Hamas Says Ready For Palestinian Elections, by Faris K. Barhoum

From Left to Right: Yahya Sinwar the Head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the former Head of Hamas in Gaza, Ismail Haniyah.

                                         




October 29, 2019



By Faris K. Barhoum



    Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Head of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar have announced that they are ready and prepared for Palestinian elections. The Palestinian people last held a national election in the spring of 2006. Hamas won that election in a landslide which resulted in Europe, America, and Israel boycotting and refusing to deal with the Palestinian faction because the Hamas movement is labeled and considered a terrorist organization by those in the West and by Israel. It would be a positive step for a national election to be held, especially since the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have had a bitter rivalry as a result of the first election in 2006.
   The announcement was made by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyah on Monday [October 28], after a meeting with Palestinian Central Election Commissioner Hanna Nasser. Yet, as stated by Ynet.com, "There was no indication whether the meeting overcame the obstacles that have scuttled similar pledges in the past" (Ynet, 1). The Palestinian Authority and Hamas have made several pledges in the past and those pledges have broken down. The reason for this is because both Palestinian factions fought one another in 2007 when Hamas forceable kicked out the Palestinian Authority and the PA permanently resettled in the West Bank. Mahmoud Abbas the leader of the Sultah or the Palestinian Authority announced the intention to hold Palestinian elections, while he spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York last month.
   It remains to be seen what will come about with the whole discussion surrounding a Palestinian election. It is my hope that a Palestinian national election will be held and that the results will be respected by Israel, the West, and the international community.

Article,

Ynet.com and the Associated Press. "Hamas Says Ready For Palestinian Elections,"
    https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5615027,00.html 10/29/19. 

'Change The System:' Lebanese Protesters Tell The Government, by Faris K. Barhoum

Lebanese demonstrating and calling on the government to hold an election.

  October 23, 2019
 



  By Faris K. Barhoum




        For the last six days there have been widespread protests throughout Lebanon. The Lebanese people have been calling for elections and for the current government of Saad Hariri to step down. The regime of Saad Hariri implemented renewed reforms, in particular economic reforms to the already cash strapped nation of 6 million. Thousands of Lebanese have taken to the streets to voice their frustrations. As of Monday [October 21], Prime Minister Hariri addressed the nation and announced sweeping reforms, which was welcomed by many, although some do not think it is enough. Many in Lebanon would prefer that Prime Minister Hariri step aside and call for an election.
   The reforms that were announced by Prime Minister Hariri included "a package of reforms that included a 50-percent reduction in salary for politicians and the establishment of an anti-corruption panel" (Gadzo, 20). The Lebanese people want to see the Lebanese hand over power to a transnational council that is made up of judges who do not have a political affiliation until and when a election is held and a new government is formed. The new reforms Lebanon announced came after economic measures were taken to improve the economy. In July Lebanon passed an austerity plan in the hopes of reviving the economy because many were upset with the rise in taxes. As stated by Mersiha Gadzo of Al-Jazeera.com: "Government plans to impose new taxes on tobacco, petrol and WhatsApp calls sparked the Mediterranean country's biggest protests in years, spread from Beirut to the southern cities of Tripoli and Tyre," and as a result Lebanese of all backgrounds have united and have gone into the streets to protest. The protests have been peaceful for the most part, but tense at times (Ibid, 3).
    Many in Lebanon feel that the new reforms announced by Prime Minister Hariri on Monday are devoid of true change. The Lebanese government is not adequately addressing the concerns of the people in the opinion of many Lebanese, & the Lebanese people want the current government to step down in order to hold new elections. Many want to see a change in the system in Lebanon as it comes to sectarian politics. The Lebanese people believe that the sectarian political system only "creates patronage and clientelism" and many believe there must be an overhaul to the current system (Ibid, 5). Time will tell if the current reforms will lead to positive change, but the Lebanese people's wishes should be respected as it pertains to new elections and a transfer of power on the part of Prime Minister Hariri.

Article,

Gadzo, Mersiha. "'Change The System:' Lebanese Protesters Tell The Government,"
   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/system-lebanese-protesters-government-
  191022171257906.html 10/22/19.



                                                   

Israel To Increase Cuts To Electricity Provided To Palestinians, by Faris K. Barhoum

An Israeli engineer at an electrical substation near the occupied
West Bank city of Jenin.

                                                   


October 16, 2019



By Faris K. Barhoum




    Israel is going to step up and increase cuts to electricity in the West Bank due to unpaid debts and theft. Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JDECO) chairman of the board and CEO Hisham Omari announced the move to cut electricity back in September. The cuts to power were announced in September and the first stage of power cuts occurred last month. As stated by Tzvi Joffre of The Jerusalem Post.com: "The Israeli Electric Corporation [IEC] may cut off electricity for as long as two hours a day. The Palestinian Authority owes about NIS 300 billion and about an additional NIS 150 million due to occurrences of electricity theft" (Joffre, 1). 300 billion shekels is $85 billion dollars and 150 million shekels is $42 million dollars.
      Chairman and CEO of JDECO "warned that the cuts could adversely affect institutions, hospital, education, water, telecommunications, drug stores and other vital services and will further deteriorate the electrical situation in a manner similar to the situation in the Gaza Strip" (Ibid, 1). The Israeli Electric Company communicated to JDECO, "that electricity would be cut off on the 22nd of September from 10 a.m. to 12 noon local time in the cities and districts of Ramallah and Bethlehem, and on the 23rd from 12 noon until 2:00 p.m. in parts of Ramallah and Jericho and their area villages" (Ibid, 1). Back in August the Palestinian Authority and Israel reached an agreement "in which the authority would pay 300 million shekels [$85 million] to Israel to cover the debt owed to the IEC" (Ibid, 1). This is an ongoing battle that we will see play out for the foreseeable future.

Article,

Joffre, Tzvi."Israel To Increase Cuts To Electricity Provided
        To Palestinians."
         https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Israel-to-increase-cuts-to-electricity-provided-to-
         Palestinians-604874. 10/16/19.

Palestinian-Saudi Soccer Match "Normalization" With Israel, by Faris K. Barhoum

Palestinian National Football Team, 2019 Roster.

                                       
 October 9, 2019


By Faris K. Barhoum




    The Palestinian National Football [Soccer] Team is slated to compete against the Saudi National Football team in Ramallah on October 15. Yet, many are voicing their displeasure and many in Palestine would prefer that the Palestinian Club not play Saudi Arabia. The match will qualify either club to play in the 2022 Asian World Cup. The match is supposed to take place at the Faisal Husseini Stadium in A-Ram, which is a town outside of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
 

The Palestinian National Association Emblem

     Several Palestinians, in particular Palestinian political activists believe the move allows for "normalization" between Israel and Saudi Arabia. As stated by Khaled Abu Toameh, "Palestinian activists on Wednesday [October, 9] launched a campaign to voice their opposition to a soccer game between the Palestinians and Saudi Arabia" (Abu Toameh, 1). Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Turki Al-Faisal, the chairman of the Saudi General Sport Authority claimed "the decision was in response to the request of the Palestinian Football Association." In general most Arab countries avoid playing in Palestine because most Arab countries do not have a formal peace accord with Israel, beside Jordan and Egypt who signed formal peace accords with the Jewish State. According to Abu Toameh of
The Jerusalem Post: "Some Arab clubs and national teams have traditionally refused to play in the West Bank because it required them to apply for entry permits from Israel" (Ibid, 1).
   Jibril Rajoub, who is the head of the Palestinian Football Association stressed the "historic importance," of the Saudi Club coming to Palestine to play for the qualifier. The campaign that some Palestinians launched in response to the slated qualifier was started online. The campaign was titled "Sports Normalization" and "Normalization is Treason" (Ibid, 1). There is quite a bit of anger and it remains to be seen if the match will be played as originally planned. This story is ongoing.

Article,

Abu Toameh, Khaled. The Jerusalem Post, "Palestinian-Saudi Soccer Match 'Normalization' With Israel - Activists."
    https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Palestinian-Saudi-soccer-match-normalization-with-Israel-
   activists-604085. 10/9/19.

Hassan Nasrallah: "We Are Threatening Them And We Will Enter Occupied Palestine," The Leader of Hezbollah Puts Israel On Notice

Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah.

October 2, 2019



By Faris K. Barhoum



   This past Saturday [September 28, 2019], Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, the Shiite Lebanese militia group came out and announced that Hezbollah would enter into Israel and into occupied Palestine, if and when both sides come to war. This is an especially bold statement considering Israel and Hezbollah fought a month long war in 2006, which brought the whole region to a standstill. Since then a lot has happened, the Arab Spring sprouted and faltered, the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011 as a direct result of the Arab Spring, and Saudi Arabia has been engaged in Yemen since 2015 fighting the Houthi rebels, which many believe have direct support from Iran. Similarly, Hezbollah's main allies in the region are Syria and Iran. Hezbollah has sent a couple thousand of its fighters to fight alongside the regime of Bashar Al-Assad in Syria and Iran has sent its elite Revolutionary Guard and military to aid and support the Syrian military against ISIS or Da'ish and various Islamist groups that have been fighting the Syrian regime. Russia too sent its military forces to help Assad regain much of Syria.
   In the thirteen-years since Hezbollah and Israel fought one another, a lot has changed and the geopolitical landscape in the Arab world has changed for better or for worse. To begin with the Arab Spring of 2011 saw much hope and enthusiasm turn to complete despair and heartbreak. Tunisia is the only success story thus far, yet Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen have been reduced to separate degrees of failure, social and political that is. Over the last year, many have been watching Israel and Hezbollah closely. In December of last year, Israel found dozens of underground tunnels leading out of Southern Lebanon into Israel. Since then, Israel has been on high alert and proceeded to blow up the tunnels that they could find, & just a few weeks ago Israel and Hezbollah exchanged missiles leading to fears that a war could break out. The situation is in a holding pattern as we speak and many believe anything could happen.
   Nasrallah was quoted this past Saturday by Lebanese newspaper El Akbar, in which he stated, "We are threatening them [Israel] and we will enter occupied Palestine." Nasrallah continued, "We have abundant information, unprecedented in fact, about all events and developments occurring on the enemy side, using both public and secretive measures. We [Hezbollah] have very good intelligence and very good oversight" (Online, 1). The reality on the ground is that Hezbollah and Israel are bound to fight another regional war at some point, the only question is when. In addition, Nasrallah was quoted early last month and stated, "There are no redlines left in regards to defending Lebanon from Israeli aggression," adding that "Lebanon has a right to defend itself from Israeli attack" (Ibid, 1).
   Nasrallah cautioned Israel to think twice before attacking Iran as well and asserted that Israel would be in for a rude awakening to think that "the resistance," as he put it would simply disintegrate. Nasrallah warned that any attack on Iran "would destroy the area," referring to the Arab world and Iran &, Israel could cease to exist if any attack was initiated by the Jewish State (Ibid, 1). It remains to be seen what will happen, but one thing is for certain: The fight between Hezbollah and Israel is far from over. Hezbollah is designated by Israel, the United States, and Europe as a "terrorist organization," yet for many in the Arab and Muslim world Hezbollah is a revolutionary group that has inherited a quote-on-quote false designation merely because the group is a viable threat to Israel and the group demonstrated this thirteen-years-ago, much to the chagrin and anger of Israel.


Article,

Online, Maariv. The Jerusalem Post.com. "Nasrallah: We Are Threatening Them And We Will Enter Occupied Palestine,"
   https://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Nasrallah-We-are-threatening-them-and-we-will-enter-
   occupied-Palestine-603193. 10/2/19.