24 may 2012 osint levant tracker

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TheCENTCOM This OSINT publication contains foreign mediaderived entirely from open sources in andaround the CENTCOM AOR.

24 May 201

EGYPT

Millions of Egyptians Return to Polling Stations for Second Day of Historic Vote: Al ArabiyaMillions of Egyptians will head to the polls for the second day of its first free presidential election on Thursday, withformer government officials and Islamists competing as the country attempts to move from post-revolutionary chaosto fledgling democracy. (Source: Dubai, UAE; Owned by MBC Group, Intl (Large Iraqi following); Neutral;Daily)

Presidential Election Causes Slump in Fuel Demand: Egypt IndependentDiesel and gas demand plunged due to the decrease in the daily activity of Egyptians as half of civil servants weregiven Wednesday off to vote in the presidential election, the General Petroleum Authority (GPA) said. (Source:Cairo, Egypt; Independent; Daily; Undetermined).

Live Updates: Voting off to Slow Start for Second Day of Elections:Egypt Independent11:30 am: In Alexandria, naval authorities ban presidential campaigners from standing in front of polling stationswith their laptops. Military forces also remove posters of Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh and Mohamed Morsy thatwere hung overnight. (Source: Cairo, Egypt; Independent; Daily; Undetermined).

Christians Stand in Voting Lines to Keep out Islamists: Al Masry Al YoumMany Egyptian Christians felt marginalized under former President Hosni Mubarak and are voting to keep anIslamist from replacing him; out of fear their community would be further sidelined. (Source: Cairo, Egypt;Independent; Daily; Undetermined).

ISRAEL / GAZA

Shin Bet Exposes Hebron Terror Cells: YnetThe Shin Bet internal security service cleared for publication on Wednesday that over the past few weeks it has

exposed, in cooperation with the IDF, a number of terror cells in the Hebron area, Ynet reported. (Source: Israel,Yedi'ot Media Group)

After Iraq War, Britain 'Discussing Role in any Iran-Israel Conflict': Middle East OnlineBritain's leaders are discussing how the country would respond to any military confrontation between Israel andIran, including the possible involvement of its navy, the BBC reported Wednesday. (Source: Independent daily,not determined)

NGO: Mashaal to Meet Former US President Carter: Maan News AgencyHamas leader Khalid Mashaal will meet with former US president Jimmy Carter in Cairo on Thursday, the directorof an Egyptian NGO said. (Source: Bethlehem, Israel; Funded by Dutch and Danish Foreign Ministries; anti-Zionism / anti-West)

Citizen Journalism Focuses on Israeli Occupation: The Jordan TimesAmateur video of Israeli soldiers appearing to watch idly as settlers opened fire on Palestinians throwing stones hasemphasised the growing power of "citizen journalism" in the occupied West Bank. (Source: Amman, Jordan;Independent; Neutral)

Amnesty Int'l Slams Gaza Blockade, Settlements: JPOSTIn annual report, rights group accuses Israel of committing abuses against Palestinians, breaching int'l law, Israel iscriticized for violating the human rights of West Bank and Gaza Palestinians in Amnesty International's yearly reporton the state of the world's human rights released on Wednesday. (Source: Israel, Independent, Slightly rightleaning / Pro West)

OSINT Phone #: 813.827.1441 - Email: [email protected]

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JORDAN

IAEA Experts Issue Recommendations on Jordan's Nuclear Law: Jordan TimesExperts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have recommended the inclusion of all the Kingdom'sobligations related to nuclear safety, which are derived from agreements signed with the IAEA, in the provisions ofthe nuclear law. (Source: Amman, Jordan; Independent; Neutral)

LEBANON

Two Dead in Beirut as Lebanon PM Rebuffs Calls to Quit: Al BawabaThe Lebanese security forces early Thursday morning raided a building in Beirut, after a gunman opened fire.According to an official, the gunman was killed and the body of another man was found inside an apartment on thesixth floor of a building in a western district of Beirut. (Source: Amman, Jordan; Popular Arab media; Daily;Claims Neutrality)

Hezbollah Appeals for Calm after Syria Kidnapping: Al Sharaq Al AwsatThe leader of Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah has appealed for calm after people blocked roads andburned tires in Beirut to protest the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese Shiites in neighboring Syria. (Source: London,England; pan-Arab daily news; Pro Arab)

Arab Tawhid Party Calls for Releasing Sunni Cleric Shooters: Now LebanonThe Arab Tawhid Party on Thursday called on army commander General Jean Kahwaji to release the army troopsthat shot Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmad Abdel Wahed in Akkar. (Source: Beirut, Lebanon; Privately Funded /Independent; Liberal)

U.S. Warns Citizens of Tensions in Lebanon: The Daily StarThe U.S. embassy in Beirut warned American citizens on Thursday to be aware of prevailing "tensions" and "violent

incidents" in Lebanon. (Source: Beirut, Lebanon; Independent; Daily, Except Sunday; Neutral)

SYRIA

Live Blog on Developments in Syria: Now LebanonLive Syria Blog(Source: Beirut, Lebanon; Privately Funded / Independent; Liberal)

Syrian Army, Opposition Fighters Continue to Commit Human Rights Violations: U.N.: Al ArabiyaSyrian forces and opposition fighters continue to commit gross human rights violations in an increasinglymilitarized context despite a shaky six-week-old ceasefire, United Nations investigators said in a report onThursday. (Source: Dubai, UAE; Owned by MBC Group, Intl (Large Iraqi following); Neutral; Daily)

Amnesty Accuses UN Council of Complete Failed Leadership: Middle East Online

The UN Security Council has failed to match the courage shown by protesters around the world and is increasingly"unfit for purpose," Amnesty International said in its annual report Thursday. (Source: Independent daily, notdetermined)

Syria's New Parliament Opens amid Unrest: Al JazeeraThe newly elected Syrian parliament is set to gather for the first time in Damascus, Elections were held earlier thismonth as part of President al-Assad's response to more than a year of violence and calls for political reform.(Source: Doha, Qatar; Independent; Website of the TV Network; Claim Neutrality)


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Assads Forces Push to Capture Rebel Hotbed: The Daily StarRegime forces launched a fierce assault on the rebel bastion of Rastan in central Syria Wednesday, raining shellson the town before launching a ground attack, monitors and activists said. (Source: Beirut, Lebanon;Independent; Daily, Except Sunday; Neutral)

Syrian National Council Accepts Ghaliouns Resignation; New Chief Expected by June: Al ArabiyaThe head of Syrias main opposition bloc, Burhan Ghalioun, formally resigned from his post, a statement issued bythe Syrian National Council said Thursday after a two-day meeting in Istanbul, setting the stage for a showdownbetween the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and its political rivals over who will be the new leader. (Source: Dubai,UAE; Owned by MBC Group, Intl (Large Iraqi following); Neutral; Daily)

EDITORIALS

Egypt Elects its President while in Crisis (Part 1): Egypt IndependentOne cannot say that most Egyptians sense a political crisis. However, large sectors of activists from across thepolitical spectrum feel the existence of a crisis in Egypts political scene. (Source: Cairo, Egypt; Independent;Daily; Undetermined).

A Nation-by-Nation Look at Arab Spring's Progress: An AP Assessment: Ahram OnlineAs Egypt witnesses its first post-Mubarak presidential elections, the future of political transformation fromauthoritarianism to democracy seems a tough mission in the Arab Spring states. (Source: Cairo, Egypt; Daily;Neutral)

Petroleum Reserves and the Confrontation with Iran: Dar Al HayatPresident Obama prompted his colleagues in the G-8 group of countries to affirm their readiness to use theirstrategic petroleum reserves if there are interruptions in the supply of oil in the coming future. This readiness, whichwas expressed in the G-8 final statement in Camp David, has two objectives. (Source: Tiyadh, Saudi Arabia,

Morning Daily)

The Battle for the Soul of the Islamic World: Al JazeeraFrom Egypt's post-Mubarak elections to Tunisian debates about media freedom, a battle is raging for the politicalsoul of the Islamic world. (Source: Doha, Qatar; Independent; Website of the TV Network; Claim Neutrality)

Supporting Documentation:

EGYPT (Top)

24 May 2012Al Arabiya

Millions of Egyptians Return to Polling Stations for Second Day of Historic VoteMillions of Egyptians will head to the polls for the second day of its first free presidential election on Thursday, withformer government officials and Islamists competing as the country attempts to move from post-revolutionary chaosto fledgling democracy.

The ballot, the first since Hosni Mubaraks departure last year following a bloody uprising, included 12 candidatessome drawn from the ranks of the Islamists, others secularists and former members of Mubaraks administrations.Many millions voted in mostly peaceful balloting on Wednesday, officials said, though turnout figures varied. In anation where all four presidents to have run the country during the past 60 years, including Mubarak, were drawn


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from the military, the vote that began on Wednesday afforded more than 50 million eligible voters a rare choice.Voting takes place in 13,000 polling stations nationwide.

(U)Egyptians relished their 1st free vote, with Islamists pitted against secular figures in a contest unthinkable beforea popular revolt swept Hosni Mubarak from power 15 months ago. (Reuters)

U.S. hails vote as historic and stunning

The United States on Wednesday hailed the start of the first free presidential election in Egypt as a very importantmilestone in the countrys transition to democracy.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the event historic and stunning.

I dont know if you've seen the ballot. Its really quite stunning. It's about this long with many, many candidates,Nuland told reporters.

Today does mark the start of a first round of Egypts historic presidential elections. Its a very important milestonefor Egypts transition. Egyptians are voting. And we look forward to the outcome.

Voting passed off mostly calmly on the first day apart from a stone-throwing attack on candidate Ahmed Shafiq,who was the last prime minister of the old regime.

On Wednesday, after a slow start, cooler evening temperatures and the end of the work day prompted a surge invoters, who wound their way through streets outside polling stations across the country.

Heavy burdens awaiting the new president

Two of the candidates are expected to go into June run offs after the May 23 and 24 vote, with pollsters saying thenumber of undecided voters makes the result of the first round extremely difficult to predict, according to AFP.

The next president will inherit a struggling economy, deteriorating security and the challenge of uniting a nationdivided by the uprising and its sometimes deadly aftermath, but his powers are yet to be defined by a newconstitution.


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The race broadly pits Islamist candidates against secular ones like Shafiq and Amr Moussa, the former ArabLeague chief who previously served as Mubaraks foreign minister.

The powerful Muslim Brotherhoods candidate, Mohammed Mursi, faces competition from Abdul Moniem AbulFotouh, a former member of the Islamist movement who portrays himself as a consensus choice with a wide rangeof support. Leftist opposition leader Hamdeen Sabbahi is also one of the main contenders in the race.

Several of the candidates broke an election committee period of silence during the polling to shore up their chancesand attack others, with Shafiq warning of a huge problem if the Islamists get into power.

Pollsters say many of the undecided voters who say they will cast ballots are likely to make up their minds at thelast minute or be swayed by the candidate who has the best network in mustering votes.

The election caps a roller-coaster transition, marked by political upheaval and deadly bloodshed, but which alsowitnessed democratic parliamentary elections that saw Islamist groups score a crushing victory.

Results are expected on Sunday.

Long queues formed at polling stations early on Wednesday, and some were packed late into the evening. Butturnout, so far, seemed lower than an earlier parliamentary vote when Islamists swept up most seats. Thescorching sun deterred some.

Ill vote on Thursday to avoid the crowds. Im backing Amr Moussa. He knows the country and has the experience.I chose the Muslim Brotherhood's party in the parliamentary election but we didn't get anything from them, 57-year-old Fouad Mahmoud told Reuters.

The Muslim Brotherhood said its candidate, Mursi, was ahead after Wednesdays voting. Moussas campaign office

also put Mursi in the lead with the former League chief second.

Voters reveled in their new ability to influence a genuinely contested election after decades of rigged votes underMubarak, a military man like all Egypts previous presidents.

This is the first time that I vote in my entire life. I didnt take part in past elections because we knew who would bepresident. This is the first time we don't know, said Mohammed Mustafa, a 52-year-old engineer in CairosZamalek district.

Abul Fotouh, 60, was clapped on joining a Cairo queue. Mursi, 60, said after voting in the Nile Delta city of Zagazigthat Egyptians would not accept anyone from Mubaraks corrupt former regime.

When Shafiq, 70, arrived to vote in Cairo, protesters hurled shoes and stones at him. The coward is here. The

criminal is here, they cried. Down with military rule. Like Mubarak, Shafiq commanded the air force before joiningthe cabinet.

The former prime minister, who was appointed days before Mubarak fell and who quit soon afterwards amidprotests against him in Tahrir Square, is one of the most divisive candidates.

He appeals to those who want a strongman to restore order, but others see him as embodying everything theywanted changed.


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Moussa, 75, left Mubaraks cabinet a decade before the uprising. At the Arab League, he built on his popularity withcriticism of Israel and U.S. policy in the region. Yet some still brand him a remnant of the old order.

For many of those who cannot stomach Islamists or Mubarak-era ministers, the favorite is leftist Sabahy, 57.

Independent monitors noted minor infringements in Wednesdays voting, such as campaigning outside pollingstations, but said they did not undermine its validity.

Mubarak, 84, is on trial for ordering the killing of protesters and for corruption. A verdict is due on June 2.

Security across the country was tight, with the military saying it had deployed over 150,000 troops to secure thepolling sites. The ruling generals said they were ready to deal with any disturbances and help enforce rules banningcampaigning during the election period. Arab television stations reported some instances of clashes betweensupporters of rival candidates.

24 May 2012Egypt IndependentPresidential Election Causes Slump in Fuel Demand

(U) Egypt independent

Diesel and gas demand plunged due to the decrease in the daily activity of Egyptians as half of civil servants weregiven Wednesday off to vote in the presidential election, the General Petroleum Authority (GPA) said.

GPA Vice President Amr Mostafa told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the demand for diesel and gas went downunexpectedly because most citizens got a day or half a day off.

Mostafa added that the supply of diesel fuel has stabilized at 38,000 tons and gasoline at 14,000 tons. Mostafa saidthat the GPA, in cooperation with the ministries of interior, defense, supply and internal trade have devised a planto secure the distribution of petroleum products, tightening control on distribution outlets, and increasing supply onweekends to avoid traffic jams in front of gas stations and clashes among drivers.


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Petroleum Minister Abdullah Ghorab told Al-Masry Al-Youm that diesel supply has not been reduced despite thehigh demand by farmers in the peak harvest season, adding that he is monitoring the situation with the governorson a daily basis to avoid a crisis during the election.

24 May 2012Egypt IndependentLive Updates: Voting off to Slow Start for Second Day of Elections11:30 am: In Alexandria, naval authorities ban presidential campaigners from standing in front of polling stationswith their laptops. Military forces also remove posters of Abdel Moneim Abouel Fotouh and Mohamed Morsy thatwere hung overnight.

In Helwan and the 15th of May area, polling stations are calm. A big tent is set up to shade voters as temperaturesclimb.

State-run newspaper Al-Ahram reports that polling stations in Luxor city seeing moderate turnout, but that fewvoters are going to the polls in the cities of Isna and Arment.

In the Mohandisseen neighborhood of Cairo, a few polling stations appear deserted aside from the police and armyforces standing guard.

Mostafa, 24, voted with his mother Mona at Awkaf Preparatory School in Mohandisseen. He cast his vote forAbouel Fotouh, while his mother voted for Morsy.

"As long as people actually come out to vote, things should be fine because in the end, the people will have gottenwhat they want," he says. "It's not voting at this point that's stupid."

A report from the election monitor the One World Foundation for Development and Civil Society says somecampaigns have tried to illegally influence voters.

In the Mousha village in the township of Assiut, the foundation reports that voters at the Mousha Primary Schoolwere told to choose Morsy.

In Assuit, Giza, and Daqahlia, the organization says that campaign vehicles for Shafiq, Morsy, and Abouel Fotouhwere transporting voters to the polls.

11:00 am: Turnout remains relatively low throughout mid-morning. Some polling stations in the Cairo neighborhoodof Dar al-Salaam have lines while others are nearly empty.

"The preliminary sorting of Wednesday was in favor of Mohamed Morsy and Ahmed Shafiq," a Freedom andJustice Party representative in Dar al-Salaam told Al-Masry Al-Youm, though he declined to say how he hadreached that conclusion.

The government has announced that ballot counting will begin Thursday evening, but several campaigns haveannounced speculative preliminary exit polls.

In Minya, an Egypt Independent correspondent reports polling stations are seeing a trickle of voters this morning,similar to the slow start seen yesterday.


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9:00 am: Over an hour after the polls open, many stations in Cairo appear to have no or very short lines, EgyptIndependent correspondents report.

The Interior Ministry also said Thursday that all filled ballot boxes are being kept under tight security. Yesterday,judges supervising elections sealed the boxes and signed each box after the polls closed.

8:00 am: Polling stations officially open for the second day of presidential elections. State TV reports that votersstarted queuing before the official 8 am start. Voting hours were extended by one hour due to a surge in turnout,which Secretary General Hatem Bagato of the Presidential Elections Commission said was magnificent and morethan expected.

23 May 2012Al Masry Al YoumChristians Stand in Voting Lines to Keep out IslamistsMany Egyptian Christians felt marginalized under former President Hosni Mubarak and are voting to keep anIslamist from replacing him, out of fear their community would be further sidelined.

In Shubra, a working-class Cairo neighborhood home to many Copts, voting lines were long, and the worry andtension felt by many Christians was palpable.

I dont want the Islamists. If they come to power and I oppose them, they will say I am criticizing their religion, andwho knows what theyll do to me? We cant talk to them, said 57-year-old Sanaa Rateb after casting her ballot.

Dressed in a floral jacket topped with a pearl necklace, Rateb railed against those, including the MuslimBrotherhood, who objects to a Christian or a woman running for president.

Its a mistake. Where is the principle of citizenship in all this? I have the right, as a woman or as a Copt, to standfor the presidency if I want, she said.

Nassim Ghaly, a young man with a cross tattooed on his wrist in the distinctive manner of Egyptian Christians,interjected: God protect us if the Islamists come to power, and they control Parliament and the presidency at thesame time.

Like all the Copts questioned on Wednesday, Rateb and Ghaly voted for Ahmed Shafiq, the last prime minister toserve under Mubarak. Shafiqs campaign posters were the most visible in Shubra.

Shafiq is a respectable man who can restore the country, said Mary, who declined to give her family name.

The Coptic Orthodox Church, whose patriarch Pope Shenouda III died in March, has refrained from endorsing a

candidate. However, Mary insisted that within the community, everyone is voting for Shafiq.

But she said the community is not looking to Shafiq to protect their rights as Christians.

We dont want anyone to defend us. We just dont want any problems and to be left alone, she added.

The Middle Easts largest Christian community has become increasingly concerned about the rise of Islam as apolitical force since the mass protests that toppled Mubarak.


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The Coptic community, which makes up between 6 and 10 percent of Egypts population of about 80 million, istraditionally low-key and fairly absent from the countrys circles of power.

Copts want a non-religious state that would guarantee the rights of all religious groups, said Sanaa Halim, who is inher 60s.

The Islamist trends are worrying, one of her friends added, declining to give her name. And what have they donein Parliament? Nothing, except talk about women and female circumcision.

The friend said she was thinking about voting for former Foreign Minister and ex-Arab League chief Amr Moussabecause hes an experienced man, but in the end cast her ballot for Shafiq because everyones voting for him.

Mubarak named Shafiq, a former Air Force chief of staff, as prime minister in the final days of Mubaraks regime.

He is reviled by the youth of the revolution, Muslims and Christians. They call him feloul, a pejorative term forthose who served in the old regime. But others reject that label.

If Shafiq is feloul, then we are all feloul, said Ghaly.

Still, the subject is sensitive, and many of those interviewed were unwilling to be identified most of themwhispering as they spoke so they wouldnt be heard by their fellow voters.

Asked about her position on Egypts Islamists, a young Christian woman responded dryly: Im sorry; I dont wish tosay anything on that subject.

ISRAEL / GAZA (Top)

24 May 2012YnetShin Bet Exposes Hebron Terror Cells

(U)Cell phones used to detonate roadside bomb


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The Shin Bet internal security service cleared for publication on Wednesday that over the past few weeks it hasexposed, in cooperation with the IDF, a number of terror cells in the Hebron area, Ynet reported.

One of the cells, which is affiliated with Hamas, was involved in a bombing attack, while another planned to kidnapIsraelis in Kiryat Arba.

According to the Shin Bet's announcement, as art of its preparation to kidnap Israelis the Hamas terror cellexamined the IDF's alertness by hurling explosive devices at the fence surrounding Kiryat Arba.

The cell, which consisted of three young Palestinians from Hebron, was led by Muantaz Qawasma (21), a Hamasoperative who was imprisoned for aiding his brother. The brother, Meid, was recently expelled to Gaza in theframework of the Shalit prisoner exchange deal. He was involved in transporting the terrorists who carried out asuicide attack in Dimona in 2008.

Another terror cell member, Mahmoud Dwik (21), was also imprisoned in Israel for various terror-related activities.

The Shin Bet said the three admitted to detonating makeshift explosive devices near Kiryat Arba's security fence ona number of occasions to examine the IDF's response. The terrorists planned to infiltrate the Jewish city and eitherkidnap or murder one of the settlers there.

The three also admitted to hurling firebombs on a number of occasions over the past few months.

On March 10 the three terrorists were indicted at the Yehuda Military Court on charges of belonging to an illegalorganization, attempting to cause death and planting bombs.

The Shin Bet said another terror cell attacked an Israeli vehicle travelling near Liata. No one was injured in theincident. The bomb was planted on the side of the road, and the terrorists detonated it using cell phones.

Following the incident, two Palestinians from the village of Yata, south of Hebron, were arrested. Ta'ar Daud (26)admitted to manufacturing the explosives and taking part in the attack, while Fatah operative Muhand Mahamra(26) said he had carried out the attack and helped build the bomb.

The two also admitting to carrying out another bombing attack in 2007 and told interrogators that they had also builtexplosive devices and hurled stones at Israeli targets. The two were indicted on May 22 for building bombs andillegal possession and trade of arms.

The Shin Bet also arrested four Palestinians who were involved in a number of stone-throwing incidents againstIsraeli soldiers and civilians. Three of the terrorists have been indicted, while the fourth is set to be indicted in thecoming days.

Earlier this week the Shin Bet announced that it had arrested nine Palestinians from the Ramallah area forattempting to kidnap an Israeli woman and her daughter.

24 may 2012Middle East OnlineAfter Iraq War, Britain 'Discussing Role in any Iran-Israel Conflict'Britain's leaders are discussing how the country would respond to any military confrontation between Israel andIran, including the possible involvement of its navy, the BBC reported Wednesday.


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As six world powers began talks in Baghdad with Tehran on its nuclear programme, the BBC said the NationalSecurity Council, which is chaired by Prime Minister David Cameron, had met last week to discuss the issue.

It had discussed "not just the possibility of a military confrontation but what role, if any, Britain might play andwhether any involvement would be legal", the report said.

(U) Cameron: We think that military action against Iran by Israel would not be the right approach

Government lawyers have been examining the legality of any British involvement, "ranging from British diplomaticsupport for Israel through to the possible involvement of the Royal Navy in the region", the BBC reported.

Senior ministers on the council were told that if talks with Iran fail and Israel attacks its nuclear facilities, this might

trigger a wider war in the Middle East, the report said, without citing sources.

Iran might respond not just by attacking Israel but also by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for globaloil supplies, the council -- which co-ordinates responses to national security threats -- was told at a meeting inLondon last week, said the report by the BBC's political editor.

Top officials from the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany began talks with Iranian leadersin the Iraqi capital on Wednesday, aiming to persuade Tehran to suspend sensitive nuclear work.

Leaders in Israel, widely believed to be the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear armed state, believe thecountry's existence could be threatened if Iran develops atomic weapons and have repeatedly said all options areon the table.

A former chief of Britain's defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirrup, warned parliament's upper house last weekthat Iran could retaliate against Britain if attacked by Israel, meaning London must be prepared to respond.

The previous Labour government faced a backlash over its participation in the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 andpresence there until 2011, including doubts over whether the military action was legal under international law.

Current junior coalition partners the Liberal Democrats, who are partnered with the Conservatives, opposed the warin Iraq and are insisting any future action be clearly within international law, the BBC report said.


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Cameron told a parliamentary committee in March: "We think that military action against Iran by Israel would not bethe right approach. We've said that both publicly and privately to the Israelis."

24 may 2012MaanNGO: Mashaal to Meet Former US President CarterHamas leader Khalid Mashaal will meet with former US president Jimmy Carter in Cairo on Thursday, the directorof an Egyptian NGO said.

Ibrahim al-Drawi, head of the Palestinian Studies Center in Cairo, said that the former US president was in Cairo tofollow events in the Egyptian presidential elections.

Mashaal will brief Carter about the situation of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and the status of reconciliationtalks between Palestinian factions.

Under a recent deal agreed between Fatah and Hamas in the Egyptian capital, the Palestinian ElectionsCommission will begin work in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on May 27, after which President Mahmoud Abbas willimmediately begin consultations on a consensus government as previously agreed by party leaders.

The former US president met in Damascus with Mashaal in 2008 and visited Gaza in 2009 in the aftermath ofIsrael's war on the coastal enclave.

During his visit to Gaza, Carter severely criticized Israel's blockade of the Strip, saying that Israel treated Gazans"more like animals than human beings."

Jimmy Carter is author of the book 'Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid', which criticizes Israel's 45-year military

occupation of Palestinian land.

24 May 2012The Jordan TimesCitizen Journalism Focuses on Israeli OccupationAmateur video of Israeli soldiers appearing to watch idly as settlers opened fire on Palestinians throwing stones hasemphasised the growing power of "citizen journalism" in the occupied West Bank.

Shaky footage, captured on Saturday from two angles by residents of Aseera Al Qibliya village, shows beardedresidents from the nearby settlement of Yitzhar aiming a hand gun and assault rifle at the crowd, followed bysounds of gunfire.

A bloodied youth shot in the face was shown being carried away on the shoulders of fellow villagers. The video wassoon posted on the Internet.

Teacher Ibrahim Makhlouf, who filmed the incident, lives by the brush scorched in the clashes on the village's edge,beneath the gaze of the prefabricated suburbs of Yitzhar, which lie outside the official settlement boundary.

"We want the whole world to see what Israel and the settlers do to us. They steal our land and they attack us, andthe world said we were the terrorists and criminals," he said.


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"Now we can make it clear who's the aggressor and who's attacking whom. The truth contradicts their claims aboutour situation."

Israeli forces have ordered an investigation and confirmed that live fire was used during the confrontation. "Thatsaid, it appears that the video in question does not reflect the incident in its entirety," it said in a statement.

A spokesman for the settlers said the violence flared when they were pelted with stones as they tried to put out ascrub fire allegedly started by the Palestinians.

B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, provided the cameras used to document the event, as part of aprogramme started in 2007 whereby it has distributed around 150 camcorders to "citizen journalists" throughout theWest Bank.

The group aims to use social media to bring alleged violations by settlers and the military into public view.

"The importance of our work is that we show what is being done in [Israel's] name in the West Bank by our soldiersand by organs of our government," said Sarit Michaeli, B'Tselem's spokesperson.

"The media might just show one minute, but anyone who's interested can watch this whole playlist and make uptheir own mind," she said, referring to numerous videos showing the shootings uploaded to YouTube.

Media weapon

The incident was the latest in a series of images captured by activists and other people in the West Bank which areattracting fierce scrutiny by the international and Israeli media on practices in territory seized in the 1967 war.

Some 340,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank, which most refer to by the biblical names of Judea and

Samaria. Many claim an ancestral right to the land and reject the fact that the United Nations deems thesettlements illegal.

A senior Israeli officer was suspended after being filmed striking a young Danish activist in the face with the butt ofhis rifle during a pro-Palestinian rally last month.

Lieutenant-Colonel Shalom Eisner argued that the initial video was deliberately fragmentary and concealed theviolent nature of their gathering. Other clips released subsequently showed Eisner striking other people.

Circulated among army personnel, an internal memorandum obtained by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth in thewake of the Eisner affair underscored mounting concern by the Israeli leadership over the influence of video on themedia narrative.

"Remember it takes only 10 seconds out of hours of video footage to cause irreparable damage to the image of thesoldiers, the army and the state," the memo said.

"The media does not reflect reality as a mirror, but rather shapes and influences it. The Palestinians make good useof this tool. It's important to be the one leading and not the one being led," it continued, reflecting the fact that Israelisoldiers now often film incidents of unrest in order to advance their version of events.

Israeli security officers say their primary task in the West Bank is to defend settlers from Palestinian attacks.


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In villages and at demonstrations throughout the West Bank, cameras now accompany stones and tear gas as anincreasingly permanent fixture.

"Our impact is excellent if you consider that Nabi Saleh is a village of less than 600 people," said Bilal Tamimi, anactivist and wielder of a B'Tselem camera from a flashpoint area near an Israeli settlement and military base in theWest Bank.

"People from around the world have learned what happens here through this distinct medium," he said.

24 May 2012JPOSTAmnesty Int'l Slams Gaza Blockade, SettlementsIn annual report, rights group accuses Israel of committing abuses against Palestinians, breaching int'l law.

Israel is criticized for violating the human rights of West Bank and Gaza Palestinians in Amnesty International'syearly report on the state of the world's human rights released on Wednesday.

"Israel maintained its blockade of Gaza, prolonging the humanitarian crisis there, and continued aggressively toexpand settlements in the Palestinian West Bank territory it has occupied since 1967," the report posited.

Amnesty accused Israel of "forcing from their homes" Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem andslammed the government for demolishing unrecognized villages and homes belonging to Negev Beduin.

The report was particularly critical of Israel's settlement policy, accusing the Jewish State of working in opposition tointernational law.

"Thousands of Jewish Israelis living in settlements unlawfully established on occupied Palestinian lands receivedevery encouragement to further expand, develop and consolidate the settlements even though these settlementsare prohibited under international law," according to Amnesty.

Israel was also indicted in the report for continuing its blockade of the Gaza Strip which, it claimed, continued to"suffocate the local economy and prolong what is a deliberate humanitarian crisis whose heaviest impact is on themost vulnerable children, the elderly, those needing specialist medical care not available in Gaza."

Amnesty charged that the blockade was in violation of international law and constitutes "nothing less than collectivepunishment of Gazas 1.6 million inhabitants."

The human rights organization was also critical of Israel's handling of demonstrations in the West Bank, accusingthe IDF of using excessive force against protesters. Amnesty claimed the government failed to hold accountable

soldiers and settlers accused of committing abuses against Palestinians.

Amnesty International detailed both human rights abuses and protest efforts against human rights abuses in 155counties around the world.

The organization said that the Syrian government's crackdown on peaceful protesters "may have constituted crimesagainst humanity.

JORDAN(Top)


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24 May 2012Jordan TimesIAEA Experts Issue Recommendations on Jordan's Nuclear LawExperts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have recommended the inclusion of all the Kingdom'sobligations related to nuclear safety, which are derived from agreements signed with the IAEA, in the provisions ofthe nuclear law.

The experts, whose one-week visit concludes today, are reviewing the nuclear law currently being drafted by theJordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission (JNRC) and held meetings with officials from the foreign and justiceministries.

In a press conference on Wednesday, JNRC President Jamal Sharaf said that the experts had encouraged Jordanto join the Civil Liability Agreement for Nuclear Damage, which is related to compensation given to victims ofnuclear accidents within and outside countries' borders.

"The Kingdom cannot enter the nuclear club without the legal framework that is based on the requirements of theIAEA regarding nuclear safety and security," Sharaf said, adding that the delegation's visit was part of the agency'scommitment to ensure that Jordan's nuclear law regulates the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

He noted that the JNRC would refer the draft law to the government after completing it.

Sharaf said the commission was currently conducting studies related to licensing the nuclear research reactor to beestablished at the Jordan University of Science and Technology, stressing that these studies take time.

LEBANON (Top)

24 May 2012Al BawabaTwo Dead in Beirut as Lebanon PM Rebuffs Calls to Quit

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The Lebanese security forces early Thursday morning raided a building in Beirut, after a gunman opened fire..According to an official, the gunman was killed and the body of another man was found inside an apartment on thesixth floor of a building in a western district of Beirut.


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At least six members of the security forces were wounded by the shooter. The army and the police had gone onalert on Wednesday night after receiving reports of gunshots. The man then threw grenades and opened fire onsecurity forces from his apartment. The reasons for the incident have not been clarified.

Tensions are growing in Lebanon amid the ongoing crisis in Syria. During an informal discussion with journalists,Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he would continue to fulfill his responsibilities. Asked about calls for hisresignation, Mr. Mikati said he will not resign because he believes there is an attempt to destroy the country. "I willstay to prevent this from happening," he said.

Asked about the possibility of submitting to the Court of Justice the records of the incident in which two anti-Syriansheikhs were killed earlier this week, Mikati said he had no objection to this in principle, stressing the need first toconsult with the Minister of Justice. "Justice has already taken steps with the soldiers who were at the checkpoint.The investigation is ongoing to clarify what happened," he said.

24 May 2012Al Sharaq al AwsatHezbollah Appeals for Calm after Syria KidnappingThe leader of Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah has appealed for calm after people blocked roads andburned tires in Beirut to protest the kidnapping of 11 Lebanese Shiites in neighboring Syria.

Tuesday's abductions in Syria's northern Aleppo province threatened to ignite dangerous sectarian tensions andfueled fears that Lebanon is getting drawn into the chaos next door.

The Lebanese were on their way home from a religious pilgrimage in Iran when Syrian rebels intercepted theirvehicles, Syria's state-run SANA news agency said. The rebels abducted the 11 men and a Syrian driver. Thewomen were released.

Lebanese security officials confirmed the kidnapping. As the news of the kidnappings spread, residents of thesouthern suburbs of Beirut, a Shiite area, took to the streets and burned tires and blocked roads in protest. Theleader of Hezbollah, a strong ally of the Syrian regime, appealed for calm and warned his followers against revengeattacks targeting Syrians.

"This is strictly prohibited," Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech. He said the Lebanese governmentmust press for the pilgrims' release. "We will work day and night until these beloved people are with us," Nasrallahsaid. Hezbollah has stood by Syrian President Bashar Assad as he struggles to put down a 15-month-old uprising.Sunnis form the backbone of the Syrian revolt, which has unleashed boiling sectarian tensions. Assad and theruling elite in Syria belong to the tiny Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism.

Within hours of the kidnappings, the Syrian government began moving into Azaz in Aleppo province, where the

abductions took place, activists said.

Syria's uprising began in March 2011 with mostly peaceful calls for reform, but the government's brutal crackdownon dissent led many in the opposition to take up arms. The U.N. estimates more than 9,000 people have been killedas the conflict spirals toward civil war.

Tuesday's kidnappings come at a time of deep tension in Lebanon over Syria. The countries share a complex webof political and sectarian ties and rivalries, which can quickly turn violent. The conflict already has spilled across theborder, with deadly results.


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Lebanese Sunni groups supporting and opposing the Damascus regime fired rocket-propelled grenades andmachine guns in Beirut early Monday, killing at least two people. It was among the most serious fighting in thecapital since 2008.

The spark for the violence was the killing Sunday of Sheik Ahmed Abdul-Wahid, an anti-Syrian Sunni cleric, and hisbodyguard in northern Lebanon. A Lebanese soldier shot the men, apparently after they failed to stop at an armycheckpoint. The killing fueled deep anger over the perceived support of some of Lebanon's security forces for theSyrian regime.

Syria had troops on the ground in Lebanon for nearly 30 years until 2005 and still has strong ties to Lebanon'ssecurity services.

Earlier this month, the arrest of Shadi Mawlawi, an outspoken Lebanese critic of Assad, set off several days ofclashes in northern Lebanon that killed eight people. Mawlawi was accused of belonging to a terrorist group. OnTuesday, authorities released him from jail on $330 bail, a move many hoped would defuse tensions. During anews conference in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Mawlawi said he was "subjected to psychologicalpressure and torture" following his May 12 arrest and was forced to give false confessions that he was connected toterror groups.

Mawlawi denies any links to such groups. As he spoke, supporters at the news conference lashed out at the Syrianregime, saying, "Assad is the enemy of God."

24 May 2012Now LebanonArab Tawhid Party Calls for Releasing Sunni Cleric ShootersThe Arab Tawhid Party on Thursday called on army commander General Jean Kahwaji to release the army troops

that shot Sunni cleric Sheikh Ahmad Abdel Wahed in Akkar.

We call on Kahwaji to release the officers [because] the Akkar incident happened amid incitement against thearmy, a statement issued by the party said.

The statement also voiced full support for the security measures taken by the army, and condemned all thecampaigns and attacks against it.

On Sunday, army troops shot dead Abdel Wahed when his convoy allegedly failed to stop at a checkpoint in NorthLebanon, the scene of deadly clashes linked to the uprising in Syria.

His death sparked tension in many Lebanese areas where protesters blocked roads using burning tires. In Beirut,two people were killed overnight Sunday in street battles in Tariq al-Jedideh.

24 may 2012The Daily StarU.S. Warns Citizens of Tensions in LebanonThe U.S. embassy in Beirut warned American citizens on Thursday to be aware of prevailing "tensions" and "violentincidents" in Lebanon.

In an email to U.S. citizens in Lebanon, the embassy urged them to "continue to monitor news reports, avoid areaswhere disturbances are reported, and be vigilant about personal security."


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Tensions are "high" in Lebanon, the email said, adding that "the potential for protests, road closures, and otherviolent incidents remains."

The message follows the weekend killing of two preachers at an army checkpoint in Akkar, a mainly Sunni Muslimregion whose inhabitants are hostile to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The killings ignited street battles in the capital Beirut overnight Sunday-Monday that left two people dead and 18wounded.

On Wednesday, multiple violent incidents took place in several areas of the capital, which officials said were non-political in nature.

SYRIA (Top)

24 May 2012Now LebanonLive Blog on Developments in Syria13:26 Security forces killed a mother and her five children in Hama, Al-Jazeera quoted activists as saying.

13:25 Syrias Thursday death toll rose to 23 people, most of them killed in Edleb, Hama and Homs, activists werequoted by Al-Jazeera as saying.

11:25 The Syrian forces killed 11 people on Thursday; Al-Arabiya TV quoted activists as saying.

11:23 Syrian regime forces pounded the town of Rastan in central Homs province on Thursday, killing threecivilians, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

11:03 The Syrian army and security forces have been responsible for the majority of the serious rights abusescommitted since March this year as they hunt down defectors and opponents, UN-appointed investigators said onThursday.

9:18 MORNING LEADER: Syrian forces tried to storm the rebel bastion of Rastan Wednesday under cover ofgunfire and shelling, reports said, as Damascus admitted sanctions were biting and the head of the main oppositionbloc resigned.

7:54 The head of Syria's main opposition bloc, Burhan Ghalioun, formally resigned from his post, a statementissued by the Syrian National Council said Thursday after a two-day meeting in Istanbul.

24 May 2012Al ArabiyaSyrian Army, Opposition Fighters Continue to Commit Human Rights Violations: U.N.Syrian forces and opposition fighters continue to commit gross human rights violations in an increasinglymilitarized context despite a shaky six-week-old ceasefire, United Nations investigators said in a report onThursday.

As many as 13 people have been killed on Thursday by the fire of Syrian forces across the country; Al Arabiyareported citing activists at the Local coordination Committees. Syrian army and security services committed most of


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the crimes documented since March, including heavy shelling and executions, as part of military or searchoperations in areas known to host defectors or fighters, it said, according to Reuters.

Armed rebels executed or tortured captured soldiers and pro-government supporters and abducted civilians in anapparent bid to secure prison exchanges or ransoms, it said.

(U)Members of the Free Syrian Army met the with United Nations monitors in Rasten, near Homs. (Reuters)

Most of the serious human rights violations documented by the Commission in this update were committed by theSyrian army and security services as part of military or search operations conducted in locations known for hostingdefectors and/or armed persons, or perceived as supportive of anti-government armed groups, said theIndependent Commission of Inquiry on Syria, established by the U.N. Human Rights Council last year to investigateabuses there since the crackdown, AFP reported.

Children were frequently among those killed and wounded during attacks on protests and the bombardment oftowns and villages by state forces, it said.

The team of investigators, led by Brazilian expert Paulo Pinheiro, has not been allowed into Syria, but based theirreport on more than 200 interviews of victims and witnesses conducted in the region and Geneva.

They were able to confirm 207 deaths during the two-month period. The United Nations is deploying up to 300unarmed military observers in Syria to monitor an April 12 truce that has yet to take hold.

Security forces used lethal force against demonstrations in Aleppo, Damascus, Deraa, Hama, Homs, Idlib and innumerous villages across the country since March, the report said.

Other unlawful killings took place during government military operations undertaken to weed out defectors, anti-

government armed groups, their families and other opponents perceived to be supporting anti-government armedgroups.

The U.N. panel said it had received multiple reports of the armed opposition executing members of the army andsecurity forces, suspected informers and collaborators.

It has already drawn up a secret list of Syrian officials suspected of ordering crimes against humanity and handed itover to U.N. rights chief Navi Pillay.


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She has said that the situation in Syria should be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for prosecution.

On the ground, Syrian regime forces pounded the town of Rastan in central Homs province on Thursday, said theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Government forces have been trying to overrun Rastan for 11 consecutive days, after rebel fighters from thebattered central city of Homs regrouped in the town that straddles the main highway linking Damascus to the north.

Speaking to AFP via Skype on Wednesday, Abu Rawan, an opposition activist in Rastan, said there was noelectricity in the besieged town, and a shortage of food and water.

Abu Rawan was not reachable for comment on Thursday morning.

More than 12,000 people More than 12,000 people have been killed in Syria since a revolt against PresidentBashar al-Assads rule broke out in March 2011, including nearly 1,500 since a U.N.-backed truce took effect onApril 12, according to the Britain-based watchdog.

24 May 2012Middle East OnlineAmnesty Accuses UN Council of Complete Failed Leadership

Unclassified

The UN Security Council has failed to match the courage shown by protesters around the world and is increasingly"unfit for purpose," Amnesty International said in its annual report Thursday.

The rights group called for the signing of a strong treaty on the global arms trade when the United Nations meetson the issue in July, saying it would be an acid test for world leaders to place rights over profits.

Amnesty highlighted the failure to end the bloodshed in Syria and said repeated vetoes by major arms exportersRussia and China had left the UN's top security body "looking redundant as a guardian of global peace". The reportalso singled out emerging powers India, Brazil and South Africa, saying they were "complicit through their silence"on key rights issues.

"You've had people standing up, putting their lives on the line," Amnesty's Secretary General Salil Shetty said.


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"Unfortunately that has been met by a complete failed leadership both at the national and global level," he said.

Shetty said that in the 21st century the UN Security Council was "simply not fit for purpose. If they do not changethe way in which they behave, I think there are going to be increasing questions about the relevance of the body."

In its 50th annual report, Amnesty said the vocal support by many global powers in the early months of the ArabSpring in 2011 had not translated into action, with many international leaders now looking the other way.

In Syria the group said there was a "clear and compelling case" for alleged crimes against humanity by Bashar Al-Assad's regime to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

"The determination of some UN Security Council members to shield Syria at any cost leaves accountability forthese crimes elusive and is a betrayal of the Syrian people," said Shetty.

Russia and China have vetoed two Council resolutions which condemned Assad, and they fiercely oppose UNsanctions.

"Two countries that are among the top six arms dealers in the world, who are permanent members of the SecurityCouncil, may have been voting much more with their pocket in mind," said Widney Brown, senior director ofinternational law and policy at Amnesty.

Amnesty said it was the conference on a global treaty limiting the arms trade in July that would really show whetherUN member states were willing to take on serious challenges.

The conference is set for July 2-27 in New York. It follows an agreement in 2009 by most of the world's majorweapons exporters, including the United States, to seek a treaty that strengthens controls on the trade.

"The UN meeting to agree an Arms Trade Treaty in July will be an acid test for politicians to place rights over self-interest and profit," the Amnesty report said.

"Without a strong treaty, the UN Security Council's guardianship of global peace and security seems doomed tofailure; its permanent members wielding an absolute veto on any resolution despite being the world's largest armssuppliers."

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution in 2006 calling for such a treaty, but the United States, the world'sbiggest exporter of weaponry, voted against it, the only country to do so.

The report also focused on other areas, including:

China, which Amnesty said had thrown the "full weight" of its security apparatus into suffocating protests.

Russia, where civic activism grew amid the biggest protests since the Soviet Union, but opposition voices were"abused and systematically undermined."

Myanmar, where the government allowed Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi to stand in elections andfreed hundreds of political prisoners, although fighting with ethnic groups and fresh detentions showed "limits to thereform".


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Burhan Ghalioun, a secular sociologist, announced his resignation on May 17 to avert divisions within theopposition bloc. (Reuters)

24 May 2012Al JazeeraSyria's New Parliament Opens amid UnrestThe newly elected Syrian parliament is set to gather for the first time in Damascus.

Elections were held earlier this month as part of President al-Assad's response to more than a year of violence andcalls for political reform.

The new 250-member body, including 30 women, is the first in which candidates not linked to Assad's Baath Partywere allowed to run for office.

24 May 2012The Daily StarAssads Forces Push to Capture Rebel HotbedRegime forces launched a fierce assault on the rebel bastion of Rastan in central Syria Wednesday, raining shellson the town before launching a ground attack, monitors and activists said.

There was no immediate word on casualties at Rastan but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said sevenpeople were killed elsewhere in the country.

Soldiers were trying to storm Rastan under the cover of heavy gunfire, shelling and rocket bombardment, theBritain-based watchdog said, adding that at one stage shells smashed into the town at a rate of one a minute.

An activist reached by Skype told AFP that Free Syrian Army fighters were defending Rastans entrances but thatregime forces are being strengthened with new deployments, including from the elite Republican Guard.

Electricity has been cut off in Rastan, and water tanks have been shelled, said activist Abu Rawan.

There is also a severe lack of food because the market is closed and we cant bring food in from nearby villages.

Besieged by regime forces for several months, Rastan is home to a large number of rebel fighters, according toopposition sources. Most residents have fled after months of fighting.

On May 14, 23 regular troops were killed in a failed assault.

Elsewhere, troops fired on protesters in Aleppo as about 1,500 people rallied against the regime, triggering armedclashes, said the Observatory, without providing any details on casualties.

Activists said lawyers and sympathizers with the revolt staged a sit-in at Aleppos judicial complex to demand therelease of political prisoners, as well as pay tribute to four students killed at a May 3 rally in the northern city.

The uprising against President Bashar Assad broke out with peaceful democracy protests in March 2011,prompting a fierce crackdown.


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More than 12,600 people have been killed in the bloodshed, nearly 1,500 of them since a United Nations-backedtruce took effect April 12, said the Observatory.

Speculation was rife Wednesday among Syrian anti-regime activists over the alleged killing of Assads brother-in-law, who is also Syrias deputy defense minister.

Assef Shawkat, former head of military intelligence, was poisoned, according to anti-regime activists. Theauthorities in Damascus could not be reached for comment and have not responded publicly to the claim.

According to anti-regime activists, Shawkat was being buried Wednesday in his hometown, which they identified asMadhale.

Several activists quoted by Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television said black flags were flying there in mourning.

On their Syrian Revolution Facebook page, anti-regime activists wrote that: Assef Shawkat is being buried rightnow in his home town Madhale ... God curse him. He was poisoned.

They said Shawkats body was transported to a hospital near his hometown that was emptied of patients Tuesday.

Speculation over Shawkats fate first emerged on May 20 when Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya television broadcast anamateur video showing a man claiming responsibility on behalf of a rebel group for killing six regime stalwarts.

They included Shawkat, Interior Minister Mohammad al-Shaar, Defense Minister Daoud Rajha, national securitychief Hisham Bakhtiar and Hasan Turkmani, vice presidential assistant.

Turkmani appeared on state television this week to dismiss the reports, while Shaar denied them in a telephoneinterview, accusing Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya of lies and slander.

However, Shawkat has not made any public appearance or personally denied the reports.

According to Peter Harling, an expert on Syria with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, the reports areessentially unconfirmed for now.

What is interesting is this storys success, regardless of its factual grounding, Harling told AFP. A month ago,Syrians would not have believed, conveyed, invested in such news and it would not have spread.

The regime then appeared particularly strong. Now there is a sense the armed opposition is on the offensive.

A member of the inner circle of former Syrian President Hafez Assad and his son Bashar, Shawkat rose quicklythrough the ranks of power after he married the late leaders only daughter, Bushra, in the 1990s.

Separately, a Turkish minister said Wednesday Syria was allowing Kurdish rebels who are fighting Turkish forces toestablish bases in Syrian territory.

Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin said Turkish intelligence indicates that Syria is allowing rebels to establishthemselves in areas close to the Turkish border. Some Kurdistan Workers Party rebels have even taken charge ofrunning small Syrian towns, Sahin claimed, describing the development as an apparent act of revenge againstTurkey.


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Turkey has reacted to the popular uprising in Syria by urging Assad to step down, accepting some 23,000 Syrianrefugees in Turkey, and playing host to civilian and military members of the Syrian opposition.

Kurdish rebels have long used bases in northern Iraq in order to launch attacks in Turkey, but Syria had stoppedallowing that.

Terrorist groupings that were not there a year ago have been spotted, Sahin told private NTV television.

Syria is turning a blind eye to terrorist groupings in areas close to the border to put Turkey in difficulty and perhapsas a way to take revenge on Turkey.

24 May 2012Al ArabiyaSyrian National Council Accepts Ghaliouns Resignation; New Chief Expected by JuneThe head of Syrias main opposition bloc, Burhan Ghalioun, formally resigned from his post, a statement issued bythe Syrian National Council said Thursday after a two-day meeting in Istanbul, setting the stage for a showdownbetween the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and its political rivals over who will be the new leader.

The SNC office decided to accept the resignation and to ask the council president to pursue his work until theelection of a new president at a meeting on June 9-10, it said, according to AFP. Ghalioun, a secular sociologistbacked by the Brotherhood, announced his resignation on May 17 to avert divisions within the opposition bloc, afteractivists on the ground accused him of monopolizing power.

The statement also said Syrias unwillingness to stick to a peace deal brokered by U.N.-Arab League envoy KofiAnnan and the continuing shelling and killing in the country were a deliberate attempt to scupper the plan.

It called on the international community to immediately act to adopt a new mechanism, through the (U.N.) SecurityCouncil, to force the Syrian regime to put an end to its crimes because as it is this regime only reacts to force.

Squabbling in the council has undermined international support for the opposition, as a military crackdown againstthe 14-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, now coupled with an armed insurgency against his rule,shows no signs of relenting.

A new leader could be key to winning international recognition for the council and allaying Western concerns aboutthe rise of Islamists as the main force in the 14-month popular uprising. The Islamists already dominate the councilbut are divided between the Muslim Brotherhood and other factions.

The councils executive bureau decided at a meeting in Istanbul to convene the 50-member general secretariat inthe Turkish capital on June 11 and 12 to elect a replacement for Ghalioun, the statement added, according to

Reuters.

The 12-member bureau, the top decision-making body of the council, rejected Ghaliouns proposal that the wholecouncil should meet to agree on an alternative, members of the council, who spoke on condition of anonymity, saidon Thursday.

Ghaliouns chances of remaining president after June 12 have now diminished. It would have been almostimpossible to find a consensus candidate other than him if the whole council convened, a Ghalioun supporter onthe general secretariat said.


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The Brotherhood pushed so the whole council meets, but did not get its way, another council source said.

The 67-year-old Ghalioun has been attracting growing criticism among opposition ranks inside Syria forcontinuously seeking to renew his three-month term and for his skepticism over armed resistance by majority SunniMuslims to the rule of Assad, who is from the minority Alawite sect

Ghalioun, who has been living in France for decades, has been head of the opposition since the council wasformed in Istanbul in August as an umbrella organization to lead a democratic transition if Assad were toppled.

Paradoxically, his position became precarious when the general secretariat re-elected him for a third three-monthterm at a meeting in Rome on May 15, sparking discontent and a threat of resignation by Adib Shishakly, one of thecouncils founders and the grandson of a former president of Syria.

The Local Coordination Committee, a grass-roots activists organization, also threatened to leave the council.

Two days later, Ghalioun offered to step down. The Muslim Brotherhood said he remained the only candidate whocould attract broad support.

But George Sabra, a veteran liberal who came second in last weeks ballot with 33 percent of the votes comparedwith Ghaliouns 66 percent, is seen as a strong candidate.

Sabra, a Christian who fled Syria last year after leading street protests in the Damascus suburb of Qatana, is anally of Syria's top dissident, Riad al-Turk,

Turk, an 81-year-old former leftist who spent 25 years as a political prisoner, operates underground inside Syria.The opposition looks to him for moral guidance.

A Muslim Brotherhood official hinted that Sabra may be unacceptable to the group, whose support has been crucialfor Ghalioun remaining president since August.

We need a president who is acceptable to the West and someone like Sabra would fit the criteria, the official said.But we have to take into consideration the sentiment of the street. He is too far to the left.

Hours earlier, the Local Coordination Committees (LCC), a network of activists on the ground, threatened to pull outof the SNC over its lack of collaboration with activists in Syria and monopolization of power, AFP reported.

The LCC also criticized the SNC over the strong influence that Syrias Muslim Brotherhood wields over thecoalition.

More than 12,600 people, the majority of them civilians, have died since the Syrian uprising began, according to the

London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, including nearly 1,500 since the putative U.N.-backed trucetook effect April 12.

REGIONAL EDITORIALS (Top)

24 May 2012Egypt IndependentEgypt Elects its President while in Crisis (Part 1)By Sherif Younis


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One cannot say that most Egyptians sense a political crisis. However, large sectors of activists from across thepolitical spectrum feel the existence of a crisis in Egypts political scene. That is why the presidential race isintensely competitive in a manner perhaps incommensurate with the importance of the election itself.

This article is an attempt to answer the following questions: What caused the crisis? How has the crisis developedin the past months? How has it been reflected in a general state of intense frustration?

The legitimacy crisis

It was not only the issue of hereditary transfer of power that caused Mubaraks fall. In fact, the transfer of powerwas only a symptom of the deep rifts within the regime and its inability to rule, even within the framework of itsinstitutions. The structure of power was no longer based on the existence of an oppressive center, but ratherinternal interactions determined by resources and influence under the umbrella of a police state that masks thestruggle of interests of members of the former regime.

The opposition was not strong, but the regime was still unable to adopt a unified stance toward it as it was clearduring the revolution by either responding to its demands or suppressing it to the end. Against this confusedbackdrop, the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces was delegated presidential powers in anunconstitutional manner by the standards of the regime. The protesters of Tahrir elusively accepted this delegation.

This situation on its own revealed how much the legacy of Mubaraks state was dwindling politically. Here was arevolution with no leadership, while the regime itself lacked any vision. At the same time, the biggest politicalorganization, the Muslim Brotherhood, was trying to grasp all the political strings without a clear understanding ofthe dynamics of the revolution.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces

The SCAF has chosen to consider the uprising a youth revolution with certain demands but no desire to seizepower and no ability beyond protesting. Hence, it was enough to partially satisfy those youth and keep the regimesinfrastructure intact as much as possible. It was therefore required to rebuild the old regime on the condition thatthe new president would not dominate or stay in power indefinitely. Having decided on this vision, the SCAF setitself against the revolutionaries.

But the problem is much deeper for the SCAF since the regime is, in fact, disintegrated. The dissolved NationalDemocratic Party decayed completely, that being evident in the fact that its members were unable to pullthemselves together and form one or two new parties.

The NDP split into seven or eight parties, and several of its members joined other political groupings. The results ofthe parliamentary elections proved beyond doubt that there was no hope for the old regime to build a new popularfacade.

With the continuing conflicts and political crises, the regime lost its ability to act as one homogenous bloc. On onehand, cases of mutiny were reported among Central Security Forces conscripts and even policemen. And on theother, the Interior Ministry decided to stop acting as the regimes sharp claws in political battles. After the clashes inMohamed Mahmoud Street last November, the army had to advance to the forefront of the clashes and reveal itsugly face. In other words, the states security institutions were inclined to work professionally rather than listen toillegal orders to protect a certain party, because they were no longer guaranteed protection.


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Attempts to revive the regime by issuing warnings of external foreign threats have also failed, as with the cases offoreign-funded NGOs and the attacks on the Israeli Embassy. They failed to create the necessary state of fearrequired to rebuild the police state.

As hatred for the ruling SCAF intensified, reaching its zenith on the first anniversary of the revolution, the juntabecame aware that it needed a settlement, and its ambitions shrunk to a desire to legitimize its control over thebroader foreign policy and to retain military privileges in the civilian realm for the longest time possible.

But this plan would stir trouble, for the demarcations between internal and foreign policy and between civilian andmilitary affairs are extremely hazy.

In short, the SCAF, whoever its members are, will continue to be a factor that causes unrest in the future,particularly since any negotiations with civilian parties will often lead to confrontation.

The first such encounter was with the Muslim Brotherhood, because it is a conservative group with littlerevolutionary ambition.

The Muslim Brotherhood

The Brotherhood constituted the largest organized power that operated outside the framework of the regime ofMubarak. Over the past 35 years, the Brotherhood has stepped up its game, using its organizational skills,preaching function and ability to bend with the wind and reach understandings with the security apparatus.

The Brotherhood's power can also be attributed to the fact that it used the same modus operandi of the old regime.Through clientelism, the Brotherhood, like the NDP, provided goods and services in exchange for political support.The Brotherhoods social conservatism, of course, facilitated this political support. The Brotherhood thus succeededin setting up networks that were able to compete with those of the old regime, which also had its web of services

that replaced its appropriate political functions.

That ability to adapt its ways to match that of the regime has allowed it to grow in size, but has also led to thegroups clampdown at the hands of the regime for being its fierce competitor.

As a result of this synchronicity in the techniques between the Brotherhood and the regime, the latter adopted theregimes dictatorial methods in the posts that its members held following the revolution. The Brotherhood,accordingly, had one foot in the revolution and the other in the counter-revolution camp. This split behavior beganin the first 18 days of the revolution, when the Brotherhood embarked on negotiations with former intelligence chiefOmar Suleiman and protested with the revolutionaries in the Battle of the Camel, for example.

These tactics, as contradictory as they are, seemed balanced to the Brotherhood. Its leaders were quick to acceptsharing power with the regime through an understanding with the SCAF. The Brotherhood proceeded with its plan,

reaping the gains. It abandoned the revolutionary camp and secured a majority in Parliament. The group also cameclose to controlling the process of constitution writing.

Eventually, the contradictions started to play out, and the Brotherhood clashed with the SCAF.

The problem lies in the fact that the Brotherhood ignored that its tactical gains were contingent on the revolution.Rather than being the result of its strength alone, its gains depended on its ability to represent the revolution, whichempowered the group.


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When the Brotherhood woke up to this conclusion and issued calls for unity, it had already lost credibility. Like theSCAF, the Brotherhood has paid for its organizational naivety and intellectual degeneration, which viewed therevolution as one that was carried out by a group of youth.

The Brotherhood was forced onto this path by a misreading of the lesson it had in 1954. More importantly, theBrotherhood imagined it could negotiate power sharing in the same way it negotiated its share of power inprofessional syndicates with State Security. Power sharing is a process that involves pressure and continuousconfrontation. The more critical the institution is, the more difficult the negotiations become and the greater theneed for political pressure.

Revolutionary political will was the factor the Brotherhood overlooked due to the conservative nature of itsorganization. The Brotherhoods strategy to use the revolution which the group abandoned quicker than when it

joined it to score points was an inappropriate strategy.

The years of fight and flight with Mubaraks police regime following a honeymoon that extended into the mid-1990scaused the Brotherhood to be controlled by the more conservative and less politically mobile elements. The centralidea was to preserve the integrity of the organization, and to make the system of obedience the most sacrosanct,excluding any reasoning that is not passed on or endorsed by the top leaders. This reasoning was paralleled by anunderstanding reached with sectors of the regime that would allow the Brotherhood partial integration in the politicalsystem without granting the group any real power.

After the breakout of the revolution, the problems facing this current within the Brotherhood exacerbated, puttingthe entire group in trouble. The emergence of several Islamist groups on the political scene and internaldisagreements at the heart of the group which became more salient because of the greater number of politicaloptions and the futility of the argument for unity in the face of suppression fueled a crisis.

The more narrow-minded group kept the organization together by getting rid of all minds that were more open and

ready to engage in dialogue about the future of the Brotherhood and its approach to politics.

The Brotherhoods leadership has been keen to keep its Freedom and Justice Party merely as a political arm forthe organization. In other words, the Brotherhood has insisted on maintaining the group as it was under the formerregime an entity that nurtures its members in a stereotypical fashion, which forms the basis of loyalty to the group.

With this fixation on loyalty, the Brotherhood became more like a sect that narrows down its circle of trust topreserve its internal coherence and expands its influence through the provision of services, like it did under theformer regime. This sectarian organizational mindset retains the sectarian nature of everything connected to it,including its political arm, which is only an offshoot of the organization, much like a charity organization.

The Brotherhood has kept the same logic of operation adopted under the former regime and was able to pull thecarpet from under revolutionary powers.

Revolutionary powers

The creativity and limitedness of these powers lies in the fact that they are a loose group of interconnectednetworks. As such, they lost power like a nation whose people have come from several places without anyleadership, and thus it is difficult to siege or attack them. Still, those networks were dealt blows, and smearcampaigns were launched against them to expand the scope of the so-called anti-revolution couch party thereservoir of the regime.


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Most of the participants in the revolution have convictions opposed to authoritarianism, and therefore theirmovement was free from ideological conflicts. They had primarily economic and social demands, in the face ofsocioeconomic discrepancies and increasing unemployment as well as demands for freedom in the face of anauthoritative police state. This revolutionary bloc gradually acquired a civilian inclination emanating from a rejectionof the confines of the authoritative Islamist current, and sometimes from a refusal of any organizational orideological commitment.

It was members of these networks of revolutionaries who entered into bloody confrontations to isolate the Mubarakregime. Their frustration was not the result of these confrontations, which actually worked to ignite their enthusiasm,but rather from the steps taken by the SCAF and the Brotherhood to establish a political regime that mobilizedapolitical sectors of the populace the couch party or the Islamist wave through public polls. The results of theparliamentary elections and the referendum on constitutional amendments were frustrating and bred varying levelsof antagonism on the part of revolutionaries to poll-based politics.

At the heart of this bloc, frustration was at its highest among the well-to-do middle class, which has liberalinclinations centering on upholding human rights and personal freedoms, with varied leftist and radical hues. Thisbloc includes artists, intellectuals and well-educated citizens who work at modern international companies andactivists at civilian organizations. It also includes groups of Copts whose primary drive to participate in therevolution was their preoccupation with the status of their community.

In the parliamentary elections, the rural countryside has taken revenge on the urban city, particularly greater Cairoand Giza. The success of their revenge revealed a structural defect in the avant-garde urban revolutionaryleadership, which was unable to spread its influence in the peripheries or at least develop a discourse critical of themarginalization of the poorer classes.

Even parties that presented social programs were unable to implement their ideas. This bankruptcy led a largesector of the revolutionaries who subscribe to the idea of a civilian state to deepen the Islamist-liberal rift, which fed

the impression that they were a minority seeking to defend their direct interests under the banner of the civil state.

Revolutionary powers, with all their problems, constitute the revolutions spirit. In fact, their fragmentation andopenness enables them to appear as representative of the entire nation, a feature, which other large protestsstaged by Islamists failed to demonstrate.

This bloc has oscillated between

24 may 2012 osint levant tracker

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