LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 05/2012

Bible Quotation for today/God's Judgment
Romans 02/01-16" Do you, my friend, pass judgment on others? You have no excuse at all, whoever you are. For when you judge others and then do the same things which they do, you condemn yourself.2 We know that God is right when he judges the people who do such things as these.3 But you, my friend, do those very things for which you pass judgment on others! Do you think you will escape God's judgment?4 Or perhaps you despise his great kindness, tolerance, and patience. Surely you know that God is kind, because he is trying to lead you to repent.5 But you have a hard and stubborn heart, and so you are making your own punishment even greater on the Day when God's anger and righteous judgments will be revealed.6 For God will reward each of us according to what we have done.7 Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life.8 Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out his anger and fury.9 There will be suffering and pain for all those who do what is evil, for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles.10 But God will give glory, honor, and peace to all who do what is good, to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles.11 For God judges everyone by the same standard.  12 The Gentiles do not have the Law of Moses; they sin and are lost apart from the Law. The Jews have the Law; they sin and are judged by the Law.13 For it is not by hearing the Law that people are put right with God, but by doing what the Law commands.14 The Gentiles do not have the Law; but whenever they do by instinct what the Law commands, they are their own law, even though they do not have the Law.15 Their conduct shows that what the Law commands is written in their hearts. Their consciences also show that this is true, since their thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them.16 And so, according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on that Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
An open letter to my Druze and Christian co-religionists in Syria/By:Mona Alami/Now Lebanon/April 04/12
Al-Assad: “We’ll be back after these messages/By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/April 04/12
It's Not Road Rage, It's Terrorism/by Daniel Pipes/National Review Online/April 04/12
UCLA Honors Sharia Apologist Khaled Abou El Fadl/by Cinnamon Stillwell and Judith Greblya/FrontPageMagazine/April 04/12
Al-Shatar’s nomination and the dangerous possibilities/By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat/April 05/12

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 04/12
Israeli President Shimon Peres: Assad’s Fall Will Be Deathblow to Hizbullah
Israeli Northern Command Major General Yair Golan l Says Nasrallah is ‘Legitimate’ Target for Jewish State
Lebanese Forces bloc MP Joseph al-Maalouf says no decision “to boycott” Rai
Israeli General Says Nasrallah is ‘Legitimate’ Target for Jewish State
UNIFIL Marks International Day of Mine Awareness, Suleiman Pledges International Aid
Baragwanath Meets Mirza, Thanks Lebanese Govt., Judiciary for Cooperating with STL
Iran ducks away from nuclear talks. Moscow: Mid East at boiling point
Clinton: Unilateral Israeli strike on Iran is in no one's interest
Just like Iran, Israel has a supreme leader: Netanyahu
Iran 'Advises' Arab Neighbors against Missile Shield
ICC/Islamic Radicals Bomb Open-Air Christian Meeting, Kill Two Believers And Wound Over Thirty
Canadians Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird Announces Closing of International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
U.N. ceasefire moves fail to deter Syria violence
Syrian Troops Press Assault against Rebels
'Syria vows to withdraw all military troops from towns by April 10'
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Says Syria Opposition Will Never Defeat Assad's Army
Report: Syrian opposition member Shebli al-Aisamy Died in Unknown Circumstances
Jumblatt to quit Cabinet if proportional representation approved
Sniper fire at Maarab, says Lebanese Forces
Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahracalls Maarab incident “murder attempt”
March 14 condemns shooting toward Geagea’s residence
Maronite bishops back calls for Arab-Mideast spiritual summit
Hezbollah says no alternative to Lebanon government
Spanish envoy, Mikati discuss local and regional developments
Mustaqbal Deems Bassil’s Remarks on Negotiations on Leasing Power-Generating Ships as a Scandal
Hezbollah says no alternative to Lebanon government
Former military officer and Free Patriotic Movement official Fayez Karam released from prison after serving 20 months for Israel ties
March 14 may reject Charbel’s draft electoral law, hint MPs
Lebanon presses Cyprus to revise Israeli EEZ agreement
Lebanon's Arabic press digest - April 4, 2012

Stark Difference Between Patriarch al-Meouchi and Patriarch al-Rai
Farid Ghadry Blog/Reform Party of Syria
Only recently did I learn of the political position of Patriarch Bechara al-Rai, the Maronite Patriarch of Lebanon, which seem to hold the regime of Assad in high regard given some of the outlandish remarks he made even the Maronite Lebanese community found unacceptable. Patriarch al-Rai was elected the Maronite Patriarch of Lebanon the day the Syrian Revolution began on March 15, 2011.
In one of his remarks in Paris in early September 2011, Patriarch al-Rai asserted that the removal of Assad could lead to a Muslim Brotherhood takeover in Syria. On its face value, this kind of analysis would go unnoticed by anyone else. But the intent of the Patriarch was to defend Assad more than to draw attention to the Islamists. The remark created the belief that Patriarch al-Rai was politically employed by the Assad regime in the middle of extreme violence against the Syrian civilian population.
If this sounded insensible, it was. Because even if Patriarch al-Rai had an opinion on the subject, his timing and delivery impressed upon many his employment status. It was as if Assad dispatched him to France to plead Assad's case.
As many who support the Syrian Revolution but also support a non-Islamist government crowned with moderation and protected by accountability and transparency, it is difficult to walk that fine line between accepting secularism without tyranny and not accepting Islamism with its own tyranny. I struggle with this issue everyday.
To understand the negative effects of Hezbollah and the Assad regime upon Lebanon, one has to go back in history to Lebanon of 1964 under the leadership of Patriarch Peter Paul al-Meouchi.
My age was in the single digits when my father decided that Ba'athism is not in the best interests of Syria. Finding a home to go to when the Ba'athists and the Nasserites in Egypt intended on killing my family was not easy. For 11 months, my mother and my little sisters were under house arrests with soldiers standing guards outside our apartment in Damascus. Meanwhile, my father was running around in Eastern Europe moving from one country to another every 48 hours on transit visas.
Patriarch al-Meouchi heard about my family's plight from a Lebanese MEP named Nicolas Mougabghab. Acting on his conscious and Christian love, the Patriarch offered my family a home in Lebanon to settle in. It was an act of kindness my family will always remember but it was also an act of defiance against the new face of oppression the Middle East was starting to witness.
If I can describe adequately the benevolence of the Maronite Christian community in Lebanon, I would do so but I believe my grammar would not be fair to how great this little community is. Never once, as a Muslim, did I feel out of place amongst them. If co-existence had to be learned in schools, the Maronites of Lebanon will be the best teachers.
The stark difference between Patriarch al-Meouchi and Patriarch al-Rai lies in the transformational powers the region has experienced over the last 40 or so years. It's the same Maronite community but their environment has become one of violence and extreme cruelty and despotism. Patriarch al-Rai is the creation of that environment but he does not really represent the real chore goodness of his own community. Copyrights © Reform Party of Syria (Project Syria, Inc.) 2003-2011

Gunshots fired toward Geagea’s Maarab residence
April 4, 2012 /The Lebanese Forces said on Wednesday that there were shots fired toward LF leader Samir Geagea’s residence in Kesrouan’s Maarab.
“At 11:33 a.m., gunfire was directed toward [Geagea’s residence in] Maarab. Security forces in charge of protecting [Geagea’s] headquarters headed to where the shooting took place and found empty shells that belong to a sniper’s rifle,” the statement said.The statement added that the relevant security forces launched an investigation into the incident.
-NOW Lebanon

Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahracalls Maarab incident “murder attempt”
April 4, 2012 /Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahra on Wednesday said that the gunshots fired earlier in the day toward LF chief Samir Geagea’s Maarab residence sought to murder the Christian leader. “The [gunfire] was not intended as a message to [Geagea], since it was a direct murder attempt,” Zahra told New TV.He added that the “attempted murder” had been “meticulously planned over a long period of time.” Zahra also told New TV that the gunshots were fired from a type of sniper rifle “which is [not available for sale] on the market.” “There are predictions that [there may be an attempt] to [target Geagea] by shooting [him] directly, or via missiles [that could be launched at his residence],” Zahra said. -NOW Lebanon

March 14 condemns shooting toward Geagea’s residence
April 4, 2012 /The March 14 General Secretariat condemned Wednesday’s shooting toward Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea’s residence in Kesrouan’s Maarab. “We call on the Lebanese cabinet to reveal the circumstances behind this dangerous incident that targeted a national symbol and a March 14 leader,” March 14 said in a statement.It added that the “attack comes with the context of incitement committed by symbols that revolve in the orbit of the Syrian regime.” “March 14 stands [as one] by the LF and its leader and considers this attack as not targeting one [of the March 14] parties but as targeting it [as a whole].”-NOW Lebanon

The head of the Israeli Northern Command Major General Yair Golan l Says Nasrallah is ‘Legitimate’ Target for Jewish State
Naharnet /04 April 2012/The head of the Israeli Northern Command Major General Yair Golan stated that Hizbullah’s possession of chemical weapons obligates Israel to take the necessary measures to combat them.He added that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is a “legitimate” target for the Jewish state. He made his remarks in an interview with Israel Today newspaper that will be published on Friday. Addressing the situation in the Arab world, Golan noted that a war may erupt in the region without prior warning. The Israeli general also predicted that embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad may likely remain in power for at least 2013. Syria has been witnessing a revolt by its people against Assad’s rule.The ruling regime has retaliated with a violent crackdown against the protesters.The United Nations estimates that some 9,000 people have been killed in the uprising that began in March 2011.

Israeli President Shimon Peres: Assad’s Fall Will Be Deathblow to Hizbullah
Naharnet /04 April 2012/Israeli President Shimon Peres stated on Wednesday that Syrian President Bashar Assad is “more brutal” and “less clever” than his late father Hafez, reported Israeli news website ynetnews.com. He said while touring the Golan Heights with Israeli Chief of Staff Benny Gantz: “Assad’s fall will be a deathblow to Hizbullah.” The Israeli president noted that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah “knows that he currently lies in a difficult position,” said the news site. Furthermore, Peres warned that Lebanon would find itself in a “dangerous situation if Nasrallah chose to attack Israel.”
In addition, he stressed that the Jewish state will carry out the proper retaliation should it be attacked by Lebanon, revealing that Israel has so far “avoided attacking Lebanese strategic targets,” according to ynetnews.com. Nasrallah had stated in a speech on February 24 that Israel does not intimidate Hizbullah. He said: “They don’t scare us, let them say whatever they want.” Addressing the situation in Syria, Peres remarked that an army that attacks its own people “is not an army of the people.” The Syrian people have launched an uprising against the ruling regime, demanding the ouster of Assad. The regime has retaliated by waging a violent crackdown against the demonstrators. The United Nations estimates that some 9,000 people have been killed in the protests that began in March 2011.

Report: Syrian opposition member Shebli al-Aisamy Died in Unknown Circumstances
Naharnet / 04 April 2012, 09:38/Syrian opposition member Shebli al-Aisamy, who was kidnapped in Lebanon last year, has died in unknown circumstances, media reports said on Wednesday.
According to MTV, the Lebanese Institute for Democracy and Human Rights announced the death of al- Aisamy. Al-Aisamy, 86, is a co-founder of Syria's ruling Baath party who became a dissident and went into exile in 1966 over political differences with President Hafez Assad. However, he has not been reportedly involved in politics since 1992.Al-Aisamy was last seen in May 2011 in the Lebanese eastern region of Aley. The daughter of the Syrian figure, Raja Sharafeddine, family members, friends and several politicians had continuously demanded information about the condition of al-Aisamy.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Says Syria Opposition Will Never Defeat Assad's Army
Naharnet /04 April 2012, 08:31/Syria's opposition will never defeat President Bashar Assad's army even if it is "armed to the teeth," Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on Wednesday. "It is clear as day that even if the Syrian opposition is armed to the teeth, it will not be able to defeat the government's army," Interfax quoted Lavrov as saying while on a visit to the ex-Soviet nation of Azerbaijan."Instead, there will be carnage that lasts many, many years -- mutual destruction," said Lavrov.
Russia has emerged as the Syrian regime's closest ally and has previously sought to protect its Soviet-era trade partner against Western sanctions and possible foreign military intervention.
But Moscow has stepped up its criticism of Assad in recent weeks and has backed along with Arab and Western nations the six-point peace plan put forth by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan for resolving the year-long crisis. Lavrov said that two Syrian opposition groups will be visiting Moscow soon and that Russia will be using the meetings to convince them it wants to help end violence that the U.N. says have claimed more than 9,000 lives. He added that Syria's foreign minister would also be coming to Moscow on April 10.
"Right now, representatives of one group of the opposition are coming (to Moscow), and a few days later a second group will come from the domestic opposition," Lavrov said without providing further details. Russia last month said that it planned to soon host members of a moderate opposition group called the National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change in Syria.
"It would make sense to convince them that we also want to help resolve this problem," the RIA Novosti news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.
Russia has also been highly critical of the so-called 'Friends of Syria' meetings that group Western powers and some Arab states.
Its latest conference last weekend in Istanbul recognized the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) as a "legitimate representative" of all Syrians.
Lavrov called the move counterproductive because it discouraged the rebels from engaging in talks.
"If besides supporting Kofi Annan's plan (nations) also hold 'Friends of Syria' meetings in Istanbul -- ones that are aimed at ensuring that the opposition does not agree to negotiations -- this only undermines efforts to stop the violence," Lavrov said.SourceAgence France Presse.

Lebanese Forces bloc MP Joseph al-Maalouf says no decision “to boycott” Rai
April 4, 2012 /Lebanese Forces bloc MP Joseph al-Maalouf said on Wednesday that there was no decision “to boycott” Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai.“[There] are different points of view regarding some issues, particularly regarding Syrian events between [the LF and Rai], but there is no dispute between the two parties,” Maalouf told Future News television. He added, however, that there will not be close relations as long as the Patriarch stands by his positions on Syria. Rai’s statement that Syria was the closest thing to democracy in the Arab world sparked criticism from March 14 figures, including LF leader Samir Geagea who said he was “not proud” of Rai’s statements.  Lebanon's political scene is split between supporters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, led by the March 8 group, and a pro-Western camp represented by March 14. -NOW Lebanon

An open letter to my Druze and Christian co-religionists in Syria
Mona Alami/April 4, 2012 /Now Lebanon
Syria’s pro-democracy movement is no longer one. It has drowned in the tumultuous waters of a full-blown internecine war. Those of us born in the chaos of the 15-year Lebanese civil war now see a familiar sight in the images of bloody bodies and crumbling buildings that flash across our TV and computer screens. It is now Syria’s turn to suffer escalating violence, a failing economy and the meddling of foreign powers in its civil war. Violence has consumed opposition strongholds and is slowly spreading to larger cities. The Syrian opposition is stifled by infighting. The US and Europe seem in no hurry to intervene, leaving the crisis to spiral further out of control. But more profound hazards await Syria. Increasing sectarianism and the radicalization of the Muslim street are the dangers that will not be quelled with a military solution or an internationally brokered peace. It is a monster that once awakened will not go back to sleep without a true reconciliation. Lebanon is a living example of this unfortunate reality. In Syria, members of the Druze and Christian communities, along with other minorities, may believe that the wisest course of action is waiting it out to see if the Alwaite Assad regime or the mostly-Sunni opposition gains the upper hand.
They might be fooled into thinking that backing Assad, which most minorities do, will pay off. After all, government troops have fought the opposition Free Syrian Army fighters in their impoverished strongholds. The disorganized and poorly armed rebels have been unable to hold their positions. The Syrian forces have stayed relatively united, and defections have taken place mostly among lower-ranking officers. President Assad’s repression strategy might be working for now, temporarily quelling the insurgency with brutal force. Whole neighborhoods in the various rebel-held regions have been flattened, the residents killed or made refugees. “Why take a stand?” many minorities are thinking. The opposition and the regime will fight it out among themselves, or the international community will intervene soon enough to put an end to it. They are wrong. Violence is spreading. Rebel tactics are slowly changing, and they are coming to rely more on guerilla warfare. Pipelines are being bombed, and targeted assassinations taking place. In spite of the army’s crackdown, the opposition is still clinging to its rural strongholds, and the fighting is reaching closer to the once-safe capital of Damascus. There was even a pitched battle a few kilometers away from President Assad’s residence last month. Human Rights Watch has documented kidnappings, detentions, torture, and the execution of civilians and members of the security forces, which it attributed to armed opposition elements.
And it is becoming more sectarian. There have been attacks targeting Alawites, the sect from which the ruling family hails. Damascus and the country’s industrial center, Aleppo, have been shaken by a series of explosions, the latest by the newly formed Jihadi group Jabhat al-Nusra. Salafist movements, which in the past were only marginal, are slowly but surely gaining support and are being egged on by radical imams and jihadi bloggers. The longer Assad keeps on attributing the violence to “armed terrorist cells” and denying the regime’s actions, the more resentment it will foster. Every image of destroyed neighborhoods and corpses neatly tied in white shrouds sends waves of anger through the populace. As the rift deepens, the regime will draw in Syrian minorities, standing opposite the Sunni majority.
Assad is running out of time. He might still have a fragile upper hand, but his grip on the country is undoubtedly shaken. : President Assad strategy might be working for now, momentarily quelling the insurgency without being successful in dealing the massive final blow necessary to ensure the regime’s long-term survival. With the country’s coffers emptying at a startling speed, it his highly doubtful that Assad will have the means to rebuild the nation, a first step in the process of winning back the hearts of the people.
Humiliation breeds radicalism, and marginalized masses will only turn inward the longer the standstill continues. Minorities cannot be perceived as staying on the sidelines. A nation is strong when its people share a similar interpretation of history. There can be no winners or losers. Time does not heal all wounds. Syrian minorities can’t rely on wishful thinking alone. They need to take a stand. For history, if not for their own survival.

Iran ducks away from nuclear talks. Moscow: Mid East at boiling point
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 4, 2012/Iranian spokesmen are maneuvering for a postponement of the nuclear negotiations with world powers set to take place April 13-14 in Istanbul, debkafile’s Iranian sources report. It is feared in Washington and Jerusalem that Tehran is working toward two goals: To have the venue removed from Istanbul and to buy a couple more months before the diplomatic crunch, considering that the US and Israel are treating the April talks as the last chance for diplomacy to reverse Iran’s drive for a nuclear weapon. A postponement would therefore delay any military option that Israel or possibly America would choose to exercise.
The Iranians want the site moved to Moscow, Vienna or Geneva, a change opposed by Washington because it would consume several more months before the talks got started. Tehran is also signaling through Moscow that it is not prepared for the diplomatic dialogue to take place under military threat or economic sanctions.
While Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu refrained from mentioning military options in presenting his government’s three-year record Tuesday, April 3 – ignoring the three large-scale military movements afoot by the US, Russia, Turkey, Syria, Greece - and Israel itself, Moscow is talking about an imminent military conflagration as a result of the continuing US and Israeli military buildup in the Persian Gulf.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Tuesday, April 3: “The Middle East standoff could boil over into military action at any moment.” Referring to the massing of military and naval forces in the Persian Gulf, he said: The pot can explode if the diplomatic valve is not opened.”
He made no mention of the scheduled April 13-14 nuclear talks. One of the most influential figures in today’s Tehran Mohsen Rezaie was more explicit: “Given the fact that our friends in Turkey have failed to fulfill some of our agreements, the talks… had better be held in another friendly country.”
He did not specify which agreements Ankara had failed to meet, but his rejection of Istanbul as the venue for the talks was unqualified.
Strong criticism of the Erdogan government also came from a senior member of Iran’s parliamentary foreign policy and national security commission Esmaeel Kosari. He said during a visit to Azerbaijan:”Turkey serves as the United States and Israel’s messenger and mediator. The Turkish government will be hated by its citizens if it continues this role.”
In Iran’s political culture, neither of these men would have spoken without a green light from the office of the all-powerful supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Kosari’s mission in Baku was to investigate recent reports that Azerbaijan had given Israeli permission for its bases to be used by the Israeli Air Force in an attack on Iran.
Early Wednesday, April 4, Iraqi officials suddenly offered Baghdad as the venue for the forthcoming world power talks with Iran.
The US and Israel are certain to reject this offer because it would give Tehran the important edge of a key diplomatic event taking place on pro-Iranian soil.

Spanish envoy, Mikati discuss local and regional developments
April 04, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Spain’s Ambassador to Lebanon Juan Carlos Gafo discussed Wednesday with Prime Minister Najib Mikati bilateral ties as well as developments in Lebanon and the region.“They discussed the general politician situation in Lebanon and the region, and exchanged views on cooperation formulas between both countries,” a statement by the Spanish Embassy in Lebanon said.

Hezbollah says no alternative to Lebanon government
April 04, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: Hezbollah deputy head Naim Qassem said delays in resolving key issues in Lebanon stemmed from the makeup of the government but stressed that there was no alternative to the Cabinet, according to a statement from the resistance group Wednesday.
He also warned Arab states against meddling in Syria’s affairs, saying that if they did there would be negative repercussions in their home countries.
“I will be honest with you: The delay to these social issues is due to the government and its nature, but there is no alternative for Lebanon in the foreseeable future,” Qassem said during a speech in Beirut, according to a statement by Hezbollah.He said the situation demanded patience and “that we put all our efforts into making the necessary improvements, [so that] all those who are watching will see how we are working hard for reform and attempting remedies even though the results might be slow or late.”
“We are adamant about [maintaining] stability in the country,” he said, adding that the resistance group regarded “Lebanon’s primary and central issue to be that of protecting it from the occupation and subservience.”He also said the Jewish state could not take advantage of Lebanon’s maritime resources with the resistance on guard against such attempts.
Tackling developments in the region, Qassem accused Arab states of neglecting what was happening in Palestine.
“The issue of Israel is a central one and the reason is that the compass of these [Arab] countries is being manipulated by America and Israel so that they turn away from the heinous crimes committed by this entity,” he said.Turning to events in Lebanon’s eastern neighbor, Qassem said the West and Israel had been surprised by how Damascus had remained in control of the situation in Syria.
“The arrogant and Israeli circles were surprised by Syria’s steadfastness. They set a permanent deadline of weeks, then months and have now lifted the ceiling up to a year in order to topple the regime and to end the resistance equation by striking its chief pillar in Syria and scattering its other resources.”
“Syria is steadfast,” he added.

Jumblatt to quit Cabinet if proportional representation approved
April 04, 2012/ By Maher Zeineddine The Daily Star
CHOUF, Lebanon: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt warned that he would pull his ministers from Cabinet were it to approve an electoral law based on proportional representation, a lawmaker in Jumblatt’s National Struggle Front told The Daily Star.“The bloc will not reverse its decision, whatever the pressure, even if this means a withdrawal from the government,” the MP said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Jumblatt himself reiterated his commitment to the 1960 election law in remarks published Wednesday by Al-Akhbar newspaper. He said he would reject a system of proportional representation “unless it is accompanied by a non-sectarian Parliament and a senate.”Separately, the PSP dismissed a report by the local daily Al-Liwaa suggesting Jumblatt was upset with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.“This report is baseless,” the PSP said in a statement.Jumblatt “has been and still is keen on the historical relationship with Speaker Berri,” the statement added.
Al-Liwaa had cited visitors quoting Jumblatt as criticizing Berri’s call for a parliamentary session on the performance of the government. The report said Jumblatt believes Berri’s move would weaken the Cabinet. In his remarks to al-Akhbar, Jumblatt also said that he hoped his son Taymour would run for the 2013 parliamentary elections, but that chances of that happening are slim.
“I'd like for Taymour to run, so that he might ease my burden, but he doesn’t want to now,” Jumblatt said.
It has long been rumored that Jumblatt is grooming his eldest son to follow in his footsteps. Taymour has been attending political and social ceremonies on behalf of his father for the past two years.
Jumblatt has repeatedly stated that lack of experience is what has kept Taymour from becoming a parliamentary candidate, but this is the first time he refers to his son's expressed position on running for Lebanon’s 128-seat Parliament.Jumblatt did not clarify whether Taymour's reason for not wanting to run had to do with a self-perception that he lacks experience.
Regarding PSP elections due to be held in October, Jumblatt said he hoped a non-Druze figure would take the helm of the party.

Maronite bishops back calls for Arab-Mideast spiritual summit
April 04, 2012/The Daily Star /BEIRUT: The Council of Maronite Bishops in its monthly meeting Wednesday called for the establishment of an Arab-Mideast spiritual summit and voiced concern over the escalation of political rhetoric. “[The bishops] backed the proposal to convene a spiritual summit at the Arab and Middle East level,” a statement following the meeting at Bkirki said. In late March, Christian and Muslim religious leaders meeting at a summit in Bkirki expressed their readiness to work toward hosting a Christian-Muslim spiritual gathering at the Arab level which would aim to strengthen Christian-Muslim coexistence.The Maronite bishops also voiced concern Wednesday over the escalation of political rhetoric. “[They expressed] alarm at the escalating tone of political speeches and the tendency once again toward attacking people's dignity,” the statement said. The bishops also called for swift action on the nationality recovery draft law decree.In late January, President Michel Sleiman signed a decree to allow Lebanese in the diaspora who were born abroad to recover the Lebanese nationality. The draft law decree is due to be debated by Parliament.The Council also warned of the “explosive economic and living conditions and their concequences for the Lebanese and the state,” and called for clear economic policies and decisive steps that fulfill the rights of citizens.

Sniper fire at Maarab, says Lebanese Forces
April 04, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The headquarters of the Lebanese Forces in Maarab, north Beirut, came under sniper fire Wednesday, the party said in a statement.“At around 11.33 a.m. Wednesday, several shots were fired in the direction of Maarab,” the LF said in the statement.It said security at the facility, which is also the residence of LF leader Samir Geagea, responded immediately and discovered 12.7-caliber sniper bullet casings at the location where the shots were fired.Authorities were called in to investigate the incident. The March 14 coalition, in a statement, denounced the reported shooting incident.
“The March 14 secretariat general condemns the attack on the headquarters of the Lebanese Forces in Maarab, Kesrouan, which is also the residence of its leader Dr. Samir Geagea,” the statement said.
The opposition group called on the government to uncover “the circumstances surrounding this serious incident that targeted a great national figure and a leader in the March 14 coalition, especially that this attack comes as part of the provocative behavior by symbols that remain within the sphere of influence of the Syrian regime.”

Former military officer and Free Patriotic Movement official Fayez Karam released from prison after serving 20 months for Israel ties
April 04, 2012//By Van Meguerditchian The Daily Star
KASLIK, Lebanon: Former military officer and Free Patriotic Movement official Fayez Karam was released from prison Tuesday after spending a year and eight months behind bars for contacting Israel.
Less than two hours after his release, the retired Lebanese Army Brig. Gen., a close aide to FPM leader Michel Aoun and one of the founders of the FPM, said he would defend his country against any future aggression by Israel. “I hope those hard days won’t come back to the country, but if they do, I will be ready to confront Israel,” he added.
Karam was arrested by the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch in 2010 on suspicion of spying for Israel and providing the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad with information on the FPM and Hezbollah.
After steadfastly maintaining his innocence throughout two years of trial and appeals at the military tribunal, Karam, 62, was found guilty of contacting Israeli intelligence.
The court sentenced him to only two years in prison, making him one of a few Lebanese convicted of dealing with Israel to receive a sentence short of life in prison.
Although it is common to permanently strip collaborators of their civil rights, the court mentioned nothing during Karam’s sentencing. As a convicted felon, he will regain his civil rights after seven years, unless the president issues him an official pardon before that.
Neither Aoun nor Hezbollah publicly welcomed the release of Karam Tuesday. Speaking to reporters following his bloc’s weekly meeting in Rabieh, Aoun said only that his aide had fully served his sentence and was now back home.
For its part, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television mentioned the FPM official’s release from prison in a brief statement toward the end of its daily news bulletin.
Karam’s lawyer Rashad Salameh said his client was released after serving his two-year prison term. “Brig. Gen. Karam benefited from the new prison law,” said Salameh, who has also defended Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea in court. Parliament passed a law last month that reduces every one year of a prison sentence to nine months.
Accompanied by his second attorney, Cinderella Merhej, Karam left the military police headquarters shortly after noon Tuesday and went to see his family in their Kesrouan residence in Kaslik, after a brief stop in Aoun’s Rabieh residence. The meeting with Aoun was held away from the media.
Surrounded by his wife, children and friends, Karam was greeted at his home with rounds of applause.
As he hugged and kissed his family, Karam said his return home was a proof of his innocence.
Despite the absence of an official FPM celebration of his release, Karam reiterated his allegiance to Aoun and FPM’s alliance. “I belong to FPM and I am committed to its principles,” Karam told The Daily Star.
“I am not going to get into the details of my trials ... I will leave that for later,” he said, adding that his detention had been purely political.
At least 100 people have been arrested on suspicion for collaborating with Israel since 2009, including members of the Lebanese Army, the ISF, as well as telecommunication company employees.
Karam also said he would remain loyal to the party he had helped establish. “My political affiliation is to General Aoun and to his political alliance,” he told reporters “I was convicted under the Law 278 for having contacted Israel and after two years of detention I am now with you ... you have all seen that they couldn’t find any evidence against me.”
According to Karam, the FPM leader had never abandoned him and his family during his detention.
“I am one of the founders of the Free Patriotic Movement, it welcomes me in a great way ... I am not asking from General Aoun more than he did for me and for my family,” said Karam. “There is no need to lose confidence in me because everyone knows what my political affiliation is and before anything I am part of the resistance against Israel,” he said, adding that he hoped those who accused him of treason would unite with him on one front against the enemy. “Being with my family again and to live this day alone is a celebration for me.”Embracing her husband, Karam’s wife Hind Karam said she had waited for this day. “We have been waiting for this day,” she told The Daily Star. “It was a very difficult period for me and for my family, but I thank our friends and the greater family who believed in him and his past.”
But civil society activists protested Karam’s release from prison later in the day. Holding banners denouncing the court’s decision at the military court in Beirut, activists said that the judiciary had failed to be objective in its trials of criminals in the country. “How can a thief serve three years in prison while traitors and criminals serve less?” read one banner.

Al-Assad: “We’ll be back after these messages”!
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
It is wrong to believe, even for a moment, that the Bashar al-Assad regime will commit to Kofi Annan’s initiative and withdraw its troops from Syrian towns and cities, not to mention the rest of the initiative’s steps - from allowing the right to demonstrate and the entry of journalists to sitting down at the negotiation table; steps which would ultimately mean the end of al-Assad.
What the al-Assad regime is doing today is like a television show announcing “we’ll be back after these messages”. The regime is seeking to find holes in the international position; escalating as a result of the Friends of Syria conference in Istanbul, in order to avoid another meeting being held by the same group in France later this month, and in order to hinder the influential countries that have decided to help the Syrian revolutionaries with arms and so on. However, my sources indicate that secret diplomatic movements are underway in more than one direction to mobilize international ranks against the al-Assad regime, which is now trying to adopt the strategy of “We’ll be back after these messages” with its third acceptance of Annan’s plan - with a deadline set for the 10th April, so as to distract international efforts, and then return to killing the Syrians.
Therefore, the international community must be aware of an important matter, namely that when an al-Assad source announced the regime’s acceptance of Annan’s proposals for the first time, around 79 Syrians were killed, and when the regime officially announced its acceptance of Annan’s plan for a second time, around 217 Syrians were killed. The day before yesterday, with the al-Assad regime’s third announcement that it had accepted Annan’s plan, at least 60 more Syrians had been killed. We saw the same on the day that the regime accepted al-Dabi’s Arab monitoring team, when more than 400 were killed in Syria. How many will die as a result of the “We’ll be back after these messages” policy today, after al-Assad accepted Annan’s proposals for a third time? Only God knows of course, but it is wrong to rely on al-Assad’s stances towards Arab and international initiatives; all they do is try to buy al-Assad more time, nothing more nothing less, especially if we are aware, for example, that two days ago Moscow urged al-Assad about the need to initiate a ceasefire before the rebels, and this is a significant matter.
Thus, the assumption today should be that we cannot believe the Syrian regime’s announcements and commitments, because al-Assad is al-Assad, and his diplomacy amounts to “We’ll be back after these messages”. He has done so in Syria over the space of a year, he did so in Lebanon for ten years and likewise in Iraq for seven years. Therefore, the Friends of Syria group must complete their plans in all directions as if al-Assad had not announced his position at all. It is not important what the al-Assad regime says, but rather what happens on the ground, and what is happening on the ground in reality – even as I write this article – is that the Syrians are being killed at the hands of al-Assad’s forces. Hence serious steps must be taken to stop this killing machine, and the first of these steps is to provide the Syrian rebels with weapons. All the Syrian regime is doing with regards to the Syrians is adopting a policy of “We’ll be back after these messages”, and the international community, especially the Friends of Syria, must not be deceived that al-Assad’s promises are anything more than that.

Al-Shatar’s nomination and the dangerous possibilities
By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat
Egypt has once again taken a step towards the furnace of bloody clashes!
The Muslim Brotherhood’s nomination of the engineer Khairat al-Shatar for president has brought the political situation as a whole in the country near to an explosion, which will (unfortunately) only end with clashes on the street. The nomination, which was announced a few days ahead of the deadline, will lead to several complex outcomes in several directions, which can be summarized as follows:
1. The nomination of engineer al-Shatar will cause the votes within the Islamist current to fragment and be spread between the five main candidates: Dr. Mohammad Salim Al-Awa, Dr. Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, Sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, Professor Bassem Khafaji and finally engineer al-Shatar.
2. The nomination also declares a direct overt clash with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which continued to believe the Brotherhood’s promise that it would not nominate a candidate to run for the presidency. 3. It will have a negative impact upon the cohesion between the Muslim Brotherhood elite and their support base, especially among the youth who consider Dr. Aboul Fotouh to be a model. 4. SCAF is now under pressure to respond to the “Brotherhood’s act” with a counter measure, either constitutionally in the courts, or by putting forward a last-minute candidate from the military establishment. Engineer Khairat al-Shatar comes from Alexandria, the stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist currents, and he is the “commercial and financial mastermind behind the Brotherhood”, whilst Dr. Aboul Fotouh [before being forced out of the group] represented an enlightened trend of political openness.
From here, a division is expected to occur within the Brotherhood’s support base, particularly among the youth who strongly participated in the 25 January Revolution, in confrontation with the Brotherhood’s founding fathers, who subscribe to the principle of blind obedience to the General Guide, the office of the Guide, and the Brotherhood’s Shura Council.
Of course, the Salafist movement, represented by Sheikh Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, will be the most affected by al-Shatar’s nomination.
In the coming days, and I mean the days before the end of the deadline to put forward presidential nominations on 8 April, we will see political clashes and unexpected surprises, as well as new alliances and divisions threatening more chaos on the political scene. The current situation will become clear within a matter of hours or days when we gauge the reaction of SCAF, which since the start of the revolution has been counting on a state of truce and harmony with the Brotherhood.

Canadians Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird Announces Closing of International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
April 3, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“The hardworking men and women of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency are committed to promoting freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law around the world each and every day—from our ambassadors and embassy personnel around the world to our staff at Headquarters in Ottawa.
“For some time, the many challenges of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, also known as Rights & Democracy, have been well publicized. It is time to put these past challenges behind us and move forward.
“Therefore, as part of our efforts to find efficiencies and savings, I am announcing that the Government of Canada intends to close the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. Legislation will be introduced in the near future to do so, and its functions will be brought within Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada.
“We would like to thank the staff and the Board of Directors for their service.
“Today’s announcement gives us a clean slate to move forward.”

It's Not Road Rage, It's Terrorism
by Daniel Pipes/National Review Online
April 3, 2012
On February 25, 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli doctor of American origins, went to the mosque at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and murdered 29 Muslims with an automatic weapon before being overwhelmed and himself killed. This massacre prompted conspiracy theories and riots in Muslim circles, including accusations that the government of Israel stood behind Goldstein, an allegation that strenuous denunciations of his attack by the Israeli government did not fully deflect.
Rashid Baz, who attacked a Jewish target in New York City in 1994.
On March 1, four days later, Rashid Baz, a New York livery driver of Lebanese origins, fired two guns at a van carrying Hasidic Jewish boys on a ramp leading to the Brooklyn Bridge, killing Ari Halberstam, 16, a yeshiva student. Baz was quickly apprehended, convicted, and sentenced to 141 years in prison. Circumstantial evidence pointed to a link between the two events, for Baz was immersed in the Arabic-language media coverage of Goldstein's attack, he attended the incendiary Islamic Center of Bay Ridge, and he was surrounded by Muslims who condoned terrorism against Jews. More than that, friends indicated that Baz was obsessively angered by the attack in Hebron and the psychiatrist for his legal defense, Douglas Anderson, testified that Baz "was enraged" by it. "He was absolutely furious. . . . Were it not for Hebron this whole tragedy [in New York] wouldn't have occurred."
Yet the seemingly obvious connection between Goldstein and Baz could not be established because Baz accounted for his violence by referring to post-traumatic stresses from his experiences in Lebanon. And so, despite the preponderance of evidence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation adopted Baz's own dissemblance and called the murder on the Brooklyn Bridge an act of "road rage." Only after Halberstam's mother devoted years of effort did the FBI in 2000 reclassify the Baz attack as terrorism.
Mohammed Merah, who attacked a Jewish target in Toulouse in 2012.
And thus matters rested until a few days ago, when Baz's confession in 2007 finally became public via a New York Post article. In it, Baz acknowledged the impact of the Goldstein atrocity on him, admitted having specifically targeted Jews, and confessed to following a van of Hasidic boys for two miles from the Manhattan Eye and Ear Infirmary to the bridge. Asked if he would have shot at a van full of black or Latino people, he replied, "No, I only shot them because they were Jewish."
This belated confession points to a recurring problem of politicians, law enforcement, and the press with Islamist terrorism: their unwillingness to stare it in the face and ascribe murder to it.
Most recently, this avoidance reared its ugly head in the case of Mohammed Merah in Toulouse, France, where the establishment's immediate impulse was to assume the murderer of three soldiers and four Jews was a non-Muslim. As my colleague Adam Turner notes in the Daily Caller, "the elite Western public officials' and media's speculation about the true killer, prior to the discovery of his identity, heavily focused (also here and here and here) on the belief that he was a white European neo-Nazi." Only when Merah himself boasted of his crime to the police and even sent videos of his actions to Al Jazeera did the other theories finally vaporize.
El Sayyid Nosair, who attacked a Jewish target in New York City in 1990.
The Baz and Merah examples fit a much larger pattern of denying Islamist terrorism that I trace as far back as the 1990 assassination of Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City by El Sayyid Nosair, an attack initially ascribed by the police department's chief of detectives to "a prescription drug for or consistent with depression." Since then, time and again, the establishment has conjured up similarly lame excuses for Islamist terrorism, including "a work dispute," a "stormy [family] relationship," the acne drug Accutane, an "attitude problem," and "loneliness and depression."
Most disturbing, however, is the tendency to ascribe Islamist terror to diminished mental capacity. As Teri Blumenfeld notes in the current issue of the Middle East Quarterly, "Muslims who kill in the name of their religion frequently evade punishment in Western courts by pleading insanity or mental incompetence." In Western courts, indeed, defense lawyers routinely attribute acts of jihadi murder to insanity.
Ignoring the religious and ideological roots of Islamist terrorism carries a heavy price; not thoroughly investigating the Kahane assassination meant overlooking materials that could have prevented the World Trade Center bombing in 1993; and Merah's apprehension sooner would have saved lives. Islamism must be squarely faced to protect ourselves from future violence.
Mr. Pipes (DanielPipes.org) is president of the Middle East Forum and Taube distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. © 2012 by Daniel Pipes. All rights reserved.

UCLA Honors Sharia Apologist Khaled Abou El Fadl
by Cinnamon Stillwell and Judith Greblya
FrontPageMagazine.com
April 3, 2012
http://www.meforum.org/3205/ucla-khaled-abou-el-fadl
Academic self-congratulation reached new heights at the University of California, Los Angeles on March 21, 2012, with "An Event Honoring Professor Khaled Abou El Fadl." Abou El Fadl—Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Professor in Islamic Law and chair of the Islamic Studies Interdepartmental Program at UCLA—was feted by the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, the UCLA School of Law Journal of Near Eastern and Islamic Law, the UCLA School of Law Muslim Law Students Association, and the UCLA School of Law Critical Race Studies Program. Eighty students, professors, and community members gathered to commemorate "the world's leading authority on Islamic law and Islam, and the prominent scholar in the field of human rights," according to the event description. In reality, Fadl is an apologist for radical Islam who routinely denies valid concerns over the human rights abuses inherent to Sharia (Islamic) law while charging its critics with "Islamophobia."
Cheryl Harris, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Professor of Civil Liberties and Civil Rights at UCLA, opened the event by hailing Abou El Fadl as a hero in "the struggle against Islamophobia in America." Persecuted for the "sins he has committed . . . from the sin of being a scholar to standing up against the egregious vilification of Muslims in the West," Abou El Fadl—in Harris's fevered imagination—is a victim of slander from both liberals and conservatives. Ratcheting up the melodrama even further, she then declared that "the Korematsu trope has been recycled in the post-9/11 world against Muslims," referring to the 1944 United States Supreme Court case deciding the constitutionality of the order to intern Japanese-Americans during WWII. This ludicrous comparison has been made on more than one such occasion; it never seems to lose its appeal to academic peddlers of victimhood.
Continuing this theme, George Bisharat, a law professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, reveled in sinister—albeit imaginary—campaigns to stifle academic freedom. He focused on a March 2011 Hastings conference that he organized titled, "Litigating Palestine: Can Courts Secure Palestinian Rights?" The conference featured a roster of anti-Israel speakers advocating the delegitimization of Israel through U.S. courts—otherwise known as lawfare. Because of the radical, one-sided nature of the conference, local Jewish leaders expressed their reservations to Hastings dean Frank Wu, who subsequently canceled his welcoming address and the law school's official co-sponsorship. Bisharat objected to Wu's actions, telling the San Francisco Chronicle that "opponents had wrongly accused the conference of 'Israeli-bashing." Yet journalist Stephen Schwartz, who attended the conference and reported on it for Campus Watch, wrote:
In fact, that's exactly what took place at the conference. The anti-Israeli rhetoric of the participants was notably extreme, and even bizarre. . . . Hastings officials were correct in withdrawing their sponsorship and canceling the participation of their dean in this effort.
Bisharat's bitterness lingers, for he again chastised Hastings officials for withdrawing their sponsorship and, in the process, revealed his anti-Semitic conspiracy mongering. Claiming he initially believed that opposition came from "a few alumni who were troubled by the one-sided group of speakers," he added:
[B]ut when I dug deeper and spoke with the dean, it was clear to me that it was the Jews. The Jews were behind a united attempt to silence academic freedom.
So anti-Semitism had no place at the conference—if only those conniving Jews who attempted to silence it had known that!
Sherman Jackson, who now occupies the Saudi-funded (and grandiosely titled) King Faisal Chair of Islamic Thought and Culture and Professor of Religion and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, followed, explaining that it was a "matter of duty to come and speak here today." Adding to the chorus of voices lauding Abou El Fadl's heroism against the supposed onslaught of American Islamophobia, Jackson—also known as Abdal Hakim Jackson—then noted:
I am an African-American convert to Islam. I live in a so-called democratic country. America has been a 'democratic' country for two-hundred years, and yet has a past of deep racial issues. . . . Fadl's struggle is our struggle as a nation. What happens to Khaled happens to us.
Having stated at a December 2009 convention that "his primary commitment was to Allah, not to America," Jackson's contempt for American democracy is no surprise.
Jackson congratulated the students in attendance for having the "courage to stand up against Islamophobia" by celebrating Abou El Fadl's storied career and concluded his talk with an Arabic adage: "Those who are silent in the face of injustice are dumb mutes." As an advocate for implementing the barbarism of Sharia law in the U.S., Jackson clearly does not apply the same standard to himself. Moreover, it takes no "courage" to participate in an event characterized by intellectual and political uniformity.
Echoing the previous speakers, Susan Slymovics, UCLA anthropology professor and director of its Center for Near Eastern Studies, concluded the evening with another fawning tribute to Abou El Fadl, whose "brave research," she claimed, "has raised awareness about racism and Islamophobia both domestically and abroad." If "raising awareness" about a phenomenon that does not exist—Muslims in America and throughout the West continue to thrive and enjoy the same rights and privileges as everyone else—and that is designed to silence legitimate criticism while avoiding much-needed reform is a mark of courage, then Abou El Fadl is the bravest of men.
Using the occasion as an opportunity to claim widespread Islamophobia and to bash Israel, the U.S., and the West—all the while demonstrating a comical capacity for self-regard—these four speakers provided a fitting tribute to Abou El Fadl, who has made a career out of doing exactly the same thing. He should feel honored, indeed.
Judith Greblya co-wrote this article with Cinnamon Stillwell, the West Coast Representative for Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum, which commissioned this work.

International Christian Concern/Islamic Radicals Bomb Open-Air Christian Meeting, Kill Two Believers And Wound Over Thirty
Washington, D.C. (April 3, 2012) – On March 31, suspected Islamists threw a grenade and killed two Christians and wounded more than 30 in the Kenyan city, Mtwapa. The Christians were holding an outdoor worship service at the time of the attack. A simultaneous bomb attack was also carried out on a bar in the nearby city of Mombasa.
“Three people who were sitting in a parked car near the site of the event threw a grenade and drove away. Then I heard a blast and saw some women down, crying for help. A lady died on the spot. About 15 people were seriously wounded. Two days after the blast, a young boy died from the injuries,” said Rev. Simon Kirariuki Kimami, a pastor with the Kenyan Assembly of God, in a statement to ICC.
More than 150 Christians were attending the outdoor service. Muslims were also holding a meeting 900 feet from the scene of the attack. The Islamic preachers were vilifying Christianity in their sermon which could be heard from the location where the Christians were holding their conference.
Kenyan officials blame members of the radical Islamic group, Al-Shabaab, for the bomb attacks. Al-Shabaab has been carrying out attacks in Kenya after the government sent its troops to fight the Islamic group in Somalia.
“My message to Christians around the world is to be steadfast in serving and honoring the Lord Jesus Christ, even in the face of persecution and sometimes violent attacks. [I urge Christians] not to retaliate. [Rather] they should show love even when they are attacked,” said Patrick Muchiri in an interview with ICC. Muchiri is a pastor with the Mombasa Pentecostal Church.
ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho, said, “We are deeply concerned about the bomb attack targeting innocent Christians. We urge Kenya to protect its citizens from the growing attacks of the radical Islamists.”

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
3 April 2012
ICC Prosecutor statement: Fears over justice for Gaza victims
A “dangerous” statement by the office of International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor that it cannot consider allegations of crimes committed during the 2008-9 Gaza conflict means Palestinian and Israeli victims seem likely to be denied justice, Amnesty International said. The Office of the Prosecutor today said that it cannot consider allegations of crimes committed during the conflict unless the relevant UN bodies or ICC states parties determine that the Palestinian Authority is a state. "This dangerous decision opens the ICC to accusations of political bias and is inconsistent with the independence of the ICC. It also breaches the Rome Statute which clearly states that such matters should be considered by the institution’s judges,” said Marek Marczyński, Head of Amnesty International’s International Justice campaign. "For the past three years, the prosecutor has been considering the question of whether the Palestinian Authority is a "state" that comes under the jurisdiction of the ICC and whether the ICC can investigate crimes committed during the 2008-9 conflict in Gaza and southern Israel.” “Now, despite Amnesty International’s calls and a very clear requirement in the ICC’s statute that the judges should decide on such matters, the Prosecutor has erroneously dodged the question, passing it to other political bodies.” “Amnesty International once again calls on the Prosecutor to follow the procedures established by the Rome Statute by passing the matter to the judges, rather than frustrating efforts to bring justice to Palestinian and Israeli victims of the Gaza conflict.”
Public Document
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566, email press@amnesty.org or follow us on Twitter @amnestypress
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW, UK
www.amnesty.org

Just like Iran, Israel has a supreme leader: Netanyahu
Without a political horizon, the Palestinians will start an intifada, without a political and economic horizon, they will remain our enemies.
By Zvi Bar'el /Haaretz
The horizon has a familiar optical quality. The closer you think you're getting, the more it recedes. To avoid disappointments, the best thing is to stay where you are so that the horizon always seems at arm's length, or at least not further away.
For decades now, the term "political horizon" has been an inseparable part of the Palestinian dictionary. Without a political horizon, they will start an intifada, without a political and economic horizon, they will remain our enemies.
U.S. officials simply fell in love with the expression when the president, his secretaries of state and members of Congress all demanded that Israel do something to give the Palestinians some sort of road map. If they only knew that five years from now, 10 years from now, they would have a state, they would quietly sit and wait.
We, of course, don't need a political horizon. We have a state, a reasonable economy and a leadership, which, if we don't like it, can be replaced democratically. We're not like the Palestinians, who haven't cultivated an alternative leader to Mahmoud Abbas, who can only choose between Fatah and Hamas, and who have failed to persuade the world to recognize their right to an independent state. We have abundant political parties, a variety of ideologies and an impressive gallery of leaders from whom we can choose the most worthy.
So why do we feel trapped, on the verge of suffocation? Why are we the ones seeking a political horizon? What's the source of this paradox in which we're marching in place while the horizon recedes?
The simple explanation is that we don't have more than the Palestinians. How many ideologies do we really have to choose from? How many suitable leaders do we really have to choose from? As in the lottery, every so often a lucky ball skips across the screen before popping like a soap bubble. A few weeks ago it was former TV anchorman Yair Lapid, who made a few impressive somersaults, unleashed a stream of empty watchwords and photographed well, not unlike an Ayalon Highway billboard, all colorful and flat.
After that, we were given the poignant election for that special-needs class known as Kadima. Everything has already been said about this party's sickly pallor, which sparks about as much enthusiasm as a flatline on a hospital monitor. Shaul Mofaz wants to be prime minister, and that's fine. He wants to be a social leader - great. But what does he have in his political-horizon suitcase? Is he willing to concede the territories? Dismantle settlements? Maybe a few outposts? A powerful magnifying glass will reveal that the difference between him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the way both men treat the Iranian threat. One wants to attack now, the other later on.
Threats are excellent merchandise - whether it's Iran, which is threatening us and forcing us to choose a heroic leader, or Israel, which is threatening Iran and seeking a chief-of-staff-type leader. Iran can be pleased that it has become a plank in Israel's electoral platform, a test of leadership. It's much easier to talk about Iran than the Palestinian problem. Iran isn't demanding land, withdrawals or concessions.
And what about Labor Party leader Shelly Yacimovich? She wants to be prime minister? She doesn't want to be prime minister? While we've heard she has a party, it seems her party hasn't heard of her. This is the whole inventory, the full extent of Israel's leadership horizon.
The truth is, no matter how we look at it, we're left with one leader. Not just for now, but for the foreseeable future. And in Israeli terms, that means forever. A national, proud, steadfast leader, the kind who knows how to keep us a set distance from the horizon. A leader who knows how to place the state above the citizen, who can explain the threats or invent them. A leader who schedules the seasons: summer for an attack on Iran, winter for economic corrections. A leader who has dwarfed every alternative, who has destroyed even the aspiration for change. Under his leadership, we don't need anyone in the crow's nest shouting "Land ho!"
That's how it is here. As in Turkey and Iran, we too have a supreme leader. It's a shame we're not allowed to ask the Palestinians to offer us a political horizon.