Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources/July 23/13

Hezbollah: EU decision aggressive and unjust
July 23, 2013/The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Hezbollah said the European Union’s decision Monday to blacklist its so-called armed wing was “aggressive and unjust” and argued that it was “not based of any justifications or evidence.”
The EU agreed Monday to put the military wing of Hezbollah on its terrorism blacklist, a move driven by concerns over the Lebanese group’s roles in a bus bombing in Bulgaria and the Syrian war.
In a statement issued by its media office, Hezbollah firmly rejected the decision and accused the EU of bowing to pressure from the United States and Israel.
“It looks as if the decision was written by American hands and with Israeli ink,” said the Hezbollah statement. “The EU only had to add its signature in approval.”
Hezbollah added that the EU succumbing to “blackmail from the U.S.” would not get it anywhere
The party added that the EU’s unjust decision “does not in any way echo the interests of the people of the EU and goes against the principles of the European people which are supportive of freedom and independence.”
Hezbollah reminded the EU that the U.S. had issued a similar decision against the party “that only generated further failures and disappointments.”
In the United States, Secretary of State John Kerry said Syria was an important factor behind the EU vote.
“A growing number of governments are recognizing Hezbollah as the dangerous and destabilizing terrorist organization that it is,” he said.
The White House backed the EU decision, saying it sent a strong message that the group could not operate with impunity.
White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the decision should have an impact on Hezbollah’s fundraising, logistical activities and “terrorist plotting on foreign soil.”
“In reaching this agreement, the EU has sent a clear message that it stands united against terrorism,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said at the end of the one-day ministers’ talks.
“We will have to distinguish as best we can” between the group’s various parts, Hague said, suggesting that military and administrative sections could be identified.
Hezbollah has attracted concern in Europe and around the world in recent months for its role sending thousands of fighters to support Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, an intervention that turned the tide of a more than 2-year-old civil war.
Before the EU meeting, the union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told Al-Arabiya TV that she presented the proposal to blacklist Hezbollah to the EU because of the party’s involvement in Syria.
Britain and the Netherlands have long pressed their EU peers to impose sanctions on the group, citing evidence it was behind an attack in the coastal Bulgarian city of Burgas a year ago. Hezbollah denies any involvement in last July’s attack in Bulgaria.
The attack killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver in the Black Sea resort of Burgas and came around the same time as a Cyprus court’s decision in March that found a Hezbollah member guilty of helping to plan attacks on Israelis in the island.
Until now, many EU governments had resisted lobbying from Washington and Israel to blacklist the group, warning such a move could fuel instability in Lebanon and add to tensions in the Middle East.
President Michel Sleiman said Monday he hoped the European Union would reconsider its decision to list Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization for the sake of stability in Lebanon.
Sleiman met with EU Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst at Baabda Palace where he asked Eichhorst for clarification on the reasoning behind such a move.
In a statement, Eichhorst said that the EU is “sending an important political message: Acts of terrorism are unacceptable irrespective of the perpetrators.”
She said the decision did not prevent the continuation of dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon and would not affect the EU’s financial support to Lebanon including humanitarian assistance.
The decision will be reviewed every six months, she said.
The blacklisting of the military wing of the party occurred despite diplomatic efforts by Lebanese officials to prevent the decision. Government officials argued that Hezbollah was a major component of political life and could not be ignored.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he regretted the EU’s move but noted that Lebanon would remain committed to its international legitimacy.
“We will follow up the issue via diplomatic channels and we wish the EU countries had conducted a careful review of the facts and the additional data,” Mikati said.
Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Adnan Mansour described the organization’s step as hasty.
The EU’s 28 foreign ministers reached the decision unanimously at their monthly meeting. The listing raises many questions about how EU countries will deal with Lebanon and its government particularly if Hezbollah members are leading it.
British Ambassador Tom Fletcher said on his Twitter feed that the organization’s blacklisting of Hezbollah would not affect dealings with the party’s political wing.
“EU listed Hezbollah due to their activity inside Europe. Does not alter cooperation with Lebanon [government], nor EU contact with political [representatives],” Fletcher said.
The blacklisting opens the way for EU governments to freeze any assets Hezbollah’s military wing may have in Europe.
By limiting the listing to the armed wing, the EU was trying to avoid damaging its relations with Lebanon’s government.
Israel’s Deputy Doreign Minister Zeev Elkin welcomed the decision, but expressed disappointment only the armed faction was included.
“We [Israel] worked hard, along with a number of countries in Europe, in order to bring the necessary materials and prove that there was a basis for a legal decision,” Elkin told Israel Radio.
In debating the blacklisting, many EU governments expressed concerns over maintaining Europe’s relations with Lebanon. To soothe such worries, the ministers were expected to issue a statement pledging to continue dialogue with all Lebanese political groups and to maintain financial aid to Beirut.
Sanctions against Hezbollah will go into effect later this week.
 

EU Foreign Ministers Blacklist Hizbullah Military Wing
Naharnet/European Union foreign ministers agreed Monday to blacklist Hizbullah's armed wing, holding it responsible for terror attacks in Europe. "It is good that the EU has decided to call Hizbullah what it is: a terrorist organization," said Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans. "I'm satisfied that we took this important step today, by dealing with the military wing of Hizbullah, freezing its assets, hindering its fundraising and thereby limiting its capacity to act," Timmermans said. "Agreement reached to list Hizbullah," one diplomat said, as ministers overcame reservations in some member states that such a move would further destabilize Lebanon.
A French diplomat said the decision by the EU's 28 foreign ministers was reached unanimously although it will take time to proceed to actual sanctions. Hizbullah, which is close to Iran, is Israel's sworn enemy, and its recent intervention in Syria has dismayed Western powers who back rebels battling to oust President Bashar Assad. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said ahead of the decision that he did not believe that blacklisting Hizbullah "would destabilize Lebanon," adding: "It is important to show that we are united in face of terrorism." German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also said ahead of Monday's meeting that evidence from the attack in the Black Sea resort of Burgas in Bulgaria, which killed five Israeli tourists and one Bulgarian last year, should give enough impetus for the move. Westerwelle said that "we have to answer this, and the answer is" blacklisting Hizbullah's military wing. The attack on EU territory plus a Cyprus criminal court decision in March finding a Hizbullah member guilty of helping to plan attacks on Israelis on the Mediterranean island has galvanized EU diplomacy in moving toward action. On Thursday, Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour asked Brussels not to blacklist Hizbullah on the grounds the group was an "essential component of Lebanese society."
He sent memos to the EU states upon the request of President Michel Suleiman. Several EU member states had expressed sharp reservations over blacklisting. A draft of the conclusions seen by Agence France Presse said ministers wanted to highlight the fact that the EU would maintain its political and economic links with Lebanon. Applying "restrictive measures to combat terrorism does not prevent the continuation of dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon," the draft said. "Legitimate financial transfers" and aid will also not be affected, it added. Mansour had expected the EU foreign ministers to fail in declaring the military wing of Hizbullah a terrorist organization over the reservations expressed by some countries. Among them are Cyprus, Malta, the Czech Republic and Ireland. Belgium and Sweden could join them, he told As Safir newspaper.
Mansour warned that such a decision would be a major blow to the Lebanese states. He accused some Lebanese politicians of collaborating with the EU and some western diplomats to push for blacklisting Hizbullah's military wing. SourceAgence France Presse/Naharnet/Associated Press.
 

Toothless move? Experts doubt efficacy of Hezbollah blacklist
July 23, 2013/By Kareem Shaheen
The Daily Star
BEIRUT: The blacklisting of Hezbollah’s military wing is a message warning the party over its involvement in Syria and activities in Europe and would only have a limited effect, experts and analysts said Monday. Few saw a distinction between the group’s military and political wings, saying it would be prohibitively difficult to target military cadres and assets, and arguing that the party had few financial resources in Europe that could be subject to sanctions.
But they said the decision to blacklist the military wing would make it easier to carry out investigations in concert with European intelligence agencies into Hezbollah’s fundraising and militant activities.
“They distinguish between the military and political wing when in reality there isn’t much distinction,” said Nadim Shehadi, an associate fellow at the Middle East and North Africa Programme in Chatham House.
“But it’s a way of creating constructive ambiguity to maintain engagement at the same time as sending a strong message.”
The EU maintains contact with Hezbollah on a variety of issues, including the activities of UNIFIL, the peacekeeping force on the border with Israel, and on joint projects between the EU and Lebanon.
Shehadi argued the distinction made it possible for the EU to continue talking to Hezbollah, likening the measure to the U.K.’s decision to distinguish between the Provisional Irish Republican Army, which fought a protracted insurgency against British rule, and its political wing, Sinn Fein, allowing negotiations to end the fighting.
“The introduction of a separation between the military wing and the political wing gives a way out,” he said. Hezbollah itself does not distinguish between its two wings.
“This is long overdue,” said Matthew Levitt, a former deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the U.S. Treasury Department. “Hezbollah has believed that it could mix militancy, terrorism, crime on the one hand, and politics and social welfare on the other.”“They felt that by virtue of being involved in politics they got a free out-of-jail-card and they could blow up buses of civilians in Bulgaria and try to do so in Cyprus, partner with Iran in Syria, and much more,” said Levitt, who testified recently before the EU Parliament in support of blacklisting all of Hezbollah.
But a senior Arab diplomat in Beirut, who declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the issue, said this distinction meant the decision would have no impact on the ground.
“You cannot distinguish between the civil and military wing of the party,” he said. “How would you define that this person is a member of the military wing? And does the military wing have any exposed assets that you can restrict or freeze? It is very difficult to implement this decision.”
Levitt said the decision would have no impact on Hezbollah finances in Europe since there are few known assets belonging to the military wing there, but he said it would open up avenues for intelligence operations investigating the party and would send a clear deterrent message.
European countries have been reluctant to carry out “proactive” intelligence investigations into Hezbollah since it was not labeled a military organization, said Levitt, who is a senior fellow and director of the Washington Institute’s Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. He has also written a book on the party called “Hezbollah: The Global Footprints of Lebanon’s Party of God.”
Such investigations will now be carried out if a link can be established to potential Hezbollah militancy, he said: “It is very likely that Hezbollah will curtail the amount of its activities in Europe having to do with militancy or fundraising because they know that these investigations are going to be run.”
Further, he said, Hezbollah could no longer treat Europe as a “near abroad” where it could carry out such activities.
He said Hezbollah was already under enormous pressure due to its involvement in Syria and the accusations against four of its operatives by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Domestically, the Arab official said the decision was likely to worsen the political deadlock in Lebanon, increasing what he termed “Hezbollah’s siege mentality” and compelling it to hold onto its political positions.
The party is now unlikely, for instance, to allow the government formation to go ahead without it being represented in the Cabinet.
Experts differed on the impetus and timing behind the decision.
Shehadi said the decision was the result of the party’s implicated in the Burgas bombing last year targeting Israeli tourists, and was part of an ongoing process that began after the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh. Mughniyeh, Hezbollah’s former military chief, was killed in Damascus in 2008, prompting the party to acknowledge his military role. He is accused of involvement in a number of attacks including the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.
The Arab diplomat said the timing of the decision was likely the result of a combination of pressure by the U.S. and Israel to compensate for a recent decision by the EU to boycott products made in West Bank settlements.
He said it appeared to be influenced by Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria, rather any potential role for the party in the bombing in Burgas. “I wouldn’t back something like this if there is no strong evidence that the party is involved in terrorist activity on European territory, and until now I can’t say there is enough evidence for an accusation,” he said.
The diplomat said that Hezbollah officials repeatedly said in meetings they had no assets or financial activity in Europe, so that any such freeze would have no impact on the party. Legally, the decision will represent a greater challenge to the Lebanese government than to Hezbollah, said Chafic Masri, a professor of international law. He said the Lebanese government would have to help the EU distinguish between military and civilian cadres in the party.
Further, only the EU is legally empowered to add individuals to the list.
“It is challenging because now anyone who may be elected as a parliamentary member or selected as a minister will remain subject to the de facto approval of the EU,” Masri said. “This is not just confusing but embarrassing as well to the Lebanese government.”

Hizbullah Says 'Hostile and Unjust' EU Decision was 'Written with Zionist Ink'
Naharnet /Hizbullah on Monday described the European Union’s decision to blacklist its military wing as a “hostile and unjust” step, saying it was “written by American hands and with Zionist ink.”"Hizbullah firmly rejects the EU decision... and sees it as a hostile and unjust decision that has no justification and is not based on any proof," the party said in a statement. The group said the EU's decision was a result of U.S. and Israeli pressure and warned that it did not serve the bloc's interests. "This decision was written by American hands and with Zionist ink and all that was asked of Europe was to put its seal," it said. “Hizbullah believes that this unjust decision does not at all reflect the interests of the peoples of the European Union and contradicts with its values and aspirations that support the principles of freedom and independence, which it had always advocated,” it added.
Earlier on Monday, put the military wing of Hizbullah on its of “terrorist organizations.” To get the required agreement of all 28 EU member states, ministers had to overcome reservations in some members that the move would further destabilize Lebanon, where Hizbullah plays a key role in politics. Accordingly, EU political and economic ties with Lebanon will be fully maintained in a delicate balancing act. Hizbullah's military wing was blamed for a deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year. In March, a Hizbullah operative was also convicted in Cyprus of plotting a similar attack. Monday's political decision will be given legal form within days and most likely result in sanctions such as an asset freeze. In a statement from Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the decision would mean a "crackdown on Hizbullah's fundraising, logistical activity and terrorist plotting on European soil." Lebanon had asked the EU not to blacklist Hizbullah on the grounds it was an "essential component of Lebanese society." Support for the EU sanctions against Hizbullah grew in recent weeks after the party openly declared it was sending fighters to back the Syrian regime.

Canada Welcomes EU Decision to List Hezbollah as Terrorist Entity
July 22, 2013 - Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement:
“Canada welcomes the European Union’s courageous decision to list the military wing of Hezbollah as a terrorist entity.
“The designation made by all 28 member states of the EU exposes Hezbollah for what it is: a terrorist group.
“Hezbollah’s foiled plot in Cyprus and its tragic bombing of a tourist bus in Bulgaria last year are but two examples of Hezbollah’s growing global reach. It has long played a destabilizing role around the world, and in close partnership with the regressive clerical dictatorship of Iran actively assists Assad in the brutal murder of countless civilians in Syria.”
Canada listed Hezbollah as a terrorist entity under our Criminal Code in December 2002. We remain committed to stability in Lebanon and to working with our partners to promote lasting peace and prosperity.

Europe's Moment of Decision on Hezbollah
Matthew Levitt/Washington Institute
By leaping over longstanding technical and political hurdles and announcing a ban, the EU has forced both its member states and Hezbollah to view the group's activities on the continent in a new light.
After months of often-acrimonious deliberations, senior European officials gathered today for a ministerial meeting in Brussels and announced that Hezbollah's military wing would be added to the EU's list of banned terrorist groups. The decision comes on the heels of two ambassador-level discussions over the past two weeks, and two previous meetings of the EU's CP 931 technical working group, named for Common Position 931, the union's legal basis for blacklisting terrorist groups. The ban is especially important because Hezbollah has resumed terrorist operations in Europe after years of financial and logistical support activities there. If history is any guide, failure to respond in a meaningful way would almost certainly have invited further Hezbollah attacks.
THE PROCESS
Once Britain formally proposed an EU ban, the CP 931 committee met to debate whether Hezbollah's military wing hit the threshold for designation, eventually concluding that it did. The committee is technocratic in nature and limited to the specific issue of terrorist activities, not foreign policy considerations -- its mandate lays out very clearly what types of activities are to be considered acts of terrorism and what types of information are to be considered as evidence.
Under Article 1(3) of CP 931, "terrorist acts" are defined as "intentional acts which, given their nature or context, may seriously damage a country or international organization and which are defined as an offence under national law." The text then lists examples, including "attacks upon a person's life which may cause death," the "manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport, supply or use" of weapons or explosives, and "participating in the activities of a terrorist group, including by supplying information or material resources, or by funding its activities in any way, with knowledge of the fact that such participation will contribute to the criminal activities of the group." For these activities to constitute terrorist acts, "they must be carried out with the aim of seriously intimidating a population, or unduly compelling a government or an international organization to perform or abstain from performing any act, or seriously destabilizing or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organization."
The text is also very specific on what may be considered as evidence: "Common Position 2001/931/CFSP applies to persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts, when a decision has been taken by a competent authority in respect of the person, group or entity concerned. Such decision may concern the instigation of investigations or prosecution for a terrorist act, an attempt to carry out or facilitate such an act based on serious and credible evidence or clues, or condemnation for such deeds. A competent authority is a judicial authority or, where judicial authorities have no competence in the area, an equivalent competent authority."
The long-awaited results of Bulgaria's investigation into the July 2012 bus bombing in Burgas, partly released in early February, clearly fit the threshold of an investigation by a "competent authority," spurring spirited European debate about proscribing Hezbollah. The investigation determined that the group's military wing was behind the attack, which left six dead and was described as a sophisticated plot led by a cell that included Canadian and Australian citizens.
Some EU officials complained to the media that the Burgas evidence was inconclusive, but the designation was never about just one case. Far more evidence of Hezbollah's recent terrorist activities exists. In late March, for example, a Cypriot court convicted Hossam Taleb Yaacoub -- a Swedish Lebanese citizen arrested just days before the Burgas bombing -- on charges of planning attacks against Israeli tourists. These two cases alone presented a more compelling argument for an EU designation than ever before.
According to some observers, the Bulgaria and Cyprus cases suggest that Hezbollah has returned to the continent after decades of operational hiatus. But Hezbollah never left Europe. For more than thirty years, the group's networks have continuously used the EU as a base to recruit members, raise funds, procure weapons, conduct surveillance, and, when feasible, conduct operations. Evidence of such activities from previous cases -- in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, and elsewhere -- was admissible under CP 931 rules, as was the information contained in Britain's previous unilateral proscription of Hezbollah's military wing. There is no statute of limitations under CP 931, nor any requirement that the terrorist activities in question occur in Europe.
Despite the committee's conclusion that Hezbollah's military wing had engaged in acts of terrorism, CP 931 findings do not automatically lead to a mandatory EU ban. Until the past few days, there was still no consensus among member states as to whether listing the group was good policy.
THE DEBATE
For years, European countries avoided any discussion of designating Hezbollah. Some cited the fact that it had not carried out terrorist attacks on the continent since the 1980s, while others highlighted the group's social welfare activities and its status as Lebanon's dominant political party. According to some EU leaders, targeting Hezbollah's military and terrorist wings would have destabilized Lebanon even if the political wing was left untouched. European governments also worried that the peacekeeping troops they had contributed to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon would be at risk, that Hezbollah might retaliate against European interests, and that banning the military wing might somehow preclude political contact with, and leverage over, the group's political leadership. Still others conceded that there really is no separate military wing and wondered how Europe would be able to enforce a limited ban on one part of a unified organization (though they were loath to support the next logical step of banning Hezbollah in its entirety; read more on the "wings" issue).
Yet a CP 931 designation only authorizes the freezing of a banned group's assets -- it does not preclude contact with the group's members, nor does it include a travel ban. (European officials are prohibited from meeting with Hamas members due to Quartet restrictions, not the CP 931 ban on that group's terrorist wing.)
LIKELY IMPACT
Despite the formal focus on asset freezing, the most significant impact of the EU ban will be felt on other fronts. First, it will enable EU governments to initiate preemptive intelligence investigations into activities that can be tied in any way to Hezbollah's military wing. Germany and a handful of other European countries have already conducted such investigations, but the designation will spur many others to do so. This alone is a tremendous change that should make Europe a far less attractive place for Hezbollah operatives.
Second, the ban is a strong means of communicating to Hezbollah that its current activities are beyond the pale, and that continuing them will exact a high cost. Previously, the group had been permitted to mix its political and social welfare activities with its terrorist and criminal activities, giving it an effective way to raise and launder money along with a measure of immunity for its militant activities. Today's designation makes clear to Hezbollah that international terrorism, organized crime, and militia operations will endanger its legitimacy as a political and social actor.
As for the financial angle, seizing significant amounts of Hezbollah funds is unlikely because the group's accounts are presumably registered under its nonmilitary names. But the ban will probably still curtail Hezbollah fundraising. Some of the group's members may be barred from traveling to Europe as governments become bolder in opening new investigations, and Hezbollah leaders may curtail certain activities on the continent as they assess the ban's full impact.
CONCLUSION
Over the past few years, Hezbollah has resumed operational terrorist activity in Europe in a manner not witnessed since the 1980s. In addition to Burgas and Cyprus, it has conducted surveillance, planning, and related activities in Greece and other countries, engaged in a wide array of organized crime across the continent, and increased its military involvement in places where European interests are at stake, such as Syria. This operational uptick is cause for great concern among European law enforcement and intelligence agencies. As the U.S. State Department's coordinator for counterterrorism noted last year, "Hezbollah and Iran will both continue to maintain a heightened level of terrorist activity in operations in the near future, and we assess that Hezbollah could attack in Europe or elsewhere at any time with little or no warning." For these reasons, the EU designation is critical, in terms of both sending Hezbollah a message and giving EU member states the legal basis and motivation to investigate.
*Matthew Levitt is a senior fellow and director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute. Over the past several months, he has visited European capitals to press for a Hezbollah ban and recently testified on the subject before the EU parliament. His latest book, Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God, will be published soon.
 

EU Envoy Tells Suleiman Decision on Hizbullah Doesn't Affect Financial Support to Lebanon
Naharnet/Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon, held talks Monday evening with President Michel Suleiman, following the decision taken by the EU to blacklist the military wing of Hizbullah. “The EU is sending an important political message: acts of terrorism are unacceptable irrespective of the perpetrators,” Eichhorst said, according to a press release issued by the EU delegation. She added that this decision “does not prevent the continuation of dialogue with all political parties in Lebanon and will not affect the EU's financial support to Lebanon including humanitarian assistance,” noting that “it will be reviewed on a six monthly basis.” Eichhorst reiterated the European Union's “commitment to support President Suleiman's call on the political leaders to reconvene the National Dialogue and to discuss a national defense strategy.” The EU “also supports the efforts of Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam to form a new government,” Eichhorst added.

U.S. Praises EU Blacklisting of Hizbullah Military Wing
Naharnet/The United States on Monday applauded the EU's designation of the military wing of Hizbullah as a "terrorist organization," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said. "With today's action, the EU is sending a strong message to Hezbollah that it cannot operate with impunity," Kerry said in a statement, calling the move by the European Union "an important step." European Union foreign ministers on Monday put the military wing of the Hizbullah on its list of terrorist organizations despite Lebanon warning against such a move. At the same time, analysts voiced doubts about the effectiveness of the measure, questioning if Hizbullah really can be broken down into separate parts for punishment or reward. Kerry said the designation showed "there are consequences" for Hizbullah's actions, "including last year's deadly attack in Burgas, Bulgaria, and for plotting a similar attack in Cyprus. "This designation will have a significant impact on Hizbullah's ability to operate freely in Europe by enabling European law enforcement agencies to crack down on Hizbullah's fundraising, logistical activity, and terrorist plotting on European soil."Source/Agence France Presse.

Al-Manar Says EU Bowed to Israel in Blacklisting Hizbullah
Naharnet /Hizbullah-run Al-Manar television accused the European Union on Monday of bowing to Israeli demands in blacklisting the party's armed wing. "The European Union has surrendered to the wishes of Israel in adding Hizbullah to its blacklist," the television said. It accused Britain of taking the lead in efforts to impose the sanction, which was swiftly welcomed by both Israel and its U.S. ally. The television channel added: "It is a blatant aggression against Lebanon and its resistance. Hizbullah has no military wing other than the resistance." The television commentary was the first reaction to the EU move by Hizbullah. "The leaders of the enemy state (Israel) have tried for years to push Europe to take this decision and promote it with flagrant support from the Americans and the British," the television said. It also broadcast footage of Israeli President Shimon Peres at a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton calling on the 28-nation bloc to blacklist Hezbollah. "Britain was at the forefront of the campaign... at times citing the Burgas attack and at other times citing the arrest of a suspect in Cyprus," the television said. Hizbullah's military wing was blamed for a deadly attack on Israeli tourists last year in Burgas, Bulgaria. In March, a Hizbullah operative was convicted in Cyprus of plotting a similar attack. "In reaching this agreement, the EU has sent a clear message that it stands united against terrorism," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in Brussels on Monday after the decision was announced. Source/NaharnetAgence France Presse.

Hizbullah Blacklisted in Several Countries
Naharnet/The European Union added the military wing of Hizbulah to its list of international terrorist groups on Monday.
The group was already on the blacklist in several countries, including EU member Britain:
- ISRAEL: In June 1989, the Israeli government decreed that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization.
A fierce opponent of Israel, Hizbullah, formed after the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, seeks the "liberation" of all occupied Arab lands, including Jerusalem.
It headed the guerrilla war that was instrumental in forcing Israel's May 2000 troop pullout from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
- THE UNITED STATES: Hizbullah has been on a U.S. terror blacklist since October 1997 after a series of anti-American attacks, including the bombing of the U.S. embassy and Marine barracks in Beirut in the 1980s.
"As of today it is a crime to provide funds, weapons or other types of tangible support to any of the designated organizations," then U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright said when announcing the list.
- CANADA: In December 2002, the Canadian government announced it is adding the whole of Hizbullah to its terrorism blacklist. Up to then only the armed wing had been concerned. Membership in or support of Hizbullah could lead to up to 10 years imprisonment.
- AUSTRALIA: Canberra listed Hizbullah's branch charged with "external security" as a terrorist group in 2003.
- BRITAIN: In July 2008, Britain moved to ban the entire military wing of Hizbullah. The interior ministry said it took the action because the branch supports militants in Iraq and Palestinian terror groups. London had already in 2001 banned the External Security Organization, which it considers the fundamentalist group's "terrorist wing".
- THE NETHERLANDS: Prior to Monday's EU-wide decision, the Netherlands had been the only other member of the bloc to consider Hizbullah as a terrorist organization.
It had been pressing since 2004 for it to be placed on the EU's list of terrorist organizations in a bid to dry up its financing from Europe.
Source/Agence France Presse.

Israel Praises EU Move on Blacklisting Hizbullah as Lieberman Considers It 'Insufficient'
Naharnet/Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni praised the EU decision Monday to blacklist Hizbullah's armed wing, which she said made clear that the party is a "terrorist organization". "I welcome this announcement by the EU, that Hizbullah is now included in the list of terrorist organizations," said Livni. "Finally, after years of deliberations, the claim that Hizbullah is a legitimate political party has rightfully failed. Now it is clear to the entire world that Hizbullah is a terrorist organization", she said in a statement. Meanwhile, former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman considered that The EU's decision is "partial and insufficient."
"Hizbullah's military and political wings are two faces of the same coin," he stated.  Israel's President Shimon Peres said the EU's decision is a clear message to "terror" groups that their "murderous" actions would not be tolerated. "I welcome the European Union's decision regarding Hezbollah, a significant and necessary step towards putting an end to the spread of terror across the globe," Peres said. "Your decision sends a clear message to terror organizations, and the countries which harbor them, that their murderous actions will not be tolerated," he said in a statement. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also praised blacklisting Hizbullah's armed wing, saying the party has imposed a "terrorist" rule on large parts of Lebanon. "I welcome the fact that the EU has also declared Hizbullah to be a terrorist organization and I thank the leaders of its member states," Netanyahu said in a statement. Hizbullah "has imposed terrorist rule on wide sections of Lebanon, has converted them into an Iranian protectorate and is stockpiling tens of thousands of rockets there." "These have been placed in the heart of civilian populations and are designed to be fired at population centers in Israel," he said. The European Union's decision came after some of its 28 foreign ministers overcame reservations in some member states that such a move would further destabilize Lebanon. To do so, ministers agreed that EU political and economic links with Lebanon would be maintained. They also highlighted the fact that it is the military wing alone that is blacklisted after Hizbullah was blamed for a deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year. Hizbullah, which is close to Iran, is Israel's sworn enemy, and its recent intervention in Syria has dismayed Western powers which back rebels battling to oust President Bashar Assad. Source/Agence France PresseNaharnet.

Miqati Stresses Lebanon Respect for Int'l Law as Suleiman Asks EU to Reconsider Decision on Hizbullah
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman on Monday hoped the European Union will “reconsider” its decision to blacklist Hizbullah's military wing as caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati stressed Lebanon's respect for international legitimacy. Suleiman hoped the EU “will reconsider its decision, out of keenness on avoiding hasty decisions and to preserve stability in Lebanon and protect the essential choices that are being discussed by the national dialogue committee, which are mainly about the stipulations of the Baabda Declaration and the president's vision for the national defense strategy.” The president voiced his remarks during talks in Baabda with EU ambassador to Lebanon Angelina Eichhorst. Earlier on Monday, Miqati stressed that Lebanon “is keen to abide by international law,” after the European Union placed Hizbullah's armed wing on its list of “terrorist organizations.” "We will follow up on the issue through diplomatic channels, while we wish the EU countries had carried out a careful reading of the facts and sought out more information," Miqati said.
"Lebanese society, in all its components, is keen to abide by international law and to maintain excellent relations with EU member states," he added in a statement. Meanwhile, caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour warned that the EU's decision will have its repercussions on Lebanon, accusing "known local factions of playing a negative role" in this respect. He told al-Manar television: "We want to know what does the EU want from Lebanon in the future, then, we will have a clear and brave stance." EU foreign ministers on Monday added Hizbullah's military wing to the union's list of "terrorist organizations." The decision came after some of EU's 28 foreign ministers overcame reservations in some member states that such a move would further destabilize Lebanon where the group plays a major role. To do so, ministers agreed that EU political and economic links with Lebanon would be maintained. They also highlighted the fact that it is the military wing alone that is blacklisted after Hizbullah was blamed for a deadly attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year. Hizbullah, which is backed by Iran, is Israel's sworn enemy. The group's involvement in fighting in Syria alongside President Bashar Assad's forces has dismayed Western powers which back rebels battling the regime.

Suleiman to Make Foreign Trip Soon with U.S. as Final Destination
Naharnet /President Michel Suleiman is scheduled to leave Lebanon within the next few hours on a previously unannounced foreign trip, highly informed sources told Naharnet on Monday. According to the obtained information, Suleiman's final destination will be the United States, "although he will make a stop at one of the European capitals." And despite the fact that the visit comes only hours after a decision by the European Union to place Hizbullah's military wing on its list of "terrorist organizations" and two days after French President Francois Hollande's phone talks with Suleiman, informed sources in the U.S. told Naharnet that the trip is of a private and personal nature.
The sources added, however, that the presidential palace's circles have put the relevant officials in the U.S. administration in the picture of the trip, without ruling out the possibility that the president might hold certain meetings with U.S. officials on the sidelines of his visit.

Report: Qabbani to be Forced out after Ramadan
Naharnet/Political leaders of the Sunni sect might force out Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani after Ramadan despite his insistence to remain in his post until elections next year. Informed sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that such a decision would be delayed until after Eid al-Fitr out of respect for the holy month. The issue was discussed by current and former premiers on Saturday at an Iftar banquet at ex-PM Omar Karami's residence in the northern city of Tripoli. The statement, which was issued after the meeting that was attended in addition to Karami by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati, Premier-designate Tammam Salam and former PM Fouad Saniora, said the conferees agreed on “a number of steps that will be implemented consecutively.” But reports emerged that Karami's stance on Qabbani's isolation was unclear. Sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that the former premier had signed a petition against Qabbani but that he was in favor of urging him to leave his post and not sacking him out of respect for the seat of the mufti, who heads Dar al-Fatwa, Lebanon’s top Sunni religious authority. The Higher Islamic Council, which elects the mufti and organizes the affairs of Dar al-Fatwa, has been at the center of controversy after 21 of its members, who are close to ex-Premier Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal Movement, extended its term until the end of 2013 despite Qabbani's objection. But the mufti considered the extension illegal and held council elections. The Tripoli meeting was held on Saturday in light of a petition that more than 80 members of the council’s electoral body signed. It calls for a session to vote on whether Qabbani should be sacked over financial, and legal violations. The mufti's ties with al-Mustaqbal deteriorated in 2011 when he met with a delegation from Hizbullah the same day the Special Tribunal for Lebanon indicted four party members in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's February 2005 assassination. Relations between the two sides were also shaken when the mufti met with Syrian Ambassador Ali Abdul Karim Ali, whom al-Mustaqbal and the March 14 opposition alliance have on several occasions said should be expelled.

Phalange Party Urges End to Preconditions over Cabinet's Formation, Calls on Parties to Heed Suleiman's Talks Call
Naharnet/The Phalange Party on Monday urged political factions to accept the formations of a cabinet that is capable of confronting the current “exceptional situation” in the country, warning of a vacuum in the state. "The formation of the new cabinet is key for dealing with the current crisis in Lebanon,” the party stated in a released statement after the political bureau's weekly meeting. It added: “We call for ending all conditions and counter-conditions as well as local and foreign dictations over the government's formation, and instead accept a cabinet that is capable of confronting the current exceptional situation.” The politburo warned against a plan that would “disable the state from performing its basic duties like guaranteeing security.”"Vacuum in political and military posts are a result of fabricated and tendentious differences that obstruct the state's work.”The statement called on parties to heed President Michel Suleiman's calls for resuming the national dialogue. "We hold on to dialogue and we call for providing the necessary requirements for its success through revising the conclusions of previous sessions, evaluating the current situation and the bitter experiences the country faced, as well as addressing the barriers that stand in the way of reaching purposeful and effective results.”Suleiman had called on political leaders on Saturday to take part in reviving the national dialogue "to look for the best way to preserve Lebanon's interest and manage its affairs." The political bureau noted that “Lebanon must seriously deal with and resist to reports saying the country has become a safe haven for Takfiri groups and a warehouse of explosives.”"Preventive security and preemptive measures to detect terrorist cells before it is too late could be a way to deal with these reports.”The party called on political factions to "return to the country" and abide by the Baabda Declaration, to save Lebanon from the repercussions of the “painful events” in neighboring Syria. "We urge taking the issue of the army command's leadership out of political and media discussions and finding legal ways to either extend General Jean Qahwaji's term or changing the retirement age,” the politburo remarked. "Vacuum in security institutions must be avoided.”The statement reiterated the party's calls for taking part in workshops to draft a new electoral law “that respects true representation and national partnership.”"This would shorten the extended mandate of the parliament and hence, enable holding the elections to preserve the voters' rights and the rotation of power.”

Leaders await Hariri’s word on Cabinet, National Dialogue
July 23, 2013 /By Hussein Dakroub
The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Rival leaders awaited word from former Prime Minister Saad Hariri Monday to see how the political wind would blow in the divided country with regard to the Cabinet deadlock and calls for National Dialogue. A Future bloc delegation, led by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, held talks with Hariri in the Saudi city of Jeddah on fresh calls for National Dialogue and Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam’s stalled efforts to form a new Cabinet. The delegation, comprising MPs Ahmad Fatfat and Nouhad Mashnouq, did not return to Beirut Monday night as had been expected and the results of the talks were not immediately known.
Also, Hariri, head of the Future Movement, has not so far commented on calls for the resumption of National Dialogue between March 8 and March 14 leaders made separately last week by President Michel Sleiman and Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah. Nor did Hariri, who has been living out of Lebanon for more than two years for security reasons, comment on Speaker Nabih Berri’s call to return to Lebanon and nominate himself to the premiership.
However, members of Hariri’s parliamentary bloc dismissed Berri’s call for Hariri to nominate himself as a new prime minister as “a maneuver.”“We have nominated Tammam Salam as prime minister. Hariri’s nomination now is out of the question,” Beirut MP Ammar Houri told The Daily Star.
He said Berri’s call on Hariri to run for the premiership reflected the speaker’s problems with Salam over the formation of a new Cabinet. Noting that Hariri left Lebanon for security reasons, Houri told the Voice of Lebanon radio station:
“The return of [former]Prime Minister Saad Hariri is possible at any time and he does not need an invitation to return to Lebanon or to nominate himself to the premiership.”
Future MP Mohammad Hajjar described Berri’s call on Hariri to run for the premiership as “a maneuver,” reiterating his bloc’s support for Salam.
“Our position is clear, which is to support Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam in the Cabinet formation,” Hajjar told Al-Jadeed TV.
“Those who are trying to distract attention from the main problem, which is the Cabinet formation, and those who are trying to put obstacles in the way of the formation, should facilitate the mission of Salam whom we have granted all confidence to form the Cabinet according to the conditions he has proposed,” Hajjar said.
He added that Berri’s call on Hariri to return to Lebanon to head the new government is not on the cards.
“Hariri’s return to Lebanon could take place at any time but the issue of nomination to the premiership is out of the question,” he said.
Berri, speaking to The Daily Star Sunday, called on Hariri to return to Lebanon “so that we can discuss with him National Dialogue, efforts to form the Cabinet and everything else.”In remarks published by As-Safir newspaper Monday, Berri said: “If he [Hariri] wanted to run for the premiership, we would study the matter.”
The speaker’s remarks were construed as an implicit approval of Hariri’s nomination to the premiership. Hariri’s government was toppled by the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance in January 2011; he left the country the following April.
Berri said Salam’s insistence on his proposal for a 24-member Cabinet equally divided by the March 8 and March 14 parties and centrists did not help in the Cabinet formation.
Salam, who was appointed prime minister-designate on April 6, has run into trouble forming a new Cabinet as a result of conditions and counter-conditions set by the March 8 and March 14 camps.
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt welcomed Sleiman’s and Nasrallah’s calls for an inter-Lebanese dialogue, warning that the alternative to talks was divisions and exposing the country to security threats. He hoped that the dialogue could revive the government’s disassociation policy, violated by Hezbollah’s involvement in the fighting in Syria.
“We welcome all calls for dialogue among the Lebanese, the latest of which was announced by ... Sayyed Nasrallah and was reaffirmed by President Michel Sleiman, especially since the alternative to dialogue is further tension, fragmentation, divisions and political and security exposures,” Jumblatt said in his weekly article to the PSP’s online Al-Anbaa newspaper.
“Hence, we are looking forward to all political parties to agree to the resumption of dialogue,” he said.
Jumblatt hoped that the dialogue, once resumed, would address all divisive issues, including drawing up a practical mechanism for a defense strategy that would affirm the state’s role in decisions on war and peace and benefit from Hezbollah’s expertise. In a speech last Friday, Nasrallah said his party was ready to attend National Dialogue sessions in order to discuss a national defense strategy to confront Israeli threats to Lebanon.
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said he was ready to attend National Dialogue, but noted that previous dialogue sessions did not produce results.

Mustaqbal Delegation Tackles Latest Developments with Hariri in Saudi Arabia
Naharnet /A meeting held on Sunday between former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and a delegation from al-Mustaqbal movement addressed the on going crises in Lebanon, local newspapers reported on Monday. According to al-Joumhouria newspaper, discussions with the delegation, which is comprised of ex-PM Fouad Saniora and MPs Ahmed Fatfat and Nohad al-Mashnouq, focused on the formation of the cabinet and the resumption of the national dialogue. The newspaper reported that Hariri will contact Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea to coordinate their stances ahead of a meeting for the March 14 leaders this week. The meeting is expected to tackle the ongoing developments locally. Sources close to al-Mustaqbal undermined the importance of the visit, saying: “It's not the first time that a delegation from al-Mustaqbal heads to Saudi Arabia to meet with Hariri and discuss the latest developments. However, ministerial sources considered the the visit “extraordinary.”Al-Joumhouria reported that a previous meeting was held in Saudi Arabia with a delegation that included al-Mustaqbal secretary-general Ahmed al-Hariri, Nader al-Hariri and several lawmakers and advisers.

Joint Committees Give OK to Domestic Violence Draft-Law
Naharnet /The joint parliamentary committees approved on Monday a draft-law on the protection of women from domestic violence, a major step towards helping women become first-class citizens in multi-confessional Lebanon. If passed by parliament, the law would come under the penal code -- under which cases are referred to a criminal court -- rather than personal status laws, which are ruled on by religious authorities.On Sunday, activists held a protest in the northern district of Akkar urging parliament to approve the draft-law after a woman was allegedly beaten to death by her husband earlier this month. Roula Yaacoub, the 31-year-old mother of five, was found beaten at her home in the town of Halba. She died upon arrival in hospital. Reports have said that Roula and her children were regularly beaten by her husband. Domestic abuse and harassment continue to be taboo in Lebanon, with very few women filing complaints as police generally turn a blind eye and tell them to deal with their problems at home. From domestic violence to rape to adultery, the rights of women often fall by the wayside, reducing them to second-class citizens.  Monday's approval of the draft-law was seen as a major step towards the liberation of the Lebanese woman who still lacks a lot of rights, including transferring citizenship to her husband if he is a foreigner or to children born of such a union. But it could take months before the draft-law is put on the agenda of a parliamentary session.

Al-Nusra Calls on Shiites to Abandon Hizbullah
Naharnet /Al-Nusra Front leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani on Monday hit out at Hizbullah for its intervention in the Syrian conflict.In an audio recording entitled: "The Coming Days are Better Than Those of the Past,” the Nusra leader warned “Shiites in Lebanon not to allow Hizbullah to drag them into a proxy war in Syria on behalf of its Iranian backers.”"I warn those who claim Shiism in Lebanon about letting Iran drag you into a war that you can't bear," SITE Intelligence, which monitored the posting quoted him as saying. "I say that abandoning Hizbullah and disowning it will save you from woes and disasters that you would do without."
Source/Agence France PresseNaharnet.

Where is Morsi?
Mohammad Salah/Al Hayat
No official announcement was made in regard to the place of detention of Dr. Mohamed Morsi. And when Westerner voices called for his release, Cairo responded by saying that he was in a safe location and receiving proper treatment. Morsi left the Ittihadiya headquarters and his house in New Cairo and all the signs confirm he will soon stand behind bars to be prosecuted, whether for collaboration, corruption or the killing of the demonstrators. What is important is that his exit to the spotlight has become imminent, unlike his return to the Guidance Bureau!
90 Street in New Cairo – which hosts resorts, villas and luxurious houses – divides the area into two parts. But the houses of the Muslim Brotherhood leaders and the current and former members of the Guidance Bureau are also scattered among the neighborhood’s streets and behind the walls of its resorts. Halfway through it is a road linking 90 Street to a zone featuring lavish palaces in the 5th district and the famous Katameya Golf Resort. It is along that road that Dr. Mohamed Morsi’s house is located, and what is extraordinary is that nothing indicates that this is where an Egyptian president resided. Indeed, if you do not know that Morsi lived there, the house would easily go unnoticed, knowing that if you happen to pass by the houses of Gamal Abdul Nasser, Anwar al-Sadat or even Hosni Mubarak, you would immediately notice that these walls conceal the house of an important person, or one who used to be important. This is not only due to the fact that these houses are still guarded – even if only in form – but because the place’s standing imposes itself on those passing around or in front of it. Morsi’s house is an apartment on one of the floors of a villa in the middle of the street. Throughout a year – i.e. during his mandate – its neighboring area was transformed into a military barrack with armored vehicles, elements from the presidential guard, presidential security, general intelligence, national security and general security, officers and soldiers encircling the building, drawing its shape and imposing its status on the passersby, even if despite their will. In addition, strict measures were imposed on the neighbors who had no choice but to succumb or leave. Some succumbed and others left, but they seem to have returned following Morsi’s ousting and exclusion from the presidential palace.
Naturally, the situation became different after the ousting and Morsi’s disappearance. At this level, the Brotherhood believes he is being detained in the presidential guard quarters while the rest of the Egyptians believe he was transferred elsewhere, considering that the simplest security rules in such cases impose the transfer of the “target” to a location no one would expect, especially those vehemently calling for him. Morsi is outside of Cairo in a safe location, guarded by officers and army elements who are protecting him against any harm, while at the same time acting as his jailors and the protectors of society against him and his group!The Brotherhood partisans will be appeased if they get reassurances about their organization, the safety of their leaders and a guaranteed part of the political scene in the future to remain essential players in it. They would also be appeased if Al-Shater exits prison; if the decision to arrest the Guide, Al-Baltagi and Al-Aryan is annulled; if they get promises regarding the closing of the file of Morsi’s escape from the Wadi Natroun prison; and if they can ensure that the deposed president’s contacts during his mandate and his relations with certain foreign powers and figures are not used to implicate him in intelligence or treason cases, or to accuse him of harming the country’s security and safety. On the other hand, the army, headed by Field Marshal Abdul Fattah Sissi, handled the Muslim Brotherhood the same way Morsi handled his oppositionists, i.e. by saying “let them demonstrate.” The army will not disperse the Rabiaa Adawiya sit-in by force, although it is warning against the sit-in’s impact on the country’s situation, and especially its economy. At the same time, the army does not fear the repetition of the President Guard Club incident, if the Brotherhood were to attack any military facility again. Reality points to the fact that the Brotherhood supporters are exhausted by the multitude of marches, the objections of the inhabitants of the neighborhoods they are crossing and their attacks against them. This situation could last for some time, until the army or the ruling authority shows Morsi incarcerated in the Torra prison upon an order from the prosecution and the people.

Six Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood highups flee to Gaza, set up command post for uprising

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report July 22, 2013/A group of six Muslim Brotherhood officials escaped from Egypt after their president was overthrown in a military coup July 3 and smuggled themselves into the Gaza Strip to lead an uprising against the military in Cairo, debkafile’s exclusive intelligence sources disclose. Headed by Mahmud Izzat Ibrahim, a senior deputy of the Supreme Guide, the group has established a command post at the Gaza Beach Hotel, to organize operations against Egyptian military and security targets, in conjunction with Hamas and armed Al Qaeda-linked Salafist Bedouin in Sinai.
The ousted Islamist leaders hope their revolt will quickly spread out from Sinai to Egypt proper and topple the provisional rulers in Cairo.Mahmoud Izzat, a doctor of medicine, known as the Muslim Brotherhood’s “iron man,” ranks fourth after Supreme Guide Muhammed Badie in the Muslim Brotherhood hierarchy. He was a key figure in handing down the policy decisions of the Guidance Office, of which he has been a member since 1981, to the movement’s Freedom and Justice Party in government and parliament.
Married to a former supreme guide’s daughter, he was imprisoned in 1995 as leader of an illegal organization, and jailed again in January 2008 for participating in Cairo demonstrations against an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip.
debkafile: The MB leadership picked Mahmoud Izzat as the man best able to command the movement’s mutiny against its successors in Cairo.
Our sources reveal that the group escaped from Egypt using the Hamas networks which operated underground in Egypt during the Mubarak presidency. In February 2011, when Mubarak was on his way out, those networks came out of hiding to engineer the mass jailbreak of Brotherhood leaders, including Morsi himself.
To bypass Egyptian military and police roadblocks on Sinai roads, Hamas provided Izzat and his fellow Brethren with smugglers’ boats that ply the Mediterranean sea route between Alexandria and Gaza.
Saturday, July 20, the Egyptian army imposed a total blockade on sea craft traffic along the Mediterranean coasts of Gaza and Sinai and clamped down heavily on other means of access to the Gaza Strip. Army engineers are destroying the hundreds of smuggling tunnels linking Sinai and the Palestinian enclave, which were an integral part of Gaza’s economy under Hamas rule.
Last week, Egyptian Apache gun ships flew overhead to warn the Palestinian rulers that their movements was under surveillance.
debkafile’s military sources report that, in view of the Gaza Strip’s key role in abetting the uprising, the Egyptian army may decide to kick off its counter-terror operation in Sinai by dropping elite forces in Gaza by air or sea for commandeering the Beach Hotel and detaining the six Muslim Brotherhood leaders. They would be brought to Cairo and tried on charges of instigating revolt.
Egypt’s military rulers don’t credit Hamas protests denying they collaborated with the Brotherhood’s actions in defiance of the military. They point to the new terrorist network in Sinai, which calls itself, “Communicators with the Mahdi,” as consisting almost entirely of Palestinian members of Hamas and Jihadi Islami from Gaza. This network is held responsible for the sharp escalation in attacks on Egyptian security forces since the Brotherhood leaders set up shop at the Beach Hotel.
There is no doubt that the Brotherhood revolt leaders in Gaza are coordinating their actions with the Egyptian al Qaeda leader Ramzi Mowafi and the armed Salafist legion he commands in Sinai.
In Cairo, too the army has placed restrictions on Syrian Brotherhood members who entered Egypt recently among the tens of thousands of refugees fleeing the civil war against Bashar Assad. Whereas Presiden Morsi allowed them to move freely around the country, since Saturday, July 20, they need a license to travel anywhere – or even leave the country.
The use of the Gaza Strip as the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s center of operation outside its borders raises questions about the role of Hamas and the Gaza Strip itself with regard to the resumed peace talks due to begin in Washington next week under US sponsorship.
Hamas quickly rejected the US Secretary of State John Kerry’s initiative announced last Friday and denounced Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas as having no mandate to represent the Palestinian people in any negotiations for its future.
This attitude and the presence of a senior Muslim Brotherhood delegation in the Gaza Strip would render any accord Abbas reached with Israel partial and only applicable to the West Bank.

Setting the Stage for New Peace Talks
David Makovsky /Washington Institute
The various calculations and concessions that brought Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table are mostly encouraging, but the tough decisions all lie ahead.
On July 19, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Israel and the Palestinian Authority had "established a basis" for renewing peace negotiations after a nearly three-year standstill. Yitzhak Molcho, a top advisor to Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, is expected to join Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat for meetings in Washington, perhaps within the next two weeks. Palestinian officials say they are still awaiting some unspecified clarifications from the United States before resuming talks. In the meantime, the initial discussions that Kerry has led since April and the political environment within Israel and the PA could provide analytical clues about how the negotiations might unfold.
STATUS QUO UNDERMINING ISRAELI INTERESTS
A new motif emerged during the Kerry mission: Netanyahu publicly railing against the status quo. Specifically, he has been emphasizing that Zionism is based on Israel remaining Jewish and democratic, and that these traits will not persist indefinitely if Israel fails to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. Most recently, his office just released a quote from his Sunday cabinet meeting in which he stated that holding talks is a "vital strategic interest" because Israel is keen on "preventing the creation of a binational state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea."
For his part, PA president Mahmoud Abbas has not emphasized any new rationale for negotiations except the statement he made about Israel in early July: "They are our neighbors, and we recognize them as such. We must live together in security and stability." Given the mistrust between the parties, a positive Palestinian rationale for the talks (besides the obvious desire to end occupation) is important amid skepticism about the prospects for a breakthrough. Polls show that while a majority of Israelis and Palestinians favor a two-state solution, each side is convinced that the other is not serious. Leaders must therefore find ways to rally their publics around compromise and provide justifications for new talks. This is especially important because hardliners on both sides will likely intensify their opposition if negotiators make progress.
THE SILVER LINING OF LOW EXPECTATIONS
Another theme of the pre-negotiations phase is that right-wing politicians in Netanyahu's government did not bother to block new talks because they are convinced the process will fail. In particular, they firmly believe that Abbas will not make a deal. Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin, an internal critic of Netanyahu's two-state policy, said he favors talks but called his dispute with the prime minister over Palestinian statehood "theoretical," apparently due to his belief that the PA will not sign a deal. Similarly, leading politician Avigdor Liberman has called Abbas an obstacle to peace and apparently does not believe that Israel will have to seriously consider tough concessions to the Palestinians. Thus far, the various settler factions have not spoken out against Netanyahu's decision either, though their silence may be based on factors other than low expectations.
For his part, Netanyahu clearly wants to minimize his critics' ability to undermine the talks. This was part of the reason why he refused a pre-negotiations commitment to base the outcome of any deal on the pre-1967 borders, as requested by the Palestinians. Right-wing leader Naftali Bennett said his party would bolt the coalition if the prime minister made such a promise. Netanyahu has also signaled that no final agreement with the PA will receive his government's consent until it is approved by a national referendum. He even raised the specter of new elections to ratify the results of negotiations. Given the precedent of Ariel Sharon -- who split the Likud and formed a new party when his ruling faction was not sufficiently supportive of the 2005 Gaza disengagement -- some have speculated that Netanyahu might do the same in the event of a breakthrough.
AVOIDING BLAME
In light of Abbas and Netanyahu's mutual doubt regarding each other's commitment to reaching a deal, many questioned whether Kerry would succeed in getting them back to the table. Yet Kerry was apparently able to exploit another shared sentiment between the two leaders: the desire to avoid U.S. blame for failing to resume talks. Israel did not want to be blamed because it would face even greater risk of diplomatic isolation from Europe and elsewhere.
For the Palestinians, the issue was about not just blame, but also concern that another failure would end U.S. peace efforts for the remainder of President Obama's second term, especially given the various other crises Washington faces at home and abroad. It is an open question whether this mutual fear of being blamed will be sufficient to keep the parties at the table, or just enough to get them there.
BEYOND THE NEGOTIATING TABLE
Off-the-table concessions and benefits also played a role in jumpstarting talks, and such moves will likely continue as the negotiations unfold. For example, it is no coincidence that Kerry and international peace envoy Tony Blair chose the former's peace mission earlier this spring as the moment to announce a $4 billion economic development package for the West Bank. The Palestinians had to assume that if they spurned Kerry, the assistance would not be forthcoming.
Moreover, Abbas knew everyone wanted the PA to return to the table, so he used this leverage to secure two concessions: a phased release of approximately eighty Fatah prisoners convicted by Israeli courts before the 1993 Oslo Accords, and limitations on Israeli settlement growth (it is unclear if these limits apply to all settlements or just the less-heavily-populated nonbloc areas). For its part, Israel apparently secured a commitment from Abbas not to return to the UN to further upgrade the PA's status as long as negotiations continue for the next six to nine months.
STRUCTURAL ISSUES
All parties seem to have learned at least one lesson from the three weeks of negotiations that took place in 2010. At the time, the process entailed that the leaders themselves negotiate -- a politically risky arrangement that quickly produced an impasse. This time, with Livni, Molcho, and Erekat acting as negotiators, neither leader will be exposed to controversial obstacles too early. Although significant decisions must ultimately be made by the leaders, backchannel efforts can still help break the types of deadlocks that occur in formal talks.
Yet Kerry's understandable focus on simply getting the parties to the table has obscured important substantive and structural issues regarding the new talks. As a result, questions abound. Will the parties attempt to negotiate all issues, including Jerusalem and refugees, or will they defer sensitive narrative and symbolic matters and deal with practical issues first, such as territory and security? Will they deal with issues in sequence or in parallel working groups? What will the U.S. role be in direct negotiations between the parties? Will Washington put its own ideas on the table or stay outside the room? Some reports indicate that the United States will name veteran Middle East diplomat Martin Indyk as special envoy, but this has yet to be made official.
The regional role is uncertain as well. Arab leaders gave Abbas political cover last week by saying they support the Kerry peace initiative; ideally, that will continue once the difficult business of negotiations begins. In Egypt, the military's ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood government could constrain Hamas's ability to cause mischief, but the situation obviously remains fluid. Meanwhile, the European Union -- Israel's largest trade partner -- decided last week not to fund any Israeli activities in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. In addition to potentially affecting future trade agreements, this move could harden Palestinian attitudes on the need to compromise if the PA believes it can count on Brussels to press Israel outside the negotiating room.
CONCLUSION
Given the many issues left open for the negotiators, Kerry will likely be adding to his tally of trips to the region in the near future. Indeed, high-level attention will be paid as the parties face critical policy decisions, though not at the pace of the past few months. Kerry has brought the Israelis and Palestinians together for the first time in three years, but the tough decisions on the terms of peace itself all lie ahead.
*David Makovsky is the Ziegler distinguished fellow and director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at The Washington Institute.