Excerpts: Saudi: Military option still viable. Russia vows cooperation
against terrorism. Israel's youngest Jordanian prisoner November 27, 2015

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 27 Nov.’15:”Military option in Syria remains
viable –Riyadh”,,by Agencies

SUBJECT:Saudi Arabia:Military option still viable

FULL TEXT:A MILITARY option in Syria was still viable and support for the
opposition fighting to oust President Bashar Al-Assad would continue, the
Kingdom said on Thursday[26 Nov]

Speaking at a news conference with visiting Austrian Foreign Minister
Sebastian Kurz, Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir also said Riyadh was in
contact with various Syrian opposition groups about a potential meeting in
the Kingdom to unify their position ahead of upcoming peace talks in Vienna.
Al-Jubeir did not give a date for any meeting.

“The military option is still viable and the support to the Syrian
opposition is still continuing,” Al-Jubeir told the news conference.

“If it (the conference) happens, its aim will be to unify the Syrian
opposition and help them to come out with one vision so that it can play an
active role in the talks to reach a peaceful solution that leads to the
removal of Bashar Al-Assad,” he added.

International talks were held in Vienna earlier this month in which Saudi
Arabia, Iran, Turkey and the five permanent members of the UN Security
Council — the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China — laid out a
plan including formal talks between the government and opposition by Jan. 1.

Division in Syrian opposition ranks is often cited as one of many obstacles
facing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

The opposition includes the Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition, a
political body, and a wide array of rebel groups that are not united in a
single military structure and do not answer to any of the political
factions.

Al-Jubeir said it would not deal with any groups designated on any terrorism
lists.

During the press conference, Al-Jubeir and his Austrian counterpart also
talked about the situation in Yemen.

Meanwhile, a Hezbollah TV station said a joint operation by the Lebanese
militant group and Syrian security agents killed a Daesh (the so-called IS)
figure suspected of involvement in Beirut’s deadly bombing earlier this
month.

AL-Manar TV says Abdul-Salam Hendawi, also known as Abu Abdo, died in an
ambush in a Daesh-held area in Syria’s central province of Homs.

It says Hendawi was responsible for bringing into Lebanon two suicide
bombers who carried out the Nov. 12 attack in southern Beirut. The attack
killed 43 people and wounded more than 200.

Thursday’s[26 Nov] report did not say when the ambush on Hendawi took place.
It added that his main job was to transport suicide attackers from the
northern Syrian city of Raqqa into Lebanon. Daesh did not immediately
confirm Hendawi’s death.


+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 2 7 Nov.’15:”Putin tells Hollande he is ready for
cooperation’ in terrorism fight”, by Agence France Presse

SUBJECT Russia vows cooperation against terrorism

QUOTE:”Hollande also received what is percieved to be a cool response from
President Obama”

FULL TEXT:MOSCOW — Russia vowed Thursday[26 Nov] to cooperate in the fight
against terrorism as French President Francois Hollande began the last leg
of a diplomatic bid to step up efforts to crush the Daesh terror group.

Sitting down to talks with Hollande at the Kremlin, Russian President
Vladimir Putin pointed to the November 13 assaults in Paris which 130 people
were killed, and the Daesh-claimed bombing of a Russian jetliner over Egypt
on October 31, with the loss of all 224 people onboard.

These “make us unite our efforts against the common evil”, Putin said. “We
are ready for this cooperation.”

Hollande, pitching a message he had taken to other major capitals with
varying degrees of success, said, “We have to form this large coalition
together to strike against terrorism.”

Moscow was the last stage of a whirlwind campaign by Hollande to intensify
efforts to crush Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

He notably gained the support of Britain, whose prime minister, David
Cameron, set out his case on Thursday[26 Nov] for air strikes against Daesh
in Syria, telling lawmakers that his country could not “sub-contract” its
security to allies.

A vote is expected to be held early next week and MPs look set to approve
the move, meaning the first British air strikes on Syria could come within
days.

Cameron has also offered France the use of a British air base in Cyprus for
flying missions against the militants.

In Berlin, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday[26 Nov] said
Germany could offer France Tornado reconnaissance jets, a naval frigate,
satellite images and aerial refuelling to back the fight against Daesh.

“France was struck to the bone by the horrific attacks by … [Daesh] but we
know that this inhumane rage can hit us or other societies at any time too,”
Von der Leyen said.

She announced on Wednesday[25 Nov] that Germany would send 650 soldiers to
Mali to provide some relief to French forces fighting militants there.

In contrast, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, in talks with Hollande in
Paris, offered only vague support for “a coalition of greater and greater
strength” able to destroy Daesh.

France last week invoked a clause requiring EU member states to provide
military assistance after the Paris attacks.

Hollande also received what is perceived to be a cool response from US
President Barack Obama when he flew to Washington on Tuesday[24 Nov], with
the US reluctant to intensify military action in Syria without a clear
strategy or political track in place.

In Moscow, the French leader faces huge obstacles in bridging deep
differences between Russia — which is bombing targets in Syria at the
request of President Bashar Assad — and a US-led coalition that is already
targeting the Daesh militants.

Turkey-Russia tension

Hollande’s diplomatic foray suffered a heavy blow after Turkey shot down a
Russian jet on Tuesday[24 Nov].

Turkey’s military said the following day it did not know the jet was Russian
but Moscow called the incident a “planned provocation”.

The sole surviving pilot said he received no warning and the aircraft did
not violate Turkish air space, but the Turkish military released audio
recordings claiming to show the Russian jet was repeatedly warned to change
course.

“We still have not heard any articulate apologies from Turkey’s highest
political level, nor any proposals to compensate for the harm and damage,”
Putin told Russian TV on Thursday.

The Turkish foreign minister vowed that Ankara would not apologise for
downing the plane, while Moscow said it was preparing a raft of retaliatory
economic measures.

Moscow has intensified its strikes in Syria after Daesh claimed it brought
down a Russian passenger plane over the Sinai.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed a proposal by Hollande to
close off the Syria-Turkey border, considered the main crossing point for
foreign fighters seeking to join Daesh.

“I think this is a good proposal and President Hollande will talk to us in
greater detail about it. We would be ready to seriously consider the
necessary measures for this,” Lavrov said.


+++SOURCE:Jordan Times 27 Nov.’15:”Israel sentences youngest Jordanian
prisoner to 15 years in jail”,by Merza Noghai

SUBJECT: Youngest Jordanian prisoner

QUOTE:The teenager… faced charges.including attempted murder and injuring 18
Israeli soldiers

FULL TEXT:AMMAN — Israeli authorities on Thursday[26 Nov] sentenced Mohammad
Suleiman to 15 years in prison and a fine of 30,000 Israeli shekels (about
JD5,480), according to his father.

The teenager, who was 16 years old when he was arrested in March 2013 while
visiting his relatives in the West Bank, faced 27 charges, including
attempted murder and injuring 18 Israeli soldiers.

"The fine represents compensation to those who were allegedly injured and
has to be paid within two months of the sentence," Mahdi Suleiman,
Mohammad's father, told The Jordan Times.

The prisoner's father said he met with the secretary general of the Prime
Ministry on Thursday and complained about some Foreign Ministry employees
who recently mistreated him when he asked them to follow up on Mohammad's
case.

According to a statement from the media team supporting Jordanian prisoners
in Israel, Fedaa, the 58-year-old father said the secretary general received
him well and assured him that the government would follow up on Mohammad’s
case.

Between March 2013 and Thursday[26 Nov], Mohammad, the youngest Jordanian
prisoner in Israel’s jails, attended more than 60 hearing sessions, with
Israeli authorities repeatedly adjourning his trial for no apparent reason.

On June 14, Mahdi started a hunger strike near the Foreign Ministry to push
for help in arranging a visit to his son, and ended it five days later after
the ministry succeeded in securing him a visa.

The father visited his son in Megiddo Prison in Haifa, where he spent around
45 minutes with him while separated by a glass barrier, although he was
expecting a two-hour visit with direct contact, Mahdi said previously.

There are now 24 Jordanian prisoners in Israel, Fedaa member Shireen Nafe
told The Jordan Times earlier in November.
===============
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA