Latest analysis, editorials, studies, reports, letters & Releases from miscellaneous sources published on July 30/14

Christians Under Siege in Iraq/By Walid Phares/July 30/14

The Arab world has lost its soul/By: Khaled Almaeena/Al Arabiya/ July 30/14

Reviving the Arab world’s anemic political systems/ By: Mohammad Al-Harethi/Al Arabiya/July 30/14

Lebanese Related News published on July 30/14

Geagea ridicules idea to import water from Turkey
Jumblatt presents Nasrallah with Sykes-Picot book

Jumblatt denies presidency talk with Nasrallah, Berri

Lebanon approves moving remains of crash victims to France
Patriarch to France: We want to stay in our land

Sheikh Qabalan Calls for Lessening Lebanon's Woes
Hamas Hopes for Hizbullah Assistance against Israel from S. Lebanon
Hizbullah Top Official, Three Fighters Die in Qalamoun Clashes
Syrian Jets Raid Arsal Plains, Four Wounded
Rockets Hit Northeastern Towns, No Casualties

Mashnouq Says to Discuss with Moqbel, Rifi Implementation of Decision on Wanted Lists
 

Miscellaneous Reports And News published on July30/14

All 45 Christian Institutions in Mosul Destroyed or Occupied By ISIS

Patriarch Lahham III to France: We want to stay in our land
U.S. Congress Passes Legislation to Aid Religious Minorities

Palestinians Say 'Ready for 24-Hour Truce', Israel Asks for U.S. Mediation as Gaza Toll Hits 1,210
Nine out of 10 Israel’s war dead Monday died on Israeli soil – a microcosm of the IDF operation
Obama's Eid greeting to Muslims backfires

US lawmakers back Israel amid Gaza fighting

Israeli PM has asked US help to reach Gaza truce: Kerry
U.S. officials defend Kerry from Israeli criticism

Criticism of Kerry for his efforts to advance ceasefire ‘unwarranted,’ Dermer says
Khamenei slams ‘rabid dog’ Israel over Gaza war

Palestinian commandos kill five Israeli soldiers

Hamas denies agreeing to 72-hour cease-fire

Moral responsibility towards Palestine

Majority of American public blames Hamas for current conflict

Canada Temporarily Withdraws Staff from Libya

The Egyptian-Ethiopian divide

All 45 Christian Institutions in Mosul Destroyed or Occupied By ISIS
http://www.aina.org/news/20140729100528.htm

Assyrian International News Agency
Mar Behnam (St. Behnam) Syriac Catholic monastery in the Ancient Assyrian town of Nimrod is now occupied by ISIS.(AINA) -- Since taking over Mosul on June 10, ISIS has destroyed, occupied, converted to mosques, converted to ISIS headquarters or shuttered all 45 Christian institutions in Mosul.
The following is the complete list of the Christian institutions in Mosul, grouped by denomination.
Syriac Catholic Church:
1.Syrian Catholic Diocese - Maidan Neighborhood, Mosul
2.The Old Church of the Immaculate - Maidan Neighborhood, Mosul (The church goes back to the eighth century AD)
3.The New Church of the Immaculate - Maidan Neighborhood
4.Church of Mar (Saint) Toma - Khazraj Neighborhood
5.Museum of Mar (Saint) Toma - Khazraj Neighborhood
6.Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation - Muhandiseen Neighborhood
7.Church of the Virgin of Fatima - Faisaliah Neighborhood
8.Our Lady of Deliverance Chapel - Shifaa Neighborhood
9.The House of the Young Sisters of Jesus - Ras Al-Kour Neighborhood
10.Archbishop's Palace Chapel - Dawasa Neighborhood
Syriac Orthodox Church:
1.Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese - Shurta Neighborhood
2.The Antiquarian Church of Saint Ahodeeni - Bab AlJadeed Neighborhood
3.Mar (Saint) Toma Church and cemetery, (the old Bishopric) - Khazraj Neighborhood
4.Church of The Immaculate (Castle) - Maidan Neighborhood
5.Church of The Immaculate - Shifaa Neighborhood
6.Mar (Saint) Aprim Church - Shurta Neighborhood
7.St. Joseph Church - The New Mosul Neighborhood
Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East:
1.Diocese of the Assyrian Church of the East - Noor Neighborhood
2.Assyrian Church of the East, Dawasa Neighborhood
3.Church of the Virgin Mary (old rite) - Wihda Neighborhood
Chaldean Church of Babylon:
1.Chaldean Diocese - Shurta Neighborhood
2.Miskinta Church - Mayassa Neighborhood
3.The Antiquarian Church of Shimon alSafa - Mayassa Neighborhood
4.Church of Mar (Saint) Buthyoon - Shahar AlSouq Neighborhood
5.Church of St. Ephrem, Wady AlAin Neighborhood
6.Church of St. Paul - Majmooaa AlThaqafiya District
7.The Old Church of the Immaculate (with the bombed archdiocese)- Shifaa Neighborhood
8.Church of the Holy Spirit - Bakir Neighborhood
9.Church of the Virgin Mary - Drakziliya Neighborhood
10.Ancient Church of Saint Isaiah and Cemetery - Ras AlKour Neighborhood
11.Mother of Aid Church - Dawasa Neighborhood
12.The Antiquarian Church of St. George- Khazraj Neighborhood
13.St. George Monastery with Cemetery - Arab Neighborhood
14.Monastery of AlNasir (Victory) - Arab Neighborhood
15.Convent of the Chaldean Nuns - Mayassa Neighborhood
16.Monastery of St. Michael - Hawi Church Neighborhood
17.The Antiquarian Monastery of St. Elijah - Ghazlany Neighborhood
Armenian Orthodox Church:
1.Armenian Church - Maidan Neighborhood
2.The New Armenian Church - Wihda Neighborhood
Evangelical Presbyterian Church:
1.Evangelical Presbyterian Church - Mayassa Neighborhood
Latin Church:
1.Latin Church and Monastery of the Dominican Fathers and Convent of Katrina Siena Nuns - Sa'a Neighborhood
2.Convent of the Dominican Sisters, - Mosul AlJadeed Neighborhood
3.Convent of the Dominican Sisters (AlKilma Monastery) - Majmooaa AlThaqafiya District
4.House of Qasada AlRasouliya (Apostolic Aim) (Institute of St. John the Beloved)
Cemeteries:
1.Christian Cemetery in the Ekab Valley which contains a small chapel.
© 2014, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use.

Christians Under Siege in Iraq
Monday, 28 Jul 2014/
By Walid Phares
By now, allChristians living in the second largest city of Iraq, Mosul, have been removed, their belongings stolen, their houses seized, their churches burned or transformed into Mosques by an army brandishing black flags with Koranic inscriptions on them.
Christians fleeing north for their lives were told by the fighters identifying themselves as the army of the Islamic state that they had four choices: Convert to Islam, pay a Jizya tax and live under the protection of the Islamic state, leave the city, or die.
This is happening in 2014, in the post-American-occupation of Iraq, after several legislative elections across the country, and at during the age of YouTube and Instagram.
Ironically, though, this barbaric wave of jihadists identifying themselves as the “Islamic state” claim they are at the core of a new caliphate, one that — according to the declarations of ISIS — will bring back the glory of the early conquering caliphs.
Since 9/11 and even back in the 1990s, the international community has had endless opportunities to listen to or watchcommanders of the movement, under different names, uttering the same words,issuing the same ideological fatwas, and conducting the same violence against their enemies: the Muslim apostates and all infidels (including Christian, Jews, Hindus, Buddists, and atheists).
What happened in Mosul and continues to happen at the edges of the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq has already happened throughout the region and around the globe.
It has been replicated inside Syria with the same Islamic state and its jihadi clones, al Nusra and the other al-Qaida hybrids.
Across the border in northern Lebanon, Ansar al Islam has taken part in their own kill-the-infidel wave. In Libya, Ansar al Shariah has been pursuing Copts with the same violence applied by the Gamaa and the Muslim Brotherhood bands across Egypt. Boku Haram has been the master of genocide in slices of northern and central Nigeria. The Taliban have been experts of the strategy for years, as has Abu Sayaf of the Philippines. The so-called ISIS is nothing but a successful form of previous Jihadists; they have added nothing to the murderous ideology of violent apartheid and mass murder against the rest of humanity.
There are no differentiating factors found in their outrageous doctrine, their bloodshed, or their intentions. Instead, what sets them apart are their strategic successes — or, really, our failures — and the people they are decimating and the visibility of their actions.
“Al Dawla al Islamya” has seized half of Iraq and Syria, merged them into one caliphate, crumbled the pro-Iranian Army of Iraq and bled the Assad regime forces.
That in itself is the victory that Osama bin Laden was prophesying about.
What is stunning public opinion around the world — particularly young users of social
media — is the reality of jihadi intentions regarding the people of Nuwn. A few days ago, just hours after the soldiers of the new caliphate began entering Mosul, and the Iraqi soldiers began fleeing back to the Shia zones, I started receiving the first photos of houses of Christians marked by the Arabic letter “Nouwn.” It stands for the first letter of “Nasara,” the name given by jihadists to Christians, depicting them as “followers of Jesus of Nazareth.” Days later, the people of Nouwn were driven out of the city in a scene reminiscent of centuries past. But this time, socialmedia, and soon thereafter the mainstream media, revealed to the world what the marking of a community looks like. The world has not seen such a Holocaust reminder since the Nazi marking of Jews with the Star of David in the 1930s, at least not so present a symbol that openly declares the political intentions of the perpetrators. The Nouwn is now becoming a symbol of protest around the net as hundreds of thousands of users are identifying with this Arabic letter. “We are Nouwn too, we are Nasara” is going viral in cyberspace, overwhelming the apologist assertions that Christians are not targeted by the jihadists.
That is a lie that has been laid bare in the open light of day. What the Islamicstate has demonstrated in Mosul is the deeply rooted intentions of all jihadists. The people of Nouwn are not just the beleaguered Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac ancient and precarious communities of Mesopotamia or of Syria; they are all peoples whowould fall under the rule of the jihadists anywhere on the planet.
In that sense, the social media campaign is accurate in its slogan.
All of us are Nouwn people if jihadists rule.
© 2014 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Patriarch Lahham III to France: We want to stay in our land
The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorius Lahham III Tuesday rebuked France’s offer to welcome Iraq's Christians, saying the minority group is instead seeking international effort to help them remain in their land. “We do need someone to receive us, but we need someone to help us stay in our land. Help us fight terrorism and Takfiri groups, end this arms race benefiting these groups,” Lahham told Tele Lumier. “This would be a real effort, rather than turn us into refugees and say to us that you will sympathize with us and help us.”“We want to be in our land and living alongside our Muslim brothers, despite all problems.” France said Monday it would offer asylum for Christians who were forced to flee the northern Iraqi city of Mosul after radical groups under the Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS, gave them an ultimatum: to pay a religious tax, convert or face death. "We are providing aid to displaced people fleeing from the threats of Islamic State and who have sought refuge in Kurdistan. We are ready, if they wish, to facilitate their asylum on our soil," France's foreign and interior ministers said in a joint statement. "We are in constant contact with local and national authorities to ensure everything is done to protect them."Lahham, however, said Western states should work on ending the fighting in Palestine and Syria. “All Europe has done for 50 years is divide Muslims and Christians. You should seek an inter-Arab unity, an inter-Muslim unity and lastly a unity between Christian and Muslims,” said the patriarch, who has also been vocal about the status of Christians in war-torn Syria. In a message to Iraq’s Christians, Lahham said: “We are not the first to be oppressed or suffer such consequences. Thousands of martyrs were killed and their blood helped maintain Christian presence and their message on this earth.”

Geagea ridicules idea to import water from Turkey
The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea Tuesday slammed a proposed solution to import water from Turkey to meet high demand, saying officials prefer complicated, costly solutions to practical ones. “Since the last winter season, everyone knew that a drought was approaching because rain was scarce. Despite such a fact and months passing, the Energy Ministry and the Cabinet were never on alert to face such a crisis,” Geagea said in a statement. “Some people now are promoting the idea of importing water from Turkey after they ruled out faster and cheaper solutions such as digging artesian wells, transporting water from the sea to some running rivers and building pumping stations near residential areas similar to the one in Dbayeh.”The parliamentary committee on water and energy held several sessions discussing the current water crisis in the country and it head, MP Mohammad Qabbani, has said Beirut should import water from Turkey as a measure to confront the crisis. Lebanon is suffering this year from a severe water shortage crisis after a nearly rainless winter. The majority of Lebanese families rely on private suppliers for both drinking water and water for domestic use, at a cost of around $4 per cubic meter as the demand is expected to drastically rise.In many areas across the country, the water shortage has led the local authorities to regulate supply to a very limited amount, with some villages receiving water only once per week. “Lebanon’s lack of institutions capable of facing such crises is not the only problem, but the Cabinet also ... does not adopt practical solutions because others prefer difficult, complicated and expensive ones.”

Hamas Hopes for Hizbullah Assistance against Israel from S. Lebanon
Naharnet /Hamas has said it hopes Hizbullah will open a new front from southern Lebanon against Israel, which is currently embroiled in a deadly confrontation with the Palestinian movement in the besieged Gaza Strip.“We hope the Lebanese front will be opened so that we can fight this entity (Israel) together,” said Moussa Abu Marzouq, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau. “The resistance in Lebanon has the capability to do a lot of things,” Abu Marzouq told the Russian RIA Novosti news agency. The Gaza Strip has been reeling under fierce Israeli bombardment since 22 days, which has left thousands of people dead or wounded, in an offensive that has not spared children, women, hospitals and even U.N. schools hosting displaced residents. On Friday, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his group will continue to stand by the Palestinian people and “all Palestinian resistance factions in Palestine.”“We in Hizbullah have not withheld any form of the forms of support and assistance that we can offer,” Nasrallah said in a speech marking Quds (Jerusalem) Day.“We are following up on all the military and political developments of the battle and we tell our brothers in Gaza that we stand by them and will do everything that we perceive as duty ” to help them, Nasrallah added.

Lebanon approves moving remains of crash victims to France
The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Lebanon has given the green light for the bodies of the Lebanese, who perished in the crash of ill-fated Air Algerie passenger plane, to be transported to France for DNA testing, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said on Tuesday. “We have no other choice,” Bassil told a local TV station. “All the countries have agreed to keep efforts centralized and we must take advantage of France’s resources, knowing that ours (resources) are meager.” Bassil refused to give a date for the return of the bodies to Lebanon. France had asked Lebanon's permission to undergo DNA testing on the victims of Air Algerie plane in Paris, while Mali vowed full cooperation with Beirut. The French government requested Lebanon’s permission to transport remains of Lebanese victims to Paris to run DNA testing on samples brought from relatives by the official Lebanese delegation.
The delegation asked France to allow DNA expert Doctor Fouad Ayoub to be part of the sampling process to speed up the efforts. The delegation includes Ayoub, Director-General for Emigrant Affairs Haitham Joumaa, Secretary-General of the Higher Relief Committee Maj. Gen. Mohammad Khair and two officers from General Security and the Lebanese Army. The delegation that arrived in Mali over the weekend met with Foreign Affairs Minister of Mali, Abdullah Diop, to follow up on tragic incident. Diop expressed readiness to place all of its country's capabilities at the disposal of the Lebanese delegation to help it with its mission, the state-run agency said. Lebanon’s Charge d’Affairs in the Ivory Coast, Ahmad Sueidan, arrived at the crash site Monday, accompanied by a number of the victims' relatives.
At least 19 Lebanese and 54 French were among 118 people on board flight AH5017, which had taken off from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso bound for Algiers.
The plane, which was operated by Spanish charter firm Swiftair on behalf of Air Algerie, crashed in Mali less than an hour after its takeoff.
Investigators in Bamako and Paris continued to search for clues as to the cause of the Air Algerie plane crash, and why it came down with such a force that it completely disintegrated.
French Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday the pilots of the Air Algerie passenger plane had asked to turn back, in a new development to a complex probe into the tragedy.
"What we know for sure is that the weather was bad that night, that the plane crew had asked to change route then to turn back before all contact was lost," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told reporters in his latest briefing about last week's disaster.Speaking hours after the black box flight recorders of the McDonnell Douglas 83 jet arrived in Paris from Mali to help investigators, Fabius said air crash experts currently on the remote desert site of the accident were working in "extremely difficult conditions".

Jumblatt denies discussing presidency with Nasrallah, Berri
The Daily Star/BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt denied on Tuesday discussing the presidential election with the Shiite duo Speaker Nabih Berri and Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah, emphasizing that the war on Gaza was the priority. Speaking to reporters following a short visit to Berri’s headquarters in Ain al-Tineh, Jumblatt said that his talks with the Speaker and his weekend meeting with the Hezbollah leader did not touch on the issue of the stalled presidency. “Let them rest assured,” he said. “Some of the Christian groups who are obsessed with the presidency.”
In a veiled reference to Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun, Jumblatt blamed “some Christian groups” who stubbornly stood firm on their positions of obstructing the election. The Druze leader said the main topic of discussion during his meeting with Nasrallah was the Israeli offensive on Gaza. Jumblatt has held talks over the weekend with Nasrallah on the presidential election, the Israeli war on Gaza and the turmoil in Syria and Iraq, said a statement issued by Hezbollah. It was the first meeting between the two leaders in more than two years following tension over the conflict in Damascus. Jumblatt maintained that Hamas would “emerge victorious” from the ongoing war, “just like Lebanon triumphed during the 2006 war.”Jumblatt also regretted that the United States, Israel and some Arab countries were conspiring against Palestine. On domestic affairs, the Chouf MP said contacts between Health Minister Wael Abu Faour and Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil about the problematic issue of the wage hike were ongoing. Both ministers attended the Ain al-Tineh talks on Tuesday. Jumblatt hoped that the issue would be resolved soon, adding that contacts will include other parties in the government. Lebanese lawmakers have struggled for months now to hammer out a compromise formula for the divisive issue of the salary scale. Parliament has been debating a wide range of proposals to fund higher wages for government employees and public school teachers.
 

Sheikh Qabalan Calls for Lessening Lebanon's Woes
Naharnet /The deputy head of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council, Sheikh Abdul Amir Qabalan, called on Tuesday for the support of the Palestinian people and for limiting Lebanon's woes.
In his Eid al-Fitr sermon, Qabalan said: “We should steer clear of strife.”“We are living an unstable life. Israel is killing the Palestinian people whom we should support,” he said.
“We should also limit Lebanon's woes and Syria's troubles,” he added. Sunnis celebrated on Monday the start of Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. But Shiites marked the Eid on Tuesday. Despite being a time to celebrate the completion of Ramadan, the mood was dark for millions of people affected by the Syrian civil war, the Gaza war and the militant advance in Iraq. Thousands of people in Gaza have been killed and injured and tens of thousands displaced in the last three weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas.The mood was equally subdued for the more than 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, who have escaped the fighting between government-led troops and rebels in their country. Grand Jaafarite Shiite Mufti Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan appealed in his Eid sermon during prayers at Imam al-Hussein mosque in Burj al-Barajneh for “awareness on the size of humanitarian, moral and social disaster striking the country.”Politicians should avert dangers, including poverty which is threatening the rule of law and security across the country, he said. Qabalan called for a comprehensive reconciliation to allow parliament to function properly and to back the military. On Monday, Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani, who heads Lebanon's top Sunni authority, called for “Jihad for the purpose of liberating occupied land.” Jihad “is the duty of each and everyone of you no matter how much sacrifices are made,” he said in his Eid sermon.

Rockets Hit Northeastern Towns, No Casualties
Naharnet /Four rockets hit on Tuesday the outskirts of the northeastern towns of al-Labweh and Meqraq, without causing casualties, the state-run National News Agency reported.
NNA said that the rockets struck the hills lying between the two Shiite towns. The source of the rocket fire was the eastern mountain range, it added, without giving further details.
Shiite towns in the Bekaa Valley have been occasionally hit with rockets and missiles from areas where rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad's troops are located. They come in retaliation to Hizbullah's involvement in the war in Syria. The Shiite party's members have been fighting alongside Assad's soldiers against the mostly Sunni rebels seeking to topple him. Tuesday's attack came as Shiites in Lebanon celebrated the start of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
 

Mashnouq Says to Discuss with Moqbel, Rifi Implementation of Decision on Wanted Lists
Naharnet/Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq said that he will hold talks with Defense Minister Samir Moqbel and Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi to implement a cabinet decision to abolish lists of wanted individuals. In remarks to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Tuesday, al-Mashnouq said his meeting with Moqbel, who is also the deputy PM, and Rifi will come after the Eid al-Fitr holidays, which end on Wednesday. The meeting is aimed at discussing ways to implement a decision taken by the cabinet last Thursday to abolish the lists that are the result of material gathered from informants, he said.
The lists date back to the period when the country was under Syrian hegemony. The interior minister added that he will discuss with Moqbel and Rifi additional steps to implement stricter security measures in the eastern Bekaa Valley and a new plan to safeguard Beirut. The government launched in March a security plan to restore law and order in the northern city of Tripoli and areas in the eastern Bekaa Valley bordering Syria. Al-Mashnouq has promised to implement a similar plan in Beirut.

Syrian Jets Raid Arsal Plains, Four Wounded
Naharnet/Four Syrian nationals were wounded on Tuesday afternoon in Syrian raids on the Arsal plains in the Bekaa. LBCI television said that four Syrians were wounded when Syria's jets raided the house of mayor Ali Melhem al-Hujairi in Arsal's Wadi Ajram region. LBCI reported on Friday that a Syrian MiG aircraft fired three rockets at Arsal's al-Rahweh region, while the state-run National News Agency said Syrian military aircraft bombed the Wadi al-Zamarani, al-Ajram and al-Rahweh regions in the same border area. The NNA noted then that the jets targeted a convoy of armed men in the region.
Tension has recently resurfaced on the Lebanese-Syrian border near the Arsal plains, where clashes are ongoing between Hizbullah fighters and gunmen in the region. Many Hizbullah fighters have recently died in the renewed clashes against Syrian rebels on several fighting fronts in al-Qalamoun villages, as the Syrian regime claims that it is bombing the Arsal plains “to prevent terrorists' infiltration

Jumblatt presents Nasrallah with Sykes-Picot book
The Daily Star/BEIRUT: MP Walid Jumblatt presented Hezbollah Chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah with a book on the Sykes-Picot agreement during their meeting over the weekend, a report said Tuesday.
Head of the Progressive Socialist Party presented the book titled "Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle That Shaped the Middle East," to Nasrallah as a gift during the ice-breaking meeting, the first between the two leaders in more than two years following tension over the conflict in Syria. The book, written by James Barr, centers on the secret deal between UK and France to divide the Middle East into spheres of influence should they win World War 1. The Sykes-Picot agreement -- that many politicians in Lebanon and the region blame for internal disputes and long-standing issues -- led to the reshaping of Middle East's borders into new countries that Britain and France ruled. "What makes this venomous rivalry between Britain and France so important is that it fuelled today’s Arab-Israeli conflict. Britain’s use of the Zionists to thwart French ambitions in the Middle East led to a dramatic escalation in tensions between the Arabs and the Jews," writes Barr. Perhaps the gift coincided with the topics of the meeting, which focused on Israel’s offensive on Gaza, now entering its fourth week, as well as regional and domestic issues, including Lebanon's failure to elect a new president amid rising sectarian tensions in the Arab world.

Hizbullah Top Official, Three Fighters Die in Qalamoun Clashes
Naharnet/A high-ranking Hizbullah official was killed on Monday in the ongoing battles between the party's fighters and Syrian opposition militants in Syria's al-Qalamoun region, which is strategically located on the border with Lebanon. The clashes also took the lives of three other Hizbullah fighters. These deaths were confirmed by websites close to Syria's opposition and others to Hizbullah. They identified the slain party official as Ibrahim al-Hajj, a.k.a. Abou Mohammed Salman, and revealed that he hailed from the Bekaa town of Qalya but resided in Mashghara. "With pride the Islamic resistance in Hizbullah and the Bekaa town of Qalya announce the death of a new heroic martyr Hajj Ibrahim al-Hajj, al-Hajj Salman, who died while performing his holy jihadi duty through resisting against Takfiri and Wahhabi mercenaries,” a post published on South Lebanon website said on Monday. Meanwhile, websites close to the Syrian opposition claimed that al-Hajj was close to Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
And on Tuesday, South Lebanon announced the death of three fighters “who died performing their jihadi duty.” They are Hussein Bassam Shouqair from the southern town of Baraachit, Mahmoud Riyad Monzer from the Bekaa's Shmestar and Ali Moussa Moussa from Sohmor, also in the Bekaa, said the website. The same source on Monday revealed also the death of Ahmed Ibrahim Abdul Sater, who hails from the Bekaa village of Iaat.  Many Hizbullah fighters have recently died in the renewed clashes against Syrian rebels on several fighting fronts in al-Qalamoun villages, as the Syrian regime claims that it is bombing the Arsal plains “to prevent terrorists' infiltration.” Earlier in July, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least seven Hizbullah members were killed and 31 others were injured in the ongoing border clashes. Giving a higher death toll of eight Hizbullah fighters killed, a wounded member of the party told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity: "The battle was very fierce, and at very close quarters."The long and porous border region is often used by smugglers, refugees and fighters. In April, Syrian forces backed by allied fighters from Hizbullah retook control of most of the Qalamoun region. But Syrian activists say hundreds of opposition fighters have taken refuge in the caves and hills in the border area, using it as a rear base from which to launch attacks inside Syria.
Last month, Lebanese army forces carried out raids in the area targeting militants with ties to "terrorist groups", an army statement said at the time.

Nine out of 10 Israel’s war dead Monday died on Israeli soil – a microcosm of the IDF operation
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis July 29, 2014/That nine of the 10 Israeli servicemen who died in the counter-terror operation against Hamas Monday, July 28, were killed on Israeli soil was a wake-up call for Israel’s war leaders. It meant that Hamas had used the 22 days of combat to carry the contest from its own home ground into Israel by grabbing the tactical advantage of surprise.
The Nahal Oz encounter was a tragic microcosm of the current face of Operation Defensive Edge.
The tunnel, from which a band of Hamas infiltrators jumped out – and about whose existence the IDF admits to have known – ran app. 150 meters from Shejaiya in Gaza to the military pillbox guarding Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Between five and seven terrorist nonetheless were allowed to reach their destination armed to the teeth with automatic and anti-tank and explosives.
This brought two facts to light: First, the battle for Shejaiya was not over, although it had slipped out of sight. According to debkafile’s military sources, the shattered town has become a no-man’s land where Hamas gangs hide out for attacks on Israeli troops. Second, while the IDF and government officials issue upbeat communiqués claiming that the entire tunnel problem will be disposed of in a matter of days – one officer asserted that the IDF is in control of all the terror tunnels – the Nahal Oz episode told a different story.
That it was allowed to happen shows that: -
1. Although the secret passage used for attacking Nahal Oz was known to the military command, the unit charged with its defense was taken by surprise with tragic results: five Israeli combatants lost their lives. The single defender who survived opened fire on the infiltrators and put them to flight, so stopping them snatching the bodies of the fallen men as bargaining counters.
2. Even if the IDF had decided to leave the tunnel shaft open for operational use, such as a secret route for Israeli troops to steal into Gaza behind enemy lines, it must still be asked why not fit it with sensors and cameras for tracking invaders and sounding the alarm?
3. One Hamas terrorist was killed in the encounter; the rest made their escape back to Shejaiya. It ended in an appalling score of 5 to 1 dead.
4. The IDF spokesman claimed that Hamas was bent on a terrorist raid on the kibbutz. The truth was they had come to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
debkafile’s military experts outline the obstacles facing the destruction of Hamas’ underground passage system:
a) Explosions cannot reach their entire length, which often runs to a kilometer or more with a web of multiple branches which fork off in uncharted directions. So when the IDF reports that 15 or 17 of the 31 tunnels uncovered have been destroyed, this means that explosions have demolished a section that runs from a point under the Israeli surface to a point controlled by IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.
b) Explosions that run further and deeper are technically feasible, but only at the risk of setting off earth tremors strong enough to topple buildings on both the Gazan and Israeli sides of the border.
c) Israel will never be rid of Hamas’ multi-branched underground empire and its threat of surprise raids for murder and kidnaps, without first physically demolishing the war rooms hidden in the deeply buried branches forking off from the main passages. Even then, some of those passages may remain undiscovered.
A senior IDF officer commented Tuesday: “We were surprised to find an elaborate system which connected the tunnels with Hamas’ chain of command.”
d) Some officers are saying that too much focus may have been placed by official spokesmen on the tunnel problem, possibly in order to distract attention from the extent to which the heads of government have held the armed forces back from gaining any serious advantages in the war on Hamas – or even terminating its rocket blitz.


U.S. Congress Passes Legislation to Aid Religious Minorities
Posted 2014-07-29 /Syndicated News
WASHINGTON -- Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.) released the following statement after the House and Senate passed her bipartisan legislation to create a special envoy at the State Department to focus on the plight of religious minorities in the Middle East and South Central Asia. Co-sponsored by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), the bill now awaits the President's signature.
"Today the world is bearing witness to the persecution and eradication of religious minorities in some of the most imperiled regions on earth," said Eshoo. "Christians in the Middle East and South Central Asia are being tortured, killed and live in fear simply because of their religion. The stories are countless, and the response has been meager."
"With enactment of this legislation, America is appropriately stepping up its response and will be more capable in providing aid to religious minorities. A special envoy at the State Department will focus on the freedom and survival of religious minorities. Time is running out and this critical problem deserves to be treated as a high priority," Eshoo concluded.

Canada Temporarily Withdraws Staff from Libya
July 29, 2014 – Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular), today issued the following statement regarding the situation in Libya and the temporary withdrawal of Canadian staff from that country:
“The Government of Canada takes the safety and security of our diplomats abroad very seriously. Due to operational challenges, including the unpredictable security environment in Tripoli, we have authorized the temporary suspension of operations at our office in Tripoli.
“Canada’s chargé d’affaires and Canadian diplomats in Tripoli will temporarily work out of the Canadian embassy in Tunisia until appropriate measures are put in place to respond to the changing operational environment. “This decision is solely due to concerns about the security of our personnel and has no connection with our continuing and long-standing diplomatic relations with Libya. Canada remains committed to supporting Libya’s democratic transition, and we urge all parties to stop the violence and resolve their differences by peaceful and democratic means.”
Canadians in Libya seeking routine consular and passport services should contact the Embassy of Canada in Tunis, Tunisia at +(216) 70-010-200. Those who require emergency consular assistance may also contact the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa directly at +1 613-996-8885 (collect calls accepted) or by emailing sos@international.gc.ca.
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada has advised against all travel to Libya since June 1, 2014.
A backgrounder containing consular information follows.

Jihadi’s return to Syria ‘a great deal of surprise to all of us’: Windsor mosque/Canada
Stewart Bell | July 28, 2014/National Post
More from Stewart Bell | @StewartBellNP
The president of a southern Ontario mosque described Monday how the community had attempted to dissuade a young Canadian from rejoining the conflict in Syria after he returned home with a combat injury. Despite the effort, Ahmed Wassim of Windsor, Ont., allegedly made his way back to Syria and has been active on social media, posting photos of himself and advising others on how to join the fight.
“The news of Mr. Wassim’s alleged involvement in Syria comes with a great deal of surprise to all of us,” Khalid Raana, president of the Windsor Islamic Association, said in a statement.
“As soon as the details of Mr. Wassim’s case were brought to our attention by the law enforcement agencies, the imam along with other board members and prominent community leaders actively counselled and encouraged Mr. Wassim to refrain from getting involved with any armed conflict in Syria and, instead, urged him to become constructively involved in humanitarian and charitable work,” it said.
The statement said there were no known members of the community acting as recruiters or motivators. “In fact, this notion is firmly discouraged, as it is against the very principles we stand for.”
In an exclusive report, the National Post revealed on the weekend how both the community and Canadian authorities had struggled to discourage Mr. Wassim from returning to Syria following his injury.
The RCMP said Friday that Mr. Wassim had been charged with a passport-related offence. The charge was filed the same week RCMP charged a B.C. man for allegedly joining Islamist fighters in Syria.
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FacebookAhmad Wasim
The flow of radicalized youths to Syria and elsewhere has become a top national security priority for Canada — particularly after two London, Ont., men took part in a terrorist attack at an Algerian gas plant last January. In his statement, Mr. Raana said he wanted to make known the efforts the association had undertaken “to help avoid such a situation, and to also assure all Canadians that the Windsor mosque and all its members are committed to peace and safety for all people, regardless of their religious affiliation.” He said the mosque had been proactively working to prevent and eliminate “extremist indoctrinations, violent behaviours or any involvement in unlawful domestic or international conflicts.” “The Windsor mosque has an official documented policy that ensures that no person is allowed to address the congregation or educate people from a religious perspective, except the imam and those designated by him or the Windsor mosque’s board of directors. Persons so designated, ensure that these are consistent with true Islamic teachings which do not support radical or extreme ideologies.”National Post
• Email: sbell@nationalpost.com | Twitter:

Reviving the Arab world’s anemic political systems
MOHAMMED FAHAD AL-HARTHI
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
By: Mohammed Fahad al-Harthi/Al Arabiya
Many Arab countries have sickly, anemic political systems that are sorely in need of rehabilitation if not outright regeneration. The lackluster and often non-existent development on this front has resulted in revolutions in some countries and stifling crises in others. Leaders in these countries are simply too deluded to recognize the realities on the ground. This has created neo-fascist, totalitarian states that are ultimately doomed to fail, as history has shown without exception throughout the centuries. These leaders embody the megalomaniac tendencies of those like Louis XIV who once declared: “I am the state.”
The current developments in Libya, Iraq, Syria and Yemen reveal that governments there want to form inextricable links between themselves and the state and prolong their time in power. Life is all about organic growth. By holding back this natural evolutionary process in the political sphere, leaders create stunted systems marked by unemployment and social injustice.
By prioritizing security above all else, they condemn generations to life without hopes and dreams. This includes irreparable damage to the middle classes running small and medium businesses, which play an important role in economic development and modernization. “Leaders in the Arab world have failed to grasp the implications of the growing youth demographic in their countries.”
In addition, leaders in the Arab world have failed to grasp the implications of the growing youth demographic in their countries. The aspirations of these young people are fueling the move for change. Unfortunately, the gap between the leaders and this generation is widening, pushing countries into the danger zone.
It is also important to note the lexicon of the struggles in this part of the planet over the years. Words such as “reform” coined by Arab intellectuals in the late nineteenth century eventually gave way to “revolution” and “liberation” in the periods when Arabs sought independence from the colonial powers. Now “reform” is back in vogue, in the aftermath of the failure of post-independence governments.
Some regimes are offering cosmetic changes to their people, under a mask of modernity and progress, in a bid to dampen popular anger and frustration. Other governments are equally deceptive by raising the specter of the Israeli bogeyman to provide cover for their lack of freedom, justice, economic development and political participation. The cynical Syrian regime has done this but has not fired one bullet in the direction of Israel. In similar fashion, the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein threatened to burn half of Israel, but instead attacked Kuwait.
Arab leaders are sadly mistaken if they believe that they can fool their people all the time. As rapid technological developments expand social media, there is increasingly little place to hide. Arabs have been pushed out of their traditional modes of thinking and become much more politically aware.
The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt have proven the effectiveness of the Internet in mobilizing and educating people, rejecting the stultifying old ways and views of certain journalists and officials.
The road to a bright future is not a difficult one. It starts with reforming political systems with an emphasis on developing educated, independently minded Arabs who can contribute to their nations’ economic growth. It is a matter of adapting to changing circumstances and interests, much like the world powers are doing right now. The foundation of this success lies within.
 

Nine out of 10 Israel’s war dead Monday died on Israeli soil – a microcosm of the IDF operation
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis July 29, 2014/That nine of the 10 Israeli servicemen who died in the counter-terror operation against Hamas Monday, July 28, were killed on Israeli soil was a wake-up call for Israel’s war leaders. It meant that Hamas had used the 22 days of combat to carry the contest from its own home ground into Israel by grabbing the tactical advantage of surprise.
The Nahal Oz encounter was a tragic microcosm of the current face of Operation Defensive Edge.
The tunnel, from which a band of Hamas infiltrators jumped out – and about whose existence the IDF admits to have known – ran app. 150 meters from Shejaiya in Gaza to the military pillbox guarding Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Between five and seven terrorist nonetheless were allowed to reach their destination armed to the teeth with automatic and anti-tank and explosives.
This brought two facts to light: First, the battle for Shejaiya was not over, although it had slipped out of sight. According to debkafile’s military sources, the shattered town has become a no-man’s land where Hamas gangs hide out for attacks on Israeli troops.
Second, while the IDF and government officials issue upbeat communiqués claiming that the entire tunnel problem will be disposed of in a matter of days – one officer asserted that the IDF is in control of all the terror tunnels – the Nahal Oz episode told a different story.
That it was allowed to happen shows that: -
1. Although the secret passage used for attacking Nahal Oz was known to the military command, the unit charged with its defense was taken by surprise with tragic results: five Israeli combatants lost their lives. The single defender who survived opened fire on the infiltrators and put them to flight, so stopping them snatching the bodies of the fallen men as bargaining counters.
2. Even if the IDF had decided to leave the tunnel shaft open for operational use, such as a secret route for Israeli troops to steal into Gaza behind enemy lines, it must still be asked why not fit it with sensors and cameras for tracking invaders and sounding the alarm?
3. One Hamas terrorist was killed in the encounter; the rest made their escape back to Shejaiya. It ended in an appalling score of 5 to 1 dead.
4. The IDF spokesman claimed that Hamas was bent on a terrorist raid on the kibbutz. The truth was they had come to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
debkafile’s military experts outline the obstacles facing the destruction of Hamas’ underground passage system:
a) Explosions cannot reach their entire length, which often runs to a kilometer or more with a web of multiple branches which fork off in uncharted directions. So when the IDF reports that 15 or 17 of the 31 tunnels uncovered have been destroyed, this means that explosions have demolished a section that runs from a point under the Israeli surface to a point controlled by IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.
b) Explosions that run further and deeper are technically feasible, but only at the risk of setting off earth tremors strong enough to topple buildings on both the Gazan and Israeli sides of the border.
c) Israel will never be rid of Hamas’ multi-branched underground empire and its threat of surprise raids for murder and kidnaps, without first physically demolishing the war rooms hidden in the deeply buried branches forking off from the main passages. Even then, some of those passages may remain undiscovered.
A senior IDF officer commented Tuesday: “We were surprised to find an elaborate system which connected the tunnels with Hamas’ chain of command.”
d) Some officers are saying that too much focus may have been placed by official spokesmen on the tunnel problem, possibly in order to distract attention from the extent to which the heads of government have held the armed forces back from gaining any serious advantages in the war on Hamas – or even terminating its rocket blitz.
 

Palestinians Say 'Ready for 24-Hour Truce', Israel Asks for U.S. Mediation as Gaza Toll Hits 1,210
Naharnet/Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said Tuesday that any truce with Israel must include a stop to Israeli "aggression" and lifting of its Gaza blockade, as the death toll from 22 days of Israeli bombardment rose to 1,210. "We don't accept any condition of ceasefire," Mohammed Deif said in an audio address carried by Hamas radio and television.
"There is no ceasefire without the stop of the aggression and the end of the siege."
Earlier on Tuesday, a senior PLO official said the Palestinian leadership, along with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are willing to observe a 24-hour ceasefire in Gaza, as the assault on the enclave left dozens more Palestinians dead.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said after consultations with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two main militant groups in Gaza, that there was "willingness for a ceasefire and humanitarian truce for 24 hours."
A joint delegation headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would travel to Cairo to take the next step, he added.
But Hamas swiftly said it had not agreed to any new truce and was waiting for Israel to show its hand first. "When we have an Israeli commitment... on a humanitarian truce, we will look into it but we will never declare a truce from our side while the occupation keeps killing our children," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zukhri said on his Facebook page.
A series of ceasefires in recent days have failed to take hold, as both sides appeared more determined than ever to keep up the fighting.
More than 100 corpses were brought to Gaza morgues on Tuesday after intense Israeli fire, bringing the number of Palestinians killed in the 22-day assault to at least 1,210.
Israel stepped up its artillery fire overnight, especially in central Gaza's Bureij refugee camp, spreading in the afternoon to Jabaliya in the north and Rafah in the south.
Since the Israeli offensive began on July 8, 7,000 Palestinians have been injured in Gaza, emergency services spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said.
Most of the 1,210 Palestinian deaths were civilian, according to the United Nations.
Fifty-six lives have been lost on the Israeli side, including 53 soldiers, two Israeli civilians and a Thai agricultural worker killed in southern Israel.
Or Monday night, a deluge of bombs rained down on Gaza, after an uneasy truce to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
Shells fired from tanks struck Gaza's biggest power plant, causing damage and a fire, bringing it grinding to a halt, a senior official with the electricity authority said.
And an air strike targeted the home of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniya in Gaza City's Shati refugee camp, officials said.
By the time dawn broke on the second day of Eid, at least 24 people had been killed, among them nine women and four children, medics said.
"Suddenly, missiles were falling like rain," said Gaza resident Mohamed al-Dalo.
"We all left our homes, some running in one direction, some in another, nobody knew which way to go."In the afternoon, a new round of Israeli tank shelling on houses at Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, killed at least 13 people, medics said.
And later Israeli troops killed five Palestinian militants in a Gaza gun battle, the army said. It said the clash broke out as militants emerged from a tunnel and opened fire at soldiers.
Israel announced another five soldiers were killed in a militant ambush late Monday after they sneaked into southern Israel by a tunnel.
Also on Monday, mortar killed four soldiers near a southern kibbutz, the army said, while another soldier had been killed in action in southern Gaza.
The World Health Organization now estimates that more than 215,000 people, or one Gazan in every eight, have fled their homes in the overcrowded territory. Many have headed for already-cramped U.N. schools in the north, where children ran barefoot around a dirty school yard alongside stinking piles of rubbish.
The surge in violence drew increasingly urgent international demands for an end to hostilities.
"In the name of humanity, the violence must stop," U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday. But the calls went unheeded, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning it would be "a lengthy campaign" that would go on until troops destroyed cross-border tunnels used for staging attacks on Israel.
"Israeli citizens cannot live with the threat from rockets and from death tunnels -- death from above and from below," he said. However, later on Tuesday U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Netanyahu has asked for fresh U.S. help in trying to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
"Last night we talked, and the prime minister talked to me about an idea and a possibility of a ceasefire. He raised it with me, as he has consistently," Kerry said.
Netanyahu had said he "would embrace a ceasefire that permits Israel to protect itself against the tunnels and obviously not be disadvantaged for the great sacrifice they have made thus far."
The top U.S. diplomat dismissed a torrent of attacks in the Israeli press since his failed mediation attempt during a week-long Middle East trip last week.
"I've taken hits before in politics, I'm not worried about that. It's not about me -- this is about Israel and Israel's right to defend itself," Kerry insisted after meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin.
"I'm not going to worry about personal attacks."
Kerry stressed: "We are working very carefully with our Israeli friends in order to be able to find a way to reduce the civilian loss of life, to prevent this from spiraling downwards into a place from which ... both sides have difficulty finding a way forward."
Kerry said if there was an agreement on serious negotiations about the wider issues both Israel and Hamas want to address, it would happen in Cairo, "it would be entirely without pre-conditions and it would not prejudice Israel's ability to defend itself."
"It is more appropriate to try to resolve the underlying issues at a negotiating table, than to continue a tit-for-tat of violence ... which will be much more difficult to recover from," Kerry said.
Tensions had risen sharply after a shell on Monday landed inside the Shifa hospital compound in Gaza City, followed by a blast at a children's playground in the city's Shati refugee camp, that killed 10, eight of them children.
"We have not fired on the hospital or on Shati refugee camp," Major Arye Shalicar told Agence France-Presse, saying the army had footage showing militants firing at Israel but the missiles falling short inside Gaza.
With the Palestinian death toll soaring, Iran's supreme leader accused Israel of committing "genocide" in Gaza and called for the Muslim to arm Palestinian militants.
Source/Agence France Presse