حرب القاضية والنائب تهز القضاء والسياسة اللبنانيين/حادثة غير مسبوقة في قصور العدل

سوسن مهنا/انديبندت عربية/13 كانون الأول/2019

أحال مجلس القضاء الأعلى​ النائب العام الاستئنافي في ​جبل لبنان​ القاضية ​​​غادة عون​ على ​التفتيش القضائي​، مساء الأربعاء 11 ديسمبر (كانون الأول). وذلك بعد قرارها توقيف مديرة هيئة السير هدى سلوم، بناءً على الإخبار المقدم من المحامي وديع عقل في جرائم الرشى والتزوير وهدر المال العام والإثراء غير المشروع والإخلال بواجبات وظيفية.

توقيف سلوم، التي أخلي سبيلها اليوم الجمعة، أثار بلبلة في الأوساط السياسية، إذ اعتبرت وزيرة الداخلية ريا الحسن قرار عون تجاوزاً لصلاحياتها. وأشارت الحسن إلى أنها تتابع القضية مع النائب العام التمييزي غسان عويدات، بعدما كانت أعطت الإذن للقاضية عون بالاستماع إلى سلوم كشاهد، فعمدت عون إلى توقيفها. ووصفت المصادر الطريقة التي اتبعتها عون بغير القانونية بحيث إن توقيف سلوم “يتطلب إذناً من وزيرة الداخلية ومراجعة النائب العام التمييزي وهو ما لم يحصل”. على إثر ذلك، انتشر فيديو على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي يظهر عضو كتلة “المستقبل” النائب هادي حبيش بوصفه محامي هدى سلوم، بالتهجم على عون في مكتبها وبرفقته مجموعة من الشبان. وفيما تلفظ بتعابير بذيئة بحقها ووصفها بأنها “رمز الفساد” و”القاضية الميليشياوية” التي “تمارس التشبيح في السياسة”. من ثم، ادعى عليها بالمعاملة بالشدة والقدح والذم وتحقير المحامين والنواب. وكشف حبيش في حديث إعلامي، أن “التيار الوطني الحر يخوض معركة للحصول على مركز رئيس هيئة السير، بالتالي لم تنجح كل محاولات إبعاد سلوم عن المركز بـ”الحُسنى”، فقرّر تشويه صورتها”. وتابع “قاضية عونية أَرسلت بطلب مديرة عامة بشكوى مقدمة من الوطني الحر، فكيف يمكن أن تكون نتيجة أي تحقيق أو قرار إذا ما كانت القاضية منتسبة إلى التيار والشكوى مقدّمة من الحزب نفسه؟”.

وتقدمت القاضية عون بدعوى ضد حبيش متخذة صفة الادعاء الشخصي عليه، وأرفقت الدعوى بفيديوات متعلقة بالإشكال الذي حصل في مكتبها وطلبت ملاحقته وتوقيفه وأحالته على المدعي العام التمييزي. لكنها ليست المرة الأولى التي تتصدر أخبار القاضية عون الإعلام، إذ كان النائب العام التمييزي القاضي ​غسان عويدات​، قد أحالها في 30 أكتوبر (تشرين الأول) الماضي، على ​التفتيش القضائي​، وحذر حينها من أن هناك إمكانية لإحالتها على التفتيش القضائي، إذا تجاوزت صلاحياتها مرة أخرى، سنداً إلى المادة 16 من قانون أصول المحاكمات الجزائية، وذلك في عقوبة مسلكية لها.

من هي القاضية عون؟
يشير مصدر قضائي لـ”اندبندنت عربية” إلى “أن القاضية عون عينت في عهد وزير العدل السابق سليم جريصاتي، بناءً لتوصية، ولا حاجة للتذكير بكنيتها عون، ما يجعلها من المحظيين بالنسبة إلى الرئيس ميشال عون. لم نعهد بتاريخ ممارستنا عملنا القضائي أن يكون هناك قضاة تابعين لأي جهة سياسية. وهذا ما حصل في عهد عون تحت مسمى “الفريق القضائي” لرئيس الجمهورية”. يتابع المصدر القضائي، “اختار جريصاتي في التشكيلات القضائية التي حصلت منذ نحو سنتين، أكتوبر (تشرين الأول) 2017، قضاة مقربين منه وعينوا في مراكز حساسة. ومنذ تعيين القاضية عون وهي تثير الزوابع في قرارات كثيرة اتخذتها. سبق وتقدم العديد من الناشطين والمحامين بدعاوى عن عمليات سرقة المال العام، لكنها لم تنظر بها، استنسابية تعاطيها مع ملفاتها هو ما يثير الريبة، ليس آخرها قرار توقيف سلوم، بل سبق أن ادعت على رئيس الحكومة الأسبق نجيب ميقاتي، بتهمة “الإثراء غير المشروع، من خلال الحصول على قروض سكنية مدعومة”، حتى قبل تحضير ملف قضائي وأدلة تستند إليها. قبل أن تتراجع عن الدعوى.

عدا عن تصرفها بعنجهية وتكبر مع زملائها. ما أثار موجة اعتراضات واستنكارات، نذكر بإحداها، حيث طلبت من شعبة المعلومات التحقيق مع رئيس قلم دائرة التحقيق في جبل لبنان، الخاضع لسلطة قاضي التحقيق الأول في جبل لبنان نقولا منصور، بتهمة فساد، من دون أن تُطلع منصور على المعلومات والأدلة التي استندت إليها. إضافة إلى توقيفها ثلاثة أطفال من بلدة حمانا (جبل لبنان) لمجرد أنهم حاولوا نزع لافتة للتيار الوطني الحر، ولم تسمح لأسرهم أو محاميهم بمقابلتهم. وللدلالة على تحيز هذه القاضية لفئة ضد أخرى في البلد نذكر بالتسجيل الصوتي الذي انتشر على وسائل التواصل تقول فيه، إنها غير خائفة، وتتابع وتقول، “ميشال عون بيعرف كيف يشتغل… لقد ذكر الناس بميليشيات القوات (اللبنانية) وكيف تعمل والجيل الذي كان لا يعرفها بات يعرفها. وعاد وذكر أهالي الجبل والساحل وكل المناطق أن (وليد) جنبلاط سكر طرقات وأخذ خوات. عاد وذكر الكل. وذكر بأن حزب الله خائف… والرئيس عون مركبلن خازوق كبير. وخلص فاتوا بالحيط”.

مصدر قضائي آخر لفت لـ”اندبندنت عربية” إلى أن القاضية عون “أحيلت على التفتيش القضائي لإجرائها تصريح إعلامي”. وهو ما يخالف القوانين التي بموجبها على القاضي الحصول على تصريح قبل الإدلاء بأي حديث صحافي أو إطلالة إعلامية. “أما بالنسبة إلى ما حصل في مكتبها، في الشكل، وافتراضاً أن قرار القاضي ليس قانونياً وفي غير مكانه، لا يحق لأي محام أن يتصرف كما تصرف النائب حبيش بصفته محامي المدعى عليها سلوم. أما في المضمون فإن قرار التوقيف بتهم الإثراء غير المشروع يأتي بناءً على تحقيق كامل، وهناك آليات وإجراءات تتخذ قبل الشروع باتهام كهذا، مما يعني أنه لا يجوز أن تلقى المدعى عليه هديةً بسيطةً، أن يتهم بالإثراء غير المشروع، حيث الإثبات في هذا الاتهام معكوس ويقع على المدعى عليه وليس على الادعاء”.

ماذا تعني هذه الإجراءات؟
يقول المصدر القضائي “قبل قرار التوقيف بهذه التهمة، على الادعاء أن يحقق بثروة المدعى عليه، وهل تتناسب مع مداخيله المشروعة التي من الممكن أن تكون متنوعة، وكم يملك من عقارات وسيارات، الاطلاع على الحسابات المصرفية، أموال مهربة… إلخ. وهذا الملف المستكمل يجب أن يعرض أمام قاضي التحقيق الأول في بيروت، حيث أن مهمة النظر في تهم الإثراء غير المشروع لها مركزية القرار، وقاضي التحقيق الأول في بيروت هو من يتحقق من هذه التهم، ومن ثم يتم التحقيق مع المدعى عليه، فإذا ثبتت الادعاءات بالبينة، يتم إيقافه”. هل قانون “من أين لك هذا” ساري المفعول في لبنان؟ يجيب المصدر بأن “هذا القانون قائم في لبنان منذ عام 1999، وتبعاً له يحق للمواطن العادي أن يتقدم بادعائه. لكن ما زالت السلطات المعنية تطلب من المواطن كفالة مالية وقدرها 25 مليون ليرة لبنانية، ما يعادل (15 ألف دولار) وإذا لم تثبت صحة ادعاءاته يخسر الكفالة، وهذا ما يجعل تنفيذ القانون ناقصاً، إذ إنه قد لا يستطيع أي كان التنازل عن مبلغ كهذا في مقابل دعوى قد تربح وقد تخسر. لكن الوضع مختلف بالنسبة للنيابات العامة”.

تبعاً لهذا، على من يقع الحق بالقضية المثارة؟ يرد المصدر “من غير المفروض، أن يثير القاضي الزوابع حول تصرفاته، كما أن على القاضي التحلي بالصبر وسعة الصدر، كي يستطيع النظر بقضايا المواطنين، وعليه المحاولة بأن تكون قراراته غير صدامية، لكن ما حصل مع القاضية عون والنائب حبيش مختلف، كان عليها أن تطلب توقيفه فوراً، إذ لا يمكن لأيٍ كان التعرض لهيبة القضاء، وحبيش قام بالتعرض لها شخصياً بكلامٍ نابٍ لا يليق بصورته كمحامٍ ونائب، ولا بصفة وشخص القاضية عون”.

شكوى الدولة
وكان النائب العام لدى محكمة التمييز القاضي غسان عويدات قد أحال شكوى الدولة اللبنانية ممثلة بهيئة القضايا في وزارة العدل ضدّ النائب حبيش، وادعاء النائب العام الاستئنافي في جبل لبنان القاضية عون وإخبار المحامي وديع عقل، على المحامي العام التمييزي القاضية ميرنا كلاس، وكلّفها بمباشرة التحقيقات، على أن يتمّ إرسال كتاب اليوم إلى مجلس النواب الذي هو في دورة الانعقاد لإعلامه بأحكام المادة 40 من الدستور، بأنّ الجرم هو جرم مشهود. وقام عويدات الجمعة صباحاً باستدعاء النائب حبيش إلى جلسة على خلفية ما حصل في قصر عدل بعبدا، لكن النائب حبيش لم يحضر إلى الجلسة بل حضر وكيله الذي قدم مذكرة دفوع بموضوع الجرم المشهود على اعتبار أنه ليس جرماً مشهوداً. الجدير ذكره أن نقيب محامي الشمال محمد مراد أعلن في مؤتمر صحافي أنه “بعد الاطلاع على مجمل ​تفاصيل​ الحادثة، يرى في ما حدث خروجاً عن أصول التعاطي بين جسمي القضاء والمحاماة”.

The post سوسن مهنا: حرب القاضية والنائب تهز القضاء والسياسة اللبنانيين وهي حادثة غير مسبوقة في قصور العدل appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Resignation of the Lebanese President and all the Top Ruling Officials Is A Must
Abu Arz-Etian Saqer/December 13/2019

استقالة رئيس الجمهورية والطبقة الحاكمة
أبو أرز- اتيان صقر/13 كانون الأول/2019
بما ان الأزمة الحكومية مستعصية على كل حل، وجميع الدلائل تشير الى ان حكومة الأنقاذ الموعودة لن تبصر النور لا على المدى القريب ولا البعيد.
وبما ان حل الأزمة المالية- النقدية-الأقتصادية-الأجتماعية مرتبطة عضوياً بحل الأزمة الحكومية.
وبما ان اوضاع البلاد العامة تسوء يوما عن يوم، وتنذر بانهيار شامل ومرعب.
وبما ان الطبقة الحاكمة قد فشلت حتى الان في كل شيء، وعلى كافة المستويات، وفقدت السيطرة على دفٌة الحكم او ما بقي منه.
لذلك تصبح استقالة رئيس الجمهورية ومعه الطبقة الحاكمة أمراً محتوماً وضرورة وطنية ملحة.
فاما استقالة حتمية وسريعة، واما انهيار حتمي وسريع.
لبيك لبنان
ابو ارز.ملاحظة:

*الصورة المرفقة هي من الأرشيف وفيها الرئيس شمعون والشيخ بشير وأبو أرز

Resignation of the Lebanese President and all the Top Ruling Officials Is A Must
Abu Arz-Etian Saqer/December 13/2019
Due to solid facts related to an ongoing Lebanese governmental crisis that is not going to be solved soon, And because all tangible circumstances indicate that this promised rescue government will not be formed in the near future,
And Since all practical solutions for the imminent financial-monetary-economic-social crisis are technically linked to the governmental crisis,
And Since the general conditions of the country are worsening day by day, and warning of a comprehensive and terrifying collapse,
And since the top officials have entirely failed in everything and at all levels,
Therefore, the resignation of the Lebanese President of the Republic, along with all the top ruling officials becomes an inevitable and urgent national necessity.
Sadly, the available two choices are either an inevitable and immediate resignation, or an inevitable and disastrous comprehensive collapse.
Long Live Our Holy Lebanon

The post أبو أرز:استقالة رئيس الجمهورية والطبقة الحاكمة/Abu Arz: Resignation of the Lebanese President and all the Top Ruling Officials Is A Must appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 14/2019

Click Here to read the whole and detailed LCCC English News Bulletin for December 14/2019

The post Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 14/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 13-14/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 58th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 14/2019

Tites For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 13-14/2019
President Michel Aoun Discusses Paris Meeting on Lebanon with Kubis
Pompeo Dispatches David Hale to Beirut
Pompeo: We Stand with People of Lebanon against Corruption, Terrorism
U.S. Sanctions 3 Individuals, Several Firms Allegedly Linked to Hizbullah
Hezbollah: ‘No easy feat’ but Lebanon gov’t must include everyone
Nasrallah Urges ‘Partnership Govt.’ Comprising Everyone, including FPM
US Treasury designates Lebanon and DRC-based Hezbollah money launderers
Government must include political parties, Nasrallah says
Judge Aoun Keeps Salloum in Custody after Rizk Allows Her Release
Beirut Judge Presses Charges against Hbeish
Bustani Hands Total First License to Drill for Lebanon’s Oil and Gas
Several demonstrators arrested in connection to shutting down highway in Beirut
Army Arrests Protesters in Jal el-Dib
Lebanon’s Gebran Bassil backs technocrat government without Saad Hariri

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 13-14/2019
Resignation of the Lebanese President and all the Top Officials Is A Must
Abu Arz-Etian Saqer/December 13/2019
Due to solid facts related to an ongoing Lebanese governmental crisis that is not going to be solved soon,
And because all tangible circumstances indicate that this promised rescue government will not be formed in the near future
And Since all practical solutions for the imminent financial-monetary-economic-social crisis are technically linked to the governmental crisis.
And Since the general conditions of the country is worsening day by day, and warns of a comprehensive and terrifying collapse.
And since the top official have entirely failed in everything and at all levels,
Therefore, the resignation of the Lebanese President of the Republic, along with all the top officials becomes an inevitable and urgent national necessity.
The available two choices are either an inevitable and immediate resignation, or an inevitable and disastrous comprehensive collapse.
Long Live Our Holy Lebanon

President Michel Aoun Discusses Paris Meeting on Lebanon with Kubis
Naharnet/December 13/2019
President Michel Aoun held talks on Friday with UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jan Kubis and discussed the outcome of the International Support Group for Lebanon meeting in Paris earlier this week, the National News Agency said. On Wednesday, Lebanon’s appeal for urgent aid received short shrift at the Paris conference, with France, the US, Russia and other countries making assistance conditional on the formation of a new reform-minded government. Speaking at the end of the ISG meeting for Lebanon, host French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said: “The only possible criteria (for aid) is the effectiveness of the government in implementing the reforms awaited by the population. “This is the only way that the participants around this table and beyond can mobilise to give Lebanon the support it needs.”Lebanon has been rocked by unprecedented popular protests over official mismanagement and corruption since October 17. Hariri, who remains premier in the interim, had appealed for aid from Lebanon’s allies to secure basic imports in the face of an acute dollar liquidity crisis. Importers of fuel, medicines and wheat have warned of shortages if the situation persists. But the international community has insisted that any aid be conditional on the implementation of wide-ranging reforms, from greater transparency to guarantees on the independence of the judiciary. Prime Minister Saad Hariri stepped down two weeks into the revolt, but a deeply divided political class has failed to reach agreement on a new head of government.

Pompeo Dispatches David Hale to Beirut
Beirut – Khalil Fleihan/
US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale is expected to visit Beirut this month as Lebanon suffers a deep political and economic crisis, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. Hale’s trip would be the first diplomatic move made by President Donald Trump’s administration towards Beirut since the start of massive anti-government demonstrations on October 17.The US official’s planned visit comes after a meeting of the International Group in Support (ISG) of Lebanon held in Paris on Wednesday. US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker, who represented Washington at the IGS meeting, has informed the US administration about the dangerous levels that Lebanon’s political, economic, social and financial conditions have reached. The US has openly supported Lebanon’s unprecedented cross-sectarian protests denouncing government mismanagement and corruption. The diplomatic sources said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been closely monitoring the situation in Lebanon since his last trip to Beirut in April. Another diplomatic source told the newspaper that Washington will neither provide financial assistance nor liquidity in US dollars that is much required in the Lebanese market. “However, the US can speak with a number of donor countries and organizations, mainly the International Monetary Fund,” the source added. Hale’s visit to Beirut also comes as Lebanon prepares to hold biding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier tasked with forming a government. This month, Trump’s administration lifted a mysterious “hold” on more than $100 million in security aid for Lebanon, more than a month after lawmakers learned the funds were being blocked. Hale said during previous congressional testimonies that there had been some

Pompeo: We Stand with People of Lebanon against Corruption, Terrorism
Naharnet/December 13/2019
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday announced that the U.S. stands by the Lebanese people in the face of “corruption and terrorism,” shortly after Washington slapped sanctions on three individuals and several firms allegedly linked to Hizbullah. “We stand with the people of Lebanon to fight against corruption and terrorism. Today we designated two prominent Lebanese businessmen whose illicit financial activity supports Hizbullah,” Pompeo tweeted. “We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to counter the threat Hizbullah poses,” he added. Earlier on Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions against three alleged Hizbullah money launderers and financiers, including a diamond trader who collected art. It accused Lebanon-based Nazem Said Ahmad, whose art collection includes works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, and his companies of helping to launder large sums of money for the group. “Ahmad, who has a vast art collection, is one of Hizbullah’s top donors, generating funds through his longstanding ties to the ‘blood diamond’ trade,” it said. A second man based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Saleh Assi, was sanctioned for laundering money through Ahmad’s diamond business and supporting another alleged financier already under sanctions. The U.S. Treasury also slapped sanctions on Lebanon-based accountant Tony Saab, saying he “provided support to Assi.”

U.S. Sanctions 3 Individuals, Several Firms Allegedly Linked to Hizbullah
Naharnet/December 13/2019
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday slapped sanctions against three individuals and several firms allegedly linked to Hizbullah. In a statement, the Treasury identified the individuals as Nazem Said Ahmad, Saleh Assi and Tony Saab. It described Ahmed and Assi as “two prominent Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)-based money launderers,” adding that they have affiliated companies some of which have “generated tens of millions of dollars for Hizbullah, its financiers, and their malign activities.”“Hizbullah continues to use seemingly legitimate businesses as front companies to raise and launder funds in countries like the DRC where it can use bribery and political connections to secure unfair market access and evade taxes,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “This Administration will continue to take action against Hizbullah financiers like Nazem Said Ahmad and Saleh Assi, who have used money laundering and tax evasion schemes to fund terrorist plots and finance their own lavish lifestyles as the Lebanese people suffer,” Mnuchin added. “Art and luxury goods dealers should be on alert to the schemes of money launderers who hide personal funds in high-value assets in an attempt to mitigate the effects of U.S. sanctions,” said Deputy Secretary Justin G. Muzinich. Describing Nazem Said Ahmad as one of Hizbullah’s “top donors,” the statement said the man possesses “an extensive art collection worth tens of millions of dollars, including works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, many of which have been on display in his gallery and penthouse in Beirut.”He generates funds through his “longstanding ties to the ‘blood diamond’ trade,” the statement added, noting that Saleh Assi has “laundered money through Ahmad’s diamond businesses.”The U.S. Treasury also slapped sanctions on Lebanon-based accountant Tony Saab, saying he “provided support to Assi.”“Saab has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of Assi,” the statement said.
“As an employee of Assi’s company Inter Aliment, Saab was involved in facilitating the transfer of millions of dollars for Inter Aliment and Minocongo and provided documentation of such transfers to Assi. Saab was also involved in facilitating Assi’s payments to (alleged Hizbullah financier Adham Hussein) Tabaja,” the statement added.

Hezbollah: ‘No easy feat’ but Lebanon gov’t must include everyone
Al Jazeera/December 13/2019
Hassan Nasrallah insists on its ally, the FPM take part in next government, with consultations starting on Monday.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said the formation of a new government in protest-hit Lebanon will be “no easy feat”, adding that the new cabinet must bring all sides together. In a televised speech on Friday, the leader of the Shia group insisted that its ally, President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) – Lebanon’s largest Christian political bloc – take part in the cabinet. Speaking before binding parliamentary consultations to nominate a new head of cabinet on Monday, Nasrallah said forming a new cabinet that desperately needed to redress a tumbling economy could take time.
“The consultations are supposed to take place on Monday and we hope that whoever receives most votes will be designated to form a government,” he said. “But the formation will be no easy feat.” Nasrallah said neither a government that only includes Hezbollah and its allies, nor one that only comprises its rivals, could pull the country from a crisis that “requires that everyone stand together”. Lebanon has been swept by mass nationwide protests since October 17 demanding the complete overhaul of a political class deemed inept and corrupt. Prime Minister Saad Hariri stepped down on October 29 under pressure from the popular protests, but bitterly divided political parties have failed to agree on his successor ever since. The protesters have demanded a government made up solely of experts not affiliated to the country’s traditional political parties, but analysts have warned this could be a tall order. Noting that the crisis has deteriorated since Hariri’s resignation, Nasrallah said he would support a “government of national partnership”, and one with “the widest possible representation” that did not exclude any of the major parties.
He said it could be headed by Hariri, who remained in a caretaker capacity, or someone the outgoing prime minister designated. The names of various potential candidates have been circulated in recent weeks, but the Sunni Muslim establishment on Sunday threw their support behind Hariri’s return. Under the country’s power-sharing system, the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim. Nasrallah’s speech came a day after FPM leader and Aoun’s son-in-law Gebran Bassil said the party would not join a new government under the terms set by Hariri, but would not obstruct the formation of a new cabinet.
The position of the FPM could ease the way to the formation of a Hariri-led government. Lebanon is in urgent need of a new government to pull it from a deepening economic crisis that has shaken confidence in its banking system. Foreign donors have said they would offer support only after a cabinet able to enact reforms is in place. The World Bank estimates a third of Lebanese live in poverty and this could rise to half. It has projected a recession of at least 0.2 percent for 2019.

Nasrallah Urges ‘Partnership Govt.’ Comprising Everyone, including FPM
Naharnet/December 13/2019
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday called for the formation of what he called a “national partnership government” comprising all parties, including the Free Patriotic Movement, as he noted that the formation process will not be “easy.”He also said that such a government should be led by Saad Hariri or a figure enjoying his support. “The consultations are supposed to take place Monday and we hope a PM-designate will be named,” Nasrallah said in a televised address. “So far, no agreement has been reached on any candidate… We hope that the figure who gets the necessary votes will be designated on Monday,” he added. “After the designation of a premier, we will talk about the line-up and we would negotiate and cooperate with the PM-designate to form the government,” he said.Nasrallah however pointed out that the formation of a new government will not be an “easy” process. “We insist on the FPM’s representation in the government and no party should be eliminated,” Nasrallah added, a day after FPM chief Jebran Bassil announced that his movement will not take part in any so-called techno-political government led by Hariri. “Hariri must ease his preconditions if a national partnership government is to be formed,” Nasrallah said. Noting that the 1943 National Pact forbids the formation of a “one-sided government,” the Hizbullah leader said “any government needs domestic stability in order to be able to address the economic situation.” “A one-sided government might face several accusations and road-blocking protests… Any salvation government will have to take unpopular decisions,” Nasrallah said. Noting that the International Support Group for Lebanon — which convened in Paris Wednesday – has called for the formation of a “reformist government,” Nasrallah suggested that such a government “does not necessarily stand for a technocrat government.” “The caretaker government must shoulder its responsibilities regarding the economic situation,” he said. Hariri has insisted that he will only lead a technocrat government, telling the other parties that he is not opposed to the nomination of another figure for the PM post. A leading candidate for the post – Samir Khatib – was however told on Dec. 1 by the country’s grand mufti, Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan, that were was Sunni “consensus” on the nomination of Hariri, which prompted Khatib to withdraw his nomination. Hariri resigned on October 29, bowing to pressure from unprecedented and cross-sectarian street protests demanding an end to corruption and an overhaul of the entire political system. The protest movement has repeatedly called for the formation of an independent technocrat cabinet.

US Treasury designates Lebanon and DRC-based Hezbollah money launderers
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 13 December 2019
The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on two Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)-based money launderers and their affiliated companies, accusing them of having links to Hezbollah and generating millions of dollars for the group. The actions on Friday targeted Lebanon-based Nazem Said Ahmad and DRC-based Saleh Assi. “Ahmad, who has a vast art collection, is one of Hezballah’s top donors, generating funds through his longstanding ties to the “blood diamond” trade. Treasury is also taking action against DRC-based Saleh Assi who has laundered money through Ahmad’s diamond businesses,” a statement from the US Treasury read. “Hezbollah continues to use seemingly legitimate businesses as front companies to raise and launder funds in countries like the DRC where it can use bribery and political connections to secure unfair market access and evade taxes,” said US Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “This Administration will continue to take action against Hezbollah financiers like Nazem Said Ahmad and Saleh Assi, who have used money laundering and tax evasion schemes to fund terrorist plots and finance their own lavish lifestyles as the Lebanese people suffer.”The move comes at a time when a US official confirmed to Al Arabiya that US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale is expected to visit Beirut next week. The official said that Hale will carry a message from Washington to Lebanese officials that the US will not provide financial support to Lebanon until after the formation of a government that responds to the demands of the Lebanese people.

Government must include political parties, Nasrallah says
Georgi Azar/Annahar/December 13/2019
His comments signaled that an independent government, a core demand of the popular uprising, remains far fetched.
BEIRUT: Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah maintained Friday his group’s preference for a government that includes the majority of political parties. “It is unacceptable to form a government that includes any component,” Nasrallah said during a televised speech. His comments signaled that an independent government, a core demand of the popular uprising, remains far fetched. He outlined his group’s refusal, along with the Amal Movement, of forming a “one color” government as responsibility for Lebanon’a current state of shares “should be shared by all.”He said the Cabinet formation would prove no easy task as the different stake holders have to yet to agree on a potential candidate to head the government. On Monday, President Michel Aoun will host the different parliamentary blocs during binding consultations. Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on Oct. 29, dissolving the government. Nasrallah also called on his ally, the Free Patriotic Movement, to take part in any government after its leader Gebran Bassil announced Thursday his party’s non participation.

Judge Aoun Keeps Salloum in Custody after Rizk Allows Her Release
Naharnet/December 13/2019
Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun on Friday blocked a decision to release Traffic Management Authority head Huda Salloum from detention, remanding her in custody in Baabda, the National News Agency said. First Examining Magistrate of Beirut George Rizk had earlier on Friday interrogated Salloum and ordered her release after she signed a proof of residence, NNA reported. NNA said Salloum’s lawyer Marwan Daher attended the interrogation and that the questions pertained to the public prosecution’s lawsuit against her on charges of bribery and illicit enrichment. Judge Aoun had on Wednesday ordered Salloum’s arrest based on a lawsuit filed by the lawyer Wadih Akl, which accused Salloum of offenses related to bribery, forgery, the waste of public funds, illicit enrichment and mismanagement. Aoun then referred the file to Judge Rizk. MP Hadi Hbeish of al-Mustaqbal Movement has accused Judge Aoun of taking a politicized measure against Salloum in order to replace her with a figure loyal to the Free Patriotic Movement.

Beirut Judge Presses Charges against Hbeish
Naharnet/December 13/2019
Beirut Attorney General, Judge Ziad Abu Haidar, pressed charges against MP Hadi Hbesih in a case of defamation against Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun, LBCI TV station said on Friday. Abu Haidar referred Hbeish to the investigative judge, it added. LBCI said that Attorney General at the Court of Cassation Judge Ghassan Oweidat, who summoned Hbeish for testimony Friday, considered Hbeish’s case “a proven crime” and asked Abu Haidar to prosecute him. Hbeish did not attend the session, but his attorney presented a motion to dismiss the charge noting that it was not the case. On Thursday, the Lebanese state, represented by the head of the lawsuits dept. at the Justice Ministry Judge Hilana Iskandar and its legal delegate the lawyer Rabih al-Fakhri, has filed the lawsuit against Hbeish. It accuses Hbeish of “launching a public assault against Aoun in front of all those present in the lobby of the Justice Palace in Baabda on Wednesday,” against the arrest of director general of the traffic administration, Hoda Salloum.

Bustani Hands Total First License to Drill for Lebanon’s Oil and Gas
Naharnet/December 13/2019
Caretaker Energy Minister Nada Bustani on Friday handed the license to drill Lebanon’s first oil exploration well in its territorial waters to the director of Total. Bustani handed over the permit to drill in Bloc 4 to a consortium comprising energy giants Total (France), ENI (Italy) and Novatek (Russia).
Last year, Lebanon signed its first contract to drill for oil and gas in its waters. Total, ENI and Novatek took the first two of its 10 blocks, including in Bloc 9, disputed by neighboring Israel with which Lebanon has fought several wars.
Total said it was aware of the border dispute in less than eight percent of block 9 and said it would drill away from that area. On April 5, Lebanon invited international consortia of at least three companies to bid for five more blocks by the end of January 2020.

Several demonstrators arrested in connection to shutting down highway in Beirut
Joanne Serrieh, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 13 December 2019Text size A A A
Seven protesters were arrested Friday in connection to shutting down Jal el-Dib highway, to the north of Beirut, the National News Agency reported. Clashes erupted between the Lebanese army and a number of protesters after they tried to block the major road in order to pressure political officials to expedite parliamentary consultations in order to form a new government, according to NNA. The army has since reopened the Jal el-Dib highway completely. Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s formal consultations with parliamentary blocks to designate a new prime minister are scheduled to take place on December 16. Demonstrators have been taking to the streets of Lebanon since October and are fueled by deep resentment for a ruling class seen as mired in corruption, which drove the economy into crisis.

Army Arrests Protesters in Jal el-Dib
Naharnet/December 13/2019
The Lebanese army arrested several activists on Friday during scuffles with protesters blocking the Jal el-dib highway, amid sit-ins elsewhere as the two-month-old movement against corruption and mismanagement continues. Tens of protesters in Jal el-Dib battled police on multiple points on the highway disrupting the morning rush hour. Video recordings circulating on social media showed army troops beating and kicking one of the protesters in the middle of the highway, which angered people. “We are blocking the road this early to make our voices heard in Baabda,” one protester told MTV reporter, referring to President Michel Aoun’s failure to begin the binding parliamentary consultations to name a premier. In the northern city of Jounieh, protesters staged a sit-in near the car registration division preventing access for employees. They placed a Lebanese flag at the entrance door, the National News Agency reported. Protesters also stormed the National Social Security Fund offices in Beirut and Sidon. They recited a statement demanding medical coverage for incurable diseases, old-age pension, health insurance and fighting corruption. Lebanon has been grappling with nationwide protests and faces one of its worst economic crisis in decades, only deepened by the political stalemate. Political parties have been haggling over the nature of the government to replace the government of PM Saad Hariri who resigned late in October. Hariri has called for a government of technocrats but remains the most likely candidate to head a new one.

Lebanon’s Gebran Bassil backs technocrat government without Saad Hariri
The National/December 13/2019
Change of stance on protesters’ demand puts his FPM party odds with its ally Hezbollah
Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement will back a new government made up entirely of technocrats, but not with caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri at its head, its leader said, adding a further twist to a political crisis triggered by two months of anti-government protests.
Caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who heads the Christian party founded by his father-in-law, President Michel Aoun, outlined its position at a press conference on Thursday night. “Should Hariri insist on the ‘nobody but me’ approach, and should Hezbollah and Amal Movement hold on to a technopolitical government led by Hariri, we have no interest in partaking in such a Cabinet as it is doomed to failure,” Mr Bassil was quoted as saying by Lebanon’s National News Agency. “The solution is clear, which is the formation of an effective rescue government, a government of experts whose members and head are specialists capable of restoring people’s confidence, and who are backed by political forces and parliamentary blocs,” he said. Mr Bassil’s statement reverses his party’s earlier opposition to the protest movement’s call for established political leaders to make way for a government of technocrats. The protesters have also said they will not accept Mr Hariri as returning prime minister.
Mr Hariri resigned as prime minister on October 29 in response to the protesters’ demands. The protesters accuse the country’s politicians of corruption, failing deliver basic services and mismanaging the economy. Lebanon has been unable to access a US$11 billion assistance fund pledged last year because the government has been unable to implement the reforms demanded by donor countries. Mr Hariri has supported the call for a government of technocrats but remains the most likely candidate to head one. The country’s top Sunni religious leader called Mr Hariri the preferred candidate, rejecting another proposed name. Hezbollah also want him to head a mixed government of technocrats and politicians. Under Lebanon’s sectarian-based political system, the prime minister is chosen from the Sunni community, the president is a Christian and the speaker of Parliament a Shiite. Consultations between President Aoun and parliamentary blocs to name a new premier are expected on Monday. They were postponed once before over disagreements on naming a new premier. Mr Hariri told the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund’s top executives on Thursday that he was committed to preparing an urgent rescue plan to alleviate the country’s worsening economic crisis, according to a statement from his office. He discussed the technical assistance they could provide for such a plan and asked for increased financial support from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation to ensure the country’s imports are uninterrupted amid a deepening foreign currency crisis. Mr Hariri’s call came a day after an international group of Lebanon’s allies said the country cannot expect to receive aid unless a new government is formed to institute major reforms. The caretaker prime minister wrote to leaders of several countries last week seeking help to keep up the import of essential goods into Lebanon.

Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 13-14/2019
Resignation of the Lebanese President and all the Top Officials Is A Must/Abu Arz-Etian Saqer/December 13/2019
Appointment of a new Lebanese PM rests on upcoming 48 hours of re-consultation/Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 13/2019
Lebanon’s banking sector under immense pressure, warns Pompeo/Christina Farhat/Annahar/December 13/2019
Rage In Lebanon Over Statements By Iranian IRGC Official Morteza Ghorbani Threatening To ‘Level’ Tel Aviv From Lebanon: Outrageous Comments That May Drag Lebanon Into A Devastating War/MEMRI/December 13, 2019
Shi’ite Protester In Beirut Destroys Hizbullah Membership Card, Complains: We Are Dying Of Hunger; Hizbullah And Amal Do Not Care; Their Critics Are Accused Of Collaborating With Israel/MEMRI/December 13/2019

The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 13-14/2019
Resignation of the Lebanese President and all the Top Officials Is A Must
 Abu Arz-Etian Saqer/December 13/2019
 Due to solid facts related to an ongoing Lebanese governmental crisis that is not going to be solved soon,
 And because all tangible circumstances indicate that this promised rescue government will not be formed in the near future
 And Since all practical solutions for the imminent financial-monetary-economic-social crisis are technically linked to the governmental crisis.
 And Since the general conditions of the country is worsening day by day, and warns of a comprehensive and terrifying collapse.
 And since the top official have entirely failed in everything and at all levels,
 Therefore, the resignation of the Lebanese President of the Republic, along with all the top officials becomes an inevitable and urgent national necessity.
 The available two choices are either an inevitable and immediate resignation, or an inevitable and disastrous comprehensive collapse.
 Long Live Our Holy Lebanon

Appointment of a new Lebanese PM rests on upcoming 48 hours of re-consultation
Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 13/2019
BEIRUT: The Free Patriotic Movement’s (FPM) latest decision not to participate in the next Lebanese government has created new difficulties in resolving the political crisis. Sources close to the President Michel Aoun told Arab News that he considered his country in need of “a techno-political government,” but that: “The appointment of the prime minister does not need the consensus that was lost with the FPM’s boycott, but it is needed when forming the government. “The parliamentary consultations will be held as planned, while parliamentary blocs are reviewing their decisions in light of the FPM’s withdrawal. Extensive communication is taking place between them to reach a decision in the next 48 hours.”It is likely that the head of the caretaker government, Saad Hariri, will be reappointed as prime minister of the new government in light of the insistence of the highest Sunni authority.
Hariri is determined to form a government of experts capable of dealing with the difficult economic and financial situations the country is witnessing.
Hariri resigned on Oct. 29 following widespread protests against the government and political class.
The announcement of the International Support Group for Lebanon, from Paris last Wednesday, gave the Lebanese authorities a last and limited chance to achieve the necessary economic reforms and form a government that takes into consideration the demands of the protesters.
FASTFACT
It is likely that Saad Hariri will be reappointed as prime minister of the new government in light of the insistence of the highest Sunni authority. A source close to the interim prime minister said: “Hariri’s position regarding the next government is clear. It is focused on forming a government distant from the traditional quotas logic and capable of addressing the fears of the protesters and the economic threats facing the country.”“The formation of the government is a right limited to the president and the prime minister.” Former constitutional judge Khaled Kabbani told Arab News: “The formation situation is very foggy. Everyone is overwhelmed and things are changing rapidly. “The formation of the government is under a lot of pressure and the latest announcement of the International Support Group for Lebanon reflects that. It wants a government that wins the trust of the protesters. We have to wait and see if it will play a role in resolving the crisis.”
Protestors had considered the latest FPM decision a win for their cause, while activists on social media confirmed that they would continue their movement against the political class, and would shift focus to tax disobedience. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah said on Friday that the country’s next government must bring all sides together so that it can tackle the country’s worst economic crisis in decades. The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, said his Iran-backed movement insists on its ally the FPM — Lebanon’s largest Christian political bloc — taking part in the Cabinet.In a televised speech, Nasrallah also said he hoped a new prime minister would be designated on Monday, but added that even so, forming a new Cabinet would not be easy.

Lebanon’s banking sector under immense pressure, warns Pompeo
Christina Farhat/Annahar/December 13/2019
Pompeo called attention to the financial repercussions of the unofficial capital controls implemented by the banking sector. BEIRUT: US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, cautioned of the dangers of the increasing pressure on the banking sector while taking the opportunity to denounce the Iranian backed Hezbollah party. Pompeo reinforced the International Support Group (ISG) sentiment, with the ISG meeting being held today in Paris, that the security of Lebanon is in the best interest of the international community. “I know the meeting is taking place; we’re working on it. We know that the financial situation is very serious and that the Central Bank is under real pressure,” Pompeo said in his remarks. Pompeo called attention to the financial repercussions of the unofficial capital controls implemented by the banking sector. However, he rested the burden of banking rights, and long-term governmental reform, on the shoulders of the Lebanese people. “The Lebanese people don’t have access to their accounts in a way that is full, and sufficient, and adequate, but the responsibility lies with the Lebanese people. The responsibility on how the government will be formed, and shaped, falls to the Lebanese people to demand Lebanese sovereignty, Lebanese prosperity, and Lebanese freedom from outside influence,” Pompeo said.
The 70th United States Secretary of State also denounced Hezbollah, verbally positioning the group as a roadblock to freedom.
“We have a designated terrorist organization, Hezbollah, and I know that the people of Lebanon understand the risk that that presents to their freedom, and to their capacity to deliver for themselves,” Pompeo said. Speaking on behalf of the United States of America, Pompeo insisted that the State Department’s stance on Hezbollah is not an American proposal, but a proposal by the people of Lebanon. This statement was made weeks after the former Ambassador of the United States of America to Lebanon, Jeffrey Feltman, was blasted for unraveling US interests during his recent congressional testimony, stating that the protests “fortunately coincide with US interests” against Hezbollah. “This is not an American proposition, this is a proposition of the Lebanese people and we do stand ready to do the things that the world can do to assist the Lebanese people getting their economy righted and their government righted,” Pompeo said. The tension between the US and Iran is felt in Beirut where the US has intensified its sanctions on Iran-backed Hezbollah. The US took extreme measures, such as sanctioning three top Hezbollah officials earlier this year, that was more geared towards sending a symbolic message than limiting Hezbollah’s influence in practice. With Hariri’s formally accepted explanation to the West on why Hezbollah is represented in government, the distinction between “military wing” Hezbollah, and “political command” Hezbollah, out the window, the question now shifts to what is in store for Hezbollah in the future.
If a Trump re-election is in the cards, US sanctions against Hezbollah are only expected to grow more unrelenting.“We have taken more actions recently against Hezbollah than in the history of our counterterrorism program,“ Sigal P. Mandelker, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the U.S. Treasury said at a conference in the United Arab Emirates in September of this year.

Rage In Lebanon Over Statements By Iranian IRGC Official Morteza Ghorbani Threatening To ‘Level’ Tel Aviv From Lebanon: Outrageous Comments That May Drag Lebanon Into A Devastating War
MEMRI/December 13, 2019
On December 12, 2019, Morteza Ghorbani, a senior advisor in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), threatened that Iran could attack Israel from Lebanese soil. Responding to the Israeli foreign minister’s remark that an Israeli attack on Iran was “an option,” Ghorbani stated: “If the Zionist regime makes [even] the smallest mistake vis-à-vis Iran, we will level Tel Aviv to the ground, from Lebanon, without having to launch a single missile or any [other] device from Iran… God knows that if, one night, Iran’s leader [Ali Khamenei] will order a missile attack [on Israel], those Zionists will all surrender… Today, the hearts and spirits of the Yemeni, Syrian, Iraqi, Lebanese and Gazan peoples are with Iran.”[1]
Ghorbani’s statement evoked outrage among many Lebanese officials. A conspicuous response was that of Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab, considered to be close to Hizbullah. He said that, if Ghorbani had indeed made the statement, it was very saddening and was an infringement of Lebanon’s sovereignty. Other officials said that Lebanon was not a no-man’s-land to be used by Iran, or a conduit for relaying IRGC threats to other countries. Describing the statement as a violation of Lebanon’s honor and dignity, some called to demand an explanation for Ghorbani’s statement from the Iranian ambassador and even to expel the ambassador.
Criticism of Ghorbani’s remarks was also expressed in Lebanese press articles, which condemned not only Ghorbani but also Lebanese officials, for failing to respond to such Iranian statements and allowing Iran to trample Lebanon’s sovereignty.
In response to the uproar, IRGC spokesman Ramezan Sharif issued a denial, stating that Ghorbani’s remarks had been “distorted and misconstrued by the media.” Sharif added that “Ghorbani does not currently serve as an IRGC advisor but serves in other capacities in the armed forces.”[2]
The following are excerpts from some of the Lebanese responses to Ghorbani’s statement.
Morteza Ghorbani (source: Tehran Times, Iran)
Lebanese Officials: Ghorbani’s ‘Unacceptable’ Statement Is A Violation Of Lebanon’s Sovereignty; Lebanon Is Not A Conduit For Conveying IRGC Messages
Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab tweeted on December 10: “Assuming Ghorbani… indeed made the statements attributed to him, they are very saddening and unacceptable, and are an infringement of the sovereignty of Lebanon, which has friendly relations with Iran. Lebanon’s independent decision-making must not be harmed in any way.”[3]
Elias Bou Saab’s tweet
Lebanese Media Minister Jamal Al-Jarrah, of the Al-Mustaqbal faction, tweeted: “The statements attributed to the Iranian official, about using Lebanon as a launch-pad for a regional war, are irresponsible and arrogant, and are an infringement of the sovereignty of the Lebanese state and people.” In another tweet he wrote: “Iran is free to defend itself as it pleases, but Lebanon is neither a mailbox for IRGC [messages to the rest of the world] nor an arena to be used by any other country. The Iranian official’s remarks are completely ludicrous.”[4]
Lebanese former minister Nohad Machnouk, also from the Al-Mustaqbal faction, tweeted: “The days when some people thought little of using Lebanon as a battlefield for the Iranian project [for exporting its revolution] are over. Had the Iranian official given us and himself one lesson in resistance [by waging it] from his own country, instead of pitching the conflict [into the Lebanese arena] and placing the Lebanese people at the forefront of his regional project, we would have been understanding, although we still would have opposed [letting Iran wage its battles from Lebanon].”
Nohad Machnouk ‘s tweet
In another tweet, he wrote: “We are not a human shield for any regional project [for exporting its revolution]. This [Iranian] official must realize that Lebanon has changed, and it is not impressed with his statements. On the contrary, it will stand like a solid wall against his actions. Lebanon is not, and will never be, a province of Iran.”[5]
Former Lebanese minister Ashraf Al-Rifi, a Sunni who opposes Hizbullah, attacked the Lebanese authorities for letting Iran do as it pleases in Lebanon: “Who gave the Iranian regime permission to be so insolent and treat Lebanon like a no-man’s-land? Ghorbani wants to retaliate against Israel from Lebanon, and not from Iran. If the [Lebanese] government had any self-respect, it would have expelled the Iranian ambassador.”[6] He added: “[Lebanon’s] Foreign Ministry has so far issued no response to Ghorbani’s statement. [Defense] Minister Bou Saab’s position is commendable, but it is not sufficient. An official position must be taken, because what was published [i.e., Ghorbani’s statement] is grave, and threatens Lebanon’s sovereignty and honor, as well as the [international] efforts to extend it economic aid. Lebanon will not be rescued as long as it remains under Iranian patronage.”
Kataeb Party MP: Decisions Of War And Peace Must Not Be Up To Hizbullah And Iran
MP Nadim Gemayel, of the Kataeb party, tweeted: “As a Lebanese citizen I demand [to hear] a clear response to [Ghorbani’s] statement from: 1. [Hizbullah Secretary-General] Hassan Nasrallah; 2. President [Michel] ‘Aoun; 3. Interim Prime Minister [Saad Al-Hariri]… We will not accept [a reality whereby] decisions of war and peace are in the hands of Hassan Nasrallah or Khamenei. We are a sovereign country, not a proxy state.”[7]
Nadim Gemayel’s tweet
MP Michel Moawad, head of the Independence Movement, which is part of the March 14 Forces, tweeted: “We wonder why [the attack on Israel] should come from Lebanon, rather than from Iran or the [Syrian] Golan? We refuse to let Lebanon be treated as a no-man’s-land. The statement of this Iranian official proves once again that we must formulate a defense strategy directed by the Lebanese state, which has the exclusive authority to defend itself and its citizens.”[8]
MP Muhammad Al-Hajjar of the Al-Mustaqbal faction tweeted: “I strongly condemn the statement of Iranian General Morteza Ghorbani. It constitutes a blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and an insistence on treating Lebanon as an arena that serves the interests of Iran’s expansion plans. I call to [summon] the Iranian ambassador in Beirut and demand an explanation for this statement.”[9]
Head Of ‘Movement For Change’: Iran Is Dragging Lebanon Into A Confrontation With Israel
Elie Mahfoud, head of the Movement for Change, which is part of the Mustaqbal faction, wrote: “Iran is continuing its insolence towards Lebanon… Here we have General Morteza Ghorbani, an advisor to the commander of the IRGC, saying that, if Israel makes the smallest mistake vis-à-vis Iran, [the latter] will level Tel Aviv from Lebanon, instead of fighting it from [its] own territory… As if we haven’t suffered enough due to Iran’s financing of the armed [Hizbullah] militia that receives orders according to the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran, [Iran now] continues its manipulations that affect our stability and [expose] Lebanon to Israeli aggression. I refer Ghorbani’s statement to the Lebanese authorities, and expect to hear an official position regarding this dangerous invasion of Lebanon.”[10]
Elie Mahfoud’s tweet
Criticism of Ghorbani’s statement was also voiced by Christian MPs from the Strong Lebanon faction, led by Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, an ally of Hizbullah. MP Farid Boustany tweeted: “If it is true [that Ghorbani made these statements], they harm Lebanon’s sovereignty on the one hand, and the might of the resistance [Hizbullah] on the other.”[11] Another MP from this faction, Antoine Pano, tweeted: “The disturbing statement attributed to… Ghorbani is a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and the sanctity of its soil. We will not allow Lebanon to be used by any country as a platform for settling its scores.”[12]
Lebanese Columnist: Iran Sees Lebanon As Nothing But A ‘Missile Launcher-Pad’, And This Is The Fault Of The Lebanese Leadership
As stated, criticism of Ghorbani’s statement was also expressed in Lebanese press articles. Journalist Yousuf Bazzi wrote in the daily Al-Mudun that Ghorbani’s statements are unsurprising, since they reflect what has been known for years: that Iran sees Lebanon as nothing more than an arena from which to attack Israel. Lebanon, he added, accepts this and lets Iran govern its fate – and the ones to blame for this are not Iran or Hizbullah, but rather the Lebanese leaders who allow it. He wrote: “Whoever [expresses] surprise at Ghorbani’s statements… is either naïve or a liar… These statements are not new, but are [merely] a reminder of the situation on the ground. As far as Iran is concerned, Lebanon is a kind of missile launch pad. Not a state, a nation or a homeland. A missile launch pad and nothing more. So much so that the commander of the local IRGC division [i.e., Hizbullah], Hassan Nasrallah, boasted in his latest speech that he has so many missiles he does not know where to put them.[13] [Moreover,] several months ago he repeated numerous times that he is at the command of [Iranian] leader [Ali Khamenei] and will go to war if Iran is attacked…[14]
“General Ghorbani’s confidence in Lebanon’s willingness to avenge Israel’s [attacks on] Iran stems not only from Nasrallah’s complete loyalty and submission to wilayat al-faqih [i.e., the rule of the jurisprudent, Khamenei], but also from the submission of the Lebanese state to Nasrallah’s party, which is part of the IRGC – submission that can no longer be concealed or camouflaged…
“A state whose fate is decided by an IRGC commander known for killing his own people – over 1,000 [Iranian protesters] killed in three days and thousands detained and tortured – and who is engaged in the criminal and cold-blooded murder of young Iraqi [protesters] while also managing an extermination campaign against the Syrian people – [such as state] is not fit to be called a state…
“When it comes to the complete violation of the principle of [our] national sovereignty, neither Iran nor the IRCG are to blame. Nor is it the fault of Hizbullah, which lives in peace with its faith in Khomeini’s empire. The blame lies… with the official representatives of the Lebanese state, especially those who, in 2016, formulated the so-called arrangement [according to which Michel ‘Aoun was appointed president and Saad Al-Hariri was appointed prime minister], an arrangement that was a carte blanche for Iran to govern Lebanon and its fate…”[15]
Lebanese Columnist: Ghorbani’s Statement May Bring A Devastating War Upon Lebanon
Journalist Ahmad Al-Zou’bi wrote in the Al-Liwa daily: “This is not the first time the IRGC has interfered in Lebanon’s political affairs… Iran regards Lebanon as part of its empire and as an arena for displaying its regional influence, [and] considers Hizbullah as the jewel in its crown. It [also] has important means, interests and considerations in the Land of the Cedars that are not merely military…
“General Ghorbani’s statements constitute a blatant act of aggression against [Lebanon’s] national sovereignty. Lebanon can no longer bear to serve – both metaphorically and in practice – as a mailbox for Iran in its dialogue with the U.S. and the West, or as an arena for Iranian score-settling with various parties. The government’s silence, and its failure to speak out against these recurring Iranian positions that disrespect Lebanon’s sovereignty, is disturbing…
“The gravest aspect of the Iranian official’s statement is that it prompts and supplies an excuse for, or drags [Lebanon] into, a painful Israeli attack… by creating reasons, justifications and [suitable] circumstances for such an attack. If such an attack takes place, it will eliminate any chance of seeing the country get back on its feet, for it is already on the brink of bankruptcy… [Moreover,] Lebanon’s relations with its Arab surroundings and its friends around the world are not at their best, for well-known reasons. [So] a war, if it breaks out, will have devastating consequences. We should keep in mind that nobody in the Arab or international community will be willing to come to Lebanon’s rescue and to rebuild it if another war, like the one in 2006, breaks out.”[16]
[1] Khabar Online (Iran), December 9, 2019.
[2] ISNA (Iran), December 11, 2019.
[3] Twitter.com/EliasBouSaab, December 10, 2019.
[4] Twitter.com/aljarrahjamal, December 10, 2019.
[5] Twitter.com/NohadMachnouk, December 10, 2019.
[6] Twitter.com/Ashraf_Rifi, December 10, 2019.
[7] Twitter.com/nadimgemayel, December 10, 2019.
[8] Twitter.com/michelmoawad, December 10, 2019.
[9] Twitter.com/DrMohamadHajjar, December 11, 2019.
[10] Twitter.com/MahfoudElie, December 10, 2019.
[11] Twitter.com/FaridBoustany, December 10, 2019.
[12] Twitter.com/PanoAntoine, December 10, 2019.
[13] For Nasrallah’s statements, see alahednews.com.lb, November 11, 2019.
[14] For Nasrallah’s statements, see alahednews.com.lb, September 10, 2019.
[15] Al-Mudun (Lebanon), December 12, 2019.
[16] Al-Liwa (Lebanon), December 11, 2019.

Shi’ite Protester In Beirut Destroys Hizbullah Membership Card, Complains: We Are Dying Of Hunger; Hizbullah And Amal Do Not Care; Their Critics Are Accused Of Collaborating With Israel
MEMRI/December 13/2019
In a December 8, 2019 broadcast on Al-Arabiya TV (Dubai/Saudi Arabia) from Beirut, a Shi’ite protestor from Baalbek-Hermel named Hussein Ali Matar asked to be interviewed by the reporter. Matar said that it is impossible to find a job in his area without connections to Hizbullah or the Amal Movement and that Shi’ites in Lebanon are dying of hunger and eating from the trash. He said Hizbullah and Amal Movement officials should resign if they cannot help the people and criticized these movements for accusing their critics of treason and collaboration with Israel. Matar then proceeded to destroy his Hizbullah membership card on camera.
To view the clip of Lebanese Shi’ite Protester Hussein Ali Matar on MEMRI TV, click here or below.
“I Am A Shi’ite From Baalbek-Hermel… I Am Dying Of Hunger We Are All Dying Of Hunger There”
Hussein Ali Matar: “I asked to talk to Al-Arabiya Network in order to deliver my message. I am a Shi’ite from Baalbek-Hermel. In short, I am dying of hunger. We are all dying of hunger there. We are willing to do any job. I’m telling you, I applied for work at the Dar Al-Amal Hospital, but you need connections to the Amal Movement. I applied for work at a factory, but again, you need connections to the Amal Movement. For any job I apply to, I need connections to either Hizbullah or Amal.
“I am a Shi’ite and I have a debt of 2 million Lebanese pounds because of the rent. I support four sisters and one brother, and I haven’t worked in six or seven months. I go everywhere, but nobody helps me. They say there is nothing they can do.”
“You Think That I Am Well-Fed Just Because I’m From Hizbullah? I Am In The Same Situation As Everybody Else”
“I used to work for Hizbullah and they let me go. So now what? This is my party membership card. This card shows that I volunteer for Hizbullah’s Islamic health organization. I – a son of Hizbullah – am dying of hunger. The others keep talking about the weapons of the resistance. Nobody is touching the weapons of the resistance. We all support the resistance against Israel, but we are dying of hunger. One needs to eat in order to fight.
“You think that I am well-fed just because I’m from Hizbullah? I am in the same situation as everybody else.
“During the elections, the Council for Development and Reconstruction made us promises about Baalbek-Hermel. They should go to Baalbek-Hermel and see how the people are dying of hunger. With my own eyes, I saw people eating from the trash. There are people in Baalbek-Hermel who eat from the trash. I saw it with my own eyes. People are sick and tired of being hungry.”
“You Volunteer For Hizbullah, Why Didn’t They Help You?”
Reporter: “You volunteer for Hizbullah. Why didn’t they help you?”
Matar: “I don’t know, ask them. I knocked on their door 100 times. I’m telling you, I went to the office of Hashim [Safi Al-Din] in the Dahieh Suburb. He wouldn’t see me. He sent his assistant. I told him that I wanted work and he said: ‘What do you want me to do? There’s no work in the country.’
“What do you mean there’s no work? When you told me to vote for you, I did. How come there is no work in the country? Now they tell people to leave [the demonstration]. Why would they leave? Each one of [those in power] gets $1,000-1,500, while I get nothing, not a single Lebanese pound a month.”
“If Anybody Who Is Not From Hizbullah Or The Amal Movement Wants To Help Us, They Turn Him Into A Collaborator With Israel”
“If they can’t help us, they should resign and let others help us. If anybody who is not from Hizbullah or the Amal Movement wants to help us, they turn him into a collaborator with Israel. I am talking to you now, and tomorrow they’ll say I am a traitor, who betrayed the resistance and became an ally of Israel.”
Reporter: “What are you doing?” Matar shows his Hizbullah ID card to the camera,

The post A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 13- 14/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 58th Day appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 14 كانون الأول/2019

اضغط هنا لقراءة نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة المفصلة، اللبنانية والعربية ليوم 14 كانون الأول/2019

ارشيف نشرات أخبار موقعنا اليومية/عربية وانكليزية منذ العام 2006/اضغط هنا لدخول صفحة الأرشيف

عناوين أقسام نشرة المنسقية باللغة العربية
الزوادة الإيمانية لليوم
تعليقات الياس بجاني وخلفياتها
الأخبار اللبنانية
المتفرقات اللبنانية
الأخبار الإقليمية والدولية
المقالات والتعليقات والتحاليل السياسية الشاملة
المؤتمرات والندوات والبيانات والمقابلات والمناسبات الخاصة والردود وغيره

The post نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 14 كانون الأول/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

A Bundle Of Arabic/English Reports Covering The Recent USA Sanctions On 3 Individuals and Several Firms Linked To The Terrorist Iranian Hezbollah That Occupies Lebanon

رزمة من التقارير عربي/انكليزي، تتناول عقوبات أميركية على 3 أشخاص وعدد من المؤسسات المرتبطة بتمويل حزب الله الإيراني والإرهابي الذي يحتل لبنان
*تقرير الخزانة الأميركية: بيكاسو وألماس دموي لتمويل حزب الله/المدن/13 كانون الأول/2019
*عقوبات أميركية جديدة على لبنانيين وشركات لاتهامهم بدعم “حزب الله”..شينكر: كل من يتورّط في التمويل معرض للعقوبات/المركزية/13 كانون الأول/2019
*شينكر: كل من يتورّط في تمويل “حزب الله” معرّض للعقوبات/المركزية/13 كانون الأول/2019
*بومبيو: نقف الى جانب الشعب اللبناني/المركزية/13 كانون الأول/2019
ضربة جديدة لـ«حزب الله».. تجميد حسابات لبنانيين مرتبطين بـ«التنظيم الإرهابي»/جنوبية/13 كانون الأول/2019
من هو ناظم سعيد أحمد.. وهذا ما قدمه لنصرالله شخصياً؟/جنوبية/13 كانون الأول/2019

*U.S. Sanctions 3 Individuals, Several Firms Allegedly Linked to Hizbullah/Naharnet/December 13/2019
*US Treasury designates Lebanon and DRC-based Hezbollah money launderers/Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 13 December 2019
*Pompeo Dispatches David Hale to Beirut/AsharqAl Awsat/December 13/2019
*US Undersecretary of State for Political/Pompeo: We Stand with People of Lebanon against Corruption, Terrorism/Naharnet/December 13/2019

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تقرير الخزانة الأميركية: بيكاسو وألماس دموي لتمويل حزب الله
المدن/13 كانون الأول/2019
صدر عن مكتب الشؤون العامة في وزارة الخزانة الأميركية بيان تقريري مفصل، عن اللائحة الجديدة التي تضم الأشخاص والشركات المتهمين بتمويل ومساعدة حزب الله ودعمه، والذين ستشملهم العقوبات الأميركية.
وهنا نص التقرير:
اتخذ مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية التابع لوزارة الخزانة الأميركية اليوم الجمعة 13 كانون الأول إجراء ضد مبيضي أموال بارزين مقيمين في لبنان وجمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية والشركات التابعة لهما، بما في ذلك شركات جنت عشرات الملايين من الدولارات لحزب الله ومموليه وأنشطته الخبيثة. وتؤكد إجراءات الإدراج هذه على مدى مشاركة حزب الله وشركاته التابعة في نشاط اقتصادي غير مشروع، يعطي الأولوية للمصالح الاقتصادية الخاصة بهذه الجماعة الإرهابية على مصالح الشعب اللبناني. إذ تدعم الولايات المتحدة مطالبة الشعب اللبناني بإنهاء الفساد وتمويل الإرهاب الذي يزدهر في بيئات فاسدة.
الماس الدموي والأعمال الفنية
وقال الوزير ستيفن ت. منوشين: “يواصل حزب الله استخدام شركات، تبدو شرعية، كوجهات لجمع الأموال وتبييضها في دول مثل جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية، حيث يمكنها استخدام الرشوة والعلاقات السياسية لتأمين الوصول غير العادل إلى الأسواق والتهرب من الضرائب. ستواصل هذه الإدارة اتخاذ الإجراءات ضد ممولي حزب الله مثل ناظم سعيد أحمد وصالح عاصي اللذين استخدما خطط تبيض الأموال والتهرب الضريبي لتمويل مخططات الإرهاب وتمويل أنماط حياتهم الفخمة على حساب معاناة الشعب اللبناني”.
وقال نائب الوزير جاستن ج. موزينيخ: “ينبغي أن يتنبه جامعو الأعمال الفنية والمتاجرون بالسلع الفاخرة لمخططات مبيضي الأموال الذين يخفون أموالهم الشخصية في أعمال ذات قيمة عالية في محاولة للتخفيف من آثار العقوبات الأميركية”.
يستهدف هذا الإجراء ناظم سعيد أحمد (أحمد) المقيم في لبنان، والذي قدم الدعم المالي لحزب الله. يمتلك أحمد مجموعة كبيرة من الأعمال الفنية. وهو أحد أكبر الجهات المانحة لحزب الله، إذ يجمع الأموال من خلال علاقاته الطويلة بتجارة “الماس الدموي”.
وتتخذ وزارة الخزانة أيضا إجراءات ضد صالح عاصي (عاصي) المقيم في جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية والذي قام لتبيض الأموال من خلال أعمال أحمد في مجال الماس. قدم عاصي الدعم المالي لممول حزب الله المعين من قبل الولايات المتحدة أدهم حسين طباجة (طباجة). وقد حافظ طباجة على روابط مباشرة مع كبار مسؤولي حزب الله ومكون الحزب التشغيلي الجهاد الإسلامي المسؤول عن تنفيذ هجمات حزب الله الإرهابية في مختلف أنحاء العالم. وبالإضافة إلى إدراج عاصي، يقوم مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية بادراج يخته أيضا (Flying Dragon) كملكية محظورة يمتلك عاصي مصالح فيها. ويقوم مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية أيضا بتعيين المحاسب المقيم في لبنان طوني صعب (صعب) الذي قدم الدعم إلى عاصي.
يستخدم حزب الله أحمد وشركاته لتبيض مبالغ كبيرة من الأموال المخصصة للجماعة الإرهابية. ويمتلك أحمد مجموعة فنية كبيرة جدا تبلغ قيمتها عشرات الملايين من الدولارات، بما في ذلك أعمال لبابلو بيكاسو وآندي وارهول، وقد تم عرض العديد منها في معرضه ومنزله في بيروت. وقد سعى أحمد لحماية أصوله من الضرائب المشروعة من خلال التحويلات النقدية الكبيرة والمعاملات المالية غير المشروعة. ومن خلال إخفاء مكاسبه غير المشروعة عن الحكومة اللبنانية، حرم أحمد الحكومة والشعب اللبناني من إيرادات الضرائب التي تشتد الحاجة إليها بينما تواجه البلاد تحديات اقتصادية خطيرة.
تشير التقارير الصحافية إلى مشاركة عاصي وشركاته في تحديد الأسعار في سوق الخبز في العام 2018، مما أدى إلى اعتقاله من قبل السلطات بعد أن أثارت الزيادات في الأسعار احتجاجات في كينشاسا. وتقف الولايات المتحدة إلى جانب حكومة جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية في جهودها لمكافحة الإرهاب والفساد ولإنشاء قطاع مالي مزدهر وشفاف يجذب الاستثمار الأجنبي.
اتخذ مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية هذا الإجراء بموجب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 13224 بصيغته المعدلة، والذي يستهدف الإرهابيين والذين يوفرون الدعم للإرهابيين أو أعمال الإرهاب. وقد سبق أن صنفت وزارة الخارجية الأميركية حزب الله كمنظمة إرهابية أجنبية في تشرين الأول/أكتوبر 1997 وككيان إرهابي عالمي مصنف بشكل خاص بموجب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 13224 في تشرين الأول/أكتوبر 2001.
ناظم سعيد أحمد
قام أحمد بمساعدة أو رعاية أو توفير الدعم المالي أو المادي أو التكنولوجي أو السلع أو الخدمات لحزب الله أو لدعمه، وهو كيان قد تم حظر ممتلكاته ومصالحه في الممتلكات بموجب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 13224 بصيغته المعدلة.
أحمد تاجر ماس وهو مبيض أموال بارز في لبنان وممول كبير لحزب الله. يعتبر أحمد منذ أواخر العام 2016 جهة مانحة مالية كبيرة لحزب الله وقد قام بتبيض الأموال من خلال شركاته لصالح حزب الله وقدم الأموال شخصيا للأمين العام لحزب الله حسن نصر الله (نصر الله). وشارك أحمد أيضا في تهريب “الألماس الدموي” وكان يدير شركات في بلجيكا استفاد منها حزب الله. يخفي أحمد بعض أمواله الشخصية في أعمال فنية عالية القيمة في محاولة استباقية لتخفيف آثار العقوبات الأميركية وقد فتح معرضا فنيا في بيروت في لبنان كواجهة لتبيض الأموال.
يتمتع أحمد أيضا بعلاقات مع العديد من ممولي حزب الله المصنفين على لوائح العقوبات الأميركية، بما في ذلك قاسم تاج الدين ومحمد بزي. وفي أوائل العام 2019، شارك أحمد في قرض مصرفي مع أدهم طباجة. أحمد مقرب أيضا من مسؤولي حزب الله المصنفين من قبل الولايات المتحدة، بما في ذلك نصر الله وممثل حزب الله في إيران عبد الله صافي الدين.
بالإضافة إلى ذلك، تشير التقارير الصحافية إلى أن أحمد قد اشترى قطعة أرض في لبنان مقابل 240 مليون دولار. وكان أحد أقارب علي تاج الدين المصنف تحت طائلة العقوبات الأميركية أحد المستثمرين الرئيسيين في هذه الصفقة، وهو أحد جامعي التبرعات لحزب الله وقائد سابق في الحزب. حصل المستثمر على الأموال من تجار ألماس ومعادن ومن شركات حزب الله المصنفة من قبل وزارة الخزانة.
11 شركة
شركات أحمد في لبنان – بيروت ديام المحدودة المسؤولية (BEIRUT DIAM SAL)، بيروت جيم المحدودة المسؤولية (BEIRUT GEM SAL)، مونتي كارلو بيتش المحدودة المسؤولية (MONTECARLO BEACH SAL)، دبية 143 المحدودة المسؤولية (DEBBIYE 143 SAL)، نور القابضة المحدودة المسؤولية (NOUR HOLDING SAL)، عرمون 1506 المحدودة المسؤولية (ARAMOUN 1506 SAL)، الدامور 850 المحدودة المسؤولية (DAMOUR 850 SAL)، جبعا 2480 المحدودة المسؤولية (GEBAA 2480 SAL)، النميرية 1057 المحدودة المسؤولية (NOUMAYRIYE 1057 SAL)، بيروت للتجارة المحدودة المسؤولية (BEIRUT TRADE SAL)، بلو ستار دايموند المحدودة المسؤولية (BLUE STAR DIAMOND SAL) في الخارج
كافة الكيانات الإحدى عشرة المذكورة أعلاه مملوكة من أحمد أو خاضعة لسيطرته أو لتوجيهه وقد تم حظر ممتلكاته ومصالحه في الممتلكات بموجب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 13224 بصيغته المعدلة.
أحمد هو مؤسس الشركات التالية ورئيس مجلس إدارتها وموقعها المعتمد ومساهم الأغلبية فيها: بيروت ديام المحدودة المسؤولية (BEIRUT DIAM SAL)، بيروت جيم المحدودة المسؤولية (BEIRUT GEM SAL)، دبية 143 المحدودة المسؤولية (DEBBIYE 143 SAL)، الدامور 850 المحدودة المسؤولية (DAMOUR 850 SAL)، جبعا 2480 المحدودة المسؤولية (GEBAA 2480 SAL)، النميرية 1057 المحدودة المسؤولية (NOUMAYRIYE 1057 SAL)، نور القابضة المحدودة المسؤولية (NOUR HOLDING SAL). وهو أيضا مؤسس ورئيس مجلس الإدارة والموقّع المعتمد لشركة عرمون 1506 المحدودة المسؤولية (ARAMOUN 1506 SAL).
لا ينبغي اعتبار أن الكيانات الإحدى عشرة الكائنة في لبنان والتي تم إدراجها اليوم تمثل لائحة شاملة من الشركات التي يمتلكها أحمد أو يسيطر عليها، وتبقى الجهة الخاضعة للأحكام مسؤولة عن تولي العناية الواجبة اللازمة والالتزام بقاعدة الخمسين بالمئة التي وضعها مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية.
صالح عاصي
قام عاصي بمساعدة أو رعاية أو توفير الدعم المالي أو المادي أو التكنولوجي أو السلع أو الخدمات لأحمد طباجة، وهو شخص قد تم حظر ممتلكاته ومصالحه في الممتلكات بموجب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 13224 بصيغته المعدلة.
في السنوات التي تلت تصنيفه، حافظ طباجة على روابط مالية وثيقة مع عاصي، إذ تلقى الملايين من حسابات مرتبطة بعاصي. واعتبارا من العام 2019، كان عاصي أحد مصادر الدعم المالي القليلة المتبقية لطباجة. عاصي هو أيضا شريك تجاري لطباجة ويقوم بإجراء عمليات شراء عقارية بالنيابة عنه. بدوره، استخدم طباجة علاقاته مع حزب الله لحل مشاكل عاصي التجارية والقانونية.
يستخدم عاصي شركاته لتسهيل المدفوعات لطباجة. وينخرط عاصي وشركاته أيضا في مخططات التهرب الضريبي وتبيض الأموال في جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية وهي تحقق أرباحا غير مشروعة تصل إلى عشرات الملايين من الدولارات سنويا، ويتم تحويل جزء منها إلى طباجة في لبنان. يتم تسليم الإيرادات الناتجة عن مخططات عاصي إلى لبنان عن طريق التحويلات النقدية بالجملة أو غسلها من خلال أعمال ناظم أحمد في مجال الماس. في خلال العقد الماضي، لجأ عاصي إلى مخططات مماثلة لتحويل عشرات الملايين من الدولارات إلى طباجة. وشارك عاصي أيضا في مخطط للتهرب الضريبي مع عدد آخر من ممولي حزب الله وشركائه المصنفين على لوائح العقوبات الاميركية، بما في ذلك طباجة وناظم أحمد ومحمد بزي وقاسم تاج الدين.
يتم أيضا اليوم ادراج اليخت Flying Dragon بموجب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 13224 كممتلكات محظورة ولعاصي مصالح فيها. وفي شهري أيار/مايو وحزيران/يونيو 2019، استخدم عاصي حسابا تجاريا لشركة إنتر أليمنت المحدودة المسؤولية () لتحويل ملايين اليورو لدفعة اليخت Flying Dragon.
شركات عاصي في جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية – مينوكونغو (MINOCONGO)، بان فيكتوار (PAIN VICTOIRE)، ترانس غازيل (TRANS GAZELLE)
الكيانات الثلاث المذكورة أعلاه مملوكة من عاصي أو خاضعة لسيطرته أو لتوجيهه وقد تم حظر ممتلكاته ومصالحه في الممتلكات بموجب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 13224 بصيغته المعدلة.
عاصي مالك ومدير مينوكونغو (MINOCONGO) التي تأسست في العام 1994 وتوفر خدمات لتحضير المحاصيل. وقد أرسل طباجة عشرات ملايين الدولارات من التحويلات إلى مينوكونغو (MINOCONGO) بين العام 2010 و2016.
عاصي هو أيضا المالك والمدير العام لبان فيكتوار (PAIN VICTOIRE)، وهي شركة لصناعة الخبز. ويمتلك عاصي أيضا ترانس غازيل (TRANS GAZELLE).
شركات عاصي في لبنان – إنتر أليمنت المحدودة المسؤولية (في الخارج) (INTER ALIMENT SAL)، سالاسكو أوفشور المحدودة المسؤولية (SALASKO OFFSHORE S.A.L.)، شركة اليمون للعقارات المحدودة المسؤولية (AL YUMUN REAL ESTATE COMPANY SAL)
الكيانات الثلاث المذكورة أعلاه مملوكة من عاصي أو خاضعة لسيطرته أو لتوجيهه وقد تم حظر ممتلكاته ومصالحه في الممتلكات بموجب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 13224 بصيغته المعدلة.
عاصي هو رئيس مجلس الإدارة والمدير العام والموقّع المعتمد لشركة إنتر أليمنت المحدودة المسؤولية (في الخارج) (INTER ALIMENT SAL). حول عاصي في العام 2019 ملايين الدولارات بين حسابه الخاص وإنتر أليمنت. وقد تحولت أرباح إنتر أليمنت وشركات عاصي الأخرى نحو الاستثمارات مع ممولي حزب الله.يشارك عاصي أيضا في العديد من الشركات الأخرى في لبنان. وعاصي هو مساهم الأغلبية ورئيس مجلس إدارة شركة اليمون للعقارات المحدودة المسؤولية. عاصي هو أيضا مؤسس ومساهم الأغلبية ورئيس مجلس إدارة شركة سالاسكو أوفشور المحدودة المسؤولية.
لا ينبغي اعتبار أن الكيانات الست المتمركزة في لبنان والتي تم إدراجها اليوم تمثل لائحة شاملة من الشركات التي يمتلكها عاصي أو يسيطر عليها، وتبقى الجماعة الخاضعة للأحكام مسؤولة عن تولي العناية الواجبة اللازمة والالتزام بقاعدة الخمسين بالمئة التي وضعها مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية.
طوني صعب
قام صعب بمساعدة أو رعاية أو توفير الدعم المالي أو المادي أو التكنولوجي أو السلع أو الخدمات لعاصي، وهو شخص قد تم حظر ممتلكاته ومصالحه في الممتلكات بموجب الأمر التنفيذي رقم 13224 بصيغته المعدلة. كموظف في شركة إنتر أليمنت التابعة لعاصي، شارك صعب في تسهيل تحويل ملايين الدولارات لشركتي مينوكونغو وإنتر أليمنت وقدم وثائق هذه التحويلات لعاصي. شارك صعب أيضا في تسهيل مدفوعات عاصي إلى طباجة.
الآثار المترتبة على العقوبات
تواصل وزارة الخزانة إعطاء الأولوية لتفكيك المنظومة الكامل للنشاط المالي غير الشرعي لحزب الله، وقد قامت بتصنيف 80 من الأفراد والكيانات المنتسبين لحزب الله على لوائح العقوبات منذ العام 2017. نتيجة لإجراء اليوم، ينبغي تجميد كافة ممتلكات والمصالح في ممتلكات هذه الكيانات في الولايات المتحدة أو الخاضعة لملكية أو مراقبة مواطنين أميركيين، كما ينبغي الإبلاغ عنها إلى مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية. تحظر تنظيمات مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية غالبا كافة تعاملات المواطنين الأميركيين أو التعاملات داخل الولايات المتحدة (بما في ذلك العمليات التي تمر عبر الولايات المتحدة) إذا كانت تشتمل على أي ممتلكات أو مصالح في ممتلكات أشخاص محظورين أو مدرجين. وبالإضافة إلى ذلك، قد يكون الأشخاص الذين يشاركون الكيانات المدرجة اليوم في بعض العمليات عرضة للعقوبات أو إجراء تنفيذ.
علاوة على ذلك، يخضع الأفراد والكيانات المدرجين اليوم لعقوبات ثانوية بموجب الأمر التنفيذي بصيغته المعدلة ولائحة العقوبات المالية على حزب الله التي تنفذ قانون منع تمويل حزب الله الدولي للعام 2015 بصيغته المعدلة بموجب قانون تعديلات منع تمويل حزب الله الدولي للعام 2018. وعملا بهذه السلطات، يستطيع مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية حظر أو فرض شروط صارمة على فتح حساب مراسل أو حساب مستحق الدفع أو الاحتفاظ به في الولايات المتحدة من قبل مؤسسة مالية أجنبية تسهل عن عمد معاملة مهمة لمجموعة إرهابية مثل حزب الله أو لشخص يتصرف بالنيابة عن إرهابي دولي معين بشكل خاص مثل حزب الله أو بتوجيه منه أو إذا كان هذا الإرهابي يمتلكه أو يسيطر عليه. قام مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية بتنسيق هذه الإجراءات عن كثب مع تحقيقات وزارة الأمن الداخلي وإدارة مكافحة المخدرات. وتعد جهود إدارة مكافحة المخدرات وعملها مع مكتب مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية جزءا من مشروع كاساندرا التابع للإدارة والذي يستهدف شبكة الدعم الجنائي اللبنانية التابعة لحزب الله والتي تعمل كذراع يتولى اللوجستيات والمشتريات وعمليات التمويل لحزب الله.

عقوبات أميركية جديدة على لبنانيين وشركات لاتهامهم بدعم “حزب الله”..وشينكر:كل من يتورّط في التمويل معرض للعقوبات
المركزية/13 كانون الأول/2019
فرضت وزارة الخزانة الأميركية عقوبات على شخصيات لبنانية وشركات داعمة لحزب الله. وقالت وزارة الخزانة في بيان إنها فرضت عقوبات على رجل الأعمال اللبناني سعيد ناظم أحمد، وصالح علي عاصي، وطوني بطرس صعب، بسبب تورطهم في عمليات تمويل مباشرة لحزب الله. وأوضحت الوزارة أن مكتب “مراقبة الأصول الأجنبية التابع لوزارة الخزانة الأميركية أصدر اليوم إجراءات ضد اثنين من أبرز منظمي غسيل الأموال في لبنان وجمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية والشركات التابعة لهما، بما في ذلك تلك الشركات التي ولدت عشرات الملايين من دولارات لحزب الله، ومموليها ، وأنشطتهم الخبيثة”. وأوضحت أن الإجراءات الجديدة تشير إلى مدى “مساهمة حزب الله وشركائه في نشاط اقتصادي غير مشروع يعطي الأولوية للمصالح الاقتصادية للجماعة الإرهابية على حساب مصالح الشعب اللبناني”.
وناظم سعيد أحمد المقيم في لبنان لديه مجموعة كبيرة من الأعمال الفنية كواجهة لأنشطة غسيل الأموال، وهو واحد من أكبر المانحين لحزب الله.
أما صالح عاصي الذي يتخذ من جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية مقراً له، فقد قام بغسل الأموال من خلال شركاته التي تعمل في تجاة الألماس.
وقدّم عاصي الدعم المالي إلى أحد ممولي حزب الله المدرج على قائمة العقوبات الأميركية، وهو أدهم حسين طبجة.
كما تمّ فرض عقوبات على المحاسب طوني صعب الذي قدم دعما إلى مجموعة شركات عاصي بهدف تمويل الميليشيا الإرهابية.
والعقوبات شملت:
أحمد ناظم علي (سعيد) مواليد 1965
صالح عاصي، الباشورة، 1960
طوني صعب، تنورين التحتا، 1977
مؤسسة اليمن العقارية
مؤسسة عرمون 1506 العقارية
مؤسسة Beirut DIAM
BEIRUT GEM SAL
BEIRUT TRADE SAL
BLUE STAR DIAMOND SAL – OFFSHORE
DAMOUR 850
lGEBAA 2480
INTER ALIMENT SAL OFF-SHORE
MINOCONGO
MONTECARLO BEACH SAL
NOUMAYRIYE 1057 SAL
NOUR HOLDING SAL
PAIN VICTOIRE
SALASKO OFFSHORE S.A.L.
TRANS GAZELLE
ولفتت الخزانة الأميركية الى ان عاصي وسعيد أحمد متهمان بغسل الأموال وتمويل مخططات إرهابية وأحمد تاجر ألماس ومن أكبر ممولي حزب الله.
دايفيد شينكر: من جهته وفي السياق عينه، أعلن مساعد وزير الخارجية الأميركي لشؤون الشرق الأدنى، ديفيد شينكر، أن “حزب الله يعتمد على التمويل الخارجي وغسل الأموال، وقد تسبب بمشاكل اقتصادية للبنان”.
وأكد شينكر في تصريح لـ”العربية” الجمعة، أن “أشخاصاً من كافة المذاهب والأديان متورطون بتمويل حزب الله”، مشدداً على أن “كل من يتورط في التمويل معرض للعقوبات”.

شينكر: كل من يتورّط في تمويل “حزب الله” معرّض للعقوبات
المركزية/13 كانون الأول/2019
أعلن مساعد وزير الخارجية الأميركي لشؤون الشرق الأدنى، دايفيد شينكر، أن “حزب الله يعتمد على التمويل الخارجي وغسل الأموال، وقد تسبب بمشاكل اقتصادية للبنان”.
وأكد شينكر في تصريح لـ”العربية” الجمعة، أن “أشخاصاً من كافة المذاهب والأديان متورطون بتمويل حزب الله”، مشدداً على أن “كل من يتورط في التمويل معرض للعقوبات”.
وكانت وزارة الخزانة الأميركية، فرضت الجمعة، عقوبات على شخصيات وشركات لبنانية متورطة بتمويل حزب الله.

بومبيو: نقف الى جانب الشعب اللبناني
المركزية/13 كانون الأول/2019
غرّد وزير الخارجية الأميركي مايك بومبيو على حسابه على “تويتر” قائلا: نقف الى جانب الشعب اللبناني في محاربة الفساد والارهاب. اليوم قمنا بتصنيف رجلي أعمال لبنانيين قاما بدعم حزب الله من خلال أنشطة مالية غير شرعية.
أضاف:”سنواصل استخدام كل امكاناتنا المتاحة لمواجهة التهديد الذي يمثله حزب الله.

ضربة جديدة لـ«حزب الله».. تجميد حسابات لبنانيين مرتبطين بـ«التنظيم الإرهابي»!
جنوبية/13 كانون الأول/2019
بعد تصنيفه منظمة إرهابية وتزامناً مع أزمة المصارف التي يمر بها لبنان، تستعد الخزانة الأميركية للإعلان بعد قليل عن فرض عقوبات على شخصيات لبنانية مرتبطة بحزب الله. إقرأ أيضاً: حزب الله يهوّل بـ«صفقة القرن».. وهذا ما قاله عن الحكومة وحسب “العربية”، ستشمل العقوبات الأميركية المرتقبة تجميد حسابات لبنانيين مرتبطين بحزب الله. ولاتهامهم بغسل أموال ودعم حزب الله فرضت وزارة الخزانة عقوبات على ناظم سعيد أحمد وصالح عاصي وطوني صعب.

من هو ناظم سعيد أحمد.. وهذا ما قدمه لنصرالله شخصياً؟
جنوبية/13 كانون الأول/2019
بعد اعلان الخزانة الأميركية عن فرض عقوبات على شخصيات لبنانية مرتبطة بحزب الله، والتي شملت تجميد حسابات لبنانيين مرتبطين به، وهم ناظم سعيد أحمد وصالح عاصي وطوني صعب بجرم تبييض اموال ودعم حزب الله مالياً، أعلنت الخزانة الأميركية أن ناظم سعيد أحمد، كان قد قدم أموالا لأمين عام حزب الله شخصياً، وهو تاجر ألماس ويعرف بأنه من أكبر ممولي الحزب.

U.S. Sanctions 3 Individuals, Several Firms Allegedly Linked to Hizbullah
Naharnet/December 13/2019
The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Friday slapped sanctions against three individuals and several firms allegedly linked to Hizbullah. In a statement, the Treasury identified the individuals as Nazem Said Ahmad, Saleh Assi and Tony Saab. It described Ahmed and Assi as “two prominent Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)-based money launderers,” adding that they have affiliated companies some of which have “generated tens of millions of dollars for Hizbullah, its financiers, and their malign activities.”“Hizbullah continues to use seemingly legitimate businesses as front companies to raise and launder funds in countries like the DRC where it can use bribery and political connections to secure unfair market access and evade taxes,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “This Administration will continue to take action against Hizbullah financiers like Nazem Said Ahmad and Saleh Assi, who have used money laundering and tax evasion schemes to fund terrorist plots and finance their own lavish lifestyles as the Lebanese people suffer,” Mnuchin added. “Art and luxury goods dealers should be on alert to the schemes of money launderers who hide personal funds in high-value assets in an attempt to mitigate the effects of U.S. sanctions,” said Deputy Secretary Justin G. Muzinich. Describing Nazem Said Ahmad as one of Hizbullah’s “top donors,” the statement said the man possesses “an extensive art collection worth tens of millions of dollars, including works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, many of which have been on display in his gallery and penthouse in Beirut.”He generates funds through his “longstanding ties to the ‘blood diamond’ trade,” the statement added, noting that Saleh Assi has “laundered money through Ahmad’s diamond businesses.”The U.S. Treasury also slapped sanctions on Lebanon-based accountant Tony Saab, saying he “provided support to Assi.”“Saab has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of Assi,” the statement said.
“As an employee of Assi’s company Inter Aliment, Saab was involved in facilitating the transfer of millions of dollars for Inter Aliment and Minocongo and provided documentation of such transfers to Assi. Saab was also involved in facilitating Assi’s payments to (alleged Hizbullah financier Adham Hussein) Tabaja,” the statement added.

US Treasury designates Lebanon and DRC-based Hezbollah money launderers
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/Friday, 13 December 2019
The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on two Lebanon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)-based money launderers and their affiliated companies, accusing them of having links to Hezbollah and generating millions of dollars for the group. The actions on Friday targeted Lebanon-based Nazem Said Ahmad and DRC-based Saleh Assi. “Ahmad, who has a vast art collection, is one of Hezballah’s top donors, generating funds through his longstanding ties to the “blood diamond” trade. Treasury is also taking action against DRC-based Saleh Assi who has laundered money through Ahmad’s diamond businesses,” a statement from the US Treasury read. “Hezbollah continues to use seemingly legitimate businesses as front companies to raise and launder funds in countries like the DRC where it can use bribery and political connections to secure unfair market access and evade taxes,” said US Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “This Administration will continue to take action against Hezbollah financiers like Nazem Said Ahmad and Saleh Assi, who have used money laundering and tax evasion schemes to fund terrorist plots and finance their own lavish lifestyles as the Lebanese people suffer.”The move comes at a time when a US official confirmed to Al Arabiya that US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale is expected to visit Beirut next week. The official said that Hale will carry a message from Washington to Lebanese officials that the US will not provide financial support to Lebanon until after the formation of a government that responds to the demands of the Lebanese people.

Pompeo Dispatches David Hale to Beirut
AsharqAl Awsat/December 13/2019
US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale is expected to visit Beirut this month as Lebanon suffers a deep political and economic crisis, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat. Hale’s trip would be the first diplomatic move made by President Donald Trump’s administration towards Beirut since the start of massive anti-government demonstrations on October 17.The US official’s planned visit comes after a meeting of the International Group in Support (ISG) of Lebanon held in Paris on Wednesday. US Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker, who represented Washington at the IGS meeting, has informed the US administration about the dangerous levels that Lebanon’s political, economic, social and financial conditions have reached. The US has openly supported Lebanon’s unprecedented cross-sectarian protests denouncing government mismanagement and corruption. The diplomatic sources said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has been closely monitoring the situation in Lebanon since his last trip to Beirut in April. Another diplomatic source told the newspaper that Washington will neither provide financial assistance nor liquidity in US dollars that is much required in the Lebanese market. “However, the US can speak with a number of donor countries and organizations, mainly the International Monetary Fund,” the source added. Hale’s visit to Beirut also comes as Lebanon prepares to hold biding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier tasked with forming a government. This month, Trump’s administration lifted a mysterious “hold” on more than $100 million in security aid for Lebanon, more than a month after lawmakers learned the funds were being blocked. Hale said during previous congressional testimonies that there had been some

Pompeo: We Stand with People of Lebanon against Corruption, Terrorism
Naharnet/December 13/2019
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday announced that the U.S. stands by the Lebanese people in the face of “corruption and terrorism,” shortly after Washington slapped sanctions on three individuals and several firms allegedly linked to Hizbullah. “We stand with the people of Lebanon to fight against corruption and terrorism. Today we designated two prominent Lebanese businessmen whose illicit financial activity supports Hizbullah,” Pompeo tweeted. “We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to counter the threat Hizbullah poses,” he added. Earlier on Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions against three alleged Hizbullah money launderers and financiers, including a diamond trader who collected art. It accused Lebanon-based Nazem Said Ahmad, whose art collection includes works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, and his companies of helping to launder large sums of money for the group. “Ahmad, who has a vast art collection, is one of Hizbullah’s top donors, generating funds through his longstanding ties to the ‘blood diamond’ trade,” it said. A second man based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Saleh Assi, was sanctioned for laundering money through Ahmad’s diamond business and supporting another alleged financier already under sanctions. The U.S. Treasury also slapped sanctions on Lebanon-based accountant Tony Saab, saying he “provided support to Assi.”

ملاحظة/الصورة المرفقة هي لناظم سعيد أحمد المشمول بالعقوبات

The post رزمة من التقارير عربي/انكليزي، تتناول عقوبات أميركية على 3 أشخاص وعدد من المؤسسات المرتبطة بتمويل حزب الله الإيراني والإرهابي الذي يحتل لبنان/A Bundle Of A/E Reports Covering The Recent USA Sanctions On 3 Individuals and Several Firms Linked To The Terrorist Iranian Hezbollah That Occupies Lebanon appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

أَمَا تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّكُم هَيْكَلُ ٱلله، وَأَنَّ رُوحَ اللهِ يَسْكُنُ فِيكُم؟ فَمَنْ يَهْدُمُ هَيْكَلَ اللهِ يَهْدُمُهُ الله، لأَنَّ هَيْكَلَ ٱللهِ مُقَدَّس
فَمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ يُمْكِنُهُ أَنْ يَضَعَ أَسَاسًا آخَرَ غَيْرَ ٱلأَسَاسِ ٱلمَوْضُوع، وهُوَ يَسُوعُ المَسِيح
رسالة القدّيس بولس الأولى إلى أهل قورنتس03/من10حتى23/:”يا إِخوَتِي، أَنَا بِنِعْمَةِ ٱللهِ الَّتي وُهِبَتْ لي، وَضَعْتُ الأَسَاسَ كَبَنَّاءٍ حَكِيم، لكِنَّ آخَرَ يَبْنِي عَلَيْه: فَلْيَنْظُرْ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ كَيْفَ يَبْنِي عَلَيْه! فَمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ يُمْكِنُهُ أَنْ يَضَعَ أَسَاسًا آخَرَ غَيْرَ ٱلأَسَاسِ ٱلمَوْضُوع، وهُوَ يَسُوعُ المَسِيح. فَإِنْ بَنَى أَحَدٌ عَلى هذَا الأَسَاسِ ذَهَبًا، أَوْ فِضَّةً، أَوْ حِجَارَةً كَرِيْمَةً، أَوْ خَشَبًا، أَوْ تِبْنًا، أَوْ قَشًّا، فَعَمَلُ كُلِّ وَاحِدٍ سَيَكُونُ ظَاهِرًا، وَيَوْمُ الرَّبِّ سَيُبَيِّنُهُ، لأَنَّ يَومَ الرَّبِّ سَيُعْلَنُ بِالنَّار، والنَّارُ سَتَمْتَحِنُ مَا قِيمَةُ عَمَلِ كُلِّ وَاحِد. فَمَنْ يَبْنِي، ويَبْقَى عَمَلُهُ الَّذي بَنَاه، يَنَالُ أَجْرَهُ. ومَنِ ٱحْتَرَقَ عَمَلُهُ يَخْسَرُ أَجْرَهُ، أَمَّا هُوَ فَيَخْلُص، ولكِنْ كَمَنْ يَمُرُّ في النَّار. أَمَا تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّكُم هَيْكَلُ ٱلله، وَأَنَّ رُوحَ اللهِ يَسْكُنُ فِيكُم؟ فَمَنْ يَهْدُمُ هَيْكَلَ اللهِ يَهْدُمُهُ الله، لأَنَّ هَيْكَلَ ٱللهِ مُقَدَّس، وهُوَ أَنْتُم! فَلا يَخْدَعَنَّ أَحَدٌ نَفْسَهُ! إِنْ ظَنَّ أَحَدٌ بَيْنَكُم أَنَّهُ حَكِيمٌ بِحِكْمَةِ هذَا الدَّهْر، فَلْيَصِرْ أَحْمَقَ لِيَصِيرَ حَكِيمًا! لأَنَّ حِكْمَةَ هذَا العَالَمِ حَمَاقَةٌ عِنْدَ الله، فإِنَّهُ مَكْتُوب: «أَلرَّبُّ يَأْخُذُ الحُكَمَاءَ بِمَكْرِهِم»، وَمَكْتُوبٌ أَيْضًا: «أَلرَّبُّ يَعْلَمُ أَفْكَارَ الحُكَمَاءِ إِنَّهَا بَاطِلَة». إِذًا فَلا يَفْتَخِرَنَّ أَحَدٌ بِأَيِّ إِنْسَان، لأَنَّ كُلَّ شَيءٍ هُوَ لَكُم، أَكَانَ بُولُس، أَمْ أَبُلُّوس، أَمْ كِيفَا، أَمِ العَالَم، أَمِ الحَيَاة، أَمِ المَوْت، أَمِ الحَاضِر، أَمِ المُسْتَقْبَل: كُلُّ شَيءٍ هُوَ لَكُم، أَمَّا أَنْتُم فَلِلْمَسِيح، والمَسِيحُ لله!”.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person
First Letter to the Corinthians 03/10-23/:”According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’, and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.”

 فمَا مِنْ خَفِيٍّ إِلاَّ سيُظْهَر، ومَا مِنْ مَكْتُومٍ إِلاَّ سَيُعْلَن. مَنْ لَهُ أُذُنَانِ سَامِعَتَانِ فَلْيَسْمَعْ
إنجيل القدّيس مرقس04/من21حتى25/:”قالَ الربُّ يَسوع: «هَلْ يُؤْتَى بِٱلسِّراجِ لِيُوضَعَ تَحْتَ المِكْيَال، أَو تَحْتَ السَّرِير؟ أَمْ لِيُوضَعَ عَلَى المَنَارَة؟ فمَا مِنْ خَفِيٍّ إِلاَّ سيُظْهَر، ومَا مِنْ مَكْتُومٍ إِلاَّ سَيُعْلَن. مَنْ لَهُ أُذُنَانِ سَامِعَتَانِ فَلْيَسْمَعْ». وقالَ لَهُم: «تَبَصَّرُوا في مَا تَسْمَعُون: بِمَا تَكِيلُون يُكَالُ لَكُم وَيُزَاد. فَمَنْ لَهُ يُعْطَى. ومَنْ لَيْسَ لَهُ يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهُ حَتَّى مَا هُوَ لَهُ”».

For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 04/21-25/:”The Lord Jesus says: ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’”

The post أَمَا تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّكُم هَيْكَلُ ٱلله، وَأَنَّ رُوحَ اللهِ يَسْكُنُ فِيكُم؟ فَمَنْ يَهْدُمُ هَيْكَلَ اللهِ يَهْدُمُهُ الله، لأَنَّ هَيْكَلَ ٱللهِ مُقَدَّس/ You are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

اللبناناوي جوزيف أبو خليل من الموت إلى الحياة
الياس بجاني/14 كانون الأول/2019

الرب أعطا والرب أخذ فليكن اسمه مباركاً.
الموت في مفهومنا الإنجيلي هو انتقال من الموت إلى الحياة وليس العكس.

واليوم ولد للبنان البشيرية واللبناناوية والرسالة سفيراً في السماء.

سفيراً حاملاً القضية اللبنانية الحضارية والإنسانية المتجزرة على الأرض في تراب وطن القداسة والقديسين والبررة.

قضية معمدة وموثقة ومؤكدة بشهادات ودماء الآلاف من الشهداء الذين برضا وفرح قدموا أنفسهم قرابين على مذبح وطن الأرز المقدس ليبق حراً وسيداً ومنارة للمحبة والعطاء والعلم ولكل ما هو إيمان وإنسانية وعطاء ورسالة.

اليوم استرد الله وديعة الحياة الترابية من عبده جوزيف أبو خليل لينتقل هذا اللبناناوي النقي والتقي والمؤمن من الموت إلى الحياة وليستقر في جنة الخلد إلى جانب البررة والأطهار.

جوزيف أبو خليل عاصر كمفكر ومثقف ومحلل وإعلامي وكاتب وسياسي كبار القادة اللبناناويين من مثل الشيخ بيار الجميل وولده الباش بشير، وأكمل في شيخوخته واجب العطاء كما في صباه ولم يستقيل أو يرتاح من واجباته الثقافية والوطنية واللبناناوية والإيمانية حتى أخر لحظة وآخر نفس هواء من عيشه على الأرض.

وككل بشري لن يأخذ جوزيف أبو خليل معه إلى العالم الآخر أي شيء ترابي. كل ما سيأخذه هذا اللبناناوي المؤمن معه هو زوادته الإيمانية وفقط هذه الزوادة.

اليوم روح جوزيف أبو خليل هي في حضرة الرب حيث سيقدم له ما في زوادته الإيمانية والوطنية من أعمال براحة ضمير وفرح. والرب سيبارك روحه ويقول لها أدخلي جنتي فأنت أُعطيتِ وزنات كثيرة واستثمرت فيها وجعلتي منها أضعافاً وأضعاف ما كانت.

نصلي من أجل راحة نفس هذا اللبناناوي المؤمن المنتقل من الموت إلى الحياة ونتقدم من ذويه وأحبائه ومن كل اللبناناويين في لبنان والمغتربات بأحر التعازي.
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“صوت الحرية والكرامة” رحل … هكذا نعى السياسيون جوزيف أبو خليل
المركزية/14 كانون الأول/2019

غيّب الموت النائب الاول لرئيس حزب الكتائب جوزيف ابو خليل، عن عمر يناهز الاربعة وتسعين عاماً، طوى معها صفحات من النضال لاجل سيادة لبنان واستقلاله وازدهاره وحريته. وُلد أبو خليل في 25 كانون الأول 1925، وله ابنتان هما زينا وريما. عملَ في صفوف حزب “الكتائب” على مدى أكثر من 75 عاماً، فكان عضواً سابقاً في المكتب السياسي، وأميناً عاماً سابقاً، ونائباً أوّل لرئيس الحزب النائب سامي الجمّيل حتّى وفاته. صحافي وكاتب سياسي ورئيس تحرير صحيفة “العمل” الناطقة بلسان حزب “الكتائب” من العام 1968 إلى العام 1988.

يصل جثمان الفقيد الى بيت الكتائب المركزي، في الصيفي في الحادية عشرة قبل ظهر الثلاثاء 17 الجاري ثم ينقل الجثمان الى كنيسة مار يوسف، الاشرفية (الحكمة) حيث يحتفل بالصلاة لراحة نفسه في الواحدة بعد الظهر. ينقل الجثمان الى مسقط رأسه بيت الدين حيث تقام صلاة رفع البخور لراحة نفسه في كنيسة مار مارون، بيت الدين ثم يوارى الثرى في مدافن العائلة.

تقبل التعازي يوم الاثنين والاربعاء 16 و18 الجاري في صالون كنيسة مار يوسف، الاشرفية (الحكمة) من الحادية عشرة قبل الظهر حتى السادسة مساء.

وتلقّى كل من الرئيس أمين الجميّل ورئيس حزب الكتائب النائب سامي الجميّل اتصالاً من رئيس مجلس النواب نبيه بري معزياً بالراحل.

أمين الجميّل: بكلمات مؤثرة نعى الرئيس الجميّل ابو خليل قائلاً: “رفيق النضال الطويل والدرب الصعب لبيار الجميًل والشاهد على ولادة الكتائب ولبنان.

خسرت فيه معاني الصدق والوفاء، وقيم الشهامة والشرف. تعبّد في حياته للكلمة الحرة، واعتنقها كاتباً ومفكراً وناطقاً حتى الرمق الأخير من حياته، وترك بصمة استثنائية في سجل لبنان الذهبي.

أودعك بقلب حزين فأنت ترحل ولبنان النازف يفتقد الى هذا المعدن النادر الخالص بصلابته ونقائه”.

جعجع: غرد رئيس حزب “القوات اللبنانية” سمير جعجع عبر “تويتر”: “إلى جوزيف أبو خليل: وداعا “عمو”…لقد كنت دائما قريبا حتى عندما كنت بعيدا…

أقدرك لأنك رجل مبادئ وقناعات ولو اختلفنا بعض الأوقات…

لقد تعبت وناضلت كثيرا “عمو” ويحق لك بالإستراحة الأبدية في دار الخلد”.

سامي الجميّل: “وعد يا عمو جوزيف انو نكرّس حياتنا للبنان متلك ونحافظ على الكتائب مدرسة أخلاق وصمود ستبقى بسمتك محفورة في قلوبنا الى الأبد”.

الصايغ: نعى نائب رئيس حزب الكتائب الوزير السابق سليم الصايغ، نائب رئيس حزب الكتائب جوزف ابو خليل بكلمات مؤثرة.

وقال الصايغ في تغريدة عبر “تويتر”: “عمو جوزيف حبيبي ومعلمي ومرشدي وقائدي ورفيقي…معك تمرست كل يوم في فن الصعوبة وشطارة الشرف وسهولة الممتنع وسلام الثورة وعظمة التواضع والتزام الحرية وقبل كل شيء الوفاء والمحبة والثبات… وصيتك كما وصية صديقك بيار الوالد سأحفظها في القلب والعقل والوجدان!”.

حكيم: ونعاه الوزير السابق آلان حكيم النائب الأول لرئيس الحزب جوزيف أبو خليل عبر حسابه الخاص على تويتر كاتباً: ” جوزيف أبو خليل المناضل والمفكر الذي عشق لبنان وأثبت طوال مسيرته عن ولائه المطلق لحزب الكتائب ووفائه للقضية حتى آخر نفس… أنت اليوم في جوار الله، أما الوطن والعائلة ف رح يشتاقولك. ستبقى في وجداننا وفي وجدان الكتائب اللبنانية عمو جوزيف”.

حنكش: من جهته، كتب النائب الياس حنكش عبر حسابه على “تويتر”: “رحل صوت لبنان رحل صوت الحرية رحل صوت الكرامة رحل معلمنا عمو جوزيف ومعلّم كل الأجيال”.

أبو ناضر: من جهته، كتب رئيس لجنة العلاقات السياسية في حزب الكتائب فؤاد أبو ناضر على “تويتر”: “رحل” صوت لبنان صوت الحرية والكرامة” عمو جوزف الله معك”.

هبر: فيما كتب النائب السابق فادي هبر: “الرفيق جوزيف ابو خليل …تاريخ من النضال، ورفيق الشيخ بيار الرئيس المؤسس…الى اليوم مع الشيخ سامي ..مسيرة الكتائب.

ضو: كذلك كتب الناشط السياسي نوفل ضو: “رحل التاريخ! رحل ذاكرة الفكر المقاوم! رحل قلم الصحافة وحبر الجريدة! رحل حصاد الأيام! رحل معلّم أجيال الصحافيين! رحل رفيق الكبار … والعين الساهرة على الشباب! جوزف ابو خليل … وداعاً!”.

داغر: بدوره، نعى عضو المكتب السياسي الكتائبي سيرج داغر النائب الأول لرئيس الحزب جوزيف أبو خليل عبر حسابه الخاص على تويتر كاتباً: “انه “العمّو”. كبيرنا ومعلمنا. انه الحكمة والوطنية والعنفوان. انه ذاكرة لبنان ومدرسة الكتائب في التواضع وبذل الذات. انه الاكثر شباب بيننا. شو بحبك وشو تعلمت منك وشو فخور اني عايشتك وشو فرحت كل مرة قلتلي انك انت فخور فيّ. رح اشتقتلك كتير. “العمو” ما بيموت “العمو” حي فينا.

ماروني: نعى النائب السابق ايلي ماروني ابو خليل. وقال “رحيل جوزف أبو خليل. إنه الضمير والتاريخ ,إنه رفيق المؤسس الشيخ بيار الجميل ورفيق الرئيس البشير والأمين على الأمين ورفيق عريس الشهداء بيار الجميل ورفيق الرئيس سامي والعين الساهرة، إنه رفيقي ورفيق كل كتائبي “.

وتابع “إنه الموارنة في الحرب كما كتبه، وإنه مؤرخ الذاكرة الكتائبية منذ التأسيس وحتى لحظة وفاته . إنه جوزف أبو خليل نائب رئيس حزب الكتائب حارس الهيكل حتى آخر رمق . جوزف أبو خليل رحمه الله سنتفتقده في كل مرة ندخل البيت المركزي الكتائبي وسنفتقده في كل مناسبة. ذكرياتنا معه كثيرة وحتمآ سنرويها لتبقى عبرة منه لنا . جوزف أبو خليل وداعآ أو إلى اللقاء. ووعدآ ستبقى الكتائب التي أحببت الضمير والتاريخ والمستقبل. رفيقك إيلي ماروني”.

نقابة المحررين: الى ذلك، نعت نقابة محرري الصحافة اللبنانية إلى الأسرة الصحافية والاعلامية في لبنان وديار الانتشار والعالم العربي، أحد ابنائها البررة الزميل جوزف ابو خليل الذي ترجل عن صهوة دنياه فارسا زاده الفكر والرأي والعطاء الدائم للمهنة التي أحبها وانقطع إليها، ولم يمر فيها مرورا عابرا، بل خلف فيها بصمات ستظل منطبعة في ذاكرة الزمن.

أمضى الراحل الشطر الأكبر من حياته في جريدة ” العمل” الناطقة باسم ” حزب الكتائب اللبنانية” محررا، كاتبا، فرئيسا للتحرير سحابة سنين طويلة، وكتب بعد احتجابها في عدد من كبريات الصحف المحلية والعربية.

أصدر العديد من المؤلفات التي تناولت القضية اللبنانية وكان لها موقع الصدارة في المكتبات، وهي تعكس مدى اطلاعه وسعة افقه، وسلاسة أسلوبه وعمق ثقافته. وباتت مراجع رئيسة لكل باحث في تاريخ لبنان الحديث.

وفي حزبه قام بأدوار كبيرة إلى جانب مؤسسه المغفور له الشيخ بيار الجميل، وكأن مستشارا مقربا من الرئيس أمين الجميل والرئيس الراحل بشير الجميل. وتقلب في العديد من المناصب وأبرزها: الأمين العام للحزب ونائبا اول للرئيس.

نقيب المحررين جوزف القصيفي رثاه وقال:” أحد شيوخ الصحافة يرحل بعدما أتم سعيه وجاهد الجهاد الحسن، مستلا سيف الكلمة من غمدها، متعبدا لها، ومتنسكا في صومعتها، وكانت وسيلته الاحب في الدفاع عن عقيدته الوطنية، والكرازة بمبدائها.

وهو ابن بار بالنقابة وقف إلى جانبها في أصعب الأوقات وأدق الاستحقاقات، دافعا عنها ما تعرضت له من ضغط في زمن الحرب، وانقسام العاصمة إلى شطرين. وكان حريصا على القيام بواجباته حيالها، على الرغم من تقادم العمر. وكان رجلا استثنائيا، ظل يواظب على عمله، ويدأب على البحث والتنقيب والكتابة حتى قبل أيام من رحيله.

أن نقابة المحررين تفخر بامثال هذا الرجل الكبير الذي تزين جدولها باسمه، إلى جانب ضمة من كبار غابوا أو ما زالوا على قيد لبنان، وكانوا مصدر فخر لوطنهم ومهنتهم، بما اغلقوا من سخي العطاء الفكري والأدبي.

نم قرير العين في بيت الدين، أميرا من أمراء الصحافة، ومناضلا لم تخل الساحة إلا عند سقوط يراعك التي ما خطت إلا آيات الوفاء لوطن انجبك، وحزب نشأت فيه وكنت له خير ناطق وشاهد على تاريخه، ومهنة ونقابة احتضنتهما واحتضناك، وقامت بينك وبينهما إلفة وتآلف حتى قضى الله أمرا كان مقضيا.

رحمك الله رحمة واسعة. وافسح لك في جوار المؤمنين الصالحين من عباده. أنه لسميع مجيب”.

“المركزية” التي آلمها نبأ وفاته، تتقدّم من عائلته وحزبه بخالص العزاء وهي أكيدة ان سكناه على يمين الله وبين البررة والصديقين.

The post الياس بجاني/اللبناناوي جوزيف أبو خليل من الموت إلى الحياة appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Analysis/Despite Sanctions and Protests, Israel Knows Trump Still Wants Negotiations With Iran
Amir Tibon and Amos Harel/Haaretz/December 14/2019

آمر تايبون وعاموس هاريل/هآرتس: رغم العقوبات والإحتجاجات  إسرائل تدرك أن ترامب لا يزال يريد التفاوض مع إيران

إيران تهدد بتدمير إسرائيل من لبنان، وإسرائيل تحذر إيران من أنها ستغرقها في فيتنام سوريا، في حين أن لبنان الواقع في وسط كل هذه المعمعة ينتظر استخراج البترول والغار من بحره وأرضه وخائف أن يكون هو الضحية

Iran threatens destruction, Israel invokes Vietnam – and one Mideast country fears getting caught in the middle

U.S. President Donald Trump this week brought back into discussion an idea that had almost completely disappeared in recent months: negotiations with Iran. The option of direct talks between Iran and the U.S., which made headlines around the world over the summer, became less relevant as the U.S., Israel and Iran all experienced internal political dramas.

Over the weekend, however, things changed, after Iran released from prison an American scientist who had been held in the country since 2016. In return, the U.S. released from jail an Iranian citizen who had been indicted on charges of violating the sanctions placed on the Islamic Republic.

“Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation,” Trump wrote on his Twitter account, adding enthusiastically: “See, we can make a deal together!” It was the first time since at least October that the president has made any positive statement about the possibility of negotiations with the Iranians over a comprehensive deal that will include the country’s nuclear program.

Just four days before that tweet, the Wall Street Journal, basing its story on sources within the Trump administration, reported that the president was considering a deployment of as many as 14,000 U.S. troops to the Middle East to “confront” Iran. The report was officially denied by the Pentagon, and Trump also called it “fake news,” but Congressional sources later confirmed that the option of sending many more troops to the region has indeed been discussed.

U.S. policy in the Middle East under Trump continues to be confusing, unstable and impossible to predict, moving swiftly from threatening a military confrontation on Wednesday to asking for negotiations on Saturday. These constant changes create a continuing challenge for Middle East governments, including Israel, as they try to understand in which direction the administration is heading.

The difficulty of anticipating the moves of the White House seemed to grow after the previous Israeli election in September, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump had no direct communication between them for more than a month. At the time, analysts in Israel interpreted this as a sign that Trump was disappointed with Netanyahu’s second failure in a row to win the election, which ended in a tie. Trump, some in the Israeli media said, wanted to distance himself from someone perceived as a “loser.”

Yet in November, the two leaders resumed their communications. They spoke twice on the phone in recent weeks, and in early December Netanyahu also flew to Portugal for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. A source involved in the communications between the two leaders told Haaretz that in fact, there was no distance between them after the election, and at the same time, the recent conversations should not be interpreted as a sign of the relationship getting warmer or closer than it had already been.

According to this explanation, Netanyahu does not think he should initiate a phone call with Trump unless he has a very specific request to make to the president, or a pressing issue to discuss with him.

Trump, after all, is busy with his own troubles in recent months, starting with the impeachment process in Congress, and he devotes much of his time to watching television and fighting with critics on Twitter.

In their first conversation last month, Netanyahu mainly wanted to thank Trump for the administration’s decision to no longer consider settlements illegal under international law – a decision that came at an important political juncture in Israel and helped Netanyahu politically. (The White House denied this was the main motivation behind it.)

The more important call between the two leaders happened 10 days ago, and it focused on Iran. Netanyahu asked Trump to further increase U.S. pressure on Tehran, following the wave of demonstrations in the Islamic Republic. Overall, Israel has been pleased with the U.S. pressure on Iran for the past two years, but there is still a concern in Jerusalem that Trump could avidly renew his “courting” of Iran in the hope of securing a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rohani.

The concern in Israel’s political and security establishments isn’t about a new comprehensive deal between Iran and the U.S. – everyone assumes this is not a real possibility. Iran will never agree to the conditions the Trump administration has set for a new agreement, and Trump will not give up on those demands before the 2020 presidential election, in which he will rely for his survival on the support of Christian evangelicals, a constituency that hates and is suspicious of the Islamic Republic.

Israeli officials have nevertheless warned the administration that the very act of holding a public meeting between Trump and Rohani would by itself decrease the pressure on Tehran. The Israeli argument is that the American pressure on Iran is succeeding not only because of the economic sanctions, but also because of a sense in the international community and the business world that Iran has no way out of the pressure campaign, except for surrendering to the American demands. A meeting between the two leaders, even if it’s essentially nothing but a “photo opportunity,” will send the opposite message: that the American pressure is temporary and will eventually be lifted.

“Right now,” said one Israeli official, “it feels like every week the Americans hit Iran with a new hammer.” A meeting between Trump and Rohani would run counter to that notion.

In September, when a meeting with Rohani was seen as likely thanks to the efforts of French President Emmanuel Macron, foreign companies that were already planning to leave Iran, were suddenly reevaluating. Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, argued at the time in conversations with U.S. officials that a meeting with Rohani would immediately hurt the psychological element of the pressure campaign against Iran, and would also give the Iranian regime an opportunity to present an optimistic horizon to the Iranian public, despite the difficult economic situation in the country.

Pompeo and other officials in the administration seem to understand the Israeli argument, but Trump himself has not been convinced. Trump was truly willing over the summer to meet or talk on the phone with Rohani without any preconditions, as he stated. Eventually it was the Iranian side that refused to hold a meeting or a call without some kind of American gesture taking place beforehand.

At the same time, there was another source of tension over the summer between the U.S. and Israel: The Americans were angry over a series of aerial strikes in Iraq that were attributed to Israel, and that, according to foreign media, targeted mostly militias and convoys supported by Iran. The Americans were concerned that these attacks, which Israel never officially took responsibility for, will lead to acts of revenge carried out against American troops stationed in Iraq.

At the end of August the Pentagon published a statement supporting Iraq’s sovereignty and distancing the U.S. from the attacks, at the same time that Iraq was officially blaming Israel for the air strikes.

The Pentagon’s statement was the only public expression of the tensions surrounding this issue. The American side was worried about a wide range of options, from revenge attacks to an official request by the Iraqi government to remove all U.S. troops from the country.

Eventually, it seems, that American position on this issue had an impact: Since September, there have been no more reports of mysterious and unexplained attacks on Iraqi territory.

PM’s day-to-day strategy
During the course of the abortive negotiations between Kahol Lavan and Likud, to establish a unity government, various explanations were offered to explain Netanyahu’s insistence on serving as the first prime minister in a rotation, and on having that stint last at least six months. Likud kept peddling new strategic achievements that Netanyahu wanted to promote, by his lights – a strategic alliance with the United States, annexation of the Jordan Valley and even, this week, annexation of the West Bank.

There were also whispers of a different speculation: Netanyahu will use the additional period to realize his greatest aspiration: an Israeli attack that, once and for all, will stop the Iranian nuclear plan. Trump, or so it was said, would accept such a move because it would boost his standing among the evangelicals ahead of the presidential election next November.

It seems this theory has no basis at the moment. Netanyahu never implemented attack plans even during the periods he discussed them with the utmost seriousness, every summer from 2010 to 2013. The prime minister also knows that he would encounter objections from the defense leadership and that his decision, as someone who will shortly go on trial in three serious affairs, would not win much public trust.

As for Trump, despite his unstable approach, he has already made clear his relatively reasoned opposition to a war in the Middle East.

Therefore, it is more reasonable to assume that what we see is simply what is happening: Netanyahu is acting without an orderly plan, in the hope of surviving another day and delaying the finale, in the form of the start of his criminal trial. To this end, he keeps tossing new balls, new justifications, into the air. The main hope that remains to him is a victory in the next election in March, but at the moment this seems like an unrealistic aspiration because it isn’t clear from where the rightist bloc will garner the additional votes.

This week, top Iranians once again threatened to destroy Israel. Possibly these declarations came in response to statements by Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, who called for ejecting the Iranian forces from Syria, threatened to turn Syria into Iran’s Vietnam and warned of possible attempts on the lives of Iranian leaders.

The Iranian statement, as articulated by a Revolutionary Guard general, touched a raw nerve in Beirut, because the general threatened to flatten Tel Aviv by means of launching rockets from Lebanon. The Lebanese defense minister protested that Tehran is involving his country in its conflict with Israel.

The Lebanese sensitivity is also greater because of the intention there to begin a search for natural gas offshore in its territorial waters in the Mediterranean, close to the maritime boundary with Israel. Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said this week in a discussion at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies that success in the search for natural gas could help relieve the tension in the north.

According to Eisenkot, finding gas would make it difficult for Hezbollah to heat up the front against Israel because the other forces in Lebanon would fear that a war would hinder economic development. (The Lebanese economy is currently in deep trouble, which was part of the background to the extensive wave of demonstrations against the government and against the influence of Iran and Hezbollah.)

The post آمر تايبون وعاموس هاريل/هآرتس: رغم العقوبات والإحتجاجات  إسرائل تدرك أن ترامب لا يزال يريد التفاوض مع إيران/Amir Tibon and Amos Harel/Haaretz: Despite Sanctions and Protests, Israel Knows Trump Still Wants Negotiations With Iran/ appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 15/2019

Click Here to read the whole and detailed LCCC English News Bulletin for December 15/2019

The post Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 15/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 14-15/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 59th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 15/2019

Tites For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 14-15/2019
Kataeb Mourn Party’s First Deputy-President Joseph Abu Khalil
Former President Pays Tribute to Abu Khalil
Sami Gemayel Promises Abu Khalil to Stay Faithful to Kataeb’s Values as He Was
Back shirts of Hezbollah, Amal and their vassals
Dr. Walid Phares/December 14/2019
Dozens injured in violent clashes with security forces in Beirut
Street battles in Beirut as counter-protesters clash with police
Protracted street clashes engulf Beirut near protest camp
Lebanese security forces and Hezbollah supporters clash in central Beirut
Lebanese protesters clash with security forces near parliament in central Beirut
Hezbollah supporters clash with riot police in Beirut
Shencker Says Hizbullah Financiers are Liable to Sanctions
Pompeo: We Stand with People of Lebanon against Corruption, Terrorism
Geagea Meets Khoury, Says LF Won’t Be Part of New Govt.
Emadi Says Qatar to ‘Stand by’ Lebanon during Crisis
US sanctions millionaire Hezbollah moneymen as Nasrallah speaks

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 14-15/2019
Kataeb Mourn Party’s First Deputy-President Joseph Abu Khalil
Kataeb.org/December 14/2019
The Kataeb party on Saturday mourned the death of the party’s first Deputy-President Joseph Abu Khalil, hailing him as the its first fighter in the path towards independence. The 94-year old politburo member’s departure signifies “the turning of entire pages on the party’s struggle and resistance, whether alongside the Kataeb founder to achieve Lebanon’s first independence, or alongside the current party chief in his journey of opposition,” the party paid tribute on its website page. Joseph Abu Khalil had held various high offices within the party over the years. He was one of the founders of the Voice of Lebanon radio station in 1958, then editor-in-chief of the daily Kataeb al-Amal during the Lebanese civil war which was launched in 1975. He was regularly referred to as the “spiritual son” of the party’s founder, Pierre Gemayel, and worked as a close advisor to former President Bachir Gemayel. In February, Abu Khalil had been re-elected to his post at the party’s general assembly.

Former President Pays Tribute to Abu Khalil
Kataeb.org/December 14/2019
Former President Amine Gemayel on Saturday paid tribute to the party’s first Deputy-President Joseph Abu Khalil, expressing his deeply saddened heart over the loss of the comrade to the long struggle and difficult path of Pierre Gemayel and the witness to the birth of the Kataeb and Lebanon. “With him, I have lost the true meaning of truthfulness and loyalty, nobility and honor. He was an advocator of freedom of speech, embracing it as a writer, thinker and speaker until his last breath.”“He made an exceptional mark on Lebanon’s golden record.”

Sami Gemayel Promises Abu Khalil to Stay Faithful to Kataeb’s Values as He Was
Kataeb.org/December 14/2019
Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel on Saturday expressed his sorrow over the death of the party’s first Deputy-President Joseph Abu Khalil, hailing him as “a spiritual father, loyal friend and a committed comrade”. “The Kataeb party has lost the first witness to its struggle,” Gemayel wrote on his twitter, promising Abu Khalil to hold onto the values and constants of the party and be devoted for Lebanon’s safekeeping as he did. “The man died but the legend is born.”“Lebanon suffers the loss of someone who had given it a century of love, faith and sacrifice,” he wrote. “Your smile will be forever engraved in our hearts,” Gemayel said.

Back shirts of Hezbollah, Amal and their vassals
Dr. Walid Phares/December 14/2019
Getting many videos from Lebanon about the “brown shirts” (some call them back shirts) of Hezbollah, Amal and their vassals, parading in Beirut to intimidate the protesters. It is colorful, loud and primitive, but it is not going to intimidate the people to the point of ending the uprising.
And the reason is that most Lebanese on the streets have nothing to lose. Those militias are flexing muscles. Every other Lebanese can flex muscles, if they want. But the protesters aren’t. They want to continue to be non violent and operate under Lebanese and international laws. If the “militias” cross the line, they will meet popular resistance and international measures. Their choice is to keep parading, and they can do so at will, or cross the line, and leap into the next level.

Resignation of the Lebanese President and all the Top Officials Is A Must
Abu Arz-Etian Saqer/December 13/2019
Due to solid facts related to an ongoing Lebanese governmental crisis that is not going to be solved soon,
And because all tangible circumstances indicate that this promised rescue government will not be formed in the near future
And Since all practical solutions for the imminent financial-monetary-economic-social crisis are technically linked to the governmental crisis.
And Since the general conditions of the country is worsening day by day, and warns of a comprehensive and terrifying collapse.
And since the top official have entirely failed in everything and at all levels,
Therefore, the resignation of the Lebanese President of the Republic, along with all the top officials becomes an inevitable and urgent national necessity.
The available two choices are either an inevitable and immediate resignation, or an inevitable and disastrous comprehensive collapse.
Long Live Our Holy Lebanon’

Dozens injured in violent clashes with security forces in Beirut
The National/December 15/2019
Riot police deployed in large numbers in the Lebanese capital on Saturday night The clashes continued into the early morning on Sunday as riot police used water cannon and more tear gas to disperse protesters who pelted them with stones.State news agency NNA said the tear gas had made several people faint, while the Lebanese Civil Defence said it treated 54 people who were wounded, taking more than half to hospital.
The Lebanese Red Cross told AFP people had been treated for breathing difficulties and fainting, along with injuries caused by stones, noting that both security personnel and civilians were among those treated.
The Internal Security Forces said at least 20 police were wounded.
Hundreds of people were gathered as part of a wave of protests that have swept Lebanon since October 17, furious at a ruling elite that steered the country towards its worst economic crisis in decades.
Riot police and security forces deployed en masse in Beirut on Saturday night, chasing demonstrators in the street, beating and detaining some of them, a Reuters witness and a protester said.
The forces fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets as some protesters tried to push through steel barriers blocking paths to the parliament and government headquarters. Protesters accuse the political class of milking the state for their own benefit through networks of patronage.
Earlier on Saturday dozens of young people opposed to the anti-government protest movement clashed with riot police in the capital, throwing rocks and firecrackers against volleys of teargas.
Young counter-protesters from an area of Beirut dominated by the powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah and fellow Shiite movement Amal tried to raid a key anti-government protest camp in Martyrs’ Square on Saturday afternoon.Anti-riot police intervened, firing teargas to disperse them. The square, in central Beirut, has been at the epicentre of the protests over perceived official corruption, poor services and economic woes.These large anti-government rallies, which grew into calls for a root-and-branch overhaul of the state, have mostly passed off peacefully.
However, clashes have become more frequent in recent weeks, with supporters of Hezbollah and Amal attacking protest camps in several cities amid counter-demonstrations.
Both Amal and Hezbollah are partners in Lebanon’s cross-sectarian government. The counter-protests have taken place in the capital and other Lebanese cities in recent weeks, prompting the leader of Hezbollah on Friday to urge his supporters and those of Amal to stay calm.
Hassan Nasrallah said that the “anger” of some of his movement’s members had gone “out of control” but stressed it had been quickly contained.
Lebanese security services had already used force to disperse anti-government protesters earlier this week.
Since the protests pushed Saad Al Hariri to resign as prime minister in late October, talks between the main parties have been deadlocked over forming a new cabinet. Lebanon urgently needs a new government to pull it out of the crisis which has also shaken confidence in its banking system. Foreign donors say they will only help after the country gets a cabinet that can enact reforms. The process of forming a government will take place as Lebanon faces an economic crisis.

Street battles in Beirut as counter-protesters clash with police
Al Jazeera/December 15/2019
Opponents of anti-gov’t protesters clash with riot police, throwing rocks and firecrackers against volleys of teargas. Riot police in Lebanon’s capital have fired tear gas to disperse men who tried to attack a key anti-government protest camp, setting off street battles that lasted for hours.
The clashes on Saturday marked some of the worst in Beirut since demonstrations against the country’s entire political establishment began almost two months ago.The rise in tensions comes as politicians have failed to agree on forming a new government. It comes only two days away from consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs to name a prime minister.
Protesters demanding an overhaul of the country’s political systems want the formation of a new government that is not affiliated with established parties. The government headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on October 29, two weeks after the nationwide protests began against an ruling elite blamed for state corruption and steering Lebanon into the worst economic crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.The young men on Saturday attacked the epicentre of anti-government protests, apparently trying to storm it to prevent a gathering of anti-government protesters. The attackers approached the protest camp in central Beirut from a neighbourhood known as a stronghold for supporters of the Shia Hezbollah and Amal groups.
It was the second time this week that pro-Hezbollah and Amal supporters tried to attack the protest camp, angered by demonstrators’ criticism of their leaders. Later on Saturday, hundreds of anti-government protesters gathered outside parliament, also in central Beirut, and several people attacked the rally, prompting security forces to fire tear gas to push them back. The clashes spread to streets surrounding the protest camp, engulfing the area with smoke from the tear gas. Security forces chased protesters around central Beirut, some firing several volleys of tear gas from armoured vehicles with multiple launchers. The National News Agency reported that some shop windows in the commercial part of central Beirut were smashed by vandals. An Associated Press reporter saw one security member injured in an eye by a stone thrown by a protester.

Protracted street clashes engulf Beirut near protest camp
اشتباكات مطولة في الشوارع تجتاح بيروت بالقرب من معسكر الاحتجاج
Associated Press/December 14/2019
The rise in tensions comes as politicians have failed to agree on forming a new government.
BEIRUT: Lebanese security forces fired tear gas and clashed with men who tried to attack the anti-government protest camp in Beirut on Saturday, setting off street confrontations that lasted for hours. The clashes marked some of the worst in the capital since demonstrations began two months ago.
The clashes started when dozens of men, some wearing masks, pelted security forces with stones and threw firecrackers at them on one edge of the protest camp.
The security forces fired tear gas to keep the men away, but clashes continued. Riot police fired intense volleys of tear gas, some of the heaviest in two months. What started as a limited confrontation at one edge of the protest camp turned into protracted street clashes that also involved anti-government protesters.
The rise in tensions comes as politicians have failed to agree on forming a new government. It comes only two days away from consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs to name a prime minister.
Protesters have been calling for a new government unaffiliated with establishment political parties. The government headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned Oct. 29, two weeks after the nationwide protests began.
Hundreds of protesters returned to the epicenter of the protests after hours of clashes with security forces. Local TV station LBC showed dozens chanting against the security forces, accusing them of excessive force. Some chanted against Hariri returning as prime minister. He is emerging as the favorite candidate despite all the political bickering.
The violence Saturday started when young men attacked the epicenter of anti-government protests. The attackers chanted “Shiite Shiite” and approached the protest camp in central Beirut from a neighborhood known as a stronghold for supporters of the Shiite Amal and Hezbollah groups.
It was the second time this week that pro-Hezbollah and Amal supporters tried to attack the protest camp, angered by demonstrators’ criticism of their leaders.
Later on Saturday, hundreds of anti-government protesters, including women, gathered outside parliament, also in central Beirut, and several people attacked the rally, prompting security forces to fire tear gas to push them back.
It wasn’t clear who the attackers were but the parliament speaker is the head of the Shiite Amal group. The attack took place only a few meters (yards) from the epicenter of the protests, and the anti-government demonstrators were dispersed to side streets as tear gas filled the area. The attackers once again pelted security with stones. Dozens of protesters had traveled to Beirut from the northern city of Tripoli to take part in the parliament rally.
The clashes spread to streets surrounding the protest camp, engulfing the area with smoke from the tear gas. Security forces chased protesters around central Beirut, some firing several volleys of tear gas from armored vehicles with multiple launchers.
The National News Agency reported that some shop windows in the commercial part of central Beirut were smashed by vandals. An Associated Press reporter saw one security member injured in an eye by a stone thrown by a protester.
Recently, the anti-protesters accused activists who organize discussions under the name “the Hub” of hosting critics of Hezbollah and calling for normalization with Israel. Earlier this week, some lobbed firecrackers and burned a tent in the protest camp hosting discussions. On Saturday, critics of the attack organized a rally in support of the Hub, but canceled it shortly before the attempted attack.
The attackers Saturday outside the protest camp threw large firecrackers at security forces, who responded with tear gas, engulfing the area with a thick cloud of smoke. The National News Agency reported one security member was injured.
A preacher from the neighborhood mosque appealed to the men who attempted the attack to retreat. Local TV station LBC said officials from Hezbollah and Amal arrived on the scene to contain the situation. A tense calm ensued amid a tighter deployment of security.

Lebanese security forces and Hezbollah supporters clash in central Beirut
Arab News/December 15/2019
BEIRUT: Clashes broke out on Saturday between Lebanese security forces and Hezbollah supporters in downtown Beirut, some of whom tried to break into a barricaded central district of Lebanon’s capital.
Teargas and rubber bullets were fired at the protestors, and the Lebanese Red Cross said several members of the security forces had to be taken to hospital with injuries.
A heavy security presence was put in place central Beirut after the Hezbollah supporters tried to advance to the city’s main central Martyr’s square, and riot police put out calls through loudspeakers for people in he Al-Khandaq Al-Ghamiq area of central Beirut not to gather.
Hundreds of people were gathered as part of a wave of protests that have swept Lebanon since Oct. 17, furious at a ruling elite that steered the country towards its worst economic crisis in decades.
Since the protests pushed Saad Al-Hariri to resign as prime minister in late October, talks between the main parties have been deadlocked over forming a new cabinet.
Lebanon urgently needs a new government to pull it out of the crisis which has also shaken confidence in its banking system. Foreign donors say they will only help after the country gets a cabinet that can enact reforms.
State news agency NNA said the tear gas had made several people faint, while the Lebanese Red Cross said 14 people were injured, six of them badly enough to need taking to hospital.
The unrest erupted from a build-up of anger at the rising cost of living, new tax plans and the record of leaders dominating the country since the 1975-90 civil war. Protesters accuse the political class of milking the state for their own benefit through networks of patronage.

Lebanese protesters clash with security forces near parliament in central Beirut
Ismaeel Naar, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 14 December 2019
Dozens of protesters clash with parliamentary police near the Nijmeh Square and at the entrance to the street leading to the Lebanese parliament in central Beirut. The parliamentary police threw teargas at the protesters who gathered late on Saturday in front of the parliament who were attempting to reaching the building. The Lebanese army sent reinforcements to the area to support the parliamentary forces, Al Arabiya’s correspondent on the ground confirmed. Hours earlier, anti-riot police clashed with Hezbollah and Amal supporters who tried to raid a key anti-government protest camp in Martyrs’ Square. The protest movement across Lebanon has so far forced the resignation of prime minister Saad Hariri on October 29 and official talks to name his replacement are to start Monday.

Hezbollah supporters clash with riot police in Beirut
Souad El Skaf, Al Arabiya English/Saturday, 14 December 2019
Calm has been restored on Saturday along the Ring Bridge in Beirut, as a Lebanese military unit arrived to the scene which witnessed clashes between supporters of Hezbollah and Amal Movement and riot police. Earlier, supporters of Hezbollah and Amal Movement clashed with riot police in Beirut, according to an Al Arabiya correspondent. The supporters of the two Shiite groups tried to storm a protest gathered in Martyrs’ Square in central Beirut and near the Ring Bridge, throwing stones on cars parked near the bridge and also toward the riot police who responded by throwing tear gas. The Lebanese Internal Security Forces said that the riot police were subjected to “attacks and throwing of stones and firecrackers by some individuals,” demanding “an end to these attacks in order to avoid the adoption of stricter measures,” the Lebanese state news agency NNA reported. At least one police member was injured, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.

Shencker Says Hizbullah Financiers are Liable to Sanctions
Naharnet/December 14/2019
A U.S. diplomat stressed on Saturday that any party getting involved with financing Hizbullah will be subject to sanctions. “When we discover that a person or organization supports terrorism, we start collecting security and financial information about them in a file based on intelligence reports, legal arguments, and others. We announce the inclusion of these individuals and institutions on the sanctions list after coordination with other government agencies,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Shencker in remarks he made to An-Nahar daily. “The Treasury decision is consistent with our position that Hizbullah is a terrorist, criminal, and corrupt organization. Its activities not only depend on the Shiite community, but also on other individuals and groups who facilitate its activities, they belong to other sects. When we impose sanctions on any person or entity, we do not take the religious background into account,” he added. On Friday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury slapped sanctions against Nazem Said Ahmad, Saleh Assi, Tony Saab and several firms allegedly linked to Hizbullah.

Pompeo: We Stand with People of Lebanon against Corruption, Terrorism
Naharnet/December 14/2019
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday announced that the U.S. stands by the Lebanese people in the face of “corruption and terrorism,” shortly after Washington slapped sanctions on three individuals and several firms allegedly linked to Hizbullah. “We stand with the people of Lebanon to fight against corruption and terrorism. Today we designated two prominent Lebanese businessmen whose illicit financial activity supports Hizbullah,” Pompeo tweeted. “We will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to counter the threat Hizbullah poses,” he added. Earlier on Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions against three alleged Hizbullah money launderers and financiers, including a diamond trader who collected art. It accused Lebanon-based Nazem Said Ahmad, whose art collection includes works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, and his companies of helping to launder large sums of money for the group. “Ahmad, who has a vast art collection, is one of Hizbullah’s top donors, generating funds through his longstanding ties to the ‘blood diamond’ trade,” it said. A second man based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Saleh Assi, was sanctioned for laundering money through Ahmad’s diamond business and supporting another alleged financier already under sanctions. The U.S. Treasury also slapped sanctions on Lebanon-based accountant Tony Saab, saying he “provided support to Assi.”

Geagea Meets Khoury, Says LF Won’t Be Part of New Govt.
Naharnet/December 14/2019
Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea said on Saturday that his party will not participate in the new government but will take part in the consultations with President Michel Aoun to name a new PM in Baabda on Monday. “The Lebanese Forces will not take part in the new government but we will participate in the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier,” Geagea told reporters after a meeting with Ghattas Khoury, adviser to caretaker PM Saad Hariri. On the form of the new government he said: “We support a government of independent specialists because replicating the same government formulas (a national unity government) have proven useless.”“Lebanon needs an emergency government,” he added. For his part, Khoury told reporters: “Parties are seeking a government inclusive of partisans and citizens from the protest movement,” assuring that Hariri is seeking all means to reach a solution. “We are seeking a new stage in which political parties and citizens who took to the streets have a role in the government,” he added. The meeting between the two men came after Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Thursday announced that the FPM will not take part in any techno-political government, calling for a government led by a technocrat and comprising technocrat ministers. Aoun is expected on Monday to begin the binding parliamentary consultations to name who will lead the new government after the resignation of Hariri on October 29, two weeks into the revolt. Lebanon was swept by nationwide protests on October 17 against corruption and mismanagement demanding an overhaul of the political class.

Emadi Says Qatar to ‘Stand by’ Lebanon during Crisis
Naharnet/December 14/2019
Qatari Finance Minister Ali el-Emadi said on Saturday that his country will stand by Lebanon during its current economic crisis, media reports said. Emadi was quoted as telling a conference in Doha, that “Qatar will stand by Lebanon during crisis,” and that “Lebanon’s economic and financial stability are very important for the Middle East.”Lebanon is passing through an unprecedented economic and financial crisis amid mass protests ongoing since October 17 against the entire political class. Lebanon’s economic crisis is one rooted in years of heavy borrowing and expensive patronage networks run by entrenched political parties.

US sanctions millionaire Hezbollah moneymen as Nasrallah speaks
The National/December 14/2019
US accuses Nazem Said Ahmad of using ill-gotten gains to fund a lavish lifestyle and buy art by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol
The same day that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered a televised address on the crisis in Lebanon and harangued the United States, Washington released fresh sanctions on two of the Iran-backed group’s most ostentatious moneymen.
The pair, one based in Lebanon and the other in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were listed as money launderers using companies “to generate tens of millions of dollars for Hezbollah, its financiers and their malign activities,” the US Treasury said on Friday.
“These designations underscore the extent to which Hezbollah and its affiliates engage in illicit economic activity that prioritises the terrorist group’s own economic interests over those of the Lebanese people,” the Treasury added.
The statement also said that Washington supports the Lebanese people’s demands to end corruption and terror financing that thrives in corrupt environments as two months of anti-government demonstrations continue on the streets in Lebanon.
The statement named the pair as Lebanon-based diamond dealer Nazem Said Ahmad and DRC-based businessman Saleh Assi. Ahmad was accused of involvement in “blood diamond” smuggling.
Assi’s assets, including 7.95 million euro (Dh 32.5 million), 44.8-metre luxury racing yacht named the Flying Dragon, were also listed as blocked property.
The US alleges that Assi used a network of DRC companies to funnel money to Adham Tabaja, a previously sanctioned Hezbollah money-launderer. Either the money went through bulk cash transfers or through Ahmad’s diamond business, the Treasury said.
“Hezbollah continues to use seemingly legitimate businesses as front companies to raise and launder funds in countries like the DRC where it can use bribery and political connections to secure unfair market access and evade taxes,” said Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
“This Administration will continue to take action against Hezbollah financiers like Nazem Said Ahmad and Saleh Assi, who have used money laundering and tax evasion schemes to fund terrorist plots and finance their own lavish lifestyles as the Lebanese people suffer.”
Washington also said that Ahmad hid his illicit wealth by buying expensive art, building a collection worth tens of millions of dollars that he displayed in his Beirut penthouse.
These included works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol. The US Treasury shared an image of Ahmad sitting in front of a collection of works taken as part of an interview earlier this year with Selections Arts magazine.
In the interview, Ahmad also said he owns works by famed Chinese critic and artist Ai Weiwei as well as graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.
“In concealing his ill-gotten gains from the Lebanese government, Ahmad has deprived the government and the Lebanese people of much-needed tax revenue while the country faces serious economic challenges,” the statement said.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Justin Muzinich also issued a warning to the art world, saying “art and luxury goods dealers should be on alert to the schemes of money launderers who hide personal funds in high-value assets in an attempt to mitigate the effects of US sanctions.”
A third man, Tony Saab, who works for Assi was also sanctioned for assisting in the transfer millions of dollars from two of his bosses’ companies – Inter Aliment and Minocongo – to Lebanon.
The measures taken by Washington mean it is now illegal for any US company or citizen to do business with any of the listed persons and entities and also blocks all US assets and property or face sanctions of their own.
The measures were announced as Hezbollah’s Nasrallah gave a speech on the situation in Lebanon. He began by criticising the US for statements on the protests, saying that Washington intervenes around the world and had sought to co-opt the movement on the streets from the very beginning.
He said America and Israel were seeking to solve the issues they see in Lebanon through the mass rallies on the streets.
Since October 17, protesters have been demanding a complete change of governance with a new cabinet of experts to set about fixing the dire economic situation, rebuild the country’s crumbling infrastructure and combat corruption.

Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 14-15/2019
Back shirts of Hezbollah, Amal and their vassals/Dr. Walid Phares/December 14/2019
Resignation of the Lebanese President and all the Top Officials Is A Must/Abu Arz-Etian Saqer/December 13/2019
Attack on Hezbollah critic sheds light on group’s shifting tactics/Ismaeel Naar/Al Arabiya English/December 14/2019
Lebanon turns to World Bank and IMF as country faces economic meltdown/Massoud A Derhally/The National/December 14/2019
Analysis/Despite Sanctions and Protests, Israel Knows Trump Still Wants Negotiations With Iran/Amir Tibon and Amos Harel/Haaretz/December 14/2019
As Lebanon’s post-war system dies, a new one struggles to be born/Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/December 15/2019
Both the US and Iran are determined to avoid war – for now/Raghida Dergham/The National/December 14/2019
*Turkish leader and UAE emir face off over the Palestinian succession race/DEBKAfile/December 14/2019

The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 14-15/2019
Back shirts of Hezbollah, Amal and their vassals
Dr. Walid Phares/December 14/2019
Getting many videos from Lebanon about the “brown shirts” (some call them back shirts) of Hezbollah, Amal and their vassals, parading in Beirut to intimidate the protesters. It is colorful, loud and primitive, but it is not going to intimidate the people to the point of ending the uprising.
And the reason is that most Lebanese on the streets have nothing to lose. Those militias are flexing muscles. Every other Lebanese can flex muscles, if they want. But the protesters aren’t. They want to continue to be non violent and operate under Lebanese and international laws. If the “militias” cross the line, they will meet popular resistance and international measures. Their choice is to keep parading, and they can do so at will, or cross the line, and leap into the next level.

Resignation of the Lebanese President and all the Top Officials Is A Must
Abu Arz-Etian Saqer/December 13/2019
Due to solid facts related to an ongoing Lebanese governmental crisis that is not going to be solved soon,
And because all tangible circumstances indicate that this promised rescue government will not be formed in the near future
And Since all practical solutions for the imminent financial-monetary-economic-social crisis are technically linked to the governmental crisis.
And Since the general conditions of the country is worsening day by day, and warns of a comprehensive and terrifying collapse.
And since the top official have entirely failed in everything and at all levels,
Therefore, the resignation of the Lebanese President of the Republic, along with all the top officials becomes an inevitable and urgent national necessity.
The available two choices are either an inevitable and immediate resignation, or an inevitable and disastrous comprehensive collapse.
Long Live Our Holy Lebanon’

Attack on Hezbollah critic sheds light on group’s shifting tactics
Ismaeel Naar/Al Arabiya English/December 14/2019
Support has been pouring in for Lokman Slim, a well-known critic of Hezbollah, after he began receiving threats in the form of notes left at his home that “his turn was next.”
Slim’s ordeal began on Tuesday when he and Makram Rabah, an American University in Beirut lecturer, were surrounded by Hezbollah supporters in Martyrs’ Square tent after taking part in a public debate.
The debate on “Neutrality as a strategic concept for the return of prosperity” was being held at a tent event called The Hub in Martyrs’ Square. Organizers said the focus of the forum was regional conflict.
But days before it was held on December 10, Pierre Abi-Saab, an editor with the pro-Hezbollah newspaper al-Akhbar, tweeted for his followers to disrupt the forum claiming that the event centered around the normalization of ties with Israel.
“We know who you are. We know who your backers are. We know your agendas. That is your deception, and this is our reality,” Abi-Saab tweeted four days before the seminar.
Speaking to Al Arabiya’s sister channel Al Hadath live during the incident, Rabah said the disruptors who showed up to the event claimed they were fighting for the Palestinian cause and accused The Hub organizers of being Zionist supporters.
“We not facing protesters, we are facing people who are linked to the pro-Iranian parties who are falsely claiming that our seminar is in defense of staying out of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is completely false,” Rabah said at the time.
Lebanese activist and political analyst Lokman Slim speaks after the incident at The Hub tent.
Slim, director of Hayya Bina and UMAM, a Lebanese organization that focuses on Shia politics and social dynamics, said it was clear that the organizers had no intention of discussing Israel at the seminar and that pro-Hezbollah supporters were using new tactics to distract critics.
“The new strategy Hezbollah started adopting was when they noticed that their muscular strategy was not working. So, they infiltrated the squares by finally sending their people under pseudo leftists slogans and muscles … mainly under the slogan of fighting Israel. What happened on the evening of 11th was a first expression which then continued the day after when they burned the tent,” Slim said.
The same protesters who disrupted the seminar the night before then returned to the square and burned The Hub’s tent but then also proceeded to burn the neighboring tents belonging to other protesters.
“They then raided the house of my family and my home,” he added. “It is a long standoff which became clear over the last days.”
A day after the incident at Martyr’s Square, Slim received printed papers with threats that read: “One day, you will be the trash of history” and “No peace with agents”.
According to Hanin Ghaddar, a Friedmann Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute who focuses on Shia politics, the incident in Beirut bears the markings of a shift in Hezbollah’s strategy from using media tactics to physical force to silence its critics.
“Right now, it’s beyond the media campaign. I think this is what’s really new. It is actually physical attacks. It’s not just discrediting them and calling them American spies. It’s going after physical attacks in the sense that they actually went ahead and sent people to besiege the tent, the Hub, burning and destroying it and going actually after [Slim’s] home,” Ghaddar said.
The incident came days before Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah gave his first televised address in more than a month when he claimed that the United States was using the protests in Lebanon as a tool to pressure Iran.
According to Ghaddar, Hezbollah tolerates Shia protesters who join the demonstrations against the ruling elite, except when it comes to directly criticizing Hezbollah.
“At the end of the day, they can easily be arrested, targeted and beaten up. And that happened actually in the south many, many times. They went after their families and they went to their homes and interrogated them. So, of course, you get to a point where you decide that your safety and your family is more important than one moment on the street,” Ghaddar said.
“You have a lot of people who joined the protests in Nabatieh, Tyre, Baalbek at the beginning. And it’s becoming a nightmare for them,” she added.
Lebanese protesters have come under repeated attacks from pro-Hezbollah and Amal party supporters who have attempted to disrupt protests in Beirut and other cities. Days after the protesters first erupted across Lebanon, demonstrators came under attack in Nabatieh, a Shia town considered a stronghold for the Iranian-backed organization and its allies, from men reportedly from Hezbollah and the associated Amal party, led by Nabih Berri.
For Slim, the Lebanese activist said he has become used to receiving threats since 2008 but that he felt this time it might be different.
“I never considered that I should speak out for myself but what happened over the past 48 hours didn’t concern me only, it concerns my family, my mother, my sister, my wife and my colleagues. Therefore, I went public. I felt that’s it’s my moral duty to speak out and say that enough is enough. If you [Hezbollah] think that your intimidation will keep us from standing up and from being true to our conviction, you are wrong,” he said.

Lebanon turns to World Bank and IMF as country faces economic meltdown
Massoud A Derhally/The National/December 14/2019
The debt-saddled country has $2.5bn of maturing bonds to pay by June 2020
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Saad Hariri reached out to the heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as the impasse in on the precipice of an economic meltdown.
Mr Hariri “expressed to [World Bank president David] Malpass and [IMF Managing Director Kristalina] Georgieva his commitment to prepare an urgent rescue plan to address the crisis, while awaiting the formation of a new government capable of implementing it,” a statement from his office said. Mr Hariri also discussed with both organisation heads “technical assistance that both the World Bank and the IMF can provide for the preparation of this plan”. The calls to the organisations came as rating agencies Moody’s and Fitch warned on Thursday of a deterioration in the status of Lebanon’s top banks, which underpin the economic fabric of the country, following instructions by the central bank to reduce interest rates on foreign and local currency deposits.
Moody’s downgraded the standalone Baseline Credit Assessments (BCAs) and Adjusted BCA of Bank Audi, Blom Bank and Byblos Bank to ca from caa2 and said the emergency directive by the central bank “constitutes a deposit default”.
Fitch downgraded Bank Audi and Byblos Bank’s long- and short-term issuer default ratings to restricted default status from CCC- and ‘C’ respectively. Fitch also downgraded the banks’ viability ratings (VR) to f from ccc-. The central bank’s instructions represent “a material reduction in terms compared with the original contractual terms of banks’ financial obligations”, Fitch said and meet its definition of a restricted default.
Lebanon is facing its worst financial crisis since the end of a 15-year civil war in 1990. On December 4 the central bank instructed banks to cut interest rates on dollar and Lebanese pound deposits by half. It also put in place a six-month cap of 5 per cent for local currency deposits received on or renewed after December 4. Lebanon has been gripped by nationwide protests for the past two months with citizens demanding reforms and changes in the political system that has governed the country since the end of the last civil war. The protests are the largest the country has seen since the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, which led to Syria withdrawing its troops from Lebanon after a 29-year presence there.
Citizens blame Lebanon’s political elite for widespread corruption and nepotism, which they say contributed to the country accruing $86 billion (Dh315.6bn) of public debt equivalent to 150 per cent of gross domestic product, one of the highest ratios globally.
The crisis has led to the Lebanese pound losing about 20 per cent of its value against the US dollar in the local black market.
In an October 18 interview with The National, Jihad Azour, the director of the Middle East and Central Asia department at the IMF, said the fund would review an aid package proposal to help Lebanon if the country requests it.
The crisis has led to the Lebanese pound losing about 20 per cent of its value against the US dollar in the local black market. An IMF bailout package could devalue the currency and require the strict implementation of delayed structural reforms in tandem with austerity measures that are tied to the disbursement of any funds. Though central bank governor Riad Salameh said in November, there are no plans to impose capital controls or a haircut on depositors, some in the country are calling for a haircut on deposits.
A haircut is a financial term used to describe a devaluation of an asset to provide a cushion to lenders. In 2011 depositors of banks in Cyprus, exposed to the Greek debt crisis, lost as much as 60 per cent of their uninsured deposits on balances of more than €100,000 (Dh408,000). The measure was a requirement at the time for Cyprus to secure a €10bn bailout from the EU.
Lebanon needs to pay $1.2bn due in March when a Eurobond hits maturity. Another $700m are due in April and $600m in June. The crisis has increased the yield on the country’s bonds threefold.
Lebanon’s economy is forecast to slow down to 0.2 per cent this year from 0.3 per cent in 2018 due to increased uncertainty, tightening monetary policy and a contracting real estate sector, according to fund projections.

Analysis/Despite Sanctions and Protests, Israel Knows Trump Still Wants Negotiations With Iran
Amir Tibon and Amos Harel/Haaretz/December 14/2019
آمر تايبون وعاموس هاريل/هآرتس: رغم العقوبات والإحتجاجات إسرائل تدرك أن ترامب لا يزال يريد التفاوض مع إيران
إيران تهدد بتدمير إسرائيل من لبنان، وإسرائيل تحذر إيران من أنها ستغرقها في فيتنام سوريا، في حين أن لبنان الواقع في وسط كل هذه المعمعة ينتظر استخراج البترول والغار من بحره وأرضه وخائف أن يكون هو الضحية
Iran threatens destruction, Israel invokes Vietnam – and one Mideast country fears getting caught in the middle
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/81477/%d8%a2%d9%85%d8%b1-%d8%aa%d8%a7%d9%8a%d8%a8%d9%88%d9%86-%d9%88%d8%b9%d8%a7%d9%85%d9%88%d8%b3-%d9%87%d8%a7%d8%b1%d9%8a%d9%84-%d9%87%d8%a2%d8%b1%d8%aa%d8%b3-%d8%b1%d8%ba%d9%85-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%b9%d9%82/
U.S. President Donald Trump this week brought back into discussion an idea that had almost completely disappeared in recent months: negotiations with Iran. The option of direct talks between Iran and the U.S., which made headlines around the world over the summer, became less relevant as the U.S., Israel and Iran all experienced internal political dramas.
Over the weekend, however, things changed, after Iran released from prison an American scientist who had been held in the country since 2016. In return, the U.S. released from jail an Iranian citizen who had been indicted on charges of violating the sanctions placed on the Islamic Republic.
“Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation,” Trump wrote on his Twitter account, adding enthusiastically: “See, we can make a deal together!” It was the first time since at least October that the president has made any positive statement about the possibility of negotiations with the Iranians over a comprehensive deal that will include the country’s nuclear program.
Just four days before that tweet, the Wall Street Journal, basing its story on sources within the Trump administration, reported that the president was considering a deployment of as many as 14,000 U.S. troops to the Middle East to “confront” Iran. The report was officially denied by the Pentagon, and Trump also called it “fake news,” but Congressional sources later confirmed that the option of sending many more troops to the region has indeed been discussed.
U.S. policy in the Middle East under Trump continues to be confusing, unstable and impossible to predict, moving swiftly from threatening a military confrontation on Wednesday to asking for negotiations on Saturday. These constant changes create a continuing challenge for Middle East governments, including Israel, as they try to understand in which direction the administration is heading.
The difficulty of anticipating the moves of the White House seemed to grow after the previous Israeli election in September, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump had no direct communication between them for more than a month. At the time, analysts in Israel interpreted this as a sign that Trump was disappointed with Netanyahu’s second failure in a row to win the election, which ended in a tie. Trump, some in the Israeli media said, wanted to distance himself from someone perceived as a “loser.”
Yet in November, the two leaders resumed their communications. They spoke twice on the phone in recent weeks, and in early December Netanyahu also flew to Portugal for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. A source involved in the communications between the two leaders told Haaretz that in fact, there was no distance between them after the election, and at the same time, the recent conversations should not be interpreted as a sign of the relationship getting warmer or closer than it had already been.
According to this explanation, Netanyahu does not think he should initiate a phone call with Trump unless he has a very specific request to make to the president, or a pressing issue to discuss with him.
Trump, after all, is busy with his own troubles in recent months, starting with the impeachment process in Congress, and he devotes much of his time to watching television and fighting with critics on Twitter.
In their first conversation last month, Netanyahu mainly wanted to thank Trump for the administration’s decision to no longer consider settlements illegal under international law – a decision that came at an important political juncture in Israel and helped Netanyahu politically. (The White House denied this was the main motivation behind it.)
The more important call between the two leaders happened 10 days ago, and it focused on Iran. Netanyahu asked Trump to further increase U.S. pressure on Tehran, following the wave of demonstrations in the Islamic Republic. Overall, Israel has been pleased with the U.S. pressure on Iran for the past two years, but there is still a concern in Jerusalem that Trump could avidly renew his “courting” of Iran in the hope of securing a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rohani.
The concern in Israel’s political and security establishments isn’t about a new comprehensive deal between Iran and the U.S. – everyone assumes this is not a real possibility. Iran will never agree to the conditions the Trump administration has set for a new agreement, and Trump will not give up on those demands before the 2020 presidential election, in which he will rely for his survival on the support of Christian evangelicals, a constituency that hates and is suspicious of the Islamic Republic.
Israeli officials have nevertheless warned the administration that the very act of holding a public meeting between Trump and Rohani would by itself decrease the pressure on Tehran. The Israeli argument is that the American pressure on Iran is succeeding not only because of the economic sanctions, but also because of a sense in the international community and the business world that Iran has no way out of the pressure campaign, except for surrendering to the American demands. A meeting between the two leaders, even if it’s essentially nothing but a “photo opportunity,” will send the opposite message: that the American pressure is temporary and will eventually be lifted.
“Right now,” said one Israeli official, “it feels like every week the Americans hit Iran with a new hammer.” A meeting between Trump and Rohani would run counter to that notion.
In September, when a meeting with Rohani was seen as likely thanks to the efforts of French President Emmanuel Macron, foreign companies that were already planning to leave Iran, were suddenly reevaluating. Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, argued at the time in conversations with U.S. officials that a meeting with Rohani would immediately hurt the psychological element of the pressure campaign against Iran, and would also give the Iranian regime an opportunity to present an optimistic horizon to the Iranian public, despite the difficult economic situation in the country.
Pompeo and other officials in the administration seem to understand the Israeli argument, but Trump himself has not been convinced. Trump was truly willing over the summer to meet or talk on the phone with Rohani without any preconditions, as he stated. Eventually it was the Iranian side that refused to hold a meeting or a call without some kind of American gesture taking place beforehand.
At the same time, there was another source of tension over the summer between the U.S. and Israel: The Americans were angry over a series of aerial strikes in Iraq that were attributed to Israel, and that, according to foreign media, targeted mostly militias and convoys supported by Iran. The Americans were concerned that these attacks, which Israel never officially took responsibility for, will lead to acts of revenge carried out against American troops stationed in Iraq.
At the end of August the Pentagon published a statement supporting Iraq’s sovereignty and distancing the U.S. from the attacks, at the same time that Iraq was officially blaming Israel for the air strikes.
The Pentagon’s statement was the only public expression of the tensions surrounding this issue. The American side was worried about a wide range of options, from revenge attacks to an official request by the Iraqi government to remove all U.S. troops from the country.
Eventually, it seems, that American position on this issue had an impact: Since September, there have been no more reports of mysterious and unexplained attacks on Iraqi territory.
PM’s day-to-day strategy
During the course of the abortive negotiations between Kahol Lavan and Likud, to establish a unity government, various explanations were offered to explain Netanyahu’s insistence on serving as the first prime minister in a rotation, and on having that stint last at least six months. Likud kept peddling new strategic achievements that Netanyahu wanted to promote, by his lights – a strategic alliance with the United States, annexation of the Jordan Valley and even, this week, annexation of the West Bank.
There were also whispers of a different speculation: Netanyahu will use the additional period to realize his greatest aspiration: an Israeli attack that, once and for all, will stop the Iranian nuclear plan. Trump, or so it was said, would accept such a move because it would boost his standing among the evangelicals ahead of the presidential election next November.
It seems this theory has no basis at the moment. Netanyahu never implemented attack plans even during the periods he discussed them with the utmost seriousness, every summer from 2010 to 2013. The prime minister also knows that he would encounter objections from the defense leadership and that his decision, as someone who will shortly go on trial in three serious affairs, would not win much public trust.
As for Trump, despite his unstable approach, he has already made clear his relatively reasoned opposition to a war in the Middle East.
Therefore, it is more reasonable to assume that what we see is simply what is happening: Netanyahu is acting without an orderly plan, in the hope of surviving another day and delaying the finale, in the form of the start of his criminal trial. To this end, he keeps tossing new balls, new justifications, into the air. The main hope that remains to him is a victory in the next election in March, but at the moment this seems like an unrealistic aspiration because it isn’t clear from where the rightist bloc will garner the additional votes.
This week, top Iranians once again threatened to destroy Israel. Possibly these declarations came in response to statements by Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, who called for ejecting the Iranian forces from Syria, threatened to turn Syria into Iran’s Vietnam and warned of possible attempts on the lives of Iranian leaders.
The Iranian statement, as articulated by a Revolutionary Guard general, touched a raw nerve in Beirut, because the general threatened to flatten Tel Aviv by means of launching rockets from Lebanon. The Lebanese defense minister protested that Tehran is involving his country in its conflict with Israel.
The Lebanese sensitivity is also greater because of the intention there to begin a search for natural gas offshore in its territorial waters in the Mediterranean, close to the maritime boundary with Israel. Former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said this week in a discussion at Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies that success in the search for natural gas could help relieve the tension in the north.
According to Eisenkot, finding gas would make it difficult for Hezbollah to heat up the front against Israel because the other forces in Lebanon would fear that a war would hinder economic development. (The Lebanese economy is currently in deep trouble, which was part of the background to the extensive wave of demonstrations against the government and against the influence of Iran and Hezbollah.)

As Lebanon’s post-war system dies, a new one struggles to be born
Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera/December 15/2019
Uprising could bring the death of Lebanese political system where power is shared among religious groups, analysts say.
Beirut, Lebanon – For almost two months, Lebanon has been swept by protests against a ruling class of sectarian elites who came to power as a result of a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990.
The movement has brought down a government and brought together people from across the country’s religious divides.
Now, analysts say that the uprising, coupled with the most serious economic and financial crisis since the civil war, maybe ushering in the death of the country’s political system where power is apportioned among religious groups.
“This system is clearly over,” Sami Atallah, the director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, told Al Jazeera. “Economically and politically it is very clearly the end of an era. But we have yet to produce another one: we have left Lebanon 2.0 but don’t have Lebanon 3.0 yet.”
For Atallah, the economic and financial crisis in Lebanon today has become the clearest indicator yet of the incompetence and corruption of the political elite, in a country where basic services such as electricity and water are still unreliable 30 years after the civil war ended.
Decades of unsustainable financial policies, coupled with unchecked, unaccountable spending, have left Lebanon with the world’s third-highest debt burden as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP). The country has increasingly had to borrow new money to pay back old debt, leading it into a debt spiral.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese pound, pegged to the US dollar for decades at about 1,500, has depreciated by about 25 percent to 2,000 Lebanese pounds, due to a dollar shortage tied to a years-long economic slowdown and a decrease in remittances from abroad.
When the government sought to impose more taxes in October, people took to the streets in an explosion of popular anger.
‘Lost faith’
This has led parties that were previously in government together to become increasingly at odds, exposing and exacerbating existing divisions and creating new ones.
“The entire political establishment, which is endemically corrupt, is responsible for the impoverishment of Lebanon,” Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, told Al Jazeera. “The leaders are trying to dissociate themselves from the bankruptcy of Lebanon and are blaming one another without naming a culprit.””They are facing the moment of truth because the vast majority of the Lebanese people have lost faith in them,” Khashan added.
Atallah concurs that the protests “broke something”.
But “materialising this breakdown or changing of alliances into something more material is another ball game”. “We’re at the end of the first phase, but how do you actually make something new,” Khashan asked.
Crisis
Lebanese politics is notoriously fractious, with parties quickly shifting alliances based on interest rather than ideology. But the scale of the splits since the eruption of the uprising points to a moment of severe crisis, Atallah said.
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s allies in the Lebanese Forces and Progressive Socialist Party have said they will sit out the next government even if it is headed by Hariri, with the latter saying it was going through a period of soul-searching and wants to return to its former socialist values.
Hariri has sought to take the side of the protesters, calling for the formation of a government of technocrats or specialists, albeit headed by himself, which many protesters have rejected.
“Hariri is opportunistic. His late father originated the financial crisis by heavy borrowing. Saad Hariri is hardly a reformer,” Khashan said.
Hariri’s father, Rafik Hariri, was a former prime minister who was assassinated in 2005.
Despite being brought to power by an alliance with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a powerful Christian party headed by caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, Saad Hariri has sought to exclude Bassil, who is perhaps the most reviled figure on the street.
Bassil recently responded by saying that his party would sit out the next government if it was a government of experts and politicians headed by Hariri, effectively breaking his alliance with the caretaker prime minister.
Bassil also explicitly noted he disagreed with his ally Hezbollah, which has backed Hariri.
Hezbollah has sought to maintain the pre-uprising status quo. In a speech on Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called for a government of the “widest possible representation”, similar to the one protesters brought down, that includes the FPM and is headed either by Hariri or a person the caretaker PM backs.
Nasrallah “is trying to preserve a system that he has learned how to operate in since 2005”, Atallah said. “He’s holding onto a system that is largely defunct.”
As a result, Hezbollah is now the main backer of its nominal political foe, Hariri, whose father the group has been accused of assassinating.
‘Masks are falling down’
MP Paula Yacoubian, the only legislator to be elected on an independent list in 2018 polls, said she believed that the Lebanese people would no longer accept a political system where “politicians disagree with each other and then make up later when they’ve settled their deals, all while the country loses”.
“Masks are falling down. What happened with the revolution uncovered the deep understanding between the ruling class. It showed how each side is somehow dependent on the other sectarian leader,” she said.
“I think the mindset of the people is changing, their political approach is changing, they realise the high price they paid to sustain these leaderships,” she added. “It’s a price on their lives and basic needs that they are no longer able to pay.”
In recent months there have been warnings of shortages of medicine, fuel, wheat and other basic goods. Yacoubian sees the worsening crisis spurring on the uprising in the streets, which she said may soon become a “revolution of the poor and unemployed”.
Whether such uprising can bury the sectarian system and erect something new remains to be seen. Atallah said that elections, whenever they are held, would be a crucial indicator. But in any case, he does not see the relationship between people and politics returning to how it was before October 17, when protests broke out.
“The ground has been shaken. All parties are trying to use these protests to their advantage, but I think people see through this. Their credibility is more dismal than ever before,” he said.

Both the US and Iran are determined to avoid war – for now
Raghida Dergham/The National/December 14/2019
The Trump administration continues to put ‘maximum pressure’ on Tehran with more sanctions on its proxies in the region
The Arab countries whose fates depend on the mood of the authorities in Iran and Turkey will continue to suffer until Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces a reckoning for his failed adventurism in the Middle East, and the regime in Tehran adopts real reforms.
The US Congress has slapped sanctions on Ankara for securing a deal for the S-400 air defence system with Russia despite Turkey being a member of Nato. Congress also unanimously recognised the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire more than a hundred years ago, which infuriated Mr Erdogan – particularly since US President Donald Trump himself turned a blind eye to it. The Trump administration is also relatively at ease, as its “maximum pressure” policy has resulted in an economic crisis for Iran and its proxies.
However, the US could yet be dragged into a military confrontation with Iran, a prospect that haunts Mr Trump as he does not want to be involved in a war so close to his tough re-election battle next year. He is still seeking negotiations for a new nuclear deal with Tehran that includes a curb on its ballistic missile programme, not considered in the 2015 agreement signed by predecessor Barack Obama. He also hopes the deal will keep Iranian expansionism into Arab countries – specifically Iraq, Syria and Lebanon – in check. The three countries are essentially bargaining chips Iran could use to negotiate when the time comes but the problem for the regime is that they are all facing internal unrest, which threatens to overturn its gains. Meanwhile, suppressing the protests in these countries could backfire and further weaken it.
Unless a major incident occurs before the end of the year, therefore, the US-Iranian relationship will continue to be determined by a mutual desire to avoid war.
Brian Hook, the US official in charge of the Iranian dossier, has said that if Tehran attacks US interests, his country would respond militarily. Washington’s primary concern is its interests in Iraq, where it is most vulnerable if the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets its troops stationed there – although such a decision can be made only by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader. Speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations, Mr Hook said Iran must either enter negotiations or see its economy collapse, emphasising the effectiveness of the sanctions, which he said have led to a significant reduction in its oil exports.
Concerning the possibility of Iranian military action, Mr Hook’s tone was sharp and clear: “It would be a very big mistake for the regime to make a miscalculation about our resolve.” One US military official said Iranian-backed militias are getting close to a red line but affirmed they would respond forcefully if they crossed it.
Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, has said his government is determined to overcome sanctions through various means, including talks. But Lt Gen Hossein Salami, general commander of the IRGC, has threatened “the Americans and their lackeys” with a “strong blow”. While speaking about the unrest in Iran, he went further afield, saying: “The enemies must realise if they don’t stop stirring sedition then the Iranian people will put their interests in the region at risk.”
Through its mission to Iraq, the United Nations has accused “armed entities, militias, outlaws, and unknown third parties” of standing behind the recent wave of killings, kidnappings and arbitrary detentions in the country. At the same time, there is increasing talk of the responsibility of pro-Iranian armed factions integrated into the Iraqi security forces. This organised chaos is very dangerous and Iraq has become a ticking time bomb at the hands of the IRGC. The world is watching, though, and the US is vigilant.
The US is also pressing ahead with its policy of sanctioning Iranian interests in Syria. The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which imposes new sanctions on Bashar Al Assad, the Syrian president, his regime, its allies and those financing it, has received unanimous support from Congress. The act, which awaits the president’s signature, will also give secretary of state Mike Pompeo the power to gather evidence against those who have committed crimes against humanity in Syria to pave the way for holding them accountable. Interestingly, the act will impose sanctions on foreign individuals who materially support the regime and those who may participate in reconstruction projects involving the regime. This means that the Lebanese who are anxious to do business with the regime must think twice now.
In Lebanon, the IRGC’s overconfidence in its ability to contain the revolt has hit a stumbling block, given the reality of the situation in the country and the international scrutiny of its objectives and actions there. According to one observer, “the internal pains in Lebanon will extinguish the calls to emulate the Vilayat-e Faqih system [which transfers all political and religious authority to the Shia clergy]”.
Next week David Hale, the US under secretary of state for political affairs, will visit Beirut, carrying a strong message to Lebanon’s officials. He will say that the time for them to address the country’s problems has come, even as the people are demanding the prosecution of officials for corruption, as well as the restoration of looted funds. Interestingly, the Swiss parliament has given Lebanon the right to access data regarding bank accounts in the country, paving the way for restoring these funds.
In short, Iran is growing weaker, more fragmented and isolated. It is still using its regional cards with a sense of arrogance. It is ignoring the other option it has – of reforming the logic of the regime, which says it has the right to spawn loyal militias in sovereign countries in complete disregard of their people’s demands and self-determination. If only it had the wisdom to adjust its behaviour, it would become a influential nation in the region without having to expand beyond its borders.
*Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute

The post A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 14- 15/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 59th Day appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 15 كانون الأول/2019

اضغط هنا لقراءة نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة المفصلة، اللبنانية والعربية ليوم 15 كانون الأول/2019

ارشيف نشرات أخبار موقعنا اليومية/عربية وانكليزية منذ العام 2006/اضغط هنا لدخول صفحة الأرشيف

عناوين أقسام نشرة المنسقية باللغة العربية
الزوادة الإيمانية لليوم
تعليقات الياس بجاني وخلفياتها
الأخبار اللبنانية
المتفرقات اللبنانية
الأخبار الإقليمية والدولية
المقالات والتعليقات والتحاليل السياسية الشاملة
المؤتمرات والندوات والبيانات والمقابلات والمناسبات الخاصة والردود وغيره

The post نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 15 كانون الأول/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Attack on Hezbollah critic sheds light on group’s shifting tactics
تقرير من العربية يشرح أخطار التغيير في استراتجيات حزب الله لجهة إرهاب معارضية من اللبنانيين الوطنيين والشرفاء حيث بدأ متلطياً وراء شعار نفاق معاداته ومقاومته لإسرائيل بالقيام بحملات تخوينهم وشيطنتهم وسلسلة منظمة من الإعتداءات والتهديدات ضدهم 
Ismaeel Naar/Al Arabiya English/December 14/2019

Support has been pouring in for Lokman Slim, a well-known critic of Hezbollah, after he began receiving threats in the form of notes left at his home that “his turn was next.”

Slim’s ordeal began on Tuesday when he and Makram Rabah, an American University in Beirut lecturer, were surrounded by Hezbollah supporters in Martyrs’ Square tent after taking part in a public debate.

The debate on “Neutrality as a strategic concept for the return of prosperity” was being held at a tent event called The Hub in Martyrs’ Square. Organizers said the focus of the forum was regional conflict.

But days before it was held on December 10, Pierre Abi-Saab, an editor with the pro-Hezbollah newspaper al-Akhbar, tweeted for his followers to disrupt the forum claiming that the event centered around the normalization of ties with Israel.

“We know who you are. We know who your backers are. We know your agendas. That is your deception, and this is our reality,” Abi-Saab tweeted four days before the seminar.
Speaking to Al Arabiya’s sister channel Al Hadath live during the incident, Rabah said the disruptors who showed up to the event claimed they were fighting for the Palestinian cause and accused The Hub organizers of being Zionist supporters.

“We not facing protesters, we are facing people who are linked to the pro-Iranian parties who are falsely claiming that our seminar is in defense of staying out of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is completely false,” Rabah said at the time.

Lebanese activist and political analyst Lokman Slim speaks after the incident at The Hub tent.

Slim, director of Hayya Bina and UMAM, a Lebanese organization that focuses on Shia politics and social dynamics, said it was clear that the organizers had no intention of discussing Israel at the seminar and that pro-Hezbollah supporters were using new tactics to distract critics.

“The new strategy Hezbollah started adopting was when they noticed that their muscular strategy was not working. So, they infiltrated the squares by finally sending their people under pseudo leftists slogans and muscles … mainly under the slogan of fighting Israel.

What happened on the evening of 11th was a first expression which then continued the day after when they burned the tent,” Slim said.

The same protesters who disrupted the seminar the night before then returned to the square and burned The Hub’s tent but then also proceeded to burn the neighboring tents belonging to other protesters.

“They then raided the house of my family and my home,” he added. “It is a long standoff which became clear over the last days.”

A day after the incident at Martyr’s Square, Slim received printed papers with threats that read: “One day, you will be the trash of history” and “No peace with agents”.

According to Hanin Ghaddar, a Friedmann Visiting Fellow at The Washington Institute who focuses on Shia politics, the incident in Beirut bears the markings of a shift in Hezbollah’s strategy from using media tactics to physical force to silence its critics.

“Right now, it’s beyond the media campaign. I think this is what’s really new. It is actually physical attacks. It’s not just discrediting them and calling them American spies. It’s going after physical attacks in the sense that they actually went ahead and sent people to besiege the tent, the Hub, burning and destroying it and going actually after [Slim’s] home,” Ghaddar said.

The incident came days before Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah gave his first televised address in more than a month when he claimed that the United States was using the protests in Lebanon as a tool to pressure Iran.

According to Ghaddar, Hezbollah tolerates Shia protesters who join the demonstrations against the ruling elite, except when it comes to directly criticizing Hezbollah.

“At the end of the day, they can easily be arrested, targeted and beaten up. And that happened actually in the south many, many times. They went after their families and they went to their homes and interrogated them. So, of course, you get to a point where you decide that your safety and your family is more important than one moment on the street,” Ghaddar said.

“You have a lot of people who joined the protests in Nabatieh, Tyre, Baalbek at the beginning. And it’s becoming a nightmare for them,” she added.

Lebanese protesters have come under repeated attacks from pro-Hezbollah and Amal party supporters who have attempted to disrupt protests in Beirut and other cities. Days after the protesters first erupted across Lebanon, demonstrators came under attack in Nabatieh, a Shia town considered a stronghold for the Iranian-backed organization and its allies, from men reportedly from Hezbollah and the associated Amal party, led by Nabih Berri.

For Slim, the Lebanese activist said he has become used to receiving threats since 2008 but that he felt this time it might be different.

“I never considered that I should speak out for myself but what happened over the past 48 hours didn’t concern me only, it concerns my family, my mother, my sister, my wife and my colleagues. Therefore, I went public.

I felt that’s it’s my moral duty to speak out and say that enough is enough. If you [Hezbollah] think that your intimidation will keep us from standing up and from being true to our conviction, you are wrong,” he said.

ِفي أسفل روابط لتقارير نشرت على موقعنا حديثاً باللغة العربية وهي تتناول وقائع لإرهاب حزب الله وشبيحته والعاملين بأمرته عملياً واعلامياً ضد معارضيه من المثقفين المرموقين

اضغط هنا/تقارير وفيديو توضح حقيقة ما جرى في خيمة الملتقى وسط بيروت حيث تعرض من كان فيها استعداً لمحاضرة لم تحصل من تهديد وتشبيح وتخوين وإتهامات باطلة

اضغط هنا/شبيحة أمل وحزب الله يهددون لقمان سليم وهو يحمل بري ونصرالله ما قد يصيبه
لقمان سليم: أحمّل نصرالله وبرّي ما قد يصيبني
المدن/الجمعة 13 كانون الأول/2019

The post Attack on Hezbollah critic sheds light on group’s shifting tactics تقرير بالإنكليزية من العربية يشرح أخطار التغيير في استراتجيات حزب الله لجهة إرهاب معارضية من اللبنانيين الوطنيين والشرفاء حيث بدأ متلطياً وراء شعار نفاق معاداته ومقاومته لإسرائيل بالقيام بحملات لتخوينهم ولشيطنتهم مع سلسلة منظمة من الإعتداءات والتهديدات ضدهم  appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

إنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا أُمَنَاءَ في المَالِ الخَائِن، فَمَنْ يَأْتَمِنُكُم عَلَى الخَيْرِ الحَقِيقيّ؟ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا أُمَنَاءَ في مَا لَيْسَ لَكُم، فَمَنْ يُعْطِيكُم مَا هُوَ لَكُم؟
إنجيل القدّيس لوقا16/من01حتى12/:”قالَ الربُّ يَسوع لِتَلامِيذِهِ: «كانَ رَجُلٌ غَنِيٌّ لَهُ وَكِيل. فَوُشِيَ بِهِ إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ يُبَدِّدُ مُقْتَنَيَاتِهِ. فَدَعَاهُ وَقَالَ لَهُ: مَا هذَا الَّذي أَسْمَعُهُ عَنْكَ؟ أَدِّ حِسَابَ وِكَالَتِكَ، فَلا يُمْكِنُكَ بَعْدَ اليَوْمِ أَنْ تَكُونَ وَكِيلاً. فَقَالَ الوَكِيلُ في نَفْسِهِ: مَاذَا أَفْعَل؟ لأَنَّ سَيِّدي يَنْزِعُ عَنِّي الوِكَالة، وأَنَا لا أَقْوَى عَلَى الفِلاَحَة، وَأَخْجَلُ أَنْ أَسْتَعْطي! قَدْ عَرَفْتُ مَاذَا أَفْعَل، حَتَّى إِذَا عُزِلْتُ مِنَ الوِكَالَةِ يَقْبَلُنِي النَّاسُ في بُيُوتِهِم. فَدَعَا مَدْيُونِي سَيِّدِهِ واحِدًا فَوَاحِدًا وَقَالَ لِلأَوَّل: كَمْ عَلَيْكَ لِسَيِّدي؟ فَقَال: مِئَةُ بَرْمِيلٍ مِنَ الزَّيْت. قَالَ لَهُ الوَكيل: إِلَيْكَ صَكَّكَ! إِجْلِسْ حَالاً وٱكْتُبْ: خَمْسِين. ثُمَّ قَالَ لآخَر: وَأَنْتَ، كَمْ عَلَيْك؟ فَقَال: مِئَةُ كِيسٍ مِنَ القَمْح. فَقالَ لَهُ الوَكيل: إِلَيْكَ صَكَّكَ! وٱكْتُبْ: ثَمَانِين. فَمَدَحَ السَّيِّدُ الوَكِيلَ الخَائِن، لأَنَّهُ تَصَرَّفَ بِحِكْمَة. فَإِنَّ أَبْنَاءَ هذَا الدَّهْرِ أَكْثَرُ حِكْمَةً مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ النُّورِ في تَعَامُلِهِم مَعَ جِيلِهِم. وَأَنَا أَقُولُ لَكُم: إِصْنَعُوا لَكُم أَصْدِقاءَ بِالمَالِ الخَائِن، حَتَّى إِذا نَفَد، قَبِلَكُمُ الأَصْدِقاءُ في المَظَالِّ الأَبَدِيَّة. أَلأَمِينُ في القَلِيلِ أَمينٌ في الكَثِير. والخَائِنُ في القَلِيلِ خَائِنٌ أَيْضًا في الكَثير. إِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا أُمَنَاءَ في المَالِ الخَائِن، فَمَنْ يَأْتَمِنُكُم عَلَى الخَيْرِ الحَقِيقيّ؟ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا أُمَنَاءَ في مَا لَيْسَ لَكُم، فَمَنْ يُعْطِيكُم مَا هُوَ لَكُم؟”

If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?
And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 16/01-12/:”The Lord Jesus said to the disciples: ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.” Then the manager said to himself, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.” So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes. ‘Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own?”

وأَنْتُم تَنْتَظِرُونَ ظُهُورَ رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ المَسِيح هُوَ يُثَبِّتُكُم إِلى النِّهَايَة، لِتَكُونُوا بِلا لَوْمٍ في يَوْمِ رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ المَسِيح
رسالة القدّيس بولس الأولى إلى أهل قورنتس01/من01حتى09/:”يا إِخوَتِي، مِنْ بُولُسَ ٱلمَدْعُوِّ بِمَشِيئَةِ اللهِ لِيَكُونَ رَسُولَ يَسُوعَ المَسِيح، ومِنْ سُوسْتَانِيسَ ٱلأَخ، إِلى كَنيسَةِ اللهِ الَّتي في قُورِنْتُس، إِلى المُقَدَّسِينَ في المَسِيح يَسُوع، ٱلمَدْعُوِّينَ لِيَكُونُوا قِدِّيسِين، معَ جَميعِ الَّذينَ يَدْعُونَ في كُلِّ مَكَانٍ ٱسْمَ رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ المَسِيح، وهُوَ رَبُّهُم ورَبُّنَا: أَلنِّعْمَةُ لَكُم والسَّلاَمُ مِنَ اللهِ أَبينَا والرَّبِّ يَسُوعَ المَسِيح! إِنِّي أَشْكُرُ إِلهِي دَائِمًا مِنْ أَجْلِكُم، عَلى نِعْمَةِ اللهِ الَّتي وُهِبَتْ لَكُم في المَسِيحِ يَسُوع، لأَنَّكُم فِيهِ ٱغْتَنَيْتُم بِكُلِّ شَيء، بَكُلِّ كَلِمَةٍ وَكُلِّ مَعْرِفَة، عَلى قَدْرِ مَا تَرَسَّخَتْ فيكُم شَهَادَةُ المَسِيح، حَتَّى لَمْ يَعُدْ يُعْوِزُكُم أَيُّ مَوْهِبَة، وأَنْتُم تَنْتَظِرُونَ ظُهُورَ رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ المَسِيح. وهُوَ يُثَبِّتُكُم إِلى النِّهَايَة، لِتَكُونُوا بِلا لَوْمٍ في يَوْمِ رَبِّنَا يَسُوعَ المَسِيح. أَمِينٌ هُوَ اللهُ الَّذي دَعَاكُم إِلى الشَّرِكَةِ مَعَ ٱبْنِهِ يَسُوعَ المَسِيحِ رَبِّنَا.”

As you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless
First Letter to the Corinthians 01/01-09/:”Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The post إنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا أُمَنَاءَ في المَالِ الخَائِن، فَمَنْ يَأْتَمِنُكُم عَلَى الخَيْرِ الحَقِيقيّ؟ وَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُونُوا أُمَنَاءَ في مَا لَيْسَ لَكُم، فَمَنْ يُعْطِيكُم مَا هُوَ لَكُم؟/If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Another Ignored Genocide of Christians Plagues Burkina Faso
ريموند إبراهيم: عمليات إبادة للمسيحيين في بوركينا فاسو مهملة ومغيبة عن الإعلام والإهتمام
Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute/December 15/2019

While a total of 12 Islamic terror attacks in Burkina Faso were registered in 2016, nearly 160 were reported in just the first five months of 2019.

The situation has reached the point where… the mainstream media habitually downplay the religious element whenever Muslims attack Christians, by referring to it as “sectarian strife….

[T]he militants told everyone to lie down and proceeded to look for Christians by asking for first names or looking for anyone wearing Christian insignia (like crosses). The deadly search yielded four men…. [W]hen they saw crosses, the assailants singled them out. All four were taken aside and executed.” – June 27, 2019.

“There is no Christian anymore in this town [Arbinda],” said a local contact; “… they [terrorists] were looking for Christians. Families who hide Christians are [also] killed. Arbinda had now lost in total no less than 100 people within six months.”

According to a local, “The assailants asked the Christians to convert to Islam, but the pastor and the others refused.” So “they called them, one after the other, behind the church building where they shot them dead.”

One can only hope that the response of the media and international community will be stronger than their usual one: ignoring the massacres. This slaughter has been already been characterized as a “genocide of Christians.” When, then, will the media and the so-called human rights groups finally confront — or at the very least condemn or even report on — these religiously fueled massacres plaguing West Africa?

On Sunday, December 1, 2019, Islamic terrorists raided a Protestant Christian church in Burkina Faso during the service and massacred 14 worshippers. The pastor and several children were among those killed.

This is but the latest of many lethal attacks on the Christian minority of the small nation located in West Africa, a region better known for the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

Discussing the situation in Burkina Faso — which is approximately 60% Muslim, 23% Christian, and 17% animist or other — the BBC reported that “Jihadist violence has flared in Burkina Faso since 2016…. Fighters affiliated to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group as well as the local Ansarul Islam [Champions of Islam] have been active in the region.”

However, while a total of 12 Islamic terror attacks were registered in 2016, nearly 160 were reported in just the first five months of 2019.

Although the mainstream media habitually downplay the religious element whenever Muslims attack Christians — often by referring to it as “sectarian strife” — attacks in Burkina Faso have become so flagrantly based on religion that even the Washington Post published a report on August 21 titled, “Islamist militants are targeting Christians in Burkina Faso”: “A spreading Islamist insurgency has transformed Burkina Faso from a peaceful country known for farming, a celebrated film festival and religious tolerance into a hotbed of extremism.

” The report notes that the jihadis have been checking people’s necks for Christian symbols, killing anyone wearing a crucifix or carrying any other Christian image. On other occasions, “the armed terrorists challenged Christians to convert or die.”

Despite such clear indicators of motive, many in the establishment are sticking to the “narrative”: “To my mind,” explained Sten Hagberg, a Swedish professor of anthropology at Uppsala University, the attacks have “much more to do with politics and economics than religion.”

Meanwhile, for those closer to the ground, “Christians … are currently being exterminated or expelled from their villages by Muslim extremists,” to quote from a September 18 report. “If this continues without anyone intervening,” Bishop Laurent, president of the bishops’ conference of Burkina Faso and Niger, adds, “the result will be the elimination of the Christian presence in this area and — perhaps in the future — in the entire country.”

This would appear not to be an exaggeration. Below are some of the more lethal attacks on Christians in 2019 alone:

June 27: “[U]nidentified armed individuals entered the village of Bani … looking for Christians… [T]he militants told everyone to lie down and proceeded to look for Christians by asking for first names or looking for anyone wearing Christian insignia (like crosses).

The deadly search yielded four men…. They were all wearing crosses…. [W]hen they saw crosses, the assailants singled them out. All four were taken aside and executed.” They then moved on to another village, Pougrenoma, where “They also told Christians to convert or risk execution.”

June 9 and 10: On Sunday, June 9, in the town of Arbinda, Muslims murdered 19 Christians. On the next day, another ten Christians were murdered in a nearby town.

An additional eleven thousand Christians were displaced. “There is no Christian anymore in this town [Arbinda],” said a local contact; “It’s proven that they [terrorists] were looking for Christians. Families who hide Christians are [also] killed. Arbinda had now lost in total no less than 100 people within six months.”

On Sunday, May 26, armed Muslims stormed a Catholic church during mass and opened fire on the gathered worshippers; four were killed and several others injured.

On May 13, armed Muslims attacked a Catholic procession, slaughtered four Christians and “burned a statue of the Virgin Mary.”

On May 12, approximately 30 armed Muslims stormed a Catholic church, slaughtered at least six worshippers — including the officiating priest — and then burned the church to the ground.

On Sunday, April 28, Islamic terrorists stormed a Protestant church and killed six worshippers, including the 80-year-old pastor and his two sons. According to a local, “The assailants asked the Christians to convert to Islam, but the pastor and the others refused.” So “they called them, one after the other, behind the church building where they shot them dead.”

On April 5, Islamic gunmen entered a Catholic church and murdered four Christians.

Sometime in February, Muslim terrorists abducted and murdered Antonio Cesar Fernandez, a 72-year-old Christian who had served as a missionary in Africa since 1982. Weeks earlier, Kirk Woodman, a Canadian was also kidnapped and later found murdered.

Although some attacks are not lethal, they exhibit no less an animosity for Christians. In early September, for example, an eyewitness explained what happened in the village of Hitté:

“16 men arrived in the village, intercepting the villagers who were returning from the fields. Some of the men forced the people to enter the church where they threatened the Christians and ordered them to leave their homes in the next three days, while others set fire to whatever they found in their path. Now Hitté no longer has any Christians and any catechumens.”

Instead of killing them outright, the militants sometimes give Christians a chance to convert to Islam. One local source referred to it as “part of a program by the jihadists who are deliberately sowing terror, assassinating members of the Christian communities and forcing the remaining Christians to flee after warning them that they will return in three days’ time — and that they do not wish to find any Christians or catechumens still there… The situation is critical.”

The Islamic terrorists operating in Burkina Faso are similar to other African jihadi groups, such as Nigeria’s Boko Haram and Somalia’s Al Shabaab. Like them, when not terrorizing churches and slaughtering Christians, they target anything else that might be associated with the West. According to a May report:

Much of the Islamic anger in Burkina Faso has to do with the teaching of so-called Western thoughts and ideals. Besides churches, schools are also a favorite target of the militants, who are pushing to make the country an Islamic state and impose Sharia Law… Of 2,869 schools in Burkina Faso, 1,111 have been closed in the last three years as a direct result of Islamic extremist violence.

“A lot of schools have been torched,” said one head teacher, whose school in the town of Foubẽ was set ablaze.

Like other African Islamic terror groups, the motivating ideology fueling the terrorists of Burkina Faso is distinctly jihadi in nature. After eight Muslims were arrested for their role in terrorist attacks that killed up to 28 people, for example, the prosecutor said, “they all carried on their foreheads or had white bands on which were written in Arabic … ‘there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger.'” Also, when they opened fire on the French Embassy in Ouagadougou, the five assailants were heard to shout the jihadi war cry, “Allahu Akbar” (“Allah is greater”).

Even if groups such as Islamic State have been defeated in Iraq and Syria, the jihad continues to spread in more obscure and forgotten nations around the world, such as Burkina Faso, where it consumes countless nameless and faceless innocents. One can only hope that the response of the media and international community will be stronger than their usual one: ignoring the massacres. This slaughter has been already been characterized as a “genocide of Christians.” When, then, will the media and the so-called human rights groups finally confront — or at the very least condemn or even report on — these religiously-fueled massacres plaguing West Africa?

Raymond Ibrahim, author of the new book, Sword and Scimitar, Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

© 2019 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

The post ريموند إبراهيم: عمليات إبادة للمسيحيين في بوركينا فاسو مهملة ومغيبة عن الإعلام والإهتمام/Raymond Ibrahim/Gatestone Institute:Another Ignored Genocide of Christians Plagues Burkina Faso appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

هذا هو حال سمير جعجع
الياس بجاني/16 كانون الأول/2019
يسقط السياسي والقائد عندما تصبح كل حساباته شخصية وأولوياته سلطوية ويتعامى على خلفية قلة الإيمان وخور الرجاء عن كل ما هو مبادئ وتناوب على السلطات بديموقراطية ويخاف الأحرار ويحيط نفسه بالزلم والتجار والإنتهازيين. كما أن الجحود وقلة الوفاء والتذاكي والتشاطر والباطنية يبعدوا الإنسان عن باقي البشر ويدخلوه في عالم من الأوهام والهلوسات. للأسف هذا هو حال سمير جعجع

جعجع يقاوح ويرفض الإعتراف بخطيئة استسلامه من خلال الصفقة الخطيئة ومداكشته السيادة بالكراسي
الياس بجاني/16 كانون الأول/2019

بالغالب وبالتحليل وعلى خلفية السوابق التشاطرية والباطنية إياها وما غيرها، فإنه بنسبة 98% نواب شركة حزب سمير جعجع ال 15 سيسمون الحريري اليوم وذلك حفاظاً على وهم حصة ما في الحكومة، وإن مواربة عن طريق غير حزبيين معلنين.

وفي حال عدم التسمية لأي مرشح فهذا يعني التسمية المبطنة للحريري مع وعد بالثقة في حال تم اكرام المعرابي بوزراء هو يختارهم بينه وبين الحريري دون ضجة اعلام… يعني تيتي تيتي ويا باطنية وتشاطر مكشوفين..!!

هذا أذا تشكلت الحكومة ولم يبقى الحريري رئيساً مكلفاً أشهروأشهر إلى أن يأتي الضوء الأخضر من طهران.

فمن المؤكد بأن المعرابي و100% لا يزال شريكاً وكامل الأوصاف في الصفقة الرئاسيةالخطيئة.. ومن أول كلن يعني كلن.

ورفضه الفج إلإعتراف بخطيئتي ورقة نوايا معراب التقاسمية، والصفقة الرئاسية وما تلاهما من صفقات سلطوية لا سيادية يبقيه حيث كان ولا يزال ..والباقي تمثيل وباطنية وتشاطر لن يحصد منهم غير الخيبات وكما دائماً.

بتبريره التشاطري عن انتخاب عون قبل أمس استعار المثل القائل:”جازي جوزتك حظ من وين بجبلك”؟

يعني مثله مثل الصهر والحريري ممتهن “اسقاط” وعم يلوم الغير على أفعاله.. وبالتالي يلي ما بيعترف بخطيئته الخطيئة هذه تهلكه.

كانوا بإيام التكاذب يخبرونا عن غرام وهيام سمير وسعد وفجأة تغير الحال وتغير المنوال!!

وغناني غنوا لغرام وهيام أوعا خيك وما زبطت الأمور…وتعرت مؤامرة التقاسم وانفخت الدف وتفرقوا الأحباب!!.

وفصل مسرحية غرام سمير وسعد القديم الجديد الذي رممه بالواسطة غطاس خوري لن يكون مصيره مختلفاً عن غرام أوعا خيك ومقولة سمير وسعد…”ما بيفرقون غير الموت”!!

في الخلاصة، الحريري من كلن يعني كلن، وجعجع من أولن.
.. وبس هيك.

**الكاتب ناشط لبناني اغترابي
عنوان الكاتب الالكتروني
Phoenicia@hotmail.com
رابط موقع الكاتب الالكتروني
http://www.eliasbejjaninews.com

The post الياس بجاني/جعجع يقاوح ويرفض الإعتراف بخطيئة استسلامه من خلال الصفقة الخطيئة ومداكشته السيادة بالكراسي/هذا هو حال سمير جعجع appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 16/2019

Click Here to read the whole and detailed LCCC English News Bulletin for December 16/2019

The post Detailed LCCC English News Bulletin For December 16/2019 appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 15-15/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 60th Day
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
December 16/2019

Tites For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 15-16/2019
No Trust In Saad Al Hariri/Elias Bejjani
Lebanese protesters clash with police in Beirut for second night
Thousands return to parliament after crackdown in Beirut
Dozens injured as police clash with protesters in Lebanon
Netanyahu: Hezbollah will pay a price if it attacks Israel
Hariri Most Likely to Be Renamed Lebanese PM
Assailants Burn Lebanese Ruling Parties’ Offices after Night of Clashes
Hariri Still Insisting on Technocrat Government
Alloush Hints Hariri Won’t Refuse to be Re-Designated as PM
FPM, Mustaqbal Offices in Akkar Vandalized
Al-Hassan Orders Probe in Clashes, Warns Protesters of ‘Infiltrators’
Intense Clashes between Riot Police, Protesters in Central Beirut
Lebanese burn ruling parties’ offices after night of clashes

The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News published on December 15-16/2019
No Trust In Lebanon’s Caretaker PM, Mr. Saad Al Hariri
Elias Bejjani/December 16/2019
Saad Al Hariri protects covertly and covertly the most corrupt officials and businessmen in what is known the Lebanese deep government.
At the same time he has no sovereign or patriotic back bone, to the extent that he has even compromised on his father’s assassination (Raffic Al Hariri), and put the ongoing trial by the Special Tribunal For Lebanon (STL) on a marginal scale of his priorities.
In this realm he forged a political alliance with his father’s assassins, The Hezbollah Terrorist Militia, whose the STL accused a number of  its security topnotch members to have committed the terrorist assassination in year 2005.
Mr. Hariri, in his PM, capacity has been totally serving Hezbollah’s occupation of Lebanon status quo as well as the Iranian-Mullahs’ expansionism schemes in exchange for staying as an MP.
Practically, Mr. Hariri is the first politician who should not be trusted any more in any official position.
He is not only one of all of the corrupt Lebanese politicians, but the first of them all.
In summary, No trust is ought to be granted to Mr. Hariri to head the new Lebanese Government.
Hariri is not a talented or a professional politician and based on his record since 20015 he will never be one.  Meanwhile, he surrounds himself by advisers who in general serve their our businesses and lead him into un-patriotic and non-sovereign deals with the Lebanese warlords and oligarchies.
His record as PM shows that he moves disastrously from one failure to another. He is not the right PM, for dealing with serious and devastating current Lebanese crisis.

Lebanese protesters clash with police in Beirut for second night
AFP/December 15/2019
BEIRUT: Lebanese protesters clashed with police Sunday for the second consecutive night near parliament on the eve of much-delayed consultations to form a new cabinet needed to fix a deepening economic crisis. The renewed clashes in Beirut came as Interior Minister Raya El-Hassan ordered security forces to open a “rapid and transparent” enquiry after dozens were wounded on Saturday night. Undaunted by the violence, thousands of demonstrators flooded central Beirut Sunday ahead of the parliamentary consultations due to begin on Monday to appoint a new premier after weeks of largely peaceful street protests forced the previous cabinet to quit. The unprecedented rallies have swept Lebanon since October 17, demanding the overhaul of a political system deemed inept and corrupt and the formation of an independent government of technocrats.
Clashes again erupted near parliament, with demonstrators throwing water bottles and firecrackers at the security forces who responded with tear gas and water canon, an AFP photographer said.
There was no immediate reports of casualties.
But the clashes threatened a repeat of scenes on Saturday evening that had seen dozens of people hurt when security forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators who tried to breach metal barricades near the legislature. The Lebanese civil defense said they took 36 injured to hospital and treated 54 people at the scene on Saturday night. The Lebanese Red Cross said it ferried 15 people to hospitals, while 37 others were given first aid on site.The Red Cross said the injured included protesters and security forces, with some affected by tear gas and others struck by stones.
Lebanese security forces said about 20 from their ranks were hospitalized.
An AFP photographer saw men in plainclothes hitting protesters on Saturday, while anti-riot police fired rubber bullets at protesters throwing stones. Hassan demanded the identification of those responsible for the most violent episode since the anti-government protests began in October.
She warned against “infiltrators” seeking to use protests to provoke “confrontations.”Amnesty International’s Diala Haidar decried the “excessive use of force” in response to “overwhelmingly peaceful protest.”
“The intention was clearly to prevent protesters gathering,” she said, adding that masked men in civilian clothes joined security forces in “violently attacking protesters.”The clashes lasted until the early hours of Sunday, with demonstrators chanting slogans against outgoing prime minister Saad Hariri, who stepped down on Oct: 29, and parliament’s veteran speaker Nabib Berri.
The names of various potential candidates to replace Hariri have been circulated in recent weeks but powerful political parties in the multi-confessional country have failed to agree on a new premier. Last Sunday the Sunni Muslim establishment threw its support behind Hariri returning, further angering protesters.
Parliamentary consultations are due to begin Monday at 10:30 am (0830 GMT). The UN insisted on the importance of the talks, with its Lebanon coordinator Jan Kubis urging politicians to “act responsibly.”“Tomorrow is the moment of truth. Either politicians will show at this critical moment of deep complex crisis they understand the needs of #Lebanon and its people and help steer a peaceful way forward, or that they remain captive of their traditional habits and attitudes,” Kubis tweeted. Sunday’s demonstration in Beirut began peacefully with protesters waving Lebanese flags and chanting “Hariri will not return.”
“Change needs time and patience and we will not stop until we achieve our goals and remove this regime completely,” said 23-year-old protester Carla. “We don’t want Hariri because he is a partner in (official) corruption,” she added. “I am opposed to Hariri returning as head of the government and I don’t understand why they can’t find anyone else,” said Nour, a pharmacist. “There are many competent people… who are independent,” she added. The head of the Internal Security Forces, Brig. Imad Othman, spoke to protesters in Beirut Sunday, urging them to remain peaceful and let security forces carry out their duties unhindered. The process of forming a government will take place as Lebanon’s debt-burdened economy has been sliding toward collapse. The country is facing a dollar liquidity crisis, with banks limiting the withdrawal and transfer of the greenback, which has been selling for more than 2,000 Lebanese pounds on the parallel market for the first time since it was officially pegged at 1,507 in 1997. The international community has urged a new cabinet to be formed swiftly to implement key economic reforms and unlock international aid. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday urged Lebanese leaders to push to resolve the crisis paralysing the country, warning of a “dramatic situation.”

Thousands return to parliament after crackdown in Beirut
Associated Press/December 15/2019
Attackers in northern Lebanon also set fire to the offices of two major political parties, the state-run National News Agency said.
BEIRUT: Thousands of Lebanese protesters defiantly returned Sunday to rally outside parliament in Beirut, hours after security forces chased them out, using tear gas and rubber bullets and injuring dozens. Saturday night into Sunday saw one of the most violent crackdowns on protesters since nationwide anti-government demonstrations began two months ago, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Oct. 29. Attackers in northern Lebanon also set fire to the offices of two major political parties, the state-run National News Agency said.
The protesters who showed up in Beirut on Sunday chanted against the security crackdown and called for an independent new head of government unaffiliated with established political parties.
Others raised posters saying the tear gas won’t keep them away. “We are crying already,” said one, in a jab at the deep economic crisis Lebanese are facing. The streets leading to parliament were filled with men, women and even children. Some huddled in smaller groups while others were lifted on shoulders chanting in megaphones. The overnight confrontations in Beirut left more than 130 people injured, according to the Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense. The Red Cross said none of the injured were in serious condition and most of them were treated on the spot.
The violence and Sunday’s rally came just hours before the president was due to meet with representatives of parliamentary blocs to name a new prime minister. After weeks of bickering and despite calls from the protesters for a technocratic government, politicians seem set on bringing Hariri back to the post. The demonstrators were clear they wouldn’t accept his return. “Saad, Saad, Saad, don’t dream of it anymore.”
“I came back today to pressure the parliament to make the right choice tomorrow and choose a prime minister from outside the political parties. If they don’t choose someone acceptable, we will be back to the streets again and again,” said Chakib Abillamah, a protester and businessman who was demonstrating Saturday when violence broke out.
Caline Mouawad, a lawyer, said she watched as security forces violently broke up the protests and decided to join in solidarity. “What happened last night provoked me. I came down even it means getting beaten tonight.” Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan on Sunday ordered an investigation into the clashes, which she said injured both protesters and security forces. She said she watched the confrontations “with concern, sadness and shock.”Al-Hassan blamed “infiltrators” for instigating violence and called on the demonstrators to be wary of those who want to exploit their protests for political reasons. She didn’t elaborate.
The head of the Internal Security Forces, Maj. Gen. Imad Osman, turned up at the protest rally Sunday. He told reporters on the scene that the right to protest was guaranteed by the law. “But calm down, no need for violence,” he said, appealing to protesters. In the northern Akkar district, attackers broke the windows and set fire to the local office of Hariri’s political party in the town of Kharibet al-Jundi. Photos circulated on social media of shattered glass and the aftermath of the fire, which torched the building. In a separate attack in Akkar district, assailants stormed the local office of the largest party in parliament, affiliated with President Michel Aoun and headed by Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. The party said the contents of the office in the town of Jedidat al-Juma had also been smashed and burned. The mayhem came just hours after the capital was rocked by violence. Lebanese security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and used water cannons throughout the night to disperse anti-government protesters from the city center — the epicenter of the protest movement in Beirut — and around parliament. The protests had largely been peacefully since they began on Oct. 17.

Dozens injured as police clash with protesters in Lebanon
Al Jazeera/December 16/2019
Security forces use rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon to disperse anti-government demonstrators in Beirut.
Dozens of people were injured in Lebanon’s capital as security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon to disperse anti-government protesters from the city centre. Sunday morning’s violence around the epicentre of the protest site in Beirut was some of the worst since the demonstrations began two months ago. Clashes brought the central area to a standstill for more than eight hours as security forces fired a stream of tear gas canisters at hundreds of protesters, who set fires in rubbish bins on the main streets, in part to mitigate the effects of the gas.
The Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defence said at least 46 people were injured and transported to hospitals. More protests are expected later on Sunday. The protesters chanted slogans against security forces and government officials and pelted police with stones in scenes not seen in the capital since the demonstrations began on October 17.
At one point, the scuffles reached the headquarters of one of the main Lebanese political parties, the Kataeb, where many protesters were taking cover. Samy Gemayel, the head of the Kataeb, appeared on local TV stations as he tried to separate the protesters from advancing security forces. Lebanon is facing one of its worst economic crises in decades, and the protesters accuse the ruling political class in place for 30 years of mismanagement and corruption. The violence comes just two days before the president holds talks with different parliamentary blocs to name a new prime minister. The government headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on October 29, two weeks after the nationwide protests began. Political groups have been unable to agree on a new candidate while protesters have called for a government unaffiliated with established political parties.
The protesters also chanted: “The people want to bring down the regime.” They accused government forces of excessive force.
Attacking demonstrators
The trouble started on Saturday when dozens of men, some wearing masks, threw stones and firecrackers at security forces on one edge of the protest camp in central Beirut. They were supporters of the Shia Hezbollah and Amal groups, angered by some of the criticism of their leaders by anti-government protesters. It was the second time this week the groups tried to attack the protest camp. The National News Agency said one member of security forces was injured. Local leaders, including a mosque preacher, appealed for calm. Hours later, hundreds of anti-government protesters, including women, gathered outside Parliament, hundreds of metres away from the protest camp. Chaos ensued with reports of an attack on the anti-government rally, leading to a confrontation with security forces who tried to disperse the protesters.
Lebanon Beirut
Dozens of protesters were injured in the latest clashes [Hussein Malla/AP]
For the first time since the protests erupted in Beirut, anti-riot police fired rubber-coated bullets as they chased the demonstrators away from the area.It was not clear what caused the crackdown. The parliament speaker is the head of the Shia Amal group. The clashes spread to streets surrounding the protest camp, engulfing the area in thick, white smoke and the odour of tear gas. Security forces chased protesters around central Beirut, some firing rubber bullets and several volleys of tear gas from armoured vehicles. Dozens of protesters had travelled to Beirut from the northern city of Tripoli to take part in the rally outside the parliament building. The National News Agency reported some shop windows in the commercial part of central Beirut were smashed by vandals. One officer was injured in the eye when a protester hit him with a stone, according to an Associated Press reporter.
Early on Sunday, nearly a dozen riot police stood over two protesters and beat them with batons. The two were later taken away to be treated by medics. Tension has been building in the protest camp. Some accused activists who organise discussions in the camp under the name “the Hub” of hosting critics of Hezbollah and calling for normalisation of ties with Israel. The tent was attacked earlier in the week with firecrackers, burning it down. On Saturday, a rally to support the Hub was cancelled shortly before the attempted attack on the protest camp.

Netanyahu: Hezbollah will pay a price if it attacks Israel
Gov’t still working hard on national security, despite third election, PM says.
Jerusalem Post/December 15/2019
Hezbollah had better not dare attack Israel or it will pay, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the opening of Sunday’s cabinet meeting. “If Hezbollah dares to attack Israel, the organization and the country of Lebanon, which allows attacks against us from its territory, will pay a heavy price,” he said.
The prime minister referred to a recent statement by Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj.-Gen. Murteza Qurbani that Iran will “destroy Tel Aviv from Lebanon.”“He exposed a simple truth,” Netanyahu said. “Hezbollah is simply the executive arm of Iran from Lebanon, against Israel.” The prime minister added that holding a third election in less than a year will not distract the government from handling national security matters. “Unfortunately, we are entering a third election campaign, an unnecessary election that was forced on the country,” he said. “But as you see, the government is continuing to work vigorously in all important areas, first and foremost in matters of security.” Netanyahu said he cannot give details of what happens in security cabinet meetings, “but you see the results. The cabinet and security cabinet’s activities will continue as needed until the day of the election, and I hope after it, as well.”
Netanyahu also congratulated UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for winning Thursday’s general election in the UK. “This is also a clear victory in the fight against antisemitism,” Netanyahu said. UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of nearly a dozen of instances of antisemitic statements and actions, and has allowed Jew-hatred to fester in his party with few consequences in recent years. Labour suffered its greatest loss since 1935 in Thursday’s election. “I expect to continue working with Boris Johnson in the coming years to continue strengthening the excellent relations between Israel and Great Britain,” Netanyahu added. “They can be seen in our great trade numbers, in tourism and many other areas. They can also be seen in the area of security, in the fight against terrorism in a way that we hadn’t seen in previous years.”

Hariri Most Likely to Be Renamed Lebanese PM
Beirut – Caroline Akoum/Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 15 December, 2019
Saad Hariri is expected to be named Lebanon’s new prime minister, a position he had resigned from in October following unprecedented mass anti-government protests. He is likely to garner the backing of the majority of parliamentary blocs that are set to meet Monday for binding consultations with President Michel Aoun. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Lebanese Forces appears to be leaning towards naming Hariri as premier. The Shiite Hezbollah and Amal parties will also name Hariri given the lack of an alternative candidate, added the sources. Presidential sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the consultations will not be postponed as they were last week when another candidate, Samir al-Khatib withdrew his nomination a day earlier. Aoun, meanwhile, is still adamant about forming a government of technocrats and political figures. The protesters have been vocal in their demand for the formation of a government comprised solely of technocrats. The sources said the president is keen on a government of technocrats and politicians because it will grant the cabinet political cover for its decisions. The normal and expected disputes over shares in cabinet will ensue should officials agree on such a government, they predicted. Barring any surprises, Hariri is expected to receive the votes of over 70 lawmakers during Monday’s consultations. He will enjoy the backing of the Progressive Socialist Party with nine MPs, Hezbollah with 13, Amal with 17, al-Azem party of former PM Najib Mikati with four, Lebanese Forces with 15, and Hariri’s Mustaqbal bloc with 18. Former PM Tammam Salam is set to name Hariri, revealed his sources. The Marada Movement and independent lawmakers have yet to name a candidate. The Kataeb party had previously declared that it will name former ambassador Nawwaf Salam.

Assailants Burn Lebanese Ruling Parties’ Offices after Night of Clashes
Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 15 December, 2019
Attackers in northern Lebanon set fire to the offices of two major political parties on Sunday, the state-run National News Agency said. The assaults came just hours after the capital Beirut was rocked by the most violent government crackdown on protesters since nationwide demonstrations began two months ago. Lebanese security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and used water cannons throughout the night to disperse anti-government protesters from the city center — the epicenter of the protest movement in Beirut — and around parliament. The overnight confrontations in Beirut left more than 130 people injured, according to the Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense. The confrontations were preceded by clashes between counter-protesters – namely supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal parties – with riot police in Beirut.In the northern Akkar district on Sunday, attackers broke the windows and torched the local office for resigned Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s Mustaqbal movement in the town of Kharibet al-Jindi. In a separate attack in Akkar district, assailants stormed the local office of the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by President Michel Aoun and headed by his son-in-law, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. The FPM, which boasts the greatest number of MPs in parliament, said the contents of the office in Jedidat al-Juma town had also been smashed and burned. Lebanon is facing one of its worst economic crises in decades, and the protesters accuse the ruling political class in place for three decades of mismanagement and corruption. While protesters have rallied against the entire political class, Bassil is arguably the most reviled leader among the protesters. The violence comes a day before the president is due to hold talks with different parliamentary blocs to name a new prime minister on Monday. Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan on Sunday ordered an investigation into the clashes which she said injured both protesters and security forces. She said she watched the confrontations “with concern, sadness and shock.”Al-Hassan blamed “infiltrators” for instigating the friction and called on the demonstrators to be wary of those who want to exploit their protests for political reasons. She didn’t elaborate. Nationwide protests began on October 17, and the government headed by Hariri resigned two weeks later. Political parties have since been bickering over the shape and form of the new Cabinet. Protesters want a technocratic government, not affiliated with established political parties. After weeks of back and forth, Hariri has emerged as the likely candidate for the job.

Hariri Still Insisting on Technocrat Government
Naharnet/December 15/2019
Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s will not change his stance on the need to form a government of experts that would be able to confront the economic and social challenges, sources close to him said.
“Should he be designated to form the new government, PM Hariri will seek to form an integrated team comprising figures who have expertise,” LBCI TV quoted the Center House sources as saying. “Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc will emphasize on this approach in the parliamentary consultations scheduled for tomorrow,” the sources added.

Alloush Hints Hariri Won’t Refuse to be Re-Designated as PM
Naharnet/December 15/2019
Senior al-Mustaqbal Movement official ex-MP Mustafa Alloush has hinted that caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri will not reject his re-nomination for the PM post in Monday’s binding parliamentary consultations. “Hariri does not want to dodge his responsibilities in these critical moments,” Alloush said in a TV interview. “Al-Mustaqbal bloc will vote for Hariri but we don’t know how the parliamentary consultations will go tomorrow,” he added.

FPM, Mustaqbal Offices in Akkar Vandalized
Naharnet/December 15/2019
Unknown individuals overnight vandalized two offices belonging to the Free Patriotic Movement and al-Mustaqbal Movement in the northern district of Akkar, the National News Agency said. NNA said the FPM’s office in the Akkar town of al-Joumeh was attacked around 3:00 am. “The unknown assailants smashed the outer glass door and torched the office before fleeing to an unknown destination,” the agency said. Mustaqbal’s office in the Akkar town of Khreibet al-Jendi was meanwhile vandalized in the same manner. NNA said security forces inspected the two offices and launched a probe to identify the culprits. Al-Mustaqbal Movement meanwhile issued a statement strongly condemning the attack on its office in Khreibet al-Jendi, saying the concurrence of the incident with the attack on the FPM office raises suspicion that “unknown sides are trying to exploit contradictions and stir strife among the sons of the same region.”The assaults came just hours after the capital Beirut was rocked by the most violent government crackdown on protesters since nationwide demonstrations began two months ago.

Al-Hassan Orders Probe in Clashes, Warns Protesters of ‘Infiltrators’
Associated Press/Naharnet/December 15/2019
Caretaker Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan on Sunday said she has ordered a probe into the fierce overnight clashes between protesters and riot police in central Beirut.
“I was concerned, saddened and astounded as I followed up throughout the night yesterday on the confrontations in the vicinity of parliament and on Beirut’s streets, which led to clashes between security forces and citizens and injuries on both sides,” al-Hassan said in a statement.
“Due to the infiltration of some elements and the multiple missions of security forces, and to pinpoint responsibilities and preserve protesters’ rights, I have asked the command of the Internal Security Forces to conduct a speedy and transparent probe to identify the culprits and the responsibilities in order to take further measures,” al-Hassan added.
“I also call on protesters to be cautious of the presence of certain sides that are trying to exploit their rightful demos, or to confront them, with the aim of sparking a clash between them and security forces who are trying to protect them and their right to assembly,” the minister went on to say, warning that such sides might have “political motives.”Riot police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and used water cannons to disperse anti-government protesters from central Beirut in clashes that lasted for hours into early Sunday. The violence around the epicenter of the protest in Beirut was some of the worst since the demonstrations began two months ago. Dozens of protesters were injured, including some beaten repeatedly with batons by security forces. The clashes brought the downtown area to a standstill for over eight hours as security forces fired a stream of tear gas canisters at the hundreds of protesters, who set fires in trash cans on the main streets, in part to mitigate the effects of tear gas.
The protesters chanted slogans against security forces and government officials, and pelted police with stones in scenes not seen in the capital since the demonstrations began on Oct. 17. At one point, the scuffles reached the headquarters of the Kataeb Party in Saifi, where many protesters were taking cover. Kataeb chief Sami Gemayel appeared on local TV stations as he tried to separate the protesters from advancing security forces. Lebanon is facing one of its worst economic crises in decades, and the protesters accuse the ruling political class in place for three decades of mismanagement and corruption. The violence comes just two days before the president is due to hold talks with different parliamentary blocs to name a new prime minister. The government headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned Oct. 29, two weeks after the nationwide protests began. Political groups have been unable to agree on a new candidate while protesters have been calling for a government unaffiliated with established political parties. Local TV station LBCI showed dozens chanting against Hariri, who is emerging as the favorite candidate despite all the political bickering. The protesters also shouted “The people want to bring down the regime” and accused government forces of excessive force.
More protests are expected later Sunday. For the first time since the protests erupted in Beirut, anti-riot police fired rubber bullets as they chased the demonstrators away from the area overnight. The clashes spread to streets surrounding the protest camp, engulfing the area in thick white smoke and the odor of tear gas. Security forces chased protesters around central Beirut, some firing rubber bullets and several volleys of tear gas from armored vehicles. Dozens of protesters had traveled to Beirut from the northern city of Tripoli to take part in the rally outside the parliament building. The National News Agency reported that some shop windows in the commercial part of central Beirut were smashed by vandals. One officer was injured in the eye when a protester hit him with a stone, according to an Associated Press reporter. Early Sunday, nearly a dozen riot police stood over two protesters and beat them with batons, according to an AP reporter on the scene. The two were later taken away to be treated by medics.

Intense Clashes between Riot Police, Protesters in Central Beirut
Agence France Presse/Naharnet/December 15/2019
Riot police clashed with anti-government protesters in Beirut late Saturday, firing tear gas heavily to prevent them from breaching barricades near parliament, ahead of talks next week to appoint a new premier.
Lebanon has been swept by unprecedented nationwide protests since October 17, demanding the complete overhaul of a political class deemed inept and corrupt. The government stepped down on October 29, but bitterly divided political parties have subsequently failed to agree on a new premier, although talks are now planned for Monday.Saturday’s clashes erupted at the entrance to the street leading to parliament, which was blocked by security forces. Images broadcast by local TVs showed the anti-government protesters trying to break through metal police barricades, and officers firing tear gas and beating them violently. The demonstrators overturned heavy flower pots and shouted slogans hostile to the security forces and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the footage showed. Clashes followed in Martyrs Square — the epicentee of protests since October — and on a bridge in the city center.
Security forces fired rubber bullets, while protesters threw stones.
Protesters were injured by batons while others passed out due to the intensity of tear gas fumes, and members of the security forces were also wounded. Media reports said around 100 people were injurer in the clashes. The Lebanese Red Cross told AFP people had been treated for breathing difficulties and fainting, along with injuries caused by stones, noting that security personnel and civilians were among those treated. Lebanese civil defense also said it took 10 people to hospital, but did not specify whether the affected were civilians or members of the security forces.
Counter-protests
Security services had already used force to disperse anti-government protesters earlier this week. The process of forming a government will take place as Lebanon faces an economic crisis. The protesters have demanded a government made up solely of experts not affiliated to the country’s traditional political parties, but analysts have warned this could be a tall order. Earlier in the day, police in Beirut clashed with young people opposed to the anti-government protest movement. The afternoon clashes erupted when young counter-protesters from Khandaq al-Ghamiq, an area of the capital dominated by Hizbullah and the AMAL Movement, tried to raid a key anti-government protest camp in Martyrs’ Square.
Anti-riot police intervened, firing teargas to disperse them.
The Lebanese protests have been largely peaceful but clashes have become more frequent in recent weeks, with supporters of Hizbullah and AMAL attacking protest camps in several cities amid counter-demonstrations. Both AMAL and Hizbullah are partners in Lebanon’s cross-sectarian government. Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday warned that the formation of a new government could take time. Nasrallah said he would support a coalition government with “the widest possible representation” that did not exclude any of the major parties, adding that it could even be headed by outgoing premier Saad Hariri. The names of various potential candidates have been circulated in recent weeks, but the Sunni Muslim establishment on Sunday threw their support behind Hariri returning. The international community has urged a swift appointment of a cabinet to implement key economic reforms and unlock international aid. Nasrallah on Friday also urged his supporters — and those of AMAL — to stay calm, saying that the “anger” of some of his movement’s members had gone “out of control.”

Lebanese burn ruling parties’ offices after night of clashes
The Associated Press, Beirut/Sunday, 15 December 2019
Attackers in northern Lebanon set fire to the offices of two major political parties on Sunday, the state-run National News Agency said. The assaults came just hours after the capital Beirut was rocked by the most violent government crackdown on protesters since nationwide demonstrations began two months ago. Lebanese security forces fired rubber bullets, tear gas and used water cannons throughout the night to disperse anti-government protesters from the city center — the epicenter of the protest movement in Beirut — and around parliament. The overnight confrontations in Beirut left more than 130 people injured, according to the Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense. In the northern Akkar district on Sunday, attackers broke the windows and torched the local office for resigned Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s political party in the town of Kharibet al-Jindi. In a separate attack in Akkar district, assailants stormed the local office of the largest party in parliament, affiliated with President Michel Aoun and headed by Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil. Their party said the contents of the office in Jedidat al-Juma town had also been smashed and burned. Lebanon is facing one of its worst economic crises in decades, and the protesters accuse the ruling political class in place for three decades of mismanagement and corruption. The violence comes a day before the president is due to hold talks with different parliamentary blocs to name a new prime minister on Monday. Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan on Sunday ordered an investigation into the clashes which she said injured both protesters and security forces. She said she watched the confrontations “with concern, sadness and shock.”Al-Hassan blamed “infiltrators” for instigating the friction and called on the demonstrators to be wary of those who want to exploit their protests for political reasons. She didn’t elaborate. Nationwide protests began on Oct. 17, and the government headed by Hariri resigned two weeks later. Political parties have since been bickering over the shape and form of the new Cabinet. Protesters want a technocratic government, not affiliated with established political parties. After weeks of back and forth, Hariri has emerged as the likely candidate for the job.

Titles For The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 15-16/2019
No Trust In Saad Al Hariri/Elias Bejjani/December 15/2019
The French connection couldn’t save Lebanon/Makram Rabah/The Arab Weekly/December 15/2019
Political impasse, foreign pressure give new political lease on life for Hariri/Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/December 15/2019
The coming real estate boom/Dan Azzi/Annahar/December 15/2019
A proposal to restructure Lebanon’s debt/Michel Fayad/Annahar/December 15/2019

The Latest Lebanese LCCC English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on December 15-16/2019
No Trust In Lebanon’s Caretaker PM, Mr. Saad Al Hariri
Elias Bejjani/December 16/2019
Saad Al Hariri protects covertly and covertly the most corrupt officials and businessmen in what is known the Lebanese deep government.
At the same time he has no sovereign or patriotic back bone, to the extent that he has even compromised on his father’s assassination (Raffic Al Hariri), and put the ongoing trial by the Special Tribunal For Lebanon (STL) on a marginal scale of his priorities.
In this realm he forged a political alliance with his father’s assassins, The Hezbollah Terrorist Militia, whose the STL accused a number of  its security topnotch members to have committed the terrorist assassination in year 2005.
Mr. Hariri, in his PM, capacity has been totally serving Hezbollah’s occupation of Lebanon status quo as well as the Iranian-Mullahs’ expansionism schemes in exchange for staying as an MP.
Practically, Mr. Hariri is the first politician who should not be trusted any more in any official position.
He is not only one of all of the corrupt Lebanese politicians, but the first of them all.
In summary, No trust is ought to be granted to Mr. Hariri to head the new Lebanese Government.
Hariri is not a talented or a professional politician and based on his record since 20015 he will never be one.  Meanwhile, he surrounds himself by advisers who in general serve their our businesses and lead him into un-patriotic and non-sovereign deals with the Lebanese warlords and oligarchies.
His record as PM shows that he moves disastrously from one failure to another. He is not the right PM, for dealing with serious and devastating current Lebanese crisis.

The French connection couldn’t save Lebanon
Makram Rabah/The Arab Weekly/December 15/2019
Lebanon’s lack of seriousness, its irresponsible attitude and its refusal to heed the warnings of the international community were penalised in Paris.
When the French Mandate founded “Grand Liban” — the State of Greater Lebanon — almost a century ago, it was never assumed that the small merchant republic would someday reach rock bottom.
Decades of unheeded political corruption, coupled with Beirut’s inability to maintain solid connections with its regional Arab allies, left Lebanon desperate for a lifeline from the international community, primarily France.
The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISG), led by France and the United Nations, met December 11 in Paris to discuss options to help Lebanon in its predicament.
Observers said the ISG was a first step towards Lebanon’s economic salvation because France would lead an international effort to inject much-needed funds into the Lebanese economy, which collapsing towards a total meltdown.
Time and again, French President Emmanuel Macron has shown remarkable resolve in supporting the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, including sponsoring the CEDRE donor conference in April 2018, which earmarked $11 billion to overhaul Lebanon’s decaying infrastructure and jump-start its ailing economy.
However, the CEDRE funds were part of a wide reform package that the Lebanese state had publicly subscribed to, which included administrative, fiscal and budgetary reform, none of which were implemented by Hariri’s cabinet, leaving the $11 billion in limbo.
Despite visits by French envoy Pierre Duquesne and his repeated urging to Lebanese officials of the importance of the reforms, the recommendations were ignored and the Hariri government failed to address key challenges, primarily reform of the electricity sector and the proper passing of the annual budget.
Lebanon’s lack of seriousness, its irresponsible attitude and its refusal to heed the warnings of the international community were penalised in Paris when the ISG convened without any serious Lebanese presence. Beirut was represented by token senior diplomats and a few Hariri advisers.
French patronage and largesse seemed to have run their course and the ISG meeting came as a cold shower to the Lebanese officials, reminding them that, practically, they lack popular legitimacy to receive financial or political bailout and that they need to listen to their own people who are demanding reform.
The ISG final statement was more or less a page from the “Lebanese revolution’s” book of demands as it “urges the Lebanese authorities to take decisive action to restore the stability and sustainability of the funding model of the financial sector, to tackle corruption and tax evasion (including adoption of an anti-corruption national strategy, the anti-corruption agency law and judicial reform and other measures to instil transparency and accountability), to reform state-owned enterprises and implement the electricity reform plan including governance-enhancing mechanism (through an independent regulatory body) and to markedly improve economic governance and the business environment, through the passing of and effectively implementing procurement laws.”
This rude awakening is different from previous warnings to the Lebanese government because there is no longer an economic safety net for the tightrope act the ruling establishment has been dangerously conducting over the years. In perhaps a reminder of the Lebanese predicament and the terrible fate that awaits the country, the ISG underscored “its commitment to Lebanon’s access to basic goods and trade facilities, as currently provided for by trade facilitation programmes, to preserve the livelihood of the population and economic resilience.”
In layman’s terms, a government that cannot ensure basic goods and food to its people is not a government that can lead reform nor does it have the trust of the international community, which will refuse to keep bankrolling a Ponzi scheme and an unlimited appetite for corruption.
It is pertinent to remember that the CEDRE conference was preceded by the Rome meeting, which demanded that the Lebanese government reclaim its sovereignty and properly address the challenge that Hezbollah poses on the country’s political and economic well-being.
The failure of the ruling establishment, as well as Lebanese at large, to jump-start this political and economic reform process is the reason the country is beyond the point of no return.
To supporters of the Iranian axis and their local Lebanese allies and cronies, Macron and the Europeans’ stance to oppose the US sanctions is their only remaining lifeline. However, just like the Iranian axis is waiting for US President Donald Trump to possibly lose office, Macron will, sooner or later, step down and what Lebanon and its Iranian allies will be left with is an international community that is beyond convinced that Lebanon’s fate is well-deserved.

Political impasse, foreign pressure give new political lease on life for Hariri
Samar Kadi/The Arab Weekly/December 15/2019
Hariri could accept that Hezbollah nominates “non-provocative politicians.”
BEIRUT – While political parties in Lebanon stress the urgency of forming a government capable of gaining foreign assistance to curb Lebanon’s economic downfall, power struggles and political wrangling prevented the nomination of a prime minister to replace Saad Hariri, who resigned more than a month ago.
The latest front-runner, Samir Khatib, withdrew his name following an objection by political and spiritual leaders of the Sunni community, to which the post is allocated. The country’s top Sunni religious leader called Hariri the preferred candidate, increasing his chances to return as head of government.
Under Lebanon’s sectarian-based political system, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, the president a Christian Maronite and the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim.
Parties have been haggling over the nature of the government for weeks. While Hariri called for an independent government of technocrats, his opponents — the powerful Shia Hezbollah and its allies, Shia Amal movement and Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s Christian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), headed by his son-in-law and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil — insisted on a semi-technical and semi-political administration.
Bassil announced that the FPM, which has the largest number of seats in parliament, will not take part in a cabinet led by Hariri. “Its fate (would be) definitely failure. This is not avoiding responsibility… We will form a constructive opposition,” he said.
Bassil’s comments could pave the way for a cabinet formed by Hariri, ending a deadlock that has gripped the country since Hariri’s resignation October 29.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah called for a “largely representative” government in which all parties would assume the responsibility of pulling Lebanon out of its socio-economic crisis and fulfil protesters’ demands.
“A reformist government necessitates the participation of all political powers and no party should be excised. It also does not necessarily mean a government of technocrats,” Nasrallah said, in allusion to the FPM.
He said he hopes that mandatory consultations between Aoun and parliamentary blocs, set for December 16, would result in nominating a prime minister. The consultations were postponed once before over disagreements on who to nominate.
“Until this very moment, Saad Hariri’s return is almost 99% sure,” said Rached Fayed, a politburo member of Hariri’s Future Movement party. “He has already talked to the World Bank and [International Monetary Fund] IMF chiefs to help find a solution to the present crisis. This signals that he would be willing to assume that responsibility. It also means that he may be willing to reach a compromise with the parties (Hezbollah and Amal) who want to be represented by politicians.”
“He (Hariri) might accept, for instance, to have Hezbollah nominate non-provocative politicians who are at the same time technocrats such as the (outgoing) minister of health,” Fayed said.
Political analyst Nabil Bou Monsef said he was sceptical about FPM’s decision to boycott a Hariri-led government. “I personally believe things will get more complicated. Bassil’s exit could mean a clash with the president. I have the impression that we are heading to a more complicated power struggle and settling political accounts.”
“If Hariri is nominated by Hezbollah and Amal MPs in the consultations with the president, it will show a flagrant divergence from their ally, the FPM,” Bou Monsef said.
“Even if Hariri is nominated tomorrow, the formation of the government will take much time,” he said. “I guess Hariri would make concessions to assure Amal and Hezbollah that he is not implementing an American agenda to clip their wings… The equation would be they support him to lead the government and he will accept to have them represented by a number of politicians.”
The international community is increasing pressure on Lebanon to form a credible, reform-minded government, a condition for receiving urgent aid.
“The only possible criteria (for aid) are the effectiveness of the government in implementing the reforms awaited by the population. This is the only way that the participants around this table and beyond can mobilise to give Lebanon the support it needs,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said after a meeting of the International Support Group for Lebanon in Paris on December 11.
Lebanon has been rocked by unprecedented popular protests over official mismanagement and corruption since October 17.

The coming real estate boom
Dan Azzi/Annahar/December 15/2019
The other major development will be banks offering their clients some of their repossessed or distressed properties in return for giving up their claim on their deposits.
The title of this article must surprise a lot of people who were more used to me predicting the collapse of the real estate bubble, such as in my AUB Lecture last year in which I called real estate “The Second Biggest Scam in the History of Lebanon.” People, then, were wondering what the biggest scam was, which I avoided answering. But now they know. Finally, right when they became convinced of my thesis about real estate, here I come making a U-turn.
But today, things have changed drastically. It’s pretty clear (or will be, soon enough) that the majority of deposits in banks are simply computer entries with nothing behind them, and that there’s, at best, one “real” dollar for every three “Lebanese dollars” (which I’ve been calling Monopoly money or “Lollar”). A Lollar (© 2019, All Rights Reserved) is the unit of currency in any bank account in Lebanon denominated in US dollars. The value of accounts in Lollars was generated through fake interest, with no legitimate investment on the other side that generates real cashflow backing them. Anyone who withdrew money from a bank in the good old days (a few short months ago) was effectively withdrawing someone else’s principal, just like a typical Ponzi Scheme. I’ve posited in previous articles that the only solution to this problem is to execute a surgical procedure equalizing real dollars and Lollars. This is what I’ve referred to as a haircut, which can have many different forms, but they’re all equivalent. In my next article, I will go through these different forms.
People who have come to this realization (as opposed to the ones still in denial), are trying to escape before the haircut axe drops. Some lucky ones have applied Wasta to get out. Those less lucky are selling their Monopoly money accounts for up to a 30% discount for cash or money outside the country, betting that a 30% loss now is better than a 50% (or more) loss later. This means that, effectively, a (real) US dollar now buys 1.42 Lollars, a phenomenon that was described in this article from last summer.
Others are using the few legal loopholes remaining (before they’re closed) to try to minimize their losses.
But why would a guy sell a tangible asset for Monopoly money? This would only happen if the owner were in debt (or with other liabilities), because Monopoly money can be used to pay off a Monopoly loan. A (rational) person with no debt would never sell real estate except for physical cash or funds paid outside the country. Of course, a person who believes in fairy tales, such as the selection of a new government, can somehow save the day, and that the current measures are temporary, might also accept Monopoly money.
So let’s now analyze the new supply-demand distribution in this new paradigm.
The demand for real estate comes from anyone with an account in a Lebanese bank, which totals close to $180 billion. The supply is anyone who’s in debt and owns real estate. According to an IMF report from a couple of years ago, lending to the private sector totals almost $60 billion, over one third of which is directly tied to real estate (mortgages, Iskan, and developer loans). However, according to this same report, more than 90% is collateralized by real estate (meaning a person who took a loan for a business, or his own purposes, with a lien on one of his properties). In other words, the potential supply of real estate is slightly more than $50 billion. That means that demand outstrips supply by a three to one ratio. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you’ll see a major spike in real estate prices. However, this spike will be for sales priced in Lollars or Monopoly money. If you pay cash (Benjamin Franklins), or in an account outside Lebanon, prices will continue to drop, per my original prediction, to the extent that cash (or real dollar) prices will be less than 50% of Lollar prices.
The other major development will be banks offering their clients some of their repossessed or distressed properties in return for giving up their claim on their deposits. Be careful with this, because it might be a double-whammy; first they hijacked your money, then they’re trying to solve the problem they created for you, by pawning off their junk, overpriced portfolios that they generated with the same lack of proper credit due diligence as the Ponzi Scheme that got us where we are. Thus, you’re better off carefully shopping around for your own deal.
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A proposal to restructure Lebanon’s debt
Michel Fayad/Annahar/December 15/2019
The exposure of Lebanese banks to public debt and treasury bonds is equivalent to 69% of their total assets while up to US$11.8bn in Eurobonds is estimated to be held by international market participants.
The peg between the weak local Lebanese Pound and the globally strong US Dollar is an anomaly since the US is neither the main supplier nor the main client of Lebanon. In recent months, the Lebanese Pound has weakened against the US Dollar on the black market, while the official exchange rate remains unchanged amid an increasing shortage of dollars, thus creating arbitrage opportunities.
To address the situation, the Lebanese Pound should be pegged against a basket of currencies including the US Dollar and Euro because the European Union is the main supplier and the main client of Lebanon. At a later stage, a floating exchange rate should be adopted.
The fixed rate adopted by the Central Bank of Lebanon was maintained by offering high-interest rates—paid by accumulating more debt that has been repaid by a poorer population to Lebanese banks and by banks to their depositors and to international markets.
This largest government-sponsored Ponzi scheme in history worked until the war in Syria broke out in 2011, leading to an economic slowdown in Lebanon. Since then, the Lebanese economy hasn’t expanded amid a widening twin trade and budget deficits.
Unlike Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, which used a “split-strike option strategy” based on lies that affected a few hundred rich investors, Lebanon’s version of the scheme is having an impact on all of its population.
Nasser Saidi, a former BDL vice-governor (from 1993 to 2003) and former industry, economy and trade minister (1998-2000), described BDL’s financial engineering as a “Ponzi scheme” that relies on fresh borrowing to pay back the existing debt.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author of The Black Swan, shared that view. In response, the legal department of the Central Bank of Lebanon said its operations were in conformity with the law as set out in the 1963 Code of Money and Credit.
Alain Bifani, the Director-General of Lebanon’s Ministry of Finance, was quoted in a Wikileaks document which dates back to 2007 as saying that Central Bank Governor Riad “Salameh has been hiding the deficit in BDL’s books by settling high-interest MOF debt and reissuing lower interest debt in the BDL’s portfolio.”
Thus, a change of the BDL’s policy is required since Lebanon can no longer survive under the current rentier economic model that favors the real estate and financial services sectors at the expense of productive sectors. Lebanon must also abolish exclusive agencies and monopolies and adopt a real capitalist economy (économie libérale) that should be regulated to reduce poverty.
But first, the country’s debt must be restructured.
The total 2019 debt of Lebanon is estimated at US$88.4bn (154.5% of GDP), with domestic-currency debt at US$55.1bn (96.3% of GDP) and foreign-currency debt at US$33.3bn (58.1% of GDP).
The exposure of Lebanese banks to public debt and treasury bonds is equivalent to 69% of their total assets while up to US$11.8bn in Eurobonds is estimated to be held by international market participants.
According to Refinitiv data, around two-thirds of Lebanon’s foreign debt is estimated to be held by local banks, while the remainder is held by international market participants, such as Amundi, Invesco, JPMorgan, AllianceBernstein and Fidelity.
Lebanon government debt as of 2Q 2019 (Eurobond data adjusted to reflect latest figures). Source: BdL, BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. Levels include accrued interests. All data as of June 2019, although BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research has adjusted Eurobonds data to reflect the most recent figures. % of GDP based on 2019F GDP. Other debt reflects special T-bills in foreign currency (expropriation and contractor bonds). Public sector deposits are mostly LL-denominated.
Lebanon government debt as of 2Q 2019 (Eurobond data adjusted to reflect latest figures). Source: BdL, BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. Levels include accrued interests. All data are from June 2019, although BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research has adjusted Eurobonds data to reflect the most recent figures. % of GDP based on 2019F GDP. Other debt reflects special T-bills in foreign currency (expropriation and contractor bonds). Public sector deposits are mostly LL-denominated.
In 1967, the Lebanese Parliament passed the “Intra Law,” which set down new rules and procedures in the event of bank failures in order to prevent outright bankruptcy and liquidation. Indeed, in 1966, Intra Bank was forced to suspend payments in the wake of a run on the bank that depleted its cash reserves. Intra had only a few large depositors, limited cash reserves and long-term investments in property. This law allowed the restructuring of Intra rather than its pure liquidation: the deposit obligations were replaced with shares in a new financial institution, Intra Investment Company.
A similar law could be drafted in order to restructure the debt of Lebanon. The debt held by banks must be swapped with shares of a newly established sovereign fund that comprises:
– Middle East Airlines (MEA);
– Touch and Alfa (the two mobile operators);
– Casino du Liban;
– 20% of the future oil & gas revenues of the two blocs awarded for exploration to Total, ENI, and Novatek;
– Electricity & Water management.
75% of deposits above $1 million would be converted to equity in these banks.
The new sovereign fund and all Alpha Banks could then be listed on international stock markets including New York, London, Frankfurt, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore stock exchanges (even if they have to start by secondary markets)
*Michel Fayad is a civil society activist and financial analyst with experience in policy making, global strategy, and business development. He graduated from HEC Paris School of Management, the London School of Economics & Political Science and NYU Stern School of Business.

The post A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For December 15- 16/2019 Addressing the On Going Mass Demonstrations & Sit In-ins In Iranian Occupied Lebanon in its 60th Day appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

No Trust In Lebanon’s Caretaker PM, Mr. Saad Al Hariri
 Elias Bejjani/December 16/2019
لا ثقة برئيس الوزراء اللبناني المستقيل السيد سعد الحريري لتشكيل حكومة جديدة

Lebanon’s PM, Caretaker Mr. Saad Al Hariri protects covertly and covertly the most corrupt officials and businessmen in what is known the Lebanese deep government that is leading the country into bankruptcy.

At the same time he has no sovereign or patriotic back bone, to the extent that he has even compromised on his father’s assassination case (Raffic Al Hariri), and put the ongoing trial by the Special Tribunal For Lebanon (STL) on a marginal scale of his priorities.

In this realm he forged a political alliance with his father’s assassins, The Hezbollah Terrorist Militia, while the STL has accused a number of  its security topnotch members to have committed the criminal assassination in year 2005.

Mr. Hariri, in his PM, capacity has been totally serving Hezbollah’s occupation of Lebanon status quo, as well as the Iranian-Mullahs’ expansionism schemes in exchange for staying as an MP.

Practically, Mr. Hariri is the first politician who should not be trusted any more in any official position and especially as a PM.

He is not only one of all of the corrupt Lebanese politicians and officials, but in fact the first of them all.

In summary, No trust is ought to be granted by the Lebanese revolution to Mr. Hariri in a bid to head the new Lebanese Government.

Hariri is not a talented or a professional politician, and based on his record since 20015 he will never be one.

Meanwhile, he surrounds himself by advisers who in general serve their our businesses and lead him into un-patriotic and non-sovereign deals with the Lebanese warlords, political parties, contractors and oligarchies.

His record as PM shows that he moves disastrously from one failure to another.

He is not the right PM, for dealing with serious and devastating current Lebanese crisis.

*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentatorEmail phoenicia@hotmail.com & media.lccc@gmail.com
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The post Elias Bejjani/No Trust In Lebanon’s Caretaker PM, Mr. Saad Al Hariri/ لا ثقة برئيس الوزراء اللبناني المستقيل السيد سعد الحريري لتشكيل حكومة جديدة appeared first on Elias Bejjani News.

نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة للمؤسسات اللبنانية الكندية باللغة العربية ليوم 16 كانون الأول/2019

اضغط هنا لقراءة نشرة أخبار المنسقية العامة المفصلة، اللبنانية والعربية ليوم 16 كانون الأول/2019

ارشيف نشرات أخبار موقعنا اليومية/عربية وانكليزية منذ العام 2006/اضغط هنا لدخول صفحة الأرشيف

عناوين أقسام نشرة المنسقية باللغة العربية
الزوادة الإيمانية لليوم
تعليقات الياس بجاني وخلفياتها
الأخبار اللبنانية
المتفرقات اللبنانية
الأخبار الإقليمية والدولية
المقالات والتعليقات والتحاليل السياسية الشاملة
المؤتمرات والندوات والبيانات والمقابلات والمناسبات الخاصة والردود وغيره

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