LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِOctober 28/2010

Bible Of The Day
The Letter from James 3/1-12/The tongue curse
3:1 Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. 3:2 For in many things we all stumble. If anyone doesn�t stumble in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. 3:3 Indeed, we put bits into the horses� mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body. 3:4 Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. 3:5 So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! 3:6 And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna. 3:7 For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and thing in the sea, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind. 3:8 But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 3:9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. 3:10 Out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 3:11 Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? 3:12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
No political body can influence the STL/By: Hanin Ghaddar/Now Lebanon/October 27/10
Message to the world/Ynetnews/October 27/10
Iran's unlikely understanding with Saudi Arabia/ By Zvi Bar'el/Haaretz/October 27/10
The old/new unilateral threat/By ALAN BAKER/J.Post/October 27/10
If there�s a will, there�s a way/Marking the Blue Line/By: Ana Maria Luca/October 27/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for October 27/10
Hezbollah women squad in In its mini state attack a Gynecology Clinic and Clash with STL Investigators/Naharnet
Medical Clinic Owner attacked by Hezbollah women squad: I Received International Investigators who Asked to See Files Dating Back to 2003/Naharnet
Attorney General Mirza has opened an investigation into Hezbollah's attack on (STL) investigators/Now Lebanon
March 14 Slams Attack against STL Investigators, Calls for Avoiding Dragging Lebanon into Reckless Adventures /Naharnet
Kouchner: France Unwilling to Back a Lebanese Agreement to Annul the STL/Naharnet
Sfeir: Justice should Reach All People, Iran Visit Requires Lengthy Study/Naharnet
Berri from Paris Denounces March 14 Rejection to Refer False Witnesses to Judicial Council/Naharnet
Berri Tells France Lebanese Believe STL is Politicized as Paris Reaffirms Support for Tribunal/Naharnet
Saudi, Iran Vow to Help Boost Lebanon Security, Stability/Naharnet
Houri: Lebanon has Conceded All Privileges to STL/Naharnet
Hariri Hails Assad Remarks/Naharnet
Abul Geith: STL a Guarantee for Lebanon Stability, No a Threat/Naharnet
Aoun: STL's Objective is Undermining Stability, Not Maintaining Justice/Naharnet
Lebanese Shoots and Wounds Siddiq in Germany, Report/Naharnet
Mustaqbal: Campaign against Premiership, Finance Ministry Aims to Achieve Malicious Ends/Naharnet
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander General Jean Kahwaji met meets with Russian military delegation/Now Lebanon
Michel Aoun's confrence on Tuesday/NNA

Women in Dahiyeh Gynecology Clinic Clash with STL Investigators
Naharnet/A group of women charged at investigators from a U.N. probe into the murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri at a Beirut Southern Suburbs gynecology clinic Wednesday, snatching a briefcase but causing no injuries, a doctor said. Doctor Iman Sharara, who runs the private obstetrics and gynecology clinic, told reporters a team of two male investigators, their female translator and a plain clothes security officer arrived at her practice mid-morning on a scheduled appointment. "They asked me for the phone numbers of between 14 and 17 people who visited my practice since 2003 and I told them it would take me some time to review my files," she said at her clinic in the Hizbullah-controlled southern suburb of Beirut. When she opened the door to inform her secretary of the files needed, Sharara said she was surprised to see a crowd of some 30 women had stormed the waiting room although she had canceled all appointments that morning. A security source told Agence France Presse the angry women rushed towards the interrogators, shouting insults at them, and managed to wrangle a briefcase from the pair who escaped unscathed. "The Office of the Prosecutor takes this incident very seriously and we are currently looking into it," the media relations unit of the The Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) told AFP by email. MP Yassine Jaber of the AMAL Movement, an ally of Hizbullah, said the incident was a sign the tribunal was "not welcome" in Lebanon, in an interview with local television. Hizbullah's Al-Manar television said the quarrel erupted before noon when investigators "surprisingly" entered the clinic of Sharara.
It gave no other details. LBC television station, however, said the squabble developed when demonstrators, "about 150 women", stormed the clinic where two STL investigators and an interpreter were. NBN TV said the STL investigation team forced its way into the clinic, adding that security forces intervened to prevent further escalation.
The U.N.-backed STL was set up by a 2007 U.N. resolution to find and try the killers of Hariri, who was assassinated in a massive Beirut bombing on February 14, 2005.
Lebanon is facing a full-blown crisis over the tribunal as unconfirmed reports indicate it is set to accuse members of Hizbullah. Hizbullah has confirmed several of its members, both male and female, have been interrogated in connection with the Hariri murder. The Syrian- and Iranian-backed party has also accused the United Nations of interfering in Lebanese affairs and warned such an eventuality will have repercussions in Lebanon, calling instead for a local investigation. Saudi-backed Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the slain ex-premier, has meanwhile vowed to see the tribunal through.(Naharnet-AFP) Beirut, 27 Oct 10, 15:51

Mirza opens investigation into attack on STL investigators
October 27, 2010 /Attorney General Said Mirza has opened an investigation into Wednesday morning�s attack on Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) investigators, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.A group of women charged at STL investigators at a Beirut gynecology clinic in the Dahiyeh on Wednesday, AFP reported. A Hezbollah source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told NOW Lebanon afterward that his party was not in any way linked to the incident.Mirza assigned the investigation to Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr, the NNA added.-NOW Lebanon

March 14 Slams Attack against STL Investigators, Calls for Avoiding Dragging Lebanon into Reckless Adventures
Naharnet/The March 14 general secretariat condemned on Wednesday the attack against Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigators that took place in Dahiyeh today "at the hands of residents affiliated with Hizbullah that assaulted the investigators and stole their files."It said in a statement after its weekly meeting that the attack was reminiscent of attacks that had targeted the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in the South, "which is an attack against international legitimacy and resolutions."Furthermore, it criticized the March 8 forces' insistence on eliminating the STL and "substituting it with another cause, which the March 14 forces believe will only lead to unrest and strife."It reaffirmed its support for the international tribunal, calling on regional powers to stop using Lebanon as a pawn in their battle with international justice.Addressing Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otari's recent criticism describing the March 14 forces as "carton structures," the secretariat general noted: "While the Syrian premier launched a 'carton' attack against Lebanon's independence forces, the Syrian President 'assured' us of his commitment to stability." The March 14 coalition condemned the discrepancy in the positions and the opposition's media outlets' constant warning of a future unrest in Lebanon, saying: "The blatant provocative behavior will not affect the March 14 forces' determination."It called on the other team to "return to reason and avoid dragging Lebanon into reckless adventures." Beirut, 27 Oct 10, 14:45

Medical Clinic Owner: I Received International Investigators who Asked to See Files Dating Back to 2003
Naharnet/Physician Iman Sharara whose clinic in Beirut's southern suburbs was attacked Wednesday by a crowd of angry women said international investigators showed up after taking an appointment."A man from the investigation team by the name of Muwafaq called me over the phone on Friday asking me to set up an appointment," Sharara said.
She said she accepted meeting them after getting clearance from the Medical Association's lawyer. Sharara said two English-speaking men from the international investigation committee accompanied by an interpreter showed up at her clinic on Wednesday, requesting phone numbers of about 14-17 people who had visited the clinic.
She said the investigators pointed out that the files date back to 2003. When the doctor explained that this would require some time, the investigators said they can seek the required data from her secretary. "When I went out to talk to the secretary I was surprised with a big problem: About 30 women yelling and pushing the secretary, some even took out files from the drawers and stepped on them," Sharara said, adding that the secretary and the nurse were also beaten up. The interpreter was also pulled from the hair by the crowd of women she described as "wild."Sharara said the investigators ran away following the attack. Beirut, 27 Oct 10, 14:31

Aoun: STL's Objective is Undermining Stability, Not Maintaining Justice
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun on Tuesday noted that "the objective of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is undermining stability rather than maintaining justice," adding that "the evidence is that many heads of state had died here (in Lebanon) before" with the United States remaining idle about their cases. After the weekly meeting of the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc held in Rabiyeh, Aoun stressed that "the issue of the Judicial Council is clear, and everyone knows that the murder of ex-PM Rafik Hariri had been referred to the Judicial Council since the beginning."He clarified that "Opposition ministers have not set a deadline for resolving the false witnesses issue." On the other hand, Aoun urged the Lebanese judiciary to speed up the issuance of verdicts against the perpetrators of an ambush against an army patrol in the Bekaa town of Majdal Anjar on Thursday, which had left an officer and a sergeant dead. As Aoun condemned the "attacks" against Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud, he congratulated Telecom Minister Charbel Nahas "and our allies in the International Telecommunication Union for unveiling Israel's spying on the telecom sector." The FPM leader called on the government to follow up on the issue. He also asked the government to "publish the contracts with Sukleen (waste disposal company), so that we know what they contain." "The defect that has been ongoing since 1993 at the Finance Ministry requires us to defend the public rights because debts have been increasing. We demand ultimate transparency in financial auditing and we won't accept any compromise," Aoun stressed. Beirut, 26 Oct 10, 19:18

Sfeir: Justice should Reach All People, Iran Visit Requires Lengthy Study
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir stated Tuesday that justice must reach all people and every criminal must be punished. He made his statements from Beirut international airport upon his return from the Vatican where he attended the two-week synod of Middle East bishops. Sfeir hoped that the synod would have positive repercussions on the Christians in the East, adding that the results won't emerge for a while. Addressing his expected visit to Iran, the patriarch said that this matter requires a lengthy study. Beirut, 27 Oct 10, 13:35

Abul Geith: STL a Guarantee for Lebanon Stability, No a Threat
Naharnet/Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Geith reiterated Cairo's support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and refusal to turn Lebanon into an arena for settling regional or international conflicts. Abul Geith's remarks came during a meeting with Labor Minister Butros Harb in Cairo.He said the work of the STL in a legal way is a "guarantee for Lebanon's stability, and not a threat." Beirut, 27 Oct 10, 09:22

Kouchner: France Unwilling to Back a Lebanese Agreement to Annul the STL
Naharnet/French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Tuesday denied that France was willing to "back a Lebanese agreement that would annul the Special Tribunal for Lebanon," reiterating his country's support for international justice. After meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri in Paris, Kouchner stressed that "no country can influence the tribunal and no one knows the content of the indictment." He described the so-called false witnesses issue as an "additional" problem that the Lebanese judiciary must look into. The French minister hoped that "Premier Saad Hariri's government is not at risk" so that Lebanon does not go back to "the previous impasse." He said that Berri, for his part, does not think that the government is in jeopardy. Kouchner said that Lebanon "is living a period of relative tension, compared to the previous stages of tension." Commenting on the recent visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Lebanon, the French minister said "it went good protocol-wise, but it didn't contribute to pacification, because what he said in South Lebanon were not words of peace." On the other hand, Kouchner voiced his willingness to organize a conference that would gather the Lebanese parties in France, an initiative that was welcomed by Berri, according to the French minister. France's "relation with Syria is fine and Lebanon is part of the region," Kouchner said, adding that Paris "does not separate the Lebanese crisis from the situation in the region, and discussions with the Lebanese do not only tackle the domestic issues, but also the rest of the dossiers." Beirut, 26 Oct 10, 20:28

Berri from Paris Denounces March 14 Rejection to Refer False Witnesses to Judicial Council
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri denounced March 14 forces' rejection to refer the false witnesses' issue to the Judicial Council which he described as the "highest judicial authority." "Lack of trust harms the image of the judiciary and suggests the use of discretion in dealing with it," Berri told the daily As-Safir from France. He said he was concerned over some of the positions of leading figures in the March 14 coalition. Berri arrived Monday in Paris on an official two-day visit during which he will hold talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy and a number of top French officials. He was welcomed at the airport by French Ambassador to Lebanon Denis Pietton, Lebanese Ambassador to France Boutros Assaker, French Senator Bernadette Dupont, Lebanese embassy staff and a number of Lebanese expatriates. The speaker has said a Cabinet session scheduled for this week should be decisive regarding the issue of false witnesses "as the issue can no longer bear any delay." An-Nahar newspaper said Sarkozy will reaffirm during his meeting with Berri on Thursday France's support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Beirut, 26 Oct 10, 08:09

Mustaqbal: Campaign against Premiership, Finance Ministry Aims to Achieve Malicious Ends
Naharnet/The Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday responded to "the campaign targeting everything related to the work of the premiership and the finance ministry," noting that "every revision with the aim of correction is a welcome thing."In a statement issued after its weekly meeting in Qureitem under ex-PM Fouad Saniora, the bloc noted that "the parties leading the campaign" against ex-PM Rafik Hariri "are the ones who were behind � the destruction of state institutions in the past."The Mustaqbal bloc added that the so-called campaign also aims to "distort the objectives of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon."On the other hand, the bloc noted that Lebanon and Syria must join efforts in order to strengthen their bilateral ties "regardless of some remarks circulated in the media."In an interview with Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai published Saturday, Syrian Premier Mohammed Naji Otari slammed the March 14 forces as "carton structures." Beirut, 26 Oct 10, 22:10

If there�s a will, there�s a way
Marking the Blue Line
Ana Maria Luca, October 27, 2010
Israeli cows stray into Lebanon in search of a pond; Lebanese shepherds lose their way and are sent back by the Israel Defense Forces; Lebanese soldiers shoot at the Israeli army cutting trees over a fence because it�s not clear where Lebanon ends and Israel begins.
This is the recent history of the so-called Blue Line, the compromise the United Nations came up with in a great hurry in the year 2000 when the Israeli Army left South Lebanon. But the Blue Line is not a border, it is just a withdrawal line drawn on a map and not visible on the ground. Both the Israeli and the Lebanese sides have their reservations about its exact location, which often lead to unfortunate incidents.
�Certain Lebanese citizens living close to the Blue Line erroneously cross the Blue Line. Because it�s not visible, it�s an imaginary line. There is nothing on the ground,� UNIFIL expert John Molloy told NOW Lebanon. Under Molloy�s supervision, UNIFIL formed a department of cartographers, engineers and de-miners and started marking the Blue Line in 2007.
But the process of making it visible by putting up blue barrels got more attention after the exchange of fire between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the IDF in early August 2010. Four people, three Lebanese and one Israeli, died after the Lebanese army soldiers shot at an Israeli patrol cutting a tree over the security fence, which they thought was the border.
Many Lebanese don�t know that the technical fence is not the Blue Line, but that it was built by the IDF in 2000. The Blue Line is sometimes very close to the technical fence, and other times it can be hundreds of meters away from it, north or south.
�Some people in the area see the technical fence, and they think it�s the Blue Line. And they don�t realize that sometimes they walk up to the technical fence, but the Blue Line is far behind them. And in some occasions, the Blue Line is after the technical fence and so it is very confusing,� Molloy explains.
Although it has been three years since UNIFIL, together with the LAF and IDF, began marking the withdrawal line, the process is extremely slow, not just because of misunderstandings between the two conflicting parties, but also because of the situation on the ground. In three years the experts have marked only five sectors and placed around 68 blue barrels on the land, of which 55 still have to be agreed to by both sides. UNIFIL estimates a total of 727 barrels need to be spread over 118 kilometers.
�It�s slow for a number of reasons. We need to discuss with the parties first, to have them agree on the coordinates. Then some of the areas are just difficult to get to because of the difficult ground and the mine fields,� Molloy says. �A lot of these coordinates are in mine fields. Once we have an agreement on the coordinates, we would send our engineers on the ground and they would survey the area. If it�s in a mine field, they would prepare a narrow pathway where we can walk safely to the point. This can take weeks, this can take months�,� Molloy points out.
Another difficult aspect of marking the Blue Line is finding historical documents, on which the line is based, and having the two parties agree on certain coordinates in certain areas.
In 2000, the line was not established in detail, according to Molloy. The UN experts had a difficult time finding the coordinates in order to draw the Blue Line. They looked back at the historical documents: the 1923 the Anglo- French mandate boundaries and the 1949 Armistice Agreement, which re-enforced the 1923 document. But in 1923 there was no Lebanon and no Israel, the border was set between Syria and Palestine and most of the landmarks the documents refer to are now gone. Further, for 1949 documents, the annexes of the Armistice Agreement disappeared after the 1967 Arab- Israeli war.
�We tried to satisfy both sides,� Molloy explains. �But both sides had reservations about certain aspects of the line or segments of the line. But both sides said that they agree to abide by the line, and it was agreed that the UN would be the custodian of the line.�
Adding complexity to this task, there are still very sensitive areas where the UN experts are not hurrying to go: areas east of Wazzani River and even some sectors in the west, according to Molloy. �In Ghajar, the Blue Line crosses the middle of the village. But we didn�t go there to mark it, because it�s another sensitive area, and we are not addressing the sensitive issues completely at the moment. But the citizens in Ghajar have complete freedom of movement. There is no restriction,� he said.
There are also sensitive areas in the west. Some points are close to the Israeli technical fence, which makes the Israelis fear that people might use the blue barrels to elevate themselves over the technical fence. Aadaiseh, where the firefight between the LAF and IDF took place this summer, is another sensitive point along the Blue Line. The Lebanese side has had reservations about this section of the Blue Line even back in 2000, when the line was drawn.
There is no set time frame for completing the marking of the Blue Line. Winter is approaching, and experts will have to stop working for a few months. The terrain at many points along the Blue Line is difficult to maneuver even in the summer. However, Molloy says he�s not willing to give up on the project.
�You know, if there�s a will, there�s a way�� he says smiling.

Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander General Jean Kahwaji met meets with Russian military delegation
October 27, 2010 /Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) commander General Jean Kahwaji met with a Russian military delegation on Wednesday to discuss strengthening cooperation between the Russian and Lebanese armies, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.-NOW Lebanon

Michel Aoun
October 27, 2010
On October 26, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) carried the following report:
Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun held a press conference following his Change and Reform bloc�s meeting in Rabieh. He said, �Welcome to our weekly meeting. Today we tackled many topics, some of which are complicated at the level of the country and others simplified at the level of the citizens. I would firstly like to extend my condolences to Al-Jasser and Al-Maiss families whose sons were martyred. This is not the first time that the army offers martyrs, but when one falls on the Lebanese arena, his martyrdom is more painful. The army is prepared for martyrdom on the border and during the confrontation with the enemy, but not on its own soil. That is much more painful. Why did these two martyrs fall? Was it because they were conducting a security operation? We received information saying that what happened was more of an assassination than a shooting incident or a clash. Therefore, we hope that the military judiciary will hasten the investigation because delayed justice is not justice� If one forgets the crime, one will wonder the day the sentence is issued why it was issued, against whom and for what reason. Secondly, we condemn the campaign that was launched against [Tourism] Minister [Fadi] Abboud. The media outlets must understand we can be criticized but are against attacks targeting us or any of our members. These attacks are unfair. But why are they carrying them out? To compensate for what? For a quarry in the Mten area which prompted Minister Abboud to stand in the face of the owners of the channel [MTV] who are also the owners of this quarry? All the people of Mten know this story. We are sorry to see the response to a violation of that size turning into another attack. In any case, the judiciary will be the one to settle this matter.
We also discussed other issues, including the issue of the Judicial Council. Some media outlets said that the case of the false witnesses could be transferred to the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation based on article 335, to decide which court had the authority to settle the case. The issue is clear. We all know that the case of [former] Prime Minister Hariri�s assassination was transferred to the Judicial Council based on a cabinet decision dated February 14, 2005, i.e. on the eve of the assassination� On March 23, Judge [Michel] Abu Arraj stepped down and was replaced by Judge Elias Eid. After they worked on Judge Elias Eid�s dismissal, Judge Saqr Saqr started handling the case. Therefore, the Judicial Council is present and in full gear. So, if they consider that the issue of the false witnesses is part of [former] Prime Minister Rafik Hariri�s case, the Judicial Council would be the best place to settle it, after the international tribunal announced it was ineligible to do so. Hence, it is up to the Lebanese Judicial Council to look into it. However, if they wish to perceive it a case in itself, the Judicial Council is also the best place to settle it because this case has threatened everything on the national level. It divided the Lebanese people and parliament, sabotaged the relations with a brotherly state and generated strife. Everything bad that has happened was due to the international tribunal, the false witnesses and other related issues.
We as citizens in the Change and Reform bloc, as citizens who pay taxes regardless of the fact that we are deputies and ministers, we call on the government to publish the contracts with Sukleen. This is not a defensive agreement with a major, small or secret state and does not feature any attacks on anyone. If the ministers could not check the Sukleen contracts inside the cabinet, we as citizens want to see them. Let them disclose them so that we are not forced to file a lawsuit to know what these contracts include. Today, we sensed a blunt blackmail attempt. They said, �No ratification of the electricity [bill] if the Sukleen [contracts] are not ratified.� We read it in the newspapers and felt it on the ground� If they do not want electricity, we will just let the people know that. It is very simple� Let no one think we are joking at the level of this issue. I want to see the contracts. I am a citizen who pays money to the municipality and the municipality pays Sukleen. Can no one tell me how this contract was made and under which conditions and circumstances? Fiscal discipline can only be secured through utter transparence. There are no compromises and do not ever listen to the word �compromises.� Those writing it are the ones planning on doing it. We will not accept any compromises because that would mean accepting what has happened when we actually do not� We are doing this for you, not for us.�
How do you read into the Syrian positions after Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji al-Ottari criticized a Lebanese team and after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad welcomed Hariri and insisted on him during this critical stage? How did you read into these two statements in particular?
There is an opinion about a person and an opinion about the group. The opinion about the person is positive and the one related to the group is negative.
General, are you in favor of the exit sought by President Michel Sleiman in regard to the false witnesses file? Will you agree with some sort of an exit or a settlement if they were to surface?
What is the exit?
[What do you think if] the file [was] neither tackled by regular courts nor the Judicial Council?
Then where should they be tackled?... This issue has destroyed and is still destroying Lebanon. When the American says that the tribunal comes before stability in Lebanon, he is confirming our thoughts. The purpose of the tribunal is to undermine stability rather than to secure justice. Many presidents were martyred in Lebanon, and we never saw the Americans bothering to even extend their condolences, except this time. Should we not ask why this is being done in the case of [former] Prime Minister Hariri in particular? Because they were able to find a way to create a Shia-Sunni fissure and generate a political clash. We all know that and are trying to prevent them from achieving their goals. Lebanese stability is very important and so is justice. We want this justice, provided it is not vague and dubious to avoid problems and clashes. We want everything to be clear before reaching the tribunal, and once this is secured, the indictment and the sentence can be issued.

The old/new unilateral threat
By ALAN BAKER
10/26/2010 22:52 /J.Post
We are witnessing a very curious negotiating process when both sides declare they want to advance negotiations, but each places obstacles � both figurative and real � in the way of genuine advancement. Such obstacles, which seem to have stalemated the negotiations, include demands for a settlement freeze and a demand for recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.
Without discussing the merits of, or justification for, these respective demands � and I have gone on record in The Jerusalem Post claiming that both demands could be sidestepped by the pragmatic drafting of a �code of conduct� (�The negotiating process � where do we go from here? A proposal for a tree-climber�s code of conduct,� October 13) � we now seem to be witnessing an old/new development in the Palestinian negotiating technique, in the form of daily threats by negotiators.
These threats are: to unilaterally declare a state (Prime Minister Salam Fayyad) or alternatively to declare the Oslo Accords void, �to go to Washington to recognize a Palestinian state on 1967 borders. If that doesn�t work, we�ll go to the UN Security Council and ask Washington not to veto.
If Washington vetoes, then the Palestinians will take their case to the UN General Assembly� (statement by Muhammad Shatayeh to The Washington Post, October 22).
This is not the first time in the present negotiating phase that the Palestinians have tried to use the �negotiating technique� of threats. At the recent Sharm e-Sheikh conference, PA President Mahmoud Abbas and chief negotiator Saeb Erekat threatened to walk out if Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not renew the settlement freeze.
Now, with talks deadlocked practically before they had a chance to begin, we are witnessing this new spate of threats to act independently, through enlisting the UN Security Council, the Americans and Europeans in an attempt to bypass Israel and impose a settlement based on the �1967 borders.�
THERE ARE several legal and practical flaws in these threats. Any unilateral declaration of a state outside the agreedupon negotiating process would undermine the very basis of the Oslo Accords and the framework established by them. This framework would include the legal basis for the existence of the PA, its leaders, institutions and jurisdiction. As such, and being an action intended to, and resulting in the alteration of the status of the territory, it would also be a violation of Article 31 of the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, grounds for voiding the agreement, and would open the door to potential Israeli unilateral action vis-a-vis the status of the territory.
Despite attempts to draw a parallel with regard to Israel�s settlement activity, no such parallel can be drawn, since the parties never agreed in the Oslo Accords (or anywhere else) to a settlement freeze, and such a requirement has never become an impediment in previous rounds of negotiation.
Furthermore, the legal arrangements between individual Israeli residents of the territories and the government authority administering real estate preclude changing the status of the land. Thus settlement activity does not violate Article 31 in that it does not alter the status of the territory, which remains subject to permanent-status negotiations.
Since the US (president Bill Clinton), the EU, Egypt (President Hosni Mubarak), Jordan (the late King Hussein) and others are signatories as witnesses to the Interim Agreement, they may not act to recognize such a unilaterally declared Palestinian state set up outside the negotiating process and contrary to the agreement they encouraged, accompanied and signed.
Voiding the Oslo Accords would bring about a legal vacuum that could result in considerable chaos, throwing the area into immense instability and threatening to cast it into uncontrolled violence. None of the interested parties, the PA especially, would want this, and each has everything to gain by maintaining the status quo of the Oslo framework � with all its faults.
Similarly, the UN Security Council would be faced with a genuine dilemma if asked to adopt a resolution declaring a Palestinian state within the �1967 borders.�
The very basis for all the peace treaties and other agreements between Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinians and Israel are the 1967 UN Security Council Resolution 242 and the 1973 Resolution 338, which reaffirmed the need to negotiate Resolution 242 and achieve peace.
These resolutions do not refer to �1967 borders.�
In fact, there are no such borders, but armistice and cease-fire lines that have never been acknowledged to be borders. In fact, during previous phases of the negotiations, the notion of Israel�s return to the 1967 lines was never assumed to be a given element. While there was some reference to using them as a guiding factor in determining real, recognized and secure borders between a future Palestinian state and the State of Israel, nothing more than that figured in the negotiations.
DETERMINING BORDERS is an essential component in interstate relations. The principles of peaceful coexistence and bon-voisinage, whether pursuant to the Charter of the United Nations, or the precedents of the peace treaties between Israel and Egypt and Jordan respectively, determine the necessity for mutual recognition of a common border.
The Palestinian threat to organize an emergency UN General Assembly session to adopt a �uniting for peace� resolution in the event that the Security Council fails to oblige, shows either ignorance of or contempt for the UN system. Any such resolution, which would probably be sponsored by the usual �paragons of international virtue,� such as Iran, Syria, Cuba, South Africa, the Muslim states and even Russia, would doubtless be adopted by an automatic majority, but being a General Assembly resolution, would have no legal significance other than to bolster the Palestinian ego and add another futile resolution to the long list of futile UN resolutions.
The current deadlocked negotiation is too serious a situation to have it dragged into a �threat game� and to oblige the international community to suffer from an irresponsible and ill-advised set of actions the results of which no one can foresee.
Any way one looks at it, it will neither advance the cause of peace nor enhance mutual confidence and respect between the Palestinians and Israelis. How can anyone expect the two sides to return to bona fide peace negotiations over such a chasm of mistrust? The Palestinians cannot blatantly expect the organized international community to dance according to their irresponsible fiddle, in utter contempt of accepted norms and practices of bona fide negotiation. They should get their act together.
The writer served as legal adviser of the Foreign Ministry and ambassador to Canada. He was actively involved in the peace negotiations with the Palestinians and Arab states. He is presently a partner in the law firm of Moshe, Bloomfield, Kobo, Baker & Co

No political body can influence the STL
Hanin Ghaddar,
Now Lebanon/October 26, 2010
At the International Media Forum held last week at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, The Hague, one thing was very clear to those attending: the procedure of the Tribunal takes time, and time is essential. Here in Lebanon, we tend to be impatient, hasty and sometimes impulsive. We drown ourselves in day-to-day Lebanese politics and miss the big picture. The STL functions at a completely different level and pace.
Evidence is the only determining factor for the people at the STL. Circumstantial evidence is very important for the prosecutor, but it will not replace concrete evidence, and the process of verifying the facts before confirming an indictment takes longer than in Lebanon.
While talks about deals, under-the-table agreements, and negotiations to postpone the indictment could turn the political situation in Lebanon on its head, the STL teams are only concerned with one priority: to find the truth and deliver justice. Barter is not an option. The people who work at the STL are not politicians. They are professionals who are there to do their job, and to do it right, because their careers and reputations as judges, media professionals and bureaucrats are on the line.
The forum�s message was to highlight the significance of facts when it comes to writing about the tribunal. Speculation, guesswork, and unconfirmed reports only hurt the truth. That�s why a lot of technical information and explanations were made available for us. It soon became clear that we knew so little about procedural dynamics, rules of the tribunal and its functioning units.
Of course, the lack of information is in part due to the confidentiality of the investigation. As soon as the indictment is handed down, much more information will follow. The line between confidentiality and secrecy is very fine, but the prosecutor�s priority is to protect witnesses and verify the facts. Without this confidentiality, the whole process is jeopardized.
Judge O-Gon Kwon, Vice-President of International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), stressed in his speech: �Journalism is the first rough draft of history� journalists have a responsibility to get the facts right and fully understand a situation upon which they are reporting,� but he also acknowledged that �courts are not the solution for every problem in the world. Rather, courts can be a part of a comprehensive and inter-disciplinary approach to the complex aftermath of a country that has been ravaged by violence.�
From Kwon�s presentation on the development of international criminal law in the twentieth century, it was obvious from the historic references that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without justice.
On the second day, we found out that we are not the first people to go through the tribunal process. The parallels between the STL and the ICTY are striking, even if the political context is different. Both were initiated under Chapter VII of the Charter of the UN and both can try in absentia as long as the Chambers make sure the accused is informed.
But the mechanical similarities were not as striking as the political parallels, especially the tense atmosphere in both countries prior to indictments. In the former Yugoslavia, the whole country � authorities, the media and various communities � was against the tribunal. The credibility of the tribunal was also called into question by the issue of �false witnesses� or to give it its correct legal term, non-reliable witnesses. The ICTY was criticized for trying to divide the former Yugoslavia; any indictments, critics maintained, would ignite civil strife and it was labeled a tool for American and international intelligence apparatuses. Sound familiar?
That said, no political body was able to influence the tribunal or change its course. Local authorities and leaders called for its elimination and exerted pressure by withdrawing formal recognition of the court and creating funding obstacles. But none of these attempts worked. The ICTY began with $270,000 but today operates on an annual budget of $300 million as it enters its final phase after prosecuting presidents, ministers, and military and security commanders. The people working at the STL know this. They�ve been there. They know what it takes, and they are not in a hurry.
In Lebanon, ignorance and denial are eating us up, and today, we need to focus on the main purpose of the tribunal: that it is a court, not a political organization, and that it seeks justice. �Without the tribunal [ICTY],� said one of the participants, �our personal stories would have remained our own truth, which anybody could bring into question.�
**Hanin Ghaddar is managing editor of NOW Lebanon

Message to the world
Op-ed: News report about Hezbollah arms smuggling prepares world for possible war
Published: 10.27.10, 11:17 / Israel Opinion
One should carefully read the report published by reputable French daily Le Figaro Tuesday about the Hezbollah arms smuggling operation. The report includes credible information, at an unprecedented scope and detail, regarding Iran�s effort to arm and fortify the Lebanese Shiite group with active Syrian assistance.
However, the main reason why this report deserves special attention has to do with the messages inherent in it and the timing of its publication. We can assume, with great degree of certainty, that whoever provided the reputable French newspaper with sensitive intelligence information wanted to achieve several aims.
Lebanese Shiite Group
French paper tracks Hezbollah arms trail / Ynet
Le Figaro reveals well oiled machine focused on Syrian weapon deliveries to Shiite group
The first aim is to slam the facts in the face of international public opinion, so that the UN, the West, Arab states and the global media won�t pretend to be surprised if and when Israel undertakes powerful, destructive strikes. Such actions would target the immense rocket and missile arsenal in Lebanon, as well as the states that contributed to establishing it, that is, Lebanon and Syria.
The French report is not the first one aiming to achieve this objective. In recent months, Israeli and global media outlets published a significant number of stories accompanied by detailed aerial photographs showing Hezbollah men training in Syria on using various types of missiles. The reports also revealed that Hezbollah places these arms in the midst of civilian populations and far away from Israel�s border, to make it difficult for the IDF to target the weapons (and so that Israel would be accused of war crimes against civilians should it act.)
In order to expose the plots of Hezbollah and its patrons, IDF Northern Command Chief Gadi Eisenkott presented journalists (about three months ago) with detailed information and photos about Hezbollah�s deployment and arms depots at the southern Lebanon town of al-Khiyam. The efforts to prepare global public opinion in advance already proved themselves in the second Intifada and ahead of Operation Cast Lead as a critical component that grants Israel justification and relative freedom to act.
We can therefore assume that Israel, apparently in cooperation with France, is also behind the latest French report. France views itself as holding responsibility and special ties with Lebanon, and the information leaked by the French Defense Ministry (according to Le Figaro) constitutes a message to Lebanon and Syria in and of itself.
Syria targets fair game
The leak�s timing, right after Ahmadinejad�s visit to Lebanon, was meant to prove that France, just like Israel, treats the Iranian president�s threats seriously and is concerned by them. The report meant to prove, using facts and figures, that as opposed to Western commentary that viewed the Iranian president�s impassioned zeal as Mideastern arrogance that is empty of substance, we are dealing with a plan of action and available means to carry it out by Hezbollah, once it receives the green light from Tehran. Another inherent message in the report is directed at Damascus. President Bashar Assad, who constantly declares his desire for peace with Israel, would have trouble explaining how such statements are commensurate with the fans he�s been flaming by helping Hezbollah (which operates in the heart of Damascus, several kilometers away from the Syrian presidential palace and under the watchful eye of Assad�s security services.)
The message was not only meant to embarrass the Syrian president, but also to indicate to him that Hezbollah�s headquarters and training camps in Syria are, in Israel�s view, legitimate targets and that he and his regime will be responsible for any damage sustained by Syria. Another message directed at Syria, as well as at the Lebanese government and Hezbollah, is that their acts are transparent and that Israeli and Western intelligence agencies are aware of them. This also means that Israel�s flights above Lebanon are necessary, despite the UN condemnations. These spy missions are mostly needed in order to ascertain whether the Iranians, via the Syrians, are transferring what Israel refers to as �balance-breaking weapons� into Lebanon.
Such weapons include anti-aircraft missile batteries that would limit the Israel Air Force�s maneuvers, as well as long-term Scud missiles. Should such weapons be transferred nonetheless, Israel may respond with great force.
While the above messages will not bring about the termination of Hezbollah�s rocket and missile arsenal, they serve Israel�s deterrent power and are supposed to grant it legitimacy for �disproportional� acts should such strikes be required in Lebanon, and possibly in Syria as well.

ANALYSIS / Iran's unlikely understanding with Saudi Arabia
By Zvi Bar'el
Latest update 02:10 27.10.10
Iran and Saudi Arabia are working together to divide up their sphere of influence in Lebanon and Iraq.
"Iran is not the enemy, Israel is the enemy," the head of the Center for Strategic Studies in Saudi Arabia declared in an interview with Al Jazeera. This was his response to a question on whether the $60 billion arms deal between Riyadh and Washington was meant to deter Iran. The American efforts to portray the deal as aimed against Tehran doesn't fit with the Saudi point of view, and it seems this isn't the only subject over which these two countries fail to see eye to eye.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia twice last week, and Iran reported that a senior Iranian official would visit Riyadh soon. It's not clear if it will be Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki or the head of the National Security Council, Saeed Jalili.
But the frequent contacts between Iran and Saudi Arabia are not over the big arms deal or Iran's nuclear plans. The two countries have concluded that they need to reach an agreement on two other issues regarding their sphere of influence in the region: Iraq and Lebanon.
Regarding Lebanon, Iran is trying to persuade Saudi Arabia to help stop the work of the special international tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. This would prevent the collapse of the Lebanese regime. While Iran is worried about Hezbollah's status, it also doesn't want Lebanon to collapse or fall into another civil war, whose results cannot be ensured.
Furious American
In this respect, Tehran doesn't have to make too great an effort to get Riyadh's support. This became clear last week to Jeffrey Feltman, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and a former U.S. ambassador to Beirut, when he visited Riyadh. During his meeting with King Abdullah, the monarch tried to figure out America's position if the international court's work were stopped. Arab sources say Feltman was "furious but restrained," and made it clear to the king that Washington was determined to support the tribunal.
With all due respect to the American insistence, if the client that is supposed to pay Washington $60 billion decides it's vital to halt the tribunal's work, it won't make do with consulting the Americans. It will throw its full weight behind the efforts. Meanwhile, the indictment the tribunal is due to publish is not expected before February.
After all, what is happening in Lebanon - and Saudi Arabia can't be accused of not supporting the establishment of the tribunal - is not isolated from other regional issues that involve the Saudis and Iran. Riyadh, which paid millions of dollars in Ayad Allawi's election campaign in Iraq, is aware that his chances of being elected prime minister are diminishing. The aid last time helped Allawi win two seats more in parliament than his rival, outgoing Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Meanwhile, in the past two weeks, Maliki has visited Syria, Turkey, Iran and Egypt in an attempt to garner support. He is trying to persuade Iraq's neighbors that he is worthy of being prime minister again. But that's not enough. To win, he has to convince his rivals at home to forgo their aspirations of being Iraqi prime minister and join him.
No dream team
Tehran understands that it can't get the Iraqi prime minister it was hoping for, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. But it has "convinced" the influential Iraqi religious leader, Muqtada al-Sadr, who is living in Iran until completing religious studies there, to support Maliki. Maliki is not exactly Iran's dream prime minister, especially considering that he accused Tehran and Damascus of terrorist involvement.
He is also not a natural partner of Sadr, who won 39 of the 325 seats in parliament. Sadr has also not completely forgiven Maliki for sending Iraqi troops to wage a bloody battle against Sadr's forces and arresting many of his supporters, some of whom are still in prison. But the Iranian pressure mounted, so Sadr agreed to announce his support for Maliki.
Nevertheless, even with Sadr's support, Maliki will not be able to set up a coalition without getting at least one other bloc to support him, either the Kurds or Allawi. That's why Iran needs Saudi Arabia's help to try to persuade its proteges in Iraq, especially Allawi, to join such a coalition or at least not work against it.
For its part, Saudi Arabia is not prepared to give Iran gifts, but it also doesn't want to lose all influence in Iraq. In Iraq as in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia realizes it's in a relatively inferior position vis-a-vis Iran; all it can do in these countries is to prevent Tehran from wielding exclusive influence. This is what the discussion between Saudi Arabia and Iran is now focusing on: deliberations during which Riyadh will try to divide its sphere of influence in Iraq and Lebanon with Iran.
One significant element is missing from these moves - the United States. Washington seeks to promote the process at the international tribunal on the Lebanese issue, blame Hezbollah for the Hariri assassination, see Allawi as Iraqi prime minister and block Iran's influence in the region.
Meanwhile, it seems the Americans are aiming too high. The real game is in the hands of local forces that are sketching the strategic map, which will be presented to Washington as a fait accompli.