LCCC ENGLISH DAILY
NEWS BULLETIN
November 26/14
Bible Quotation For
Today/God's Children
Galatians 04/01-31: "What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he
is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is
subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So
also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual
forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his
Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law,
that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God
sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,
Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are
his child, God has made you also an heir. Formerly, when you did not know God,
you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know
God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak
and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are
observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that
somehow I have wasted my efforts on you. I plead with you, brothers and sisters,
become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. As you know, it was
because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, and even
though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or
scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were
Christ Jesus himself. Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify
that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given
them to me. Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? Those people
are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you
from us, so that you may have zeal for them. It is fine to be zealous,
provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.
My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is
formed in you, how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I
am perplexed about you! Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not
aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by
the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was
born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the
result of a divine promise. These things are being taken figuratively: The women
represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who
are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in
Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in
slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she
is our mother. For it is written: “Be glad, barren woman, you who never bore a
child; shout for joy and cry aloud, you who were never in labor; because more
are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” Now you,
brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. At that time the son
born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.
It is the same now. But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman
and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with
the free woman’s son.”Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of
the slave woman, but of the free woman.".
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analysis, editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 25-26/14
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Media/November 25/14
Netanyahu was fiddling while Iran became a nuclear state/Shimon Shiffer/
Ynetnews/November 25/14
ISIS and Al-Ahsa/Mshari Al-Zaydi /Asharq AlAwsat/November 25/14
Al-Sisi's peace plan/ Yaron Friedman/Ynetnews/ November 25/14
Lebanese Related News published on November 25-26/14
Future links Hezbollah talks to facilitating presidential vote
15-Member Parliamentary Subcommittee to Discuss Food Safety Law
Hizbullah Fighter Ayyad Freed in Return for Two Captives
Onshore Lebanese oil survey suspended over delay of licensing round
A taste of Tripoli: Mixing the old and the new
PFLP-GC military buildup stokes fears of clashes
The PFLP-GC in Lebanon: a timeline
Reports: Hizbullah-Mustaqbal Talks in Tatters over Conditions
Abu Faour: Food safety campaign not about revenge
Lebanon braces for new storm
Asiri Says Saudi Backs Dialogue 'Regardless of Regional, Int'l Stances'
Al-Rahi Welcomes 'Any Dialogue' that Can End Political Crisis
ISF Busts Captagon Ring, Arrests 'Dangerous' Bulgarian Chemical Expert
Mustaqbal Urges 'National Settlement' over New President
Retired Soldier Abducted in Arsal as Syrian Man Killed
Bassil Rejects Foreign Intervention in Presidential Stalemate, Considers LF
Positivity 'Useless'
Project aims to plant a million trees in south
Hakim Follows Abou Faour's Steps, Decides to Close Violating Dairy Factories
Ibrahim denies hostage mediator resigned
Beirut retail rent 37th most costly
Judge Orders Release of Abra Suspect as Army Detains Asir Supporter
Lebanon Prioritizes Unity after Refugee Assistance Warning
Army Refers Terror Suspect to Judiciary
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Benghazi security team disputes House Intel Committee Report
15-Member Parliamentary Subcommittee to Discuss Food Safety Law
Naharnet/The joint parliamentary committees formed on Tuesday a
10-member subcommittee to tackle the contaminated food scandal, granting it a
15-day ultimatum to draft a food safety law. The subcommittee that will be
headed by Mustaqbal MP Atef Majdalani will work on merging two proposals and
form a final food safety law. The first proposal is suggested by Majdalani,
while the second by Tripoli MP and former Prime Minister Najib Miqati. MP
Majdalani lauded in a press conference after the joint parliamentary meeting
Health Minister Wael Abou Faour's food safety campaign. “The shock that Abou
Faour made gave swift results,” he told reporters gathered at the parliament,”
considering that he “restored the citizens faith in the state.” Majdalani called
for the establishment of a food safety association that is independent from all
ministries and comprised of technicians and experts. For his part, Abou
Faour vowed to ahead with his campaign against corrupt institutions, noting that
the health ministry will resort to the judiciary regarding food safety cases. He
also called for the formation of a general prosecution for food, urging
officials to separate the case from politics. “The food safety case brought the
Lebanese closer,” Abou Faour added. Abou Faour has so far announced three
lists of violating institutions that include some popular restaurant chains and
supermarkets that are serving customers food contaminated with bacteria and
other inedible substances. Violations included the presence of flies on the
refrigerators of dairy products, the presence of open garbage bins in kitchens,
workers not wearing gloves, and frying oil that was not changed for months.
Retired Soldier Abducted in Arsal as
Syrian Man Killed
Naharnet /An armed group on Tuesday kidnapped a retired army
first adjutant from the Bekaa border town of Arsal before taking him to the
area's outskirts. “Retired army first adjutant Mohammed Ahmed al-Hujeiri was
abducted by an armed group from his grocery shop in Arsal's Ras al-Sarj,” LBCI
television reported. The group took Hujeiri to its base in the town's outskirts,
LBCI added. One week ago, an armed group from the extremist Islamic State
organization stole the pickup truck of retired army first adjutant Muhieddine
al-Hujeiri after abducting him for several hours in Arsal's outskirts. The IS
and the Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front have been holding several troops and
policemen hostage since August 2, when they overran Arsal and engaged in bloody
clashes with the army. The militants of the two groups have bases in Arsal's
outskirts and in the neighboring Syrian region of Qalamun. Separately, state-run
National News Agency said Syrian national Khaled al-Arab was found killed in the
Arsal area of Wadi Ata. It said he was murdered over “disputes between Syrian
refugees and gunmen in the town.”
Al-Rahi Welcomes 'Any Dialogue' that
Can End Political Crisis
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi announced Tuesday his
support for any dialogue between Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal movement, welcoming
any step that might pull the country out of its political crisis. “Any dialogue
is a necessary dialogue and we must not forget that the interruption of dialogue
between (the) March 14 and March 8 (coalitions) has led us to what we're
currently suffering,” al-Rahi said in response to a question about his opinion
on the prospects of dialogue between Hizbullah and Mustaqbal. The patriarch was
speaking at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport upon his arrival from a
several-day visit to Rome. “We totally welcome such a dialogue and we would
bless it with great joy,” added al-Rahi. Speaker Nabih Berri and Progressive
Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat have been exerting efforts lately to
launch dialogue between the two rival parties. Hizbullah chief Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah has recently expressed willingness to engage in dialogue with
Mustaqbal, but the movement noted that such talks need a clear agenda in order
to be effective. Asked whether Bkirki will seek to hold a meeting for Christian
leaders in the near future, the patriarch said the Maronite church is always
willing to exert efforts to that end. “After I assumed my duties, I gathered the
Christian leaders in Bkirki, and I'm still willing to do that, as Bkirki's doors
are open to everyone and we support any dialogue that can lead to pulling the
country out of its crises,” al-Rahi added. “Without dialogue, things will not
move forward,” he stressed.
Asiri Says Saudi Backs Dialogue 'Regardless of Regional, Int'l Stances'
Naharnet/Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Asiri announced Tuesday
that his country supports any dialogue initiative that could pave the way for
electing a new Lebanese president, “regardless of the events in the region.”
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that the priority that Lebanon needs at
the moment is enhancing unity among its citizens,” Asiri said after meeting
Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain al-Tineh. He added that Riyadh backs any “agreement
among all political forces to hold a thorough dialogue,” hoping the Lebanese
parties will “elect a new president regardless of the events in the region and
their repercussions and despite any regional or international stances.”
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Hizbullah were strained again last week after
Riyadh's envoy to the U.N. Security Council demanded that the party be put on
the international list of “terrorist organizations.”Hizbullah sources dismissed
the call as a “sonic bubble” that has no value. “National dialogue is the
responsibility of the Lebanese brothers, not anyone else, and it is the best way
that can lead to achieving the higher national interest,” Asiri added. He noted
that “the kingdom has confidence in the wisdom of the brothers in Lebanon and
their loyalty to their country, whose interests must come before anything else,”
the Saudi ambassador added.
Onshore Lebanese oil survey suspended over delay of licensing round
Osama Habib/The Daily Star/Nov. 25, 2014
BEIRUT: All 2-D seismic onshore surveys for gas and oil in Lebanon have been
halted until the government launches the licensing round for oil and gas
exploration off the country’s coast, insiders said Monday. Before companies can
bid for the rights to drill for offshore oil or gas, the government must set the
number of blocks for auction and establish a revenue mechanism, two steps that
have been delayed several times. According to a source close to the Petroleum
Administration, the British-based company Spectrum has decided to suspend its
onshore 2-D seismic survey in Lebanon, due to the fact that politicians have
been so slow to launch the offshore licensing process. “They also could not find
new investors to buy the data,” the insider added. “Why should they [companies]
keep on spending money from their pockets if there is no real determination to
launch the offshore gas licensing?” Spectrum started the first onshore oil and
gas survey in October 2013 in Batroun and some regions in the Bekaa Valley to
assess the geological structure in these regions.
However, informed sources say that after completing the first phase of the
onshore survey, Spectrum has decided to suspend the operation until the
government sends out a clear signal that it is sincere about launching the
offshore gas licensing, which has been postponed five times. In October 2014,
the U.S.-based company NEOS Geo Solutions conducted the first airborne oil and
gas surveillance operation over parts of Lebanon in another bid by the
authorities to assess whether oil and gas deposits could be present in the
country.
Amanda Jane, NEOS Geo Solutions’ project manager for Lebanon, told The Daily
Star before the operation that the airborne survey should take 60 days.
However, after covering a big part of Lebanon, NEOS Geo Solutions suspended its
flights over the remaining regions due to poor weather conditions. “Most
companies [that were shortlisted in the bidding process] are not too optimistic
about the prospects of launching a licensing round,” a senior executive of an
international oil company said. “They realize that reasons for the constant
delay in launching the licensing round are purely political and have nothing to
do with technical and financial reasons. “I will be surprised if 14 of the 46
companies that were shortlisted three years ago will be interested in bidding
for the offshore blocks if the government does decide on the licensing date.”
However, he added that the onshore results collected by Spectrum were very
promising, noting that the geological structure in the Bekaa valley was
identical to that of neighboring Syria, which suggests that Lebanon could have
abundant quantities of gas and oil onshore. Wissam Zahabi, head of the Economic
and Financial Department at Lebanon’s Petroleum Administration, said in a
lecture at the Defense Ministry in September of this year that some
international companies were re-evaluating the situation in light of the
repeated delays to the launch of the licensing round.
A source close to the government and to the Petroleum Administration, which was
appointed by the government, said that the international oil companies would
want a clear sign of commitment from Lebanese authorities before showing any
interest in the bidding process in the future. “The government is not telling
the companies it will start the bidding process, nor is it telling them that the
licensing round plan has been dropped. They need a signal from Lebanon and they
are not getting this signal,” the source said.
He added that the companies had allocated certain budgets for oil and gas
exploration and if Lebanon failed to grab this chance, then these firms would
invest their money in other countries. The executive of the oil company said
international firms believed that Lebanon was sitting on a huge amount of gas
and oil but they were not going to wait forever until the authorities decided to
extract the hidden wealth.
Hizbullah Fighter Ayyad Freed in
Return for Two Captives
Naharnet/Hizbullah managed Tuesday to secure the release of one
of its fighters who had been in the custody of Syrian groups in the mountains of
the Qalamun region near Lebanon's border, which has been witnessing fierce
clashes in recent months. “The captive Imad Ayyad was freed at noon following
weeks of negotiations with the abductors,” Hizbullah's media department
announced in a statement. Ayyad was released “in exchange for two gunmen who
were in Hizbullah's custody,” the statement revealed. Earlier on Tuesday,
Hizbullah's al-Manar television said “the captive Imad Lobnan Ayyad was freed
following weeks of negotiations with al-Nusra Front,” al-Qaida's official Syria
affiliate. A Hizbullah source, meanwhile, flatly denied to Agence France-Presse
any al-Nusra involvement in the deal, referring instead to Ayyad's kidnappers as
"gunmen in Qalamun."OTV meanwhile said that negotiations over Ayyad took place
between Hizbullah and the rebel Free Syrian Army.
Later on Tuesday, Ayyad received a hero's welcome as he arrived at his residence
place in Beirut's southern suburbs. “We congratulate all Lebanese on the
liberation of resistance hero, freed captive Imad Ayyad,” deputy head of
Hizbullah's Executive Council Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said in a speech from the
location. “The joy will not be complete before the (Lebanese) servicemen are
freed from the captivity” of al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State, Qaouq added.
He also conveyed the congratulations of Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
to Ayyad and his family. Hizbullah is allied to Syria's President Bashar Assad,
and has sent thousands of fighters to support his army's bid to quell a nearly
four-year revolt across the country. The Lebanese group has played a key role in
fighting around Damascus, especially in Qalamun. The prisoner swap comes as
Qatar-mediated talks try to secure freedom for 27 Lebanese soldiers and
policemen held hostage by al-Nusra and the IS since August after a fierce battle
for the Lebanese border town of Arsal. Three soldiers held by the jihadist
groups have already been executed. Ayyad had appeared in an Internet video
published on October 9, in which he urged his family to “meet the demands” of
the Free Syrian Army should they be contacted by the rebels.
The Hizbullah fighter also announced that he hails from southern Lebanon as
websites close to the party said the 24-year-old man is from the Tyre District
town of Tayrfilsay. Answering the questions of his captors in the video, Ayyad
said Hizbullah tasked him with “a mission in Qara and Assal al-Ward in Qalamun's
mountains,” noting that he was a “Hizbullah reservist.”He said he was among
“four Syrians and three Lebanese” guarding a “Hizbullah-commanded” post in
Qalamun's mountains. “There are 200 Hizbullah fighters in Qalamun's mountains
and there are Syrians operating under our command … We also have fighters
specialized in air defense,” Ayyad added. On October 21, the young fighter
appeared in another video in which he expressed surprise over “lack of efforts”
to secure his release and urged his family to communicate with Hizbullah
officials. Ayyad was taken captive during a deadly assault by Qalamun-based
militants against several Hizbullah posts along the Syrian-Lebanese border.
Mustaqbal Urges 'National Settlement'
over New President
Naharnet Newsdesk 9 hours ago/Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc
called Tuesday for a “national settlement” aimed at electing a new president,
warning over “the continued obstruction of electoral sessions by Hizbullah and
the Change and Reform bloc.”“The presidential void and the continued boycott and
obstruction of electoral sessions by Hizbullah and the Change and Reform bloc
will only aggravate this dangerous, abnormal situation that the country is going
through,” the bloc cautioned in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.
“Any salvation initiative in this regard requires national efforts by all
parties in order to reach a national settlement that would eventually lead to
consensus over the country's next president,” the bloc added. It said such a
settlement would “open the door to a new experience among the Lebanese parties”
and would “reach solutions to some of the current difficulties.”Lebanon has been
without a president since May 25 amid a boycott of electoral sessions by the MPs
of Hizbullah and the Change and Reform bloc. Last week, Change and Reform chief
MP Michel Aoun launched at initiative aimed at limiting the presidential battle
to him and his main rival Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. Turning to the
issue of the troops and policemen held hostage by jihadist groups, Mustaqbal
called on the government to “continue its efforts with all due seriousness and
determination.”It urged all parties to back the government's endeavor in order
to “contribute to the quick return of the aggrieved captives to their families
and institutions.”
Future links Hezbollah talks to facilitating presidential vote
Hussein Dakroub/The Daily Star/Nov. 25, 2014
BEIRUT: Hezbollah should facilitate the election of a new president if a
long-awaited dialogue with the Future Movement is to get started, a Future
lawmaker said Monday, pouring cold water on Speaker Nabih Berri’s optimism that
talks between the two rival parties would be held without preset conditions.
“Hezbollah must facilitate the presidential election in order for dialogue with
the Future Movement to get off the ground,” Future MP Ghazi Youssef told The
Daily Star. Although efforts have been stepped up to bring the Future Movement
and Hezbollah to the negotiating table, Youssef said a mechanism to unleash the
dialogue between the influential Sunni and Shiite parties has not yet been put
on track. Asked to comment on Berri’s enduring optimism about launching a
dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah, whose strained ties have
stoked political and sectarian tensions in the country, Youssef said: “I hope
Speaker Berri’s optimism will be justified.” Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
said the Future Movement should take time to prepare for dialogue with
Hezbollah.
“We cannot say whether progress has been made in this respect,” he told As-Safir
newspaper, adding that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri was expected to give
some indication during an interview with LBCI TV Thursday as to the steps to be
taken toward dialogue.
Asked whether the Future Movement had preconditions for a dialogue with
Hezbollah, Siniora said: “At least, the rules of dialogue should be outlined.”A
March 8 source said preparations to start the Hezbollah-Future dialogue were on
the “right track.”
On whether Hezbollah is ready to facilitate the presidential vote as demanded by
the Future Movement, the source told The Daily Star: “If intentions are good and
the atmosphere is positive, Hezbollah is ready to discuss all divisive issues.”
The source said he did not feel that the Future Movement was setting
preconditions for a dialogue with Hezbollah. Berri, who said he has been working
with MP Walid Jumblatt to promote a dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future
Movement, was quoted by visitors Sunday as saying the planned dialogue would be
held without preconditions. He added that efforts were underway to prepare the
dialogue’s agenda.
The Future Movement and its March 14 allies have accused Hezbollah and its key
Christian ally, MP Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, of derailing the
presidential polls by thwarting a quorum with their persistent boycott of
Parliament sessions to pick a successor to former President Michel Sleiman,
whose six-year term ended on May 25.
Parliament failed this month for the 15th time since April to elect a president
over a lack of quorum, as the rival March 8 and March 14 parties remain at
loggerheads over a consensus candidate. Minister of State for Parliamentary
Affairs Mohammad Fneish, one of two Hezbollah representatives in the Cabinet,
said efforts were underway by “allies and friends,” a clear allusion to Berri
and Jumblatt, to get the Future-Hezbollah dialogue started.
Asked whether Hezbollah was ready to discuss the presidential deadlock with the
Future Movement, Fneish told The Daily Star: “We will be open in the dialogue to
discuss how to enhance the points of agreement and boost the country’s security
and stability in the face of threats. We will not set conditions for dialogue
and we hope the other side will do the same.”
As to when the planned dialogue could begin, Fneish said this depended on the
outcome of ongoing efforts to agree on the details and agenda of talks. Fneish
refused to comment on reports that Hezbollah was not ready to discuss two key
contentious issues with the Future Movement: the party’s military intervention
in the war in Syria and the presidential election.
Hezbollah MP Kamel Rifai said a dialogue with the Future Movement would help
defuse sectarian tensions.
In an interview with Akhbar al-Yom news agency, Rifai said March 14 demands for
Hezbollah’s disarmament and the party’s withdrawal from Syria were divisive
issues that could not be settled quickly during the dialogue with the Future
Movement. “Therefore, they should be put aside in this stage,” he said.
“No doubt, a dialogue between the Future Movement and Hezbollah can put Lebanon
on the road to a solution,” Rifai added.
In an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio station, Future MP Hadi Hobeish
said the planned dialogue with Hezbollah would concentrate on “priority to the
presidential election and strengthening security in the country.”
Future MP Ammar Houri said what spurred his party to accept a dialogue with
Hezbollah was the “vacancy in the presidency post and the spiraling sectarian
tension.”
“The election of a new president is the gateway to a solution to reactivate
constitutional institutions, to ensuring stability and to solving all other
problems,” Houri said in an interview with Al-Fajer radio station.
He added that any decision to enter into dialogue with Hezbollah has not been
taken before Hariri’s TV interview. Houri said Hariri would announce during the
interview a road map to resolve outstanding problems in the country.
A thaw between the Future Movement and Hezbollah is deemed crucial for any
solution to the deepening political crisis. A long-simmering political feud,
exacerbated by Hezbollah’s military involvement in Syria, had erupted into
street violence between supporters of the two parties in the past.
Meanwhile, the FPM denounced Parliament after the extension of its mandate as
“illegitimate,” calling on the Constitutional Council to accept the FPM’s appeal
filed earlier this month against the extension.
“The legitimacy of Parliament, whose term has been extended for a second time,
has been lost as a result of the extension and the failure over a quarter of a
century to adopt an electoral law to achieve equal power sharing [between
Muslims and Christians],” MP Ibrahim Kanaan said, reading a statement after an
extraordinary meeting of Aoun’s parliamentary Change and Reform bloc ahead of
the Constitutional Council’s decision on the challenge.
He said the FPM would continue following up on the challenge against the
extension of Parliament’s mandate for two years and seven months.
The bloc urged the council’s 10 judges to take “a historic stand to put an end
to the series of attacks on the Constitution and [attempts] to destroy the
parliamentary democratic system.”
Bassil Rejects Foreign Intervention in Presidential Stalemate, Considers LF
Positivity 'Useless'
Naharnet /Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil ruled out any foreign
interference in the presidential elections amid the regional developments,
stressing that Lebanese Forces Samir Geagea's agreement to run in presidential
race that includes him and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun isn't
enough to resolve the country's lingering crisis. “We don't need foreign
agreements to elect a president. We are seeking to elect a president according
to local balances,” Bassil said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat
on Tuesday.
“Only the Lebanese system gives priority to any issue and no one else. For the
first time we have a chance not to have anyone interfering in our affairs.”
Lebanon has been without a president since May when the term of Michel Suleiman
ended over differences among the parliamentary blocs on a compromise head of
state. Bassil, who is affiliated to the Free Patriotic Movement that is allied
with the March 8 coalition, expressed belief that foreign countries have no
“will or intention” to impose anything on Lebanon amid this stage.
Asked if the the FPM rejects any foreign intervention after several countries
refused Aoun's candidacy, Bassil denied that the party “carried out any contacts
with outside countries regarding the presidential elections.”“We have limits to
any offered foreign aid because we want to maintain our independence and self-respect.”Saudi
Arabia has reportedly rejected the nomination of Aoun for the presidency,
fearing his “hidden intentions.”Commenting on Geagea's stance regarding Aoun's
proposal to head to the parliament and elect a president in a race that only
includes both of them, Bassil considered the stance as “positive but not enough”
to end the presidential deadlock. “He (Geagea) would still have to convince his
allies to agree on the proposal,” the FM said. He stressed that his party “isn't
preventing anyone from running in the presidential elections.” Bassil added that
the Christian representation of March 14 leader and Kataeb party chief Amin
Gemayel comes in the “third and fourth rank but not the second.”
Gemayel had continuously expressed willingness to run in the elections instead
of Geagea as the majority of the March 8 camp's lawmakers have boycotted the
presidential elections sessions, which has been seen as a sign of their
rejection to Geagea's candidacy.
Bassil told al-Hayat newspaper that the FPM encourages any dialogue between
Hizbullah and al-Mustaqbal Movement. “Whatever this dialogue produces will be
better than the rift... It could have fruitful results that would be used in
preserving the country's interests and ease the presidential crisis.”However, he
pointed out that the dialogue between the FPM and al-Mustaqbal became
“useless.”On accusations that the Change and Reform ministers are obstructing
the work of Prime Minister Tammam Salam's cabinet, the FPM official denied the
reports, saying: “the state can cope with the vacuum (at the Baabda Palace)
which indicates that the system is fragile.”The cabinet assumes the executive
tasks of the president as stated by the constitution until a new head of state
is elected.
Bassil expressed fear that “Lebanon could pay the price of the conflict between
the Sunnis and Shiites and could also seek solutions.”“Sunnis and Shiites in
Lebanon could agree regardless of the regional conflicts and the Christians
could play a positive role.”
Pope Francis urges Sisi to ensure peace during Egypt transition
Agence France Presse/Nov. 25, 2014
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis urged Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi Monday
to ensure peace during his country’s political transition and called on Egypt to
embrace its diplomatic role in the troubled Middle East. Sisi met the
77-year-old Francis at the start of his first European trip since ousting his
Islamist predecessor and overseeing a crackdown that has killed hundreds. During
what the Vatican described as “cordial” talks – the first between an Egyptian
leader and the pope at the tiny city state in eight years – the pontiff stressed
“the closeness and solidarity of the Church to all the people of Egypt during
this period of political transition.” The Vatican statement expressed hope that
Egypt’s constitutional safeguards on human rights and religious freedom “may be
strengthened.”The pope also told Sisi he hoped “the path to inter-religious
dialogue may continue to be pursued,” it said. The pair also discussed Egypt’s
role in the promotion of peace and stability in the Middle East and North
Africa. “It was reiterated that dialogue and negotiation are the only options to
put an end to the conflicts and to the violence that endanger defenseless
populations and cause the loss of human lives,” the Vatican said. Sisi’s visit
was celebrated by hundreds of Egyptian supporters in Rome’s city center, where
they danced draped in the national flag to music at a street party, holding up
banners with the president’s face. Sisi, while army chief, ousted president
Mohammad Morsi, the country’s first freely elected leader, in July 2013,
prompting a wave of deadly violence between security forces and Morsi’s
supporters that drew rebukes from Europe and the United States. But boosted by
its increasingly central role in combating Islamist militancy, Egypt has come in
from the cold since Sisi won a presidential election in May after crushing both
Islamist and secular opponents. Egyptian officials said Sisi’s four-day tour,
which will also take in France, is aimed at securing European investment in the
Egyptian economy, which has been battered by political turmoil since the Arab
Spring uprising of 2011.
Sunni Political Islam: Engine of
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
By: Jonathan Spyer/PJ Media
November 25/ 2014
http://www.meforum.org/4896/sunni-political-islam-engine-of-israeli
"What must not happen is that this political conflict becomes a religious
conflict," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned last week.
An oft-repeated sentiment currently doing the rounds in discussions of the
Israeli-Palestinian issue is that it is imperative that the conflict not become
a "religious" one. This sentiment, guaranteed to set heads nodding in polite,
liberal company, stands out even within the very crowded and competitive field
of ridiculous expressions of historical ignorance found in discussion of the
Israeli-Palestinian issue.
This sentiment is connected to the recent wave of terror attacks in Jerusalem,
which are the result of Palestinian claims that Israel is seeking to alter the
"status quo" at the Temple Mount. As this theory goes, up until now this
conflict had mainly been about competing claims of land ownership and
sovereignty, but it is now in danger of becoming about "religion," and hence
turning even more intractable. So this must be prevented.
In objective reality, the conflict between Jews and Arab Muslims over the land
area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea has been, from its very
outset, inseparable from "religion."
The conflict between Jews and Arab Muslims over the land area between the Jordan
River and the Mediterranean Sea has been, from its very outset, inseparable from
"religion."
On the Arab/Palestinian/Muslim side, recent events in the Levant (specifically
in Syria and Iraq) ought to have taught us just how very flimsy and contingent
the supposed "secular, national" identities of the local populations are. Both
these identities have now largely been eclipsed, replaced by sectarian, ethnic,
and religious markers of loyalty. As Professor Mordechai Kedar pointed out in a
recent article, there is no reason to think that a "Palestinian" national
identity is any stronger or more durable than either of these neighboring
constructs.
This does not mean, of course, that the Arabic-speaking population of the area
is not mobilized for struggle. The events of recent days suggest a murderous
commitment to the fight. The engine for this commitment, however, is a religious
one.
The engine is the determination to prevent the Jews from in any way, be it ever
so minor, infringing on the situation of de facto Arab Muslim domination of the
Temple Mount/ Haram al-Sharif area. This commitment is not a new development; it
has in fact been the driving force of the conflict throughout.
The very first major instances of Arab Muslim violence against Jews in the 20th
century were related to this self-same area. In 1929, it was precisely an
attempt by Jews to assert Jewish prayer rights at the Western Wall that led to a
furious Arab and Muslim counter-reaction. This reaction led to the slaughter of
over one hundred Jews and the destruction of an ancient Jewish community (in
Hebron).
The supposed threat to the mosques at the Haram al-Sharif and the alleged desire
of the Jews to build the Third Temple continued to form a staple in Arab
propaganda against the Zionists in the 1930s and 1940s. This was a time when the
nascent Palestinian "national" movement was led by a man holding a position of
religious authority: Jerusalem Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini.
The central role of religion in this conflict has served to prevent the eventual
resignation to and compromise with Israel's presence, which many early Zionist
leaders predicted.
This centrality of religion continued to fire the various movements fighting
Israel. The very name "Fatah," for example, which is often – absurdly —
described as a "secular" movement, is a religious term. "Fatah" is in Arabic a
term literally meaning to "open," but is used in context to mean "to conquer a
land for Islam."
The central role of religion in this conflict has served to prevent the eventual
resignation to and compromise with Israel's presence, which many early Zionist
leaders predicted. This prediction was based on similar national conflicts
elsewhere, where after a period of struggle the two sides grow tired and settled
their difference, cutting a deal.
But religious sentiments have a way of not growing tired.
And in the case of Israel and its Arab Muslim enemies, the core energy on the
Arab side is one of religious rage — a feeling that the re-establishment of
Jewish sovereignty in parts of the land formerly ruled by Muslims constitutes a
crime against god. Such a crime cannot be forgiven or compromised with.
In a recent article on the Hamas website expressing support for the recent
terror attacks, Palestinian columnist Dr. Issam Shawer summed up the issue in an
admirably succinct way:
We maintain, and believe, that our battle against the occupier is fundamentally
religious, not geographic, historic, or economic.
Allah the Exalted mentioned [in the Koran] our [current] conflict with the
occupier, when he told His servants that they would enter Al-Aqsa Mosque as they
had entered it the first time, and told us [also] that everything that "Israel"
had built in order to establish its fragile entity would be destroyed. …
Therefore, we must stop arguing that our battle against the enemy is political,
waged in the arena of the UN, the Security Council, or negotiations. All this
nonsense contradicts the Koran and the Hadith.
Shawer grasps the dynamics of the conflict far better than most Western
observers.
On the other side, the Jewish idea of the "Return to Zion," the rebuilding of
Jerusalem, and the renewing of the days of old are deeply embedded in Jewish
religious tradition and inseparable from them.
Modern Zionism may have been secular in nature, but it drew from these
wellsprings in Jewish self-perception.
The difference throughout has been that the Jews have, since the onset of the
modern struggle, demonstrated a willingness to accept political plans proposing
a sharing of the land under discussion: in 1937, 1947, 2000, and 2008. The Arab
Muslim side has demonstrated no similar capacity.
The Jewish self-perception is that of a small nation, cautious, uncertain,
defensive.
Arab Sunni Muslim identity, by contrast, is one predicated on triumph and
conquest as the natural state of affairs, now accompanied by the humiliating,
bewildering current state of failure and subjection. Hence the enormous,
murderous rage at the present state of defeat to a people seen as naturally
subordinate: the Jews. Hence the absolute refusal to accept history's apparent
verdict, and the latest furious attempt to dislodge the enemy.
Religion, specifically Sunni political Islam, is driving it, as it has driven
all previous attempts. It shows no sign of running out of energy, despite the
meager results so far. A deep sense of its own superiority and the inevitability
of its eventual victory informs its adherents. It is past time that the many
obsessive Western observers of this conflict grasp the essential, religious
driving force. Political religion, specifically Sunni political Islam, lies at
its heart. It has always been there.
Canada's FM, John Baird Comments on Iran-P5+1 Talks
November 24, 2014 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the
following statement:
“Canada has long held the view that every diplomatic measure should be taken to
ensure Iran never obtains the capacity to sprint to nuclear weapons capability.
We appreciate the tireless efforts the members of the P5+1 have made to address
concerns about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
“While we support the efforts to reach a comprehensive deal, the process cannot
be open ended. Iran’s dithering is either a cynical ploy for time or an
inability to clearly repudiate military nuclear ambitions. The regime must take
immediate actions to resolve the concerns of the international community.
“A nuclear Iran would not only be a threat to Canada and our allies but would
also seriously damage the integrity of decades of work on nuclear
non-proliferation. It would provoke neighbouring states to develop their own
nuclear deterrent in an already volatile region, sparking a dangerous nuclear
arms race.
“Canada will also continue to fully support the International Atomic Energy
Agency’s ongoing investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s
nuclear program.
“If Iran continues to obfuscate its international obligations, the international
community must take immediate action and implement tough and binding sanctions.
Until Canada is satisfied, our sanctions regime will remain in full force.”
Canada Concerned by Erdogan’s Comments Regarding Equality
of Women
November 24, 2014 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and the Honourable Lynne
Yelich, Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular), today issued the
following statement:
“Canada notes with great concern the comments reportedly made today by Turkey’s
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which he appeared to call into question
equality between women and men.
“Such remarks would run contrary to basic international human rights standards
and international laws and conventions, as well as equality rights that are
explicitly enshrined in, and protected by, the Turkish constitution.
“It is our hope that President Erdogan will seize an early opportunity to
clarify his remarks.”
A silver superpower
The Daily Star/Nov. 25, 2014
Most Lebanese politicians, and particularly members of Parliament, are adept at
dealing with the media – and equally adept at confusing two very different
things, namely quantity and quality. Perhaps politicians speak so frequently, on
so many issues, because they think people are actually waiting for their words.
But what they fail to grasp is that the public has tuned them out; people are
fully aware that around a half a dozen top figures exercise firm control over
virtually every important issue, and that the daily stream of rhetoric is simply
meaningless – if not poisonous and harmful at times. The media is also at fault,
for relaying most of this blather, sometimes out of a cynical desire to fill as
much space and air time as possible: page after page, hour after hour, day after
day.
If MPs, for example, truly wanted to earn their salaries, they would dispense
with the notion that they’re getting paid by the word. They should shut up, lock
themselves in a room and pore over the country’s legislation on the fronts that
truly interest people: traffic safety, food safety, environment, education,
health care, crime prevention, and all manner of social issues. Instead of
popping up on talk shows, they should go on verbal strike until they can offer
us useful ways to bridge the huge, destructive gaps between what’s in the law,
and how it can be feasibly implemented. If speech is silver and silence is
golden, Lebanon is certainly a silver superpower, but one threatened by its
dangerously low supply of gold.
Netanyahu was fiddling while Iran became a nuclear state
Shimon Shiffer/ Ynetnews
Published: 11.25.14/ Israel Opinion
Amid talks on Iranian atomic program, the prime minister has been busying
himself with a law to define Israel as the Jewish nation-state - after failing
to convince the world to strip Iran of its centrifuges and nuclear fuel.
On Sunday, in all likelihood just at the point at which one could safely say
that by the end of the talks between the world powers and Iran, the state of the
ayatollahs will find itself, alongside India, Pakistan and Israel, in the
prestigious club of countries on the verge of producing a nuclear bomb, Benjamin
Netanyahu and his ministers continued to bicker at the cabinet meeting over the
bill to declare Israel the nation-state of the Jewish people.Even given that the
talks in Vienna on Monday did not bear fruit in the form of an agreement between
the parties, but a declaration of principles or the extension of the talks
instead, one can readily declare Israel the principal loser in this
international campaign.
This loss is even more resounding when viewed on the backdrop of the tremendous
effort and billions invested to signal to the international community that
Israel may launch an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities if the agreement with
Tehran does not meet Jerusalem's demands.
At the start of Sunday's cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu informed the
ministers that US Secretary of State John Kerry had briefed him on the status of
the talks.
"We are following developments in the talks closely and with concern," said
Netanyahu, who was in a rush to be interviewed for American television. But the
truth must be told: The Americans and the world powers no longer take Netanyahu
into account. All that remains for the prime minister to do is to give
interviews, to dispatch Minister Yuval Steinitz to the scene, and "to follow and
remain vigilant."The recently published memoirs of the American defense secretaries who served in
the Obama administration, Robert Gates and Leon Panetta, reveal that up until a
few years ago, the Americans still believed that the pair, Netanyahu and Ehud
Barak as his defense minister, may just attack Iran's nuclear facilities without
coordinating the action with the United States.
In the end, however, the Israeli side was deterred, and didn't launch an
assault. The so-called window of opportunity closed when the Iranians passed a
certain threshold in the production and acquisition of nuclear fuel – or as
Barak put it: Iran earned itself a "zone of immunity" for its facilities that
stripped Israel of the chance to launch an attack.
Gates' and Panetta's books also expose the cyber operations that disrupted
Iran's nuclear facilities during the period 2006-2009. These covert operations –
dubbed, say the memoirs of the senior US officials, the "Olympic Games" – were
carried out towards the end of the terms in office of George Bush and Ehud
Olmert.
Together with the United States, Israel chalked up significant achievements in
this campaign, thereby generating pressure on Iran to enter into negotiations
and restrict its development of nuclear weapons – and all this, of course, in
conjunction with the economic sanctions imposed on Iranian companies by the
international community.
And where are the negotiations currently at? The New York Times devoted a
detailed report to the subject on Sunday evening: The most significant challenge
as far as the Americans are concerned touches on the question of how to ensure
that the international intelligence community will be able to monitor Iran's
attempts to develop atomic bombs in secret facilities.
We know today that the Iranians have dug thousands of tunnels in the mountains
in various regions of the country that could be used "to trick and deceive the
West." On the other hand, the Iranians, for their part, are demanding the
immediate lifting of the economic sanctions following the signing of any future
agreement – and this, the world powers refuse to agree to.
And back to Israel: Netanyahu failed to convince the world powers to strip Iran
of the tens of thousands of centrifuges and the nuclear fuel it has amassed with
the help of North Korea. Unfortunately for Israel, the Iranians have recognized
that the United States and its partners to the talks are way too keen to reach
an agreement, and are not willing to return home and admit failure.
In any event, the day will come when the findings of a state commission of
inquiry or the publication of a study will note that during the term in office
of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran became a nuclear-threshold state
needing only a few months to make a bomb.
Netanyahu's name will of course also be on the law that turns Israel into the
state of the Jewish nation. And what about the others who live here? God only
knows, and let them petition the High Court of Justice.
Turkey's "Foreign" Citizens
Burak Bekdil/The Gatestone Institute
http://www.meforum.org/4897/turkey-foreign-citizens
In 2008, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's official news agency, Wafa,
reported that Israel had released poison-resistant rats to drive Arab residents
of Jerusalem out of their homes. Scientists are still trying to understand how
rats are trained to distinguish between Muslim, Christian and Jewish residents
of a city.
In 2011, Saudi Arabia announced that it had "detained" a vulture carrying an
Israeli leg band. The griffon vulture was carrying a GPS transmitter bearing the
name of Tel Aviv University, and was condemned for being a part of a "Zionist
espionage plot." We are still waiting to hear if the bird was beheaded or
sentenced to life in prison.
Also in 2011, one of the two Turkish celebrities, who had been accused of raping
prostitutes, defended himself by saying that the whole incident was "an Israeli
plot against him."
In 2012, a migratory bird, a common bee-eater, caused alarm in a southeastern
Turkish village after villagers thought it was an Israeli spy. The villagers'
suspicions were aroused when the bird was found dead in a field with a metal
ring around its leg stamped "Israel." After deciding its nostrils were unusually
large and may have carried a microchip fitted by Israeli intelligence for
spying, they called the police.
Also in 2012, Turkish authorities "detained" a kestrel with a similar ring on
its leg. The bird was subjected to an x-ray to check if its body contained
espionage gear. No joke; in the hospital, the name recorded on the bird's x-ray
card was: Israeli spy.
A year later, when millions of Turks rose up against the undemocratic practices
and rights abuses by their government in more than 70 cities, the
government-friendly media and one minister blamed the riots on the Jewish lobby
in general, and the American Enterprise Institute [AEI] in particular. That
charge prompted Michael Rubin of the AEI to write in a June 2013 blog posting
titled "A little bit of crazy from Turkey:"
"Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan can't even get Jewish conspiracies right:
Doesn't he know that on Sundays, we control the banks. On Mondays, we control
the newspapers. On Tuesdays, we think about how we can stage terrorist attacks
and blame al-Qaeda. On Wednesdays, we attend meetings with George Soros to
discuss interest rates. On Thursdays, we plan atrocities and then order the
international media to broadcast cooking shows so no one need see the violence.
On Fridays, we hunt Christian children so we can use their blood to make matzoh.
On Saturdays, exhausted, we rest."
Such is the level of collective derangement in a country of 75 million. Quite
naturally, it makes an impact on the collective psyche of Turkey's dwindling
Jewish community, now barely numbering 17,000 people, who mostly live in the
country's biggest metropolis, Istanbul.
If you drive along the Adnan Saygun Avenue in the city's upscale Ulus district
and reach the corner of the street where the compound of the Bulgarian Consulate
neighbors a rather secluded building, you will notice a police car waiting
outside a concrete wall that leads to a gate made of steel bars, and attended by
security guards in civilian clothes.
This is the entrance of Ulus Ozel Musevi Okullari, a Jewish school where about
700 students from kindergarten to high-school level study. The security
procedures after the gate opens would make you think you are entering either the
U.S. or the British consulate building in Istanbul (the British consulate, along
with two synagogues and a British bank were bombed 11 years ago this week).
At the weekend, the Jewish school in Ulus hosted this year's Limmud Festival,
which started in 1979 as a British-Jewish educational charity ("Limmud" comes
from the Hebrew word "to learn"). The charity produces events on the theme of
the Jewish learning in nearly 70 communities in 34 countries, including Turkey.
Limmud started in Turkey in 2005; this year's event brought together 1,300
participants and nearly 100 speakers, including this author.
For most of Turkey's Islamists, there is no difference between the words
"Israel", "Israeli government", "Jew", and "Turkish Jew". They are all the same
and are all regarded with hostility.
In conference talks and in private, most members of Istanbul's Jewish community
voiced "serious and increasing" concern over their increasingly secluded and
riskier lives in the country where their ancestors first arrived 522 years ago.
Turkey is their country. And it is not.
They carry Turkish passports. They pay their taxes. Their sons are conscripted
into the military. They vote in Turkish elections. They have Turkish ID cards.
They make up a peaceful, law-abiding society minding their own business. They
remain loyal to their country, Turkey. But they are "foreigners" in their own
country. Ordinary Turks, even their own Turkish friends, refer to them as
"foreigners."
"Should we pack up and leave?" one of them asked. A middle-aged woman objected:
"Why should we be forced to leave our country? We are Turkish, and this is our
country."
"Do you think our businesses are in danger of governmental discrimination?" a
businessman asked. Others in the hall knew the answer.
"Would this school have to maintain the same level of security at its gate had
it been, say, a Georgian school?" a man asked. "If it had it been a Japanese
school or an Indian school? Or, to put it in reverse, would this Jewish school
have to maintain the same level of security had it been located in Japan or
Georgia?"
For most of Turkey's Islamists, there is no difference between the words
"Israel", "Israeli government", "Jew", and "Turkish Jew". They are all the same
and are all regarded with hostility. Such a view makes Turkey's Jews part-time
citizens only. They fulfill their duties to the country they belong to, only to
live in fear.
**Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a columnist for the Turkish daily Hürriyet
and a fellow at the Middle East Forum.
Rouhani Squeezed over Nuclear Talks Extension, Khamenei
Rejects 'Bringing Iran to Knees'
NaharnetظIran's President Hassan Rouhani faced thinly veiled
pressure Tuesday over a missed nuclear deal deadline and an unexpected
seven-month extension of talks, with hardliners denouncing the diplomatic
deadlock. The failure to clinch a final agreement with world powers dominated
newspaper front pages, with most editorials viewing further dialogue as
pointless because the talks have not yet yielded results.
The extension was debated in parliament where the judgment of Rouhani, who told
the nation late Monday a deal would still be done despite the setback, was also
scrutinized.
Lawmakers have consistently said the president and his negotiators have already
made too many concessions over Iran's disputed nuclear program, a sentiment
aired again in a tense parliamentary session.
Hamid Rasaie, a diehard conservative MP, said that while a final agreement would
be a victory for Iran, Rouhani must resist pressure for a deal whose costs are
too high.
"No critic who is caring and supportive of the Islamic republic would be happy
about your defeat," he said of the possibility of no deal next year.
"Our criticism relates to your optimism towards the West," he added.
Rouhani has become a lightning rod for opponents who routinely doubt the merit
of the nuclear talks, but the decision on any final agreement rests with supreme
leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He officially supports Rouhani's policy, but has said several times the talks
have achieved nothing, often blaming the United States and echoing the views of
hardliners. On Tuesday, Khamenei said Iran would not sink "to its knees" on the
nuclear issue, despite the efforts of "arrogants" -- purportedly Western
governments -- to make it do so.
Iran's arch-enemy Israel and many in the international community suspect Tehran
of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover for developing a nuclear bomb,
a charge it strongly denies. Khamenei's comments, his first since the missed
deadline, came in a speech he made in Tehran. Rouhani on Monday sought to rally
support for the talks, saying a deal was within reach and sanctions would be
lifted "step by step" though he would never give up the nuclear program.
"During all this time centrifuges were spinning," he said referring to the talks
and the technical process of enriching uranium, a hotly contested issue as at
high purities it can produce fissile material for an atom bomb.
"I promise the Iranian nation that those centrifuges will never stop working,"
Rouhani said on state television. Those remarks were challenged by Rasaie who
also criticized Rouhani for labeling his critics "illiterate" and "radical".
"Right now, neither the centrifuges spin, nor the factories work," the MP said.
"We expected Mr Rouhani to apologize but unfortunately this didn't
happen."Conservative media also attacked the extension.
"Nothing" said the front page of hardline broadsheet Vatan-e-Emrooz, labeling
the extra time a ruse to "cover up that negotiations in fact failed because of
America's excessive demands". However, Shargh, a leading reformist daily, said
dialogue with the West, notably the United States, signaled "major change" for
Iran and a "victory of realism, rationality and pragmatism". Saeed Leylaz, one
of Iran's top economists, said the $700 million per month Iran will receive in
sanctions relief was a good result, equivalent to a daily increase of 300,000
barrels of oil. "Increasing exports by that amount -- about 30 percent on
present levels -- would be very difficult under any other circumstances," he
said. On Rouhani, he said: "He will continue to face pressure but he is the only
one who can reach the nuclear agreement that most people want." A Western
diplomat in Tehran said Rouhani had bought himself time with the extension: "It
is neither a defeat or a victory," he added. In a positive economic indicator,
meanwhile, the Iranian rial did not fall Tuesday, despite fears that no final
deal would hurt the currency. When international sanctions on Iran were
announced in December 2011 the rial fell precipitously. In central Tehran, the
extension was welcomed. "These negotiations are not a simple task that can reach
a result quickly," said Hashemi, who gave only his surname. "The beginning is
positive. Hopefully, next time they can reach an agreement."
Agence France Presse
Syrian Air Strikes on IS 'Capital' Kill 36 Civilians
Naharnet /A string of Syrian regime air strikes on the Islamic State group's
self-proclaimed capital Raqa on Tuesday killed at least 63 people, more than
half of them civilians, a monitor said. The air strikes were the deadliest by
President Bashar al-Assad's air force against Raqa since the Sunni extremist IS
seized control of the city last year. "Among the 63 killed were at least 36
civilians," said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"There were also 20 unidentified victims who could be civilians or jihadists, as
well as the disfigured remains of at least seven other people," he said. The
director of the Britain-based monitoring group said previously that "most of the
casualties were caused by two consecutive air strikes" on Raqa's main industrial
zone. "The first strike came, residents rushed to rescue the wounded, and then
the second raid took place," Abdel Rahman, whose group relies on a network of
sources on the ground in Syria for its information, told AFP. Amateur video
footage distributed by activists in Raqa showed several bloodied bodies laid out
on a street near an apparent bombing site, as an ambulance rushed to the scene.
Aid workers in red overalls bearing the Red Crescent symbol could be seen
placing the corpses into white body bags. Activists from the city meanwhile
denounced the raids as a "massacre". The Islamic State organisation emerged in
Syria's war in spring 2013. It took over Raqa, the only provincial capital to
fall from government control since the outbreak of a 2011 revolt, and turned it
into its bastion. Most of the city's civil society activists, as well as rebel
fighters who expelled Assad's troops, have either been killed, kidnapped or
forced to flee for other parts of Syria or neighboring Turkey. For many months,
Assad's regime only rarely targeted Raqa city, apparently reserving most of its
firepower for areas under rebel control. But late this summer, the government
intensified its air strikes against IS positions in northern and eastern Syria.
On September 6, 53 people were killed in air raids on Raqa, among them at least
31 civilians, according to the Observatory. The U.S.-led military coalition that
has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Iraq and Syria has also targeted
the jihadist group in Raqa. Activists say Raqa's residents fear the government's
strikes far more than those of the coalition because most of the casualties from
the regime's attacks have been civilians. Strategically located on the river
Euphrates near the border with Turkey, Raqa had a pre-war population of about
220,000 but it is now home to 300,000-350,000 people, including many displaced
by the conflict, according to the Observatory. Since the jihadists first started
moving into the city, they have been gradually imposing a brutal yet highly-organised
system with all the trappings of a state, experts say. Elsewhere in Syria, IS
members stoned to death two men in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor on Tuesday
after claiming they were gay, the Observatory said. And in the central province
of Homs the jihadists beheaded a member of the minority Ismaili community,
accusing him of "apostasy," said the monitoring group.
Agence France Presse
ISIS and Al-Ahsa
Mshari Al-Zaydi /Asharq AlAwsat
Wednesday, 26 Nov, 2014
The long-awaited statement from the Saudi Interior Ministry on the attack on the
village of Dalwah in the country’s Al-Ahsa province has finally been issued,
shedding more light on this horrific crime. Before we go into this, let me just
say that this dangerous crime targeting innocent people in Dalwah sought to
incite sectarian conflict in Saudi Arabia. However, it actually ended up having
the opposite effect. In the aftermath of the incident we saw popular and
official alignment under the banner of national solidarity and the protection of
civil peace. Some well-known figures who have made a habit of sectarian
incitement tried via social media to muddy the waters and put forward a false
picture of what happened, speculating that this was not a political or terrorist
crime, but that it contained personal dimensions. These so-called “preachers”
and media figures are like the intellectual writers who appeared during the
cultural Sahwa (Islamic Awakening) period in the late 1980s, who thought that
what they were doing would make things better, but ultimately had the opposite
effect.
It was always clear that the terrorist attack on the village of Dalwah in Al-Ahsa
had all the hallmarks of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This is
something that I said openly at the time, when others would preface talk about
this crime by saying, “if it turns out to be a terrorist attack in the first
place.” This is nonsense; it would be more likely for the attack to have been
carried out by the Japanese Red Army or the Basque separatist group ETA, than
for it to be the work of a group such as ISIS.
The statement that was issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry was clear, explicit
and transparent—as was the rapid response to the attack by the Saudi Interior
Ministry and the officials of the Al-Ahsa governorate and the Eastern Province.
However, more important than all this was the popular response rejecting this
crime and the calls for Saudi national solidarity against terrorism. The
Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed that the security apparatus had conducted a
rapid and thorough investigation into the attack and uncovered a “criminal
network with ties to the deviant ISIS organization.” Following investigations,
the Ministry revealed that the gang of criminals who carried out the attack had
received their orders from abroad and that ISIS had specified the timing and
target of the attack.
The Saudi Interior Ministry statement also cited the names of the three
terrorists who were killed in the subsequent security raids—two Saudi nationals
and a Qatari—adding that the head of the cell was received his orders directly
from the the ISIS leadership.
The statement also confirmed that Saudi Arabia had arrested a total of 77
terrorist suspects, including a Turkish national, a Syrian national and a
Jordanian. What is most striking about this statement is that it acknowledged
that 32 of those arrested had previous terrorism convictions while 15 others
were awaiting trial and were on release. This is something that re-opens talk
regarding the rate of recidivism among those convicted of terror charges,
including those who go through the Munasaha rehabilitation program. In this
case, has the time come to review the way we deal with terror convicts?
Ultimately, the clarity and speed with which this case is being dealt may
prevent many of the complications and difficulties that those who initially
ordered this terrorist attack envisioned. To foil the secondary aims of attacks
such as this, which include the stirring up social divisions, is something that
can only be commended.
Al-Sisi's peace plan
Yaron Friedman/Ynetnews
Published: 11.26.14/Israel Opinion
Analysis: The general-turned-president would like to send Egyptian forces into
the West Bank and Gaza, as a temporary measure until Israel and the Palestinians
strike a peace deal; as tempting as it sounds, Israel would do well to be
cautious for now.
During his first trip to Europe, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gave an
interview to the Italian media in which he voiced a far-reaching and highly
significant proposal concerning the peace process – the deployment of Egyptian
military forces to monitor the implementation of the peace agreement between
Israel and the Palestinians.
It's safe to assume that every Israeli cringes on hearing the phrase "the
deployment of military forces to Palestine," with all the negative connotations
it evokes (the War of Independence, the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War). Are
we dealing this time with "a peace assault?" Is the Egyptian initiative a
serious one worthy of discussion?
The Egyptian option
In the late 1980s, Shimon Peres, in his capacity as foreign minister at the
time, tried to promote the idea of the "Jordanian option" – Jordanian control of
the West Bank in exchange for a comprehensive peace with the kingdom. The
proposal was shelved with the outbreak of the first intifada.
The current Egyptian proposal constitutes an "Egyptian option" of sorts, under
which Egypt will temporarily deploy observer forces in the Palestinian Authority
in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Al-Sisi explained that the Egyptian presence would not be "eternal," but
coordinated instead with the prime minister of Israel and the Palestinian
Authority chairman until implementation of the permanent peace settlement
between Israel and the Palestinians is secured.
The idea of Egyptian observers comes to replace an earlier proposal concerning
the deployment of international observer forces on behalf of the UN – an option
that the government of Israel is not keen on at all, and justifiably so.
The deployment of Egyptian forces in the Gaza Strip would mirror the situation
that prevailed in 1967 – just like the "Jordanian option" in the West Bank. But
al-Sisi's proposal talks of Egyptian forces in all of the PA territory. The
question for Israel is: Is the proposal worth considering? And what is the
significance of an Egyptian military presence just minutes away from Israeli
cities?
Against the Muslim Brotherhood
When reviewing al-Sisi's proposal, it's worthwhile examining the policies he has
promoted since coming into power. Or, in other words, where is he headed?
President al-Sisi claims that he seeks to lead Egypt into the 21st century and
thus solve its economic problem. The major obstacle he faces in this regard is
the Islamic terror groups' cynical exploitation of the Egyptian revolution of
January 25 to take control of the country.
According to senior Egyptian military officials, the Muslim Brotherhood's regime
destroyed the Egyptian economy, exacerbated the hunger woes of its people, and
scared off tourists. Since his rise to power following the June 2013 military
coup, and the toppling of Mohamed Morsi's government, al-Sisi has sought to
restore control to the army and completely eliminate the Muslim Brotherhood
movement.
On this quest, he has won the support of the country's urban residents, the
middle class, secular Egyptians, the major newspapers (such as Al-Ahram), and
even the Al-Azhar Institute, the highest authority in Sunni Islam.
As far as al-Sisi's regime is concerned, the Muslim Brotherhood is, for all
intents and purposes, a terrorist organization; and the al-Sisi government
displays far less tolerance towards its activists than did Hosni Mubarak's. This
approach is trickling down to Egypt's allies too. Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya news
network, for example, now calls the movement the "Muslim Brotherhood terrorist
organization."
Jordan, however, didn't adopt the same attitude, and the Muslim Brotherhood
movement in the country was afforded legitimacy as long as it did not pose a
threat to the monarchy; but according to reports on Tuesday, Jordanian
authorities have recently detained senior Muslim Brotherhood officials for
undermining the interests of the kingdom.
During his year in office as commander of the army, and then as president, al-Sisi
introduced new anti-terrorism legislation; and today, the Egyptian regime puts
the Muslim Brotherhood on a par with al-Qaeda, Islamic State and Hamas in Gaza –
they're all sides of the same coin.
Against Hamas
Al-Sisi is waging an all-out war against the terror groups in northern Sinai,
and Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis in particular. The Egyptian Army has blocked the
crossings between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, evacuated the
population of the Egyptian Rafah, and blocked the terrorists' access to fuel and
water. Currently, large Egyptian military forces are engaged in conflicts with
jihadists throughout the region; and anything goes in the war to eradicate the
terror – targeted killings, bombings, life sentences and executions.
In his war on terror, al-Sisi has widespread support in the West (Europe and the
United States) and among the moderate Sunni-axis countries (Saudi Arabia and the
UAE). The Egyptian president's policy is designed to uncompromisingly cleanse
Egypt of the scourge of terrorism.
Egypt's new approach towards Hamas has left the organization in dire straits in
the Gaza Strip. Operation Protective Edge offered an indication of this distress
when Hamas voiced its displeasure with the Egyptian mediation efforts. From
Egypt's point of view, Hamas is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood and thus a
symbol of the last remnant of the former regime that al-Sisi toppled in a coup.
Egypt regularly accuses Hamas of aiding the terror groups operating in northern
Sinai, and smuggling weapons through terror tunnels from Gaza into Sinai. The
Egyptian regime also believes that Turkey and Qatar are aiding Hamas in an
effort to destabilize the Sinai. And according to the Egyptian media, Muslim
Brotherhood activists in Turkey are using Facebook to promote a mass
demonstration after Friday prayers this week.
In response, the military has taken unprecedented measures to deter the
protests, including the deployment of troops in Cairo, near important state
facilities and institutions, the use of drones and the establishment of a
special operations room to manage the situation.
The Egyptian government has denied reports in Israel about the Egyptian proposal
to establish a Palestinian state in Gaza and northern Sinai, with senior
officials explaining that the idea originated from Morsi's former regime, which
had plotted to extend Hamas' rule to the Sinai Peninsula. According to the
senior officials, the Egyptians did not send out their sons to die for Hamas but
for the purpose of "returning Sinai to the Egyptian people."
Egypt marches forward
Al-Sisi is promising to lead Egypt forward into the 21st century, as opposed to
the Muslim Brotherhood, which wants to take it back to the Middle Ages. In
recent months, al-Sisi has promoted huge projects, including the expansion of
the Suez Canal and the establishment of a global logistics center for the
handling and storage of grain and food commodities in Damietta; and the Egyptian
media are talking about the day after the eradication of terrorism in Sinai –
the yield of raw materials from the Sinai earth, and not only oil but valuable
types of marble too.
Al-Sisi is on a world tour to drum up political support and raise capital. The
temporary suspension imposed by the United States on the supply of arms to Egypt
after the revolution was cause for grave concern among the regime. Now, Egypt
has stopped relying on the economy of just one country and is trying to
strengthen its ties with as many as possible – European states, Russia, India,
China and, more recently, South Korea.
The significance for Israel
President al-Sisi is unlike his predecessors and requires a different approach.
He is not anti-Israel like Morsi, and he doesn't hold the status quo holy like
Mubarak did. He is an active president in the positive sense of the word. He's
concerned, of course with Egyptian and not Israeli interests, but the interests
are shared to a large extent, in terms of both security and economics.
Al-Sisi thinks big, as befits the leader of the most powerful Arab state; he's
calling on the West to join the war on terror in Libya, which could become
Islamic State's next base after Iraq and Syria; and he wants to help resolve the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The solution of an Egyptian observer force in the West Bank and Gaza would
certainly be a nightmare for Hamas, since the Egyptians won't handle the
organization's activists with kid gloves. Al-Sisi's solution appears to remove
the principal obstacle to the peace process that led in the past to the failure
of the Oslo process – the incessant Islamic terror.
In practice, however, the proposal is fraught with grave danger. The Egyptian
Army could end up in control of the Palestinian territories all the way through
to Nablus in the north – something Egypt was unable to achieve in all its wars
with Israel.
Over the past year, large numbers of Egyptian forces have moved "temporarily"
into Sinai to fight terrorism, in violation of the peace agreements. Al-Sisi's
proposal would facilitate the "temporary" deployment of Egyptian forces in Gaza
and the West Bank. As in the case of the Sinai, the war on terror will require
the deployment of large numbers of soldiers, tanks and helicopters in
"Palestine."
The Middle East is currently undergoing far-reaching changes. One can only hope
that al-Sisi's regime will ensure and achieve its objectives. But until Egypt is
stabilized and can ensure that the Muslim Brotherhood regime will not return,
and until the trust between al-Sisi's new regime and Israel is well founded, the
government in Jerusalem will struggle to consider the proposal, despite all its
advantages.