LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJuly 29/2010

Bible Of the Day
Matthew 23/23&24: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 23:24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Iran’s Proxy Powder Keg/by Joseph Puder/
July 28/10
Hizbullah may be in a corner, but it will still fight/By: Paul Salem/July 28/10
Natural gas could lead to new Lebanon-Israel war/By: Bassem Mroue/
July 28/10
Druze Emigrants Congress/By: Mona Alami/July 28/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for July 28/10
Agriculture Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan calls STL a US pawn/Now Lebanon
Arab Leaders in Baabda on Friday to Avoid 'Explosion'/Naharnet
Possibility of Hariri-Assad-Nasrallah Meeting Over Tribunal Crisis/Naharnet
Hariri Held Talks with Hussein Khalil, to Meet Aoun Soon/Naharnet
U.S., Israel Plan to Attack 2 Mideast Countries within 3 Months, Says Ahmadinejad/Naharnet
Geagea to Reject STL Indictment if Not Based on 'Convincing Evidences/Naharnet
Dig unearths 5,000-year-old artefact in Sidon/Daily Star
March 14 rejects Hizbullah pitch to probe false STL witnesses/Daily Star
Israel: U.S. military aid to Lebanon could go to terrorists/Examiner.com
Saudi king eyes summit in Lebanon/Daily Star
Jordan's king meets Israeli PM in push for direct talks/(AFP) and The Daily Star

Hizbullah blocks Lebanon-France security agreement/Examiner.com
Clueless about Gaza/Intellectual conservative
Lebanese ruling party wants Muslims to protect Christians/Jerusalem Post
Turkey Sees Hidden Hand in Kurd Riots/Wall street Journal
Aoun: Abul Gheit's Statements an Interference in Our Internal Affairs and in Matters He Has No Right to Tackle/Naharnet
Report: Syria opposes direct talks between Israel, Palestinians/Ynetnews
Syrian Worker Injured, 7 Vehicles Damaged in Engineers Syndicate Parking Blast/Naharnet
Nasrallah Discusses with Karami Tribunal Crisis
/Naharnet
Natural Gas: Financial Boon for Lebanon and Israel or New War?
/Naharnet
March 14 Leaders to Meet for 1st Time in 5 Months
/Naharnet
Report: Cabinet Ministers to Take 15-Day Vacation
/Naharnet
Ahmadinejad to Decide on Wednesday Date of Beirut Visit
/Naharnet
Hand Grenade Shakes Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh
/Naharnet
U.N. Welcomes Deployment of Additional Brigade in the South
/Naharnet
Hariri, Franjieh Discuss Latest Developments and Bolstering Atmosphere for Dialogue
/Naharnet
Suleiman Meets Murr, Salam, Pakradounian in Efforts to Defuse Tension
/Naharnet
Ahmed Shouman Arrested at Airport on Charges of Defaming President on Facebook
/Naharnet

Iran’s Proxy Powder Keg
by Joseph Puder /Naharnet
Jul 28th, 2010
July 12, 2010 marked the fourth anniversary of Israel’s Second Lebanon War. In the intervening years, Hezbollah has made significant political and military gains in Lebanon. The rise in the paramilitary terrorist organization is likely due to three key factors: to Israel’s failure in 2006 to completely destroy Hezbollah’s infrastructure, the perceived weakness of the Obama administration as a result of its appeasement of Iran and Syria, and the failure of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to implement UN resolution 1701.
The war came about as a result of continuous provocations against Israel by Hezbollah, which culminated on July 12, 2006 when a squad of Lebanese-Shiite Hezbollah terrorists, funded and directed by Iran, crossed the Israeli border and ambushed two Israeli Defense Force patrol jeeps. Amidst the fray, roadside explosives were detonated and eight Israeli soldiers were killed. During that same raid, Hezbollah kidnapped two Israeli reservists: Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, whom they either murdered or denied medical care. Simultaneously, Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets at northern Israel communities.
Iran continues to use the Lebanese arena as a military lever against Israel, one which threatens to explode in a third war — albeit, a more all-engulfing regional conflict.
To divert attention from the Iranian Islamic Republic’s rejection of Western demands that Iran negotiate an alternative to its uranium enrichment, Iran ordered Hezbollah terrorists to attack Israeli soldiers. CNN reported on June 5, 2006 that, “In a move aimed at ending the diplomatic standoff (over Iran’s nuclear program) the five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, along with Germany, agreed to a ’set of far reaching proposals’ that will form the foundation for resuming talks with Iran.” The war that began in earnest six days later in Lebanon between Hezbollah – an Iranian proxy also supported by Syria – and Israel did indeed shift attention away from Iran’s disregard of the proposals made by the UN Security Council permanent members.
In the aftermath of the 2006 Second Lebanon War, UN Security Council Resolution 1701 was passed. It prohibited Hezbollah from rearming, and called for the Lebanese army to deploy 15,000 troops in South Lebanon. It charged the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with the responsibility to implement the resolution.
In the ensuing years, Iran has shipped thousands of advanced missiles to Hezbollah – with the transfers being carried out by Syria. While UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is on the record as having said that Hezbollah’s existing stockpile of rockets was in violation of Security Council resolutions, Agence France Presse reported on July 2, 2010 that the UN warned of renewed violence between Hezbollah and Israel following accusations that the Shiite militant party had received sophisticated missiles. “Amidst allegations of continued arms transfers to Hezbollah… a perceptible increase in tension between the parties was noticeable said the UN Secretary General in a report, a copy of which was obtained by AFP in Beirut.” No course of action by the UN, however, was announced.
In April 2010, Syria delivered truckloads of long-range Scud missiles to Hezbollah in clear violation of UN Resolution 1701. These Scud missiles can reach deep into Israel – as far south as Beersheba. While this delivery may not have changed the strategic balance between Israel and Hezbollah, according to some Israeli military experts, it has certainly raised the tension level. No course of action was announced by Ban Ki-Moon at this time either.


Agriculture Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan calls STL a US pawn
July 28, 2010 /Agriculture Minister Hussein al-Hajj Hassan told New TV on Wednesday the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is a US pawn. He said that Hezbollah does not accept the tribunal indicting any of the former’s members for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. “[Indicting] Hezbollah members will drag the country into problems,” Hajj Hassan added. “Some Future Movement MPs’ statements sound as if they still suspect Syria is behind Hariri’s assassination,” the MP added. Tension has increased after Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah questioned the credibility of the STL earlier in July, calling it an Israeli project designed to create sectarian conflict in the country. Last Thursday, Nasrallah claimed Hezbollah members would be named in the STL’s pending indictment. Hajj Hassan also said that some public figures are miscalculating if they are gambling on relations to worsen between Syria and Hezbollah. He did not verify reports that PM Saad Hariri would meet with Nasrallah, saying only that “everything depends on the circumstances.”
-NOW Lebanon

Arab Leaders in Baabda on Friday to Avoid 'Explosion'
Naharnet/Baabda palace is gearing up to welcome Saudi King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad on Friday for summit talks with President Michel Suleiman aimed at warding off an "explosion" in Lebanon. Informed sources told An Nahar daily in remarks published Wednesday that the importance of the visits of the Arab leaders, including Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, lies in their attempts to "ward off an explosion whose shrapnel could reach the entire region because the Lebanese issue is the hottest during this stage."
The sources said Abdullah, Assad and Suleiman will discuss during their summit talks all issues linked to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon although efforts are mainly aimed at finding an atmosphere of calm and not to interfere in the operations of the court. Political sources following up the king's visit to Beirut said the importance of the trip lies in its timing particularly that Lebanese politicians are rattling sabers over the indictment next fall. "Things will be clearer on the course of the court and the indictment after the visit," the sources told An Nahar. Meanwhile, reports said that Bahrain's King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa postponed his trip to Beirut on Friday to pave for a successful visit for King Abdullah. Beirut, 28 Jul 10,

Possibility of Hariri-Assad-Nasrallah Meeting Over Tribunal Crisis

Naharnet/Informed political sources said officials were studying the possibility of holding a meeting between Premier Saad Hariri, Syrian President Bashar Assad and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. The sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Wednesday that the meeting was among other suggestions made to solve differences among Lebanese politicians over the findings of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that will be issued next fall. Others sources said that bilateral talks between Hariri and Nasrallah could be held without the presence of an Arab leader particularly that the premier stressed on calm and dialogue in his latest statement. Several parties advised Nasrallah to intensify contacts with Hariri because dialogue is the only way to avoid strife in the country, the sources added. Beirut, 28 Jul 10,

Hariri Held Talks with Hussein Khalil, to Meet Aoun Soon

Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri discussed latest developments in Lebanon and the region with Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's political assistant Hussein Khalil on Tuesday night. As Safir daily said Wednesday that Khalil held two hours of talks with Hariri at his home in Beirut in the presence of the premier's advisor Mustafa Nasser. Sources said the atmosphere was friendly and channels of contact between the two sides will remain open to consolidate political stability. As Safir also reported that Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun will visit Hariri in the next few days. Beirut, 28 Jul 10,

Syrian Worker Injured, 7 Vehicles Damaged in Engineers Syndicate Parking Blast

Naharnet/A Syrian worker was lightly injured and at least seven vehicles were damaged in a blast at a parking lot near the Engineers Syndicate building in Beirut's Bir Hassan neighborhood on Wednesday. Media reports said the explosion was caused by a percussion bomb. Security forces immediately cordoned off the parking lot and launched an investigation into the incident.
Voice of Lebanon radio quoted sources as saying that personal reasons were behind the blast. It said that while Nasser Moussa Mhanna was driving his four-wheeler out of the parking, the vehicle's tire hit the bomb hidden in a plastic bag. Head of the Engineers Syndicate Bilal al-Olaili condemned the blast saying any security incident reflects negatively on the stability of the country. He urged officials not to politicize the issue and leave the investigation for security forces to find the culprits. Beirut, 28 Jul 10,

Nasrallah Discusses with Karami Tribunal Crisis

Naharnet/Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah discussed with former PM Omar Karami latest developments, including the issue of the international tribunal.
Karami's son, Faisal, attended the talks, the National News Agency said Wednesday. It did not say when the meeting took place. Nasrallah also met with former Minister Abdel Rahim Mrad in the presence of Hizbullah official Mahmoud Qmati. Beirut, 28 Jul 10,

March 14 Leaders to Meet for 1st Time in 5 Months

Naharnet/For the first time in five months, high-ranking March 14 officials will hold a meeting in the next 48 hours to discuss the latest political developments, An Nahar daily reported Wednesday. The terse report did not say where the conference will take place. An Nahar only said that the talks among March 14 leaders are aimed at taking stances from several local and foreign issues. Beirut, 28 Jul 10,

Report: Cabinet Ministers to Take 15-Day Vacation

Naharnet/The council of ministers could take a 15-day off following a session at under Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the Grand Serail on Wednesday, An Nahar newspaper reported.
The daily said that the cabinet would discuss from outside its agenda the latest political developments without taking a stance from them. "The session could be followed by a 15-day vacation to pave way for ministers to make visits abroad," An Nahar added. Beirut, 28 Jul 10,

Ahmadinejad to Decide on Wednesday Date of Beirut Visit
Naharnet/Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Beirut will take place before the start of Ramadan in August, media reports said Wednesday. As Safir daily quoted presidential sources as saying that contacts are underway between the Iranian embassy and Baabda palace to make the final arrangements for Ahmadinejad's visit. Sources from the Iranian president's office in Tehran told al-Akhbar newspaper that Ahmadinejad will on Wednesday decide the date of his trip to the Lebanese capital. Beirut, 28 Jul 10, 08:18

Hand Grenade Shakes Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh
Naharnet/Unknown assailants threw a hand grenade in the northern port of Tripoli's Bab al-Tabbaneh district on Tuesday night without causing casualties, As Safir daily reported.
The newspaper said that the grenade shook the area of Talaat al-Omari near the wheat market at 11:00 pm. The army cordoned off the neighborhood and carried out patrols. It also launched an investigation to find the assailants. Beirut, 28 Jul 10, 07:55

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, has a new claim: The U.S. will strike...twice!

BY Aliyah Shahid /DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, July 27th 2010, /The president of Iran has a message: Prepare for war.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he expects the U.S. to initiate a military strike on "at least two countries" in the region within the next three months.
In the interview, which played on state-run Press television on Tuesday, the president did not go into detail about what the military action would entail. Nor did he specify if Iran itself would be attacked or where he obtrained the information. He simply said Iran had "very precise information that the Americans have hatched a plot" to "wage a psychological war against Iran."
The latest claim comes after a number of out-there assertions by the Iranian president including that there are no homosexuals in Iran, that Osama bin Laden is hiding in Washington D.C., and that U.S. slavery was a hoax. The U.S. and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran, concerned about its nuclear program and the prospect that the country could be making a bomb. Iran has vehemently denied the claim. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described a nuclear-armed Iran as "the ultimate terrorist threat." Israel has not confirmed or denied having its own nuclear arsenal, but in the past it has preemptively attacked potential nuclear targets. In 1981, Israel demolished Iraq's nuclear rector, and in 2007 the country bombed a suspected site in Syria. On the broadcast, Ahmadinejad slammed the U.S. for wanting to place international sanctions on Iran over its suspected nuclear program.
"The logic that they can persuade us to negotiate through sanctions is just a failure," Ahmadinejad said. The European Union placed new economic sanctions on Iran on Monday, following a similar move by the U.S. and a fourth round of UN sanctions. With News Wire Services

Druze Emigrants’ Congress

Mona Alami, July 28, 2010
Now Lebanon
Druze sheikhs and members of an Arab-Israeli Druze delegation attend a lunch in Mukhtara, southeast of Beirut, on July 24, 2010. (AFP photo/Joseph Eid)
Last week’s Druze Emigrants’ Congress, organized by the Druze leadership in Lebanon, was a first in the community’s history. The four-day event attracted 500 participants from 36 countries. Most notable was the participation of a Druze delegation from Israel. “Arab-Israeli Druze, and more particularly those opposing the Israeli regime, are part of the Druze community at large. Therefore, they must be encouraged to affirm their Arab identity,” said Kamil Sariedine, chairman of the Druze Emigrant Committee that organized the congress.
In the past week, the debate as to whether or not the attendance of the Israeli delegation was legitimate or not was set off by pro-opposition daily al-Akhbar, with columnist Brahim Al-Amin asking whether the presence of Arab-Israeli Druze encouraged normalization of relations between Lebanon and Israel.
“The participation of Arab-Israeli Druze at the conference was approved by all political factions,” Sariedine said.
Hezbollah, on the other hand, remained silent, though former Druze minister and staunch Hezbollah ally Wiam Wahhab told the press that the conference only served to create more divisions within the Druze community. “I refused receiving the invitation to the conference,” he said. “We wish for the goals of such a conference to be clarified.” Wahhab’s displeasure appears to have been motivated by the fact that he was invited to the event at the last minute, a move that may have been seen as a snub from the traditional Druze leadership, notably head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Jumblatt – who had told the press that the aim of the congress was to reaffirm the Druze’s Arab and Muslim identity – and former minister Talal Arslan.
The politics, however, left Druze emigrants indifferent. They hoped that it would not deflect from the original aims of the event, which sought to clarify many long-standing issues within the community ranging from inheritance to doctrinal concerns and who can claim to be Druze. “We hope that the congress will be able to outline our primary concerns, which are the identification of the Druze diaspora, the establishment of lines of communication between the various Druze communities, and raising awareness among the youth,” said a wealthy American Druze who didn’t want to be named.
According to Sariedine, there are a million or so Druze scattered around the world: 400,000 residing in Lebanon, 600,000 in Syria, 100,000 in Israel and 75,000 in Jordan, not counting others living in the West, Africa, the Arab Gulf, Australia, Canada and South America. “We tried during the congress to address as many issues [as possible] relevant to the emigrant community,” he added.
Topics debated during the congress revolved mainly around the social and economic challenges faced by Lebanese Druze, and possible solutions, as well as reforms of the personal status law. “During our visits to emigrant communities in Brazil, the United States, Canada, Nigeria and in the Arab countries, among others, our main goal was to introduce the new Druze Religious Council [the first official Druze institution launched in 2006] to Druze emigrant communities and Druze associations in order to allow them to better network and coordinate their efforts,” said Sariedine. The congress was another building block in the centralization and institutionalization of the community’s affairs.
The Druze personal status law remains at the crux of the matter. With many Druze emigrating or marrying out of their faith, the community may be on the verge of extinction in a few years, as Druze only consider children born from two Druze parents legitimate. “The community is facing a serious problem today with more and more of its members marrying outside their faith and who are not registering the birth of their children with Dar al-Tayfeh,” said Sariedine, referring to the Druze’s official religious institution. “We have therefore decided to officially recognize the birth of any child born to a Druze father,” he added.
The community is also very secretive when it comes to its faith, something that has discouraged many from practicing their religion. A committee was put in charge of religious reforms, and a simplified religious guidebook was created during the congress. “We plan to train missionaries who will preach the Druze faith to community members in the larger diaspora,” said Sariedine, adding that while the older generation was enthused by the congress’ organization, it was more difficult to reach out to the younger generation. Future congresses might include events catering specifically to the youth, he said. “We need to build an emotional link with them.”
Besides discussing the personal status law, congress participants also went over the many economic and social challenges faced by the community in Lebanon. “We started with a presentation of the Lebanese social and economic reality. We also debated the idea of a consortium that would essentially have two main tasks: the creation of an investment arm and the organization of professional training seminars,” Sariedine said. The investment tool would work with either agricultural projects or small-to-medium enterprises, while seminars would target mostly residents of rural areas. Plans to build low-cost homes for the Druze, and the establishment of a House of Emigrants in the Druze region of Aabadiyeh were also part of the conference.
One topic in particular that was raised by some emigrants but was not, however, addressed, was the controversial issue of Druze waqf, or religious properties. “There is a lack of transparency in the management of the waqf properties. This situation does not encourage the rich Druze to bequeath their wealth to their community,” complained the wealthy emigrant. For decades, hundreds of waqf properties were illegally registered in the name of one Druze political faction or another, or leased with advantageous conditions to those same parties.
The accusations were brushed off by waqf lawyer Mazen Masri. “There was certainly a lack of transparency in the waqf activities before the formation of the Druze Religious Council in 2006. However, in recent years, new laws were promulgated to prevent the sale and alienation of any property entrusted to the community,” he said.
In spite of some criticisms of its politicization, the Druze Congress has been applauded by most. “The congress was the first successful attempt of this kind in over 25 years,” said one judge in attendance. For Sariedine, the congress’ main achievement was in the adoption of transparent and efficient procedures systematizing Druze affairs. Discounting the political ranting he added: “Like in any other minority, politics can either unite or divide a community. With the recent positive evolution of the political scene, I would say the trend is toward unity.”

Dig unearths 5,000-year-old artefact in Sidon
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
SIDON: The British Museum delegation announced on Tuesday that it has discovered significant archeological remains in Sidon, during the 12th year of excavation project.
The delegation has been working on the College excavation site in the southern coastal city of Sidon for 12 years, with the cooperation of the Department of Antiquities of Lebanon. It has recently uncovered new items that link various historic eras together.
“In this small site we have a chronological succession of various eras … Each year we discover new rooms,” said the head of the delegation Claude Serhal.
Work carried out since June 19 of this year has uncovered two new rooms in a 10-room building dating back to the third millennium BC. In one of these chambers the team found a small figurine and a small container with a broken handle.
The statuette of a human figure represented in prayer had special importance, according to Serhal, because it was “the first time we found a complete statue of a worshiper dating back to the third millennium BC.” The figure was wearing a long dress, with hair indicated by incised lines. Its arms were bent in front of the body suggesting a respectful pose.
“This is a major discovery because we’re learning more about the third millennium BC,” Serhal said, adding that pictures of gods were also found.
Another significant discovery was that of a jar containing a child grave with a horn of an ox placed above it, revealing another aspect of funeral feasting near burials. The number of graves found so far has risen to 114. Serhal stressed the need to continue working at the site in order to learn about the first and second millennia BC. “We need to have a clearer image about people’s everyday lives and their religious and burial rituals … This is essential to interpret history in a way that is accessible to everyone,” she said.
The excavation also uncovered evidence of intense commercial activity during the Late Iron Age, also known as the Persian Period.
A monumental L-shaped building constructed with very large blocks was found, and will require further investigation, according to a statement issued by the delegation.
Hundreds of jars dating from this period were also discovered inside and outside of the building, suggesting a warehouse or a place where jars were kept ready to be sent from Sidon’s harbor to the Mediterranean region. The College site is to be turned into an open museum in the future, through a project of the Council for Development and Reconstruction. The project will be carried out under the supervision of the Culture Ministry with the cooperation of the Sidon municipality and financed by the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development. More discoveries were made at the Sandikli excavation site in Sidon this year, including a gold Abbassid dinar, Mameluke pottery fragments and a new Iron Age building, of which two rooms were excavated. The Sandikli site is a newly excavated site and has “huge potential,” according to Serhal’s statement due to “its continuity through time and exceptional finds.”

Barak Warns Israel Will Attack Lebanon If Hizbullah Starts War
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu/Arutz Sheva
Israel will consider Lebanese government buildings and bases a target if Hizbullah starts up another war against Israel, Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned Monday.
The Defense Minister revealed that then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Ehud Olmert, when he was Prime Minister in 2006 and asked him not to touch what Barak called the “precious government” of Beirut.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Washington Post, Defense Minister Barak added, “We didn't [attack it]. I think that they're responsible for what happens, and if it happens that Hizbullah will shoot into Tel Aviv, we will not run after each Hizbullah terrorist or launcher of some rocket in all Lebanon. We'll see the government of Lebanon responsible for what happens, and for what happens within its government, its body politic, and its arsenal of munitions. And we will see it as a legitimate to hit any target that belongs to the Lebanese state, not just to the Hizbullah.” Barak also warned the United States “that the walls between the Lebanese armed forces and Hizbullah—it's quite porous. And whatever you give the Lebanese armed forces might end up in the hands of Hizbullah, be it technology or weapons or whatever. “The Obama administration recently announced it giving the Beirut government $100 million in military aid. Barak also admitted—perhaps for the first time publicly—that his order in 2000 for a sudden pullout of Israeli forces from enabled Hizbullah to prepare for war against Israel.
“We pulled out and ended up with an area full of rockets and missile.” he admitted. “We did it next in Gaza and ended up with an area full of rockets covering Tel Aviv as well as other parts of the south and half of Israel. And within the framework of considering an agreement with the Palestinians that will establish a Palestinian state side by side with Israel ,we should make sure that the three underlying principles of our security are fully assured, namely the West Bank will not become like Gaza and southern Lebanon, another launching pad for rockets against the coastal plain of Israel.”The Defense Minister is currently in Washington, and he said that he will be talking with the U.S. Defense Department and military officials about American arms sales to Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia.“There are considerations in Washington about moving forward with major deals with our neighbors and we want to make sure that we are in an understanding with the [Obama] administration.
“We understand the American need, under the strategy of the administration, to kind of strengthen the moderate Arab countries facing the same threat from hegemonic Iran. But, at the same time, we have a tradition of understanding with following administrations to keep Israel's superiority in weapons' systems and munitions.”
The Defense Minister also will discuss the prospective purchase of the advanced F-35 fighter jet. Reports last week indicated that the sale was imminent. Barak said, “We will have to make the final decisions in relatively short time,” but he pointed out that Israel needs “to be able to participate in production of some parts in our industry as well as making sure that we can continue keeping our real [military] edge.”Turning to Iran, the Defense Minister said that the United States and Israel are closer than ever to sharing the same diagnosis unlike the previous situation whereby the NIE [National Intelligence Estimate] declared three years ago that Iran has suspended its quest for nuclear weapons.
"I think that basically it's still time for sanctions. Probably at a certain point we should realize that sanctions cannot work," he said.

March 14 rejects Hizbullah pitch to probe false STL witnesses
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
BEIRUT: March 14 parties on Tuesday rejected Hizbullah’s call to form a committee tasked with probing false witnesses in the probe into former Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination.
Future Movement officials also insisted that the Cabinet was not entitled to interfere in the work of the UN-backed tribunal that is investigating the crime.
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has condemned the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) as an “Israeli project,” alleging that it has fabricated an indictment against “rogue Hizbullah members” and is awaiting the right political circumstances to make it public.
Nasrallah’s remarks have generated fierce debate among Lebanese politicians.
“The STL and the indictment are in their natural place in The Hague rather than the Lebanese domestic scene,” Future Movement MP Ammar Houri said Tuesday, referring to the STL’s headquarters.
“The Cabinet is the right place to discuss all national issues but cannot interfere in judicial details, particularly those we agreed on,” said the Future Movement MP. “Isn’t anyone who asks to discuss the issue in the government or National Dialogue sessions calling for politicizing the STL?”
Minister of State Adnan al- Sayyed Hussein said political parties were in talks ahead of the Cabinet’s session next Wednesday in a bid to form a ministerial committee tasked with following-up on the STL.
He added that the issue of the STL would also be addressed by the National Dialogue committee, if participants agreed to discuss the matter during its upcoming meeting on August 19. “… The issue [of the STL] is important and directly related to a national defense strategy because it relates to national security, which is not restricted only to facing Israel but also security threats, terrorism and preserving national unity,” he said.
He stressed that preserving security in Lebanon was not only the responsibility of Hizbullah and Premier Saad Hariri but that of all parties.
“Thus the need for rational rhetoric away from tensions and accusations of treason,” Sayyed Hussein said.
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea rejected Nasrallah’s call to form a committee to probe false witnesses, saying the Hizbullah leader’s assumption was not supported by any judicial authority. “Who said there are any false witnesses?” he asked, adding that Hizbullah “did not back its claims with any judicial authorities or tribunal; thus they are assuming something that does not exist.”
Geagea went further to voice support for political dialogue over disputed issues or tensions but “not the STL.”
Following a meeting with Geagea, Future Movement MP Oqab Sakr denied that upcoming visits to Lebanon by heads of Arab states were in preparation for a new Doha Accord but rather to promote the existing accord and strengthen it.
The Doha Accord in 2008 ended bloody clashes between pro-government and opposition gunmen that kicked off on May 7 following the Cabinet’s decision to dismantle Hizbullah’s telecommunications network.
Ahead of scheduled talks on Wednesday between the Egyptian president and the Saudi king in Egypt, the Egyptian Foreign Minister warned Monday that the use of force on the Lebanese scene by any domestic party was unacceptable, adding that the May 7 events should not be repeated.
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz and Qatari Prince Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani are expected to arrive to Beirut on Friday while ambiguity still surrounds the timing of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s visit to Lebanon.

Natural gas could lead to new Lebanon-Israel war
Two countries exchange threats after reserves found off coast

Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Bassem Mroue/Associated Press
BEIRUT: The discovery of large natural-gas reserves under the eastern Mediterranean could potentially mean a huge economic windfall for Israel and Lebanon, both resource-poor nations – if it doesn’t spark new war between them. Hizbullah has blared warnings that Israel plans to steal natural gas from Lebanese territory and vows to defend the resources with its arsenal of rockets. Israel says the fields it is developing do not extend into Lebanese waters, a claim experts say appears to be correct, but the maritime boundary between the two countries – still officially at war – has never been precisely set.
“Lebanon’s need for the resistance has doubled today in light of Israeli threats to steal Lebanon’s oil wealth,” Hizbullah’s Executive Council chief Hashem Safieddine said last month. The need to protect the offshore wealth “pushes us in the future to strengthen the resistance’s capabilities.” The threats cast a shadow over what could be a financial boon for both nations, with energy companies finding what appear to be substantial natural gas deposits in their waters.
Israel is far ahead in the race to develop the resources. Two fields, Tamar and Dalit, discovered last year, are due to start producing in 2012, and experts say their estimated combined reserves of 5.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas can cover Israel’s energy needs for the next two decades. In June, the US energy company Noble Energy, part of a consortium developing the fields, predicted that Israel will also have enough gas to export to Europe and Asia from a third field – Leviathan, thought to hold up to 16 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Israel relies entirely on imports to meet its energy needs, spending billions to bring natural gas from Egypt and coal from a variety of countries. Energy independence would have a major impact on the county. When Tamar begins producing it could lower Israel’s energy costs by $1 billion a year and bring $400 million a year in royalties into government coffers. That suggests a total of about $40 billion in savings and $16 billion in government revenues over the total yield of the field.
Those numbers would only rise as Leviathan comes on line. “Israel’s always looked for oil,” said Paul Rivlin, a senior research fellow with Tel Aviv University’s Dayan center. “But I don’t think it ever thought of itself as becoming a producer. And now that you’ve got a high-tech economy that’s doing quite well, this comes as an added bonus.” Hizbullah’s warnings, however, quickly followed the announcement by Houston, Texas-based Noble Energy.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hizbullah ally, warned that Israel is “turning into an oil emirate while ignoring the fact that the field extends, according to the maps, into Lebanon’s territorial waters.”Israel’s Petroleum and Mining commissioner at the National Infrastructure Ministry Yaakov Mimran, called those claims “nonsense,” saying Leviathan and the other two fields are all within Israel’s economic zone.
“Those noises occur when they smell gas. Until then, they sit quietly and let the other side spend the money,” Mimran told the Israeli daily Haaretz.
Maps from Noble Energy show Leviathan within Israel’s waters. An official with Norway’s Petroleum Geo-Services, which is surveying gas fields in Lebanese waters, told the Associated Press that from Noble’s reports there is no reason to think Leviathan extends into Lebanon. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized by his company to speak to the media on the subject.
The rumblings are worrisome because Israel and Hizbullah each accuse the other of intending to spark a new conflict following the devastating 2006 Summer War. That fighting, in which Hizbullah’s capture of two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid sparked a massive Israeli bombardment, killed about 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
Hizbullah, a close ally of Syria and Iran, has not fired a rocket into Israel since.
Israeli officials, however, say they believe Hizbullah has managed to triple its prewar arms stockpile to more than 40,000 rockets. The warnings from Hizbullah and Berri could be as much for domestic consumption as directed as Israel, aiming to press for the passage of a long-delayed draft oil law, needed before any Lebanese fields can be developed.
Oil and gas exploration has been a source of disagreement between Lebanese politicians over the past decade. The change of several governments and disputes over what company should do the surveying have caused delays.
In October, Petroleum Geo-Services said fields in Cypriot and Lebanese waters “may prove to be an exciting new province for oil and gas in the next few years,” noting signs of deposits in Lebanon, though their size is still not known. “It is very encouraging for Lebanon,” the PGS official told AP.
Any finds could help Lebanon’s government pay off what is one of the highest debt rates in the world, at about $52 billion, or 147 percent of its gross domestic product.
Israel and Lebanon are among the few countries in the Middle East without substantial natural resources. Israel has built a place for itself with a powerful high-tech sector, while Lebanon has boomed in recent years with tourism and real estate investment. While the gas may not transform them into Gulf-style spigots of petro-cash, it would be a major boost.
Rivlin doubts Israel could become a significant exporter, saying nearby countries don’t need or aren’t willing to buy from it, and the costs of liquifying gas for transport to further markets like Europe may be prohibitive. But Eytan Gilboa, a political science professor at Bar-Ilan University, said that with the world “so hungry for energy,” Israel wouldn’t have a problem finding buyers. But the development raises security worries, as the offshore gas infrastructure could become a target. During the 2006 fighting, Hizbullah succeeded in hitting Israeli warships off Lebanon with its rockets. “Once those rigs start producing gas, it’s going to be difficult to secure them,” Gilboa said. “So on the one hand, you reduce dependency on imports in times of crisis, but at the same time, you make yourself vulnerable because those sites are exposed.”

Saudi king eyes summit in Lebanon
Meeting would group Abdullah, Assad, Sheikh Hamad, Lebanese leaders

By The Daily Star /Wednesday, July 28, 2010
BEIRUT: If last minute contacts bear fruit a Saudi-Syrian-Lebanese summit is expected to be held in Beirut on Friday to tackle rising tensions in Lebanon and other Arab issues, well-informed sources said. The Central News Agency reported on Tuesday that if the tripartite summit takes place at the Baabda Presidential Palace, it will be a chance to achieve a large-scale reconciliation among the Lebanese. Saudi King Abdullah meets Syrian leader Bashar Assad on Thursday to try to ease tensions in Lebanon, capitalizing on an apparent weakening in Iran’s position after a round of tough new sanctions.
The monarch will hold talks with Assad in Damascus before heading to Beirut where he will meet his ally Prime Minister Saad Hariri, President Michel Sleiman and other political leaders, Saudi officials said. Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is also expected in Beirut on Friday. The monarch hopes to convince Assad to accompany him to Beirut from Damascus, Lebanese officials say, although Syria has not confirmed that Assad will oblige. Hizbullah-affiliated television station Al-Manar reported on Tuesday that high ranking Syrian officials said Assad will pay Beirut a visit on August 3. The king is expected to press Assad to use his influence over Lebanon’s powerful Shiite group Hizbullah to discourage it from heightening tensions, especially between Hizbullah and Sunni political leaders like Hariri. Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has condemned the UN investigation into the 2005 killing of Saad’s father, former Premier Rafik Hariri, saying he expected it to indict many Hizbullah members.
Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has been trying to persuade Syria to loosen its alliance with Iran and adopt a more Arab-focused foreign policy, with Saudi officials hinting at financial aid for Syria and a resumption of investment there in return. Shiite Iran’s growing influence in the Arab region since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and its links to Syria, Lebanon’s Hizbullah, Hamas and various groups in Iraq, have alarmed US-allied powers such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
“The king appears keen to deal with concerns that recent tensions could escalate if the [UN] court takes some decisive action in the Hariri murder case,” said Khalid al-Dakhil, a prominent Saudi political writer. “The visit also aims at ascertaining the regional understandings Syria has with Saudis, Turks, the French … to keep Lebanon stable and stay away from Lebanese internal political wranglings.” Late on Tuesday, Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks with Saudi Ambassador in Lebanon Ali Awad al-Assiri. Indictment of Hizbullah members for Hariri’s killing would put severe strains on Lebanon’s unity government. President Michel Sleiman held four days of talks with political leaders earlier this month to try to calm tensions, which echo the deep divisions that threatened to ignite a new civil war in 2008.
Before the Syrian leg, King Abdullah will on Wednesday meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, also to discuss the situation in Lebanon. A Riyadh-based Western diplomat said the visit by the Saudi monarch to Beirut would send a signal of stability. “It’s brave of him to go there amid the tense political context. It shows that the kingdom is leading the
pan-Arab regional diplomacy that takes the initiative,” the diplomat said. Extended UN sanctions against Iran in June seem to have encouraged moderate Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, to be bold in addressing the threat of instability in Lebanon. “The tougher sanctions on Iran have a negative impact on Hizbullah, and Hizbullah is not happy about them. But Syria has never abandoned Hizbullah and will not abandon it. But its perspective and calculations have changed,” Dakhil said. Saad Hariri, who initially blamed Syria for his father’s death, has since tried to ease tensions with Damascus. Syria has denied any involvement in Hariri’s killing. Damascus, whose allies such as Hizbullah have effective veto power in the government, had re-set relations with Lebanon after improving ties with Saudi Arabia. Rafik Hariri’s killing angered Riyadh but Saudi Arabia and Syria appear to set aside their differences last year with the aim of healing divisions between their allies in Lebanon. – Reuters, with The Daily Star

Jordan's king meets Israeli PM in push for direct talks

By Agence France Presse (AFP) and The Daily Star
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
AMMAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with King Abdullah II on a surprise visit to Jordan on Tuesday as the premier tries to convince Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to upgrade Middle East peace talks. The Israeli-Jordanian summit came a day after Abbas also held talks in Amman and as the Palestinian leader prepares for an Arab League meeting on whether to resume direct peace negotiations which were halted in December 2008.
“The king and the prime minister discussed means to achieve progress in efforts to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in line with a two-state solution,” the royal palace said.
“They also discussed ways to create the right environment for launching direct and serious peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel.”
A senior official told AFP that “the meeting lasted for more than two hours during which the two men discussed in a clear and straightforward way measures that can be taken to achieve progress in the [Middle East] peace process.”
Netanyahu’s office said the two discussed “the need to ensure direct, serious and effective negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians that would address all final-status issues.”
The visit came three months after King Abdullah told The Wall Street Journal Netanyahu’s actions over the past year had brought relations between their countries to a new low.
On Monday, Abbas met with the king and denied that the Palestinians were hindering the start of direct talks with Israel after Netanyahu said they were dragging their feet.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Tuesday after Abbas met with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos in Amman that Israel “holds the key” to direct negotiations.
Netanyahu and King Abdullah, whose countries have a 1994 peace treaty, last met on May 14, 2009, when the Israeli prime minister also made a surprise visit to Amman, six weeks after taking office.“We call on the Israeli government that holds the key … to open the gate for these direct negotiations by accepting the terms of reference of two states, based on the 1967 borders,” Erekat told reporters. Meanwhile, the Ramallah-based government led by Premier Salam Fayyad will be disbanded and a new Palestinian Authority cabinet will be formed next week, a high-ranking Fatah official said Tuesday according to Ma’an News Agency. Fatah’s parliament speaker Azzam al-Ahmad told Ma’an radio that Abbas would consult with Palestinian factions over the new structure of the PA. Fayyad or another politician will be tasked with forming a government, he said. After meeting with Fatah lawmakers in Ramallah, Al-Ahmad said the restructuring of the PA cabinet would include all PLO factions and independent figures but would remain affiliated to Fatah regardless of its prime minister and cabinet members’ political party. It will strictly follow Fatah party policies, he said. – AFP, with The Daily Star

Hizbullah may be in a corner, but it will still fight

By Paul Salem /Commentary by
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The future of Hizbullah, Lebanon’s powerful Shiite political and paramilitary organization, has never looked more uncertain. Indeed, given rising tension with Israel and possible indictments of its operatives by the international tribunal investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Hizbullah appears to be hemmed in on all sides.
The most immediate question concerns the possibility of another Israel-Hizbullah war, fears of which have mounted throughout this year, fueled by reports of new missile transfers to Hizbullah and intermittent threats from Israel. Those who foresee war argue that Israel is unwilling to tolerate a heavily armed Iranian proxy on its border while tensions with Iran over the nuclear issue remain unresolved. Although war is unlikely in the coming months, if sanctions on Iran don’t bear fruit by early 2011, Israel might feel the need to act. If it launched military strikes on Iran’s nuclear installations, Hizbullah would likely join the fray and Israel would have to engage Hizbullah at the same time. Alternatively, Israel might launch a pre-emptive war against Hizbullah in order to rob Iran of a nearby retaliatory capacity.
Hizbullah is preparing intensively for such scenarios, building defenses, digging tunnels, and assembling a powerful missile arsenal. But, although Hizbullah’s preparations are likely to ensure its survival, it would be hard-pressed to justify to the Lebanese public a strategy that led to two ruinous wars in the span of five years.
In the end game of such a war, Syria might be asked by the Arab countries and the international community to take greater responsibility in Lebanon, in order to contain Hizbullah and its military profile.
Moreover, if peace prevents a slide into war, Hizbullah has another problem. Although a real breakthrough in the Arab-Israeli peace process appears unlikely, United States envoy George Mitchell is still talking of Arab-Israeli peace as a distinct possibility in 2011. Sources within the US administration hint that President Barack Obama might announce the outlines of an Arab-Israeli settlement sometime later this year.
An accord between Syria and Israel is a key element of all proposed scenarios for Arab-Israeli peace. In exchange for giving back the occupied Golan Heights, Israel and the United States will insist on the disarmament of Hizbullah. Indeed, within the context of the Arab Peace Initiative, announced in Beirut in 2002, the Arab states take it upon themselves to ensure the security of “all states in the region” – code words for dealing with the threats from Hizbullah and Hamas – since the region includes Israel.
Although both Hizbullah and Iran still argue, perhaps correctly, that Israel will not give back the Golan Heights or allow the emergence of a Palestinian state, the possibility of peace cannot be ruled out. If it does occur, Syria will push Lebanon into a peace treaty with Israel and lean on Hizbullah heavily to adjust to the new realities.
Given its popularity among Lebanese Shiites, Hizbullah could continue as an influential political party, but it would have to abandon its role as a major proxy force for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Nevertheless, Hizbullah faces severe political trouble, too. Although no official announcement has been made, there are reports that Daniel Bellemare, the prosecutor for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, might conclude his investigation and issue indictments in the fall.
In a speech on July 16, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged rumors that the tribunal might indict members of his party, but charged that the body was part of an Israeli plot to undermine the Islamic resistance in Lebanon and had no credibility. He argued that the indictments would probably be based on cell-phone records, and that Israeli agents had penetrated the Lebanese cell-phone network. Indeed, Lebanese military intelligence recently arrested a high-level official at one of the country’s two cell-phone companies, alleging that he was an Israeli agent.
In describing the tribunal as part of an Israeli plot, Nasrallah warned the government and other parties in Lebanon against cooperating with it, or accepting its verdicts. He reminded his audience of the street fighting in Beirut in May 2008, and made clear that Hizbullah would not shy away from another fight if necessary.
While Hizbullah has tried to convince other Lebanese that its presence helps maintain the country’s security and stability, regional and international developments suggest that it faces mounting challenges. And, although the future does not look bright for Hizbullah, it is not likely to relinquish its power without a fight.
*Paul Salem is director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. THE DAILY STAR publishes this commentary in collaboration with Project Syndicate © (www.project-syndicate.org).

Aoun: Abul Gheit's Statements an Interference in Our Internal Affairs and in Matters He Has No Right to Tackle

Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun criticized on Tuesday Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit's statements on Lebanon, labeling them as "interference in our internal affairs and in matters he has no right to tackle."
The MP said after his movement's weekly meeting that the upcoming visits by Arab leaders to Lebanon is not a sign that a new Doha Accord is being devised.
He also slammed Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea's recent statements in which he said that "those who speak of strife are the ones preparing for it" by saying: "His statements are part of a conspiracy and if I were a general prosecutor, I would have called upon those who make such statements."
Addressing his statements to As Safir in which he voiced his concern over the possibility of internal strife in Lebanon, Aoun noted: "I only spoke of signs, but strife is being prepared, although they won't find anyone who will collaborate with them except some naïve people who advocate it."
The meeting also tackled Israel's threats to Lebanon, on which he commented: "We have grown accustomed to Israeli threats. Israel always wants Hizbullah to be at a confrontation on the international scene in order for the Jewish state to appease its people."
"The Israeli government is helpless and its actions are not those of a balanced state because Hizbullah's existence in the South has defensive aims," he added.
Beirut, 27 Jul 10, 18:11