BALLOTING ABORTED IN IRAQI PROVINCE
Iraq’s electoral commission said this week that there will be no balloting in parts of the Sunni-dominated Anbar province engulfed in clashes between security forces and al-Qaida-linked militants. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant currently holds the provincial capital, Ramadi, and nearby Fallujah. On the day the announcement was made, in Anbar province a drive-by shooting killed six Iraqis and two suicide bombers killed 8 policemen and wounded 20 more. Sunni voters from the area risk being under-represented in the election, but the High Electoral Commission said families displaced by the fighting will be allowed to vote in safe areas or in the provinces to which they’ve fled. (Washington Post April, 8 2014)
ISRAEL BLAMES PALESTINIANS FOR FAILED PEACE TALKS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu blamed the Palestinian Authority (PA) for collapsing peace talks in his most recent weekly cabinet meeting. When the two sides decided to restart stalled peace talks last July, the PA agreed not to seek greater recognition as a state from the United Nations and Israel agreed to free 104 long-held Palestinian prisoners. However, last week the PA signed on to 15 UN treaties and conventions, while Israel has released most – but not all – of the 104 prisoners. U.S. diplomats called both moves “unhelpful.” Israel is considering withholding transfers of millions of dollars in tax collections if the PA continues pursuing unilateral moves toward statehood at the UN while the PA has threatened to take its case to the International Criminal Court with its case. (Washington Post April 6, 2014.)
FRANCE WANTS TO HAUL SYRIA BEFORE THE ICC
France has taken the first steps toward proposing a Security Council resolution that would refer Syria to the International Criminal Court for the prosecution of war crimes. French diplomats signaled their intent at a new resolution last week, circulating a report to UN members containing 55,000 photographs of Bashar al-Assad’s secret torture jails. The report, yet to be verified by the United Nations Human Rights Council, was financed by Qatar and also contains a confidential list of suspected war criminals. The United Nations is worried Russia may veto the resolution, like it has the past three resolutions seeking to impose sanctions on Syria. To further its diplomatic offensive on Syria, French diplomats also cite Syria’s decision not to allow UN agencies to deliver food and medicine to people trapped by the fighting, as a violation of international humanitarian law. (The New York Times April 4, 2014)
HEZBOLLAH: ASSAD GOVERNMENT IS SAFE
According to the Lebanese-based Shi’ite militant group Hezbollah, the government of Syrian President Bashar al- Assad is no longer in danger of falling. The Iranian-backed militia said in an interview for the daily newspaper, As-Safir, that, “measures adopted along the Lebanese border” also lessen the likelihood of bombings in Lebanon. For three years, Hezbollah has fought with Syrian government troops on the side of President Bashar Assad. Hezbollah has faced repercussions back home from Sunni militants that have carried out several deadly attacks on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon. (ABC News April 7, 2014)