Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources/July 17/13

John Bolton: Israel should have attacked Iran 'yesterday'

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON LAST UPDATED: 07/16/2013/
Former US ambassador to the UN says every day that goes by "puts Israel in greater danger," urges Israel to stop waiting. “Israel should have attacked Iran yesterday – every day that goes by puts Israel in greater danger, every day Iran makes more progress,” John Bolton, a former US ambassador to the UN, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Monday. “I can understand why Israel wants us to take action, but the longer Israel waits for something that is not going to happen, the greater the danger Israel is in,” the senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute said.Bolton: Obama worst president for Israel – everNetanyahu: Iran 'weeks away' from crossing red lineThe US and Israel cannot expect to have perfect intelligence about Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but if Israel attacked Iran after it gained that capability, there could be “nuclear retaliation,” he said. During his first term, President Barack Obama implied that the US would not resupply Israel with weapons used in attacking Iran, Bolton said. He added that overwhelming congressional support would have forced the issue of resupplying Israel in any case. Now he thinks the situation has changed and the issue is whether the US would take the necessary measures to make the case that Israel was acting legitimately in self-defense. The interview, coming a day after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Iran was approaching the red line he set out at the UN last September, constituted a warning that Israel could attack Iran as a last resort to prevent it from gaining nuclear weapons capability.Asked about the chances that the US president would order an attack before any Israeli one, Bolton responded skeptically, “It would take a character transplant for Obama to order a US attack.”Bolton believes that the election of Hassan Rouhani as Iranian president will serve as a trap for the US, which will lull it into a false sense of security and more negotiations, inevitably leading to a nuclear Iran. One can already see this by the reaction of the EU and the White House to Rouhani’s election, he said.“The idea that Rouhani will negotiate seriously shows that this administration is on a different planet.” There have been more than 10 years of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and it has just kept building “a broad and deep infrastructure,” he said.
“Rouhani is a snare for the unwary and we fell right into it,” said Bolton asserting that the main difference between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the “moderate” president-elect is only rhetorical.
“The moderates say, ‘Stop talking about it,’ and the radicals don’t stop talking about it.” In fact, “Rouhani boasted repeatedly about how he had suckered the EU during negotiations.”
Regarding the regional fallout of an attack on Iran, Bolton said it is important that Israel and the US are politically aligned and sharing intelligence. And regarding US policy on Egypt and throughout the region, Bolton said the policy is “incoherent” because Obama does not understand the nature of radical Islam and the risk it poses. Obama believes that talking about Islam would be perceived in the region as attacking the religion even though Muslims are aware of the radical Islam issue. Bolton said that the only mistake the Egyptian military made so far was allowing Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, become vice president. And on Syria, he said that at this point the principal US interest is that chemical and biological weapons do not fall into the hands of terrorists. The country is going through a great tragedy, Bolton said, but he does not see supporting the opposition as a viable option. Asked about speculation regarding a presidential run in 2016, Bolton responded that he has not made a decision about running, but if he were to, it would be to get national security issues back to the center of political debate. International issues have “dropped under the radar screen,” and he would try to reverse that trend, he said.

New Iran president backs Syria's Assad, Hezbollah
Rohani reaches out to Hezbollah, Assad, Hamas in bid to reiterate Iran's commitment to aiding allies against 'enemies in the region, especially the Zionist regime'. Meanwhile, EU wonders when nuclear negotiations can continue; Iran FM slams Netanyahu /Associated Press Published: 07.16.13/Ynetnews
Iran's president-elect has sent messages to Syria's Bashar Assad and Lebanon's terrorist Hezbollah group, reaffirming support for the two allies. The official IRNA news agency on Tuesday cited Hassan Rohani as saying close Iranian-Syrian ties will be able to confront "enemies in the region, especially the Zionist regime," aka Israel. Rohani also said that Syria will "overcome its current crisis." Rohani also wrote to Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, saying Iran backs the "steadfast nation" of Lebanon and the Palestinians, a reference to the terrorist Hamas group. The notes reflect Rohani's intentions to emphasize links to Iran's key regional allies even as he urges for greater outreach to the West.The comments came as world powers hoped to resume negotiations with Iran over its disputed nuclear program "as soon as possible", as European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Tuesday.  Ashton, who oversees talks with Iran on behalf of the six powers, met senior diplomats from the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the future of the negotiations. The last round of nuclear talks, held in April in Kazakhstan, failed to yield a solution to the decade-old standoff, and diplomacy has been on hold since then because of a presidential election in Iran last monthAshton said the six powers were waiting for Tehran to nominate a team of negotiators after the election, won by Hassan Rohani. "We very much hope that will be soon and we look forward to meeting with them as soon as possible," she said in a statement. In this regard, Iran's Foreign Ministry has said earlier Tuesday that Prime Minister Netanyahu seeks to damage ties between Iran and the world, referring to the Jewish state as "a warmonger regime."
Tuesday's remarks by ministry spokesman Abbas Araghchi came two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the world to step up pressure on Tehran to halt its disputed nuclear program with tougher sanctions and threats of military action. Reuters contributed to this report

Violence and Political Rifts on the Rise in Lebanon
By: David Schenker/Washington Institute
Recent street battles, bombings, and political defections mark the beginning of the end of Hezbollah's relative impunity in Lebanon, potentially heralding protracted violence.
On July 9, a car bomb detonated in Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Dahiya, killing one person and injuring dozens of others, mostly Shiites. A day later, the parliamentary speaker announced that retired Christian general Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement would be leaving the Hezbollah-led "March 8" bloc in parliament. Since 2006, the FPM's alliance with Hezbollah has facilitated the Shiite militia's political dominance of Lebanon. If the new split persists, it will represent a significant shift in the country's political dynamics -- and further isolation of Hezbollah -- at a moment when Lebanese Sunnis are becoming increasingly militant.
FIGHTING IN SIDON
For more than two years, the war in Syria has been threatening Lebanon's stability. The presence of nearly half a million mostly Sunni refugees from next door has skewed Lebanon's delicate sectarian demographics, and the deaths of thousands of Sunnis at the hands of the nominally Shiite Alawite Assad regime have raised tensions to the boiling point. Most worrisome, Lebanese factions with rival combatants in Syria have been clashing at home as well. In Tripoli, for example, Sunni Salafists have been battling Alawite supporters of the Assad regime for nearly a year; Sunnis and Shiites have also been killing one another in the northern border region near Hermel.
The latest and most serious sectarian clashes, however, have occurred in the southern city of Sidon, culminating in a June 24 battle between Hezbollah militiamen and 200-300 heavily armed supporters of enigmatic Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed Assir. Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) units participated in the day-long skirmishes, including an assault on Assir's compound in the neighborhood of Abra. According to Lebanese sources, LAF soldiers fired over 400,000 rounds during the battle. By day's end, Assir's forces were routed, but eighteen Lebanese soldiers and twenty-eight other gunmen were killed.
Although there is no indication that LAF troops precoordinated their operations with Hezbollah, reports from the battle suggest that, at minimum, the militia fought alongside the military. This fact -- combined with the LAF's previous operations targeting Sunnis who support the Syrian rebels -- has only strengthened widespread suspicions that the military has a pro-Shiite bias. Meanwhile in Washington, the Abra incident may prompt questions in Congress about the continued provision of $100 million per year to the LAF.
THE NEXT SAMARRA?
On July 9, two weeks after the fighting ended in Sidon, a large car bomb detonated near Hezbollah's residential and office complex in Beirut. The incident was reportedly preceded by four other interdicted attempts to attack the neighborhood. Although it remains unclear who carried out the bombing, leading suspects include Lebanese Salafists and Syrian rebels -- no surprise given the escalating anger at Hezbollah's prominent role in killing Sunnis in Syria. The main rebel coalition, the Free Syrian Army, had previously pledged to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon, while prominent Sunni Islamist cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi declared that the so-called "Party of God" was really the "Party of Satan." Despite this burgeoning Sunni-Shiite animosity, both Hezbollah and the Sunni-led "March 14" bloc have sought to deescalate the situation in recent days, no doubt mindful of the 2006 attack on the main Shiite shrine in Samarra, Iraq, which launched years of sectarian violence. In separate statements, Hezbollah and March 14 leader Saad Hariri blamed Israel for the July 9 bombing.
FISSURES IN MARCH 8
According to Amal Party leader and perennial speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, the FPM's July 10 departure from the March 8 bloc was based on "domestic issues," not on Hezbollah's "resistance" against Israel, which the movement still supports. Although the FPM had been politically aligned with March 8 since 2006, when Aoun signed a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah, the party experienced a series of very public disagreements with the militia in recent months. In particular, Aoun opposed Hezbollah's call for an eighteen-month extension of parliament and an extended term for LAF chief of staff Jean Kahwaji, who is due to retire shortly. Instead, Aoun pressed for an unobtainable agreement on a new electoral law and new elections, in addition to asking that his son-in-law, LAF special forces head Gen. Chamel Roukoz, be named the new chief of staff.
Aoun opposed the extension because parliament is slated to elect the next president of Lebanon in 2014; as the legislature is currently constituted, he would stand little chance of winning that office. At the same time, if Kahwaji remains chief of staff, precedent suggests he would quickly emerge as the consensus frontrunner for the presidency.
Aoun and Hezbollah also appear to differ on the composition of the government currently being formed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam. Until recently, the twenty-four-member cabinet was to be allocated evenly between the March 14 bloc, the March 8 bloc, and ministers selected by the premier and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. Under the complicated proposed formula, March 8 Shiites would have received five cabinet seats while the FPM and the bloc's Armenian Christians would have divvied up just three seats. Aoun, it seems, was pushing for the FPM to receive five of the cabinet's twelve overall Christian seats.
With the FPM now gone, the contours of the new government are even more uncertain. March 14 was already unsure about consenting to sit in a cabinet with Hezbollah for fear of alienating its Sunni supporters. Whatever the outcome, the new government will almost certainly be even less effective and decisive than its moribund caretaker predecessor.
IMPLICATIONS
While the disagreements between the FPM and Hezbollah are clear, Aoun's calculus for leaving March 8 -- assuming it was even his choice -- is more difficult to understand. In Beirut, some say the Saudis have been pressuring Aoun as part of their efforts to undermine the Assad regime, threatening to expel his financial supporters from the kingdom if he continues to partner with Hezbollah. Aoun had dinner with the Saudi ambassador to Beirut earlier last week, further fueling the rumors. At the same time, the general may simply be using such meetings to leverage political concessions from Hezbollah; after all, many of his constituents fear the implications of a Sunni takeover in Syria and thus have little problem with Assad remaining in power.
In any case, the benefit of Aoun going solo is unclear -- March 14 is no more likely to support his presidential candidacy than before, or even to allow him to retain control of key assets such as the Ministry of Energy. One possibility, however unlikely, is that he may be hedging his bets, attempting to better position Lebanon's Christians for an eventual Sunni victory in Syria. Or perhaps the eighty-year-old politician is hoping for a detente with March 14, to make one last bid for the presidency.
For Hezbollah, too, the loss of Aoun is problematic. Although the endemic corruption in FPM-controlled ministries was an albatross for the militia, Aoun's party was still the Christian face of March 8. Without it, Hezbollah and Amal revert to a narrowly Shiite bloc at a time when Syria-related sectarian strife is spiking in Lebanon. Yet given Hezbollah's deteriorating regional stature, stubborn commitment to Assad, and dominant military posture in Lebanon, the militia may believe it no longer requires Aoun's Christian cover, particularly if a sympathetic Kahwaji becomes the presidential frontrunner. Hezbollah also likely calculates that if Assad wins, its prospects will be buoyed, while if the rebels triumph, Aoun and Lebanon's other Christians will be predisposed to pursue an alliance of minorities with the Shiites against the Sunnis.
The longer-term consequences of Aoun's defection remain to be seen. If Lebanese politics were functional, his departure from March 8 would constitute a real shakeup of stagnant parliamentary dynamics. Given the new government's limited mandate, however, the change may have little or no effect at all, barring an unlikely FPM shift toward March 14.
Equally consequential for the country's future trajectory is the Dahiya attack, which marks the beginning of the end of Hezbollah's relative impunity. For years, the militia has been intimidating and periodically attacking its political enemies, including Sunnis. Yet the Syrian uprising has emboldened Hezbollah's domestic opponents at a time when it appears to be losing political allies, and Lebanon will likely see increased sectarian violence as a result. And if the LAF continues to be viewed as supporting one constituency over another, it could face mounting stresses and casualties.
**David Schenker is the Aufzien fellow and director of the Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute

West Demands Tougher Action against Iran Arms to Syria, Hizbullah
Naharnet /The United States on Monday led western calls for tougher U.N. action on Iran's arms supplies to Syria and its Lebanese ally Hizbullah. The calls came as Russia blocked a U.N. panel's unanimous ruling that a ballistic missile launch by Iran was a breach of international sanctions, diplomats said. The U.S. government called on the U.N. Security Council and its sanctions committee to tackle Iran's alleged breach of U.N. measures with "increased vigor." "The committee should also address the steady of flow of Iranian arms, military support, advisers and training to groups in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Yemen, Iraq and beyond," said U.S. acting ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo. Iran has long supplied weapons to President Bashar Assad's government "knowing they would be used to massacre the Syrian people," DiCarlo told a Security Council meeting.
The seizure of Iranian arms off the Yemen coast in January "was more than just a sanctions violation, it was an aggressive act to undermine Yemen's transition," said the U.S. envoy.
The vessel was intercepted by the Yemeni coastguard in the Arabian Sea on January 23. "This council must tackle with renewed urgency, Iranian military assistance to Hizbullah and other armed terrorist groups and should also consider the impact of Iran's actions on the sovereign rights of other countries especially Lebanon," she said. Britain's U.N. ambassador Mark Lyall Grant said there was "credible information that Iran is providing substantial military and financial support to Hizbullah and the Syrian regime in contravention of the U.N. embargo on arms exports by Iran." French political counsellor, Philippe Bertoux, also said that the council must "assume its responsibilities" over Iran's sanctions breaches. Iran already faces widespread sanctions over its nuclear program and a U.N. panel of experts ruled in January that the firing of a Shahab ballistic missile by Iran in July last year was a breach of U.N. sanctions, diplomats said. However, Russia, supported by China, blocked the usual consensus publication of the experts report, even though a Russian and a Chinese expert are on the panel, diplomats said. Gary Quinlan, the Australian ambassador to the U.N. who chairs the Security Council's Iran sanctions committee, said only that "some members" do not back the experts view.
Britain's Lyall Grant said the Security Council should add individuals linked to the launches to U.N. sanctions lists. DiCarlo of the United States said the missile launch was a "clear violation" of U.N. resolution 1929.
Petr Ilyichev, a deputy U.N. ambassador for Russia, spoke only of a "possible violation." He did not confirm his country had held up the experts' report but said the sanctions committee decisions must be based on "reliable and verified information." China's deputy U.N. ambassador Wang Min gave a similar message. China, he said, was "not in favor of increased pressure or new sanctions against Iran."
No Iranian representatives were at the meeting. Source/Agence France

Lebanon's ambassador to the UN, Nawaf Salam Warns: Number of Syrian Refugees Expected to Surpass 1 Million by End of 2013
Naharnet /Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations Nawaf Salam warned on Tuesday that the number of Syrian refugees fleeing the war-torn country and coming to Lebanon could surpass one million by the end of 2013. "The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is expected to reach 1,229,000 by the end of this year,” Salam stated at a U.N. Security Council session dedicated to discuss the neighboring country's crisis.
Salam said the U.N. has registered 607,908 refugees in Lebanon but the government estimates the true figure at 1.2 million. Lebanon has a population of about four million and he said the influx was the equivalent of 75 million refugees flooding the United States. Salam said that “pressures are mounting and that the needs of the Syrian refugees surpass the Lebanon's capabilities.”He assured, however, that the country “will not close its border in front of refugees fleeing violence and destruction and we will not stop delivering aid.”“It is only logical to ask the members of the international community to bear the costs with Lebanon, especially that we are the smallest hosting country in size and receiving the largest number of refugees,” Salam said addressing the Security Council. He also told the 15 ambassadors on the council that the "increasing cross border fire and incursions from Syria in Lebanon are threatening the security and stability of Lebanon."The United Nations has announced that there are about 600,000 Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon, although other independent estimates say the number could be closer to one million.Regarding a solution to the Syrian conflict, he expressed that what is required is “a peaceful solution chaired by all factions in Syria and supported by the Security Council.”
“Whatever were our stances, they will not put an end to violence in Syria.”Source/Naharnet.

Two Hurt as Blast Hits Hizbullah Convoy on Majdal Anjar-Masnaa Road
Naharnet /A bomb hit a Hizbullah convoy traveling towards the Lebanese border crossing with Syria, wounding two people, a security source said on Tuesday. One vehicle was struck by the explosion near the Masnaa border crossing, the source told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity. The other vehicles in the convoy escaped the bomb attack and continued along the road, the source added. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion in the area, and said those injured were transferred to another vehicle in the convoy and taken away. Hussein Ali Deir and Fadi Abdul Karim were injured in the blast and rushed to the Chtaura Hospital, state-run National News Agency said, noting that the two will later be transferred to the Riyaq Hospital. The blast went off at the intersection of al-Azhar Mosque and the GMC was carrying a fake license plate, the agency added.
MTV said the bombing targeted a tinted-glass SUV as OTV said the blast hit "a convoy belonging to a political party." According to Al-Jazeera television, the convoy consisted of two vehicles.
Security sources told OTV the blast badly damaged the targeted Chevrolet and caused severe injuries. OTV later said that one person was killed and three others were wounded in the attack.
“The bomb on the Majdal Anjar-Masnaa road was remotely detonated and there are traces of blood on the scene,” LBCI television said. An army patrol arrived on the scene and closed the Majdal Anjar road in the wake of the incident, according to Voice of Lebanon. The bombing is the fourth time that a vehicle has been targeted by an explosive device in the Bekaa region, which is a stronghold of Hizbullah. On July 7, three people were injured, including two army troops when two bombs exploded in the area. That attack followed a similar blast on June 28, when two small bombs hit a Hizbullah convoy in the area, detonating as four cars passed, a security source said.
Hizbullah has dispatched fighters to battle alongside the Syrian regime against rebels seeking the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The party had justified its intervention in Syria by saying it was backing popular committees defending Lebanese-inhabited towns in Syrian territory near Lebanon's border from attacks by rebels and extremists. It had also admitted that its fighters were guarding Shiite holy shrines in Damascus province.
But in a speech in May, Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said his party will stay involved in the Syrian conflict, after having helped government forces recapture the key town of Qusayr from rebels.
"Where we need to be, we will be ... To defeat this very, very dangerous conspiracy (against Syria) we will bear any sacrifices and all the consequences," said Nasrallah. "The alternative (to the Assad regime) is chaos and the rule of these groups," he said, referring to extremist Islamist rebel groups he said were part of an "American-Israeli-takfiri plot."  The conflict, pitting a Sunni-dominated rebel movement against Assad, has raised sectarian tensions in Lebanon and Lebanese Sunni fighters have also been killed while fighting alongside Syrian rebels.Source/NaharnetAgence France Presse.

Lebanese Legislative Session Set for July 29 amid Constitutionality and Agenda Row
Naharnet/A parliamentary session was postponed on Tuesday for the second consecutive time over lack of quorum caused by the boycott of several parliamentary blocs due to a dispute with Speaker Nabih Berri.
The three-day session was set by Berri for July 29. The speaker has insisted to keep the 45 draft-laws on the session's agenda and said he would continue to call on MPs for a General Assembly meeting until the agenda is discussed. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, the March 14 alliance's MPs and the Change and Reform bloc have boycotted the session. Miqati argues that there is no balance between the powers of the legislative and executive branches amid a resigned government. March 14 reportedly is linking the extension of Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji's mandate, which is on the session's agenda, to the fate of Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi. Rifi, who is backed by the March 14's al-Mustaqbal movement, retired after he turned 59 – the ISF's maximum working age – on April 1. His post is now held by acting chief Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous. Qahwaji's term ends in September when he turns 60. Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Ahmed Fatfat told LBCI TV's reporter in parliament that had Berri cared about the extension of Qahwaji's mandate he would have facilitated a deal on the legislative session's agenda.Miqati and several March 14 officials had called for a compromise by limiting the number of draft-laws on the session's agenda. But Berri insisted on keeping it intact. Fatfat also denied that al-Mustaqbal was linking the extension of Qahwaji's term to the return of Rifi to his ISF command post. MP Michel Aoun's Change and Reform has a different reason to boycott the session. Aoun staunchly opposes the extension of Qahwaji's tenure. But his stance is not on a par with its ally Hizbullah, whose MPs attended Tuesday's session along with members of Berri's bloc and the centrist National Struggle Front of MP Walid Jumblat.

Speaker Nabih Berri Warns Hizbullah's Isolation Leads to Lebanon's Destruction
Naharnet /Speaker Nabih Berri has warned that preventing Hizbullah from participating in the new government would be dangerous, saying the exclusion would be considered directed at him.
“Those calling for Hizbullah's isolation are pushing towards Lebanon’s destruction,” Berri told As Safir newspaper on Tuesday. “Let it be clear that the cabinet cannot be formed without Hizbullah,” he said. “I consider the rejection to give it portfolios as directed at me personally.” Berri stressed that he has informed Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam that the current delicate stage requires an all-embracing government.
“If I reject Hizbullah's exclusion, I also reject the exclusion of (FPM chief Michel) Aoun or al-Mustaqbal movement or any other party,” he said. Conditions and counter-conditions set by the March 8 and March 14 alliances have so far prevented Salam from putting together a government. March 8 wants a national unity cabinet that includes major political figures and is asking for the representation of its parties based on their parliamentary weight. March 14 on the other hand is calling for keeping Hizbullah away from it over the party's participation in the war in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad's troops against rebels seeking to topple him. Berri reiterated that he disagreed with Aoun on several local issues but agreed with him on their support for the resistance and the army-people-resistance formula. “There is no longer such thing as veto power even if Aoun gets five, six or seven ministers” in the new cabinet, Berri said. “So there won't be any possibility for (the March 8 alliance) to have veto power or to act as a single ministerial bloc,” he added.Berri said last week that the alliance, which brings together Hizbullah, the FPM and his Amal movement, was over and that Aoun would negotiate with Salam separately from the two Shiite parties.

Al-Mustaqbal Calls for 'Non-Partisan' Cabinet: Political Problems Can Be Solved through Dialogue
Naharnet/Al-Mustaqbal bloc on Tuesday reiterated its calls for forming a non-partisan cabinet, stressing that “political problems” can be solved in national dialogue sessions. "Problems facing Lebanon like security-related issues and the pressures caused by the (Syrian) refugees' presence necessitate a non-partisan cabinet that is highly qualified to deal with all the citizens' worries,” the lawmakers stated in a released statement after the bloc's weekly meeting at the Center House. "The only way to get out of the current situation is through facilitating the premier-designate's mission.”Whereas “political problems” can be resolved in national dialogue sessions, they said.
The lawmakers explained: “There are problems that are a result of Hizbullah's weaponry and its use inside Lebanon. Dialogue in the cabinet cannot be a solution for these issues.”
The bloc accused Hizbullah of trying to isolate al-Mustaqbal Movement: “We do not call for isolating or insulating a party but Hizbullah and the Syrian regime are trying to do so with al-Mustaqbal.”
“Life in this country cannot keep going in this manner while Hizbullah is still armed and participating in the clashes in Syria, defying by this the Lebanese people's will,” it stated. “Solutions for crises cannot be advanced if Hizbullah does not withdraw its militias from Syria.”The MPs also slammed Hizbullah for “militarily interfering” in the clashes of the southern town of Abra. "Its (Hizbullah's) activities have affected the people of (the southern city of) Sidon.”They reiterated calls for disarming Sidon, Beirut and the northern city of Tripoli. "We stress on the memo submitted by Sidon's lawmakers to President Michel Suleiman, to which we did not receive any responses yet,” the bloc's statement remarked. The southern port city's MPs Fouad Saniora and Bahia Hariri handed Suleiman a memo in June demanding the referral of the case of the Sidon clashes to the Judicial Council and the prevention of all armed activities in the city. The memo also urged the removal of all political flags from Sidon and the closure of all offices belonging to “armed groups.”Al-Mustaqbal bloc also recalled the 2006 war, saying that what “prevented Israel from winning was the Lebanese people's steadfastness and their support for the resistance in its fight and sacrifice along with diplomatic efforts lead by the cabinet of the day.”

Bkirki Seeking to Hold Meeting for Major Christian Leaders
Naharnet/Bkirki is seeking to hold a meeting to gather key Christian leaders to tackle the latest developments in Lebanon, al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Tuesday. According to the newspaper, Bkirki is trying to ensure that Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and head of Marada Movement MP Suleiman Franjieh attend the meeting. Sources told the daily that several leaders demanded the Maronite Bishops Council to clarify its latest statement over the spread of illegal arms in Lebanon before deciding whether to attend the meeting or not. Information obtained by the daily said that a preliminary meeting might be held at the end of the month for the representatives of the four main Christian parties to prepare for the wide talks between the heads of the parties.
The bishops said after their monthly meeting headed by Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi that “all armed groups must lay down their weapons in favor of official security forces.”“Political groups cannot rely on arms to achieve their goals, but they should do so through democratic means,” they declared.

Britain Offers Lebanon Aid to Boost Army Performance, Confront Refugee Crisis
Naharnet /British Ambassador to Lebanon Tom Fletcher announced on Tuesday that his country will provide Lebanon with a financial assistance to fortify its army's capabilities and to help it confront the Syrian refugees crisis. Fletcher said after a meeting with President Michel Suleiman at the Baabda Palace that his country will supply Lebanon with $20 million to beef up its army's abilities and with $75 million to support the state with the crisis of the Syrian refugees.The ambassador hailed Suleiman's efforts to maintain stability in the country, stressing that Britain will carry out the necessary international contacts to neutralize Lebanon from the conflict in the region. The two officials also discussed the bilateral ties between the two countries. More than 600,000 Syrians have fled their country to Lebanon, according to the United Nations, escaping a conflict now in its third year that has killed more than 100,00 people. The conflict that erupted in Syria in March 2011 has spilled over the border into Lebanon where supporters and opponents of the Damascus regime have clashed frequently. Last week, Lebanon's ambassador to the U.N. Nawaf Salam vowed that Lebanon will keep its borders open to refugees from Syria but said the government may have to consider opening camps.
Salam, however, said that Beirut "needs concrete international help to cope with this growing problem". A Security Council statement proposed by France called for "strong, coordinated international support for Lebanon to help it continue to withstand the multiple current challenges to its security and stability." The Security Council statement said there should be international help for the Lebanese Armed Forces to help police the border and made a new appeal for all sides in Lebanon to stay out of the Syria conflict. But the council said Lebanon needs "assistance on an unprecedented scale" to confront its refugee crisis.
A special fund set up by the United Nations has received only a fraction of the amount appealed for.

Miqati Denies Dispute with Berri but Holds onto Conviction in Constitutionality Row
Naharnet/Caretaker Premier Najib Miqati denied an alleged dispute with Speaker Nabih Berri, saying their differences lied on the constitutionality of a parliamentary session amid a resigned government. “There are differences between the executive and legislative branches on the interpretation of the constitution,” Miqati told As Safir newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday. “These differences do not lead to a dispute,” he stressed, saying “I appreciate (Speaker) Berri and I respect him.”Miqati shrugged off accusations that he was obstructing a parliamentary session, reiterating that there should be a balance in the powers of the legislature and the government. “Holding a parliamentary session with an open agenda amid a resigned cabinet would mean an imbalance in the two powers,” he said. Miqati has rejected to attend Tuesday's session, boycotting it for the second time in a row.
Berri has put 45 draft-laws on the agenda, including the extension of Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji's mandate. Asked whether he thought the failure of parliament to hold a session would paralyze the extension, Miqati said: “We are currently committed to finding legal solutions that would allow Gen. Qahwaji to remain in his post.”He said however that “the best option would be the implementation of the law and making a new appointment.”The caretaker premier also denied that his boycott of the parliamentary session was aimed at appeasing MP Fouad Saniora, the head of al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, which has also decided to boycott the General Assembly.
“I have my personal convictions … and I am not trying to satisfy anyone with my decision,” Miqati said. He described his presence in the Grand Serail despite his resignation as “an administrative house arrest.”
“I am fully assuming my responsibilities at this delicate stage and I am managing the state affairs pending the formation of a new cabinet,” he said. Miqati called for the quick formation of the government despite several obstacles facing Premier-designate Tammam Salam. “We can't sat aside anyone. I had hoped my government would be all-embracing but unfortunately the March 14 (alliance) refused to participate in it.”
The same coalition is now calling on Salam to keep Hizbullah away from his new government over the party's participation in the war in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad's troops.

Roumieh Prison Escapee Captured in Zahle
Naharnet /Security forces on Tuesday managed to arrest an inmate who had escaped Monday from the Roumieh prison, where he was spending a jail term over several crimes, including identity fraud.
“Following a surveillance operation, the Judicial Police's regional anti-drug bureau in the Bekaa managed to arrest Lebanese prison escapee Abdullah Ahmed al-Hshimi, 30, on the al-Karak-Zahle public road at 5:30 p.m., after he escaped on Monday from the convicts' building of the central Roumieh prison,” the Internal Security Forces said in a statement. “Investigations are ongoing under the supervision of the relevant judicial authorities,” the ISF added.The ISF's public relations department had circulated a picture of the escapee, noting that “he was jailed over several crimes, including the impersonation of Faisal Mohammed Matar.”Hshimi escaped from Roumieh only a few hours after a visit by caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel to the facility on Monday. Earlier on Monday, Charbel inspected Roumieh prison's courtroom, which he said was ready to start the trial of inmates. The caretaker minister lamented that the government had paid millions to rehabilitate the prison and that no major change was made.Last week, Charbel said that the “crisis in Lebanon's central prison is chronic.”
The caretaker minister pointed out that there are no doors inside the prison, saying: “We have been demanding for the last two years for the installation of modern doors and gates but no response was given.”
Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks and escalating riots in recent years as inmates living in poor conditions demand better treatment.
In January, a major escape attempt from Roumieh prison was thwarted after guards found ropes linking the observation tower to the facility's outer wall. Around a month later, authorities foiled a plot by inmates to escape through a tunnel they were digging. In October 2012, a scandal erupted after it was reported that three Fatah al-Islam prisoners had escaped from the jail the month before. In another major prison break from Roumieh, five inmates from the terror network managed to escape in August 2011.

Unconfirmed Reports over Aoun, Nasrallah Meeting as Efforts Exerted to Mend Ties
Naharnet /Contradicting reports emerged on Tuesday on whether Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun and Hizbullah secretary-general sayyed Hassan Nasrallah held talks recently. Sources close to the two officials denied to al-Akhbar newspaper that the meeting, which allegedly occurred on Monday night, took place. FPM sources said that the “meeting will occur soon, especially after Aoun and Hizbullah officials stressed on the steady strategic ties” between the two parties. According to al-Liwaa newspaper, the meeting was held at Nasrallah's residence in Beirut's southern suburbs. Differences between the FPM on one hand and Hizbullah and Amal began emerging last week over the extension of parliament’s term, which Aoun opposed, and more recently over the extension of Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji's mandate.  Qahwaji's term ends this September when he turns 60, the maximum age for the post of the army commander. Al-Liwaa pointed out that Speaker Nabih Berri's adviser caretaker Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil and Nasrallah's political aide Hussein Khalil tried to convince the FPM to attend Tuesday's parliamentary session. Despite that Aoun said the session was constitutional, he links his blocs attendance to the session's agenda. Aoun previously said in remarks that the rift is with Berri, not with Nasrallah. He had noted that the continuous sharp differences among allies force each party to reconsider its options.

Aoun: No One Wants New Cabinet, Nusra Members Arriving in Lebanon with Suicide Belts
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday noted that the new cabinet will not be formed anytime soon due to conditions and counter-conditions as well as foreign dictates, warning that the extremist al-Nusra Front has started infiltrating the country from neighboring Syria. “I don't know who will the cabinet consist of if it will not represent the political parties. They are also speaking of a rotation of portfolios and this is shameful, that's why we realized that no one wants the cabinet to be formed and let the Lebanese act accordingly,” Aoun said after the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform bloc in Rabiyeh.
“We discussed several issues during the meeting, topped by the issue of security, as al-Nusra Front members have started arriving in the country with their suicide belts and equipment and certain parties are offering them a safe haven in Lebanon,” Aoun warned. “Where are all the security agencies? The police, the army, the General Security and the Judicial Police? It turned out that al-Nusra Front is present in Lebanon and we can't remain silent,” he added. The army announced on Sunday the arrest of a number of individuals for transporting weapons in the Bekaa region of Arsal. The Beirut-based, pan-Arab television al-Mayadeen later reported that the army arrested five people -- two Syrians, a Lebanese and two Palestinians -- who were carrying "suicide vests." "Uniforms carrying al-Nusra Front badges were found in their possession and they were on their way to Arsal's barren mountains with the aim of infiltrating Syrian territory," the National News Agency said. “We mentioned the refugees and their numbers and we tackled the security aspect of the issue, but they accused us of racism and here we are now sitting on a keg of gunpowder,” Aoun warned. He stressed that the caretaker cabinet “can't resign from its duties regarding the security issues.” Asked whether Hizbullah's military intervention in Syria was the reason behind the deteriorating security situation in Lebanon, Aoun said: “Prior to Hizbullah's intervention in Syria, acts of sabotage started in the North and assassination tools were stockpiled in Sidon, that's why we are not surprised that these incidents are happening." Commenting on the controversial issue of extending the term of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, Aoun said: "As long as the caretaker cabinet can convene, why do we need a law to appoint a new army commander? ... I accuse those obstructing the appointment of a new army chief of conspiracy, because this is unacceptable."

Family Severs Penis of Man Who Eloped with Their Daughter
Naharnet /Lebanese citizen Rabih A., 39, who hails from the Akkar town of Hrar, was found wounded at the square of the Aley town of Baisour with his penis cut off, state-run National News Agency reported.
Lebanese Red Cross medics rushed the man to the West Shahhar Hospital with life-threatening injuries, NNA said. The agency said the incident happened after Rabih eloped with a woman identified as Rudeina M., who hails from the town of Baisour. "When the relatives of the girl learned of the issue, they investigated the circumstances and found out that Rabih and Rudeina were at a chalet in Tabarja, so they went there and brought them to Baisour, where they severed the man's penis and left him at the town's square,” NNA said. Meanwhile, security sources told LBCI television that Rabih arrived at hospital suffering from “extreme fatigue after he was severely beaten.” The man arrived at hospital “without his penis, which was chopped off, while his testicles were smashed,” the sources added. "After Rabih and his girlfriend agreed to tie the knot despite the objection of her family, her relatives telephoned him and said they wanted to make a reconciliation and agree to the marriage," LBCI said. "They agreed to have dinner at a restaurant, but after the dinner the man was kidnapped and severely beaten," it added. The relatives "severed his penis to punish him for marrying their daughter," LBCI said. "The tragic incident caught the attention of the political circles and a high-ranking leader fiercely rebuked the girl's family and the group who committed the crime," the TV network revealed.

U.N. Says 5,000 Killed Every Month in Worsening Syria War
إNaharnet /Five thousand people a month are dying in the Syria war which has now thrown up the worst refugee crisis since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, U.N. officials said Tuesday. A host of top officials called on the divided U.N. Security Council to take stronger action to deal with the fallout from the 26 month old civil war in which the United Nations says up to 100,000 people have died. "The extremely high rate of killings nowadays -- approximately 5,000 a month -- demonstrates the drastic deterioration of the conflict," U.N. assistant secretary general for human rights Ivan Simonovic told a council meeting on Syria.
Nearly 1.8 million people are now registered with the United Nations in countries around Syria and an average of 6,000 people a day are now fleeing, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres added. "We have not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago," Guterres said. More than two million Rwandans fled the mass executions of Hutus in 1994. He said the gesture of Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and other countries to accept refugees was "saving hundreds of thousands of lives." "This crisis has been going on for much longer than anyone feared with unbearable humanitarian consequences," he added. U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said the international community may have to consider cross border operations to get aid into Syria. Amos said $3.1 billion was still needed for operations in and around Syria for the rest of the year. She said four million people inside Syria need assistance and "considerable restraints" have been imposed on aid agencies by the government and opposition groups. Amos highlighted the Old City in Homs where the government has stepped up a siege in the past month. The U.N. estimates that 2,500 civilians are trapped. "Opposition group have so far not enabled them safe passage to leave and the government of Syria has refused to allow agencies to deliver assistance into the Old City," she said. Amos appealed for the lifting of bureaucratic obstacles but also the designation of "priority humanitarian routes" and prior notification of military offensives. Amos said there should be "humanitarian pauses" to allow aid access and "cross-border operations, as appropriate." The cross-border aid is controversial as it is opposed by the Syrian government. Russia, President Bashar Assad's key international backer, has also resisted discussion of such operations at the United Nations. Turkey's deputy U.N. ambassador Levent Eler backed the call, however. "The council needs to consider alternative forms of aid delivery, including cross-border operations," he said. Eler said the Syria crisis was turning into "the biggest humanitarian tragedy of the 21st century."Lebanon's U.N. ambassador Nawaf Salam told the meeting that it was now "urgent" for the Security Council to act on the refugee crisis. Syria's U.N. ambassador Bashar Jaafari disputed the U.N. death toll as "unprofessionally sourced" and criticized the use of an American company to collect data. But Simonovic said that "rigorous" methods had been used to check a death toll of more than 92,900 given one month ago.He said each death was checked by name and date and cross checked with at least three sources.
U.N. leader Ban Ki-moon has since said that "up to 100,000 people" have been killed in Syria.Source/Agence France Presse.

Defense Minister Yaalon denies Israel attacked Syria’s Latakia arms depot. Twenty-five Syrian shells on Golan

DEBKAfile Special Report July 16, 2013/Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon Tuesday, July 16, contradicted US claims that Israeli air strikes of July 5 were responsible for destroying Russian-made Yakhont SS-N-26 anti-ship missiles stored at the Syrian port town of Latakia.. Wiped out too were the system’s radar. The claims by Pentagon and other US officials were widely published by American and British media and Syrian rebel outlets. Yaalon spoke while visiting a defense plant near Acre. Israel has consistently abstained from commenting on reports of this kind, ever since, six years ago, US administration officials named Israel as having demolished the North Korean-built plutonium reactor in northern Syria. Neither does Jerusalem normally deny such reports – at all events, not until Tuesday, when the minister delivered Israel’s first comment on the Latakia episode. This deliberate denial is all the more striking given the wide media mileage of the American version, which looked like a move to draw Israel into involvement in the Syrian conflict.
Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in an interview to CBS TV declined to answer questions on the Latakia incident, only asserting that Israel stands by its policy of preventing advanced weapons reaching Syria from falling in to the hands of the Lebanese Hizballah. So, clearly, in the last two days, official Israeli tactics appear to have shifted from non-response to denial. The defense minister also reiterated a point he has made before, that Israel is not involved in the Syrian civil war but reserved the right to hit back for any cross-border Syrian fire against its territory.
All the same, at around the same time as he spoke, 25 shells landed in the center of Israeli Golan as new fighting erupted between the Syrian army and rebel fighters around the town of Quneitra. Yet there was no sign he had ordered the IDF to respond. Unlike in previous instances, when flying ordnance on Golan elicited IDF tank or missile fire, the army spokesman in Tel Aviv commented with unusual forbearance that they were almost certainly stray shells and not aimed at Israel. This signaled another apparent shift in Israeli policy: Not only has a top official stepped forward to contradict a report by US officials, but the IDF is holding its hand against a volley of Syrian shells falling inside the Golan. Interestingly, the only other denial of Israeli responsibility for the Latakia attack came from Damascus, where government officials attributed the explosions to al Qaeda. This sort of concurrence between Jerusalem and Damascus is so surprising that, who knows? the Syrians may have got it right after all.

Syrians and Egyptian have mutual obligations
Fayez Sara/Asharq Alawsat
The new Egyptian visa requirement for Syrians seems to be a turning point in the relations between Syria and Egypt. In fact, it reflects a change in the behavior of the Egyptian state in dealing with the Arabs in general, and the Syrians in particular. The Egyptian state’s special handling of the Syrians is due neither to the status quo in Syria nor the Syrian people’s need for a country like Egypt to serve as a shelter from the war being waged on them by the ruling regime in Damascus. Rather, the special handling is due to the historic relations between Egypt and Syria as manifested in the unification project undertaken by the two countries between 1958 and 1961. A third element could be added to this: Egypt is the largest Arab state, with a responsibility towards the Arab world that should remain regardless of its internal situation, and no matter how foreign relations develop or alter.
Based on the three aforementioned elements, we can understand the stance Egypt has adopted towards the Syrian people’s access to its soil and how the situation would develop should Egypt leave the door open for more inflows of Syrians, and should it continue to give them freedom of unrestricted residency, travel, and access to the Egyptian labor and financial markets.
This is apart from other privileges granted to Syrian residents whereby they benefit from services which the Egyptian state had once determined to keep exclusive to the Egyptians alone, such as education and healthcare, something which made the services offered to the Syrians far surpass those offered to residents of other nationalities. Such measures were not limited to the Syrians who fled from their regime’s oppression, for this also incorporated others including the regime’s adherents who had a negative role in the existing chaos in Egypt and who exploited this in doing harm to the Syrians in Egypt and to Egypt itself.
Although the Syrian regime’s adherents in Egypt were limited in number, they were used in the recent crisis to create antagonism towards the Syrian presence in Egypt. This situation, however, was ignited by a number of the Egyptian regime’s remnants as well as by some power centers in order to promote the allegation that “external elements” are contributing to the crisis in Egypt. This is despite the fact that Egyptian attitudes towards the Syrians cannot be fully separated from the attitudes and policies of the ruling regime in Damascus. The Syrian regime has continually sought to confound such a relationship and even attacked it using all means at its disposal, including the large numbers of its adherents residing in Egypt, as was always clear to everyone.
Different elements have interacted to shape a confused attitude towards the Syrian presence in Egypt. Among the reflections of that attitude was the Egyptian authorities’ new directive of a visa requirements for the Syrian. Other reflections were seen in the media campaigns launched against the Syrians by some media outlets. There were also rumors spread by political groups about a role of Syrians in the recent happenings in Egypt, although it is clear that there was no concrete evidence for this. If it is true that the manifestations of the said attitude are damaging the Syrians in Egypt and are making their residence and movement in the country more difficult, and is also poisoning Egypt’s relations with the Syrians, yet it also leaves negative impacts on Egypt and the Egyptians as well. It could a crushing blow to Egypt’s relations and its Arab role following decades during which it served as an incubator of all Arabs throughout their different stages. This must also have economic impacts on investment in Egypt, as in the past two years some Syrian expatriates became prominent businessmen in Egypt.
All previous elements must serve as real motives for a more positive attitude towards the Syrian people’s existence in Egypt and its relations with them. This is manifested in the recent Egyptian statements about an imminent cancellation of the Syrians’ entry visa requirement to Egypt and a cessation of the media smear campaigns and the rumors about the Syrians there. However, for their part, the Syrians must adopt a parallel trend to distance themselves from intervention in Egypt’s domestic political affairs, as well as from the ongoing struggles there so that the Syrian people remain, as they ever were, a positive element in Egypt’s stability and a prop to assist it to overcome its current problems. Today, in its stance towards the Syrian conflict, Egypt is face to face with the challenges stemming from its profound Arab role. Egypt is facing the demands imposed by its people’s revolution for freedom and dignity and is standing up for the interests of Egypt and its people. It is the Syrians’, and the Arabs’, duty to help Egypt adopt a real and serious stance to support its relations with its fellow Arabs, including allowing the Syrian people access to Egypt and lifting all the restrictions in this regard.

Incitement to violence is always wrong
By: Diana Moukalled /Asharq Alawsat
Last week’s mistake from Egyptian channel ONTV was met with the disappointment that the so-called liberal media in Egypt is drowning in. The channel’s host used vulgar language and directly incited violence against “some Syrians” in Egypt. The act reflected the country’s media scene, currently rich in glorification of the army and incitement against the Brotherhood’s audience. It is adopting the very same Brotherhood rhetoric of accusing others of infidelity and urging its viewers to violence. Some people adopt certain language and claim they are defending freedom and the country as a whole. They also claim that they do not accept anyone blaming them for acting towards the goal of defending their country. And so, these eloquent men of the so-called free and liberal media suddenly began to justify their incendiary rhetoric by claiming it is a form of advocacy media, but this has served to “normalize” their activities. Perhaps the greatest price the Egyptian media will pay is that many people will, for a long time, remember the ONTV host’s remarks as he questioned the presence of Syrian refugees in Egypt and questioned their “masculinity” in not confronting the regime in their own country, and in supporting the Brotherhood in Egypt. The host also warned them they will learn their lesson. The host’s statements stuck in people’s minds, and many found it worse than the Brotherhood media’s many images and videos that incited violence. The Muslim Brotherhood has been defeated and we will continue to argue a lot about the army’s role in this defeat. But what is certain is that those who are among the winning party in the Egyptian media are, under the slogan of liberalism, practicing the same violence the Brotherhood practiced. In Syria, the footage of Abu Saqqar, who ate the liver of a Syrian soldier, replaced thousands of photos and videos which documented the death and torture of thousands of Syrians. Today, the short televised speech of a “liberal” host and his “masculine” incitement wiped away the practices of the Muslim Brotherhood’s many videos, which only satirist Bassem Youssef succeeded at criticizing. Many argue that what this host and other hosts have done, by commending the army as a savior from the Brotherhood’s injustice, are a product of the Brotherhood’s acts. They also argue that the Brotherhood would have done worse if it had remained in power. The truth is such logic backfires against those who adopt it. By using the same methods, those claiming that injustice has befallen upon them are practicing the same injustice against others. Using these tools deprives them of justifications they think they deserve because they are against what the Brotherhood did. The Brotherhood must be held accountable for the political, security, media and moral practices it carried out in the past year. What is being committed today in the name of freedom and in the name of revolting against the Brotherhood’s injustice must be dealt with the same way. Successfully presenting media institutions with morals, professionalism and high political standards must not be subject to bargaining.