LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
November 06/09

Bible Reading of the day
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 15:1-10. The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." So to them he addressed this parable. What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.' In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Veteran human rights lawyer faces up to 15 years in Syrian prison/Amnesty International/November 05/09
Analysis: Seized arms evidence of Iran's investment of Israel's borders/Jerusalem Post/November 05/09
Lebanon has yet to tackle killer smoke/The Daily Star/November 05/09
New Opinion: Aoun the liberator/Now Lebanon/November 05/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 05/09
Israel facing challenge of stopping weapons' supplyto its enemies/Xinhua
Hezbollah, Iran and Syria disown arms shipment/guardian.co.uk
Ahmadinejad: Mideast condition changing in favor of Iran, Syria/Xinhua
American deported to Lebanon denies terror charges/The Associated Press
Berri Threatens to Stage Sit-In at Parliament Until Cabinet Deal is Done /Naharnet
Qassem: Peace Settlement in 'Clinical Death', U.S. Efforts Not Serious /Naharnet
Assad Hopes for National Unity Government in Lebanon Soon /Naharnet
Suleiman: Everything is Under Control /Naharnet
Arms Ship Allegedly Sent to Hizbullah Leaves Israel after Being Unloaded /Naharnet
Report: 'Who Cares?', Lebanese Tired of Never-Ending Talks to Form Cabinet /Naharnet
French official source: Lebanese parties unable to overcome childish attitudes to form cabinet/Now Lebanon/for November 05/09
Assad voices hope to form national-unity cabinet in Lebanon/Now Lebanon
Geagea Slams Aoun, Says He Doubts Cabinet Deal will Happen Anytime Soon/Naharnet
Israel says its navy intercepted 300 tons of weapons headed for Hezbollah/Los Angeles Times
Lebanon's new cabinet still in absence as negotiations continue/Xinhua
Syria and Iran deny weapons smuggling claim/The Australian
Hezbollah denies arms ship claims/BBC News
Israeli PM presents 'Goldstone-Iran absurdity'/Ynetnews
UN report finds no evidence of arms smuggling to Lebanon/Ha'aretz
Opposition leaders lash out at 'unbalanced' Ban report on 1701/Daily Star
Aoun: Sfeir 'protects corrupt in dividuals/Daily Star
Israel claims to have intercepted Iran arms shipment to Hizbullah/Daily Star
Mufti of Mount Lebanon says comments about Maronites were 'misunde rstood/Daily Star
Rights groups praise court decision on disapp eared/Daily Star
US donates $2.35 million to south demining effort/Daily Star
USJ students frustrated as political parties put their own spin on elect ions/Daily Star
League of Canaanite, Phoenician and Punic cities pledge closer mut ual ties/Daily Star
Suicidal woman rescued from Dbayye brid ge/Daily Star
Security, judicial forces arrest 18 wanted susp ects/Daily Star
Poor media coverage blamed for Francophone flop/Daily Star
YASA launches motorcycle safety campaign amid mounting road t ragdies/Daily Star
Lebanon must honor MDG goals, says UN/Daily Star
Sidon storm washes up treasure for some, trash for oth ers/Daily Star
Protesters and police engage in violent Tehran clashes /AFP
DAL urges Lebanese expatriates to invest part of their remittances in real p rojects/Daily Star
Lebanon's central bank projects 7 percent GDP and 3 percent inflation in 20 09/Daily Star
Leading economist says world still mired in financial cris is/Daily Star
Election of Parliamentary Committees Postponed Again/Naharnet
Hizbullah Denies Link to Arms Ship, Condemns Israeli Piracy/Naharnet
Ban's Report 'Unjust,' Hizbullah Says/Naharnet
Report: Jumblat Says there is Consensus on Resistance in Cabinet Policy Statement/Naharnet
Franjieh Reportedly Expresses Dismay at Aoun's Change of Stances/Naharnet
Bassil Informs Nasrallah Aoun's Rejection of Hariri's Offer/Naharnet
Message of Support from Vatican to Bkirki/Naharnet
Muallem: Ship Seized by Israel was 'Carrying Syrian Goods to Iran'/Naharnet

Aoun: Sfeir 'protects corrupt individuals'
Council of bishops reiterates support for maronite patriarch
By Elias Sakr /Daily Star staff
Thursday, November 05, 2009
BEIRUT: The distribution of ministerial portfolios made little headway on Wednesday as cabinet discussions were halted after Tuesday’s rejection of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s proposal to the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM). Meanwhile, the Council of Maronite Bishops’ monthly meeting endorsed Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir’s latest remarks on the political conditions in the country, which was followed later in the day by Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s accusation that the patriarch were protecting corrupt individuals.
The Maronite Bishops’ Council said Wednesday it adopted Sfeir’s stances as its own with regard to Lebanon’s political issues.
Sfeir said last week the minority and majority could not coexist in the same cabinet, adding that the issue of “weapons” is a pivotal concern that cannot be faced with silence, a reference to Hizbullah and the resistance. “The role of the Maronite Patriarchate is renowned and whether directives stem from the patriarch personally, or the Council of Bishops, they express the same opinion,” said the council statement.
Following its monthly meeting at Bkirki, the Council issued a statement saying Lebanon’s failure to form a cabinet after four months of deliberations signaled lack of responsibility on the part of politicians. The statement added that such delays might have serious ramifications for the country.
“Loyalty to Lebanon necessitates looking after its national interests, rather than that of other states,” the statement said.
The bishops also slammed the exchange of harsh verbal attacks between political parties as they called groups to remain open to and accepting of one another.
For his part, Aoun accused Sfeir for “protecting corrupt people” and “standing by corruption.” He also took issue with Sfeir for highlighting the issue of Hizbullah’s weapons in his speech.
“When were you harmed by [Hizbullah’s] weapons, so that I can support you?” Aoun asked, in reference to Sfeir’s statement that weapons and democracy could not coexist.
Aoun said Sfeir needed to choose between “living freely in Lebanon with [Hizbullah’s] arms or as refugee outside of the country.”
The Secretariat General of March 14 stressed that the patriarch’s statement reflected an “ethical and patriotic vision” of Lebanon as well as the patriarchy’s devotion to preserving the country’s independence and sovereignty.
March 14 also urged the prompt formation of a cabinet in order to preserve Lebanon’s security as well as the proper performance of the country’s constitutional institutions.
“Hariri’s openness toward all parties should allow him to form the cabinet,” the statement issued following the secretariat’s weekly meeting said.
The attendants urged for the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 as they stressed the need to restrict the possession of arms to state authorities.
Separately, Baalbek-Hermel MP Hussein Hajj Hassan said the cabinet formation was facing domestic rather than foreign obstacles as two or three complications remained with regard to the distribution of portfolios, a reference to Aoun’s disputed share of portfolios.
“The external factors that impeded the cabinet formation have perhaps faded away, while domestic problems still hamper the process,” said Hajj Hassan, a Hizbullah official.
Hajj Hassan added that he was unaware of any meeting Tuesday night between caretaker Telecommunications Minister Gibran Bassil and Hizbullah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.
The MP added that deliberations were ongoing in order to reach an agreement over the cabinet line-up that is acceptable by all parties.
Hariri submitted a proposal to Aoun granting the Reform and Change bloc the telecommunications, energy, culture and tourism ministries that was rejected by the FPM leader.
“We demand that the Reform and Change bloc retain its current share of portfolios; otherwise the principle of rotating ministerial portfolios should be applied to all parties,” FPM official and caretaker Social Affairs Minister Mario Aoun told The Daily Star on Tuesday.
Aoun added that the Culture and Tourism ministries which are being offered by Hariri were not of equal weight to that of the social affairs and agriculture portfolios.
The Reform and Change bloc currently holds the telecommunications, energy, social affairs and agriculture portfolio along with a state ministry. The FPM is reportedly demanding the Economy Ministry along with the telecommunications and energy portfolios. “Deliberations are ongoing and what happens during the day is changing at night,” the FPM leader said Wednesday. Aoun denied any dispute between him and Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Franjieh over the cabinet lineup, adding that they deliberate together to take the most appropriate stance. On Sunday night, Franjieh relayed Hariri’s proposal to Aoun as part of his efforts to solve the cabinet impasse.
Franjieh said last week that he was relinquishing his demand for a ministerial portfolio and settled for a ministry of state as part of the Reform and Change in order to facilitate the cabinet formation. As for the naming of Bassil to retain the telecommunications portfolio, Aoun said that his son-in-law would be nominated as minister, but not necessarily in the same post.
“The FPM decides on the prospective ministerial candidates once its share of portfolios is determined, since candidates are appointed in ministries in accordance with their qualifications,” Aoun said, adding that his party alone was entitled to decide upon the names of its ministers.
“March 14 and the Future Movement have set down restrictions on the FPM in a precedent, in which ne group imposes conditions on another group it’s prepared to cooperate with,” Aoun said. On the other side of the political divide, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea accused the opposition of hampering the cabinet formation by refusing to comply with the June 7 elections results, adding that opposition groups did not want the establishment of a strong state with functioning constitutional institutions. Also, Batroun MP and LF official Antoine Zahra slammed Hizbullah for obstructing the cabinet formation, adding that the party was orchestrating the opposition’s moves.
Similarly, March 14 and Batroun MP Boutros Harb said on Wednesday Aoun’s statement that Hizbullah would only use its weapons domestically in case of self-defense was open to several interpretations. Harb added that that the majority was forced, contrary to democratic principles, to grant the opposition veto power in the next cabinet out of fear of new May 7 events.

Opposition leaders lash out at 'unbalanced' Ban report on 1701
By Patrick Galey /Daily Star staff
Thursday, November 05, 2009/BEIRUT: Opposition politicians rushed on Wednesday to condemn the UN Secretary General’s report on Resolution 1701, calling it “unbalanced” and free of any “practical steps” that could end Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty. Ban Ki-moon’s 11th report on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 warned that the continuing presence of weapons outside of state control was “a challenge to the ability of the state to exercise its full sovereignty and control over its territory.” The UN chief reiterated Resolution 1701’s requirement of the “the disarmament of groups,” including Hizbullah. “This should take place through a Lebanese-led process that will bring been conducive to addressing this issue [of non-state arms].” Marjayoun-Hasbaya MP Ali Fayyad, from Hizbullah’s bloc, condemned the report as too lenient on Israeli violations.
In a television appearance, Fayyad said Ban’s report was “unbalanced and doesn’t highlight sufficiently the Israeli aggressions since it doesn’t hold Israel responsible for violating [UN Resolution 1701].”
He added that the report provided no “practical steps” that would indicate UN peacekeeping troops intended to halt constant Israeli violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty.
Nabatieh MP Yassin Jaber said Ban’s stance had “shocked most of Lebanon since it called for disarming the resistance,” adding: “There’s no solution to the weapons of the resistance outside of dialogue and political consensus, following the disappearance of Israeli threats.”“The resistance is a response to Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory, especially when the Israeli state insists on threatening new military action against Lebanon,” Jaber added. The report concluded that UNIFIL’s jurisdiction south of the Litani River remained “generally stable … and the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon continued to hold.” Ban said both Israel and Lebanon were committed to the full implementation of Resolution 1701 and urged both to move toward a permanent ceasefire. the full restoration of the authority of Resolution 1701 – drafted to end the 2006 summer war between Lebanon and Israel – provides that Lebanese sovereignty be respected along with its borders and outlaws the presence of weapons in Lebanon outside of the state’s control. Ban said that the exchanges of rocket fire of September 11 and October 27 proved the continuing presence of “weapons and hostile armed elements ready to use them within the area of operations.”
“[The attacks] provide a stark reminder of the challenges that armed groups operating outside the control of the state pose to Lebanon’s sovereignty and authority,” Ban added.
In remarks published in As-Safir on Wednesday, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said he was concerned about recent southern security breaches. There is absolutely no evidence, for example, Hizbullah was involved in any way in the rocket attacks against Israel,” he said. “But some of these groups clearly exist in Palestinian camps and I think that poses a danger for [Resolution] 1701 and a danger for Lebanon.” He also pledged to raise the issue of Israeli spy devices with the Security Council “because this is one of the things that has contributed to the rise in tension.”
Ban said Israel’s “artillery response to the rocket attacks is a matter of concern” and urged it to promptly cease near-daily overflights in Lebanese airspace. Addressing Israeli claims that arms are flowing into Lebanon across its porous border with Syria, Ban said he took the allegations seriously but the UN was “not in a position to verify the information independently.”
He added that respecting the resolution’s arms embargo “remains an essential factor in maintaining domestic and regional stability.”
Ban also confirmed that the blast of an ammunition store near the village of Khirbet Silim on July 14 took place in a building that was “under the control of Hizbullah.”
A joint LAF-UNIFIL investigation into the blasts revealed that “persons acknowledged to be affiliated with Hizbullah removed a substantial quantity of remnants from the site”.
Although Ban labeled the incident a “clear violation of Resolution 1701” – which expressly forbids the storing of weapons south of the Litani River – he added there was no evidence to suggest the weapons had been smuggled into place after 2006.
The March 14 coalition Secretariat General’s response to the report focused on the need for a cessation in breaches of Lebanese sovereignty before calm could prevail along the Blue Line.
Its statement called for all parties to strive toward full implementation of Resolution 1701 “particularly with regard to Lebanon’s defense strategy, that should restrict [the existence of] arms outside the framework of the Lebanese state.” Ban spoke of his admiration for the LAF and its professionalism in assisting UNIFIL in south Lebanon.
“The Lebanese Armed Forces continued to act with commitment and resolve, especially during times of heightened tension,” he said, but added that troop safety needed guaranteeing.
“I remain concerned about reports of threats to the United Nations posed by militant extremist groups present in Lebanon.” Williams expressed his hope that both Lebanon and Israel would continue to work towards calm, but conceded much work was still required before peace could be lasting. “Progress has been very slow and I hope in 2010 that this is something we can try and move forward on. Some elements have been achieved … but we need to work towards a positive ceasefire so that there will be a stop to the constant Israeli violations.”

UN report finds no evidence of arms smuggling to Lebanon
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent /Two days before Israel's capture of a ship that was apparently ferrying arms to Hezbollah, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon released a report to the UN Security Council in which he said the United Nations took the Israeli allegations about weapons smuggling to Hezbollah seriously, but lacked the ability to independently verify the information. A key clause in UN Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War, prohibits the delivery of weapons to any entity in Lebanon but the Lebanese government. The clause was meant to keep Hezbollah from rearming itself with long-range rockets. However, Israel says Hezbollah has doubled its rocket arsenal since the war, with the help of shipments from Iran and Syria. In the report, Ban wrote that the Lebanese government had not informed the UN of a single incident of weapons smuggling to its territory, whether by land, sea or air. In contrast, his special envoy to the region, Michael Williams, had heard Israel allege that vast quantities of weapons were being smuggled to Lebanon over the Syrian border. Ban urged Syria, Iran and other countries in contact with Hezbollah to uphold the arms embargo imposed after the Second Lebanon War. This embargo is an essential factor in maintaining domestic and regional stability, the secretary general said, and therefore, it is essential that all UN member states comply with their obligations by immediately and unconditionally respecting the embargo. "Any breach of it is a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and threatens the stability of the country and the region," Ban added. The report also discussed the explosion in the village of Khirbat Salim in July, and confirmed Israel's claim that the site was a Hezbollah munitions dump. The dump was in active operation, in violation of Resolution 1701, Ban wrote. He added that Hezbollah initially prevented UNIFIL soldiers from inspecting the site, and a subsequent UNIFIL investigation found that Hezbollah had destroyed evidence of weapons in the dump.

Analysis: Seized arms evidence of Iran's investment of Israel's borders
By JONATHAN SPYER
Jerusalem Post/The seizure by Israeli forces of an Iranian-commissioned arms smuggling ship on its way to Syria and/or Hizbullah in Lebanon offers a further glimpse into the daily, silent war under way between Israel and the Iranian-led regional bloc. An Iranian rocket bound for Syria and Hizbullah discovered aboard the 'Francop'.
World It is evidence of Iran's ongoing strategy of arming its Islamist clients to Israel's north and south. The strength of these forces on the ground constitutes an important asset for the Iranian regime. Iranian aid and weaponry is not doled out for its recipients to use at will. Iran's investment is likely to be called in at a moment of the Iranian regime's choosing - most likely in the event of a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran makes use of all its regional assets and allies in its effort to supply arms to Hamas and Hizbullah. These two organizations play a vital role in Iran's strategy for regional hegemony.
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They currently maintain the two "hot" fronts in the Israeli-Arab conflict (which might today more accurately be referred to as the "Israel-Islamist" conflict). So maintaining the smooth flow of supplies is a strategic priority of the first order for Teheran. In January, an Israeli bombing of an arms convoy in Sudan laid bare an arms trail leading from Iran to Sudan, across Egypt, across Sinai, and finishing in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The Sudan-Sinai-Gaza part of the trail was created and administered by Hizbullah men, acting on behalf of their Iranian patron. In April, an unidentified warship sank an Iranian vessel carrying arms to the Gaza Strip, as it sought to dock in Sudan.
This latest seizure of the arms ship bound for Syria lays bare a similar collective effort by Iran's allies to supply the parallel northern front - apparently along a similar route. The latest indications are that the ship docked first in Yemen, then in Sudan, before making its way to the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal. But the destination of the arms ship - either a Syrian or a Lebanese port, according to sources - points to one of the essential differences in the two fronts maintained by Iran against Israel.
Hamas in Gaza is boxed in and lacks strategic depth. Egypt to its south is aligned with the pro-western bloc in the region, and as such is a partner (sometimes even an energetic partner) in Israeli efforts to stem the flow of weaponry to Gaza.
Syria, however, is a card-carrying member of the pro-Iranian regional bloc. The porousness of Lebanon's eastern border with Syria is a vital asset for Hizbullah. And the Shi'ite Islamist movement has complete freedom of operation on Lebanese soil. UN Resolution 1701 tasks UN forces in Lebanon with preventing the Syrian supply of arms across the border to Hizbullah. But no serious effort has been made to implement this clause. Journalists working in Lebanon are aware that the crossings at the eastern border are off limits, and few attempt to report events there. Even UN investigators themselves concur that since August 2006, a steady supply of Iranian and Syrian arms has been making its way across Lebanon's eastern border to the Hizbullah forces in the south of the country. It may be assumed that this was the intended final destination for the arms found Tuesday night on the ship bearing the Antiguan flag.
The events of the last 18 months in Lebanon have indicated that Hizbullah is the de facto ruler of that country - in the simple sense of being the force that can impose its will on matters it considers vital without consulting with other elements.
Six months after the much-vaunted election victory of the pro-western March 14 movement, Lebanon still has no government in sight. In the meantime, the parallel pro-Iranian Hizbullah state pursues its policies unhindered. If the ship turns out to have been bound for a Lebanese port - this will offer the latest indication of just how free Hizbullah's hand in Lebanon now is.
The apprehending of the arms ship represents a propaganda coup for Israel, which may help it draw attention to the reality of an ongoing Iranian effort to amass powerful proxy military forces to Israel's south and north. However, it us unlikely to put a major dent in Iranian efforts to rearm Hizbullah. The evidence suggests that the process of replenishing the large-scale destruction suffered by Hizbullah in 2006 has been mostly trouble-free and has largely been completed. Hizbullah is thought by Israel to now possess around 80,000 rockets and missiles directed at the Jewish state. The frenetic armament efforts undertaken by Iran and its clients do not mean that conflict is necessarily imminent. The Iranians were displeased at Hizbullah's provocation that led to the war of 2006. The war destroyed costly resources and undid intensive Iranian efforts. Rather, weaponry is making its way to south Lebanon and Gaza, via Syria, Sinai and the Mediterranean, to place the Israeli population within the range of Iranian-directed short and medium range missiles. The implicit threat is that these assets would be activated should Israel (or anyone else) dare to move against the Iranian nuclear program. Israelis may take justified pride in its navy's significant achievement in stopping the arms ship bound for Syria. But the result of the larger contest of which the ship was a part, however, still lies ahead. **The writer is senior research fellow at Global Research in
International Affairs Center, IDC, Herzliya

Israel claims to have intercepted Iran arms shipment to Hizbullah
Tel aviv fails to produce evidence linking cargo to resistance
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Amy Teibel/Associated Press
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israeli commandos seized a ship Wednesday that defense officials said was carrying hundreds of tons of weapons from Iran bound for Lebanon’s Hizbullah – the largest arms shipment Israel has ever commandeered. The Israeli military said an Iranian document was found on board, showing that the arms shipment originated from Iran, although the paper was not shown to reporters. Rear Admiral Roni Ben-Yehuda, the deputy Israeli Navy commander, said that despite its size, the shipment of weapons was “a drop in the ocean” of arms being shipped to Hizbullah.
“It’s a cargo certificate that shows that it was from a port in Iran,” military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovich said. “All the cargo certificates are stamped at the ports of origin, and this one was stamped at an Iranian port.” The Israelis boarded the ship before dawn in the waters near Cyprus.
Israel has long accused Iran of arming its enemies.
Ben-Yehuda told a briefing that “hundreds of tons” of weapons were found on the ship, giving a much higher estimate than an earlier one of more than 60 tons.
Containers had Iranian shipping codes in English – “IRISL” on one side and “I.R. Iranian Shipping Lines Group” on the other. Some of the hundreds of crates lined up on the dock were open, revealing dark green missiles with English-language designations painted in black.
But hours after the seizure, Israel had not provided proof that the arms were meant for the Lebanese group.
Israeli military officials said the ship’s journey started in Iran, and it arrived a week ago in Beirut. The next stop was Damietta, Egypt, where the weapons were loaded, they said. Ben Yehuda said the ship was headed for Latakia, Syria.
In Tehran, Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem dismissed Israeli allegations the ship carried arms. “Unfortunately, some official pirates in the seas, sometimes in the name of the navy, sometimes in the name of inspection, obstruct trade movement between Syria and Iran,” Moallem said a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart.
“This ship does not carry Iranian weapons to Syria and does not contain military material to manufacture weapons in Syria. This ship carries imported goods from Syria to Iran,” he added.
His comments made in Arabic were carried by Hizbullah’s Al-Manar television station and other Lebanese local stations. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki dismissed the allegations out of hand, the state-run English-language broadcaster Press TV reported on its website. It was unclear why al-Moallem said the ship was headed in the opposite direction of that claimed by Israel. Syrian officials were not immediately available for comment in Damascus.
Iran and Syria are close allies and Hizbullah’s principal backers. Israel accuses Syria and Iran of supplying Hizbullah with weapons using air, sea and land routes.
An Egyptian government official said it was “illogical” to think that Egypt is shipping weapons to Hizbullah. The official, who declined to be identified, could not confirm or deny whether the ship entered Egyptian ports. But he said it was not possible to search every ship that enters Egypt’s ports.
Wednesday’s seizure was bigger than a similar haul in 2002, when Israeli military confiscated a vessel with 50 tons of missiles, mortars, rifles and ammunition headed for Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. The presence of Iranian proxies in the Mideast have combined with worries over Tehran’s nuclear program and arsenal of long-range missiles to make Iran the Jewish state’s most formidable foe.
Israel shares the West’s fears that Tehran is developing nuclear weapons, despite its assertions to the contrary. Neutralizing the Iranian nuclear threat remains Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top priority and Israel has not ruled out a military strike against Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Ben-Yehuda said weapons, including Katyusha rockets, were stashed on a commercial vessel operating under the guise of an aid ship, captained by a Pole and flying an Antiguan flag. Based on intelligence reports, a naval unit patrolling the area intercepted and boarded the vessel without incident, defense officials said. Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai said the crew was not aware of the cargo’s contents. The ship, the Francop, is operated by United Feeder Services, a Cyprus-based shipping company that said it picked up the cargo in Damietta, Egypt.
An employee of the company’s chartering department who would not identify himself said the ship had been bound from Egypt to Cyprus and from there to Lebanon and Turkey.
A senior Lebanese Army official refused to comment on the report, saying it happened outside Lebanon’s national waters. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations. A Hizbullah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they had no comment on Israel’s claim. Netanyahu said the arms supply “was intended to hit Israeli cities.”

Mufti of Mount Lebanon says comments about Maronites were 'misunderstood'
Daily Star staff/Thursday, November 05, 2009
BEIRUT: The mufti of Mount Lebanon Sheikh Mohammad Ali Jouzou has sought to defuse tensions over his recent challenge to Maronites to return to Syria, saying he had been misunderstood. Jouzou issued a statement on Wednesday in which he stated he had no intention of offending the Maronite community, explaining that he was criticizing everyone responsible for obstructing the country’s political life, who were proving that the country needed to be under tutelage because it could not form its own government. The statement cited the mufti’s exact words to argue that he did not specify any religious sect in his speech: “This is Lebanon today. Why do all Lebanese emigrate and present their country as a gift to Syria and to Syrian agents? How can the Lebanese not become weary, and not have nostalgia for the days of [Syrian occupation]? Didn’t the Maronites come from Syria? Let them go back to it and let the whole of Lebanon, not just those who are nostalgic go back to Syria.” Jouzou added that some people had taken his words out of context and that in doing so they intended to misrepresent his stance and stoke sectarian tensions, in order to protect their own interests in the government formation. Nonetheless, responses to Jouzou’s earlier speech continued to emerge. The Union for Lebanon condemned the mufti’s words and said it was shocked by the “suspicious silence by the Christians of Qoreitem,” a reference to politicians allied with Prime Minsiter-designate Saad Hariri. The group included the National Liberal Party’s Tigers, the Guardians of the Cedars party, the Lebanese National Movement, former members of the Lebanese Forces and former members of the Phalange party. “How long will you let Jouzou and those like him harm national unity?” the group asked in a statement. Former Beirut MP Adnan Arqaji also responded to Jouzou, saying the mufti’s comments contained sectarianism and factionalism, and resembled the rhetoric of extremist Christians who have demanded that Muslims return to Mecca. He added that Mount Lebanon mufti was promoting a pro-Israeli agenda by trying to encourage the exodus of Christians from the country in order to pave the way for the naturalization of Palestinian refugees. Meanwhile, the head of the Islamic Christian Dialogue Committee, Malek Mawlawi, concurred that the mufti had been misunderstood and had no intention of offending the country’s sectarian communities. – The Daily Star

Rights groups praise court decision on disappeared
Daily Star staff/Thursday, November 05, 2009
BEIRUT: A recent decision by Lebanese judicial authorities to make public the results of an investigation into disappeared persons is an encouraging first step toward recognizing the right of families of victims of enforced disappearances during the 1975-90 Civil War, five leading international human-rights groups said Wednesday. On October 23, the Judge of Summary Procedures of Beirut issued a decision calling on theCabinet’ secretariat to provide the court with the unpublished full report and results of the investigations conducted by the Official Commission of Investigation into the Fate of the Abducted and Disappeared Persons in 2000. A lawyer for the families of the disappeared said the families will be able to see the report when it is In a statement, the International Center for Transitional Justice, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights, and the Euro-Mediterranean’s Federation against Forced Disappearances called on the council’s secretariat to comply with the order by providing copies of the report and its records to the court and then publishing both. So far, the Lebanese authorities have only made public a three-page summary of the commission’s work.
“Thousands of Lebanese have waited for more than a generation to find out what happened to their loved ones during the turmoil in their country. This decision may finally allow the families to identify and seek official protection for mass graves sites,” the groups said. “It paves the way for exhumations that could finally reveal the fate of missing loved ones.”
The preliminary court decision came as part of a lawsuit filed on April 29 by two Lebanese NGOs, the Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared in Lebanon (CFKDL) and Support of Lebanese in Detention and Exile (SOLIDE). The lawsuit aims at locating and protecting the three mass graves mentioned in the summary of the commission’s findings, released in July 2000. The October 23 decision pertains to one of these sites: the St. Demetrius Cemetery in Beirut, also known as Mar Mitr. “The Cabinet’ secretariat should comply with this court order and show the families that the state of Lebanon is ready to assist them in bringing an end to their long search for information about their missing relatives,” the rights groups said. The government established the commission for a six-month term in January 2000 to investigate the fate of those who disappeared during the 15-year Civil War.
It received some 2,046 applications from families of victims. Its summary report said “bodies were discarded in different places in Beirut, Mount Lebanon, the North, Bekaa and the South; and some were buried in mass graves.” It mentioned three burial sites specifically – the St. Demetrius Cemetery in Beirut’s Achrafieh neighborhood, the Martyrs’ Cemetery in Horsh Beirut, and the English Cemetery in Beirut’s Tahwita neighborhood – and reported some bodies were dumped in the Mediterranean.
The report concluded that all those missing for more than four years should be considered dead, and instructed the families to apply to the judicial authorities to register the death of their relatives. No measures have been taken to protect the sites of mass graves. It is thought 17,000 persons disappeared in Lebanon between 1975 and 1990. Families of the victims have been struggling to find out the fate of relatives since the 1970s, in the absence of any concrete action by the Lebanese authorities.
Lebanon has signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance but has yet to ratify it. – The Daily Starhanded to the court.

US donates $2.35 million to south demining effort
Daily Star staff/Thursday, November 05, 2009
BEIRUT: US Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison on Wednesday announced that Washington was providing an additional $2.35 million in funding to support demining activities in South Lebanon. Speaking during a visit to the Lebanon Mine Action Center (LMAC), Sison said the donation brought the total US contribution for demining, nonproliferation, and antiterrorism activities in Lebanon in 2009 to $5.2 million. She lauded the ordnance disposal teams, noting that “despite the inherent dangers of this work, these individuals are dedicated to making Lebanon safer … We actively support LMAC’s humanitarian clearance program in Lebanon and are a key contributor to Lebanon’s demining activities. – The Daily Star

USJ students frustrated as political parties put their own spin on elections
By Farah-Silvana Kanaan/Special to The Daily Star
Thursday, November 05, 2009
BEIRUT: Rival camps in student elections at Universite Saint Joseph (USJ) claimed victory Wednesday, as leading politicians put their own spin on the results. While USJ failed to post the official results on its website, the newspaper An-Nahar claimed that March 14-affiliated students beat out the March 8 coalition in 15 faculties in “a landslide victory. The website of the Lebanese Forces (LF) posted detailed results Tuesday night, even though the official tally was far from being completed. For its part, the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), leading the ranks of the opposition, preferred to focus on results in 10 faculties with more than 250 students enrolled, where “the battle was purely political.” The group claimed to have won in six out of these 10 faculties, in addition to five other faculties. Many students were frustrated with the spin. Khouloud Nassabi, a Translation student who was one of the victorious candidates, said identifying student parties as exact fits with either camp were sometimes misleading. She said that while her student party, Universion, was supported by March 14, many of its members weren’t affiliated with the group. “I have many friends who are wrongfully [linked] to one political party or another in the media. Just because some of these students chose not to run under the March 8 umbrella, it doesn’t automatically imply they’re March 14 supporters.” Meanwhile, LF leader Samir Geagea issued a statement in which he hailed the March 14 victory as “the torch of the future, despite all efforts to draw this country in total darkness,” adding: “I hope we can say ‘bye bye’ to them [the opposition], just as you said to them at USJ.”
FPM leader Michel Aoun stepped into the fray during a news conference later in the day, saying that Geagea’s statement pointed to the LF leader’s immaturity, adding it didn’t deserve a response. Aoun offered one nonetheless, claiming that the opposition had won the majority of faculties and the popular vote, an echo of the opposition’s rhetoric after June’s parliamentary elections. He also claimed “some” university officials had interfered in the polls. Aoun also urged “those who are responsible” to clamp down on calls to free the university from Hizbullah and Shiites, which he said had led to tension. “We will call upon the Higher Education Ministry and the university administration to assume responsibility regarding this issue and will take further steps toward putting an end to this policy of intimidation,” he said.

French official source to As-Safir: Lebanese parties unable to overcome “childish attitudes” to form cabinet
November 5, 2009 /Now Lebanon/As-Safir newspaper quoted a French official source on Thursday as saying that Lebanese parties are unable to overcome their “childish attitudes” to form the government “despite the suitable regional atmosphere.”The source called for the formation of the cabinet as soon as possible, stressing that Syrian interference “is something from the past.” He explained that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad several times about his position on the Lebanese cabinet formation, to which “Kouchner received a pledge from Assad that Syria will not obstruct the formation of a [Lebanese] national-unity cabinet.”Damascus will not obstruct the government formation, the source reiterated, adding Syria considers Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri’s prospective visit to Damascus – scheduled to take place after the cabinet formation is finalized – to be “priceless.”The source also said the delay in the government-formation process is partially due to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s demand to be granted the Telecommunications portfolio. However, the source said, “Aoun was deceived by politicians, and he is now the least worst of them all,” although he did not elaborate further. -NOW Lebanon

New Opinion: Aoun the liberator
November 5, 2009
Now Lebanon/Free Patriotic
Say what you want about Saad Hariri: that Lebanon’s prime minister designate has been disappointing in his handling of the government crisis, that he has gifted too many concessions to the opposition and that he has been buffeted to and fro by his supposed regional allies who have cut deals over his head. All these accusations may contain some grains of truth, but when held up against the behavior of an opposition whose only modus operandi is to erase both the memory and the validity of last summer’s parliamentary elections in order to create regional leverage on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, then Sheikh Saad and his merry men and women of March 14 are models of probity.
One only has to listen to the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Michel Aoun, at his weekly press conference, to get a whiff of the madness that has saturated the March 8 psyche. In response to the Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir’s reasonable view that genuine democracy cannot flourish as long as Hezbollah holds onto its weapons, the former army commander could only respond, using the kind of logic we have come to expect from a party that is gripped by schizophrenia, by asking the head of the Maronite Church if those weapons have ever harmed him. So full of chutzpah is Aoun these days that he even raised the stakes by further suggesting to Sfeir that he should decide if he wants to live in a secure Lebanon or as a refugee outside, presumably implying that Hezbollah’s guns, rather than those, say of the army, allow him to reside on his hilltop in relative safety.
Surely Aoun must realize – or maybe he doesn’t – that a secure Lebanon is one that that makes it illegal for anyone other than the army to possess, parade and use weapons of war. That these weapons have not been turned on Bkirki is neither here nor there. They are not part of the country most Lebanese voted for.
But these are details. Aoun can for some unfathomable reason use words like ‘security,’ ‘democracy,’ ‘rights’ and ‘protection of Christian interests’ – the latter from a man who claims he is secular – in any context and receive nothing but the sagest of nods from his supporters.
But that was not all. Commenting on the long delayed government formation process—a process he is being used by Hezbollah to prolong—Aoun, with startling candor, pointed out that Hariri would never form the cabinet if he waited for consensus. Was Aoun suggesting that Hariri just go ahead and exercise his constitutional right as head of the parliamentary majority to form a government? Surely we should seek clarification on this.
But it was the issue, once again, of the weapons that drew the most dramatic statement of the day. After dismissing reports that a ship stopped by the Israeli navy was carrying arms bound for Hezbollah (Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al Mouallem, on a state visit to Iran, also felt compelled to comment on the seizure; he called it ‘piracy,” while Aoun called it ‘pottery’), Aoun blurted out that he would arm himself, “if he had the money,” and liberate Palestine! Again, are we to infer from this that he sees Hezbollah’s weapons as part of an ongoing struggle, the objective of which is to march victoriously into Jerusalem having kicked the Zionist entity into the Mediterranean? This will no doubt come as a surprise to many of his supporters who have tacitly accepted the presence, for the time being, of Hezbollah’s ‘defensive’ weapons on the condition that disarmament will be discussed as part of a national defense strategy. Was this not the condition under which they accepted Aoun’s so-called Memorandum of Understanding with Hezbollah? Now their leader is talking of a crusade. Next thing we know he’ll be asking for a restoration of the 1969 Cairo Accord. Then again, we have stopped being shocked by Aoun.

Message of Support from Vatican to Bkirki
Naharnet/Bkirki has received a message of support from the Vatican, An Nahar daily reported Thursday, a day after the new papal nuncio attended part of the Maronite bishops' meeting.
An Nahar said the message "included support for Patriarch Sfeir's stances."However, As Safir newspaper said the papal ambassador's participation in the bishops' weekly meeting on Wednesday was aimed at "refuting media reports about differences of opinion in the Council of Maronite Bishops and between Sfeir and the Vatican."Ad-Diyar, in its turn, quoted church sources as slamming Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun, who on Wednesday accused Sfeir of covering up for corrupt politicians in the country. "If the General is saying that Patriarch Sfeir is protecting the corrupt, then let him tell us who are the corrupt?" the sources asked. They said that the FPM is posting news on its official website saying the Maronite community in Lebanon is annoyed from the patriarch. The sources added that Aoun's supporters were more irritated by the fact that Sfeir traveled to the Vatican and returned with "good news." Beirut, 05 Nov 09, 09:59

Geagea Slams Aoun, Says He Doubts Cabinet Deal will Happen Anytime Soon
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea cast doubt Thursday that a Cabinet deal will soon be announced. "I doubt that the government will be formed soon," Geagea said following a two-hour meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir in Bkirki. Geagea said remarks by Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun on Wednesday against Sfeir were "rejected." Aoun accused Sfeir of "protecting" those practicing corruption inside the state and asked the Patriarch if weapons have ever hurt him. Commenting on reports that Israel navy had intercepted an arms shipment allegedly bound for Hizbullah, Aoun said: "We are free to bring weapons whether the news were right or not," said the FPM leader. Aoun's "remarks about the weapons are totally unacceptable," Geagea said, adding that the FPM leader "wants to be the Napoleon of Lebanon." Beirut, 05 Nov 09, 14:26

Mohammad Raad
November 4, 2009/On November 3, the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) carried the following report:
Loyalty to the Resistance bloc leader MP Mohammad Raad delivered a speech during a luncheon on the occasion of Martyr Day. “We meet today to honor your efforts as journalists in your ongoing struggle and follow up to ensure the rise of this country, the unity of its people, land and institutions, the enhancement of stability and civil peace, the protection of this country in the face of its enemies and invaders who wish evil upon it and the recollection of the meaning of martyrdom on Martyr Day. Needless to say that martyrdom is the epitome of sacrifice to uphold higher and sacred values. It features the sacrifice of one’s soul, blood, body, life, time and money and all that one owns for higher values in which he believes and whose righteousness is clear to him. A martyr is not just a killed person and martyrdom is not just any killing. Martyrdom is about being killed for higher and supreme interests which are the common point between the people of the same country. Martyrdom is not just any killing because it is not seen to secure a position, power, earthly gains or wealth. It is for the protection of the people, all the people, and for the defense of their security, stability, lands, nations and countries.
The cause and the sacred human and national value for which the souls of the martyrs are sacrificed, rendered everything for them sacred. Even the weapons they carry, draw their sanctity from the core of the cause for which they are fighting, a cause which is neither personal, nor partisan, nor factional, nor denominational, nor regional, nor sectarian. It is the cause of the people, of this country and nation. Therefore, whoever belittled the importance of these values, cannot realize the level of haughtiness reached by martyrs and the meaning of martyrdom.
The martyrs of the Resistance rose above personal gains for which everyone around them is fighting, and even left their wives, children and personal baggage to ensure the victory of the country over an enemy which is targeting its land, its institutions, its regions and sects. And since the martyrs of the resistance sacrificed all that for this country and its regions, we owe them the support of the cause for which they were martyred, thus reuniting instead of heading to our narrow alleys and opening up to the horizon of a united country. Let us open our minds and hearts to each other, understand each other’s concerns and grow aware of the existential threat lurking around us all.
We thus insist on the formation of a government which would reunite the Lebanese, their energies and directions, bring the people closer together and erase the page of divisions. Only a national-unity government can ensure stability during these times of threats and aggressions, while the Zionists are preparing to retaliate against those who defeated them. Only a national-unity government can address all the concerns of the Lebanese people, regardless of their sects and regions, and handle these problems to uphold their interests which are targeted by one enemy, i.e. the Zionist enemy, who is now staging one maneuver after the other and mobilizing international support behind the policies of this Zionist entity which is exercising Judaization, expanding the settlements, and imposing conditions to get the Arab negotiator to come to it in surrender and sign [the settlement].
Our resistance fighters have confidence because they have the determination and will to sacrifice their existence for us all to remain here and for the protection of Lebanon, in order to prevent the enemy from treating us lightly and to prevent those seeking hegemony and power from making us sign on their conditions and succumb to their dictations.
The formation of this national-unity government is about to be witnessed and maybe the next few hours will bring news in this regard. We will therefore either witness the birth of a government reflecting the wish of all the Lebanese to see the prevalence of national unity and real partnership, or the eruption of a long crisis which no one knows how long it will last.”