08/09 Links Pt1: Israel's National Security Doctrine; Bennett Cabinet Cuts Taxes Collected for PA by $31 Million Paid Out to Terrorists; Lebanon's Maronite patriarch calls on army to confront Hezbollah ~ EoZ

From Ian:

JISS: Israel's National Security Doctrine

Israel has an unwritten but broadly accepted national security doctrine - "first principles" - which can assist in long-term planning, setting priorities and allocating resources.

Israel will forever face a yawning gap between the size of its resident population and that of neighboring countries, which have all been hostile to Israel's existence in the past, and some remain so. Israel always will be a small country in size, and hence hyper-sensitive to any loss of territory and to artillery and rocket fire - unlike most of its neighbors.

Israel can never attain a decisive victory in war - a moment which would radically transform the political culture of the region regarding the desire to annihilate it. No victory in any war would ensure, once and for all, that Israel again will not face threats to its existence. Moreover, Israel's first defeat may well be its last, if its territory ends up being conquered by Arab or Islamic forces. This is not the case for any Arab country which Israel might defeat and occupy its territory.

Thus, Israel is doomed to plan for the next war at the end of any war it fights, no matter how successful; and in every war it must prevail against all odds. In sharp contrast to its adversaries, the IDF has no option of retreat.

Israel's "center of gravity" is concentrated in a narrow geographical space in the greater Tel Aviv region - 10 miles from the Green Line, 45 miles from the Jordan River border, and 25 miles from Gaza. Keeping the enemy away from the region and defending it from attack is vital and critical for Israel's ability to survive and to function during any wartime scenario. Beyond that, due to its small size, Israel does not have much redundancy when it comes to critical infrastructure, which is a serious vulnerability.

Israel will make every effort to bolster its ability to defend itself by itself. It cannot and must not rely on others to fight its wars. Both to deter, as well as to defend effectively, and to attack and win when necessary, Israel must maintain a "qualitative edge" over its enemies, mostly using advanced technology and highly-qualified manpower. Israel will do everything necessary to sustain and increase its qualitative advantages.

Bennett Cabinet Cuts Taxes Collected for PA by $31 Million Paid Out to Terrorists

One month after the Political-Security Cabinet approved the decision not to transfer terrorist funds to the Palestinian Authority, on Monday morning Israel transferred the tax money it collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority after offsetting NIS 100 million ($31 million). The offset was made in accordance with the cabinet decision and according to a calculation presented by the IDF and the Finance Ministry as an estimate of the sums of money the PA transferred to the families of terrorists between the years 2019-2020.

According to a law passed in 2018, the defense minister is charged with presenting at the end of each year the total money paid out by the Palestinian Authority to terrorists and their families during that year, and in the following year, an equal amount shall be frozen out of the taxes Israel collects for the PA, in accordance with the Paris Agreement.

But in years past, the Netanyahu government did not keep up with the requirements of the 2018 law that it initiated, and, in fact, in March 2020 transferred NIS 800 million ($248 million) to the PA to help it deal with its economic crisis following the Corona pandemic. But as right-wing news website Hakol HaYehudi pointed out back then, the main reason that led to the PA’s economic crisis was the transfer of more than one and a half billion shekels each year as wages to terrorists who carried out attacks against Jews.

The Bennett cabinet decided to move ahead with freezing those terrorist wages and restarting the monthly payments of collected taxes sans the terrorist payments to the PA, which is facing a collapse over not paying its public employees for several months. In the past, Chairman Mahmoud Abbas refused to receive the discounted funds from Israel, but he appears to have softened over time and now he’ll take whatever Israel gives him.

According to the report that was prepared by the Defense Ministry’s Economic Warfare Headquarters, in 2020 the Palestinian Authority paid out NIS 597 million ($185 million) as indirect support for terrorism. Following the approval of the report, 1/12 of these funds will be frozen every month from the money that Israel transfers to the PA.

"Pay-for-Slay" Explained by Former Head of IDF Military Prosecution for Judea & Samaria

Lt. Col. Maurice Hirsch, former Head of IDF Military Prosecution for Judea & Samaria and current Director of Legal Strategies for Palestinian Media Watch, explains the Palestinian Authority's "pay-for-slay" program.

Lebanon's Maronite patriarch calls on army to confront Hezbollah

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi called on Sunday for the Lebanese army to take control of the southern part of the country, Hezbollah’s stronghold, and strictly implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701, after recent clashes between Israel and Hezbollah.

“We call upon the Lebanese army, which is responsible with the international forces for the security of the South, to take control of the entire lands of the South, to strictly implement Resolution 1701 and to prevent the launching of missiles from Lebanese territory, not for the sake of Israel’s safety, but rather for the safety of Lebanon,” said Rahi during Sunday Mass, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA).

The Maronite patriarch stressed that he could not “accept, by virtue of equality before the law, that a party decides peace and war outside the decision of legality and the national decision entrusted to two-thirds of the members of the government.”

On Friday, 19 rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into northern Israel, with the Iron Dome intercepting 10 rockets and six rockets falling in open areas near Har Dov, along the Lebanese border. The others fell inside Lebanon. There were no injuries or casualties.

One year into Abraham Accords, Israel's trade with UAE tops $570m.

A year into the Abraham Accords, $570 million in business has been done between Israel and the UAE, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics.

During 2020 and the first six months of 2021, Israel exported $197 million in goods and services to the UAE and imported $372 million.

Dorian Barak, co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council, said, "The UAE is the business capital of the entire region. Every country has a presence there."

"Israelis are always looking for ways to do business in South Asia, East Africa, India and Bangladesh. These are markets with two billion people, and you can't work with them from Tel Aviv."

"The UAE is the place where everyone congregates to do business, and Israel has finally been admitted to that club."

Nigeria releases local Jewish leader who was arrested with Israeli filmmakers

A leader of the Igbo Jewish community in southeastern Nigeria was released Saturday after being held by authorities for almost a month, diplomatic sources in Nigeria told the Times of Israel.

Lizben Agha was arrested the same day as three Israeli filmmakers in the Igbo village of Ogidi on July 9 by masked agents of Nigeria’s internal security agency, the Department of State Services. The Israelis, taken at gunpoint in a local synagogue, were suspected of contact with Biafran separatists in the southeast of the country and held for 20 days without access to lawyers and without being formally charged.

The filmmakers stressed that neither they nor Agha had any connection whatsoever to separatists or any political movement.

Agha had been helping the Israelis film an episode on the Igbo Jewish community.

When the Israelis were initially taken for what they were told would be a short interview, Agha asked to join them to mediate with Nigerian authorities. Her insistence on remaining with the trio likely caused her to be arrested as well, one of the filmmakers said.

Rudy Rochman, a pro-Israel activist with almost 95,000 followers on Instagram; filmmaker Andrew Noam Leibman; and French-Israeli journalist Edouard David Benaym were in Nigeria to film “We Were Never Lost,” a documentary exploring Jewish communities in African countries such as Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda and Nigeria. Their July trip was focused on the Igbo community.

Israel’s Incoming National Security Council Head Meets With Egyptian intelligence Chief in Cairo

Israel’s incoming National Security Chief (NSC) chief reportedly made a surprise trip to Cairo Sunday to meet with Egypt’s head of intelligence Abbas Kamel, according to a senior Israeli official, reported Israeli outlet Walla.

Eyal Hulata traveled to Egypt with outgoing NSC head Meir Ben-Shabbat with the main topic of conversation between the three of them the fragile Egyptian-brokered ceasefire that brought to an end 11 days of fierce fighting during the Israel Defense Force’s (IDF) Operation Guardian of the Walls in May.

This meeting is the first since a new coalition government took over in Israel, with Kamel’s previous interaction a month-and-a-half ago taking place with Ben-Shabbat who in the interim announced that he was standing down, and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Kamel also visited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.

The meeting comes at a delicate time, with Hamas threatening to reignite hostilities over a number of potential issues; the eviction of families from Sheikh Jarrah and the problems associated with getting promised Qatari humanitarian aid into the Strip, being foremost among them.

Israel has determined that it will no longer permit suitcases full of cash to be delivered to the coastal enclave, the argument being that more often than not, the cash ends up in the hands of Hamas operatives and its military wing, rather than the Strip’s poor and needy.

Israel's Olympic gold medal gymnast 'doesn't think' about Russia's criticism

Israeli Olympic gold medalist rhythmic gymnast said Monday she "doesn't think" about the criticism leveled at her by the Russian team, which accused the judges of giving Linoy Ashram favorable treatment during an all-around event in Tokyo.

The 22-year-old stunned the world and won a gold medal on Saturday after topping a stiff competition in the individual final. She became the first-ever Israeli woman to bag gold at the Summer Olympics and the second Israeli to win the top prize in Tokyo after gymnast Artem Dolgopyat did the same on Sunday in the men's artistic gymnastics competition.

Ashram's win caused an uproar in Russia, which counted on its decorated gymnast Dina Averina to take home the gold medal instead of silver. Since her win, Russian sports officials and some politicians in Moscow have claimed the results were rigged.

Ashram became the first non-Russian rhythmic gymnast to win the coveted Olympic gold medal in the prestigious competition since the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.

In an interview to Ynet on Monday, Ashram - who is still in Tokyo - said she was proud to represent her country and dismissed the criticism. "I was not alone in this achievement," she said. "This is a win for my coach Ayelet [Sussman], and the entire country. I received so much support from my sponsors from the get-go and was able to train under the best possible conditions."

She also thanked the Olympic Committee, the Rythmic Gymnast Association and the Wingate Institute, where she had been training.

The Russians are all over social media crying about the “Jewish judges” that caused their rhythmic gymnast to lose.

In reality - NONE of the judges were Jewish#Olympics #OlympicGold https://t.co/adYnpRRe7V pic.twitter.com/WWcFhJUjcT
— StopAntisemitism.org (@StopAntisemites) August 8, 2021

IDF Names Hezbollah Terrorist Who Fired Rockets at Israel

Hezbollah terrorist Ali Kajak participated in the launching of 19 rockets at Israel’s north on Friday, IDF spokesman in Arabic Avichay Adraee exposed.

Kajak was one of the Hezbollah men who were attacked and captured by Druze from the village of Shwayya shortly after firing rockets from the vicinity of their towns. Footage of him hiding in a car was broadcast throughout the Arab world.

Hezbollah terrorists fired 19 rockets into Israel on Friday from Lebanon. The Iron Dome defense system intercepted 10 of the rockets. Another six exploded in open spaces in Israel, and three fell short in Lebanon. No injuries or damage were caused by the attack.

The IDF immediately shelled targets in Lebanon in a limited fashion, and stated that “we will not tolerate any aggression against Israeli civilians and remain prepared for any operational situation.” However, the IDF has yet to respond in a comprehensive manner.

Kajak was apparently known to the IDF, as Adraee said that the IDF had previously documented him paroling near Israel’s border with Lebanon, “a usual conduct for Hezbollah terrorists – in civilian clothes to violate international resolutions that bind the Lebanese state.”

He accused Kajak and Hezbollah of carrying out the rocket attacks in civilian clothing, and near the Druze village, with the intention of dragging Lebanon into a confrontation with Israel.

Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan rejects @UN Secretary-General Guterres’s response to the recent #Hezbollah attack, in which he called on “all parties” for restraint. Erdan: Guterres draws a "moral equivalency" between attacks by a terrorist org. and the democratic State of Israel. pic.twitter.com/8hQkExCHkU
— TPS - Israel's News Agency (@TPS_News_co_il) August 9, 2021

Terrorist who killed three Israeli soldiers denied parole

Israel's parole board decided on Sunday morning not to shorten the jail sentence of Ibrahim Hassan Agbariya, who took part in the murder of three soldiers on what was coined the 'Night of the Pitchforks' in February 1992.

The board wrote that Agbariya, who is serving three life sentences and an additional 15 years for other offenses, is still "continuing negative ideological activity in jail, of the sort that led him to commit the murders in the first place. We did not find that the prisoner had changed his ways or abandoned this ideology.

"In these circumstances, we found that there is no place to recommend to that the honorable President shorten his sentence since he is still dangerous," reads the decision.

The 'Night of the Pitchforks' is the name of the terror attack in which three soldiers from the Nahal Brigade, Yuri Preda, Yaakov Dubinsky, and Guy Friedman, were murdered in their tent encampment during a week of field training.

They were murdered by four Israeli Arabs, including Agbariya and his brother Mohammed Hassan Agbariya, Ibrahim Hassan Mahmud, their cousin Yahya Mustafa Agbariya, Muhammad Hassan Mahmud and Mohammed Tawfik Jabarin, from the Wadi Ara area, who were recruited by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The terrorists infiltrated the encampment armed with two axes, three knives, and a pitchfork, giving the incident its name.

The killers were eventually caught by the Israel Police after intelligence led to a house where the weapons were unearthed.

The killers did not show remorse but entered the courtroom waving Korans and chanting “Allahu akhbar” (God is great) and readily admitted their crimes.

2 years ago today, #Palestinian terrorists stabbed 19 year old Dvir Sorek z”l to death. He was found on the side of the road, hugging ?? #Israeli author David Grossman’s latest book.

Dvir was passionate about planting trees in @Israel.

May Dvir’s memory be for a blessing ?????? pic.twitter.com/PCYJp2cZFD
— Shahar Azani (@ShaharAzani) August 8, 2021

On this day: Suicide bombing kills 15 at Sbarro pizzeria

On this day, 20 years ago, a suicide bomber killed 15 civilians, including four children, and injured 130 others at the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem in 2001.

On August 9, 2001, Palestinian terrorist Ahlam Ahmad al-Tamimi led the suicide bomber to the Sbarro restaurant during lunchtime, when the restaurant was packed with customers and pedestrian traffic near the pizzeria was at a peak.

The bomb contained nails, nuts, and bolts in order to maximize casualties.

The victims of the bombing were:
-Giora Balash, 60
-Zvika Golombek, 26
-Shoshana Yehudit Greenbaum, 31
-Tehila Maoz, 18
-Frieda Mendelsohn, 62
-Michal Raziel, 16
-Malka Roth, 15
-Mordechai Schijveschuurder, 43
-Tzira Schijveschuurder, 41
-Ra'aya Schijveschuurder, 14
-Avraham Yitzhak Schijveschuurder, 4
-Hemda Schijveschuurder, 2
-Lily Shimashvili, 33
-Tamara Shimashvili, 8
-Yocheved Shoshan, 10

Chana Nachenberg, an American citizen who was injured in the bombing, remains hospitalized in a vegetative state 20 years later.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the bombing, Meir Schijveschuurder, who experienced the attack as a 17 year old, and his sister Chaya, then 8, dedicated a maternal delivery room last week at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in memory of their murdered family members.

Included in those who attended the emotional ceremony were medical personnel who triaged and treated the siblings after the attack, the hospital said.

Palestinian terrorist Ahlam Tamimi discusses how she used her identity as a “journalist” to gather information for organizing the Sbarro pizzeria suicide bombing carried out on this day in 2001.

15 Israelis (8 children) were murdered, 130 wounded

Sick

pic.twitter.com/4qxduAPC4z
— Emily Schrader - ????? ?????? (@emilykschrader) August 9, 2021

PMW: 12% of terrorist prisoners are from PA Security Forces, brags Fatah official Rajoub

As Palestinian Media Watch has documented, the PA, led by Fatah, competes with Hamas over who is doing more for “the Palestinian cause” – in particular, who is “resisting” the most by carrying out more terror attacks against Israel.

Accordingly, Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub bragged at a recent Fatah rally that 12% of the imprisoned Palestinian terrorists are from the PA Security Forces:
Jibril Rajoub: “12% of the prisoners (i.e., terrorists) in the [Israeli] prisons are members of the PA Security [Forces]. 12% of the total are security members. So no one should lecture Fatah or its institutions.”

[Official PA TV, July 13, 2021]

Along the same lines, Fatah Revolutionary Council Secretary Majed Al-Fatiani stated that Fatah is “leading this popular resistance and it is part of the Palestinian organizational and fighting activity,” and emphasized that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas “never opposed any… action that could contribute to this occupation leaving”:
Fatah Revolutionary Council Secretary Majed Al-Fatiani: “It needs to be made clear that Fatah is not just raising slogans of ‘popular uprising.’ Fatah is adopting and leading this popular resistance and it is part of the Palestinian organizational and fighting activity. Fatah – in cooperation with the forces and factions of the Palestinian national action – will establish the united leadership for this popular resistance... [PA Chairman Abbas] never opposed any decision or position or action that could contribute to this occupation leaving.”

[Official PA TV News, June 20, 2021]

The terms "peaceful uprising/resistance” and “popular uprising/resistance" are used by PA leaders at times to refer to peaceful protest and at times to refer to deadly terror attacks and terror waves. For example, ‎Mahmoud Abbas defined as “peaceful popular” the murderous terror during the 2015-2016 ‎terror wave (“The Knife Intifada”), in which 40 people were killed (36 Israelis, 1 Palestinian, 2 Americans and 1 Eritrean) and hundreds wounded in stabbings, shootings, and car ramming attacks. Well into the terror wave, when 14 Israelis had already been murdered, Abbas said: "We want peaceful popular uprising, and that’s what this is."

Seth Frantzman: Israel Hopes Qatar Will Help Keep Gaza Peaceful

Israel, Hamas, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) are part of this wider regional struggle. However, things shift with time. The change of power in Washington means every country is recalculating. Turkey has signaled an interest in restarting relations with Egypt and having discussions about Libya, where Egypt and Turkey are on opposite sides. Turkey has also been doing outreach to the Palestinian Authority and Israel. This means less hosting of Hamas leaders in Turkey. It also might change how Qatar is perceived as being amenable to Hamas. Recent reports have indicated concern in Washington about allegations that Qatar may have financial contacts with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to a report at the Washington Examiner, Times of Israel, and Al-Ain.

Israel is now taking a keen interest in how Qatari funding reaches Gaza. A new mechanism is being put in place so that cash doesn’t merely flow to Gaza via the PA and Israel. The mechanism has come into place after the May conflict in which Hamas fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel. Israel in turn used precision strikes to hit the Hamas “Metro” of tunnels under Gaza.

Israel’s Ministry of Defense is stressing that Qatar is stabilizing this area of the Middle East, according to a Senior Defense Official. This is a change of approach, the official says. “We are changing the defense policy and ministry policy, the way we deal with the Qataris.” The message is that Qatar is now stabilizing and being helpful and flexible to provide funding to the poor in Gaza and also to provide humanitarian aid, infrastructure, and fuel. The Israelis say they want to stabilize the Gaza strip. “We want to change the environment there and make it better,” says the official. That is why Israel has also increased the permits for Palestinian workers from only a handful to 15,000 additional workers that may enter Israel. “We are changing out infrastructure and building another way to enter and exit the border so it is easier and less crowded,” says the official.

The dialogue with Qatar is now in a positive direction and the mechanism to provide secure payments will be in place soon. There will be money so people can buy basic items, for instance. While Israel used to be more critical of Qatar’s role, it appears the new government in Israel is taking a new stance on this issue publicly. This will also mean stabilizing the Palestinian Authority and perhaps in the long-term weakening Hamas. Hamas claimed it won the recent conflict and sought to leverage that for support in the West Bank, where the PA usually suppresses Hamas. The recent decisions to provide some economic boost for Gaza is designed to keep the peace.

Report: Palestinian Banks Not Cooperating With Qatari Deal to Transfer Funds to Gaza

Palestinian banks and monetary bodies are resisting a new deal reached between Qatar and the Palestinian Authority to transfer Qatari assistance to the Gaza Strip for fear of being exposed to legal action over terror-financing charges, Ynet reported on Wednesday.

Qatar and the Palestinian Authority have spent recent weeks working out an arrangement to transfer funds to needy civilians in Gaza, said the report.

According to a written memorandum, Qatar will continue to transfer funds, but unlike in the past, the cash will not be sent through suitcases of money via Israel.

Instead, it will be wired to banks under the supervision of the PA, which would then transfer it to their branches in Gaza, sending $100 to 100,000 to selected needy families for a total of $10 million a month.

The salaries of some 27,000 Hamas government employees will also be covered by Qatar, adding up to an additional $7 million dollars a month, while an additional $10 million of monthly funds will go towards buying fuel from an Israeli energy company and sending it to Gaza’s power plant, according to the report.

The Palestinian banks are supposed to receive a commission of $250,000 per month but are reportedly concerned about being exposed to terror-financing lawsuits.

The Gaza Bombing You Weren’t Told About Because It Didn’t Fit Media’s Anti-Israel Narrative

Major media outlets repeatedly cited the PCHR when it accused Israel of war crimes during the 11-day conflict in May initiated by Gaza-based terrorist groups (see, for example, here, here and here). However, when Palestinian extremists are responsible for terrorizing civilians in the coastal enclave, publications like The New York Times, Associated Press and The Irish Times are suddenly disinclined to publish the PCHR’s statements.

The “blackout” is reminiscent of a recent similar incident. On July 24, 2021, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip called on Hamas and other armed groups to stop storing weapons in residential areas. The rare internal outcry followed a large explosion in Gaza City’s Al-Zawiya market that killed one person and injured 14 others.

Although several media were quick to report on the blast itself (see here, here and here), they subsequently opted to ignore the news of the involvement of local terror groups; this, even after Palestinian Islamic Jihad explicitly accepted responsibility for what it called a “tragic event.”

While Israelis and peace-seeking Palestinians are all victims of the extremism espoused by terror groups, it is crystal clear that media are only interested when there is some prism through which to blame the Jewish state.

This is the Bianca Resort bombed by Islamists in Gaza because of a concert that was to include the voices of women.

Years ago I visited Gaza's beaches. They are beautiful.

Gaza could be a wonderful tourist attraction, if not for the genocidal jihadists enabled by the UN & HRW. https://t.co/adr1zLMLpN pic.twitter.com/ODA0TJhxaE
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) August 8, 2021

The Independent Commission for Human Rights calls for the release of Mustafa Asfour, says he was arrested for his writings about the explosion in Gaza, and is charged with 'incitement against the resistance.' https://t.co/JxMfElNqzT
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) August 9, 2021

The PFLP's Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades started military summer camp for teenagers over the weekend. The group said it registered 1000 participants ranging from 14 through 17 years old (although some participants appear younger.) The camp will be held for the next 10 days. #Gaza pic.twitter.com/PshqJKJtl6
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) August 9, 2021

Some inspirational messages in English line a tent where an al-Qassam Brigades trainer speaks to potential recruits. Kind of an odd message to place at a military camp in the #Gaza Strip. It's most likely been placed for the cameras. pic.twitter.com/TrY6mX8q1J
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) August 8, 2021

Lebanese Journalist: Lebanon Has Won The Economic Crisis Olympics; Without A U.S.–Iranian Understanding, The Crisis There Will Only Grow Worse

In an article in the Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily, Gilbert Achcar, a Lebanese journalist and a professor of international relations at SOAS University of London, wrote that, while the Olympics are happening in Tokyo, Lebanon is scoring up negative records in terms of its economic situation. Lebanon, he said, is just another theatre of the struggle between the U.S. and Iran, and as long as these two countries do not reach an understanding, the crisis there will only grow deeper. He added that the wealthy businessmen of Lebanon's ruling elite earn their capital outside the country, and therefore are hardly interested in extricating it from the economic crisis it is experiencing.

The following are translated excerpts from his article:[1]
"As the Olympic games take place in Tokyo, Lebanon has unfortunately won the gold and the bronze in two categories that nobody wants his country to [even] compete in. It won the gold for the explosion that occurred in it exactly one year ago, which is the greatest non-nuclear explosion of the 21st century… and the sixth greatest non-nuclear explosion in history. It won bronze for experiencing the third worst economic crisis to occur in the world since the advent of the capitalist economic model in the mid-19th century. This is according to the latest report of the World Bank's 'Lebanon Economic Monitor.'[2]

"These two records are actually closely linked to another achievement, which is difficult to measure, but Lebanon is [surely] a serious contender for the gold in this category as well, [namely] the indifference of the 'officials' to the suffering of the people. History has seldom seen a ruling elite like the one that controls Lebanon's fate, which insists on wasting time in Sisyphean efforts while the country is sinking and its people are groaning. This is closely related to the socio-economic status of Lebanon's ruling elite, for there is hardly a single key figure among them who relies on the local economy and is therefore truly interested in extricating the country from its crisis. This is true not only of the political forces that are officially funded from abroad, such as Hizbullah, but also of [various] 'businesspeople' – for a unique feature of Lebanon is that its greatest tycoons do not regard it as an [ordinary] economic arena, but, at best, as an economic hub which, thanks to the jungle laws that control it, allow [them] to avoid tax restrictions that could be imposed on them in other [economic] hubs.

"Looking at the wealthiest tycoons in Lebanese politics, we find that the richest of them is the designated prime minister, Najib Mikati. He is a senior partner in the Arabian Construction Company, one of the biggest contractors in the Arab world, which operates globally…Another wealthy businessman in Lebanese politics is of course Sa'd Al-Hariri. He entered politics following the death of his father on behalf of his family, which appointed him to this task while ensuring his share in the family fortune.

Families of Beirut Blast Victims Hold Symbolic Funeral

Explosion wounded 6,500 people and caused billions of dollars of damage - a year on no prosecutions announced

Lebanese protestors carried imitation coffins in a symbolic funeral procession from Beirut port Sunday to demand justice, days after the first anniversary of a vast dockside explosion.

Families of the victims were joined by dozens of supporters at an entrance to the port where a warehouse fire on August 4 last year ignited a vast stash of ammonium nitrate, causing one of the biggest peacetime blasts in history.

Hezbollah Chief Nasrallah Says Beirut Port Explosion Investigator Biased

Lebanese group Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Saturday that the investigator of the Beirut port blast is politically biased.

On Thursday, Beirut marked the one-year anniversary of the blast that flattened large swathes of the city and killed more than 200 people. A judge, Tarek Bittar, is leading the probe into what happened.

“I am formally telling the family of the martyrs that this judicial investigator is playing politics, this is a politicized investigation,” Nasrallah said.

He added he was not calling for Bitar’s immediate removal, but demanded that he operate under a single standard and release the results of a technical investigation.

Nasrallah also criticized people he did not name for blaming Hezbollah for the presence of the ammonium nitrate that caused the explosion.

“Where is your evidence for this ugly, heinous accusation? There is none,” he said.

Former Lebanese Minister Wiam Wahhab: I Support Foreign Control over Lebanon’s Infrastructure, Including Airport, Seaport, Electrical Grid; Calling Lebanese Leaders “Dogs” Is Insulting to Dogs #Lebanon #BeirutBlast @wiamwahhab pic.twitter.com/jngBtVu2ab
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) August 9, 2021

US-Iranian Nuclear Talks Come Unglued

One significant aspect of a newly invigorated JCPOA is whether the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) would be granted total access to known and suspected Iranian sites associated with the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Better not count on it.

Part of the problem may have been the new Iranian presidency, which began last week, of a Ebrahim Raisi, "the Butcher," apparently a destruction machine who reportedly murdered thousands of Iranians, some of whom were not even sentenced to death... Although it is Iran's Supreme Guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who makes all final decisions, the US, to its credit, seems to have concluded that no deal just now would be better than "any" deal.

It now looks as of Iran may be happier with no agreement, and just sprint for unlimited nuclear capability without any Western strings attached. There also apparently exists, with good reason, insufficient trust on the Western side that the Islamic Republic would ever actually be in compliance.

US said to mull easing sanctions on Iran in exchange for nuclear freeze

With chances of a return to the 2015 nuclear deal fading, the US is considering the possibility of easing sanctions on Iran in return for an agreement that the Islamic Republic freeze any progress on its nuclear project, Bloomberg news reported Monday.

If a widescale deal cannot be reached, the US is weighing a number of possible interim steps, including sanctions relief, officials familiar with the negotiations were quoted by the news agency as saying.

The move would be different from a full return to the JCPOA, the 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers, as it would only include limited sanctions relief in exchange for Iran freezing its most provocative nuclear proliferation work, the report said, citing the officials.

Western powers fear that the ascension of hardline new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has quashed any realistic chance of a resumption of the now-abrogated agreement.

Raisi succeeds the relatively moderate Hassan Rouhani, whose landmark achievement during his two-term presidency was the 2015 nuclear agreement with six world powers: the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany.

British Special Forces in Yemen, Hunting for Group That Struck Israeli-Operated Mercer Street Tanker

British special operations soldiers are operating in the east of Yemen, hunting for the platform that launched the attack which struck the Mercer Street tanker, British daily the Express reported.

Iranian-backed Houthis are assessed to have launched the drone responsible for the explosion on the Israeli-linked vessel, which killed a British security contractor and Romanian crew member.

The Briton was named as former British Army soldier Adrian Underwood.

The team of around 40 operators from the Special Air Service (SAS) landed in Yemen Sunday and is working with local fixers to facilitate the operation.

Fearing that Tehran has armed the Houthi group with a long-range drone attack capability that threatens shipping in the Gulf of Oman, the ground team is equipped with electronic warfare equipment to detect such activity.

The SAS team is working alongside a US special operations team that was already present in theater to train Saudi Arabian commandoes.

NY Times Once Again Omits Criticism of Iran Deal From One-Sided Reporting

Government mismanagement?!? More like the result of a 42-year oppressive regime that has cared more about being the world’s leading state supporter of terrorism than supporting its own people. Moreover, there were peaceful and violent protests in Iran well before the coronavirus pandemic.

The article later read that “what has happened on the ground in Natanz, and in small research labs around the country, has the United States worried. The most visible problem, though in some ways the easiest to reverse, is that Iran has ratcheted up its production of nuclear fuel over the past two years, and now possesses far more fuel than it did before Mr. Trump pulled out of the agreement. At the time, he declared that Iran would return to the table, begging for a new deal.”

The nuclear deal never took away Iran’s capability to enrich. Iran has always had the capability to enrich anyway. Even as Biden hasn’t enacted meaningful sanctions against Iran and reportedly has not enforced some of the sanctions enacted during the Trump administration, Iran continues to further enrich uranium.

“We’re treating the symptoms. Not the underlying disease,” Richard Goldberg, who dealt with Iranian WMD policy in the Trump National Security Council, told me, referring to the fact that the problem is that Iran’s nuclear program is still in place.

The article also stated, “If the deal is restored, most of that newly enriched uranium could be shipped out of the country, which is what happened when the first accord was put together.”

While the deal did ship some uranium out of Iran, it did not stop research and development in Iran’s nuclear facilities nor did it stop the testing of missiles capable of developing nuclear weapons.

The only voices quoted in the piece are those in favor of the 2015 accord, namely, Robert Malley, the U.S. special representative for Iran, a senior European diplomat, a U.S. official, a senior Iranian official, and Ali Vaez, who leads the Iran project at the International Crisis Group, Malley’s previous employer, which supports the nuclear deal.

Reported articles should strive for objectivity, balance and, last but not least, the truth. The Times failed in each category, falling once again victim to the Iran echo chamber.

Gulag archipelago under the Ankara regime; one of the most authoritarian regimes in the world today https://t.co/oo04elhSvQ
— Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) August 9, 2021