LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 16/2012

Bible Quotation for today/
Saint Luke 5,1-11. While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch." Simon said in reply, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that they were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources
Syria and Israel…Encore/By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 15/12
Will a unified opposition plus arms equal success?/By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat/November 15/12
Khamenei's Strategy for Obama's Second Term/By: Mehdi Khalaji/Washington Institute/ November 15/12
Christians in Syria, Separating Fact from Fiction/By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi/The Henry Jackson Society/November 15/12

IDF digs in for long haul after sustained rocket fire kills three Israelis
DEBKAfile Special Report November 15, 2012/As the rockets kept coming through Wednesday night – and the first three fatalities Thursday morning, Nov. 15 - the cautious lift in Israeli spirits generated by the death of Ahmed Jabari, who fashioned Hamas into a paramilitary machine of terror, and the destruction of dozens of missile sites in Gaza, gave way to resignation for a long haul before southern Israel is free of its decade-long rocket nightmare. Thursday morning, a rocket from Gaza killed three Israelis in Kiryat Malachi. By then, some 120 rockets – mostly targeting the major towns of Beersheba and Ashdod, but also smaller locations – had followed Jabari's death. Iron Dome intercepted 27.The first reserve units had been mobilized for possible ground action in Gaza to supplement the air offensive against the Palestinian missile arsenal.
But Operation Pillar of Cloud’s first part showed a favorable balance: Palestinian missile fire was as erratic as ever, although intense; Iron Dome filtered out the rockets aimed at Israel’s major towns; Israeli casualties were relatively low though painful; and the enemy in Gaza was decapitated – for now.
But most of all, the Palestinians and their allies in Tehran and Hizballah suddenly discovered that the old IDF had come roaring back.
In the only former major Israeli operation in Gaza, Cast Lead (late 2008, early 2009), the IDF was slow, unwieldy and unfocused. Its counter-terror offensive was foreshortened by heavy diplomatic pressure before achieving anything, owing to the government’s lack of resolve. In the 2006 Lebanon War, the army was stalled before developing an effective tactical offensive.
The IDF of 2012 is in a different class, recalling its rapid-fire performance in the Six-Day War then fought on multiple fronts.
In just a few hours late Wednesday, Nov. 14, Pillar of Cloud achieved more than Cast Lead managed in weeks: It was driven by clockwork, integrated intelligence by the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence, precise, surgical air force strikes and a command-and-control with fast reflexes which recalled Israel’s military skills of 45 years ago.
The rapid destruction of scores of Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 rockets, whose respective ranges of 45 and 75 kilometers placed Israel’s heartland in line of Palestinian strikes, compared with the destruction of the Egyptian air force on the ground in the early hours of the 1967 war, rather than the bombardment of Hizballah’s long-range missiles in 2006 which failed to draw its sting.
In 1967, the Egyptian army had to fight in Sinai without air cover. In 2012, the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip were stripped of their key commander and terror strategist and lost substantial, though not all, its missile arsenal. Wherever Operation Pillar of Cloud goes next – and the IDF is preparing for a long, hard haul – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz deserve kudos for their performance thus far.
It may be said that Israel’s Gaza operation did in fact start on Oct. 24 in Sudan with the attack on the Yarmouk complex manufacturing Iranian missiles near Khartoum. Former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin Wednesday confirmed debkafile’s exclusive report that the factory had housed the emergency reserve stocks of the Palestinian Hamas and Jihad Islami in the Gaza Strip. Its destruction contributed to their loss of infrastructure.
The tough part of the Israeli operation to eliminate the terrorist war peril hovering over southern Israel from the Gaza Strip is still to come. For now, Hamas is at a loss for a strategic answer to the IDF offensive – unless one is provided by Tehran or Hizballah coming to its rescue.

Syria and Israel…Encore
By Tariq Alhomayed/Asharq Al-Awsat
Following my article, “Israel trying to save al-Assad!, which was published on Tuesday, the primary question that was posed was: Is Israel truly trying to save al-Assad? Why isn’t the Free Syrian Army [FSA] the party trying to drag Israel into the battle? There are many questions, and it is clear that many people are worried about the Syrian crisis moving closer to the Israeli border, and the dangerous implications of this. We must pay attention to two issues here. Firstly, it is certainly in Israel’s interests to ensure that its borders with Syria remain as they are for the next 40 years, which indeed is precisely as they have been over the past 40 years. This is because the al-Assad regime –that of the father and the son – is the best protector of the ceasefire agreement between Syria and Israel, despite its desire to incite regional battles and crises with Israel, whether in Gaza or Lebanon, or heating up the Egypt – Israeli file following the Egyptian – Israeli peace agreement. The al-Assad regime has pursued this approach by investing in false slogans regarding the resistance, supporting this resistance everywhere except the Golan Heights! This has been the reality of the situation over the past 40 years, and this is a situation that Israel respects, particularly as Tel Aviv only needs to give the al-Assad regime a slap on the wrist on the occasional times that it exceeds the rules of the game. Al-Assad has continually taken pre-emptive steps against the al-Assad regime, which for its part, has always repeated that it has the right to respond! What further confirms this issue is the repeated Israeli statements regarding the importance of protecting secure and calm borders with Syria, as they have been over the past 40 years!
The other important thing is that everything that has been put forward by the al-Assad regime in terms of threats since the beginning of the revolution, whether by those close to the regime or via the Iranian media or indeed what Bashar al-Assad said himself in his most recent interview with Russia Today, has been implemented, or at least attempted. This can be seen in Lebanon and Jordan, as well as Syria’s borders with Turkey, not to mention Iraq. In fact, only two of these threats have not been carried out by the al-Assad regime, namely dragging Israel into the crisis and the use of chemical weapons. Now, the al-Assad regime has begun by playing the Israeli card, and Israel rushed to respond to this, then returned and withdrew from this position, and perhaps until now, it is calling for self-restraint because it has become clear that its intervention means protection for al-Assad, nothing more and nothing less. This is particularly the case today as the Arab world, and following this the international community, have begun to move in a faster and more concrete manner , especially in terms of recognizing the Syrian National Coalition on the part of the Arabs, France and America. Therefore, the Russians don’t have much to offer, and as one of the most prominent Arab politicians said, Russia is like somebody selling ice-cream at noon and putting the price up without being aware that the ice cream is melting in their hands. The danger now is for the Israeli “gift” to re-freeze this ice-cream! Therefore, we are facing two real threats, namely Israeli intervention in the Syrian crisis to reshuffle the cards and the threat regarding the use of chemical weapons being realized. Apart from this, al-Assad has exhausted all of his tricks and threats.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon Expresses Fear over Attempts to 'Destabilize' Lebanon
Naharnet/U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon considered that there are deliberate attempts to destabilize the situation in Lebanon, expressing his “deep concern” over the possibility of the Syrian crisis spilling over into the country. Ban stressed that the international community is determined to preserve stability in Lebanon, saying there should be no impunity in the October 19 assassination of Internal Security Forces Intelligence Bureau Chief Wissam al-Hasan. He called on ending violence against politicians in Lebanon. Ban hailed in his 18th report on the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution1701 the calm prevailing in the area of operations under the supervision of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). He noted that the strategic partnership between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces created the current calm security situation in the area. Ban urged all “parties” to maintain their achievements along the U.N.-drawn Blue Line and prevent the regional tension from endangering it. He reiterated the Security Council's calls on the Lebanese to preserve the national unity through the resumption of the national dialogue. Ban pointed out that all parties should cooperate to carry out fair and free parliamentary elections in 2013. However, the U.N. chief expressed fears over Hizbullah's Iranian-made drone that penetrated Israel. He stressed on the importance of avoiding any provocations and exercising maximum restraint. On October 6, the Israeli air force jets shot down the unarmed drone over southern Israel's Negev desert after it entered the country's airspace from the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed at Hizbullah and vowed to defend his country against further "threats." Hizbullah's Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged that the Iranian-made drone was launched by his party. Ban stated that Israel should withdraw its troops from the northern Ghajar, a disputed village on the flashpoint border with Lebanon, and halt its violations of Lebanese airspace. Over Syrian violations since the revolt against President Bashar Assad began in mid-March 2011, Ban demanded the regime to halt all border violations and respect Lebanese sovereignty in accordance with resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701.

Will a unified opposition plus arms equal success?
By Emad El Din Adeeb/Asharq Alawsat
Doha exerted a great deal of effort, day and night, to convince the Syrian opposition factions to unify. Perhaps one of the most important conditions for unity is that the internal and historical differences between the opposition must not be a constraint and cannot stand in the way of coordinating efforts to oust the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
The second condition is to agree upon a strategic vision for the post-Assad phase, and to answer the dozens of logical questions that require an answer now, explicitly and unequivocally.
These questions include: What are the features of the political system that will succeed al-Assad? What are its components, the method of choosing it, its program, its alliances, its ideas, its timespan as a transitional authority, its constitution? How will it deal with the forces of the old regime? How will it achieve security and stability? What will be the nature of its regional and international relations?
Other questions have a more specific nature, such as how will the new regime deal with Hamas, Hezbollah and Tehran?
The third condition relates to the relationship between the proposed opposition alliance and the armed resistance forces within Syria. Here other questions arise, such as what is the funding mechanism for these forces? How will they access finance and equipment? The British-American disagreement over arming the internal Syrian opposition is an example of this problematical issue. Britain seems enthusiastic about providing the opposition with arms via seaports, airdrops or across land through Jordan and Turkey, whilst Washington believes that any further armament would give Damascus the pretext to demand additional arms from Moscow, Beijing and Tehran, as well as to seek new political support from the Security Council. In response, the Gulf States have stressed to Washington that it is a moral obligation for the Syrian opposition to be provided with arms and logistical tools, so that they can protect themselves from Russian MiGs, missiles, and Iranian-made heavy artillery bombardments, which are targeting Syrian people and cities. Here some final questions come to mind: Will the unification of opposition visions and trends, coupled with the resolution of the armament issue, be enough to ensure the end of the Syrian regime? Or does the issue require a stronger approach such as laying a marine, land and air siege upon Syria, and then launching strikes against specific targets?
Would Beijing and Moscow ever agree to this? What is Tehran's current stance towards the penultimate chapter in the overthrow of its ally Bashar al-Assad?

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea blames Hezbollah for inter-Muslim tension
November 14, 2012/November 14, 2012/By Dana Khraiche/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea blasted Wednesday the head of Hezbollah and defended his party and Christians in the March 14 alliance of accusations they are seeking to ignite inter-Muslim strife in the country. “The one igniting a Sunni-Shiite strife is the one who stood with the Syrian regime in 2005 when the majority [of Lebanese] were protesting against them,” Geagea, addressing Secretary-General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, said during a televised conference at his residence of Maarab.
“The one igniting Sunni-Shiite strife is the one who is fighting alongside the Syrian regime while thousands [of Lebanese] voiced support for the rebels,” he added.
During a speech on Hezbollah’s Martyr Day Monday, Nasrallah accused the March 14 coalition, particularly Christian parties in the alliance, of inciting inter-Muslim conflict, warning that such behavior would “blow up the country.”Geagea said the cause of sectarian tension between the two major Muslim sects in the country was due to Hezbollah’s behavior, including the fact that four members of Nasrallah’s party were indicted last year in the case of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.He also fended off Hezbollah’s allegations that his party was working in the interest of Israel.
In his televised speech Monday, Nasrallah, without naming Geagea, accused the LF of working with the Jewish state in the 1975-90 Civil War and of being involved in several crimes during the conflict.
“It hurts us when we, those who were killed and sacrificed their lives and the lives of their families ... are given lessons in patriotism by those who worked with Israel in 1982, shed blood and worked as spies for Israel,” Nasrallah said. Geagea slammed the Hezbollah leader for questioning his party’s patriotism and accused Syria, Hezbollah’s primary ally in the region, of fabricating war crimes against the LF with the aim of dissolving the party and imprisoning him. “Mr. Hasan, I am the honest and ethical person who preaches virtues but what you said was inaccurate. The better criterion is to compare what happened after the [Civil] War and not during it,” he said. “I dare you to name one Lebanese Forces member who violated the law after the end of the Civil War,” Geagea said.
The LF leader then detailed a list of alleged crimes committed by the resistance group since its formation in 1983.
He also slammed Nasrallah as a hypocrite, saying the Hezbollah chief labeled his rivals as agents in the service of foreign parties.
“Whoever is a true agent but affiliated with you is not an agent but an honest person who speaks against you automatically becomes one,” Geagea said. Turning to the resistance’s recent drone operation over Israel, Geagea accused Hezbollah of jeopardizing Lebanon by launching the unmanned aircraft. He also questioned the motives behind the operation. “Shouldn’t you have provided the pictures [captured by the drone] to the Lebanese Army since you are a resistance group in defense of Lebanon and not Iran as you claim?” he asked.
A senior Iranian lawmaker said last month that the Islamic Republic has images of sensitive Israeli military bases taken by Hezbollah's drone. On Monday, Nasrallah, a close ally of Iran, described the drone flight as part of "a comprehensive deterrence strategy." “You do not care for what happens here [Lebanon]. You only care about the regional game you are involved in,” he said.
Geagea also reiterated his party’s intention to form a one-party government should the March 14 coalition win the majority of seats in the 2013 parliamentary polls.
“Yes, we do not want a national unity government because we know you do not seek to build a country,” he said.
As for the contentious issue of drafting a new electoral draft for next year’s elections, Geagea asked Nasrallah to accept the LF party’s draft law based on a majority system with Lebanon divided into 50 districts. In a sarcastic tone, reminiscent of Nasrallah’s speech, Geagea described the Hezbollah as a “tough guy.” “I am a tough guy and I will not accept the Cabinet’s proposal of proportional representation because there is a better draft law,” the opposition leader said. “This is about fair representation ... so tough guy, I urge you to accept our draft law since you do not care which law is approved,” Geagea said. “Do not accuse others of things you imagine. We were the first to fight as a resistance and no one gives you the right to judge people,” he added.

Lebanon: Residents take stock after Sidon blast
November 14, 2012 /By Mohammed Zaatari/The Daily Star
SIDON, Lebanon: Explosive experts examined the scene Wednesday after a midnight blast ripped through the Taamir district of the southern city of Sidon while residents took stock of the damage.
No casualties were reported. Experts from the Lebanese Army told The Daily Star that the bomb, only 100 meters from the site of weekend clashes between supporters of a Salafist sheikh and Hezbollah loyalists, contained tiny steel balls that caused considerable damage to homes and cars. Several witnesses told the Lebanese Army that they suspect two men were behind the bomb attack. The glass windows of several apartments and at least seven nearby vehicles were shattered in Taamir, a low-income neighborhood, parts of which the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh occupies.
The explosion came days after fighting between supporters of Hezbollah and Sheikh Ahmad Assir over party posters raised in Sidon commemorating the resistance group's Martyr Day.
“What have we done to deserve this? This area has never witnessed disputes, not even during the [Lebanese] Civil War or the War of the Camps,” said Salim al-Masri, as he removed pieces of glass from his car. Taamir is predominantly Sunni with a 40 percent Shiite population. The Lebanese Army deployed in the district in the 1990s to crack down on the Jund al-Sham militant group which was active in area. “We have always lived together [with Sunnis] as one,” added Masri, a Shiite resident. Bassel Aqqad, a Sunni resident, lamented over his suffering. “My car is damaged,” he groaned.
“Unfortunately, strife has entered Taamir,” he told The Daily Star.Sunday’s fighting claimed the lives of three and wounded five. Among the fatalities were two of Assir’s bodyguards. Assir is a staunch opponent of Hezbollah.

Hariri rules out compromise on Taif, seeks coexistence
November 14, 2012/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Tuesday he would not compromise on the Taif Accord, adding that the Future Movement and other groups in the March 14 coalition want all Lebanese to live together. “We only worry about Lebanon and we will not compromise on the Taif Accord or on Lebanon,” Hariri said, referring to the agreement that ended Lebanon’s Civil War. “I reiterate that the Future Movement, the March 14 Forces and me, personally, want all the Lebanese people to live together, and this is not impossible. But everyone must think as Lebanese because this country is for everyone. They should stop challenging us because this will lead nowhere because we are not afraid,” he said after holding talks with Italy’s Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi at the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry in Rome. Hariri described his talks with Terzi as good and frank. “The meetings were good and we discussed all issues with frankness. What is happening in the region, and especially in Syria and in Lebanon after the assassination of Wissam al-Hasan, is unacceptable.”
The Future Movement leader, who began a visit to Rome, is to meet Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday.
“The aim of this visit is to thank the pope for his visit to Lebanon [in September] which was really a very important historic visit. He came to tell the Lebanese that we are all one,” he said.
Hariri said he would return to Lebanon “sooner or later.”Earlier Tuesday, the former premier met with the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States Monsignor Dominique Mamberti.
A statement from Hariri’s media office said he discussed “the situation in Lebanon and the region in light of ongoing developments and events, particularly in Syria.”
Cardinal Robert Sarah, Benedict’s envoy to Syria, said the church fears that all Christians living in the Middle East will leave.
Sarah also said upon his return to Rome that the Syrian opposition’s agreement to form the Syrian National Coalition was a positive step.
The pope sent Sarah to Lebanon to check on the situation of Syrian refugees, as the security situation in Syria prevented him from sending cardinals to Syria.
Separately, Hariri praised in a statement the formation Sunday of the Syrian opposition’s Syrian National Coalition, calling it a step that would help in toppling Syrian President Bashar Assad.
He said the move “represents the basic and correct step to complete the course of the Syrian people’s revolution, in order to achieve its ultimate goal of toppling the regime of Bashar Assad, which is killing its people and devastating its country.” A broad opposition grouping, the SNC was formed to secure increased foreign backing for the 20-monthslong uprising against Assad. Hariri said that the birth of the coalition should motivate Syria’s friends to increase their support for the uprising in the country in order to paralyze Assad’s “killing machine” and help bring about its downfall.
Hariri congratulated the coalition’s president, Ahmad Moaz Khatib, and its two vice presidents, Riad Seif and Suhair Atassi.

Lebanon’s Sunni Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani : Politics should not play out on the streets
November 15, 2012/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Sunni Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashid Qabbani stressed Wednesday the necessity of not allowing political differences to develop into street clashes, according to the National News Agency, after weekend clashes in the southern city of Sidon left three dead. Qabbani delivered the message ahead of the Islamic New Year Thursday. “Political leaders must disassociate the street from their divisions, and anyone trying to make use of the street to solve problems related to his differences with other parties is not serving the people at all.”

MP Robert Ghanem cries foul over convening of committee
November 15, 2012/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: A dispute of the legality of a Parliament committee session broke out Wednesday when MP Robert Ghanem, the head of Parliament’s Administration and Justice Committee, said it was illegal for the committee’s rapporteur to chair the meeting. MP Nawwar Saheli responded, arguing that the session had been held in line with Parliament’s bylaws.
“The committee’s rapporteur, Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Nawwar Saheli, does not have the right to call for a meeting without the consent of the committee’s head,” Ghanem told The Daily Star.
Saheli convened a committee session which passed a draft law to form an association for certified midwives. The session was attended by nine MPs, all from the March 8 coalition.
Ghanem said that Article 27 of Parliament’s bylaws stipulates that the rapporteur has to seek the approval of the committee head to call for a session. If the chairman of the committee is unable to fulfill his or her task, only then the rapporteur can turn to the speaker for consultations on calling for a session, Ghanem added.
“That means the rapporteur only has the right to call on the committee to convene if its chairman can’t carry out his tasks for compelling reasons such as illness or being abroad,” said Ghanem, who had not given permission. “He obviously had [Speaker Nabih] Berri’s approval, but he didn’t mention in the session’s minutes that Berri has tasked him to call on the committee to convene,” said Ghanem, hours after the committee met in Parliament.Speaking to reporters after chairing the session, Saheli said that his call for the session is in line with article 27 of Parliament’s bylaws.
“Article 27 of Parliament’s bylaws is clear and says: ‘Every committee convenes on the call of its chair and the rapporteur makes the call if the chair is unable to fulfill his tasks,” he said, adding that the rapporteur calls for the session when tasked by the committee chair or speaker.
Saheli said that Article 27 does not mention illness or traveling in specific as the only circumstances under which the rapporteur could call a session or ask the speaker for permission to do so.
Legal expert Hasan Rifai told The Daily star that the speaker can’t decide on behalf of the committee’s head in the absence of a valid reason.
Meanwhile, MP Marwan Hamadeh, who is also a member of the committee, told a local radio station that Saheli’s actions violated the principle of coexistence among the Lebanese.
Hamadeh also lashed out at Berri, accusing him of undermining “respect for coexistence” in Lebanon by calling for the meeting of the Administration and Justice Parliamentary Committee.
Following October’s assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, the March 14 coalition called on for the immediate resignation of Prime Minister’s Najib Mikati’s Cabinet and decided to boycott all parliamentary sessions attended by members of Cabinet. “He [Ghanem] can chair the meetings of his parliamentary committee without inviting members of the Cabinet to attend,” Saheli said. “He can say we want to study draft laws without inviting members of the Cabinet and this is his right.” Saheli said he followed Parliament’s bylaws Wednesday in line with instructions by Berri who opposes that Parliament stops functioning. Addressing MPs attending his weekly meeting with lawmakers, Berri said Wednesday that parliamentary committees should continue their work. “The authorization people gave to an MP does not allow that he deliberately misses sessions without a legitimate excuse, thus, the MP should fulfill his duties,” he was quoted by MPs as saying.

Lebanon cracks down on drug firms
November 15, 2012 /By Van Meguerditchian/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Health Ministry continued its investigation of illegally imported drugs Wednesday, closing down two pharmaceutical warehouses owned by Fouad Wehbe and pulling drugs from pharmacies across Lebanon. The scandal surrounding the country’s pharmaceutical sector broke last week when a lawmaker told the media that Lebanese consumers should know that medications were being imported using forged documents, including drug safety tests.
Future Movement MP Atef Majdalani told The Daily Star that the forgery likely took place “somewhere between the Health Ministry and the Beirut Arab University.”
Public Prosecutor Hatem Madi, who has launched an investigation into the case, has issued summons for Wehbe and Abdellatif Mahmoud Fneish, the brother of State Minister Mohammad Fneish.
A judicial source said that Madi asked to question both men over the forgery of documents for over 100 generic medicines, but neither has presented himself for investigation.
A statement issued by the Health Ministry said Wednesday it carried out raids and shut down two warehouses owned by Wehbe.
Allegations have been made against three local drug distribution companies but the judicial source underscored that investigations have not concluded.
Media reports have named New All Pharma, Pharma International and City Pharma as the companies that were allegedly participating in the scheme.
In a report published Wednesday, Al-Mustaqbal newspaper said the medications with forged documents posed a serious danger to consumers, especially to those with diabetes and cardiovascular problems.
“We cannot say at this point if the medications are safe or dangerous, laboratories should carry out the necessary exams to make the correct judgment. I don’t know if the Health Ministry has ordered laboratories to do this exam,” said Majdalani.
Majdalani also added that the forged documents include fake drugs tests and forged signatures of Health Ministry officials.
“If the medications were good and safe, why did they need these forged documents?” asked Majdalani.
Skeptical of the Health Ministry’s measures, Majdalani urged officials to take immediate and harsh measures against the perpetrators to protect Lebanese consumers.
During a meeting with Madi at the Justice Palace in Beirut, Majdalani asked the judiciary to take all the necessary measures in the next 72 hours.
“I met today with the State Prosecutor Hatem Madi and we discussed this scandal, this criminal case against the Lebanese people. He assured me that he is personally following up on the matter and has already issued summons for Abdellatif Mahmoud Fneish and Fouad Wehbe and he also told me that there will be other measures against the firms related to these individuals,” he said.
“The forgery did not just happen yesterday or last month; this has been taking place for the past year. This is a very dangerous issue and that is why we need to speed up the investigations,” Majdalani added.
After days of pressure, the firms named in the scandal have also called for their own investigations into the matter.
Denying his own involvement in the forgery, Ali Fneish, one of the representatives of New All Pharma pharmaceutical firm, said that his company had fallen victim to the forgery by unknown individuals.
“We have just filed a lawsuit ... to uncover who was behind this forgery,” Fneish told The Daily Star.Fneish is the nephew of Mahmoud Fneish and Hezbollah’s Sate Minister Mohammad Fneish.
“Abdellatif Fneish is in Lebanon and he will be available for questions by the judiciary ... He is operations manager of relations between New All Pharma and the Health Ministry,” said Ali Fneish.
According to Fneish, a number of media outlets have launched a campaign to target his firm while investigations are still under way.
“Let us wait for the investigations to conclude. We also want to know what has happened and who is behind the forged documents,” said Fneish, hinting that the answer to that question might be at the Health Ministry. Fneish also asked why a number of media outlets have focused on one of the firm’s most sold imported product.
“In the past week, there has been a campaign against one of our imported products ... Omizec is one of the best sold products for stomach pain in Lebanon,” he said. Made by the British company Medreich and manufactured in India, Omizec capsules are used for stomach aches and currently sold at 14,000 L.L. Its primary rival, Gastrimut, is imported by another local firm, Phenicia. In a visit to a number of pharmacies throughout Beirut, pharmacists told The Daily Star that the sale of Omizec had increased significantly in the past two years and Gastrimut had been struggling to regain its share of the market. “Two months ago, Gastrimut’s price was lowered from LL23,000 LL14,000, matching the price of Omizec,” said one pharmacist who refused to be identified by the media.

No Jumblatt-Geagea talks on election law
November 15, 2012/The Daily Star/BEIRUT: The Progressive Socialist Party dismissed Wednesday media reports that Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea was engaged in talks with MP Walid Jumblatt over an election law. “There is no dialogue at the moment on a 50-district law between PSP leader Walid Jumblatt and the head of the Lebanese Forces,” the PSP said in a statement.
The PSP said it issued the statement in the wake of comments attributed by some media outlets to Geagea that talks were ongoing with Jumblatt on a law that would divide Lebanon into 50 electoral districts. The PSP has rejected this draft law which was proposed by March 14 Christian parties. Jumblatt has also rejected the government’s draft electoral law, which would divide Lebanon into 13 medium-sized districts based on a system of proportional representation. The statement said the PSP “emphasizes that it is against the 50-district law because it would turn lawmakers into something akin to neighborhood chieftains.” The PSP also “rejects a proportional representation law, the success of which requires it to be part of a comprehensive reform package that includes the abolition of political sectarianism and lowering the voting age and a number of procedures that are at absent in the proposal.” There are fears the parliamentary elections might not be held if no agreement is reached on a new electoral law.
The statement was issued as Geagea held a news conference at his residence in Maarab in which he responded to accusations leveled against him, his party and Christian parties in the March 14 movement by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah. During the televised speech, Geagea reiterated the need for the March 14 draft electoral law to be passed.
Addressing Nasrallah, Geagea said: “Oh champ, I call on you today to go along [and approve] the 50-district election law because it provides a fair representation as you have earlier said.”
During his speech Monday, Nasrallah said: “To those who trust themselves and say that March 14 will win whatever the election law, let them run in the elections based on a proportional representation law. Then we will see who the champ is.”

Israel hammers Hamas
November 15, 2012 /Agencies
GAZA CITY: Israel launched a major offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza Wednesday, killing the military commander of Hamas in an airstrike and threatening an invasion of the enclave that the Islamist group vowed would “open the gates of hell.” Operation “Pillar of Defense” began with a strike on a car carrying the commander of the military wing of Hamas, the Iranian-armed Islamist movement which controls Gaza and dominates a score of smaller armed groups.
Within minutes of the death of Ahmad al-Jaabari, big explosions shook Gaza as the Israeli air force struck at selected targets just before sundown, blasting plumes of smoke and debris high above the crowded city. Panicked civilians ran for cover and the death toll mounted quickly. Ten people including three children were killed, the Health Ministry said, and about 40 were wounded. Also among the dead were an 11-month-old baby and a woman pregnant with twins.
Army tanks shelled border areas of Gaza in the south and the Israeli navy shelled a Hamas security position from the sea.
Hamas stuck back, firing at least four Grad rockets at the southern city of Beersheba in what it called its initial response. Israel reported damage but no casualties. Its “Iron Dome” interceptor defense knocked out a dozen rockets in flight.
Late Wednesday night, Hamas’ military wing Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said it had fired three locally made rockets into the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Israel did not confirm the attack.
Egypt, whose new Islamist government pledged to honor the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, condemned Israel’s airstrikes as a threat to regional security, recalled its ambassador from Israel and called for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council.
Egypt’s President Mohammad Mursi has said of the Palestinians that “our bloods is their blood” and Egypt may not “accept what was accepted before.”
Arab League foreign ministers planned to meet Saturday to discuss the crisis.
A second Gaza war has loomed on the horizon for months as waves of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli strikes grew increasingly more intense and frequent.
Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in 2008-09 began with a week of air attacks and shelling, followed by a land invasion of the blockaded coastal strip, sealed off at sea by the Israeli navy. Some 1,400 Palestinians were killed and 13 Israelis died.
The Israeli army said it had targeted dozens of Hamas’ medium range underground rocket launch and infrastructure sites in Wednesday’s strikes.
“This has significantly damaged the rocket launch capabilities as munitions warehouses owned by Hamas and other terror organizations were targeted. In addition, Israeli navy soldiers targeted several Hamas terror sites stationed along the shoreline of the Gaza Strip,” it said in a statement.
The Hamas internal security headquarters in southern Gaza was destroyed. There were no injuries because it had been evacuated.
Hamas said Jaabari, who ran the Qassam Brigades, died along with a Hamas photographer when their car was blown apart by an Israeli missile. The charred wreckage of a car could be seen belching flames, as emergency crews picked up what appeared to be body parts. Israel confirmed it had carried out the attack and announced there was more to come. Reuters witnesses saw Hamas security compounds and police stations blasted apart.
“Today we relayed a clear message to the Hamas organization and other terrorist organizations,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “And if there is a need, the [Israeli army) is prepared to broaden the operation. We will continue to do everything in order to protect our citizens.”
The Israeli military said it was ready, if necessary, to send ground troops into Gaza. The defense officials who said a ground operation was likely in the coming days spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing sensitive military plans.
“We are at the beginning of the event, and not the end,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during a joint appearance with the prime minister. “In the long run I believe the operation will help strengthen the power of deterrence and to return quiet to the south.”
Residents in both Israel and Gaza braced for prolonged violence. Gazans rushed to stock up on food and fuel. After nightfall, streets were empty as the sounds of Israeli warplanes and explosions of airstrikes could be heard in the distance.
Immediate calls for revenge were broadcast over Hamas radio.
“The occupation has opened the gates of hell,” Hamas’ armed wing said. Smaller groups also vowed to strike back.
“Israel has declared war on Gaza and they will bear the responsibility for the consequences,” Islamic Jihad said.
Outside the hospital where Jaabari’s body was taken, thousands of Gazans chanted “Retaliation!” and “We want you to hit Tel Aviv tonight!”
“I was sitting on my bed with my grandson when suddenly the wall collapsed on both of our heads,” said Mahmoud Bana, a 62-year-old man who was slightly wounded along with his 11-year-old grandson. “We don’t know what happened but we know it is going to be a few hard days ahead.”
Southern Israeli communities within rocket range of Gaza were on full alert, and schools were ordered closed for Thursday. About a million Israelis live in range of Gaza’s relatively primitive but lethal rockets, supplemented in recent months by longer-range, more accurate systems.
“The days we face in the south will, in my estimation, prove protracted,” Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai, Israel’s chief military spokesman, told Channel 2 TV.
The Israeli Cabinet gave preliminary authorization for the mobilization of military reserves if required, Netanyahu's office said.
Asked if Israel might send in ground forces, Mordechai said: “There are preparations, and if we are required to, the option of an entry by ground is available.”
Israeli President Shimon Peres briefed U.S. President Barack Obama on the operation, Peres's office said. He told Obama that Jaabari was a “mass-murderer” and his killing was Israel’s response to Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza.
Later Wednesday, once the barrage of airstrikes on Gaza had begun, the U.S. threw its weight behind Israel, and condemned Palestinian militant rocket attacks on southern Israel.
“We support Israel’s right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties,” U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.
“We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence,” he added. The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh, called on Arab states, especially Egypt, to halt the assault. The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council said the United Nations Security Council should put pressure on Israel to stop its attacks.

Egypt will no longer tolerate attacks on Palestinians: FJP
November 14, 2012/Daily Star /CAIRO: Egypt's Islamist Freedom and Justice Party, formerly headed by President Mohamed Morsi, said on Wednesday Egypt would no longer stand by as Israel attacked Palestinians after air strikes killed a Hamas leader. The FJP, the political arm of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood movement, said Israeli air strikes that killed top militant Ahmed al-Jaabari in Gaza earlier on Wednesday required "swift Arab and international action to stop the massacres." The party, which fielded Morsi in a June election to replace toppled president Hosni Mubarak, said Israel "must take into account the changes in the Arab region and especially Egypt."Egypt "will not allow the Palestinians to be subjected to Israeli aggression, as in the past," the party statement said.
Mubarak, overthrown in early 2011, was criticised by his opponents for his response to an Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2008-2009 following rocket fire by Palestinian militants.
Morsi, a vociferous supporter of the Palestinians before his election, had been expected to open up to the blockaded Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, but his government has backed off from his pledges.

Defense council instructs Army to preserve peace
November 15, 2012 /By Nafez Kawas, Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The Higher Defense Council gave the go-ahead Wednesday to the Lebanese Army to preserve civil peace in the country, but fell short of declaring the southern city of Sidon “a military zone” following last week’s clashes that left three people dead and heightened sectarian tension. The council’s emergency meeting reflected fears about the country’s security and stability following the clashes in Sidon and frequent fighting between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad in the northern city of Tripoli, amid local and international concerns over a spillover of the 20-month-old bloody conflict in Syria into Lebanon. However, the council, which met under President Michel Sleiman at Baabda Palace, did not endorse a proposal by Interior Minister Marwan Charbel to declare Sidon “a military zone” whereby the Army would have full control and a free hand to confront attempts to incite sectarian strife.A political source said Charbel’s proposal was opposed during a Cabinet meeting earlier Wednesday by the three ministers from the Progressive Socialist Party. Although the council’s decisions are usually kept secret according to its rules, sources said the Defense Council had agreed on measures to prevent attempts to close roads in all areas, particularly in the south, and also to ban the presence of gunmen in Sidon and across Lebanon.
The council discussed the security situation in the country in general, and in Sidon and its suburbs in particular, according to a statement issued after the meeting.
“The military, security and judicial agencies were tasked with taking all measures to prevent attempts to undermine security and preserve civil peace,” the statement said.
“Agreement was reached in this context on a host of measures concerning coordination, command and follow-up between the Army and Internal Security Forces according to instructions to maintain security.”“The council stressed its concern for safeguarding civil peace in the country and preventing attempts to tamper with it,” the statement added.
The council also discussed the means to meet the logistical requirements of these forces so that they can carry out the mission assigned to them.
“For this purpose, the council issued the necessary instructions to the relevant ministries and military and security institutions. It also distributed the missions to the relevant ministries, departments and [military and security] apparatuses,” the statement said.
The council’s meeting was attended by Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Charbel, Defense Minister Fayez Ghosn, Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, Economy and Trade Minister Nicholas Nahas, Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui and Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour.
It was also attended by top military and police officials, including Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwagi, Director-General of Internal Security Forces Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi and chief of General Security Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim. Charbel’s call for declaring Sidon “a military zone” came after clashes in the Taamir neighborhood of the city between supporters of Hezbollah and Sunni preacher Ahmad al-Assir claimed the lives of three people and wounded five others last Sunday. Two of the victims were Assir’s bodyguards and the third was an Egyptian passerby.
A source close to Assir said the preacher was planning to declare his own armed wing apparently to confront Hezbollah’s growing military presence in the south. Assir might announce the formation of this armed wing after Friday’s prayers at the tombs of his slain two bodyguards, the source said.
Sidon’s Municipal Council also agreed on banning any political banner or portrait in the city until further notice and security forces were instructed to enforce this measure.
The clash in Taamir was sparked by a dispute over Hezbollah’s banners raised in Sidon marking the party’s Martyrs Day. Assir had demanded that the banners be removed.
The Army, which has deployed heavily in Sidon following the Taamir clash, has vowed to prevent attempts to destabilize the city or incite sectarian strife.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet also underlined the role of the Army and security forces in maintaining security and asserting state authority over all Lebanese territories.
The Cabinet, which met under Mikati at the Grand Serail, said the military and security forces would take all necessary measures to prevent the presence of gunmen, the blocking of roads and any attempt to upset public order in the country.
Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, Mikati promised measures to preserve security and called on rival political leaders to help defuse sectarian tensions.
“I can confirm that there will be no laxity in controlling the security situation and preventing anyone from stirring up incidents and tensions in this sensitive period,” Mikati said.
“I call on all leaders to help in pacifying the atmosphere and halt sectarian and confessional incitement and not to level random accusations at the government.”
Mikati rejected the March 14 opposition’s accusations against his government. “Our government is determined to achieve more productivity that benefits the Lebanese,” he said.
Defying the opposition’s repeated calls for its resignation following last month’s assassination of police intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hasan, the Cabinet met to discuss 118 items on its agenda.
Among other things, the Cabinet agreed to allocate LL20 billion ($13.3 million) to the Rafik Hariri Government Hospital. It tasked Safadi with issuing Treasury bonds to finance land expropriation.
It also agreed to transfer of LL7.7 billion to the Interior Ministry from the Treasury’s reserves for its project to expand Roumieh prison and establish a courtroom at the institution.
Meanwhile, March 14 denounced the clashes in Sidon and called for a state of emergency to be declared in the city with the deployment of security forces.
A statement issued after a meeting of the March 14 Secretariat General blamed the clashes on the “proliferation of all kinds of illegal arms ... and the failure of the relevant authorities to carry out their security duties without laxity.”

Palestinians detached from Sidon instability
November 15, 2012ظBy Mohammed Zaatari/The Daily Star
SIDON, Lebanon: Palestinian officials are concerned about mounting sectarian tension in Sidon’s Taamir neighborhood, and stress that they want to remain detached from Lebanese affairs.
The comments were made following armed clashes which erupted there last weekend between supporters of Salafist Sheikh Ahmad Assir and Hezbollah supporters, killing three. Also, Tuesday night, an explosion ripped through Taamir, close to the site of Sunday’s deadly clashes, damaging seven vehicles but causing no injuries.
An impoverished and densely populated suburb of the southern city, Taamir has Sunni and Shiite residents, and is next door to the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh. Officials are concerned that tension might spread from Taamir to the camp, which houses rival Palestinian factions, including extremist ones, and perhaps also to the city of Sidon itself.
As such, officials in Ain al-Hilweh are behaving cautiously with regards to this issue but rumors threaten to exacerbate the situation, including one recent rumor that members of Islamist group Jund al-Sham, whose stronghold is in an area of Taamir, have asked some Shiite residents to move away from the area.
However, Haitham Shaabi, an official in Jund al-Sham, dismissed these rumors, and stressed that Taamir is a safe area and the group wants to protect Shiites, as they are also Muslims.
Life in the Ain al-Hilweh camp Wednesday seemed unaffected by recent events, with the vegetable market bustling with people, students attending school, and gunmen appearing relaxed.
Sheikh Jamal Khattab, the head of the Islamic Jihadist Movement, said his group is working on preventing the eruption of Sunni-Shiite strife.
“We are working on preventing any sectarian strife from breaking out, because if it does it would not distinguish between a Palestinian and a Lebanese ... we are afraid of sectarian feelings that spare no one,” he told The Daily Star Wednesday.
He added that his group is working to form a delegation, including representatives from Islamist groups in the camp, to hold talks with Assir in order to restore peace.
Similarly, officials from Usbat al-Ansar, an Islamist group in the camp, said that they would only ever intervene in local events in order to restore peace. As such, its senior commanders have not been making media appearances over the last few days. Relations between Usbat al-Asmar and Hezbollah improved two years ago, with officials from both groups exchanging visits. Also, Hezbollah provided social aid to some neighborhoods in Ain al-Hilweh. These improved relations may be helpful in minimizing any sectarian tension in the camp, observers say.
Sources familiar with the situation in Ain al-Hilweh said that Islamist groups have assured Lebanese officials within the city that they can deter some extremist Islamist elements within the camp, who support Assir, from helping him in any future battle. However, they have no control over extremists within Taamir.
Salah Youssef, a member of the political bureau of the Palestinian Liberation Front, said he was concerned about the very sensitive security situation in Taamir, given the sectarian diversity of the area and its proximity to the camp. “We feel there are attempts to drag Palestinians into Lebanese disputes,” he said.
Youssef stressed that all Palestinian groups within the camp, including Islamists, are keen on remaining neutral and not being dragged into any strife.
“This area [Taamir] is under the control of the Lebanese authorities, and there is communication and coordination with some Islamist groups to control some individuals that could be dragged into disputes.
“The official Palestinian stance is clear. We are neutral and we will not meddle in Lebanese affairs,” he added.
For his part, Maj. Gen. Sobhi Abu Arab, the head of the Palestinian National Security Forces, said Palestinian groups and security bodies in Ain al-Hilweh have taken measures to control the situation within the camp. “This came after a feeling that the area is witnessing tension. The area falls under the authority of the Lebanese state, and there is cooperation and communication to prevent the camp being dragged into any conflict,” said Abu Arab. He reiterated that the Palestinian stance is against interfering in Lebanese affairs, which, he said, was highlighted by the fact Azzam al-Ahmad, the official responsible for Lebanon in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, is currently visiting Lebanon.

Casino du Liban denies graft charges
November 15, 2012/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Casino du Liban denied Wednesday some media reports that Lebanon’s only gambling center is plagued with corruption, political favoritism and embezzlement. In a statement issued to the press, Casino du Liban’s management refuted allegations that the livelihoods of many employees are under threat and the company is only offering full time jobs to those who are affiliated with the administration. Many newspapers claimed that the casino’s management had failed to run the gambling center in an ethical manner. The casino said it has recorded impressive results over the past two years despite the difficult economic and political conditions in Lebanon. According to the statement, Casino du Liban’s profits in 2012 are projected to reach $30 million. It added that the results were considered relatively well in light of the deteriorating economic conditions in the country. “The casino’s profits in 2008 reached $28 million although that year had seen considerable GDP growth,” the statement added.
It said that the profits of the casino jumped after the new administration took the helm three years ago.The casino stressed that it transferred to the treasury $141 million in 2010 and 2011 in taxes and cut off the government’s share in the casino.Less than 50 percent of Casino du Liban is owned by the state-owned Intra Investment company. The Finance Ministry and the Central Bank control 48 percent of Intra Investment while the remainder is divided among shareholders from Lebanon and the Gulf. According to a 30-year contract with the casino, 30 percent of gross revenues go to the Finance Ministry. But the previous casino administration stressed that the 30 percent only applies to roulette tables, blackjack and other table games.Some newspapers claimed that Casino du Liban’s current management is resorting to an old time gambling strategy designed to attract more middle and low-income individuals, specifically by purchasing slot machines aptly dubbed “the drains.”But the Casino insists that all these reports are baseless and unfounded. It added that all of the 1,551 employees at the casino enjoy full benefits, adding that the average cost of salaries for all the staff is $80 million and this include benefits.
The statement added that thanks to the improved performance of the casino over the past two years, the shares of the company are now worth $580 from $360 four years ago, an increase of 61 percent.
But the casino’s shares are only traded over the counter and this means that these stocks are not officially listed on Beirut Stock Exchange.
But many contractual employees at the casino staged a sit-in a week ago demanding that the management to employ them on full time basis.
The contract workers added that Ablela, a company which has a contract with the gambling center to operate the gaming centers, is netting $10 million a year from Casino du Liban.
The part-timers also argue that the casino can save up to $4 million a year if contractual workers were offered full time jobs and revoked the contract with Ablela.
The casino has not invited the company’s shareholders for a general assembly meeting for five years.)

Tribes of Syria and Iraq drawn into uprising
November 15, 2012/By Lauren Williams/The Daily Star
RAMADI, Iraq: When a young boy was raped by a member of rival tribe last month in the city of Ramadi, in Iraq’s vast Sunni heartland of Anbar province, tribal authorities were called on to settle the situation. Fourteen regional tribal sheikhs convened an emergency judicial session and delivered a swift, unanimous verdict.The perpetrator was sentenced to immediate execution at the hands of his father, to avert any further retributive violence. The story, as described by a leading sheikh in Ramadi, whose 500,000-member tribe stretches from the Syrian cities of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor to Iraq’s Anbar and Mosul, might appear to have little to do with events in neighboring Syria.
But it illustrates the precedence of tribal authority in the vast “Jazira” steppe spanning the territory lying between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It partially explains how the tribes came to side with the uprising against the rule of Bashar Assad, against a backdrop of long-standing economic neglect, and the pressure to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances.
“The court handed the father the gun and put 14 bullets in the AK47, representing each of the tribes, and said ‘go and kill your son.’ It was carried out immediately and there was no further vengeance,” said the sheikh, who asked that his tribe not be identified.
Iraqi police and security authorities did not intervene, he added.
“This sentence was carried out according to our constitution which has worked here for generation after generation. The system works.”
Seated in a plush velour lounge in the reception room of his vast compound, adorned by photographs of himself with various politicians and tribal leaders, the sheikh says that while many of the tribes initially resisted taking up arms against the government, the stepping up of military actions against their populations demanded a response.
“Our tribe is on both sides of the border; we have our relatives on both sides. There is no difference between us, so it was only natural.”
“If one of my tribe gets killed, we will kill him, so what happens when there are 200 people being killed daily? It can’t be tolerated.”
The Jazira region is host to a complex network of well over 150 tribal groups of differing sizes. Some of the largest groups with a presence spanning Iraq and Syria are the Baggara, whose members number some 1.2 million people, mostly in Deir Ezzor and Aleppo, the Eqaidat, numbering some 1.5 million, and the Al-Bushaaban, whose numbers are close to one million.
Maintaining control across their populations, and with strategic and historic familial and financial links to ruling elites in Gulf states, the tribes present an important and often overlooked source of power and mobilization in a war often seen as a battle between the Syrian army and insurgents in the country’s West.
The tribes in Syria have maintained a delicate and carefully managed relationship with the Baath Party under President Bashar Assad and his late father, Hafez Assad.
During the 1980s and 1990s the regime felt threatened by the tribes, accusing them of being close to Saddam Hussein and the Muslim Brotherhood, according to one former regime insider who said the impact was felt in the massive economic disparities between the eastern region and the rest of Syria.
In an effort to manage that threat under Assad, tribal leaders were given seats in parliament to balance a combination of both political and tribal authority over kin.
But amid security fears of overly decentralized control of the region at the expense of empowered tribal communities, the plan largely failed and the region suffered ongoing neglect.
Despite being Syria’s breadbasket and home to its biggest oil reserves, the population in the country’s east has remained among its poorest. The slow pace of land and wealth redistribution, along with poor water management amid a severe drought, fuelled hostility toward the government.
A 2005 UNDP survey found that extreme poverty levels in the northeast were more than quadruple that of the coastal regions.
“The government’s policies worsened that situation and failed to provide the necessary help [to the people there],” Hassan Hassan, an Abu Dhabi-based columnist and expert on the tribes in Arabia, told The Daily Star.
“The people in the east often relied on traveling to the Gulf for work and practically gave up on the regime.”
“They tried to dismantle the social fabric of the East but failed,” said the sheikh in Ramadi.
“When Iran started to extend its influence in the 1980s, the Baathist policies in Syria changed and we started to see even greater discrimination.”
The sheikh said he had relied on support from tribal connections in the Gulf, where there is a shared concern with blocking Iranian influence in the region.
Working in coordination with rebel Free Syrian Army operatives, the sheikh said he had urged members of his tribe in Iraq to join their Syrian brothers and has personally facilitated the transfer of money, weapons and “thousands” of men in to Syria.
Aware of the threat of extremists and terrorists infiltrating Iraq and destabilizing the country once again, the sheikh said tribal leaders meet twice a month to discuss the security situation and the importance of inter-tribal coordination. He said there was a quasi-consensus among the tribes to support the rebels through arms and men.
A rebel military commander, speaking from Deir Ezzor via Skype, said close coordination was in effect.
“So that if there is any problem between the groups, the tribal authorities are consulted to resolve the dispute,” he said.
A Syrian refugee in the Iraqi border town of Al-Qaim, Mounir Khalat, noted how eastern tribal areas had suffered a similar fate as the rest of the country.
Khalat, an agricultural worker and a member of the Baggara tribe from Deir Ezzor, said “the demonstrations started peacefully, but when the regime started killing people, we had to take revenge.
He related how his cousin, a 28-year-old father of four, was shot and killed by a government sniper. “The tribal leaders supported the uprising. If someone gets killed, there must be retribution, even if it is 4,000 people.”Hassan, the columnist, said that tribal authority, and consensus, had been less than absolute.
“Many young people joined the uprising despite their tribal leaders,” he said. “So friction occurred because of the different views.”
What the tribal leaders seek to gain in these uncertain times is unclear.
For now, most are simply trying to consolidate their power and political base, whether or not the Assad regime falls. “There are definitely opportunities,” said a sheikh from a rival tribe in Ramadi, “with large number of investment projects in Anbar province with close ties to Gulf investors.”
“There are definitely [business] opportunities” if the regime falls, said one prominent tribal Sheikh from rival tribe in Ramadi, whose many investment projects in Anbar province are linked to Gulf investors.
“In general, there is no [single] objective for tribes,” said Hassan. “But activists in those areas will reject a central government that sidelines them, as the Baathist governments did before. They are organizing themselves to ensure a place in future Syria.”Another FSA commander from Deir Ezzor, however, indicated how the tribes and the uprising have yet to see a perfect fit.
“The support of tribes is minimal; they don’t supply weapons and ammunition, only some food and medical supplies,” he said.
“We don’t deal with the leaders of tribes because most of them were pro-regime and now they want to ride the wave of the revolution, and we don’t want to repeat the same old scenario.”

U.S. Defends Israeli Attacks on Gaza after Arab Call for U.N. Condemnation
Naharnet/Arab nations demanded the U.N. Security Council condemn Israel's deadly attacks on Gaza at an emergency meeting late Wednesday, but the United States strongly defended Israel's military strikes.Egypt and other Arab states called for the emergency meeting after Israel staged scores of air strikes on the besieged Palestinian territory, killing Hamas military commander Ahmed Jaabari.
The 15-nation council did not condemn either side after the 90 minute meeting. Hardeep Singh Puri, India's U.N. envoy and Security Council president, said: "All the statements that I heard resonated with one message -- that the violence has to stop, there has to be de-escalation."
Arab nations wanted the council "to condemn that barbaric attack" by Israel and "send a strong message to call for a cessation of hostilities," said Sudan's U.N. envoy Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman, chairman of the Arab bloc at the U.N. The United States strongly defended the actions of its key Middle East ally however.
Highlighting Israel's claim that at least 768 rockets have been fired from Gaza this year, U.S. ambassador Susan Rice told the council: "Israel, like any nation, has the right to defend itself against such vicious attacks. "There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately." Rice, a frontrunner to become the next U.S. secretary of state, said the rocket attacks were harming efforts to end the Middle East conflict and create a Palestinian state.
"Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that does nothing but set back the Palestinian cause.
"Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza nor to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self determination and independence," Rice said.
Britain's U.N. envoy Mark Lyall Grant also condemned rocket attacks into Israel but called on Israel "to act in a way that de-escalates tensions."
Only the Palestinian and Israeli ambassadors were allowed to address the meeting on top of the council envoys.
Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour told the council that a child of 11 months, two other children and a pregnant 19-year-old woman were among the dead.
"Death, destruction, trauma and terror are being rained upon our people before the eyes of the world," Mansour said.
"The international community must act to bring an end to Israel's illegal policies and practices against the Palestinian people," he added.
Mansour said the attacks were linked to the Palestinian application for observer status at the United Nations, which is due to be voted on by the U.N. General Assembly on November 29.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that the military operation could be expanded and the country's U.N. ambassador Ron Prosor said: "The goal of Israel's operation is clearly defined -- to remove a strategic threat to Israeli citizens." He told the council that Israel will not play "Russian roulette with the lives of our citizens."
"Hamas has turned Gaza into a haven and a breeding ground for global terrorist organizations," Prosor declared.
The Palestinian envoy said that if the council could not halt Israel's attacks, the Palestinian Authority would come back and demand a formal condemnation of Israel.
He said this could include proposing a resolution, which the United States would almost certainly veto. The U.S. administration uses its powers as a permanent member of the U.N. council to block any resolution condemning Israel.Agence France Presse

Israel Kills Top Hamas Commander, Launches Operation against Gaza
Naharnet /Israel killed a top Hamas military chief in an air strike in Gaza on Wednesday and launched a military operation against the Palestinian enclave, prompting Hamas’ armed wing to warn that the Jewish state had opened "the gates of hell."
Egypt said it was recalling its ambassador over Israel's hit on a car in Gaza City that killed Ahmed Jaabari and his bodyguard, followed by more than 20 air strikes in Gaza that killed another six people and wounded 65, according to the Hamas health ministry and rescue services.
The Israeli navy "targeted several Hamas terror sites stationed along the shoreline of the Gaza Strip," a military statement said.
The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations put the death toll at nine and said that the number of dead would likely rise.
Israel warned it was only the start of an operation targeting militant groups in Gaza, which comes as the Jewish state prepares for general elections in January. "If it becomes necessary, we are prepared to expand the operation," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address on Wednesday evening, after holding consultations with his security cabinet.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the operation was aimed at strengthening Israel's deterrence, damaging militant groups' rocket-firing capabilities and stamping out attacks on southern Israel.
"We are at the beginning, not end of this action," he warned, adding: "It won't be a quick fix."
At the security cabinet meeting "it was decided... to permit the IDF (Israeli army), according to need and with the approval of the defense minister, to call up reservists," a cabinet statement said.An Israeli army spokesman told Agence France Presse that some notices had been issued to specific personnel but that so far there was no general call-up of army reservists.
The U.S. State Department backed Israel's “right to defend itself” and condemned recent Palestinian attacks. Netanyahu's office said that he had called President Barack Obama and expressed "his deep appreciation" for the support.
The air strikes capped five days of rising tension in and around Gaza, which saw Israel kill seven Palestinians and militants fire more than 120 rockets over the border, injuring eight.
Jaabari's death sparked fury in Gaza City, with hundreds of members of Hamas and its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, chanting for revenge in and around Shifa hospital, where Jaabari's body was taken. The Israeli army said it had also targeted "a significant number of long-range rocket sites" and was prepared to launch a ground operation if necessary in order to stamp out rocket fire.
Police said that 81 rockets had been fired at Israel from Gaza in the aftermath of the Gaza City strike and that the level of alert had been raised across the area.
In a separate statement, the military said its Iron Dome anti-missile system successfully intercepted 13 of the rockets.
The Israeli strikes prompted widespread condemnation, with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi recalling Cairo's envoy to Israel and summoning Israel's ambassador, his spokesman said.Gaza's Hamas government welcomed the Egyptian move in a statement which also urged Arab leaders "to take decisive action" to push Israel to end its campaign.
And following a request from Morsi, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said top Arab diplomats were preparing to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the violence.
Britain also urged restraint and Russia said it was "very concerned", while Washington said it was watching developments in Gaza "closely".
The strike in Gaza City prompted an outpouring of grief and anger, with armed men firing weapons into the air outside Shifa hospital and mosques throughout the city calling prayers to mourn the commander's death. The Qassam Brigades, in a furious statement, said Israel had "opened the gates of hell on itself", while Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the strike was tantamount to a "declaration of war".
Israel's last major operation in Gaza began at the end of December 2008, six weeks shy of general elections, when troops embarked on a 22-day campaign which killed 1,400 Palestinians -- half of them civilians -- and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.Agence France Presse

Netanyahu Says Ready to Expand Gaza Operation, Arab League to Hold Emergency Meeting Saturday
Naharnet /Israel sent a "clear message" to Hamas through the killing of its top military commander and is ready to widen its operation in Gaza if necessary, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned on Wednesday. "Today we sent a clear message to Hamas and other terrorist organizations, and if it becomes necessary we are prepared to expand the operation," he said in a televised address.
Speaking hours after a major wave of air strikes pounded militant targets in the Gaza Strip, killing top Hamas commander Ahmed Jaabari and six other people, Netanyahu vowed that Israel would not tolerate any further rocket fire on its territory. "Hamas and the terror organizations have chosen to escalate their attacks on the citizens of Israel in recent days. We will not tolerate a situation in which Israeli citizens are threatened by rocket fire," he said after consultations with his security cabinet. The strikes came after five days of rising tensions along the Gaza border which began on Saturday when Palestinian militants fired an anti-tank rocket at an army jeep, sparking Israeli fire which killed seven and caused militants to fire more than 120 rockets over the border.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the strike was only the beginning of an operation whose goals were to strengthen Israel's deterrence, damage militant groups' rocket-firing capabilities and stamp out attacks on southern Israel. "Israel doesn't want a war but the Hamas provocation of recent weeks, with recurring, frequent rounds of mortar and rockets fired at southern Israel, an explosive tunnel that was activated.. and anti-tank fire at a jeep in Israel, forced us to act sharply and decisively," Barak said."We are at the beginning, not end of this action," he said, stressing the need to be "on high alert in Israel and West Bank ... It won't be a quick fix.. but we'll reach goals we set for this operation."He urged regional leaders to act "judiciously and with a cool head to promote stability and return of quiet, and not to be dragged to their deterioration." Shortly after his remarks, Egypt, which has a 1979 peace treaty with Israel, announced it was recalling its ambassador to the Jewish state in the wake of the Gaza air strikes.
Meanwhile, the Arab League's deputy chief announced that foreign ministers will convene an emergency meeting on Saturday to respond to Israeli air strikes in Gaza.
"The meeting will be convened on Saturday, based on requests from Egypt and Palestine," Ahmed Ben Hilli told AFP.
The league announced its decision after Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi recalled the ambassador to Israel following Wednesday's Gaza events.
Agence France Presse

Obama Vows New Push to Solve Iran Nuclear Crisis
Naharnet/President Barack Obama promised to launch a new diplomatic push to solve the longstanding crisis over Iran's disputed nuclear program, saying there was still a "window of time" to end the standoff. His comments came amid speculation about possible direct U.S. talks that surfaced just before the U.S. elections and has gone up in volume since Obama's reelection.
Iran, reeling from international sanctions over its nuclear program, has not ruled out direct talks with Washington but says these will not come overnight.
"With respect to Iran, I very much want to see a diplomatic resolution to the problem," Obama told a White House press conference.
"I will try to make a push in the coming months to see if we can open up a dialogue between Iran and not just us, but the international community, to see if we can get this thing resolved."
Though he was careful to stress that Washington remains adamantly opposed to letting Iran obtain a nuclear weapon, Obama added: "There is still a window of time for us it resolve this diplomatically."
He cited crippling sanctions imposed on Iran by the U.N. Security Council and unilateral Western restrictions on Tehran's oil sector and banks, calling them the "toughest sanctions in history."
Iran insists it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful, civilian purposes, but Israel and Western nations fear the program is a cover for a drive to produce nuclear weapons.
"There should be a way in which they can enjoy peaceful nuclear power while still meeting their international obligations and providing clear assurances to the international community that they're not pursuing a nuclear weapon," Obama said. "I can't promise that Iran will walk through the door that they need to walk through. But that would be very much the preferable option."
Obama nonetheless denied that talks with Iran were imminent.
"I think it is fair to say that we want to get this resolved and we're not going to be constrained by diplomatic niceties or protocols if Iran is serious about wanting to resolve this," the president added.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Monday that any "decision on comprehensive, bilateral political talks between the two countries... is up to the supreme leader," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Russia's representative in international talks with Iran over its disputed nuclear program, Sergei Ryabkov, was quoted as telling The Financial Times that Moscow would support direct talks between Iran and the United States.
Salehi also expressed hope that negotiations on its nuclear program with the so-called P5+1 -- the U.N. Security Council's five permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- would resume soon.
The P5+1 has for years sought to defuse an international crisis over Tehran's atomic ambitions through negotiations with the Islamic republic.
The last high-level talks, which all but failed, were held in Moscow in June.
The U.N. atomic watchdog has said it will hold a new round of talks in Tehran on December 13.
Agence France Presse

Khamenei's Strategy for Obama's Second Term
Mehdi Khalaji/Washington Institute
November 14, 2012
If the Supreme Leader decides to get serious about nuclear negotiations, he will likely take a more public role in the process than before, if only to maintain control of Iran's increasingly turbulent domestic politics.In light of continuing pressure from abroad and mounting economic and political problems at home, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is preparing for the possibility of a generous compromise offer from President Obama that would allow Iran to end the risk of military strikes on its nuclear facilities. The Supreme Leader seems to have realized that there is little difference between America's two main political parties when it comes to the prospect of Iranian nuclear weapons -- as both candidates made clear during their last debate, U.S. policy is prevention. Tehran understands that further lack of significant progress in negotiations may justify an attack.
Yet Khamenei also faces a serious domestic dilemma. If the economic crisis becomes bad enough, he might feel compelled to make a deal before Iran's next presidential election, scheduled for June 2013. At the same time, however, he does not want either the outgoing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or his replacement to get credit for an agreement that reduces international sanctions, since that would enhance the popularity and power of the presidency at the Supreme Leader's expense. And most important of all, he does not want to harm his image at home and throughout the Muslim world by seemingly capitulating to foreign pressure if he can avoid it.
POLITICAL PROBLEMS AS BAD AS ECONOMIC ILLS
While Iran's economic problems have received much attention recently, the political atmosphere within the ruling elite is as big a headache for Khamenei. Like the two men who preceded him in the office, Ahmadinejad has been a big disappointment for Khamenei, who had high hopes that the president would implement the Supreme Leader's agenda rather than his own. Given Ahmadinejad's relatively low profile before taking office, he relied on the ayatollah and his institutions to come to power. Khamenei also believed that Ahmadinejad would help him get rid of reformists and technocrats led by former presidents Muhammad Khatami (1997-2005) and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-1997).
But Ahmadinejad has turned out to be a big problem instead. In the aftermath of massive public protests against the rigged 2009 presidential election, Khamenei was forced to officially endorse Ahmadinejad's policies in order to buttress the latter's legitimacy. This explicit approval left him unable to publicly criticize Ahmadinejad's actions as he done to Rafsanjani and Khatami during their terms. Ahmadinejad quickly seized this opportunity to emphasize his authority and legitimacy, supposedly based on being elected by the people. Since then, he has increased his public and covert efforts to assert his power against that of the conservatives who previously supported him, and against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other institutions run by the Supreme Leader. Unable to attack Ahmadinejad directly, Khamenei has instead given the judiciary and parliament a green light to pressure the president for his mismanagement and economic corruption.
Unable to resolve his problems with Khamenei behind closed doors, Ahmadinejad has gone public with them. His October 23 open letter to judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani is a glaring example. Previously, Ahmadinejad had planned to visit Evin Prison in Tehran, asserting that it was his responsibility to oversee all three branches of government and make sure none of them are violating the constitution. Yet Larijani sent him a "very confidential" letter refusing the request; given that Ahmadinejad's former press advisor Ali Akbar Javanfekr is serving time at Evin, Larijani argued that a presidential visit might be interpreted as a political move to undermine the judiciary's authority. Furious, Ahmadinejad wrote an open letter on the issue, and this publicizing of a covert dispute upset Larijani so much that he responded with an open letter of his own -- one harsher than anything his predecessors ever wrote.
Khamenei soon intervened, bluntly warning the heads of the three branches of government not to argue in public. Larijani and his brother Ali, the speaker of parliament, each sent Khamenei a letter reaffirming their loyalty to him. But Ahmadinejad sent an almost-sarcastic letter, asserting that of course Khamenei could not intend to undermine the presidency since it is the second most important post in the Islamic Republic, and the only one elected by all of the people. In addition, numerous unsourced reports indicate that Ahmadinejad has repeatedly threatened to resign if the pressure on him continues, knowing that such a move is the last thing Khamenei wants under the current circumstances.
As the election approaches and the economic situation deteriorates, Ahmadinejad may increase his aggressive moves. Recently, for instance, he has been fighting with Ali Larijani, each man (correctly) accusing the other of hurting the economy. Yet the president's true target is Khamenei's authority and the people or institutions associated with it. Whether Khamenei responds or stays silent, such infighting would be costly for him -- in particular, it could strengthen marginalized figures like Rafsanjani, who have criticized Ahmadinejad from the beginning.
COMPLICATIONS FROM OBAMA VICTORY
Khamenei has at least two compelling reasons to be unhappy about Obama's reelection. First, had Mitt Romney won, Tehran would likely have had several months of breathing room before the new president took office, formed his national security team, and attempted to resume negotiations via the P5+1 (i.e., the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany). Obama's victory leaves little excuse for delaying new talks.
Second, Khamenei may now have to deal with backlash if he decides to negotiate. His domestic critics would no doubt ask why he did not make a deal with the Obama administration years earlier, when fewer sanctions were in place; such scrutiny could weaken his position at home. Similarly, striking a deal would empower those rivals who have advocated negotiating with Washington only to see Khamenei curtail their efforts. (This includes Rafsanjani and, more recently, Ahmadinejad, though it is unclear that either would actually have engaged the United States if they had the authority to do so on their own; the Islamic Republic has a long history of those out of power advocating such engagement, then refusing to do so when they come to power.) Khamenei will not want to risk strengthening his critics shortly before the election.
IMPACT ON IRAN'S ELECTION SEASON
If the economic situation deteriorates further, Khamenei may not be able to wait until the June election to make significant progress in negotiations with the West. At the same time, he presumably does not want to strike a deal for which Ahmadinejad could claim credit. The economic crisis is so dreadful and the social anxiety so deep, he may believe that even half-measures (e.g., lifting certain sanctions) could dramatically boost the president's position if the people believed Ahmadinejad were responsible for brokering them. Ahmadinejad's only remaining usefulness to the Supreme Leader is as a scapegoat for the economic chaos.
In addition, Khamenei does not want presidential campaigning to begin yet. Faced with popular grumbling about the impact of sanctions, his priority is to emphasize government unity. He also wants to avoid a long campaign season that holds great potential for criticism of the regime and its policies, which could stir the people into large-scale unrest. Nevertheless, pre-election maneuvering is already well underway -- by the time the two-week Nowruz holiday season arrives in late March, Iran's elite will be so focused on the presidential race that they may have difficulty concentrating on any negotiations with foreigners.
As for the election itself, Khamenei will again play the main role in determining the next president. His ideal is to have a low-profile president who listens to him rather than following his own ambitions. This preference -- together with Khamenei's fear of a president becoming a popular hero for alleviating sanctions -- means that Ahmadinejad's successor is very unlikely to play a significant part in Iran's foreign and nuclear policy. Instead, the Supreme Leader is much more likely than in the past to take public responsibility for whatever decision he makes about a nuclear deal.
Mehdi Khalaji is a senior fellow at The Washington Institute.

Christians in Syria, Separating Fact from Fiction
by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi/The Henry Jackson Society
November 2012
http://www.meforum.org/3377/christians-in-syria
Thought to comprise approximately 10 per cent of Syria's population – with a variety of sects, including Greek Orthodox, Melkite Greek Catholics, Syriac Orthodox, Armenians, Maronites, Chaldeans, and Assyrians – the Christian community of Syria has been the subject of considerable media attention ever since unrest arose against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in March 2011.
However, rather than looking at claims of incidents of anti-Christian violence and trying to verify them, articles have generally repeated the obvious point that there are concerns that the same fate could befall Syrian Christians, as with the numerous incidents of persecution of Iraqi Christians by Islamic militants and, further, as with the outflow of hundreds of thousands of Christians from the country since 2003.
So, what are the main stories of the persecution of Christians in Syria? And, further to this, how can they be verified?
Homs
This year, in March, a story circulated that 90 per cent of the Christians in the city of Homs had been ethnically cleansed by Islamic militants. The story was traced back to a report published by Agenzia Fides – the Vatican news agency – on 21st March.[1] On the contrary, the claims go back to a report put out on 13th March by the website Syria Truth (in Arabic, 'al-Haqiqa'), which is run by Nizar Nayouf, who was once imprisoned by the regime but who, since 2002, has been living in exile in Europe.[2]
Nayouf's background notwithstanding, Syria Truth, despite claiming to oppose the regime, routinely recycles regime propaganda. In this case, Syria Truth blamed the supposed mass ethnic cleansing on the 'Wahhabi' Farouq Battalion and the aid of Libyan and Iraqi mercenaries.
However, the Farouq Battalion does not have such a hard-line Islamic orientation. On the contrary, it is distinctly aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, promoting a nationalist outlook rather than a Takfiri-jihadist worldview, which would entail, first, imposing jizya on Christians, and then, of attacking and ethnically cleansing them if they failed to pay the extortionist tax. If anything, the evidence suggests that the Farouq Battalion is at odds with these hard-line jihadist types.[3] Agenzia Fides had made no independent effort to try to verify Syria Truth's story, but rather simply reproduced what had been written on Syria Truth without the proper attribution.[4] In fairness, though, the news agency did subsequently publish a report from Jesuits in Homs, who denied that there had been a campaign of mass ethnic cleansing, alleging, instead, that the Christians had had left voluntarily.[5]
Later to this, David Enders (for McClatchy) interviewed Christian refugees in Lebanon, who denied that the Farouq Battalion had forced them out in a campaign of mass persecution.[6] The reality is that Christians, like other segments of Homs' population (such as the Alawites and Sunnis), had simply fled in large numbers owing to the intense fighting between regime forces and rebels. Indeed, multiple outlets have reported on the phenomenon of Homs being turned into a virtual 'ghost town'.[7]
In an article I wrote with two co-authors for Ha'aretz, I criticized the Syria Truth report for making no reference to the impositions of jizya. In response, Syria Truth – just days later – issued another report claiming that the Farouq Battalion has been imposing jizya on Christians in the rural areas around Homs. The same site then put out an exposé of me and my co-authors, purporting to expose me as an Israeli spy operating under a pseudonym in Iraqi Kurdistan, using my profile picture on Facebook as evidence alongside the supposed testimonies of other Iraqis.[8]
Marco Tosatti of the Vatican Insider, which is a sub-outlet of the prominent Italian newspaper La Stampa, plagiarized the story of the alleged imposition of jizya in the Homs area, from Jihad Watch, [9] which, in turn, had reprinted the original story from Syria Truth.[10] Tosatti claimed that the story had been verified by AsiaNews.it, although without offering any evidence for this. A Google search will, likewise, reveal that AsiaNews.it has not verified the story at all.
More recently, multiple opinion pieces – including two by journalist Kapil Komerredi in The New York Times and Ha'aretz[11] – have claimed that up to 80,000 Christians have been ethnically cleansed from within the Homs area. The claim goes back to one source: Mother Agnes Mariam, who was interviewed back in spring on this very subject by Sky News.[12] Though claiming to be neutral in the conflict, Mother Agnes is most notable for being among the first to push the conspiracy theory that the Houla massacre, which UN investigators have established to be the work of pro-Assad militiamen, was carried out by the rebels. Her claims, however, are based merely on vague anecdotes.[13] As such, given her record of pushing dubious claims, she can hardly be taken as a reliable source, and it is hardly surprising that Father Paolo Dall'Oglio, who, having resided in Syria for more than 30 years, was subsequently expelled for his criticism of the regime, has accused Mother Agnes of peddling regime propaganda.[14]
Perhaps the one reliable source for anti-Christian violence in Homs comes from a resident Syrian Christian, who, in a BBC Radio interview, said (without specifying when exactly) that in the neighborhood of Hamidiya, fighters (not thought to be from the area itself) forced some families out of their homes.[15] The interviewee, however, did not speak of mass ethnic cleansing, and did not blame the Farouq Battalion. In turn, the testimony recorded at BBC may be corroborated by a recent report in The Independent, in which Kim Sengupta interviewed Syrian Christian refugees in Lebanon. Notably, Sengupta describes the case of the Haddad family, who claim to have fled from Homs to Zahle in Lebanon amid death threats.[16] The picture that can be composed, therefore, is as follows: the majority of Christians in Homs, like other residents of the city, fled in the face of intense fighting between rebels and the regime, but at some point, certain families may have been forced out by foreign extremists. In any case, the claim that the Farouq Battalion, supposedly with the help of Libyan and Iraqi fighters, was responsible for ethnically cleansing 90 per cent of Homs' Christian population is plainly false.
Qusayr
Modeled on the story of the ethnic cleansing of 90 per cent of Homs' Christian population, stories began to circulate that 9000 out-of-a-supposed population of 10,000 Christians had left the city of Qusayr on the basis of an ultimatum issued by a rebel battalion.[17] However, the rebels in Qusayr denied this story. The truth about what happened, most likely, lies in the account given by a couple of reports in the Wall Street Journal: some Christians (namely from the Kasouha clan) were allegedly acting as informants for the regime's security forces in the town. On the basis of these allegations, "several men from a prominent Christian family have been shot dead, more than a dozen residents have gone unaccounted for and the majority of Christians have fled town, said residents on both sides of the conflict."[18] The case of the Kasouha family is also referenced by a Christian refugee interviewed in Sengupta's report for The Independent.[19] That these killings might provoke a large-scale exodus should come as no surprise in an atmosphere of fear in the midst of a civil war.
Rableh
A small village situated on the Orontes River, Rableh, which is located outside of the Wadi al-Nasara area, was the subject of reports which surfaced in August claiming that rebels had besieged the town and cut-off all of its food and water supplies. Later, however, it was said that the Syrian Army had liberated the town from the rebel siege, beginning with reports on the matter by the pro-Syrian Lebanese news channel, al-Mayadeen, which ran footage of Syrian Army troops in the town and residents expressing delight at their presence.[20] The figure of beleaguered Greek Catholics was put at more than 12,000 by a number of outlets;[21] however, the problem with this figure is that census statistics show that Rableh does not have a population anywhere near 12,000, with the 2004 census charting the total population at only 5,328.[22] Marco Tosatti purported to account for the figure of 12,000, claiming that the village has an established population of 7000 and, further, that the population was bolstered by 5000 recent refugees from Qusayr. However, Tosatti provides demographic divisions that conflict with the established notion of 12,000 Greek Catholics: he claims, instead, that the town has a 50-50 division between Maronites and Greek Catholics.[23] The uncorroborated statistic of 5000 refugees from Qusayr is explained by another outlet: "Some 5,000 Christians from the nearby town of Kusayr [sic] sought refuge in the entirely Christian village after armed opposition leaders ordered them to leave Kusayr."[24] However, as already mentioned above, the claim that Christians fled Qusayr en masse because of a supposed rebel ultimatum is unlikely to be true. In any case, Tosatti has proven he is not a trustworthy source, especially when we consider his plagiarisms and false claims of verification with the AsiaNews.it-jizya story. Furthermore, the fact that the reports on Rableh cannot get their figures straight with regards to the demographics of the village, throws serious doubt on their credibility.Whilst one can allow for the plausible scenario that the town may have come under rebel fire during fighting between regime forces and rebel battalions, and that the latter were driven back by the end of August, it is highly unlikely that the rebels could have then launched an incursion into the village area the following month (especially whilst still under army control) and have taken 280 hostages in mass-kidnappings.[25] On the following day (26th September), Agenzia Fides reported a mass release of 240 hostages with a joyous reconciliation ceremony.[26]
Contradictory statistics exist as to the number of hostages supposedly taken anyway: The Daily Star in Lebanon, quoting an unspecified 'Lebanese security source', stated that 218 Syrian and Lebanese citizens were taken hostage, only to be released the next day.[27] Meanwhile, Syria Truth claimed that 170 hostages were taken and that some were immediately released, so that there were a remaining 120 hostages as of 25th September. As usual, the outlet pinned the blame on the 'Wahhabi' Farouq Battalion (which it also held responsible for the siege of Rableh in August[28]), and also, on the 'Khalid bin Walid' Battalion.[29] A further account comes from a report in the Spectator, in which a Christian refugee in Lebanon, who fled from Rableh in May, claimed that 250 residents were taken hostage in the fields.[30] Yet another discrepancy undermining the credibility of the whole story, in all the various accounts, is where exactly these hostages were taken. While Agenzia Fides cites 'local sources' to claim that the hostages were crammed into a school in the village of Gousseh, Syria Truth says that the hostages were taken to an unknown location. At best, the story of mass hostage taking and starving appears to be based in uncorroborated rumor, even as it is clear that there has been fighting between regime forces and rebels in the area.
Aleppo
In my work elsewhere, I have referred to the foreign jihadist element in Syria as a localized phenomenon: that is, rather than being spread in significant numbers all over Syria, it is primarily concentrated in Aleppo and Deir ez-Zor.[31] In this context, the claims by the Syriac Orthodox bishop of Aleppo on the kidnappings of Christians in the city (along with other residents, of course) make sense.[32] The same goes for the reports on the formation of Christian defense militias in the city,[33] as well as for ones reporting the flight of many Christians from the city to Tartous.[34] That said, there is no evidence, as of yet, of the destruction of churches as targeted operations conducted by rebels, foreign jihadists, or otherwise.[35]
The evidence, rather, points to heavy damage being sustained from indiscriminate mortar-fire by the rebels, a common complaint among residents of all stripes in the city. Specifically, vis-à-vis the Christians, this observation can be corroborated by a recent article in The Daily Beast, where a Christian opposition activist in Aleppo – identifying himself only by the name 'George' – was interviewed. He noted an incident he had witnessed whereby rebels indiscriminately fired mortars into a Christian district in the city, ostensibly targeting the security building, though actually hitting several Christian homes.[36]
One should also note the targeting of the Armenian community by rebels in Aleppo. Notably, the St. Gevorg Church in the Nor Kyugh district was recently desecrated.[37] In a similar vein, a bus carrying several Armenian Christians on the way to Aleppo was stopped by unidentified anti-Assad forces, and the passengers were taken hostage, but it is not clear if all those on board the bus were Christian.[38]
Qastal al-Burj
Qastal al-Burj is a small village in the Hama area. It was reported by UPI, in May, that militants had evicted 10 Christian families.[39] This story appears to have been corroborated by AsiaNews.it, whose sources at the same time denied that there was an organized campaign of anti-Christian persecution in Syria, stating that the main sectarian dynamic at play was rather the Sunni-Alawite dichotomy.[40]
Conclusion
The evidence surveyed here does not, as of yet, suggest the existence of an organized campaign of militant Islamic persecution of Christians throughout Syria, especially along the lines of what has happened in Iraq since 2003. Indeed, one should not overlook the fact that Christians have been playing active roles in the opposition.[41] At the same time, disinformation exists about this phenomenon too.[42] Have there been incidents of anti-Christian violence in Syria? Undoubtedly, but one should always be alert to those pro-Assad propaganda outlets which are willing to exploit, for their own ends, what they see as Western concerns about the status of Christians in the country. In addition, analysts should be more nuanced, looking at which Christians might be more inclined to support the regime, and examining the reasons for such support.[43] At the same time, one must avoid complacency: the ever-growing infiltration of Syria by foreign jihadists (e.g. from Jordan to the south) poses an increasing threat to the survival of the various Christian communities of Syria.
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a Shillman-Ginsburg Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a student at Brasenose College, Oxford University.
[1] 'Abuse of the opposition forces, "ethnic cleansing" of Christians in Homs, where Jesuits remains', Agenzia Fides, March 21st, 2012.
[2] Al-Haqiqa, March 13th, 2012.
[3] See David Enders, 'Syria Rebels Say They Killed Leader of Extremist Group That Kidnapped 2 Journalists', McClatchy, September 7th, 2012.
[4] Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, Phillip Smyth, & Oskar Svadkovsky, 'Syrian disinformation about Christian persecution', Ha'aretz, April 6th, 2012.
[5] 'The Jesuits: Christians have fled from Homs, thrown out by the Islamists', Agenzia Fides, March 26th, 2012.
[6] David Enders, 'Rare inside view of Syria's rebels finds a force vowing to fight on', McClatchy, April 23th,2012.
[7] For example, 'Inside Homs: Syrian 'ghost town' divided and destroyed', BBC News, May 9th, 2012.
[8] Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, 'Nizar Nayouf: al-Haqiqa and Syrian Christians', American Spectator, April 23th, 2012.
[9] 'Syrian opposition army imposes jizya on Christians in Homs', Jihad Watch, April 10th, 2012.
[10] Marco Tosatti, 'Christians oppressed by rebels in Syria', Vatican Insider, April 21st, 2012.
[11] Kapil Komireddi, 'Syria's Crumbling Pluralism', August 4th, 2012; Komireddi, 'Rebels with an Anti-Semitic Cause,' September 21st, 2012.
[12] '80000 Christian Refugees from the Zionist War on Syria', Liveleak, June 16th, 2012.
[13] 'Syrian rebels took bodies from hospital to stage massacre', YouTube, June 16th, 2012.
[14] Mary Fitzgerald, "Nun on Irish visit accused of peddling 'regime lies' about crisis in Syria," The Irish Times, August 18th, 2012.
[15] 'Syrian Christians 'targeted' by rebels', BBC News, September 7th, 2012.
[16] Kim Sengupta, "The plight of Syria's Christians," The Independent, November 2nd, 2012.
[17] 'Syria: At least 9,000 Christians flee their homes after persecution from Islamic supremacist rebels', Jihad Watch, June 18th, 2012.
[18] Sam Dagher, 'Syrian Conflict Draws in Christians', Wall Street Journal, July 23th, 2012.
[19] Sengupta, "The plight of Syria's Christians".
[20] Al-Mayadeen, August 25th, 2012.
[21] For example, Kevine Jones, 'Thousands of Christians trapped in village', Catholic News Agency, August 25th, 2012; cf. 'Over 12,000 Christian faithful 'starving' in the village of Rableh: humanitarian law is invoked', Agenzia Fides, August 22nd, 2012.
[22] Syria Census 2004.
[23] Marco Tosatti, 'Christian humanitarian disaster' impending in Syria', Vatican Insider, October 19th, 2012.
[24] 'Christians trapped in Rableh', CNEWA, September 25th, 2012.
[25] 'Rableh: 280 Christians held hostage', Agenzia Fides, 25th September, 2012.
[26] 'Reconciliation ceremony for the release of hostages', Agenzia Fides, September 26th, 2012.
[27] 'Over 200 Lebanese, Syrians released by rebel group', The Daily Star, September 25th, 2012. The motivation given comes across as rather odd too. It is claimed that the hostages were taken to teach them to be neutral in the conflict, but surely a much more plausible situation would be to take hostages for ransom money, since Rableh is apparently the site of wealthy agricultural land.
[28] Al-Haqiqa, August 24th, 2012.
[29] Al-Haqiqa, September 25th, 2012.
[30] Mary Wakefield, "Die slowly, Christian dog," Spectator, October 27th, 2012.
[31] Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, 'Analyzing Aleppo', October 8th, 2012.
[32] Michael Jansen, 'Rebels claimed to have killed 18 soldiers in car bomb', Irish Times, September 13th, 2012.
[33] Ruth Sherlock and Carol Malouf, 'Syria: Christians take up arms for first time', The Telegraph, September 12th, 2012.
[34] Joshua Landis, 'Many Christians Head for Tartus', Syria Comment, September 18th, 2012.
[35] cf. 'Syrian Archbishop of Aleppo appeals for dialogue, peace', Vatican Radio, August 16th, 2012.
[36] Clare Morgana Gillis, 'Syria's Christians Wary of Both Rebels and Assad Regime', The Daily Beast, October 17th, 2012.
[37] "Armenian Church reportedly burnt down in Aleppo," Armenia Now, October 30th, 2012.
[38] "Armenians kidnapped near Aleppo," Armenia Now, October 31st, 2012.
[39] UPI.com, May 10th, 2012.
[40] 'Syria's war is between Alawis and Sunnis, not against Christians', AsiaNews.it, May 16th, 2012.
[41] For example, the Assyrian Democratic Movement has thrown its weight behind the opposition. c.f. on the role of Christians in protests against the regime in the town of Zabadani: 'Syria's uprising: Try to stay peaceful', The Economist, May 5th, 2012.
[42] Most notably, the story of the formation of a Christian rebel battalion using the Islamic moniker 'Ansar Allah', YouTube, September 18th, 2012. In fact as Ammar Abdulhamid notes Christians who become active rebel fighters join secular units: Ammar Abdulhamid, 'The Shredded Tapestry: The State of Syria Today', Syrian Revolution Digest, September 1st, 2012.
[43] See my paper published on Syrian Christians. It provides an overview of the various Christian sects in the country and reasons why members of particular Christian communities might support the regime.