Suspected Israeli attacks on Lebanese soil raise spectre of new war


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Israel's widening campaign against pro-Iran groups in recent weeks, with strikes from Iraq to Lebanon, risks igniting a regional war after Hezbollah vowed to retaliate, analysts said on Monday.

“There is clearly a stepped-up Israeli campaign targeting Iranian assets from the outskirts of Baghdad to the suburbs of Beirut. This is a dangerous escalation that, in Lebanon, seeks to alter the tacit rules of engagement set after the 2006 war,” said Firas Maksad, adjunct professor at George Washington University.

Israel fought its last all-out war with Iran-backed Hezbollah, a group that functions both as a Lebanese political party and as a regional paramilitary force, in the summer of 2006. Since then, Israel has not launched attacks on Lebanese soil unless they were retaliatory raids.

The explosion of a drone near Hezbollah’s media office on Sunday, which the Lebanese army said was of Israeli origin, is the first breach of this unwritten rule, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech in the evening.

From now on, Hezbollah would “face Israeli drones in the skies of Lebanon and bring them down”, Mr Nasrallah said.

Such threats were to be expected, Mr Maksad told The National. "It is well understood that the balance of power established [after 2006] is such that such attacks will result in a Hezbollah response. Hence, Israel has been targeting Hezbollah arms convoys in Syria, on the other side of the border."

Hezbollah, the only militia to keep it weapons after Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, in the name of fighting Israel, sent its forces into Syria in 2013 to help President Bashar Al Assad put down an uprising.

Less than 24 hours after the drone attack, an allied Palestinian group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), accused Israel of raiding one of its military compounds near the Syrian border. No casualties were reported.

President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally, described the two Israeli attacks on Lebanon as an “act of war” during a meeting with the UN representative Jan Kubis. He called for an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council of Defense on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the appropriate measures to be taken.

On Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Saad Hariri met the ambassadors of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – France, the UK, Russia, China, and the US – and told them Lebanon would lodge a formal complaint to the council.

"Israel clearly violates Lebanese sovereignty and resolution 1701 [adopted after the 2006 war to maintain the cessation of hostilities] and targeted a populated civilian area without regard to international or civilian lives,” Mr Hariri said.

Israel followed its usual policy of not commenting on the incidents.

The state-run National News Agency reported heavier than usual Israeli surveillance flights above the southern cities of Marjayoun and Nabatieh as well as over Baalbek in the Bekaa over the past two days. However, the UN-monitored border between Lebanon and Israel – or Blue Line – had returned to a “cautious calm” after intensified Israeli patrols on Sunday. “Today, the foot and car patrol movements of the enemy have disappeared from the border near Marjayoun, and the enemy’s soldiers are stationed inside their fortified positions along the Blue Line,” NNA reported. Lebanon and Israel are technically at war.

But Hezbollah remained silent on Monday, despite the Israeli attack on the PFLP-GC happening only a few hours after Mr Nasrallah’s angry promises of retaliation.

Members of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement carry the coffins of comrades who were killed in Israeli strikes in Syria, in southern Beirut on August 26, 2019. AFP
Members of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement carry the coffins of comrades who were killed in Israeli strikes in Syria, in southern Beirut on August 26, 2019. AFP

In addition to attacks on Lebanese soil, an Iran-backed paramilitary force operating on the Syria-Iraq border was also targeted in another alleged Israeli strike on Sunday, one day after Israel said it had struck an Iranian base near Damascus in a pre-emptive attack. Mr Nasrallah disputed this, saying that Israel had actually targeted his fighters. Two of them were killed.

Mr Nasrallah made similar threats of retaliation last month, saying that Hezbollah would strike at Israel should it assassinate any of his men in Syria. Mr Maksad said Hezbollah’s lack of reaction after recent air raids is proof that “Israel is calling his bluff and his credibility is on the line”.

Lebanese analyst Samir Hassan, who is close to Hezbollah, defended the group, saying it could strike back anytime but probably not immediately.

After the drone incident in Beirut on Sunday, Hezbollah officials were careful to say that the drones had “fallen”, and had not been “taken down”, in an effort to not be accused of inflaming regional tensions.

However, Israel’s change of tactic against Hezbollah is clear, signalling a “new stage” in the Hezbollah-Israel confrontation, said Mr Hassan. “It could take the form of an old-style confrontation, or of drones, or of rocket firing,” he said.

Echoing Mr Nasrallah’s speech, Mr Hassan said that Israel was stepping up pressure on Hezbollah because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges, wanted to win over voters for the September legislative elections.

Mr Maksad said that it was more a matter of Israel carrying out what it viewed as “a natural response to Iranian encroachment on Israel’s borders”.

Lebanese critics of Hezbollah blamed it for sparking the 2006 war, in which more than 1,000 Lebanese were killed, mostly civilians. Responding to Israel’s increased drone campaign in the region would most probably spark a regional war with devastating consequences for Lebanon, which is also struggling with an economic crisis. “It’s a high stakes game and we don’t know who will blink first,” said Mr Maksad.

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Players Selected for La Liga Trials

U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian

Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco

Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French

Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian

U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco

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UAE squad

Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.

AUSTRALIA SQUAD v SOUTH AFRICA

Aaron Finch (capt), Shaun Marsh, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Adam Zampa

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  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company name: Suraasa

Started: 2018

Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker

Based: India, UAE and the UK

Industry: EdTech

Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding

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Director: Jesse Armstrong

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Monster

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

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Jawbone Press

RESULTS

Manchester United 2

Anthony Martial 30'

Scott McTominay 90 6' 

Manchester City 0

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Hydrogen: Market potential

Hydrogen has an estimated $11 trillion market potential, according to Bank of America Securities and is expected to generate $2.5tn in direct revenues and $11tn of indirect infrastructure by 2050 as its production increases six-fold.

"We believe we are reaching the point of harnessing the element that comprises 90 per cent of the universe, effectively and economically,” the bank said in a recent report.

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The cost of electrolysers used in green hydrogen production has halved over the last five years and will fall to 60 to 90 per cent by the end of the decade, acceding to Haim Israel, equity strategist at Merrill Lynch. A global focus on decarbonisation and sustainability is also a big driver in its development.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)

Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
Alaves v Barcelona (8.15pm)
Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
Las Palmas v Atletico Madrid (12.15am)
Sunday
Espanyol v Leganes (8.15pm)
Eibar v Athletic Bilbao (8.15pm)
Getafe v Sevilla (10.15pm)
Real Madrid v Valencia (10.15pm)

MATCH INFO

Day 1 at Mount Maunganui

England 241-4

Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28

New Zealand 

Yet to bat

While you're here
Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world

New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.

The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.

Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.

“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.

"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."

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