LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
July 20/09
Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ
according to Saint Mark 6:30-34. The apostles gathered together with Jesus and
reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves
to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great
numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat
by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know
about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the
place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was
moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he
began to teach them many things.
Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special
Reports
Analysis: Shi'ite missiles, Zionist cows
and the Lebanese Army-Jerusalem Post20/07/09
Kill or Be Killed?Wall Street Journal
July
20/09
Inquiry on 1994 Blast at Argentina Jewish Center
Gets New Life-New
York Times July
20/09
Zvi Bar'el / Israel doesn't want to make peace
with Syria.Ha'aretz 20/07/09
Saturday’s scuffle highlights the need for a new approach to national defense-
The Daily Star 20/07/09
Latest
News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July
20/09
Nasrallah Honoring Yakan: We Will
Continue on the Same Path and Spread Culture of Resistance among Muslims-Naharnet
Allouch:
The minority’s preconditions obstruct cabinet formation. Future News
SSNP members threaten Amine Gemayel
and son.Future News
Phalange, SSNP at Loggerheads Over 'Strife' Allegations-Naharnet
Israel Trying to Exploit Khirbet
Selm Incident to Amend UNIFIL Powers-Naharnet
Lebanese Army Holds UNIFIL
Responsible-Naharnet
UN says south Lebanon weapons cache a violation-The
Associated Press
Israel Sees Evidence of Hezbollah's Rearming in
Explosion-New York Times
Syria softens stance on hosting Hariri-The
National
Talks on Cabinet Formation Yield No Changes As Syrian-Saudi Contacts Step Up-Naharnet
Meditation between Aoun and Jumblat Resumes, Phalange-Marada Reconciliation
Expands-Naharnet
Hariri Meets Suleiman: We Will Continue Consultations; Process Moving as It
Should Be-Naharnet
Sfeir Calls For Trust in
Nation Stresses Rebuilding-Naharnet
Qabbani: Remove Obstacles
Hampering Hariri's Mission-Naharnet
14 U.N. Peacekeepers
Injured in Lebanon Protest-Naharnet
Israel pushing to get UNIFIL more search powers
in S. Lebanon-Jerusalem Post
Hezbollah calls on int'l community to end
Israeli violations-Xinhua
Israel: UNIFIL ignored intelligence on weapons
cache that exploded-Ha'aretz
Hezbollah-Vatican
conspiracy story distributed to soldiers on IDF ...Ha'aretz
Hariri
striving for 'real partnership' in cabinet
-Daily Star
Malaysia
set to sell Beirut military gear
-Daily Star
Sfeir
urges Lebanese to trust one another
-Daily Star
Fadlallah fatwa allows Muslims with swine-flu fears to skip hajj
-Daily Star
14 UNIFIL troops injured in
protest-Daily Star
Lebanese appointed new president of Diageo-Daily
Star
Lebanon’s CFH to launch $100 million property firm-By
Regional Press Network (RPN)
Lebanon
fourth most desirable country in region for relocation-Daily
Star
Passengers of sunken tourist boat safe-Daily
Star
Ceremony
marks end of youth reconciliation program-Daily
Star
Bint
Jbeil expats give their town American treatment-Daily
Star
LAU
graduates 1,456 students during Beirut, Byblos campus ceremonies-Daily
Star
Hariri Meets Suleiman: We
Will Continue Consultations; Process Moving as It Should Be-Naharnet
Qabbani: Remove Obstacles
Hampering Hariri's Mission-Naharnet
Sfeir
Calls For Trust in Nation Stresses Rebuilding-Naharnet
Abdo:
For government formation before STL presumptive decision-Future
News
Sami
Gemayel: regional forces are intervening in cabinet formation-Future
News
March
8 “lost” in the formation atmosphere…to the South turn-Future
News
14 U.N. Peacekeepers Injured in
Lebanon Protest-Naharnet
Press
Leaks Speak of a Secret Hariri-Suleiman Meeting-Naharnet
Opposition's Insistence on Skaff Hinders Final Cabinet Agreement-Naharnet
Mashnouq: Civic peace protects
weapons.
Now Lebanon
Provocation in north: Lebanese cross border waving Hezbollah flags-Ynetnews
14 UN peacekeepers injured in Lebanon protest-AFP
Nasrallah's desperate moves-Ynetnews
Hezbollah chief says open for partnership in cabinet formation-Xinhua
Israel slams Lebanese occupation of army post-AFP
Tourist
Boat Sinks Off Port of Jbeil-Naharnet
Israel Criticizes
Occupation of Kfarshouba Post by Lebanese Residents-Naharnet
Berri to Graziano: Hizbullah
is a National Necessity-Naharnet
Security Forces Arrest
Alleged Israel Spy-Naharnet
Geagea: Jumblat Pillar of
March 14, Be Prepared for Surprises in International Probe-Naharnet
Moussawi: Foreign
Countries Don't Want a Cabinet Headed by Hariri-Naharnet
3rd Week Ends with No New
Developments on Cabinet Formation-Naharnet
Probe into Fake
Gallbladder Surgeries, Custom Permits-Naharnet
France Acknowledges
Difficulties in Forming Government-Naharnet
Israel Trying to Exploit
Khirbet Selm
Incident to Amend UNIFIL Powers
Naharnet/Renewal of UNIFIL mandate to be considered end of August by the
Security Council could have been routine had it not been for the incident which
took place in Khirbet Selm last week between U.N. peacekeepers and local
residents, prompting Israel to hurry up and exploit the mishap in an effort to
amend UNIFIL's mandate in south Lebanon and change the Rules of Engagement with
regards to Resolution 1701. A well-informed diplomatic source told the daily al-Liwaa
in remarks published Monday that urgent consultations were taking place at the
United Nations that may lead to a call to discuss the clash between Khirbet Selm
residents and French peacekeepers who tried to inspect a house where weapons
were believed to be hidden near the area where an explosion went off in a
Hizbullah arms depot on Tuesday. Al-Akhbar newspaper, for its part, quoted an
Arab diplomatic source in New York as saying that Israel does not wish to keep
the Rules of Engagement untouched, which limit UNIFIL's mandate to coordinated
patrols with the Lebanese army. Instead, the source said, Israel is seeking to
turn UNIFIL into an "international deterrent force in southern Lebanon working
for it."
He added that Israel also wants to "introduce undercover international
intelligence elements to UNIFIL." Haaretz said Israel hopes the Khirbet Selm
blast will show the need to strengthen UNIFIL. It said Israel believes that
UNIFIL could sharpen its Rules of Engagement and act more forcefully with the
Lebanese army in southern Lebanese villages. "All of these flagrant violations
of resolution 1701 - inter alia, the arms smuggling and the obstruction of
movement of UNIFIL forces - must be denounced and addressed in clear and
unambiguous terms by the international community," Israel's envoy to the United
Nations Gabriela Shalev has charged in an official complaint.
In a letter to U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, Shalev described the abandoned building
in which the explosion took place as "an arms cache that consisted of Hizbullah
arms, including rockets, mortars, artillery shells, grenades, and additional
ammunition which had been brought to the area following the Second Lebanon War."
According to Shalev, the incident proves that Hizbullah has been acting in
violation of U.N .Resolution 1701, which called for a cease-fire in southern
Lebanon after the 2006 Lebanon-Israel war. According to Shalev, the incident
proves that Hizbullah has been acting in violation of U.N .Resolution 1701,
which called for a ceasefire in southern Lebanon after the 2006 Lebanon-Israel
war. According to Shalev, this incident was one of a number of similar instances
in which Hizbullah has violated the ceasefire agreement. "Unfortunately, such
obstruction is not an isolated incident and reflects a pattern in which
Hezbollah uses various means - including so-called 'civilians' - in order to
prevent UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces from fulfilling their mandate," she
wrote. Following the explosion, Shalev said, UNIFIL forces were delayed by
Lebanese troops to enable Hizbullah to rid the area of evidence. This
assistance, said Shalev, has made the violations "all the more severe because an
official organ of the Lebanese state - the Lebanese Army - delayed UNIFIL from
fulfilling its obligations. As such, this obstruction of movement must be
denounced in very clear and robust terms." Beirut, 20 Jul 09, 08:14
Nasrallah Honoring Yakan: We
Will Continue on the Same Path and Spread Culture of Resistance among Muslims
Naharnet/Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah repeated Monday calls by the
late Muslim leader Fathi Yakan for the expansion of the culture of resistance
among the Muslims, in a televised speech aired during an event to commemorate
the prominent cleric. Nasrallah also issued a stern warning against attempts to
incite sectarian sedition in the country and called on the Lebanese to put their
weight behind the resistance. Remembering Yakan, Nasrallah said: "Lebanon is
witnessing a difficult, complicated and dangerous phase that needs someone with
Yakan's courage, devotion and commitment. "We will continue on the same path. We
are required to work toward spreading out the resistance in the Muslim arenas as
Yakan wished."
Nasrallah's focus on the resistance came as tensions escalated along Lebanon's
southern border with Israeli tanks approaching an area of Kfarshouba Hills where
civilians marched on an Israeli post last week. According to Lebanese media
reports, the Lebanese army has been placed on high alert. Addressing the Israeli
threats, Nasrallah said: "We hear of a new war being planned against Lebanon as
Israel escalates its tone. "The Israelis have learned from their mistakes (in
the July 2006 war) and have been correcting their points of weakness.
"They are speaking of a new war to eradicate the resistance from the Lebanese
territories. This means it is a war against Lebanon and to displace the
Palestinians of 1948."
"I say that our enemies have done all that can be done to harm the resistance
and have failed," he added. Nasrallah called on the Lebanese to "once again
embrace the resistance and the culture of resistance" as a way to combat the
Israeli schemes. He recalled the national disunity that prevailed in Lebanon
during and after the 2006 war and criticized those who "conspired against the
resistance" then. "The past years witnessed the climax of conspiracy against the
resistance," he said. "The battle against the resistance was not limited to its
arsenal. It went to the level of belittling the culture of resistance and its
martyrs. It was a comprehensive and broad attack," he said. However, he said,
the division was "political, although some were promoting it as sectarian." "I
tell all of those who are betting on sectarian strife in Lebanon that we will
not let them take over our national arena," he said. "Our speeches have always
adhered to a patriotic and national tone. We have always been keen to bring
people together and to shun all sectarian speeches that some have released," he
said. Beirut, 20 Jul 09, 19:53
Lebanese Army Holds UNIFIL Responsible
Naharnet/Calm prevailed in south Lebanon after the Lebanese army contained the
Khirbet Selm incident which erupted Saturday after UNIFIL soldiers tried to
inspect a house where weapons were believed to be hidden near the area where an
explosion went off in a Hizbullah arms depot on Tuesday. Local media, however,
gave conflicting reports over what happened.
As Safir and al-Akhbar newspapers said UNIFIL troops entered Khirbet Selm
without coordinating with the Lebanese army, leading to a clash between
residents and U.N. soldiers that left 14 peacekeepers lightly wounded. As Safir
said the Lebanese army command has informed UNIFIL commander Maj. Gen. Claudio
Graziano that the U.N. peacekeepers were responsible for the mishap in Khirbet
Selm "because of the mistake they committed when they tried to raid an inhabited
house, surpassing the Lebanese army role and its jurisdiction."
Military sources told As Safir that UNIFIL had no right, under Resolution 1701,
to raid houses or set up checkpoints without prior coordination with the
Lebanese army.
Pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, for its part, said the incident took place when a joint
Lebanese army-UNIFIL force attempted to inspect a house in Khirbet Selm
suspected of being turned into a weapons cache. The National News Agency had
said residents blocked the Bir al-Salasel and Khirbet Selm main road with
burning tires after engaging in a fistfight with the peacekeepers and throwing
stones on them in protest against the patrol's attempt to raid the house in the
area of Khirbet Selm-Dabshe. Al-Liwaa newspaper, meanwhile, said a suspect
belonging to a political party has been arrested in connection with the Khirbet
Selm explosion. Local media said Israeli troops have reinforced a newly set up
post in Kfarshouba, deploying a Merkava tank and a number of soldiers. The
Israeli army also threatened to "open fire on anyone who attempts to cross the
border into the Israeli side, even if he wasn't armed."
He said that while progress has been made in Syrian-Saudi talks on Iraq, Iran
and Palestine, however a 'serious agenda" is needed on Lebanon. If success was
achieved, a visit by the Saudi monarch to Damascus would reflect positively on
the government formation likely before the end of July. Meanwhile, PM-designate
Saad Hariri refused to make suggestions on the new Cabinet lineup. He told
reporters after meeting President Michel Suleiman on Sunday that the process to
form a government is moving on the right track, adding that consultations will
continue with the various political parties. Beirut, 20 Jul 09, 10:00
Allouch: The minority’s preconditions obstruct cabinet formation
Date: July 20th, 2009 Source: Voice of Lebanon
Moustafa Allouch, former parliamentarian and a member of the committee charged
with restructuring the Almustaqbal Movement said Monday the parliamentary
majority is determined not to give veto power shares in the new cabinet.
Allouch’s comments came in an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio, he
said: “The majority is resolute not to give the minority veto powers in the new
government; at the same time we will not have absolute power to take
governmental decisions.”The formation of a new cabinet is a thorny mission for
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri who was named by the parliamentary
majority. Hariri, leader of the Almustaqbal bloc, holds consultations with
parliamentary blocs in order to conclude a cabinet that satisfies all, according
to Alloush. Allouch added that the conditions set by the minority before the
June 7, legislative elections are an obstacle hindering the formation of the new
cabinet. “Hariri may announce his vision on the form of the new government soon.
All designated prime ministers hold consultations with parliamentary blocs
before announcing the cabinet to cut the road short on any misunderstanding that
may erupt in the future,” he added. On the Saudi-Syrian relations, Allouch said:
“The relations have accomplished significant progress; however the relations
alone are not enough. Meanwhile, Syria tries to take advantage of the current
political atmospheres.”
SSNP members threaten Amine Gemayel and son with murder
Date: July 19th, 2009 Source: NNA
Members of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party on Sunday threatened former
President Amine Gemayel and his son MP Sami of murder. Sources said members of
the SSNP who were passing by the Gemayel family residence in Bekfaya town to
participate in the memory of executing party’s leader Antoine Saadeh threatened
leader of the Kataeb party (Gemayel) and his son that they will be facing the
same fate as martyrs President Bachir Gemayel and Minister Pierre Gemayel. The
Gemayel family has suffered a long series of assassinations as President Bachir
Gemayel was assassinated-1982-in a bombing (allegedly by an SSNP member), and
martyr Pierre Amine Gemayel was shot by gunfire in 2005. The Kataeb party
condemned the harassment calling it “an attempt to prompt sedition and murder”,
and holding the SSNP responsible for any incident that might assail any Kataeb
member or leader. The party called the Lebanese authorities to pursue the
members of the SSNP who threatened the Kataeb and those who are behind them,
adding that the official security services has obtained plans to attack MP Sami
Gemayel.
14 UN peacekeepers injured in Lebanon protest
(AFP)/BEIRUT — Fourteen UN peacekeepers were injured in south Lebanon on
Saturday when protesters tried to stop an investigation into an arms cache that
exploded in a Hezbollah stronghold last week, a spokeswoman said. "During the
entire course of the incident, 14 UNIFIL soldiers were lightly injured and some
UNIFIL vehicles were damaged, among them one ambulance from the investigation
team," spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane told AFP. Ammunition stored in an abandoned
house in the village of Khirbet Selm, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Israeli
border, exploded on Tuesday. The area is widely considered to be a Hezbollah
stronghold. The UN had launched an investigation into the cause of the blast in
coordination with the Lebanese army, and Bouziane said around 100 people
gathered on Saturday and tried to stop it by throwing stones at the troops.
UNIFIL -- the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon -- called for
reinforcements and one patrol was forced to fire warning shots into the air
before it could pass, she added. The peacekeeping force has said the blasts
marked a "serious violation" of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended
a devastating 34-day war between Israel and the Shiite militant group in the
summer of 2006. Hezbollah has refused to disarm although Resolution 1701
reaffirms the need for militias in Lebanon to turn in their weapons. The Shiite
group argues that its arsenal is needed to defend the country against Israel.
Lebanese soldiers deployed in the south in the wake of the 2006 war for the
first time in 30 years. UNIFIL, set up in 1978 to monitor the border between
Israel and Lebanon, was considerably expanded after the 2006 conflict, which
Israel launched after Hezbollah captured two of its soldiers in a deadly
cross-border raid.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.
14 U.N. Peacekeepers Injured in Lebanon Protest
Naharnet/Fourteen U.N. peacekeepers were injured in south Lebanon on Saturday
when protesters tried to stop an investigation into an arms cache that exploded
in a Hizbullah stronghold last week, a spokeswoman said. "During the entire
course of the incident, 14 UNIFIL soldiers were lightly injured and some UNIFIL
vehicles were damaged, among them one ambulance from the investigation team,"
spokeswoman Yasmina Bouziane told Agence France Presse (AFP).
Ammunition stored in an abandoned house in the village of Khirbet Selm, 20
kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli border, exploded on Tuesday. The area is
widely considered to be a Hizbullah stronghold. The U.N. had launched an
investigation into the cause of the blast in coordination with the Lebanese
army, and Bouziane said around 100 people gathered on Saturday and tried to stop
it by throwing stones at the troops. UNIFIL -- the United Nations Interim Force
in Lebanon -- called for reinforcements and one patrol was forced to fire
warning shots into the air before it could pass, she added. The peacekeeping
force has said the blasts marked a "serious violation" of U.N. Security Council
Resolution 1701, which ended a devastating 34-day war between Israel and the
Shiite militant group in the summer of 2006. Voice of Lebanon radio said Khirbet
Selm residents smashed the windows of two U.N. vehicles while the French
peacekeepers tried to inspect the house near the area where an explosion went
off in a Hizbullah weapons storage facility on Tuesday.
The National News Agency said residents blocked the Bir al-Salasel and Khirbet
Selm main road with burning tires after engaging in a fistfight with the
peacekeepers and throwing stones on them in protest against the patrol's attempt
to raid the house in the area of Khirbet Selm-Dabshe.NNA said the army
interfered and brought the situation under control as helicopters hovered
overhead. Shiite clergy gathering in Tyre later issued a press statement
strongly denouncing the UNIFIL stating the international forces' presence in
south Lebanon "is to Israel's benefit and not Lebanon's" accusing UNIFIL of
seeing things from one side only. The Lebanese army issued a communiqué
expressing regret for the incident, reaffirming its commitment to "work closely
with UNIFIL on implementing UNSC 1701." Hizbullah has refused to disarm although
Resolution 1701 reaffirms the need for militias in Lebanon to turn in their
weapons. The Shiite group argues that its arsenal is needed to defend the
country against Israel. Lebanese soldiers deployed in the south in the wake of
the 2006 war for the first time in 30 years.
UNIFIL, set up in 1978 to monitor the border between Israel and Lebanon, was
considerably expanded after the 2006 conflict, which Israel launched after
Hizbullah captured two of its soldiers in a deadly cross-border raid.(AFP and
Naharnet) Beirut, 19 Jul 09, 08:44
Talks on Cabinet Formation
Yield No Changes As Syrian-Saudi Contacts Step Up
Naharnet/No breakthrough has been reported in the Cabinet formation amid a
tug-of-war between the Opposition which insists on having a veto power in the
new government and the majority which stresses the need to take parliamentary
election results into account. Press reports, meanwhile, pointed to stepped up
contacts between Damascus and Riyadh amidst talk about a possible visit to the
Syrian capital by a Saudi envoy in the near future. The daily An Nahar on Monday
said Riyadh was likely to appoint a new ambassador to Syria who would pave the
way for such a meeting. A well-informed source told An Nahar there was "serious
talk" about an imminent visit to Damascus by Saudi King Abdullah, adding that
the Saudis were seeking response from Syria to a number of questions. Beirut, 20
Jul 09, 11:38
Phalange, SSNP at Loggerheads Over 'Strife' Allegations
Naharnet/The Phalange party and the Syrian Social National Party are at
loggerheads over claims that SSNP supporters chanted slogans against the
Phalange and its leaders near the home of the Gemayel family in Bikfaya. The
Phalange said in a statement Sunday that an SSNP convoy of buses and cars
intentionally took the road near former President Amin Gemayel's home and the
passengers chanted the slogans, which were an "instigation against murder." The
incident, according to the Phalange, took place when delegations were visiting
Gemayel and his son Sami at the family home. The statement accused the SSNP of
"deliberately trying to ignite strife in the Metn region" and said the incident
came at a time when security forces have informed MP Sami Gemayel about death
threats. The SSNP, however, denied in a statement on Monday that its supporters
stopped in front of the Gemayel residence and chanted anti-Phalange slogans,
saying the convoy took the main Bikfaya road. Beirut, 20 Jul 09, 10:55
Meditation between Aoun and Jumblat Resumes, Phalange-Marada Reconciliation
Expands
Naharnet/Efforts have reportedly resumed to bring together Free Patriotic
Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun and Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid
Jumblat.
An Nahar daily said Monday that the first round of efforts for talks between the
two MPs faced the obstacles of the meeting's location and agenda. But mediators
are now trying to bring both parties' views closer in behind-the-scenes attempts
to set up a meeting between Aoun and Jumblat. At the Christian-Christian front,
the Phalange party and Marada movement are also reportedly trying to advance
reconciliation moves to another stage. An Nahar said that the two sides are
planning for a second meeting after MP Sami Gemayel held talks with Marada
leader Suleiman Franjieh in Bnashii earlier this month. Among the ideas for a
second meeting is an invitation from Gemayel to Franjieh for lunch. Present will
be former President Amin Gemayel and MP Nadim Gemayel and their families.
"Another possibility is holding a mass to pray on the soul of both families'
martyrs. However, a final decision hasn't been made yet," according to An Nahar.
Caretaker Tourism Minister Elie Marouni confirmed to Voice of Lebanon radio on
Monday that a second meeting will take place between the two sides.
Beirut, 20 Jul 09, 08:53
Sfeir Calls For Trust in Nation
Stresses Rebuilding
Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir called on the Lebanese to further
deepen their trust in the nation and each other. In his Sunday sermon Patriarch
Sfeir stressed the need to strengthen the desire to build Lebanon away from any
form of destruction. Sfeir earlier told a Zgharta delegation that the
aftereffects of last month's parliamentary elections should not linger on. He
also expressed his regret for continued inter-Christian divisions. Beirut, 19
Jul 09, 11:52
Saturday’s scuffle highlights the need for a new approach to national defense
By The Daily Star /Monday, July 20, 2009
Editorial
Saturday’s stone throwing incident was a regrettable reminder of the tensions in
south Lebanon. The scuffle occurred as UN peacekeepers, working with the
Lebanese Army, continued their probe into the Khirbat Silim explosions about a
kilometer from the blast site. A group of around 100 local citizens met the
UNIFIL personnel, attempted to obstruct their investigation and threw rocks,
lightly wounding 14 peacekeepers. The explosions in the suspected arms depot in
Khirbat Silim last Tuesday have been painted as a public relations black eye for
Hizbullah, with the UN calling it a serious violation if UN Security Council
Resolution 1701. And Saturday’s skirmish hasn’t helped matters.
Situations like these have the potential to get out of hand – we’ve seen it
happen before – and for that reason the events need to be put in context. For
four decades the citizens of South Lebanon have been subject to Israeli
bombardments, invasions and 20 years of occupation. Neither the Lebanese
government nor the international community came to their aid during these years,
which along with engendering Hizbullah, came to define the solitary experience
of the South. A past of violence and oppression in no way mitigates the way
UNIFIL personnel were treated, but it at least illustrates the motivation behind
the local community’s behavior. A people abandoned to face crises on their own
tend to protect their own.
While the explosions in Khirbat Silim certainly mark a violation of 1701, this
one violation must also be weighed against Israel’s serial infractions,
including its occupation of Ghajar and the Shebaa Farms, near daily over flights
and spy networks in Lebanon. The tallying of violations and trading of rhetoric,
however, do nothing to address the situation. The only way to move forward is
through state building – creating a robust and equitable Lebanese state that
meets the needs of its many communities. As part of this process, President
Michel Sleiman, along with Cabinet and Parliament, should launch a diplomatic
defense initiative that builds a firewall between Israel and Lebanon. A
parliamentary committee should be set up to this end and coupled with a campaign
of awareness and vigorous international diplomacy. Ultimately, the nation’s most
viable defense strategy is one that makes continued Israel aggression
diplomatically impossible. Working in this direction, the Lebanese government
might earn back the trust of a long-neglected community, and among other things,
prevent incidents like the one on Saturday from happening in the future.
Abdo: For government formation
before STL presumptive decision
Date: July 18th, 2009 Source: Voice of Lebanon
Ambassador Johnny Abdo expected on Saturday the presumptive decision of the
special tribunal for Lebanon to instigate an earthquake in the country, noting
that the government must be formed ahead of its issuing. MP Saad Hariri, leader
of the majority, was designated Prime Minister on June 27 and is consulting with
parliamentary blocs in order to form the post-elections government. Abdo, former
commander of the armed intelligence, asserted that Hariri will continue
providing efforts to reach a government of national consensus, warning that his
refusal to continue in his duty will trigger divisions and security events. As
for the veto power at the government which is constituted of the third of the
cabinet seats plus one and which was granted to the opposition last year, the
ambassador considered it unnecessary as some ministers in the government have
the power to refuse any decision. Abdo added that the victory of the March 14
coalition with 71 seats out of 128 immunes the Presidency that would have been
in a bad situation if the March 8 camp achieved the electoral victory. The
ambassador noted that Prime Minister-designate Hariri will visit Syria after the
formation of the government and considered that the Free Patriotic Movement
follows the principle of hating others and that its leader MP Michel Aoun is
settling accounts with President Michel Sleiman.
Sami Gemayel: regional forces are intervening in cabinet
formation
Date: July 19th, 2009 Source: Sada al-Balad daily
Kataeb MP Sami Gemayel asserted that regional forces are intervening in the
cabinet formation process, he told Sada al-Balad issue published on Sunday.
Gemayel, voted to represent northern Metn district, pointed that “as a voted
majority we could have formed the cabinet a long time ago. But the presence of
Hizbullah arms and the threats of reproducing a new May 7 unless the
opposition’s terms are not answered are making the formation harder to be
established.”He assured the importance of openness and dialogue, “and what is
more important is not to give up March 14’s principles and not to accept
legitimizing Hizbullah’s weapons.”Gemayel noted that “we are honest with
ourselves. Our statements and stands remain unchanged. Each politician, though,
must be responsible for his stands towards the public opinion and towards his
conscience.”
March 8 “lost” in the formation atmosphere…to the South
turn
Date: July 19th, 2009
Future News
The third week for the government formation closes among an atmosphere of
political relaxation, parallel to “optimism” waiting for translating the clichés
of March 8 into actions, in the light of variation in “positivity”, and
“commitment” to the blocking third, which shows a reflection to a non-united
position within this group, while standing still remains dominant on the way to
form a uniting Ministerial formula, without the obstruction defect, and
compatible with the aftermath of June 7.
In the light of consultation contacts behind the curtains, and Premier-designate
Saad Hariri remaining silent and continuing his declared and un-declared
meetings with all groups, the fourth week of the formation process is expected
to witness more intense contacts and meetings, in an attempt to reach a common
base which paves the way in front of a government of national unity which
represent the “guarantee” for the Lebanese people, and able to confront internal
and external challenges, mainly the Israeli threatens and violations.
Kherbet-Selem again
Among this image, interest headed towards the South, due to a security
development after the explosion that occurred in Kherbet-Selem area where
members of the French troop operating within the (UNIFIL) tried to inspect a
house at Kherbet- Selem and Bir Al-Salasel South the city of Tyre, suspected to
contain arms. The troop was obstructed by the people of the area and blocked
their way by burning tires on the main road of the area, which lead the Lebanese
army to interfere and bring back calm to the region.
Speaker Nabih Berry discussed with Major-General Claudio Graziano the Force
Commander of the United States Interim Force in Lebanon the continuous Israeli
breach to the 1701 resolution and the daily violations to the Lebanese
sovereignty, most latest the violation in Kfarshuba area and locating a new
Israeli spot on the Lebanese land.
Sources close to Berry pointed that Berry stressed during his meeting with
Graziano on the importance of instant movement to limit the Israeli violations
which reflects the Israeli suspicious intentions towards Lebanon and its right
for sovereignty.
Peace in the Middle East
Far from the labor of formation, and by the time of active efforts for peace in
the Middle East, despite the extremism of the Israeli government headed by PM
Benjamin Netanyahu, President Michel Sleiman considered Friday that “there is a
new international understanding for the situation in the Middle East,” stressing
that “the final solution which leads to comprehensive peace, is giving the
Palestinian people the right to return and non-settling them.”
Governmental positions
In the context of positions towards the government formation, Ambassador Jhony
Abdo expected that the presumptive decision issued by the international tribunal
would cause a shock in Lebanon and the region, considering that “forming the
government and removing divisions among political groups is in the benefit of
everyone.” Abdo stressed that Premier Hariri will continue efforts to reach a
government of national unity, pointing that “Hariri’s abstaining from forming
the government will lead to division and security instability.” He also
considered that the blocking third is un-necessary “as long as there are
Ministers in the government who are able to refuse a decision.”Member of Zahleh
in Our Hearts bloc MP Okab Sakr stressed that the visit of Premier-designate
Saad Hariri to Syria “is not for the government formation, but to organize the
Arab arena”, emphasizing that “Hariri’s visit is a part of a settlement which
could take place, and not to prove Syria’s innocence.”Sakr Stressed that the
Premier-designate drafts the Ministerial statement, but takes the visions of
some groups into consideration.” He excluded Hariri’s abstinence from the
government formation, pointing that “he is discreet and optimistic towards the
course of formation.’
Opposition's Insistence on Skaff Hinders Final Cabinet
Agreement
According to the daily Sada al-Balad on Sunday, the parliamentary minority's
continued insistence on placing current Agriculture Minister Elias Skaff in the
next cabinet is hindering the final agreement of a new Lebanese cabinet. The
daily An-Nahar on Sunday quoted informed sources saying, the parliamentary
opposition and in particular Hizbullah did not respond to a proposal by
PM-designate Saad Hariri of 15 seats to the parliamentary majority- 10 to the
opposition and 5 cabinet seats to president Michel Suleiman.
One of the ministers proposed by Hariri is Talal al-Miqdad (Shiite from Jbeil),
according to An-Nahar. Naharnet/The daily Ad-Diyar quoted informed sources
saying there are no serious developments in forming the next cabinet adding that
Hariri's discussions are now focusing on portfolios and names. The paper added
that following the meeting between the PM-designate and Hizbullah representative
Hajj Hussein Khalil, an agreement was reached in providing the Public Works
portfolio to the Lebanese Forces, Justice to Samir al-Jisr (al-Mustaqbal
Movement) in return the Foreign Affairs and Defense are given to the Shiite
coalition, the Free Patriotic Movement Finance and two other service portfolios.
Beirut, 19 Jul 09, 10:07
Berri to Graziano: Hizbullah is a National Necessity
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri reportedly said on Saturday that Hizbullah is a
national necessity to defend Lebanon until Israel's withdrawal from all occupied
Lebanese territories. Berri made the comment during a meeting with UNIFIL
Commander Maj. Gen. Claudio Graziano in Msaileh. The speaker's close circles
also told the National News Agency that Berri criticized Israel's continued
violation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701 and occupation of the
northern part of the border village of Ghajar. Sources following up the talks
said that Berri considered Ghajar's occupation and Israel's setting up of a post
in the Kfarshouba hills as efforts to create a new geographic status quo in the
area neighboring Shebaa farms.
The sources added that Berri stressed to Graziano Lebanon's full commitment to
the implementation of resolution 1701. According to NNA, the speaker also told
the UNIFIL commander that the international community should pressure Israel to
abide by the resolution. Beirut, 18 Jul 09, 16:33
Press Leaks Speak of a Secret Hariri-Suleiman Meeting
Naharnet/Local press leaks on Sunday spoke of a secret meeting held between
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and President Michel Suleiman at Baabda
palace.
Sources close to the prime minister-designate described such reports as "seeking
to embarrass president Suleiman and hold him responsible for any possible
failure in the cabinet formation process." Beirut, 19 Jul 09, 12
Mashnouq: Civic peace protects weapons
July 19, 2009 /NOW Staff/
Future bloc MP Nohad al-Mashnouq told New TV on Sunday that “weapons do not
protect weapons; civil peace is what protects weapons.” Mashnouq said that there
is a domestic struggle over the issue of Hezbollah’s arms, adding that March 14
wants guarantees over the weapons even if Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah does not. He said guaranteeing arms will occur through an
agreement between Lebanese, which will define their relation to the state,
legitimacy and to people’s lives. Such an agreement can be achieved, he said, as
the newly elected parliament agreed that weapons can be used to face threats,
but “only with the approval of the legitimate majority.”Mashnouq also said that
the opposition wants a complete overhaul of the Lebanese system, which is a
large-scale issue that will not be accepted by the majority. He said that
Nasrallah’s understanding of the nature of the current Lebanese system,
especially when he speaks about partnership, conveys a different concept. “There
is a difference between partnership and participation, because partnership means
equality between two sides and not a situation in which one side has the right
to veto and the other does not have the right to a unilateral decision,” he
said. He concluded Nasrallah’s call for partnership contradicts the nature of
the Lebanese system, which is based on the majority forming the cabinet while
the opposition opposes, he added.
Analysis: Shi'ite missiles, Zionist cows and the Lebanese
Army
By JONATHAN SPYER
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443843173&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Jesusalem Post July 19/09
The explosions in a Hizbullah arms storage facility in the south Lebanese
village of Khirbat a-Silm on Tuesday are testimony to the successful efforts of
this organization to rebuild its strength south of the Litani River.
This success has come although UN Security Council Resolution 1701 expressly
forbids a Hizbullah armed presence south of the Litani, and despite the presence
of two military forces in the area supposedly committed to ensuring the
implementation of the resolution - UNIFIL, and a contingent of the Lebanese
Armed Forces.
Following the explosion, the Lebanese army maintained that it took place at a
facility dating from before July 2006.
Hizbullah, for its part, initially tried to claim that the explosions were of
Israeli cluster bombs scattered in the area during the 2006 war. The
organization is now keeping silent on the matter.
According to the Lebanese media, Hizbullah members deployed in the area
following the blast, preventing civilians from entering, as the army and
security services began their "investigation."
The explosion came as the Lebanese army was busy focusing on a different threat
to national security - namely, violations of Lebanese sovereignty by Israeli
forces close to the international border (the "Blue Line").
According to Lebanese media reports, a clash between Lebanese and Israeli forces
was narrowly avoided earlier this week, after the Lebanese authorities demanded
the removal of an Israeli observation post near the village of Kafr Shuba, which
is situated just northeast of the Shaba Farms (Mount Dov).
The Israeli activities appear to be a matter of far greater urgency to the
Lebanese authorities than is the ongoing buildup by Hizbullah of its forces.
The Lebanese ambassador to the UN recently sent a list of Israeli violations of
the Blue Line to the UN Security Council. Among the various violations of
Lebanese sovereignty, according to one Lebanese media report, is the crossing of
Israeli cows into Lebanon to drink from a watering hole near Kafr Shuba.
Against threats of this gravity, the Lebanese army remains ever vigilant.
However, when it comes to enforcing Resolution 1701 with regard to Hizbullah, it
appears that different standards are maintained.
The Lebanese army's division of its energies should not come as a surprise. The
Lebanese military, in its own words, as seen on its official Web site, regards
Israel as its "primary antagonist and enemy."
Regarding Hizbullah, by contrast, despite its supposed role in ensuring that the
organization does not rearm south of the Litani, the Lebanese army is an overt
supporter of the movement's right to "resist."
Again, according to the army's Web site, "the Lebanese Resistance against the
Israeli occupation of Lebanese territories is a legal right which ends only with
withdrawal of occupation."
And which parts of Lebanon are still occupied by Israel?
The Web site of the Lebanese Armed Forces considers that "the enemy is still
located on the Shaba Farms, in places of great strategic and economic
significance. Therefore, the Lebanese have the right to fight the enemy until it
withdraws."
In practice, relations between the Lebanese army and Hizbullah have been less
idyllic than this statement of shared intent might imply. Tensions, however,
where they have arisen, have come more as a result of overlapping boundaries
than out of a determination by the Lebanese army to fulfill Resolution 1701.
The most notable example was the shooting down by Hizbullah of an Lebanese army
Gazelle helicopter which entered a Hizbullah "security zone" in August 2008,
which killed the navigator.
The incident, which had no practical repercussions for Hizbullah, indicated the
relative balance of power between the two fraternal forces. While each
recognizes the rights of the other as a legitimate military force, the Lebanese
army is encouraged not to stray too close to the activities of the "resistance."
The insertion into Resolution 1701 of a clause facilitating the entry of the
Lebanese army into the area south of the Litani River after the 2006 war was
presented by the Olmert government of the time as a major achievement.
The claim was not entirely baseless. The presence of the army in the south has
led to at least a greater semblance of normality along the border. Some
achievements have been recorded, in cooperation with UNIFIL - particularly in
locating ordnance in rural areas.
But the explosion at Khirbat a-Silm, combined with the Lebanese army's ambiguous
response, says it all regarding the failure to prevent, or to seriously attempt
to prevent, Hizbullah's rearming south of the Litani.
The undertaking of this mission would go against the very nature of the Lebanese
army. The Lebanese army's officer corps is 30 percent Shi'ite. The majority of
its rank and file also belongs to this sect. It is thus a force neither willing
nor able to take the necessary measures against the independent military
structure maintained by Hizbullah on Lebanese soil.
Hizbullah's mishap should serve to remind Israeli policy-makers that the
security of the residents of the North will be maintained only by effective
deterrence, or failing that, effective countermeasures.
The Lebanese army, meanwhile, will busy itself challenging the true enemies of
Lebanon - namely, the Zionist cows who covet the pure waters of the Kafr Shuba
pond.
**The writer is a senior researcher at the Global Research in International
Affairs Center, IDC, Herzliya.
Inquiry on 1994 Blast at Argentina Jewish Center Gets New Life
BARRIONUEVO
Published: July 17, 2009
BUENOS AIRES — In the 15 years since the bombing of the Argentine Jewish Mutual
Aid Association here, the deadliest terrorist attack in this country’s history,
the case has become a symbol of the failings of Argentina’s judicial system.
Times Topics: ArgentinaDespite all the international attention, despite
investigative help from Israel and the United States, no one has been convicted
for the July 18, 1994, bombing of the community center, in which 85 people died
and more than 300 were injured.
“This was clearly a test case,” said José Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director
for Human Rights Watch. “And so far it really has not helped to establish any
credibility for the justice system in Argentina.”
But suddenly, an investigation that former President Néstor Kirchner called a
national disgrace has received new urgency and is again raising hopes among
Jewish groups, though significant concerns about the inquiry remain.
In May, Argentina’s Supreme Court validated much of the evidence of the initial
investigation, which had previously been ruled inadmissible after an
investigative magistrate tried to bribe a witness. In its recent ruling, the
court urged an “end to impunity” and emphasized the need for Argentina to
finally solve the case.
Then last month, a federal judge here, Rodolfo Canicoba Corral, ordered the
international capture of Samuel Salman El Reda, a 43-year-old Colombian citizen
whom prosecutors here had accused of helping coordinate the local Hezbollah cell
that Argentine investigators said had carried out the bombing.
Investigators here believe that they have solved the case in principle, having
accused the Iranian government of planning and financing the attack, and
Hezbollah of executing those plans.
But some experts, including a former American F.B.I. agent who assisted the
Argentines in their investigation, are skeptical about the claims of direct
Iranian involvement. “The guilt field was painted with a bit too broad a brush,”
said the former agent, James Bernazzani, who led the F.B.I.’s Hezbollah
operations unit in the late 1990s.
Mr. Bernazzani said he was still “convinced” of Hezbollah’s involvement, “but we
surfaced no information indicating Iranian compliance.”
Such doubts have long clouded the investigations. Previous inquiries were
riddled with incompetence, witnesses who were threatened and bribed, stolen
evidence and accusations of a cover-up involving the former Argentine president
Carlos Menem.
The Argentines, nevertheless, maintain that Iran was behind the attack, and have
had limited relations with Tehran partly because of the investigation’s
importance to the nation’s 230,000 Jews, the largest Jewish community in Latin
America. The 1994 bombing came two years after the Israeli Embassy here was
bombed, killing 29 people, a case that also remains unsolved.
Mohsen Baharvand, the chargé d’affaires at the Iranian Embassy here, said Iran
was an “easy scapegoat” for the attack. “The whole claim against Iran in the
AMIA case is a big lie,” Mr. Baharvand said in an e-mail message, using the
Spanish acronym for the Argentine Jewish Mutual Aid Association.
Judge Juan José Galeano’s original investigation focused on the so-called local
connection, including people involved in selling a van that had been loaded with
explosives. But his inquiry went awry after he decided to pay a suspect, Carlos
Telleldín, $400,000 to falsely accuse police officers of being involved in the
plot. Amid the scandal, Mr. Telleldín and four police officers were acquitted in
2004. Judge Galeano was impeached a year later.
Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor who took over the investigation in 2005, has
intensified a line of inquiry that Mr. Galeano had played down: the involvement
of Iran.
In 2006, Mr. Nisman formally accused several members of Iran’s government of
planning and financing the bombing, including former President Ali Akbar Hashemi
Rafsanjani. Central to the indictments was an Iranian defector, Abdolghassem
Meshabi, who said that the plot had been hatched in Tehran and that Iranian
officials had paid Mr. Menem about $10 million to help cover up Iran’s
involvement.
Mr. Menem denied any involvement last November. His former advisers have
insisted that he was determined to solve the case, not cover it up, and that Mr.
Bernazzani had said the F.B.I. did not view Mr. Meshabi as a credible witness.
With the case seemingly stalled, Argentina’s Supreme Court in May ordered it
reopened, saying it was unreasonable to throw out all the original investigative
work because of the Galeano corruption scandal. The court ruled that the
investigation had been valid until Oct. 31, 1995, when Mr. Galeano decided to
offer the money to Mr. Telleldín.
Judge Corral said an appeals court might decide to retry Mr. Telleldín, a
used-car salesman who was acquitted after spending 10 years in jail awaiting
trial. Mr. Telleldín said in an interview that he was innocent and that it would
be “impossible to prove” that he knew the van he sold was going to be used for
the bombing.
meanwhile, is pressing on with his investigation of Mr. El Reda. In the weeks
before the bombing, Mr. El Reda shuttled between “safe houses” in Buenos Aires
and a red brick house in Foz do Iguaçu, a Brazilian town in the Triple Frontier
area where Argentina meets Brazil and Paraguay, investigators said.
From millions of phone call records and the help of an unidentified Hezbollah
operative, investigators say they were able to piece together evidence of a
terrorist cell involving Mr. El Reda that kept in close contact with Beirut
leading up to the bombing.
On the morning of July 1, 1994, Mr. Nisman said, Mr. El Reda made a call from
the international airport here to a cellphone registered in Foz do Iguaçu, a
call that may have set off the final phase of the attack.
Other calls to the cellphone were made from public phone centers near the Jewish
community center and near a mosque in Buenos Aires where the cultural attaché at
the Iranian Embassy, one of the people charged in 2006, spent a great deal of
time, Mr. Nisman wrote in court papers. Mr. El Reda had forged close ties with
the Iranian attaché, Mr. Nisman said.
Calls were often made from those same locations to the communications center of
Hezbollah in Beirut and to known militants in the Triple Frontier, Mr. Nisman
said.
Mr. Bernazzani warned that that “doesn’t prove anything,” because what had been
said on the calls was not known. “Telephones don’t get indicted, people do,” he
said.
Mr. Nisman, nevertheless, said that at 7:41 a.m. on the day of the bombing a
final call was made from Aeroparque airport in Buenos Aires. Forty minutes
later, a flight bound for Puerto Iguazú in the Triple Frontier took off. Mr.
Nisman said he believed that Mr. El Reda made the call before boarding the
plane.
Then, at 9:53 a.m., a van loaded with about 600 pounds of ammonium nitrate
fertilizer and fuel oil exploded in front of the community center. A few days
later Mr. El Reda left South America for Lebanon, where he still lives with his
family, Mr. Nisman said.
Zvi Bar'el / Israel doesn't want to make peace with Syria
By Zvi Bar'el -Haaretz
19/07/2009
After nine years of rule, Syrian President Bashar Assad can note with
satisfaction that his situation has never been better. Damascus has become the
main stop for senior American and European government officials. Lebanon, even
without the presence of the Syrian army, is under strong Syrian influence and
will form a government when Syria wants it to. Saudi Arabia has renewed its warm
relationship with Syria after four years of stagnation, and internal Palestinian
reconciliation depends quite a bit on Damascus.
Assad can chalk up another "achievement": In Israel there is no partner for
peace. Assad is managing to persuade others that he is not the "unripe" leader
for peace - Jerusalem is in refusal mode. This time it's not just a question of
a stubborn Israeli prime minister, but an entire flock of legal jugglers who
know very well how to foil diplomatic moves.
Until U.S. President Barack Obama came on the scene, Israel could depend on the
theory of Syrian isolation to protect it from having to consider withdrawing
from the Golan Heights. According to this theory, if Syria wants relations with
"the world," that is, with America, it must sever ties with Iran, expel the
Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaderships, and neutralize Hezbollah's militia. Only
then would Israel consider negotiating with it. The slight deviation during Ehud
Olmert's term in office, in which indirect talks were held with Syria through
Turkey, went out with a whimper. Now, with the crash of the isolation theory,
Israel has no alternative plan that would put the blame on Syria.
The Golan Heights lobby, frightened by the Syrian-American rapprochement and
expected pressure on Israel to withdraw, has quickly mobilized its legal
efforts. It will not be the government and prime minister who will have to hold
up under pressure, but rather "the law." And the law, as we know, is much harder
to bend than a politician.
As in the Passover Haggadah, if the Knesset had been satisfied with the Golan
Annexation Law of 1981 - dayenu, that would have been enough. Menachem Begin
explained at the time that the law does not prevent negotiations with Syria, but
even then it was clear that if Israel was not withdrawing from occupied
territory, it would certainly not withdraw from territory it had annexed "by
law." Then came 1999, which gave us the law mandating a referendum for
surrendering sovereign Israeli territory, but in the same breath also determined
that a basic law on referenda should be passed. Such a bill has not been passed,
so according to opponents of withdrawal, the law has no real significance.
Then came 2008, when a bill passed in first reading, proposed by Avigdor
Itzchaky, then coalition chairman under Kadima. It was very simple: There would
be no withdrawal from the Golan. True, like every bill, it was carefully
formulated, outlining possible conditions for leaving the Golan: a majority of
80 MKs in favor of withdrawal, which would release the government from holding a
referendum; or new elections, which would obviate the need to forge an 80-MK
majority. If neither of these prevailed, there could be a referendum to decide
on peace with Syria. In short, no withdrawal from the Golan.
That's an easy bill to vote on. Now, after the delay because of the early
elections, we have to see if the bill can be brought for a second and third
reading, a decision that can be made in a day, even an hour. The matter was to
have been discussed on Thursday by a special subcommittee of the House Committee
and Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. The debate was postponed but not
taken off the agenda, because now Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also wants
extra protection from expected American pressure.
This ostensibly is a legal, constitutional matter: Why does the public need to
be asked after it has already decided in elections that brought in a Knesset and
cabinet? Is it necessary to waste NIS 200 million on a referendum? Perhaps a
referendum on non-peace, and then war, could be decided by text message? These
are all certainly very important questions that have blurred the main issue:
Israel is neither ready nor ripe, nor does it desire to make peace with Syria
Zvi Bar'el / Will warmer U.S.-Syria ties lead Israel to cede Golan?
By Zvi Bar'el -Haaretz
July 17/09
Where is the super-plan for regional peace that we were promised? Where, at the
very least, is the "Obama document" for peace between Israel and the
Palestinians?
An interim summation illustrates that the super-plan apparently consists of
salami tactics. Take, for example, the matter of freezing settlement
construction. There is nothing new about the American position that the
settlements, all of them, are illegal. What is new is the more determined
American tone. Yet, for now, this seems to be more about words than an actual
intention to immediately solve the problem of the settlements; this demand
merely aims to "check off" the road map's first clause. It does not draw a new
border between Israel and Palestine, it skirts the question of the settlement
blocs and it fails to mention other core issues such as the holy places or the
distribution of water resources.
Israel responded to this "salami slice" with a declaration of its own, a
revolutionary one, to the effect that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepts
the two-state principle. These two declarations, the American one and the
Israeli one, are useless unless followed up. Even worse, without setting the
next objective - let's say negotiations over a future border - what's the point
in demanding that all settlement construction stop? What does the two-state
slogan mean?
Syria is another example in point. The increasingly close relationship between
Washington and Damascus, the unofficial reports that a new U.S. ambassador has
been appointed to Syria, the feverish work to reconcile Saudi Arabia and Syria
and perhaps subsequently Egypt as well - all under the Americans' aegis - create
the impression that these moves are part of a grand master plan. But can such
steps bring about Israeli agreement to withdraw from the Golan Heights? Have the
Americans sent any signs that Israel should prepare for such a withdrawal, or at
least that the construction freeze in the territories should apply to the Golan,
too? Nothing.
Gaza is the third example of the abundance of talk and little, if any, action.
The Strip's 1.5 million residents continue to be imprisoned as hostages to some
chain reaction waiting to go off. Is the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad
Shalit really the key to opening the crossings, or will a cease-fire agreement
spark their opening? Is there a connection between the two? Once again it must
be assumed that some super-plan is afoot.
All these moves are built on positive chain reactions and intended to culminate
in fireworks that will illuminate the longed-for peace. Thus, if Israel freezes
construction in the settlements and consequently Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas agrees to hold talks over the plan for a Palestinian state, whereupon
Israel agrees to discuss Jerusalem's status and the Palestinians in turn agree
to blur the right of return beyond recognition, then the Israeli-Palestinian
miracle will happen. If the United States and Syria normalize relations and as a
result Bashar Assad agrees to meet with Netanyahu, who in turn will announce his
willingness to withdraw from the entire Golan Heights, another miracle will take
place. If Hamas and Fatah agree to establish a unity government that will adopt
an eternal cease-fire with Israel, which will open the gates of Gaza, we can
even expect a double miracle: Hamas' recognition of the State of Israel and the
establishment of a responsible Palestinian government that can manage the entire
Palestinian state.
The danger in such a domino method is that it only takes one tile that refuses
to fall into place, sparked by, say, the assassination of a Hamas activist, an
attack on a settlement or an insulting remark, for the entire row to tilt in an
unexpected direction. Everything is interconnected in the structure Obama is now
building. All the players have to move simultaneously, agree to conditions and
implement them on a joint timetable. But, as opposed to 2003, when the road map
was announced, this time there are three interdependent tracks. Without Syria
there can be no Palestinian reconciliation, without which there will be no unity
government and therefore Abbas will have a hard time making concessions. Without
concessions, Netanyahu can shake off the order to freeze the settlements.
Obama, rightly from his perspective, is trying to steer clear of a comprehensive
and detailed plan with a timetable. But his salami tactics are too dangerous a
gamble. They encompass three reciprocal processes, too many loopholes and too
many possible land mines. This salami is a very unsatisfying meal indeed.
Sfeir urges Lebanese to trust one another
By Maroun Khoury /Daily Star correspondent
Monday, July 20, 2009
DIMAN: Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir called on the Lebanese on
Sunday to trust their nation and to trust each other. Speaking during the weekly
Sunday sermon at the summer seat of the Maronite Church in the northern village
of Diman, Sfeir stressed the need to strengthen the desire to build Lebanon "and
keep it away from any form of destruction." He told a delegation from the
northern town of Zghorta that the animosities of the June 7 parliamentary
elections "should not linger on." Sfeir also expressed his regret over continued
inter-Christian divisions.
Hariri striving for 'real partnership' in cabinet
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Monday, July 20, 2009
BEIRUT: Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri stressed on Sunday that discussions
to form the next cabinet were ongoing so as to reach an agreement on a structure
that guarantees "real partnership." After talks with President Michel Sleiman at
the Baabda Palace, Hariri said he aimed to form a national-unity cabinet that
comprised all major political parties in order to resolve the country's economic
and social issues, as well as to face Lebanon's future challenges.
Hariri said the formation process was moving forward as "it should be," adding
that he would keep up his ongoing consultations with political parties.
On Sunday, Sleiman also met French Senator Ladislas Poniatowski, who
congratulated the Lebanese on their June 7 elections and wished Lebanon
stability and security.
Earlier on Sunday, media reports claimed that a secret meeting took place on
Saturday between Hariri and Sleiman at Baabda presidential palace.
A source close to the Future Movement leader dismissed the reports and told The
Daily Star that such media leaks "aimed to pressure Sleiman with regard to the
upcoming cabinet by depicting him as responsible for the delay in the formation
process."
While Future Movement figures reiterated on Sunday that opposition groups were
hampering the formation of the next government by insisting on being granted the
blocking-third vote, Hizbullah blamed the delay on foreign intervention.
The source close to Hariri said the opposition's "high-pitched demands" with
regard to the structure of the next cabinet were hindering its formation.
"The opposition groups are still insisting on being granted the obstructing
third in the next government which delayes the agreement on the cabinet's
shape," the source added.
He explained that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's advice not to
pressure Hariri into quickly forming the government was an indicator that the
opposition "was in no hurry to reach an agreement."
Concerning Nasrallah's remarks on Friday that Hizbullah wanted no guarantees on
his party's arms, the source said the statement implied that Hizbullah "needed"
no assurances.
Commenting on Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammad Raad's statement on
Sunday blaming the delay in the cabinet's formation on foreign intervention, the
source stressed that it was up to Lebanese leaders to decide on the government's
makeup. "The March 14 Forces never denied that there is foreign influence on
Lebanon's political situation, however, such influence should remain limited and
the Lebanese leaders should domestically reach an agreement on the cabinet's
form," the source said.
Raad said earlier on Sunday that foreign obstacles were hindering the formation
of the cabinet, adding that domestic circumstances were favorable for speeding
up the process.
"We don't consider the domestic difficulties as obstructive - on the contrary,
circumstances are favorable for the prompt formation of a representative
national-unity cabinet," Raad said.
Speaking during a rally to mark the 60th anniversary assassination of Syrian
Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) founder Antoun Saadeh, Raad stressed that
attempts by foreign sides to hamper the formation of the next cabinet could only
be surpassed through cooperation and unity among the Lebanese.
"Given Lebanon's geopolitical status, only unity can preserve the country's
stability and allow the people to accomplish true independence away from foreign
intervention," Raad said.
Concerning the Israeli violations of Lebanese territories, Raad slammed the bias
of the international community, accusing it of interfering to impose security
"only when the aggressors experience failure." "The international community
intervenes once the assailants face trouble, however, when the Lebanese people
call for security they take side to [protect] the aggressors' interests," Raad
said, in reference to Israel. Meanwhile, Amal Movement MP Ali Hassan Khalil on
Sunday urged all Lebanese political parties support the resistance and the
Lebanese Armed Forces, adding that they complemented each other. Speaking during
the same SSNP rally, Khalil said Lebanon was ready to deal with any Israeli
offensive. Nevertheless, the Amal MP stressed the country's commitment to UN
Security Council Resolution 1701.
In other news, Frederick Hove, assistant of the US president's special envoy to
the Middle East George Mitchell, is expected to arrive in Beirut next week
following visits to Syria and Israel, according to the Central News Agency
(CNA).
The CNA report said Hove's visit would pave the way for Mitchell's Middle East
trip which will include visits to Israel, Syria and Lebanon, before the end of
the month.
Berri calls for abolishing sectarianism BEIRUT: Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on
Sunday the need to form a national committee to abolish political sectarianism.
Berri explained that sectarianism undermined state authority and had led to
disappointments in the past era.
Berri, who was re-elected as the Amal Movement's leader, called during the
movement's 12th convention for boosting partnership among the Lebanese.
"I'm not referring to sectarian partnership between Lebanese factions, but to
the participation of expatriates, women and the young generation in state
affairs and Lebanon's civil society," Berri said. Tackling the concerns of the
residents of south Lebanon and Hermel, Berri criticized the government's
negligence, adding that developmental projects in the regions were as important
as plans to drill for fuel oil along the coastline.
Berri also said Amal would work toward lowering the cost of debt servicing in
order to implement "just and comprehensive developmental programs." - The Daily
Star