LCCC ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN
September 24/06
Biblical Reading For Today
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 8,4-15.
When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable.
A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold." After saying this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."
New Opinion
Lebanon: Guarding the Faith. By: Mshari Al-Zaydi -Asharq Al-Awsat. September 23/06
Latest New from Miscellaneous sources for September 24/06
Bush sending delegation to Lebanon-San Jose Mercury News
Israel: Syria key to stability in Mideast-Middle East Online
Israel calls win claim ‘ridiculous’-Gulf Times, Qatar
Mediator: Israel-Hizbullah prisoner swap within days-Ynetnews, Israel
Osama's Death: That Might be a Bad Thing!
Blogger News Network
Pope apologizes for speech offending Muslims-Church Executive MagazineLasting Quiet Returns to South Lebanon-Washington Post, United States
Lebanon's army back on the southern borders-Ya Libnan
Lebanese troops deploy in 2 villages along border with Israel-International Herald Tribune, France
Hezbollah leader affirms strength of his militia at mass rally-San Jose Mercury News
Nasrallah Says No Army can Disarm Hezbollah-Zaman Online
Lasting Quiet Returns to South Lebanon-Washington Post
Syria: Opportunity to revive peace talks created-Ynetnews
Vast Lebanon Throng Hails Hezbollah Chief, Who Calls the Militia.New York Times
Jumblatt Lashes Out At Hezbollah-All Headline News
Hezbollah Envoy: Imam Khomeini Originator of Fighting against-Fars News Agency
Syria pessimistic about Israel's capacity to refrain from warfare-Arab Monitor
Israel: Syria key to stability in Mideast-Middle East Online
Negroponte: US watching for Al Qaida in Lebanon-Jerusalem Post
Doubts in Israel over Lebanon pull-out-BBC News
Bush Lauds Cooperation of Karzai, Musharraf in War on Terrorism-Bloomberg
Axis of Sketchy Allies
New York Times Venezuelan Chavez wants to be world's anti-US voice-Reuters
Cooperation with France, Germany listed as "priorities" for Russia-Xinhua
How Israel is Engineering the "Clash of Civilizations"CounterPunch,
Saudi Arabia Denies Any Secret Contacts With Israel" Official-Asharq Alawsat, UK
S Arabia, Israel in "secret" contacts-Islamic Republic News Agency
Bush sending delegation to Lebanon
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush announced Saturday that he is sending a delegation to Lebanon to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and discuss ways to help rebuild his nation left in ruins after this summer's 34 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
Dina Habib Powell, an Egyptian-born former White House official who is now assistant secretary of state for promoting educational and cultural exchange, will lead the five-member delegation. The other four delegation members are: Jeffrey Feltman, U.S. ambassador to Lebanon; John Chambers, president and chief executive officer of Cisco Systems; Yousif Ghafari, chairman of GHAFARI Inc.; and Ray Irani, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Occidental Petroleum Corp. In a statement, the White House also announced that Chambers, Ghafari and Irani along with Craig Barrett, chairman of Intel Corp., are launching a nationwide effort to encourage private donations for reconstruction needed as a result of the conflict. In coming days, the group will ask Americans to donate money to a fund set up to help the Lebanese people, the White House said.
Imam Khomeini Originator of Fighting against Israel
TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Abdullah Safioddin described Hezbollah's victory as a cornerstone of the Muslims' fights against the Zionist regime, reminding that fighting against Israel is a notion which has it roots in the thoughts of the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the late Imam Khomeini.
Speaking in a meeting with the governor-general of Iran's northern province of Mazandaran, the Hezbollah's envoy to Iran added, "Obedience to Velayat-e Faqih (the religious leader of the Muslim community) proved to be efficient enough to stand up against the world's fourth army even with bare hands."
He also stated that all the world Muslims are proud of Hezbollah's triumph and view it as a victory of their own. "Hezbollah showed how to defeat not only Israel, but also all its sponsoring and supporting states and armies in 33 days of resistance," Safioddin continued. For his part, governor-general of Mazandaran described Hezbollah's victory as a source of pride for all Muslim Shiites, and pointed out that the Shiite resistance in Lebanon shows Muslims the way they should strive for the restoration and prevalence of global peace. Abu Taleb Shafeqat pointed to the dispatch of public aid cargoes to Lebanon by the Iranian nation, and reminded that Iranians believe rendering aid and assistance to Lebanon is a source of grace and blessing to their lives.
Jumblatt Lashes Out At Hezbollah
September 22, 2006
Joseph S. Mayton - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent
Beirut, Lebanon (AHN) - As Lebanese flock to a "victory celebration" in Beirut's southern suburbs, minister of parliament and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt lashed out at Hezbollah. He said that the group is "hostage" to Iran, which "provides the party with money and artillery." "This situation is similar to the period that preceded the assassination of former Premier Rafiq Hariri," Jumblatt told Lebanese national television station LBC on Wednesday. "The Syrian regime wants to topple the government to create a political vacuum through a coup or security incidents aimed at hampering the creation of an international tribunal and the implementation of international resolutions concerning Lebanon," Jumblatt continued. The MP reiterated his argument that the opposition's calls for the national government stand down in order to create a national unity government were aimed at preventing the establishment of the international tribunal into the murder of Hariri on February 14, 2005. He also did not rule out the possibility of a regional war if the United States were to attack Iran, Hezbollah's main backer, over its nuclear program
Defiant Hezbollah chief returns for 'victory' rally
From Nicholas Blanford in Beirut
HEZBOLLAH held a huge “victory” rally in southern Beirut yesterday, drawing more than 500,000 people in a display of strength aimed at domestic and foreign critics who want to see the disarming of the Iran-backed Shia group. Greeted by an ecstatic crowd of supporters cheering and waving yellow party flags, a smiling Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, made his first public appearance since going into hiding on July 12 at the beginning of the month-long war with Israel. “We are not frightened of death. We have God on our side,” the cleric said. “Our presence here is not without any danger. However, my heart and soul would not allow me to address you from a distance.” The rally passed peacefully despite intense speculation that Israel might take advantage of Sheikh Nasrallah’s presence to fulfil its pledge to kill the Hezbollah leader. On Thursday night Israeli reconnaissance drones circled above the rally site. In an interview with Israeli television, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, declined to say whether Sheikh Nasrallah would be targeted. An assassination attempt would be likely to trigger renewed fighting, causing the collapse of a ceasefire that has held for more than a month.
From all over southern Lebanon, Hezbollah supporters wearing yellow T-shirts and baseball caps inscribed with “Divine Victory” had walked 60 miles (96km) or more to attend the celebration, one mile from Hezbollah’s former headquarters, which was bombed into rubble during the war.
Mehdi Bazzi, 32, said that it had taken him two days to walk to Beirut from Bint Jbeil, on the border with Israel. “I would have crawled on my stomach if Sayyed Hassan had commanded it,” he said, referring to the Hezbollah leader.
Hezbollah’s battle-hardened guerrilla fighters put up an unexpectedly stubborn resistance during the war, fighting Israeli troops to a standstill in the hills and valleys of the deep south and preventing the Israeli Government from reaching any of its stated goals. In his address, Sheikh Nasrallah said that his fighters had turned four Israeli army brigades into “scared mice”. “How did they manage to beat this army? With God’s help,” he said. Although the rally was a huge demonstration of Shia power, other sects were represented, including Christian supporters of Michel Aoun, a former Lebanese army general who forged an alliance with Hezbollah earlier in the year. Hezbollah’s claim of victory against Israel sits uncomfortably with many other Lebanese, who regard the death toll of more than 1,000 civilians and $3.6 billion (£1.9 billion) in damage as a national disaster. UN Resolution 1701, which brought the war to an end, calls for Hezbollah’s disarmament, but Sheikh Nasrallah has adamantly rejected dismantling the group’s military wing.
A reinforced UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, known as Unifil, reached 5,000 troops last week, a figure that is expected to compel Israel to withdraw the last of its soldiers from Lebanese soil.
The final Israeli troop withdrawal was supposed to take place by the weekend, but the Israeli military said that it was postponing it for a few days because of “technical reasons”. There are only a few hundred Israeli soldiers left in Lebanon. Major-General Alain Pellegrini, the commander of Unifil, said that he expected the last Israeli soldiers to leave by the end of the month, adding: “We are almost there and, with the assistance of Unifil, the Lebanese Army will very soon be able to take control of the whole of south Lebanon.” Lebanon has said that it will seek action from the UN Security Council if Israel does not withdraw its forces by Friday.
Hezbollah Leader: Arsenal Undiminished
22/09/2006-BEIRUT, Lebanon, (AP) - In his first public appearance since the start of his group's 34-day war with Israel, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said his group has more than 20,000 rockets, and that an increased U.N. peacekeeping force will not hurt its guerrillas' arsenal. Nasrallah also thanked God for what he called "a divine, historic and strategic victory" over the Jewish state. The black-turbaned cleric told a crowd of hundreds of thousands of flag-waving supporters in Beirut's bombed-out suburbs that his guerrillas will give up their weapons only when Israel's "threats" end and the Lebanese government is strong enough to protect the country. "Today we celebrate a great divine, historic and strategic victory," Nasrallah said. He also said he will not release two Israeli soldiers captured at the start of the war except in an exchange for Lebanese prisoners.
Nasrallah said he decided to appear at the rally despite threats to his life.
"They said that this square would be bombed and this stage would be destroyed to frighten the people and keep them away."
Nasrallah said he debated with his aides about whether to attend until 30 minutes before the rally. "But my heart, mind and soul did not allow me to address you from afar," he said. "You are proving by attending this victory celebration that you are more courageous than on July 12 and Aug. 14," he said, referring to the beginning and end of his group's war with Israel. Security was tightened in advance of Nasrallah's arrival. Although Israel had threatened to kill Nasrallah during its offensive, an attempt to assassinate him now was considered unlikely since it would risk plunging the region back into conflict. However, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would not say in comments published Thursday whether Nasrallah remained a target. "There is no reason for me to notify Nasrallah through the media how we will act. We will not give him advance notice. He is holding a victory march because he has lost," Olmert told the Israeli newspaper Maariv. The rally was being held at a barren 37-acre lot about a mile from the guerrilla group's flattened headquarters. Thousands had arrived at the site from the south by foot, in buses and in cars, chanting Nasrallah's name and waving Lebanese and Hezbollah flags. Members of Christian parties and pro-Syrian groups in northern Lebanon also traveled to the capital to participate.
One Shiite woman, Mira Ali, said she came in response to Nasrallah's "religious order." The 42-year-old, wearing a black shirt and pants, waved a Hezbollah flag and said: "We are with him. I am here to say no to disarming Hezbollah." Nasrallah's appearance was seen as a show of Hezbollah's strength at a time of increased friction with the Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. Hezbollah's popularity among Shiites soared after it withstood weeks of punishing Israeli bombardment and kept firing rockets into northern Israel.
The group has refused to give up its weapons following the Aug. 14 cease-fire. But the group, backed by Syria and Iran, has come under renewed criticism from anti-Syrian factions who form a majority in Lebanon's government and accuse Hezbollah of doing Damascus' and Tehran's bidding.
Hezbollah is armed with thousands of rockets and Nasrallah has said his arsenal survived the Israeli onslaught. He boasted in a TV interview last week that the guerrillas — and their weapons — were still at the Israeli border in south Lebanon.
The guerrillas have long kept a low profile. They rarely carry weapons in public and have sought to calm the fears of other religious communities in Lebanon by insisting that their arms are to fight Israel and won't be turned against their fellow Lebanese.
But many Christian and Druse minorities, as well as the large Sunni Muslim community, are unconvinced and have called for the state and its military to be the only armed force in Lebanon.
As Hezbollah celebrated, Israeli soldiers continued to withdraw Friday from an area south of the coastal town of Naqoura and near Maiss al-Jabal in the northern Galilee panhandle, said a statement by the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL.
The statement said Indian and Ghanaian peacekeepers would set up checkpoints and conduct patrols in order to confirm the Israeli withdrawal and coordinate the deployment of Lebanese army units to the area on Saturday.
UNIFIL's commander, French Maj. Gen. Alain Pellegrini, said he expected the rest of the Israeli troops to vacate southern Lebanon by the end of the month. "We are almost there," he said.
Lebanon: Guarding the Faith
Mshari Al-Zaydi - 21/09/2006
It seems that no language can surpass the language of sectarianism and that no zeal matches that of fanaticism. This will remain to be the case until fate changes. In Lebanon, just when the war between Israel and Hezbollah started to subside (I cannot say ended) another type of war broke out: one that required identifying the warring camps as either good or evil. Matters have escalated to the point of sanctifying the acts of Hezbollah and exalting general politics to divinely inspired revelation. It became Hezbollah’s sacred mission, which had an advantage over any other political party. Yes, it was Hezbollah alone and everyone had to acknowledge its unique position and divine grace: Hezbollah! The Shia fundamentalist party dragged the Lebanese Shia community in its wake for long and elaborate reasons, including bearing the financial responsibility, taking charge and caring for the sect, and determining its political direction – one that garishly and unmistakably points towards fundamentalism. Gone was the identity of Amal, which too had suffered from the terminal illness and disease that afflicts all chaotic militias – as Fadi Tawfiq states in his compelling book entitled God’s Narrow Land.
The party continued to dominate, tinting the whole Shia sect in its own hue, and like moths to a flame, they surrendered to the fires of the Iranian Islamic Revolution. These facts are not new and have been addressed on various other occasions, however, the question remains: Can we assume that the whole Shia sect is in line with Hezbollah? Does it all emerge from the same mould? Does it follow with conviction the party’s latest dream of the “Islamic Revolution’, a phrase that has adorned the Hezbollah flags of late?
The truth is that Lebanon’s Shia are a fundamental component of this country where the intellectual religious line blurs with the nationalistic one. Perhaps one of the most prominent religious and intellectual beacons in the history of Lebanon’s Shia is embodied in prominent thinkers such as Sayyed Muhsin Al Amin (who died in 1952). He was an author, reference and authority, as well as a renowned encyclopedic scholar. He was the rising sun of the Al Amin family who lived through historical times when modern Lebanon was being shaped and was crystallizing. This period witnessed the hardships of independence and clashes resulting from the French and English occupations. Al Amin was a decisive force in rejecting discrimination between the Shia and any other faction in Lebanon, extending to include the people of the Levant and encompassing the Orient. He believed the Shia to be an integral part of Lebanon and other countries in the region. This stance was reiterated and expressed decades later by a descendant and scholar of the Al Amin family, Sayyed Ali Al Amin, Mufti of the Jabal Amel and Tyre regions. He has currently come under ferocious attack by Hezbollah followers for his refusal to embark on the party’s latest adventure, his rejection to considering the party victorious and furthermore, for rejecting the hijacking of the Lebanese Shia and their captivity to the party’s policies.
Recalling and reviving the words of the scholar Muhsin Al Amin from long ago, Sayyed Ali Al Amin told Asharq Al Awsat newspaper last Tuesday (19th September 2006) “We are a part of the family in the Shia community, which is part of the Lebanese nation.”
On 17 September 2006, Sayyed Mohammed Hassan Al Amin, thinker and a religious scholar, spoke sadly to Asharq Al Awsat about the volatility of sectarian tensions, fearing for the solidarity of Lebanon and criticizing those who remain in complete isolation within their own party’s ideology. In response to a question about his expectations of Hezbollah’s next political steps, especially in light of its recent ‘victory’, he said: ‘Personally, I’m not satisfied with the manifestation of this group of Shia that has recently emerged and continues to grow, strength upon strength.” He made a vital point when he spoke about the overgrowth in the Shia community saying that it is a reflection of the crisis that afflicts the ‘project’ of the state of Lebanon. He elaborated: “I am convinced that Hezbollah’s presence is not a natural outcome. It is negatively consistent with the absence of a state and institutions, in addition to the growing isolation of sects.” He added, “Unfortunately, sectarian systems in Lebanon have assumed that the equality in relationships between sects and the balance of power is what constitutes political unanimity.”
These words of wisdom and warning voiced from the house of Al Amin, a historic house on Jabal Amel laden with the heritage of Lebanon’s Shia, have not been welcomed by the new face of Hezbollah as they were deemed blasphemous and discordant with the Shia consensus, whilst Hezbollah was the very party for which Sayyed Ali and Sayyed Mohammed Al Amin had called to be fully integrated into the Lebanese state, equally and without any differentiation. It is a project that Ali Al Amin considers to belong to the Imam Musa al Sadr himself, the Shia leader of 20th-century in Lebanon.
It was only natural, given the climate, that a statement was issued to the scholars of Al Amin, disowning Sayyed Mohammed and Sayyed Ali Al Amin. But the strange thing, as Mohamed Hassan Al Amin emphasized, is that the statement came from an anonymous party. A renowned figure in the family, he inquired as to the source of the statement but no one was identified, which led the Al Amin family to disregard this odd and mysterious allegation.
However, one wonders: What is the reason behind the refutation of this claim? What had the two Al Amin scholars denounced? They had acknowledged the fact that the community had been marginalized during a certain period of Lebanese history and that they are against Israel (naturally!). All that mattered was that they were against Hezbollah, but is criticizing the party congruent with rejecting the Shia doctrine, or even considered an act equal to denouncing Islam or one’s own country?
The significance of the voices of the Al Amin scholars is that they cannot be refuted, questioned, or marginalized, since the two figures have a distinguished academic and spiritual reputation. When they speak the language of sects, clans and families, they speak from a positive legacy for Lebanon’s Shia, which is their family legacy in addition to Muhsin Al Amin’s acclaim: he documented high-profile Shia members in encyclopedias, is the main symbol of Jabal Amel and of spiritual and academic guidance to Lebanon’s Shia.
They also rely upon the legacy of Sayyed Mohsen Sanad, who called for the unity of the state. Sayyed Mohsen refused to approve the sectarianism law that was issued by the French colonialists, after also being rejected by Sunni scholars of the Levant who considered the Muslim Shia a minority. He sent a message to the French delegate saying, “As the spiritual leader of the Shia Islamic sect in Syria and Lebanon, I wish to inform your Excellency that the Muslim Shia reject this resolution and this artificial segregation between Muslims.” The incident was stated in his rich biography, written by other notable Shia writers, and was later printed by the Dar Riyadh Al Rees in 2000. He also mentions in his book that he refused to be the first leader of Lebanon’s Shia scholars, after which he nominated Sayyed Muhsin Al Amin to be appointed chairman of the Shia in Lebanon and Syria, refusing to assume the post despite numerous requests from Shia scholars. In his biography, he states that most people of weak character would yearn for this title and post. (He later founded the Supreme Shia Islamic Council in Lebanon).
Speaking about Sayyed Mohsen Sanad on the 50th anniversary of his death, Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said that Sayyed Mohsen was once visited by a Sunni Muslim who wanted to become Shia. Sayyed Mohsen Sanad told him, “There is no difference between Sunnis and Shia. We are all Muslims.” But the Sunni insisted, so Sayyed Al Amin asked him to utter the two testaments and when the man did, Sayyed Mohsen told him that he had now become Shia because it did not entail more than that. He would always affirm that Islamic unity must be based on the foundations of Islam, the subjective scientific dialogue that is based on Muslim mutual understanding of one another and away from misconceptions and fallacies.
This nationalistic reformist legacy, issued from a religious standpoint is what should be preserved. It is a legacy that should not be entrusted to just one guardian but assigned to many guardians. Will anyone listen or respond?
A pattern of violence and extremism
By MICHAEL COREN-Toronto Sun
September 23, 2006
It was said after the Holocaust by those who believed in freedom, decency and tolerance that, "We are all Jews now."
After the events of the past week it is now time for those who still believe in these virtues, irrespective of religion or race, to stand up and proudly announce, "We are all Catholics now."
Yes, we are all Catholics now. Catholic like the Holy Father who spoke scholarly and moderate words about Islam, dialogue and the error of spreading religion by force.
Words for which there was never any need to apologize. Nor did he.
Pope Benedict merely said that he was sorry for any offence and pain that his comments may have caused.
We must now wait for someone to apologize for the churches that were firebombed in Palestine shortly after the Pope's speech and for Somali religious leader Abubukar Hassan Malin who urged Muslims to "hunt down" Benedict and kill him "on the spot."
Apologize for the abusive and threatening demonstrations, including calls for the Pope to be executed, that British Muslims organized outside Westminster Cathedral in London last Sunday, as families with children made their way to Mass.
Apologize for the Shura Council in Iraq, an umbrella of several Sunni groups, which stated after the Pope's comments that, "We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose the head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion or the sword."
Apologize for the Muslims attacks on Catholic priests in Turkey in the past year, including the murder of Fr. Andrea Santoro.
Apologize for those Muslim leaders who compared the Pope to Hitler and promised to kill him.
Apologize for the massive persecution of Christians in Egypt, including kidnappings, rape, murder and beatings.
Apologize for the churches in Pakistan and Iraq that have burnt to the ground, for the beheading of Christian schoolgirls in Indonesia and for the arrests of Muslims who wish to convert to Christianity.
Apologize for the sermons in some mosques that compare Jews to monkeys and pigs and call for the Jewish people to be slaughtered.
Apologize for those Muslim countries that make television dramas claiming Jews kill gentile babies so as to drink their blood.
Apologize for those Muslim leaders who declare that Spain and Portugal have to be "retaken" by Islam.
Apologize for the invasion on the Christian heartlands of North Africa and the Middle East hundreds of years ago, just as Pope John Paul apologized for crimes committed against Muslims and Islam during the Crusades, the European response to this expansion.
Apologize for the murder of three of the translators of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, for the murder of Dutch film director Theo Van Gogh and for the murder of Daniel Pearl.
Let me make it extremely clear that I do not blame all Muslims for what is done by some of their co-religionists in the name of Islam.
But when country after country and mob after mob behave thus, a certain pattern does seem to emerge.
I hope and pray that this violence and extremism does not represent Islam.
I hope there is room for genuine dialogue.
But, frankly, I am not optimistic about the possibility of having such an honest discussion now.
As India's Cardinal Toppo commented after Pope Benedict's statement and the violent reaction, we must all respond with "courage and prayer because truth needs no other defence."
Quite so. Once again, we are all Catholics now.
Mediator: Israel-Hizbullah prisoner swap within days
Lebanese Christian clergyman tells Al-Biyan newspaper that Israel has agreed to transfer Lebanese prisoners, bodies of Hizbullah fighters in return for freeing Israeli hostages. According to Abboud, all that is necessary to complete process is appointment of UN representative
Roee Nahmias Published: 09.23.06, 18:27
Negotiations regarding the exchange of prisoners betweenIsrael and Hizbullah are taking place through indirect channels and a deal may be finalized within days, Lebanese Christian clergyman Jean Abboud told the Arab newspaper Al-Biyan.
In an interview published Saturday in the United Arab Emirates newspaper, Abboud said that the mediators had achieved “important results” and that Israel had agreed to transfer the dead bodies of Hizbullah operatives as well as the Lebanese prisoners. Abboud has been recognized lately as involved in the mediated negotiations.
“The process has ripened,” he told interviewers. “What is necessary to complete it is the appointment of a UN representative in the matter, and I don’t know why one hasn’t been appointed yet.”
Across three capitals
Regarding the negotiations between Israel and Hizbullah, Abboud said, “The talks are being held between three capitals – Beirut, Brussels and Tel Aviv.”“In Beirut, with Jubran Basil representing Lebanese parliament member General Michel Aoun and Hizbullah representative Wafik Safa; in Brussels with a European Union representative and the Belgian prime minister who are in touch with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert,” Abboud detailed. Abboud currently resides in Europe. On his own involvement in the affair, he said, “I know how Israel thinks, as I lived in Beit Jala for a number of years. I speak Hebrew, which helped me succeed in the indirect negotiations in a way that will contribute to Lebanese and Israeli interests.”
Abboud: 'Hostage' means 'alive' As for the fate of the two IDF soldiers being held hostage by Hizbullah, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, Abboud said: “When Nasrallah announced the hostage operation on July 12, he said the resistance killed eight Israeli soldiers and took two hostages. “Hostage” means “alive” in the Arabic language, which Nasrallah commands indisputably, and in every other language as well and in the language of international law too… ““The upcoming days will bear news to the prisoners’ families on both sides,” he promised.
This is not the first time that Abboud’s name has been tied up in news of the negotiations between Israel and Hizbullah. Just two weeks ago, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai al-Aam reported that Lebanese member of parliament retired General Michel Aoun flew to Belgium for a hasty visit in attempt to orchestrate negotiations on the prisoner exchange deal.
However, in the present interview, Abboud said the reports on General Aoun’s talks with the Israelis were “completely false.” He rebuffed the report in the Kuwaiti newspaper as well as other parallel reports. His very denials, however, make apparent the stickiness of any reports on the top-secret prisoner-swap negotiations.