President Lahoud said that what is happening in Syria is a great conspiracy which has been waged for years due to [Syria’s] support of the resistance. The first to benefit from this is the Israeli enemy,” recounted the Tunisian writer as reported by the Lebanese National News Agency. “We are surprised how the billions spent by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others are not paid to improve the living conditions in the Arab countries and building a united Arab society, but are spent on the destruction of the nationalism and pan-Arabism that was left by Gamal Abdel Nasser.”
MEMRI said that another Arab report indicated that the group was heading to Damascus.

Two Swiftly Arrested after Robbing Bank in Jnah
Naharnet/November 05/15/The Internal Security Forces managed Thursday to quickly arrest two thieves who had robbed a bank in the Jnah area in southern Beirut in the morning. “Around 10:30 am, two men riding a motorcycle and carrying pistols entered an IBL bank branch in the Jnah area and robbed $40,000 and LBP 40 million,” an ISF statement said. But following close surveillance, an Intelligence Branch force carried out “a special and abrupt operation at 5:00 pm and managed to arrest the two culprits in Beirut's Salim Salam area,” the statement added. It identified them as 25-year-old A. S. and 23-year-old F. S. – both Lebanese. “During interrogation, they confessed that they were behind the aforementioned robbery in addition to 3 other robberies including one of the same bank branch,” the ISF said. “A large amount of the stolen money and three guns were seized in their possession, in addition to the rented Renault car that they were riding when they were apprehended,” the ISF added.

Acting U.S. Ambassador Richard Jones Arrives in Beirut
Naharnet/November 05/15/Acting U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Richard Jones arrived Thursday in Beirut to replace Ambassador David Hale pending the arrival of the new head of mission Elizabeth Richard, state-run National News Agency reported. Jones served as ambassador to Lebanon between 1996 and 1998. Informed sources have told al-Joumhouria newspaper that the diplomat will temporarily take charge of Hale's duties until U.S. administrative arrangements are completed for Elizabeth Richard to officially begin her mission in Beirut. Hale left Lebanon on Saturday. Richard is currently a deputy assistant secretary of state in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. She is expected to assume her post at the start of next year once the U.S. Congress approves her appointment.

Mustard Gas Used in Syria Fighting in August
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 05/15/Weapons experts have concluded for the first time that mustard gas was used during fighting in Syria in August, an official at the global chemical arms watchdog told AFP Thursday. The deadly gas was used in the flashpoint town Marea in the northern province of Aleppo on August 21, the source from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said. "We have determined the facts, but we have not determined who was responsible," the source said, asking not to be named. A confidential report has been sent to the member states of the OPCW, which are due to meet for the U.N. body's annual conference at the end of November at its headquarters in The Hague. Syrian rebels and aid groups said that at the end of August dozens of people were affected by a chemical attack on Marea, where moderate opposition rebels and militants from the Islamic State (IS) group were battling. Doctors without Borders (MSF) said it had treated four civilians from one family. According to patients at an MSF hospital in Aleppo, a mortar hit their house and "after the explosion a yellow gas filled the living room." According to rebels on the ground, more than 50 mortar shells were launched on the town that day by IS militants. The deadly, suffocating gas was first used by German forces in Belgium during World War I in 1917. It was banned by the United Nations in 1993. Allegations that the jihadist IS militants have been using chemical arms have been increasing in recent months in both Iraq and Syria.

Egypt, Russia reject bomb claim over crashed plane
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Thursday, 5 November 2015/Egypt and Russia on Thursday rejected claims that a bomb has brought down a Russian passenger plane that crashed on Saturday. Egypt’s civil aviation minister said investigators have found no evidence so far that an explosion on board brought down the jet. “The investigation team does not have yet any evidence or data confirming this hypothesis,” Hossam Kamal said in a statement, adding that Egypt adheres to international security and safety standards at all its airports. The statement said that flights were continuing to arrive in Sharm al-Sheikh airport, with 23 set to land on Thursday from Russia, eight from Ukraine, three from Italy and two from Saudi Arabia, in addition to 22 domestic arrivals. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday after meeting British Prime Minister David Cameron that his country is “completely ready” to work together with its partners to protect foreign tourists. Meanwhile, the Kremlin dismissed any claims over the cause of the passenger jet crash in Egypt as “speculation” after Britain and the U.S. said a bomb may have downed the plane. “Any sort of version of what happened and the reasons for what happened can only be put forward by the investigation and we have not heard any announcements from the investigation yet,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “Any other proposed explanations seem like unverified information or some sort of speculation.”Peskov said that Moscow “cannot rule out any version” of what might have caused the crash but said no definitive explanation had been presented. Britain and Ireland have temporarily suspended flights to and from the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where the plane took off from on Saturday bound for Saint Petersburg before crashing minutes later, killing all 224 people on board. Peskov said that it was Britain’s “sovereign right to fly or not fly somewhere” but said that “Russian planes are continuing to fly.” Egypt said on Thursday Britain suspended flights from Sharm al-Sheikh airport without consultation, despite close contacts between the two countries and tighter security measures.“The British decision was taken unilaterally and there were no consultations with Egypt over it despite the high-level contacts that took place between the two countries hours before,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on state news agency MENA.
ISIS could be behind crash
U.S. Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said on Thursday evidence so far indicates there was an ISIS bomb attack on the Russian passenger plane. McCaul acknowledged another theory - that the plane’s tail had been worked on several years ago and may have broken off or otherwise failed - had not been ruled out. “But I think the more likely scenario where all indicators seem to be pointing, is that this was an ISIS attack with an explosive device in the airplane,” McCaul told Fox News, using a common acronym for the militant group. A U.S. official also told AFP that the possibility that a bomb may have caused the plane crash on Saturday was “a highly possible scenario.” ISIS jihadist group claims it caused the disaster. Britain said on Thursday there was a significant possibility that ISIS’s Egyptian affiliate was behind the suspected bomb attack on a Russian airliner. The topic is sensitive for Russia, whose warplanes have launched raids against ISIS in Syria, and for Egypt, which depends heavily on revenues from tourism. Asked if he thought ISIS was responsible for the disaster, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: “ISIL-Sinai have claimed responsibility for bringing down the Russian aircraft, they did that straight away after the crash. “We’ve looked at the whole information picture, including that claim, but of course lots of other bits of information as well, and concluded that there is a significant possibility,” he said on Sky television. Cameron’s office also said that authorities had “become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device.” Russia has dispatched investigators to the crash site in the restive Sinai peninsula to help the Egypt-led probe into the tragedy. Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said Thursday that the first recording from the black box on-board data collectors had been “received” by experts, news agencies reported. Sokolov also said that Russia had sent Egyptian aviation authorities a proposal to conduct an “additional audit” into air safety measures in the country. Meanwhile the first funerals of those killed in the crash were taking place in Russia on Thursday, with relatives and friends gathering to mourn their loved ones.
Russia wants foreign planes to re-register
Russia’s airline regulator said on Thursday it was suspending the flying certificates for foreign planes operated by Russian airlines because it wanted them to be re-registered on home soil, RIA news agency reported. The crashed plane was an Airbus A321 airliner registered in Ireland but operated by a Russian firm.
Official replaced
Meanwhile, the head of Sharm el-Sheikh airport has been replaced amid growing international concern. Adel Mahgoub, chairman of the state company that runs Egypt’s civilian airports, says airport chief Abdel-Wahab Ali has been “promoted” to become his assistant. He said the move late Wednesday had nothing to do with media skepticism surrounding the airport's security. Mahgoub said Ali is being replaced by Emad el-Balasi, a pilot.(With Reuters and AFP)

Report: US intel suggests ISIS bomb most likely caused Russian plane crash in Egypt
JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS/J.Post/11/04/2015/A US official said on Wednesday that the latest US intelligence suggests that the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 was most likely caused by a bomb on the plane planted by ISIS or an ISIS affiliate, according to a CNN report. The Russian commercial airline crashed in Egypt's Sinai on Saturday, killing all 224 passengers on board. "There is a definite feeling it was an explosive device planted in luggage or somewhere on the plane," the official told CNN. The source emphasized that there has not been a formal conclusion reached by the US intelligence community but the assessment that ISIS was involved was reached by "looking back at intelligence reports that had been gathered before Saturday's plane crash and intelligence gathered since then," the American news outlet reported. The official said that the US did not have credible or verified intelligence of a specific threat prior to the crash, but that, "prior to the incident, "there had been additional activity in Sinai that had caught our attention."CNN quoted another US official who said the intelligence regarding ISIS is in part based on monitoring of internal messages of the terrorist group, separate from public ISIS claims of responsibility following the incident. Britain said earlier on Wednesday that the Russian plane that crashed after taking off from the resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh might have been brought down by an explosive device. "While the investigation is still ongoing we cannot say categorically why the Russian jet crashed," Prime Minister David Cameron's office said in a statement. "But as more information has come to light we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device," it added. As a precautionary measure, the government has decided that flights due to leave Sharm for Britain on Wednesday evening will be delayed to allow time for a team of UK aviation experts, currently traveling to Sharm, to make an assessment of the security arrangements in place at the airport.

Israel begins easing some Jerusalem security measures
By AFP, Jerusalem Thursday, 5 November 2015/Israel has begun lifting some security measures in place over a wave of violence that raised fears of a full-scale Palestinian uprising, removing key roadblocks in annexed east Jerusalem, police said Thursday. A number of checkpoints and roadblocks were dismantled in recent days, a police spokeswoman said, calling the decision a "direct result of the stabilisation of the security situation, which allows for this more lenient policy". The decision would allow a return to "normal life," her statement added. Roadblocks were installed in a number of locations in east Jerusalem last month after a wave of Palestinian stabbing, shooting and car-ramming attacks against Israelis began on October 1. The area of Jabel Mukaber, from where a number of the attackers came, was largely blocked off by checkpoints. Some of these have been removed, the statement said. Any deterioration in the relative calm of recent days, however, will lead the police to "use all means at its disposal against the terrorists who break the law and order," the statement warned. It said thousands of police were ready to respond at short notice. Jerusalem was the scene of a spate of attacks at the beginning of October, but the epicentre of violence has since moved elsewhere, particularly the West Bank city of Hebron. The latest stabbing in Jerusalem occurred Friday, after almost two weeks without an attack. Nine Israelis, 69 Palestinians -- around half of them alleged attackers -- and an Israeli Arab have been killed since October 1 in attacks in Jerusalem, the West Bank and elsewhere. Israel occupied east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

PalestinianTerrorist killed after attempting to stab IDF soldier at Gush Etzion Junction
YAAKOV LAPPIN/J.Post/11/05/2015/A Palestinian man who pulled out a knife and attempted to stab a soldier at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank was shot dead by the army on Thursday. Soldiers from the Shimshon Battalion, a part of the Kfir Infantry Brigade, opened fire after seeing the attacker lunge forward with a knife. No soldiers were hurt in the incident. In light of the continuous spate of Palestinian knife attacks on Israelis in the Gush Etzion junction area, the IDF doubled the number of units securing the area last week. Military sources told The Jerusalem Post that the move is part of a wider effort by the Judea and Samaria Division and Central Command to protect civilians from knife terrorism plaguing the Gush Etzion junction very frequently in recent weeks. “We are preparing for this wave of terrorism to become prolonged, and we are preparing for the potential of an escalation,” one of the sources said. “We are adjusting the way we activate forces to deal with knife attacks.”Col. Roman Gofman, commander of the IDF’s Gush Etzion Brigade, issued instructions to step up patrols around a gas station in the area, and at other spots prone to knife attacks. Concrete blocks have been set up around bus stops and hitchhiking posts, and cameras, which dot the area, help the IDF investigate past incidents and evaluate the security situation. The Gush junction is an area where Jews and Palestinians frequently interact, making it a terrorism hot spot in the West Bank.

‘Operational intifada leadership’ urged by Hamas
AFP, Gaza Thursday, 5 November 2015/Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal called on all Palestinian groups to form a unified leadership of the current wave of violence against Israel, which he called an intifada, or uprising. Speaking by video-link from Qatar, the head of the Islamist group urged other organizations to join “an operational leadership of the intifada... to put in place an agreed strategy for common struggle covering all options.”Bloodshed that erupted at the start of October has claimed the lives of nine Israelis, 70 Palestinians and an Arab Israeli. Much of the violence has involved Palestinians allegedly attacking Israelis with knives, or ploughing into them with vehicles, and about half the Palestinians fatalities consist of attackers who have been shot dead. Neither Israeli or Palestinian leaders are calling the current wave of violence an intifada, but there are concerns on both sides that it could escalate into one. In the first two intifadas, in 1987-1993 and 2000-2005, thousands of people were killed and many more wounded in near daily violence. Meshaal called for “resistance in all of its forms, armed or not” in order to “confront the settlers and defend the Muslim holy places.” Simmering tensions boiled over in September regarding the status of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, a site holy to both Muslims and Jews, before spiraling into a series of attacks from October 1. Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to change the rules governing the compound, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted he will not alter a status quo that forbids Jews from praying there.

Netanyahu distances himself from comments by new adviser who suggested Obama anti-Semitic
J.Post/November 05/15/Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday denounced a number of past statements against senior US officials made by his newly-appointed media adviser, Ran Baratz.The Facebook posts written by Baratz came to light on Thursday after he was tapped by Netanyahu to be his next spokesman and head of public diplomacy and media relations in the Prime Minister's Office. In one such post, Baratz referred to US President Barack Obama's response to the premier's Iran speech in Congress as "modern anti-Semitism.""Allow me to be a bit blunt, which is a break from my usual moderation," Baratz wrote. "This is what modern anti-Semitism in a liberal Western country looks like. And, of course, it comes with a great deal of tolerance and understanding for Islamic anti-Semitism. The tolerance and understanding is so great that [Obama] is willing to give it a nuclear bomb," Baratz wrote. Baratz also referred to US Secretary of State John Kerry as someone "whose mental age doesn't exceed 12." In a column that he wrote for an online media magazine last year, Baratz offered a scathing critique of Kerry's suggestion that the emergence of Islamic radicalism in the Middle East could be traced to the lingering Israel-Palestine conflict. Netanyahu issued his first response to the controversy on Thursday evening, after opposition politicians called for the prime minister to cancel Baratz's appointment."I read for the first time the comments published by Dr. Ran Baratz on the Internet about the US president and public figures in the US. They are not worthy and don't reflect my position or the policy of my government," Netanyahu said. Netanyahu said that Baratz had apologized for the posts and clarified them in a meeting with him and the two had agreed to meet again upon Netanyahu's return from his visit to the US next week. During that visit, Netanyahu will meet with Obama at the White House in an effort to repair damaged relations between the two leaders which may be further challenged by Baratz's comments. Baratz, a former university professor with right-wing views, founded the online Hebrew-language journal MIDA. After Obama's re-election in 2012, he wrote: "For the next four years, a pro-Arab, anti-Israel president will continue to rule. His upcoming term will be even more extreme, and he has nothing more to lose or to hide. The Jews have once again voted for Obama by a wide majority, and this just shows how wide the gap has become between the Jews of Israel and the Jews of the US.""The Jews in America who see Obama as pro-Israeli are the most extreme in their criticism of Israel," he wrote. "The irresponsible Israeli policy which they seek raises the question of how exactly they can define themselves as pro-Israel."Baratz himself issued an apology for his comments on Facebook on Thursday evening, saying that he was sorry he had not made the prime minister aware of their existence prior to his appointment. "The things that I wrote were written thoughtlessly and in some cases as jokes, in language fitting of social media networks and a private individual. It is clear to me that in a public role, I must behave and express myself differently. I asked the prime minister for a meeting to clarify the comments in the coming days."**Arik Bender and Dana Somberg contributed to this report.

Israel frees former hunger strike Palestinian
AFP, occupied Jerusalem Thursday, 5 November 2015/Israeli authorities said late on Wednesday they had freed a Palestinian detainee who survived a two-month hunger strike, after holding him for a year without trial in a case that sharpened tensions in the West Bank. “Mohammed Allan has just been released,” Sivan Weizman, a spokeswoman for Israel Prisons Service, said in a message. Allan’s father Nasser al-Din Allan told AFP earlier that he would take his son for a hospital checkup on Thursday. Allan was arrested in November 2014 and held under a measure known as administrative detention, which allows imprisonment without trial for six-month periods renewable indefinitely. In June, he began a two-month hunger strike that brought him close to death and heightened tensions in the occupied West Bank. Israel’s High Court suspended his detention on August 19 while he was receiving medical treatment following his hunger strike, which twice left him in a coma. His detention was renewed in September after his health improved and he was discharged from hospital. Allan then resumed his hunger strike, only to call it off two days later. The Israeli army subsequently announced that his detention would not be renewed and he would be released on November 4. The Islamic Jihad group (PIJ) says the 31-year-old lawyer from Einabus, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, is a member. Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency says that before his arrest, Allan “was in contact with an Islamic Jihad terrorist” with the aim of carrying out large-scale attacks. He was previously imprisoned from 2006 to 2009 for allegedly seeking to recruit suicide bombers and aiding wanted Palestinians. Allan’s release comes as a wave of violence rocks the West Bank and Israel. Nine Israelis, 70 Palestinians - around half of them alleged attackers - and an Arab Israeli have died since the start of October.

Syria Druze group: Regime has declared war on us
Now Lebanon/November 05/15/BEIRUT – The Sheikhs of Dignity movement has angrily accused the Syrian regime of “declaring war” against it after state media ran a report linking the independent group to the death of a top Baath Party official in Suweida. “The accusation that we killed the late Shibli Junoud is tantamount to a declaration of war against us by the state,” the group said in a statement issued on its Facebook page on Wednesday. Junoud—the Baath Party secretary in the Druze-populated Suweida province—died after he was kidnapped by unknown men on September 25, three weeks after Sheikhs of Dignity leader Waheed Balaous was assassinated in a car bombing. The Sheikhs of Dignity movement, which calls for reforms in Suweida and criticizes the regime, made a veiled threat in their statement, warning that “we have shown patience of late in order to prevent bloodshed but… our patience has run out, enough is enough.”“Any attack on the Men of Dignity will be considered an attack on the whole mountain,” it further warned. “The tables will be turned on the cowards who have ignited the fires of sedition in the united house.” Tension spiked in Syria’s southern Suweida province following Waheed Balaous’ killing, with an angry protest breaking out during the Druze cleric’s funeral procession and the killing of six regime security personnel in the days following his assassination. Balaous’ brother Rafaat then took up his brother’s mantle, assuming leadership of the Sheikhs of Dignity in October. In his first official statement he accused the regime of being behind Waheed’s death, while Damascus, for its part, has insisted the Al-Nusra Front perpetrated the car bombing.
Regime links Sheikhs of Dignity to Junoud killing
The Men of Dignity’s statement comes after Syria’s official Organization of Syrian Arab Radio and TV (ORTAS) linked Rafaat Balaous to Junoud’s death. In the detailed report, an official source from Suweida told ORTAS a state investigation had revealed that the Baath party official was held captive in Balaous’ house. The interrogations carried out with Atef Mallak, the Baath official’s doctor, led to his admission that he inspected… Junoud during the first days of his kidnapping,” the source said. “It became clear that Junoud had suffered a heart attack as a result of tension during his kidnapping.”The source claimed that the doctor had inspected Junoud twice and advised the kidnappers to take him to a hospital, but they refused and threatened to kill him and his family. “Doctor Mallak said that on the sixth day of Junoud’s kidnapping he called the kidnappers to enquire about the patient’s health. They informed him that Junoud had passed away and that he had been buried.”The source added that according to both official investigations and Mallak’s admission “the captive, Junoud, was in the residence of Rafaat Balaous.”OTRAS’s report also featured praise of Junoud and condemnations of his death by Druze Sheikh Akl Hikmat al-Hajri, and two of the sect’s other prominent sheikhs Youssef Jarbou, and Hammoud al-Hinnawi, all of whom are known for their pro-regime stances. However, none of the three sheikhs directly accused Rafaat Balaous of responsibility for Junoud’s kidnapping and subsequent death.

Russia reportedly sends missile systems to Syria
By Reuters, Moscow Thursday, 5 November 2015/Russia has sent missile systems to Syria to protect its military forces there, the head of Russia’s air force said on Thursday. Colonel General Viktor Bondarev said fighter jets could be hijacked in countries neighboring Syria and used to attack Russian forces. “We have calculated all possible threats. We have sent not only fighter jets, bombers and helicopters, but also missile systems,” Bondarev told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. “We must be ready.”

Syrian regime ‘profits from disappearances’
AFP, Beirut Thursday, 5 November 2015/Syria’s government is profiting from money charged to families of people trying to find loved ones forcibly disappeared in what are crimes against humanity, rights group Amnesty International charged on Thursday. The group said the Syrian state was benefiting from an “insidious black market in which family members desperate to find out the fates of their disappeared relatives are ruthlessly exploited for cash.” Amnesty said nearly 60,000 civilians are believed to have been “disappeared” since Syria’s conflict began with anti-government protests in March 2011. Families are left with no trace of their relatives and often face detention themselves if they contact security services seeking information.
Rise of middlemen
That has given rise to a black market in which middlemen are paid sums up to tens of thousands of dollars to collect information about missing loved ones. “As well as shattering lives, disappearances are driving a black market economy of bribery which trades in the suffering of families who have lost a loved one,” said Philip Luther, director Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa program. “They are left with mounting debts and a gaping hole where a loved one used to be.”Nicolette Boehland, the report’s author, said there was ample evidence that the state was benefitting from the money being paid to brokers. “We are certain that government and prison officials are profiting from the payments they receive in relation to disappearances, as this has been corroborated by hundreds of witnesses,” she told AFP.“The practice is so widespread that it is difficult to believe the government is not aware of it and effectively condoning it by failing to take action to stop it.”
False hopes
Amnesty said some families had sold property or spent their life savings trying to find missing relatives, sometimes receiving false information in exchange. It cited the case of one man whose three bothers disappeared in 2012 and who spent $150,000 (138,000 euros) trying to find them.
He was unsuccessful and ended up in Turkey, working to pay back his debts, the group said. Luther said the government’s campaign of enforced disappearances amounted to crimes against humanity and urged the U.N. Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court. More than 250,000 people have been killed in Syria since the conflict began in March 2011 with protests against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule. All parties to the increasingly complex war have been accused of rights violations of varying degrees of severity, ranging from arbitrary detention to the use of chemical weapons.

Pentagon welcomes advance by ISIS-fighting allies in Syria
AFP, Washington Thursday, 5 November 2015/A coalition including Syrian Arab groups regained a swath of territory in northeastern Syria from ISIS militants, a U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday, calling it an encouraging success. The fighters, who are from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and its Syrian Arab Coalition subgroup, regained 87 square miles (255 square kilometers) near the town of al-Hawl, U.S. military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said. The group "conducted an attack ... driving ISIL back," Warren said by videoconference from Baghdad, using an alternate acronym for ISIS. "This is not a large tactical action," he said, but "we are encouraged by what we saw." The spokesman said the operation had pitted "well over a thousand friendly forces" against "several hundred enemies" in the vicinity, after heavy U.S. airstrikes had cleared the way. Warren said the U.S. intended to "reinforce" the action, seeming to hint at further ammunition air drops to U.S.-allied groups after those that took place last month. The Syrian Democratic Forces were formed in mid-October as an alliance between the powerful Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and other Syrian rebel groups. The Pentagon's announcement came just a day after The New York Times published an article calling into question the capabilities of the SDF and the Syrian Arab Coalition. Referring to the SDF, The Times said that "nearly all the group's fighting power comes from ethnic Kurdish militias" - suggesting it was not quite the coalition of Arabs and Kurds it claimed to be.

France to Deploy Aircraft Carrier in Anti-IS Fight in Syria, Iraq
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 05/15/The French presidency on Thursday said it would deploy its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to boost its operations against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. The presence of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the flagship of the French navy, will add to the six Rafale jets stationed in the United Arab Emirates and the six Mirages flying out of Jordan. The Charles de Gaulle did a two-month stint in the Gulf from February, from where strikes against IS in Iraq were carried out, before returning to its base in the French port of Toulon. During this time about 20 aircraft carried out 10-15 combat sorties a day, according to the army. France launched air strikes against the jihadists in Syria in October, after a year of bombing IS in Iraq, saying it was acting in self defense. France was hit by a jihadist attack in January that left 17 dead and has foiled several other attempted attacks. The country fears hundreds of citizens that have left to fight with IS in Iraq and Syria will return to launch attacks on home soil. Since beginning operations in Iraq, French fighter jets have carried out 1,285 aerial missions, resulting in 271 strikes and the destruction of 459 targets. Only two known strikes have so far been carried out in Syria.

Russia’s Syria force grows to 4,000: U.S. officials
Reuters, Washington Thursday, 5 November 2015/Moscow’s military force in Syria has grown to about 4,000 personnel, but this and more than a month of Russian air strikes have not led to pro-government forces making significant territorial gains, U.S. security officials and independent experts said. Moscow, which has maintained a military presence in Syria for decades as an ally of the ruling Assad family, had an estimated 2,000 personnel in the country when it began air strikes on Sept. 30. The Russian force has since roughly doubled and the number of bases it is using has grown, U.S. security officials said. The Russians have suffered combat casualties, including deaths, said three U.S. security officials familiar with U.S. intelligence reporting, adding that they did not know the exact numbers. The U.S. has extensive intelligence assets in the region, along with satellite imagery and electronic eavesdropping coverage and contacts with moderate Sunni and Kurdish rebels on the ground in Syria. Russia’s foreign ministry declined to comment on the size of the Russian contingent in Syria or any casualties it has suffered. It referred questions to the Russian Defense Ministry, which did not respond to written questions submitted by Reuters. The Kremlin has said there are no Russian troops in combat roles in Syria, though it has said there are trainers and advisers working alongside the Syrian military and also forces guarding Russia’s bases in western Syria. The only death the Russian government has reported was that of a serviceman who the military said died by suicide. The man’s parents have said they doubted this account. The U.S. has strongly criticized President Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Syria’s 4-1/2-year civil war, and President Barack Obama has predicted it could lead to a quagmire for Russia. But Obama has had little success in affecting the conflict himself. Washington has targeted ISIS in more than a year of air strikes, and last week Obama ordered the first U.S. troops into Syria - a small contingent of up to 50 special operations forces who will advise U.S.-backed rebels.

Russia Sent Missile Systems to Syria, Says Air Force Chief
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 05/15/Russia sent anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria to back up its air campaign, the commander of the air force Viktor Bondarev said in an interview published Thursday. "We sent there not just fighter planes, strike aircraft and helicopters but also anti-aircraft rocket systems," Bondarev told Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid daily. He said that Russia made the decision to bring missile systems to Syria because "we took into account every possible threat.""There could be various force majeur situations. Let's imagine a military plane is hijacked and taken to a neighboring country and air strikes are aimed at us. And we have to be ready for this." The defense ministry could not be immediately reached for comment. Bondarev said Russia has "more than 50 planes and helicopters" in Syria, "precisely the number we need. At the moment, we do not need more."He said that a Russian jet that strayed into Turkish territory in October had done so because as it flew along the Turkish border in dense cloud "the equipment showed that some ground-based air defense systems were trying to capture the plane. "Therefore the pilot had to make an anti-missile maneuver. So he passed into the Turkish air a tiny bit. As we honestly admitted," Bondarev said. The defense ministry previously said only that the plane strayed into Turkish air space on October 3 because of bad weather conditions. Turkey said the Russian aircraft exited its airspace after it was intercepted by two Turkish F-16 fighter jets.NATO called the incident a "serious violation."

Syria Rebels Seize Key Regime Town on Hama-Aleppo Road
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 05/15/Syrian rebels, including jihadists, seized the last government-held town on the main highway between second city Aleppo and the city of Hama to the south, a monitoring group said. Jihadist group "Jund al-Aqsa and opposition groups have seized full control of the town of Morek after a fierce offensive," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Jund al-Aqsa hailed the victory on its Twitter account.

U.S., allies target ISIS with fresh round of airstrikes
Reuters, Washington Thursday, 5 November 2015/The U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS) targeted the militants with 23 air strikes on Wednesday, the U.S. military said in a statement. Twenty fresh strikes in Iraq targeted the militant group in eight cities, including Sinjar, Ramadi and Mosul, the statement released on Thursday said. In Syria, three strikes hit near Mar'a, Al Hasaka and Al Hawl.

France to deploy aircraft carrier in anti-ISIS fight in Syria, Iraq
Reuters, Paris Thursday, 5 November 2015/France will deploy its aircraft carrier to support operations against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, President Francois Hollande said on Thursday, bolstering Paris' firepower in the region amid international efforts to launch Syrian peace talks. The carrier is usually accompanied by an attack submarine, several frigates, refuelling ships, as well as fighter jets and surveillance aircraft. “The aircraft carrier will enable us to be more efficient in coordination with our allies,” Hollande said at the inauguration of the new defence ministry headquarters in Paris
French warplanes struck their first targets in Syria at the end of September. It was the first country to join the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and has also provided limited logistical support to Syrian rebels it considers moderate, including Kurds. However, Hollande's government has faced criticism at home for his Syria policy with some saying Paris has lacked flexibility and cohesion on the crisis. A meeting on Thursday of France's defence cabinet, which includes key ministers and officials from the intelligence services and military, aimed to outline how France will proceed over the next months in Syria and Iraq on both a political and military level. “The president underlined the importance of supporting the Vienna process to move towards a political transition,” a statement from the presidency following the meeting said, referring to international talks held in recent weeks between key stakeholders. “He said the core elements of any accord had to be the fight against Islamic State and the end of the bombing of civilians. (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) cannot be in any way part of the future of Syria.”The talks have so far yielded no breakthrough, although a new round is expected next week. France has also been one of the main backers of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, one of the main parties in international discussions to end the four-year-old civil war. Diplomatic sources said its president Khaled Khoja would meet French officials in Paris on Friday to discuss latest developments.

Free Syrian Army reps to meet Russian officials next week
Reuters, Moscow/Beirut Thursday, 5 November 2015/A Free Syrian Army delegation has agreed to meet Russian officials in Abu Dhabi late next week to discuss the Syrian crisis, a Russian news agency said on Thursday, but representatives of four FSA rebel groups dismissed the report. The Sputnik news agency cited a coordinator of the talks as saying the FSA delegation would meet Russian foreign and defence ministry officials. In late October, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a loose alliance of rebel groups, denied its delegations had visited Moscow amid heightened diplomacy on Syria. The FSA does not operate with a centralised command structure. According to the coordinator cited in the Sputnik report, Mahmoud al-Afandi, 28 FSA brigades in the suburbs of Damascus, Quneitra, Hama and the western suburb of Homs, as well as from the northern front and from the suburbs of Aleppo and Idlib, had agreed to meet Russian officials. He was quoted as saying that the meeting would discuss the creation of a joint operating centre to fight Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Nusra Front, as well as the search for a political solution. But representatives of FSA-affiliated groups that receive backing from foreign states opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad dismissed the report, with one saying the Russians had been meeting Syrians who falsely claimed to be FSA. Bashar al Zoubi, a prominent rebel figure, said there was no sign that the Russians wanted an ‘honest solution’ to the war, and therefore there was no contact with them. Zoubi, who is head of the political office of the FSA-affiliated Yarmouk Army, added that he had not heard anything of the meeting and that Russia had been searching for allies in the rebellion and political opposition to strengthen its position. Fares al-Bayoush, head of another FSA group, Fursan al Haq, said no FSA delegation was going to meet the Russians. “They are meeting with Syrians who do not represent anyone, and claim they met representatives of the Free Army,” he said. A member of the FSA-affiliated Sham Revolutionary Brigades’ leadership council, as well as the head of the FSA group 13th Division fighting in western Syria, echoed the denials. Russia has recently stepped up its efforts to broker a peace deal between Syrian government officials and members of the country’s splintered opposition. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Tuesday the Kremlin would invite representatives of both sides to meet in Moscow next week.

Syria rebels seize regime town on Hama-Aleppo road
By AFP, Beirut Thursday, 5 November 2015/Syrian rebels seized the last government-held town on the main highway between second city Aleppo and the city of Hama to its south on Thursday, a monitoring group said. The blow to the Damascus regime came just a day after it recaptured from ISIS forces an alternative route further east that had provided its sole link to neighborhoods of Aleppo under its control. Militant faction Jund al-Aqsa and opposition groups have seized full control of the town of Morek after a fierce offensive, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based watchdog’s director Rami Abdel Rahman said that clashes were still raging in the south and east of the town, and that “dozens” of soldiers had been killed or wounded. Jund al-Aqsa boasted of victory on its Twitter account, but a Syrian security source denied any major setback. “There are clashes around Morek and there is some infiltration but the fighting is ongoing and we are dealing with the situation,” he told AFP. Morek has changed hands several times in Syria’s four-year civil war. Government troops last retook it in October 2014. Last month, Syrian troops launched a major fightback in Hama province with Russian air support, with the main Aleppo highway a principal objective. It was one of a number of counteroffensives the Damascus regime has launched since Moscow intervened in its support on September 30. But they have faced fierce resistance, particularly in Hama. “Instead of gaining ground, the regime has lost territory,” Abdel Rahman said. On Wednesday, the Syrian army recaptured the alternative route it was using to reach the government-held western sector of Aleppo city, relieving tens of thousands of stranded civilians. Advancing ISIS forces had severed the road late last month. There are several rival jihadist groups fighting in Syria. As well as ISIS, there is al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, with which it has frequently fought. There is also Jund al-Aqsa, which last month withdrew from the Army of Conquest alliance of Al-Nusra and Islamist factions, which controls Idlib province in the northwest and parts of neighboring Hama and Latakia. In a statement posted on its Twitter account, the group said the Army of Conquest was not dedicated enough to establishing a Syria ruled by Islamic law.

U.S., UK Say Bomb May Have Downed Russian Jet, Cairo and Moscow Dismiss Concerns
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 05/15/Britain probed security at Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh airport on Thursday and scrambled to repatriate thousands of tourists as Cairo and Moscow dismissed fears a Russian plane was downed by a bomb. Hours after Britain announced it was suspending flights in and out of the Red Sea resort, where most tourists are British or Russia, Germany's Lufthansa followed suit, citing "the current situation on the Sinai peninsula" as fears grew over airline safety. And several European governments said they were also reviewing the situation. British Prime Minister David Cameron held an emergency cabinet meeting on the repatriations and spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin to explain the decision before talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at Downing Street. Citing intelligence, Cameron said it was "more likely than not that it was a terrorist bomb" that had caused a Russian passenger jet to crash in the Sinai Peninsula on Saturday. "There are a relatively simple and straightforward set of things that need to happen at Sharm el-Sheikh airport to give us greater certainty of safety," he added. Flight KGL9268, which was heading for Saint Petersburg, crashed soon after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh airport, killing all 224 people on board. Washington also believes a bomb may have caused the crash, but Cairo and Moscow contradicted that assessment. A U.S. official familiar with the matter told CNN on Wednesday that the latest U.S. intelligence suggests that the crash was most likely caused by a bomb on the plane planted by the Islamic State group or an IS affiliate. The official stressed that there has not been a formal conclusion reached by the U.S. intelligence community. "There is a definite feeling it was an explosive device planted in luggage or somewhere on the plane," the official said. The assessment was reached, the official added, by looking back at intelligence reports that had been gathered before Saturday's plane crash and intelligence gathered since then. The United States did not have credible or verified intelligence of a specific threat prior to the crash, however, the official said, prior to the incident, "there had been additional activity in Sinai that had caught our attention." Another U.S. official said the intelligence regarding the IS is in part based on monitoring of internal messages of the extremist group. Those messages are separate from public IS claims of responsibility, that official said. Egypt's civil aviation minister Hossam Kamal said Thursday that investigators "have as yet no evidence or data confirming the theory" of a bomb attack. And the Kremlin dismissed the idea as "speculation." "The reasons for what happened can only be put forward by the investigation," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "Any other proposed explanations seem like unverified information or some sort of speculation."
Sisi, Cameron in talks
On Thursday, Cameron welcomed the Egyptian president to Downing Street on a pre-planned trip -- his first visit to Britain since the overthrow of his predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Around 200 protestors staged a demonstration against Sisi's human rights record, some temporarily blocking the entrance to Downing Street. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Britain was planning emergency measures to repatriate holidaymakers from Sharm el-Sheikh, starting from Friday. There are an estimated 20,000 Britons currently at the Red Sea resort. Hammond said the measures "will allow us to screen everything going onto those planes, double-check those planes so we can be confident that they can fly back safely to the UK."
A small British military team has been sent to the resort as part of the review.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told CNN television it was "somewhat premature" to reach conclusions and suspend flights. But Hammond said Shoukry "hasn't seen all the information that we have." The Islamic State jihadist group claims it caused the crash and said Wednesday it would reveal how at a time of its choosing. The Russian jet was flying at altitude of 30,000 feet (9,150 meters) when it lost contact with authorities, 23 minutes after take-off. Experts say the fact that debris and bodies were strewn over a wide area points indicated the aircraft disintegrated in mid-air, meaning the crash was likely caused by either a technical fault or a bomb on board. If confirmed, it would be the first time Islamic State, which controls large areas of Syria and Iraq, has bombed a passenger plane. The IS affiliate in Egypt is waging a bloody insurgency in north Sinai that has killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers.
Egypt tourism threatened
The crash has sparked fears in Egypt over its vital tourism sector on the peninsula. A string of major tour operators have suspended package flights to its resorts, while analysts have warned the industry faces serious risk of lasting damage. "Tourism in Egypt will simply die if it was a terrorist attack that brought the plane down," said Hamada Nagi, a tour operator from the Red Sea resort of Hurgada. Russia on Thursday began burying the first victims of the crash, with several hundred people gathering in Veliky Novgorod, south of Saint Petersburg. Russian air force commander Viktor Bondarev also said Moscow had sent anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria to back up its air campaign in order to counter "every possible threat.""Let's imagine a military plane is hijacked and taken to a neighboring country and air strikes are aimed at us. And we have to be ready for this," Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper quoted him as saying.

Israel Frees Former Hunger Strike Palestinian
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 05/15/Israeli authorities said late Wednesday they had freed a Palestinian detainee who survived a two-month hunger strike, after holding him for a year without trial in a case that sharpened tensions in the West Bank. "Mohammed Allan has just been released," Sivan Weizman, a spokeswoman for Israel Prisons Service, said in a message. Allan's father Nasser al-Din Allan told AFP earlier that he would take his son for a hospital checkup on Thursday. Allan was arrested in November 2014 and held under a measure known as administrative detention, which allows imprisonment without trial for six-month periods renewable indefinitely. In June, he began a two-month hunger strike that brought him close to death and heightened tensions in the occupied West Bank. Israel's High Court suspended his detention on August 19 while he was receiving medical treatment following his hunger strike, which twice left him in a coma. His detention was renewed in September after his health improved and he was discharged from hospital. Allan then resumed his hunger strike, only to call it off two days later. The Israeli army subsequently announced that his detention would not be renewed and he would be released on November 4. The radical Islamic Jihad group says the 31-year-old lawyer from Einabus, near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, is a member. Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency says that before his arrest, Allan "was in contact with an Islamic Jihad terrorist" with the aim of carrying out large-scale attacks. He was previously imprisoned from 2006 to 2009 for allegedly seeking to recruit suicide bombers and aiding wanted Palestinians. Allan's release comes as a wave of violence rocks the West Bank and Israel. Nine Israelis, 70 Palestinians -- around half of them alleged attackers -- and an Arab Israeli have died since the start of October.

Bahrain jails five for Iran-linked militancy, strips their citizenship
Reuters, Cairo Thursday, 5 November 2015/Five Bahrainis were convicted of conspiring with Iran to carry out attacks inside Bahrain, sentenced to life imprisonment and stripped of their citizenship, Bahrain’s Public Prosecutor was cited as saying by state news agency BNA reported. The Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom says Shiite neighbour Iran is trying to foment unrest among its majority Shi’ite population. Tehran denies this. On Wednesday, the interior ministry said it had arrested 47 members of a group it said had ties to “terror elements in Iran” and was also plotting attacks. Public Prosecutor Ahmed al-Hammadi said in a statement on BNA that two defendants were present at the sentencing at Bahrain’s Criminal Court, while the rest were tried in absentia. The statement said the five communicated with members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard with the aim of carrying out attacks on banks and public buildings. Two of them had trained in Iran with the Revolutionary Guard, while the others provided financial and logistical support, it said. Last month Bahrain recalled its ambassador to Iran, a day after the Gulf Arab state said its security forces had discovered a large bomb-making factory and had arrested a number of suspects linked to the Revolutionary Guard. Home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, Bahrain faced protests during the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings in which Shiites demanded political reforms.
The government denies that it discriminates against Shiites.

5 Bahrain Shiites Get Life in Jail for 'Spying for Iran'
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 05/15/ A Bahraini court on Thursday revoked the citizenship of five Shiites convicted of spying for Iran and sentenced them to life imprisonment, a judicial source told AFP. The verdict comes amid escalated tension between Bahrain and Iran, as Manama recalled its ambassador and asked Tehran's envoy to leave last month claiming interference in its affairs. It also came a day after Bahrain said it has uncovered a "terrorist organization" linked to Iran and arrested 47 of its members, foiling imminent attacks in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom. The five defendants were convicted of "spying for and seeking with Iran and its agents to carry out hostile acts against the kingdom", the source said. They were found guilty of working with Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard to carry out attacks in Bahrain against public facilities and banks. Two of them had received training in Iran on "the manufacture and use of explosives and firearms in preparation for carrying out these hostile attacks", according to the charges. Three of those convicted, one of whom is in Iran, are being tried in absentia while the remaining two who appeared in court Thursday said they were forced to confess "under torture", the source said.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Thursday 11/5/2015 - 11:21 GMT | 320 words
ADDS IRAN REAX
A Bahraini court on Thursday revoked the citizenship of five Shiites convicted of spying for Iran and sentenced them to life imprisonment, a judicial source told AFP. The verdict comes amid escalated tension between Bahrain and Iran, as Manama recalled its ambassador and asked Tehran's envoy to leave last month claiming interference in its affairs. It also came a day after Bahrain said it has uncovered a "terrorist organisation" linked to Iran and arrested 47 of its members, foiling imminent attacks in the Sunni-ruled Gulf kingdom. The five defendants were convicted of "spying for and seeking with Iran and its agents to carry out hostile acts against the kingdom", the source said. They were found guilty of working with Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard to carry out attacks in Bahrain against public facilities and banks. Two of them had received training in Iran on "the manufacture and use of explosives and firearms in preparation for carrying out these hostile attacks", according to the charges. Three of those convicted, one of whom is in Iran, are being tried in absentia while the remaining two who appeared in court Thursday said they were forced to confess "under torture", the source said. In Iran, a foreign ministry official rejected the latest accusations against Tehran as "baseless."Repeating such charges "does not change the reality," said the official, quoted by the ISNA news agency. "We advise Bahraini officials to resolve their country's internal problems instead of accusing others." Shiite-majority Bahrain has been hit by unrest since a pro-democracy uprising in 2011, and it frequently accuses predominantly Shiite Iran of meddling in its affairs. In August, Bahrain arrested five people suspected of links with Iran in connection with a bombing that killed two policemen.

Sisi: Egypt ‘ready to cooperate’ to ensure tourists’ security
By Staff writer, Al Arabiya News Thursday, 5 November 2015/Egypt is “completely ready” to work together with its partners to protect foreign tourists, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Thursday after meeting British Prime Minister David Cameron. Following talks in Downing Street, Sisi said he was “completely ready to co-operate with all of our friends” to ensure the safety of foreign tourists as fears grew that a weekend plane crash in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula may have been caused by a bomb.
Sisi said that the UK requested information on Egypt’s airports’ security 10 months ago. Cameron, meanwhile, said Britain is working extensively together with Egypt on Sharm al-Sheikh crash. However, Egypt’s Tourism Minister Hesham Zaazou said on Thursday that Britain’s decision to suspend flights from the Sinai Peninsula following the Russian plane crash there was unjustified and called for an immediate rethink. “The decision is unjustified and carries a lot of question marks,” he said in remarks on the state news agency MENA.(With AFP, Reuters)

Egypt Court Postpones Mubarak Murder Retrial
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/November 05/15/Egypt's top court began a retrial Thursday of ex-president Hosni Mubarak over the deaths of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ousted him, but postponed the hearing after a brief session. The Court of Cassation postponed the retrial to January 21. In June 2012 a court had convicted the 87-year-old, who ruled Egypt with an iron fist for three decades, for the deaths of hundreds of protesters and sentenced him to life in prison. But that verdict was appealed and a new trial ordered. On November 29 last year, the judge in the case dropped the charges. The prosecution appealed that ruling, and the Court of Cassation overturned it, ordering the retrial that commenced on Thursday. The Court of Cassation itself is conducting the retrial and its ruling will not be subject to appeal. Mubarak has been held for months in a military hospital in Cairo due to ill health, his lawyer Fareed al-Deeb said. Judge Ahmed Abdel Kawy adjourned the retrial "to take necessary measures and procedures to move the trial to a suitable place and bring the defendant". Deeb told Agence France Presse that his client is serving a three-year sentence handed down in a separate trial that saw him convicted of embezzling 125 million Egyptian pounds ($16 million) from funds meant for the maintenance of presidential palaces. Mubarak and his two sons Alaa and Gamal were all arrested in 2011, months after the former strongman was toppled in a popular 18-day uprising.

Egypt court postpones Mubarak’s final trial over 2011 killing of protesters
Reuters, Cairo Thursday, 5 November 2015/Egypt’s top court on Thursday postponed the final trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak over the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his 30-year rule.
The Cassation Court adjourned Mubarak’s second and final retrial until Jan. 21 and ordered that it be moved from the High Court building in the center of Cairo to a “suitable location”.Many high profile trials have taken place at Cairo’s heavily fortified Police Academy since the 2011 uprising. The court did not specify where it would move the trial. Mubarak, 87, was originally sentenced to life in prison in 2012 for conspiring to murder 239 demonstrators, sowing chaos and creating a security vacuum during an 18-day revolt which began in January 2011, but a retrial was ordered on appeal. In that retrial, an Egyptian court in November dropped its case against him but public prosecutors appealed. Mubarak-era figures are slowly being cleared of charges and a series of laws limiting political freedoms have raised fears that the old leadership is regaining influence. Many Egyptians who lived through Mubarak’s rule view it as a period of autocracy and crony capitalism. His overthrow led to Egypt’s first free election, which brought in Islamist President Mohamed Mursi. But Mursi only lasted a year in office after mass protests against his rule in 2013 prompted then military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to take power. Sisi went on to win a presidential election last year. He has since cracked down on Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood and thousands of Brotherhood supporters have been jailed.

Former Iraq environment minister jailed for corruption
AFP, Baghdad Thursday, 5 November 2015/A former Iraqi environment minister has been sentenced to two years in prison for corruption and ordered to pay some $280,000 to the state, the judiciary said Thursday. Sargon Lazar Slewa, a Christian who served in former premier Nuri al-Maliki’s government, was tried on charges “related to corruption,” a judicial statement said. The statement did not give details on Slewa’s actions, or say when he was detained. He served as a minister during Maliki’s second term in office, which ended in 2014. Widespread public anger over corruption and poor services led to weeks of protests earlier this year, pushing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to announce a series of reforms aimed at streamlining the government and combatting graft. But the endemic nature of corruption in Iraq and the fact that officials are limiting their own privileges by implementing some changes are major obstacles to reform. And while officials such as Slewa are periodically punished for graft, more powerful politicians who have allegedly engaged in far greater corruption remain at large.

Anti-air missiles in ISIS hands also imperil Saudi, Jordanian and Israeli skies
DEBKAfile Special Report November 05/2015
The British Cobra (emergency cabinet) decision of Wednesday, Nov. 4, not to send airliners to or from Sharm El-Sheikh, where 20,000 British tourists are stranded, further strengthens the assumption that the Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 was downed over Sinai Saturday by a terrorist missile. It confirms that air traffic over Sinai and landings at Sharm are under threat from the ground - else why leave a large group of Britons under virtual siege in the Egyptian Red Sea resort? London said that the suspension of flights to Sharm was “indefinite.”
Moscow early Thursday accused London of being moved to this action out of hostility to Russia rather than security concerns.
Downing Street released a statement Wednesday saying: "As more information has come to light, we have become concerned that the plane may well have been brought down by an explosive device.” This statement was criticized by Egypt as “premature” – not a good omen for the conversation Prime Minister David Cameron is due to hold with his visitor, Egyptian president Abdel-Fatteh El-Sisi, later Thursday.
The British government has therefore stubbed toes in Moscow and Cairo without coming up with an emergency plan for evacuating its citizens from Egypt, whether overland to Cairo by bus or by sea aboard ships picking them up at the Red Sea resort and sailing through the Suez Canal.
This lack of initiative is a sign of confusion and uncertainty.
So far, the drawn-out deliberations and prevarications by officials in several countries regarding the crash of the Russian plane are meant for one purpose: to gain time for doing nothing about ISIS in Sinai. Neither the US, Russia or Britain is ready to send forces to the peninsula to confront the terrorists head-on.
The Ansar al Sharia terrorist organization in Libya, which attacked the US consulate in Benghazi and murdered the American ambassador in 2012, has the very missiles capable of shooting down large airliners flying at high altitudes: Russian-made ground-to-air Buk missiles, which have a range of between three and 42 kilometers. This ultra-violent Islamist terror group has very close operational ties with ISIS-Sinai, and very possibly smuggled the missile system into Sinai from Libya.
A number of intelligence agencies are aware of this and so a flock of leading European and Persian Gulf airlines lost no time in rerouting their flights to avoid Sinai straight after the Russian air disaster.
By causing this disaster, the Islamist terrorists coolly aimed for four goals:
1. Retaliation for Russian intervention in Syria
2. An attempt to destabilize the regime of Egyptian President Fattah Al-Sisi
3. To show up the inadequacies of the 63-member coalition that the US formed in its effort to fight ISIS
4. To parade before the world the Islamic State’s operational prowess, its ability to shoot down the large passenger planes of the world’s biggest powers.
For five days, intelligence and flight safety experts dismissed the claim of responsibility that ISIS issued on the evening of October 31, maintaining that it was not to be taken seriously because no proof had been provided to support the claim – as if the charred fragments of the plane spread across tens of kilometers of desert were deniable.
In the second of its three messages, ISIS repeated its claim Wednesday, Nov. 4, promising details of how it downed the plane at a later date.
While more and more Western governments are coming around to accepting that the Russian airliner’s crash was caused by an explosive device, debkafile’s counterterrorism sources repeat that they cannot rule out the possibility of a missile. The argument made on Wednesday in Washington and London that terrorist organizations do not have missiles capable of downing such planes is are simply incorrect.
ISIS-Sinai’s possession of an advanced ground-air missile system does not only endanger planes in the peninsula’s airspace, but also those aircraft flying over the Suez Canal as well as parts of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. One of the Egyptian president’s main purposes in his London visit was to try and persuade Prime Minister Cameron to join an Egyptian military operation against Ansar al Sharia in Libya and so eliminate a major prop and arms supplier for ISIS-Sinai. He does not hold out much hope of success.

Saudi U.N. envoy optimistic about Yemen talks
AFP, U.N. Thursday, 5 November 2015/The Saudi ambassador to the United Nations said on Wednesday he was optimistic that a new round of peace talks for Yemen will get off the ground this month after many weeks of preparation. U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed has been laying the groundwork for talks between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government and Houthi militias who seized the capital Sanaa last year. "We are optimistic. We are hopeful that the talks will take place," Saudi Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi said at a meeting with leaders of the Yemeni community in the United States. Mouallimi said Houthi militias had sought to sidestep demands in a U.N. resolution that they withdraw from territory seized in their campaign, but that they had "recently backed down" and were ready to negotiate a pullback. Saudi Arabia launched an air campaign in March to push back the Houthi offensive. Yemen's Ambassador Khaled Alyemany said the agenda for the peace talks should be finalized this week and that the U.N. envoy will travel to New York to announce the talks next week. Ould Cheikh Ahmed told AFP recently that he expected the new round to begin some time between November 10 and 15. Alyemany said negotiations would focus on a gradual withdrawal from the capital Sanaa and other areas held by the Houthis. "This is the picture that we have, and it's a positive picture," he said. A U.N. bid to launch peace talks in June failed over demands for a Houthi withdrawal from seized territory, but this time, much effort has been put in ensuring there is agreement on the agenda. The Huthis overran Sanaa in September 2014 and went on to battle for control of several regions, aided by renegade troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh. In July, loyalist forces backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition, evicted the rebels from five southern provinces, and have since set their sights on the capital.

Kurd rebels end unilateral ceasefire in Turkey
Reuters, Istanbul/Diyarbakir Thursday, 5 November 2015/Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants have ended an unilateral ceasefire in Turkey which they declared last month, a news agency close to them cited the PKK umbrella group as saying on Thursday. “The unilateral halt to hostilities has come to an end with the (Turkish ruling) AKP's war policy and the latest attacks,” the Firat news agency quoted the statement as saying. The group had declared the ceasefire on Oct. 10 ahead of a Nov. 1 parliamentary election. Turkish army kills 16 Kurdish rebels. Meanwhile, 18 people were killed in clashes with the military in southeastern Turkey on Thursday, lifting this week’s death toll to almost 40 in the mainly Kurdish area and dampening prospects for a ceasefire. The military killed 16 PKK rebels in a rural area near the town of Yuksekova near the Iraqi border, the General Staff said in a statement on its website. The army killed 15 PKK fighters and lost two soldiers there on Wednesday. In the town of Silvan, where authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew on three districts this week, two men were shot to death in street clashes, security sources said. Two others were killed earlier this week. The ruling AK Party regained its parliamentary majority in an election last Sunday, five months after it was deprived of single-party rule. In July, the long-running conflict against the autonomy-seeking Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) reignited. President Tayyip Erdogan, who had overseen a historic peace process that collapsed in July, vowed on Wednesday to continue battling the PKK until every last fighter was “liquidated.” An opinion poll by Ipsos released Wednesday said 13 percent of the electorate switched their votes ahead of the snap election due to fears of mounting PKK violence. The PKK, based mainly in northern Iraq, took up arms in 1984 and has scaled back its demands in recent years to greater political and cultural rights. It also has deployed some 1,400 militants to fight against Islamic State alongside U.S.-allied Syrian Kurds, Erdogan has said.

Turkey says plans anti-ISIS offensive in near future
By AFP, Ankara Thursday, 5 November 2015/Turkey has said it is planning to launch a military campaign soon against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group which is accused of carrying out the deadliest attack in the country’s history. “We have plans to act militarily against them in the coming days,” Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu told a conference in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil on Wednesday, describing the jihadists as a “clear and present threat”. “You will see. We should all stand together against this danger,” he said, according to the Anatolia news agency, but did not elaborate further. Turkish prosecutors say a sleeper cell acting on the orders of the ISIS group in Syria carried out the twin bombings last month on a peace rally in Ankara which killed 102 people and wounded 500. They said the extremists had wanted to disrupt Sunday’s election, which swept the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) back to power. Turkey’s NATO allies had long chastised Ankara for not taking a tougher line against ISIS as the extremists seized chunks of northern Iraq and Syria right up to the Turkish border. But following months of Western pressure, Turkey became a full member of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS in August and now allows American jets to use its Incirlik air base for raids, potentially making it a more likely target for jihadist attacks. Turkey has also rounded up dozens of ISIS suspects in recent weeks in police raids across the country. Sinirlioglu did not specify if Ankara’s action would target ISIS militants in Turkey or in Syria. “The occupation of one third of Iraq, and also vast areas of Syria, by Daesh has undoubtedly created one of the most serious challenge,” he said, using another name for ISIS. “It has threatened our security and, although the Daesh advance has been checked with the support of the international effort which we are a part of, the threat is far from over,” he added. “On the contrary, Daesh continues to constitute a clear and present threat, aimed directly at our way of life, our security, prosperity and stability.”

Turkey: Where Ice Cream Can Be More Dangerous than Bombs
Burak Bekdil/Gatestone Institute/November 05/15
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6820/turkey-ice-cream
Turkey has detained more people for tweeting against the government than for being members of the Islamic State. — Sezgin Tanrikulu, a Kurd, and a leading opposition member of parliament.
"Why did you all go to eat ice cream after prayers?" — Police interrogator in Usak, Turkey.
Sometimes one small incident best tells how countries can go insane. The pro-government Islamist psyche in Turkey has no limits in defying logic and humanity.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's native province, Konya, in central Anatolia, has traditionally been an Islamist stronghold -- before and after Turkey's ruling Islamist party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), was founded in 2001. In parliamentary elections on June 7, AKP won 65% of the vote in Konya, compared to 40.7% it won on a national scale.
On October 13, three days after a twin suicide bomb attack in Turkey's capital, Ankara, killed more than 100 Kurds and pro-Kurdish, leftist and secular Turks, Konya hosted a Euro 2016 football qualifier between Turkey and Iceland. Before the kick-off, both teams stood in silence for one minute to protest the bomb attack -- a typical gesture to respect the victims. Sadly, the moment of silence was marred by whistles and jeers: apparently the football fans of Konya were protesting the victims, not their jihadist killers. This response was perfectly in line with what the government has been doing since the attack took place.
The police found that the perpetrators belonged to a Turkish jihadist group linked to the Islamic State (IS, ISIS or ISIL). But Davutoglu insists that the bombing was an act of "cocktail terror" bringing together two hostile groups: jihadists and Kurdish militants who fight against each other in Syria. The prime minister cannot admit that jihadists could bring carnage to the heart of Ankara. His government quickly instituted a gag order on the bombing, and told journalists to shut up. "Is it so hard to say it was an ISIL attack," prominent columnist Murat Yetkin asked in his column. It is. Because: a) It would be just too embarrassing for an Islamist government to be hit by jihadists whom it had so generously supported in the past, and b) it would be risky to say publicly that Islamist Turks killed their own people just weeks before a critical election and in a country where Islamist sentiments are strong -- as observed at the kick-off ceremony in Konya.
A little bit of investigative journalism unveiled the Turkish reluctance in confronting IS, although Ankara said it already joined the allied campaign against jihadists in Syria. Tolga Tanis, a Washington-based Turkish journalist for the daily Hurriyet, wrote in his column on Oct. 19:
"And while Turkey was not targeting ISIL, and focusing on other things, names related to ISIL conducted the biggest bombing attack in the history of the Turkish republic ... I talked to two different sources at the Pentagon. The first official said, 'In the beginning they [the Turks] joined the operation, but then for a long time they did not [participate in it].' In other words, during the month of September, while Turkey earmarked its resources to the fight with the [the Kurdish] PKK, it did not even try to hit ISIL. But the first initial trials became unsuccessful. The second official pointed to the political dimension of the issue and said, 'The priority for Turks is the PKK ...' In other words, Turkey on the one hand used in the wrong way its resources by not focusing on ISIL and on the other, was unsuccessful in hitting ISIL targets."
It was not surprising that Turkey has joined half-hearted only three US-led airstrikes against IS.
At the hands of power-greedy Islamists, Turkey continues to be a bad joke, the ridiculous cradle of black humor. Sezgin Tanrikulu, a leading opposition member of parliament (and a Kurd himself) said that Turkey has detained more people for tweeting against the government than for being members of the Islamic State. He forcefully reminded everyone that Turkey did not categorize IS as a terrorist organization until a court order to that effect on July 15. "Without [government] protection this massacre [in Ankara] would not have happened," he said.
In the same way the news of whistles and jeers for the terror victims sounded surreal, the news on a police operation targeting "dangerous terrorists" looked amusing if not utterly ridiculous. The police, who failed to prevent the bombing attack in Ankara, detained 25 businessmen in the western province of Usak on suspicion of terrorism. During their interrogation, the police asked them questions including: "Why did you go to prayers together?," "Why did you all go to eat ice cream after prayers?" and "Why did you go abroad 20 years ago?"
Welcome to Turkey, where ice cream can be more dangerous than bombs.
Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
© 2015 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

"We Did What We Learned: Attacking Christians"
Raymond Ibrahim/November 5, 2015/Gatestone Institute
Muslim Persecution of Christians, August 2015
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/2015/11/05/raymond-ibrahim-we-did-what-we-learned-attacking-christians/
Western "mainstream media" and academia continued to exonerate Islam in deceptive op-eds, such as the Huffington Post's "ISIS Violates The Consensus Of Mainstream Islam By Persecuting Christians," by Qasim Rashid, a recipient of Saudi largesse, by way of Harvard University's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center.
A 12-year-old girl, raped by an Islamic State fighter, was told that "what he was about to do was not a sin" because she "practiced a religion other than Islam."
"In school I only learned about Islam. Parts of our teaching were about destroying Christianity. So we did what we learned, by attacking Christians ... Our teachers would tell us every time there was a new church in town and we were told to go and attack the people and destroy the church. So that is what we did." — Tofik, a former Muslim cleric who converted to Christianity.
Throughout the month of August, the Obama administration and the so-called mainstream media kept insisting that Islam does not promote the persecution of Christians -- all the while ignoring the direct testimonies of those who have undergone it.
According to Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda,
All the statements [by U.S. government and media] have not condemned strongly what damage it [persecution of Christians] is doing. What they are saying is just "This is not the true Islam. This is violating the picture of Islam." The issue for them is the image of Islam, but none of these statements speak about the victims, about what has been done to the victims, they are not even mentioned. And that is one of the questions our people have. [Author's emphasis].
Warda added that persecuted Christians are "being denied visas, while others who have participated [in the violence] or at least were silent, can go."Father Douglas al-Bazi, an Iraqi Catholic parish priest from Erbil, who still carries the torture scars he received nine years earlier at the hands of jihadis, denounced the Western refusal to accept reality about Islam: I'm proud to be an Iraqi, I love my country. But my [Muslim] country is not proud that I'm part of it. What is happening to my people [Christians] is nothing other than genocide. I beg you: do not call it a conflict. It's genocide... When Islam lives amidst you, the situation might appear acceptable. But when one lives amidst Muslims [as a minority], everything becomes impossible.... Wake up! The cancer is at your door. They will destroy you. We, the Christians of the Middle East are the only group that has seen the face of evil: Islam. Meanwhile, Western "mainstream media" and academia continued to exonerate Islam in deceptive op-eds, such as the Huffington Post's "ISIS Violates The Consensus Of Mainstream Islam By Persecuting Christians," by Qasim Rashid, a recipient of Saudi largesse, by way of Harvard University's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center. The rest of August's roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes, but is not limited to, the following accounts:
Islamic State: Savagery and Sex Slavery
Mokhls Youssef Batk, an Iraqi Christian, was blinded by the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) after he refused to convert to Islam.
The "caliphate" threatened that captive Christian women would become sex slaves unless they were ransomed with money. It posted images of three Assyrian Christian women who were previously abducted. The women hold pieces of paper on which their names and a date -- July 27, 2015 -- are written: "It is feared they will be sold to ISIS fighters if a ransom is not paid for them."A 12-year-old girl, raped by an Islamic State fighter, was told that "what he was about to do was not a sin" because she "practiced a religion other than Islam." IS also made clear in a 34-page manual released by its Research and Fatwa Department that "sex with Christian and Jewish women who were captured in battle is also permissible."
Jihad on Muslim Converts to Christianity
Uganda: After he learned that his family had converted to Christianity, a Muslim man went berserk. Issa Kasoono beat, strangled, and left his wife for dead. He also severely beat their two teenage sons for the crime of apostasy. The youngest son managed to flee and bring help from the church where, three months earlier, the Muslim mother and sons had accepted Christ. Due to injuries from the strangling, Kadondi, the mother, lost her voice, has difficulty eating, and requires extensive surgery. According to a local source: "The mother and Ibrahim [older son] Kasoono were seriously injured. Ibrahim was hit with a blunt object, had his right arm broken and has stomach pains, while the mother was strangled and sustained neck and throat injuries." Although Uganda's population is 85% Christian and 11% Muslim, attacks on converts to Christianity are on the rise, and include the recent murder by poisoning of a mother, and the gang rape of a teenage daughter of a Christian pastor.
Somalia: A Muslim convert to Christianity (name withheld) managed to escape from Al Shabaab -- the dominant Islamic front -- but only after the jihadis chopped off four fingers from his right hand while interrogating him about his conversion. Another man, 31-year-old Sharif, fled his home after his conversion to Christianity was exposed: "My association with a visiting white missionary landed me in trouble... I feel sad because I cannot see my family, because if I return back to Somaliland, then the government will arrest me." His wife and four children -- aged 8, 6, 4, and 1 -- have also relocated to an undisclosed town: "I am not sure what will happen to my wife and four children. I am praying that God will provide for their basic needs. Pray for me that one day I will see them."
Pakistan: Khurram Naveed, 33, a Christian man, and Sobia, 25, a Muslim woman, are on the run. Sobia discovered Christianity through Khurram and decided to be baptized. Since they got married and had two daughters, her parents, Muslim neighbors, and imams have repeatedly tried to convert them to Islam or face the consequences. In the words of Khurram:
"Since we got married we have had to change places many times... Wherever we go, people ask about my beloved wife's conversion. Sometimes, imams try to force us to convert to Islam, issuing terrible threats.... My wife, I and our children have had to flee from place to place. We feel threatened as soon as people find out about my wife's Muslim past. However, running from one place to another is not easy. There are so many problems.... Until now I have to change job six times, and finding new employment is not easy. But we need security for our life and we ask for help from the people of God.
Horn of Africa: A former Muslim cleric, who converted to Christianity and is known as Tofik, explained in an interview what Islamic preachers teach about Christians in mosques and what such converts can expect. For the previous 24 years, he had trained to become an imam at an Islamic madrasa: "In school I only learned about Islam. Parts of our teaching were about destroying Christianity. So we did what we learned, by attacking Christians once we finished our training."
Tofik said he was taught that Christians are evil and that he and other students should steal from and kill them: "We beat them, attacked the church and burnt their Bibles. ... Our teachers would tell us every time there was a new church in town and we were told to go and attack the people and destroy the church. So that is what we did." Due to a series of dreams, he eventually embraced Christ. News of his apostasy spread quickly, especially among his own tribe:
They reacted by coming to my home saying, 'This brother is dead.' In our culture, when someone dies their property is shared. So they destroyed my house, setting it on fire, and they took my cattle, and the remainder of my property. They then falsely accused me of burning another house, so I was jailed and taken to court. It was only in the court process that the witnesses proved their dishonesty by having contradicting testimonies.
After being released from jail, Tofik continued preaching Christ and even inspired more than 200 people to convert:
"As a result local villagers were upset. So again, they attacked me physically and burned my house.... The attackers assumed I was dead, so they threw me into the compound. Then they looted the small kiosk I owned and proceeded to loot and burn my children's properties. They said they have killed the lead figure and now our area is free of his activities. They started shouting and singing."
Jihad on Christian "Blasphemers"
Egypt: Medhat Ishak, a 35-year-old Christian, was arrested for handing out Bibles to Muslims outside El-Arab Mall in Sixth of October City. Mall security guards turned him over to national police, who accused him of evangelizing. The day after his arrest, a judge amended the charge against Ishak to "defamation of a revealed religion" and ordered him held for 15 days. After his term ended, the judge extended his detention for another 15 days. Ishak's attorney, Rafik Rafaat, suspects the judge will keep extending the detention order, in violation of Egyptian law, until the case falls out of the public eye. Then he will hand Ishak a prison sentence of one to five years, in accordance with the defamation charge. This is because there are currently no charges against "evangelism" under Egyptian law. Handing out Bibles or even promoting Christianity does not constitute "defaming" Islam. "The word 'blasphemy' means that he was insulting the other religion [Islam], but he didn't do that, and he didn't talk about Islam or prophets or anything like that to be accused of blasphemy," said the Christian's lawyer. "So, now we are surprised that the attorney general accused him of blasphemy when he did not commit any act of blasphemy."
Pakistan: Protestant Christian Pastor Aftab Gill and three other Christians from Gujrat were accused of blasphemy for having used the word rasool ("messenger" or "apostle") during an event made public by their community, the Biblical Church of God. Local Muslims grew angry, saying that, as rasool is one of the Muslim prophet Muhammad's attributes, Christian use of the word is blasphemous. But Christian activists say that because the word simply means apostle and appears in Urdu Bibles as such, it was used in that generic sense, and that the Christians were not trying to blaspheme. Muslims were nevertheless about to burn Christian homes and a church, but police managed to restore calm before the situation escalated. Unitan Gill, Pastor Aftab's younger brother, said that local Muslim businessmen are jealous of the Christian family's success in running a local grocery store, and that it was Muslim grocers who brought this matter to the attention of the police.
Islamic State Destruction of Syrian Churches
The Islamic State "caliphate" released a video showing its militants razing the ancient Mar Elian monastery to the ground. In the video, the jihadis can be seen removing the remains of Saint Elian, after whom the monastery was named, from their ancient stone sarcophagus, and then gleefully desecrating his bones. The church was built on the spot where Saint Elian was killed by his father, a Roman officer, for refusing to renounce Christ. Earlier, IS abducted an estimated 250 Christians from the monastery and its surrounding villages, many of whom were women and children.
Islamic State jihadists in the midst of destroying the ancient Mar Elian monastery in Syria. On Sunday, August 23, a rain of mortars fell on a Damascus neighborhood. Two shells hit the roof of the Maronite church. Nine people were killed and about fifty were wounded. A nearby Catholic parish was also damaged. According to Maronite Archbishop Samir Nassar, "Part of the war in Syria is to live under indiscriminate bombing, a kind of Russian roulette which is always unpredictable." Survivors tell the archbishop that those who die are better off, because they "will not have to see and live this cruel tragedy without end."
Pakistani Dhimmitude
The Christian minorities of the "Land of the Pure" continued to be treated as third class, unwanted "citizens."Muslims attacked and severely beat a Christian family after a Muslim boy mocked a Christian boy by saying that his pregnant sister-in-law will "give birth as their cows and buffalos do." The Christian boy reciprocated with an insult, and the Muslim boy began to beat him. Later in the evening, the Muslim boy and his brothers went to the Christians' household and attacked the entire family. While beating the pregnant Christian women, they yelled, "You cannot be pregnant without permission of Muslim master who pays you." After visiting the family, a human rights group stated that the "Christian Community is facing all sorts of discrimination and disgrace from their land Lords, neighbors, or where ever they live or work. Christians have no right to respect, education, free living and now they are under observation/mockery of giving birth, now our majority brothers [Muslims] will decide whether the Christian women will give birth respectfully or like animals."
As torrential flooding spanned across various regions of Pakistan and washed away thousands of homes, Christians in Kasur received little humanitarian aid and were left to starve. Their two options -- to receive help from Muslims or the government -- was either to convert to Islam or willingly accept becoming modern-day slaves. According to Wilson Chowdhry, the president of the British Pakistani Christian Association, while Muslims in the region have benefited from temporary shelter, clean water and food provided by governmental agencies and Muslim charities, Christians have been left without those bare necessities and medication needed to fight illnesses. Said Chowdhry: We are aware that this community has previously been offered aid from Muslim charities if they convert but they never accept conversion. They hold strong to their faith. They believe God will be their provider. These families have literally been struggling without food. Churches have opened up their doors but can't provide them much aid because the churches themselves in the region are struggling. We are talking about a very rural part of Pakistan. Chowdhry added that as desperation started to get the best of the Christian population in Kasur, many ended up signing bonded labor contracts in order to receive aid from Muslim landlords. In a separate incident, a few days after a Christian man stopped two Muslim brothers from harassing Christian girls on their way to church, the two brothers broke into the Christian's home, and beat and shot him. The man was later taken to a hospital, where he was reported in critical condition.
Boko Haram's Slaughter of Christians
Jihadists from the Islamic organization Boko Haram slit the throats of sixteen Christian fishermen on the shores of Lake Chad in the Nigerian state of Borno. The increase in such incidents is supposedly in retaliation for the Chadian government's efforts against Boko Haram around Lake Chad. According to Bishop Ramolo, "The Chadian President Idriss Deby has declared open war against the Islamists, and these acts represent an attempt at revenge."A Christian leader, stabbed in April by rampaging young Muslims in Kaduna state, suffered a relapse after an initial recovery. Pastor Emmanuel Danjuma of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, while visiting a Muslim-majority region of Nigeria, was attacked by Muslims reportedly angry about election results. "They called me an infidel and attacked me." The pastor was clubbed and stabbed several times. A village elder apparently ordered the youths to stop. "I don't know what happened then, as next I found myself in a hospital in Saminaka town. After a few days, my situation deteriorated and I was transferred to this Christian hospital."
About this Series
While not all, or even most, Muslims are involved, persecution of Christians is expanding. "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some — by no means all — of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It documents what the mainstream media often fails to report.
It posits that such persecution is not random but systematic, and takes place in all languages, ethnicities and locations.
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6795/we-learned-attacking-christians
**Raymond Ibrahim is author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War in Christians (published by Regnery in cooperation with Gatestone Institute, April 2013).

What Would Rabin Do?
David Makovsky/Politico/November 05/15
Twenty years later, the assassinated prime minister's hopes for Palestinian separation still resonate.
The twentieth anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin's assassination on November 4 is a dolorous reminder that the main issue he tried so hard to tackle -- and was ultimately murdered over -- remains unresolved. Even as President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet for the first time in over a year on Monday at the White House, the current wave of stabbings has reignited the question of Israeli-Palestinian peace.
And that in turn has given rise to a new meme among pundits in honor of Rabin, the prime minister who was shot to death in 1995 by a right-wing Jewish extremist seeking to stop a peace deal with Palestinians: WWRD. What would Rabin do?
While the Israeli-Palestinian issue has been eclipsed by violence in Syria and elsewhere in the region, the latest violence inside Israel makes it hard not to wonder whether Rabin, were he alive, might still be capable of inspiring people over the possibilities of peace.
Of course, there are limitations to WWRD. Rabin did not have to cope with the rebuilding of a trust that today has shattered due to a variety of reasons. (It has been argued that if he was alive, the trust would remain intact, but this is unclear.) He did not have to deal with the Arab world that is preoccupied with other conflicts including the chaos emanating from Syria and the broader Sunni-Shia strife.
Nonetheless, the current round of stabbings of Israelis by Palestinians would not have fazed Rabin. As a candidate to return to the premiership, Rabin was no stranger to Palestinian killings. In 1992, he edged out Yitzhak Shamir soon after a fifteen-year-old, Helena Rapp, was fatally stabbed in Bat Yam. In the aftermath, he said he wanted a separate entity from the Palestinians. He had no illusions that peace would be easy, but he felt that Shamir, his political opponent, had no answer, given that he did not want to divide the land.
Rabin's belief in separation meant that he was not going to wait for a millennial peace that would solve all issues at once. The idea of separation was that Israelis and Palestinians required their own political entities and this was the overriding objective, even if the remaining issues of the conflict (Jerusalem, refugees) had yet to be resolved. He believed it was not healthy for Israeli decision-making to be held hostage by perpetual gridlock. After all, Zionism came about because the Jews were committed to transforming their predicament and refused to be paralyzed.
Politically Rabin was a centrist who might be best characterized as a security dove. He understood there was no military solution to a political conflict. As a war hero who helped to win the stunning Six Day War in 1967 and as a defense minister between 1984 and 1990, Rabin definitely had an appreciation for Israel's military force, but he saw its limits as well. At his inaugural speech at the Knesset as premier in 1992, Rabin demonstrated his understanding that Israel existed in a wider strategic context. The world was changing after the end of the Cold War and Gulf War and Israel needed to redefine strength. Rabin dispelled the notion that if you are weak, you cannot afford to compromise, and if you are strong, you do not need to compromise. As Israel's Mr. Security, Rabin believed that Israel could compromise from a position of strength. Current Israeli security officials who know the military strength of Israel and the weakness of its adversaries say Rabin's comments are as true today as they were at that time.
Even more, he saw military action of any kind as a last resort. As a journalist who interviewed him countless times, I remember him often saying how important it was for him to be able to look into the eyes of mothers and tell them he had tried all options before sending their sons into battle.
At the heart of Rabin's character was intellectual honesty, coupled with a strong analytical bent. Rabin's analysis led him to believe that the "all or nothing" approach to peace with the Palestinians was self-defeating, and that one had to move in increments. When I once asked him why he did not try to solve all the issues with the Palestinians in the secret Oslo negotiations, he declared this was not possible and it was better to solve what was solvable rather than merely lament that a grand deal could not be struck. He felt in order for Israel to be both Jewish and democratic, it needed to move toward the goal of separation, even if it could not achieve a grand peace all in one leap.
Rabin's incrementalism would give way not long after his death to even more ambitious efforts to solve the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The U.S. would spearhead three such major efforts: Camp David/Clinton Plan (2000), the Annapolis process (2007/2008), and the Kerry Initiative (2013/2014). Yet for differing reasons, the grand deal remained elusive.
While one is tempted to say that if Rabin were alive there would be peace today, this seems uncertain at best. His relationship with Yasser Arafat was never strong. More critically, given Rabin's policy positions -- at least the ones he would publicly articulate -- it is far from certain that he could have closed the gaps, especially when it came to security arrangements and Jerusalem. In his last Knesset speech, and at times beforehand, Rabin emphasized that Israel should retain security control of the eastern frontier of a Palestinian entity in the Jordan Valley and said that he did not want to divide Jerusalem. He even said he envisioned the Palestinians having "less than a state," but his views may have evolved had he lived. (The gaps between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who says he supports a two-state solution, and Palestinian President Abbas on these same issues make a grand deal any time soon look very unlikely.)
However, the key distinction between Rabin and Netanyahu is that Rabin was committed to telling his public -- as he often did -- in an unambiguous fashion that the status quo was very bad for Israel, and it needed to be addressed.
In the Mideast, whenever it is all or nothing, it is almost always nothing. But inaction also exacts a price. The alternative to incremental change is a grinding status quo where Israel -- fairly or not -- faces increasing isolation internationally and a de facto binational reality, which puts at risk the idea of Israel as a nation state of the Jewish people that also guarantees equal rights to all citizens. Moreover, a lack of territorial success is bound to mean the eighty-year-old Abbas is accused of failure by Palestinian radicals.
If one cannot achieve the goal in one leap, Rabin's experience in 1993 could provide an attainable model. It might be best to focus on the settler dimension of the West Bank, while leaving the hard security, refugee, and Jerusalem issues for the future.
It is interesting that Yitzhak Herzog, leader of the Labor Party once led by Rabin, has referred lately to Rabin's idea of "separation," which the slain prime minister often talked of without explicitly endorsing a Palestinian state. In his recent major Knesset policy speech, Herzog sounded more pessimistic than in the past about reaching a grand peace deal with Abbas. While Herzog would prefer that Israelis and Palestinians work together toward an agreement on delineating a territorial boundary in the West Bank, he seems to be suggesting that Israel should pursue a West Bank pullout of non-bloc settlers (the 20 percent of the settlers who live in 92 percent of the West Bank east of the security barrier), if an agreement is not possible.
In Rabin's last policy speech to the Knesset, shortly before his death, he declared, "We know the chances. We know the risks. We will do our best to expand the chances and reduce the risks." He could not reduce the risks to himself personally, but his legacy continues to be about putting country first.
So given today's paralysis, WWRD? It's impossible to say for certain, but we know he would want to do something to move beyond today's paralysis to avoid the slide toward permanent binationalism with the Palestinians -- which to Rabin was a direct threat to Israel's character.
**David Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at The Washington Institute.

The Manama Dialogue: Searching for Unity in the Face of Chaos
James F. Jeffrey/Washington Institute/November 05/15
The solidarity expressed at the latest regional gathering of senior U.S., European, and Middle Eastern defense officials, diplomats, journalists, and analysts was encouraging, though some aspects of Washington's policies in Syria and elsewhere still need clarification.
From October 30 to November 1, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) convened its annual Manama Dialogue, the flagship forum for Middle Eastern defense and security officials and their foreign partners. This year's dialogue sought to inventory the multiple crises shaking the region and demonstrate unity amid threats from seemingly all directions. One result was a sense of solidarity, at least among government officials, as well as a new reluctance to criticize the United States or the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for the unhappy state of affairs. The main takeaway message was clear: "Things are so serious that we all have to hang together."
Indeed, the 2015 dialogue took place in the most dramatic regional security environment since the conferences began over a decade ago. While last year's gathering focused on the critical ISIS threat, this year's discussions were held in the shadow of many other stunning developments -- the Iran nuclear deal, Russia's military engagement in Syria and de facto alliance with Iran, the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, political crisis in Turkey, potential conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and continued fears of American withdrawal from the region or security rapprochement with Tehran. In various ways, the conference demonstrated a new sense of unity and purpose among the United States, its European allies, and the GCC states, four of whose six leaders had voted with their feet by avoiding the Obama administration's Camp David summit mere months ago in protest of the pending Iran deal.
HIGH ATTENDANCE
The attention that conferences like this generate beyond military officers, defense firm representatives, and GCC officials typically signals the level of concern among the states involved and the international media. This year's unusually high attendance by senior officials and journalists suggests deep concern. Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi opened the proceedings with a keynote speech. Although his remarks were routine -- and perhaps more in line with the worldview of his GCC financiers than with his actual policies back home -- his presence alone demonstrated the appeal of this year's conference.
The United States also sent a strong delegation led by CENTCOM head Gen. Lloyd Austin and Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while the European officials in attendance included Germany's impressive defense minister Ursula von der Leyen and British foreign secretary Philip Hammond. Among the usual gaggle of Middle Eastern officials was Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir, who came directly from the Syria talks in Vienna and was easily the most dynamic presence at the event.
SYRIA, NOT ISIS, IS THE MOST PRESSING PROBLEM
The Syrian crisis was the dialogue's most salient theme, with a prominent role given to Khaled Khoja, president of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. On that note, Jubeir provided a detailed description of the Vienna talks. Although he was upbeat, he made clear that the talks had not achieved any breakthrough, and that Saudi officials still believe the solution boils down to two ultimatums: "When does Bashar al-Assad go?" and "When do the 'occupying forces' (his definition: Iran and Russia) leave?" On other Syria issues, he indicated room for compromise. But he insisted on a clear timeline -- up to six months for a new government without Assad to be formed, and eighteen to twenty-four months for that new government to produce a new constitution and hold elections. He characterized the Iranian and Russian position at Vienna as follows: Assad will only go if he is voted out in those elections, an argument that Jubeir roundly rejected.
Blinken was also strong on the "Assad must go" theme but remained general on the details. He presented the standard Obama administration line that the Russians were not succeeding in Syria and would soon find themselves bogged down in high costs and fading rapport with the Arab world. Many in the audience challenged him here -- when he was accused of "subcontracting" the Syria job to the Russians (i.e., in the belief that combat fatigue would eventually compel them to compromise on Assad's fate), he cited the supposedly potent indirect effect that new U.S.-trained anti-ISIS fighters would have on the Assad regime. When pressed, however, he failed to clarify what exactly Washington's policy would be if such fighters were to fight Assad's forces directly. He and Jubeir both suggested that the Saudi and U.S. positions on major issues at Vienna were very close, though other views sourced to Turkish officials suggested that there is more divergence, with Washington taking a softer line on when Assad should go.
EMPHASIZING IRAN'S AGGRESSION, NOT THE NUCLEAR DEAL
Despite the specific focus on Syria, the real worry for most attendees was the threat emanating from Iran's aggressiveness in the wake of the nuclear deal (or, as Jubeir described it, Tehran's "thirty-year record of aggression"). Russia's intervention garnered heavy criticism in large part because many saw it as a deliberate empowerment of Iran's regional designs. Blinken confirmed that the United States was ready to counter destabilizing Iranian activity throughout the Middle East, citing numerous examples of cooperation with regional partners on military, intelligence, and diplomatic matters, including Yemen.
The nuclear deal itself received little attention. Jubeir put the issue at least temporarily to rest by claiming that the agreement had dealt with the Iranian nuclear threat "for the moment." For his part, Blinken asserted that America's role in placing nuclear restraints on Iran was further proof of its engagement on regional security. He also asserted that the agreement was solely transactional and would not engender U.S. reluctance to confront Iran.
AMERICA IS BACK -- MAYBE
While skepticism about U.S. intentions and staying power ran through the audience, Blinken worked hard to emphasize Washington's engagement. His message was blurred somewhat when he twice invoked the administration shibboleth that those who call for a more active American military role in the region are essentially longing for a new Iraq quagmire (i.e., when he spoke of "large-scale, open-ended interventions" and "vast unintended consequences"). Nevertheless, he and General Austin wasted no opportunity to reinforce America's commitment and presence.
Here again it was Jubeir who most effectively argued the "America is still with us" theme. He rejected arguments that the temporary withdrawal of the last U.S. aircraft carrier in the region signaled a wider pull-out, and spent considerable time echoing Blinken's praise for the U.S.-GCC military and intelligence cooperation that has flowed from the Camp David summit (which King Salman pointedly did not attend). He even asserted that bilateral cooperation against Iran had reached unprecedented levels. Recent U.S. military moves -- retaking Kunduz, keeping forces in Afghanistan, having Special Forces participate in a raid in northern Iraq, and the decision to deploy Special Forces on the ground in Syria -- undoubtedly played a role in shaping this mood of solidarity.
ISIS NOT FORGOTTEN
The dialogue devoted considerable time and speaker power to ISIS and the violent Islamic extremism that feeds it. Foreign Secretary Hammond was particularly effective on this theme, and Minister von der Leyen, who has made a crusade out of pushing her country to provide military assistance against the group, made an exceptionally positive impression. Most of the formal and informal military briefings led by General Austin also focused on defeating ISIS. Iraq's struggle against the group was recognized in various ways as well -- the country's foreign and defense ministers were invited to speak (though the former had to cancel), and many attendees praised Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's internal reforms and efforts against ISIS, with Jubeir promising to dispatch the kingdom's long-withheld ambassador to Baghdad "within days." Even Afghanistan, often an afterthought at Arab-centric gatherings, was well represented when its foreign minister joined a panel on combating extremism.
POTENTIAL DISCORD ON ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN ISSUES
Policymakers will have to keep an eye on one problem that surfaced at Manama -- despite the plethora of more urgent items on the agenda, many of the Arab defense representatives placed undue emphasis on the disturbing but relatively limited violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and unfortunately they were echoed by some of the European attendees. Although Blinken affirmed U.S. readiness to reengage if the parties are serious about peace, he effectively countered the widespread assertions that "everything is Israel's fault." Still, the concerns expressed in Manama underlined the reality that America's vital cooperation with its regional partners against unprecedented chaos can be affected by what happens in Israel and the West Bank.
**James Jeffrey is the Philip Solondz Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute and former U.S. ambassador to Iraq and Turkey.

An Arab boycott of Palestine too
Abdulrahman al-Rashed/Al Arabiya/November 05/15
Palestinian citizens of Israel cannot enter Arab countries. This is how they are rewarded for holding on to their land and tolerating decades of Israeli oppression. It is prohibited to sell their products in Arab markets, while Jewish Israelis can visit Arab countries if they carry other passports.
Israel prohibits Palestinians in the occupied territories from leaving the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while most Arab governments prohibit them from entering their countries unless they carry Egyptian or Jordanian passports. Most Arab governments prohibit their citizens from visiting Palestinians in the occupied territories to support their tourism or benefit from their services. A Saudi football team recently refused to play a football match in the West Bank because it is considered as dealing with Israel and recognizing the latter's authority.
Arab League
This strange and shocking treatment of Palestinians actually has legal justifications. Arab League decisions oblige member governments not to deal with Israel or with anything it controls. Over the course of 60 years, this has harmed the Palestinians and their cause, and completely failed to harm Israel or its occupation. It has harmed the Palestinians as much as Israel has harmed them, sometimes more so. Arab decisions have impoverished and besieged the Palestinians in their occupied lands, and in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, where they live on the little support provided to them by international organizations. Palestinian citizens of Israel have better living conditions, but the decades-old Arab boycott of them has isolated them. The Arab League must be blind and deaf not to distinguish between the victim and the executioner, between the occupier and the occupied. If I had not known who worked at the Arab League when all these decisions regarding Palestinians were taken, I would have thought it was run on the basis of a conspiracy by Tel Aviv. However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The League's boycott has facilitated the occupation's task of prohibiting dealing with Palestinians. More Jews than Arabs have visited Jerusalem and its mosques and churches, as Arab governments prohibit their citizens from visiting them. Palestinians no longer have any hope in a political or military solution. Time and Arabs' attitudes toward the Palestinian cause have proven that it is merely a soccer ball they play with to serve their own interests. It is prohibited to buy from the Palestinians, to sell to them, to visit them, to host them, to pray in their mosques or to play football with them. The Arab League must be blind and deaf not to distinguish between the victim and the executioner, between the occupier and the occupied. It is time to reconsider the concept and policy on how to deal with Palestine and Israel. This political absurdity established by naive Arab politicians - who half a century ago thought the Israelis would pack their bags and return to New York, Saint Petersburg and London - must end. Millions of Palestinians pay the price every day as they continue to be besieged by both Arabs and Israelis.

Iran’s hardliners to Obama: Our house, our rules
Joyce Karam/Al Arabiya/November 05/15
Following the nuclear deal with Iran last July, there was a sense of hope in Washington and Western capitals that the three-decades-old animosity between Tehran and the United States would dissipate, and that the moderate camp who championed the agreement would be strengthened. Four months later, this sentiment is largely disrupted as Iran’s revolutionary guards redraw the old lines of escalation with the United States by taking more prisoners, humiliating the moderates and ramping up their regional role. Iran's latest detention of U.S. resident and Lebanese tech professional Nizar Zakka and Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi resets the clock internally to the pre- Hassan Rowhani and Jawad Zarif victory in Vienna, and sends a clear signal that the hardliners are still in charge and are clenching their fist towards the West. Regionally, the hardliners have also staged a comeback post-nuclear deal with their celebrated General Qassem Soleimani visiting Russia twenty days after the agreement, and dispatching his proxies thereafter to Syria and Iraq. The message from the hardliners, three months before the Iran’s legislative elections, is the bad blood with the United States won’t fade away with business opportunities and nuclear understandings in place, and that Tehran’s bellicose regional role won’t be restrained by its openness to the West. From Bahrain to Iraq to Syria and Lebanon, the post-nuclear deal Middle East is witnessing a deeper polarization between Tehran and its Arab neighbors.
Political and economic red flags
In the aftermath of the nuclear deal, many U.S. businesses including Apple and Boeing showed interest in the Iranian market and that the diplomatic detente would open the doors of a vibrant consumer’s market. Not so fast is the response from Iran’s hardliners who intend with the arrest of Namazi particularly to disincentivize the U.S. business community from entering Iran. The two arrests also humiliate the moderate camp in Iran who was behind inviting and building bridges with both Zakka and Namazi. The Lebanese professional was invited to Iran by the vice president for Women and Family Affairs, Shahindokht Molaverdi, while Namazi was a leading advocate for rapprochement between U.S. and Iran and ardent supporter of the deal. Their arrest is a slap in the face for the Rowhani camp, and a rude awakening for the West on who is calling the shots inside Iran. In a nutshell, the hardliners are making the case that the bet on the moderates could end you up in jail in Iran, and that rebalancing the internal politics in their favor can not be restrained by the West. Zakka and Namazi now join three other U.S. prisoners in Iran: Saeed Abedini, Jason Rezaian, and Amir Hekmati. Rezaian, a Washington Post reporter, was handed a “guilty verdict” last month by a secretive Revolutionary court and could face up to 20 years in jail. While the Obama administration officials stress their efforts to release the U.S. prisoners, Iran is publicly defying Washington by detaining more Americans.
Regional escalation
Iran’s hardliners' dance is not only on display domestically but is also happening in full force on the regional front where the IRGC is flexing more muscle since July. From Bahrain to Iraq to Syria and Lebanon, the post-nuclear deal Middle East is witnessing a deeper polarization between Tehran and its Arab neighbors, and a more fierce confrontation in the proxy battlefields. In Bahrain, and on several instances following the nuclear deal the last one being in September, explosives smuggled by boats from Iran were reportedly seized by the Bahraini authorities. While in Syria, Soleimani's trip to Moscow twenty days following the deal, laid the groundwork for the Russian air offensive supported by Iranian backed proxies on the ground in Aleppo and near Latakia. In Iraq, more photos of Soleimani surfaced from Beiji last month while visiting pro-Iranian militias that are fighting ISIS. Iran is also using its influence to block attempts to form a tribal Sunni force funded by the Iraqi government against ISIS. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a Senate committee last week that “[Iraqi Prime Minister] Abadi does not have complete sway over what happens in Iraq.”Interestingly as well, Hezbollah's rhetoric against the United States has dramatically escalated following the nuclear deal. In his last speech, the Secretary General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah lambasted the United States policies in the region, accusing Washington of waging “ a new war, a war on everyone who refused to submit to its hegemonic domination." No breakthroughs are on the horizon in Lebanon as well in electing a President or bridging the political divide. Whether the hardliners' comeback will last in Iran is contingent on the parliamentary elections and the wishes of the Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During the nuclear negotiations with the West, it was the Supreme Leader’s authority that gave Rowhani and Zarif the mandate to negotiate a deal. This mandate does not appear to have been granted to the moderates on regional issues and is being marginalized domestically by the hardliners. Maintaining the animosity towards the U.S. that has charged the revolution since 1979 is still the tool of the trade for the hardliners in Iran. The IRGC is making the point through prisoners and proxies that Obama's handshake with Zarif in New York can not translate into business as usual in Iran.

There can be no peace without justice in Syria
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim/Al Arabiya/November 05/15
The United States, European countries, Russia, Iran and Arab states met in Vienna last week to try to resolve the Syrian conflict. Predictably they failed to reach an agreement, but the meeting was reportedly not altogether fruitless, and participants agreed to meet again in two weeks. Getting these countries to agree on a course of action for Syria is easier than actually achieving peace, because there is no guarantee that a deal agreed by these parties will be the right deal for Syria. There can be no peace without justice - this has been the lesson of so many other conflicts. However, it seems unlikely that Syrians will get justice from the negotiations.
Accountability
The Shiite Alawite regime in Syria has committed crimes against humanity, particularly toward the Sunni majority. Shiites fear brutal reprisals if the regime falls, and not without reason. Meanwhile, Sunnis are unlikely to stop fighting until they can be satisfied that justice will be served for the hundreds of thousands dead and more than 10 million displaced. there needs to be an agreement that all the leaders of the various factions should, as much as possible, be held accountable for atrocities against civilians. Perhaps the only recent example of a country that has successfully emerged from a similar civil war is Bosnia in the 1990s. Its success was predicated on two factors: the main instigators of the civil war and the worst abuses against civilians were handed over to be tried for crimes against humanity at The Hague; and the country was effectively partitioned along ethnic lines. Both these things will be necessary in Syria. President Bashar al-Assad and his leading commanders need to be tried for crimes against humanity. However, rebel groups - not least the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) - are similarly guilty of such crimes. As such, there needs to be an agreement that all the leaders of the various factions should, as much as possible, be held accountable for atrocities against civilians. In addition, the country may need to be federalized or partitioned along sectarian lines. Assad’s fate is the main sticking point. Russia and Iran fear losing their regional influence if his regime falls. Both countries have invested hugely in the Assad dynasty for decades, and will not just give into demands to have him removed. If they could be persuaded that Assad himself could be disposed of, they would insist that the core group of people that constitutes his regime remains de-facto in power in some shape or other. U.S. and European negotiators could be persuaded to accept such an arrangement, especially in the current climate where Russia and Iran seem to hold all the cards in terms of military deployment on the ground in Syria. The problem is that if Syrian Sunnis perceive that not all those responsible for the many unspeakable atrocities against their community have been held to account, they will not stop fighting.
Partition
The idea of federalizing or partitioning Syria is not on the cards for any of the negotiators. The West has a seemingly innate distaste toward adjusting borders, even when it is patently clear that those borders are meaningless, senseless, and only promote conflict. Russia and Iran have no interest in seeing their client state diminished in such a way.Yet by now it should be clear to any observer that there is no such thing as a “Syrian” people. Alawites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds have made it amply clear in the past four and a half years of conflict that they do not feel themselves to be part of the same national identity. They are not a national community. They are a number of sectarian and ethnic communities trapped in a perpetual struggle of us versus them within the prison of the “national” borders of the Syrian state. Should we not even entertain the notion that these communities should be allowed to go their separate ways in peace?

Russia and Iran: Different goals behind calls for Syrian elections?
Manuel Almeida/Al Arabiya/November 05/15
Very few regular observers of the Arab world’s intricate politics would have expected to see the day Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for elections in an Arab country. Just a few days ago, Khamenei called for elections in Syria as the way to solve the crisis that has brought the country to its knees, with terrible repercussions in the region and beyond. "The solution to the Syrian question is elections, and for this it is necessary to stop military and financial aid to the opposition,” Iran’s Supreme Leader is reported to have said during the annual address to Iran’s diplomats. The Iranian call for a new round of elections in Syria after last year’s came, at first sight, to support the Russian position. In late October, Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, had argued in an interview with Russian state TV that all “external players” trying to resolve the Syrian crisis should push for a political settlement involving “both parliamentary and presidential elections.”The Russian need to push for a favourable outcome of the Syrian crisis gained a sense of urgency with the growing weakness of Assad’s forces, as well as the advances by the various armed opposition groups and ISIS.
Lavrov’s comments followed Bashar al-Assad’s surprising visit to Moscow and, save for the mention of presidential elections, reiterated a point Vladimir Putin had already made. In September, the President of Russia had told reporters that Assad was ready to hold parliamentary elections and share power with the "healthy" Syrian opposition.
2014’s farce
If the Syrian presidential election in June last year is anything to go by, another election of this sort would make a mockery of all Syrians unwilling and unable to participate, including the Syrian opposition, the millions of Syrian refugees and internally displaced people, as well as those who live in rebel- or ISIS-held areas. According to Syria’s constitution, Assad was required to seek re-election to remain in power before his second seven-year presidential term expired in July 2014. Thus, elections were held amidst the brutal civil war. The election, held only in regime-controlled areas, was backed and endorsed by Russia and Iran. It featured only three candidates: Assad himself and two others who tried to pose as independents. The result was predictable: according to the government’s version, Assad got almost 88.7% percent of the vote, while the two so-called challengers (Hassan al-Nouri and Maher Hajjar) together gathered 7.5%. Perhaps the most sordid detail of all were the various parliamentarians and other figures from populist regimes (including Brazil, Uganda and Venezuela) who came to observe the election and endorsed it as “free and fair”, as did Iranian and Russian observers. The fact the winner was a mass-murderer directly and indirectly responsible for the death of over a quarter of a million people and counting was irrelevant for them. Contrary to what President of Iran, Hasan Rowhani, claimed before-hand about what kind of election Syria needed, the process was anything but “free and fair”. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman still noted the election was "naturally not 100 percent democratic" given the circumstances, but then concluded there were no reasons to question the legitimacy of the election.
Russia, the wild card
Until recently, the argument for holding elections as an almost miraculous formula to address political turmoil in the Middle East was a typical feature of Western governments’ and organizations’ approach to the region. This approach had lost some its appeal after it was applied in Afghanistan to elect Hamid Karzai or in the chaos of Iraq following the U.S. led invasion, but to an extent the Arab uprisings revived the idea. So why are the leaders of both Russia and Iran, who have a peculiar and rather instrumental relationship with the concept of elections itself, now claiming that voting is the only way for the Syrians to get out of their quagmire? The timing could explain much. With direct talks involving all relevant regional and global players (for the first time since 2011) set to proceed, Iran and Russia are pushing for an outcome that in their perspective most suits their interests while they still have the ability to do so.
The Russian need to push for a favourable outcome of the Syrian crisis gained a sense of urgency with the growing weakness of Assad’s forces, as well as the advances by the various armed opposition groups and ISIS. This precipitated the Russian intervention to prop-up the regime, which in turn allowed the various pro-regime forces including the pro-Iranian militias to mount a counter-offensive. An election in the near future could only result in one of two outcomes: the victory of Assad or an approved regime insider. Either scenario should allow Iran and Russia to continue to defend their key strategic interests in Syria. It could, as some suspect, provide more ground to a plan to push for a de-facto Alawite-controlled state in Western Syria that would continue to leave the doors of the Eastern Mediterranean to Russians and Iranians.
However, things may be more complicated. Russia and Iran might be calling for an election but it is unclear whether they want the same thing out of that election and when it should take place. Iran is unlikely to welcome an election that bars Assad and his various family members from running, whereas Russia might be amenable to the possibility of a new leadership that could appeal to the moderate opposition. Earlier this week, the words of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova that keeping Assad in power was neither crucial nor a matter of principle for Russia received wide media coverage. Yet, as early as 2012, Putin himself said: “We aren’t concerned about Assad’s fate, we understand that the same family has been in power for 40 years and changes are obviously needed.” The question remains, does he mean it?

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Click Here to go to the LCCC Daily English/Arabic News Buletins Archieves Since 2006