LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
April 04/09

Bible Reading of the day.
Psalm 120/1-7
In my distress, I cried to Yahweh. He answered me. Deliver my soul, Yahweh, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.
What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you, you deceitful tongue?
Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
My soul has had her dwelling too long with him who hates peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.

Christians Persecuted In Pakistan
International Christian Concern (ICC)/Muslim Mob Drags Christian Women through Streets 03/04/09

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
President of the United States Bows to Foreign King. By Bob Ellis /Dakota Voice 03/04/09
So Dangerous and So Decisive June 7 (Lebanese Parliamentary Elections). Future News 03/04/09
Who killed Annapolis? Jerusalem Post 03/04/09
Olmert defends Annapolis peace process.By GIL HOFFMAN. Jerusalem Post 03/04/09
Q&A With the Head of Iran's New America's Desk/Wall Street Journal.03/04/09
Time to reassess the Arab Peace Initiative in view of Israel's new cabinet. The Daily Star 03/04/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for April 03/09
Obama backs Saudi peace initiative-Jerusalem Post
Iran to UN: Arms ship seizure illegal.Jerusalem Post
UN names Jewish judge to lead Israel-Gaza probe. Israeli News
Abu Rizk: Aoun disregards his beliefs.Future News
Syrian Intervention changes the candidates.Future News
Heated Quarrels between Saniora, Shamseddine, Bassil over Reforms, Wiretapping-Naharnet
Freed Boy Tells of His Kidnapping 'Adventure' in Tight-Fitting Chains with Roasted Chicken for Lunch-Naharnet
March 14 Quartet Meeting Helps Remove Electoral Obstacles-Naharnet
Tripoli Moves towards Formation of Coalition List: Hariri, Safadi, Miqati-Naharnet
Aoun Amends Lists in Kesrouan, Jbeil and North Metn-Naharnet
Lebanese Communist Party Likely to Boycott Elections-Naharnet
Joint Maneuvers in Naqoura as Graziano Says 1701's Major Achievement is Army Deployment-Naharnet
Poland to Pull Out of UNIFIL-Naharnet
Sison Congratulates 5th Class of U.S.-Trained Cadets-Naharnet
Saniora Calls for Reformative Approach to Economy after Polls-Naharnet
Lebanese police free boy, arrest kidnappers in Aley-Daily Star
Number of candidates in elections reaches 270-Daily Star
Hizbullah MP warns British lawmakers of Israeli extremism-Daily Star
Salam urges politicians to keep rhetoric in check-Daily Star
Fadlallah discusses regional issues with Qassem-Daily Star
Philippines says deployment ban remains in effect-Daily Star
LAF, French UNIFIL troops conduct joint maneuvers in Naqoura-Daily Star
Assad insists that Tribunal comply with Syria-UN agreement-Daily Star
Israel says it will continue violating Lebanese airspace-Daily Star
Axe-wielding Palestinian kills Israeli teen, escapes.AP
Canada summons Afghan ambassador over rape law/The Canadian Press
Syria warned over Britons held for weeks-Independent

Obama Bows Before Saudi Plan
by Maayana Miskin /Arutz Sheva" <news@israelnationalnews.com
United -States President Barack Obama was caught on camera by journalists on Wednesday bowing in deference to Saudi King Abdullah as he greeted him at the opening of the G20 meeting in London, prior to being photographed with British royalty.
Obama later expressed support for the 2002 Saudi Plan in his meeting Thursday with the Saudi monarch. The two also discussed global economic issues and terrorism, White House staff said.
The meeting between Obama and Abdullah was the first face-to-face talk between the two. The meeting created a storm of debate, primarily among American conservatives, when pictures and a video were released that appeared to show Obama bowing to the Saudi monarch at the G20 photo-op.
Obama reportedly expressed support for the 2002 Saudi Initiative upon winning the presidential election in November of 2008. In his first meeting with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Obama had been quoted as saying of the plan, “The Israelis would be crazy not to support this initiative.”
In January of 2009, Saudi officials warned that the U.S. would need to “drastically revise” its Middle East policy, particularly towards Israel, if it wanted to maintain influence in the region.
"If the U.S. wants to continue playing a leadership role in the Middle East and keep its strategic alliances intact – especially its 'special relationship' with Saudi Arabia – it will have to drastically revise its policies vis-a-vis Israel and Palestine,” former Saudi ambassador Prince Turki al-Faisal said at the time.
Turki referred to the Middle East policy of former U.S. President George Bush as “sickening,” and accused America of “contributing to the slaughter of innocents” by supporting Israel.
Bush expressed strong support for the creation of a PA state, but supported the 2003 Road Map initiative over the Saudi Plan. The Road Map plan calls for the Israel-PA negotiations process to take place in stages, with Israel dismantling Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria only after the PA begins to fight terrorism.
The Saudi Plan calls on Israel to cede Gaza and all land east of the 1949 armistice line, including much of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, to the Palestinian Authority. Israel would also be required to cede the strategic Golan Heights region to Syria.
In addition, the plan requires Israel to release all terrorists currently in its prisons, and to offer citizenship to millions of foreign Arabs who say they are descended from Arabs who fled pre-state Israel during the War of Independence.
In exchange, Arab states would normalize their ties with the Jewish State.
In Israel, the plan has met with little support. Enacting the plan would force roughly 600,000 Israelis from their homes. In addition, senior defense officials have warned that the plan would compromise Israel's security.
President Shimon Peres expressed limited support for the plan in 2008, but clarified that he believed the plan could be useful as a starting point for negotiations, not that it could be implemented in its current form. Hana Levi Julian and Gil Ronen contributed to this report.

President of the United States Bows to Foreign King
By Bob Ellis /Dakota Voice
http://www.dakotavoice.com/2009/04/president-of-the-united-states-bows-to-foreign-king/
on April 2nd, 2009
President Barack Obama may be tempted to blame his teleprompter for telling him to grovel in front of the king of Saudi Arabia, but I don’t see the teleprompter anywhere around in the picture below. Didn’t anyone tell President Obama that Americans don’t bow down to anyone? Didn’t anyone tell President Obama that the President of the United States especially doesn’t bow down to anyone? Didn’t anyone tell President Obama that Americans fought a long and bloody war so we wouldn’t have to bow down to a king anymore? To my knowledge, even the Queen of England (a nation with values similar to our own) didn’t get this kind of worshipful treatment. Is it a Muslim thing? The Saudi king is, after all, a Muslim. Is it something Obama picked up while registered as a Muslim in school in Jakarta?
I don’t want to make a mountain out of a mole hill, but when one bows, one signifies the superiority of the one bowed to. It is a gesture of submission. The leader of the most free nation in the world should not be slobbering on the ring of some king! It was embarrassing when President Obama ungratefully gave back the gift from the British of the bust of Winston Churchill (one of their greatest prime ministers and one of America’s greatest foreign friends). It was embarrassing when the British gave President Obama a gift made from historic wood and President Obama gave the British…some DVDs–that won’t even play in their DVD players!
It’s been embarrassing enough to see other foreign relations gaffes (e.g. the red button we gave to Russia), feeling as if the White House was being run by a 9th grade school social club, but now…It has been bad enough to hear Obama attempt to curry favor with the despots, tyrants and socialists around the world–since even before he was elected. It has been bad enough to see the President of the United States worried about what a bunch of European snivelers think of the United States. It has been bad enough to see the President of the United States treat terrorists and sponsors of terrorism as anything other than the dregs of humanity.
But to now actually see the President of the United States rendering obeisance to the king of a foreign nation, one with a poor human rights record–from which 15 out of 19 hijackers on September 11 came…I’m feeling sick (and something else, too).

So Dangerous and So Decisive June 7
Date: April 3rd, 2009
Future News
The June 7 parliamentary elections are definitely decisive and dangerous. And these descriptions are not just strong words used in order to stand out.
The current dispute is based on the controversy between the political- economic- social program of March 14 coalition and the electoral program of March 8 alliance, which is burdened with “thanking” Syria and Iran for their military aide in addition to the political funds the two countries are providing for the members of this group.
Parliamentary elections are quite decisive as they will determine the nature of Lebanon’s political regime. The majority is proposing to grab onto Taef accord and the unified living charter in order to organize the relations of the Lebanese with the state’s institutions.
Amidst the up rise of the extremist rightist party- Likud- in Israel and the Iranian challenge that tampers with the Arab countries and their internal affairs, the elections will definitely be dangerous. The upcoming democratic practice is a way to assert that democracy is the basis of governance in Lebanon and not the weapon, regardless of its naming, functions, or roles, and regardless of its alleged objectives.In this sense, the elections is a political moment that will determine Lebanon’s direction and will decide if it will remain a battle field or if it will cross towards the state, which is the guarantee to all the Lebanese away from sectary sedition and upon the “unified living” rather than “co-existence” and according to the equality all of the Lebanese have approved. The results of the elections will determine whether Lebanon will stay an arena and a mailbox for countries which exchange messages and attain their aspirations through it.The Lebanese are sick of being the subject of Syrian or Iranian negotiations with the US and Israel. The Lebanese blood is not for trade. Thus, it is the mission of the Lebanese to appoint the leaders who would be responsible before them and not for them, and that will only be accessible through serious and responsible electoral programs

Israel says it will continue violating Lebanese airspace
By The Daily Star
Friday, April 03, 2009
BEIRUT: The Israeli Army confirmed Thursday a decision to maintain military over flights in Lebanon's airspace in violation of Resolution 1701.
The Lebanese Army said that on Wednesday at least 16 Israeli planes staged reconnaissance flights across Lebanon for more than an hour a day earlier.
The Israeli Army, meanwhile, did not deny or confirm the Lebanese report but security officials and "reaffirmed Israel's right to continue to survey areas that pose a threat to its security," according to a statement on Thursday. The officials said "Hizbullah continues to smuggle weapons in violation of Resolution 1701, forcing Israel take necessary measures to monitor the area." The resolution put an end to the summer 2006 war with Israel. In a speech in March, Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah condemned Israeli overflights, adding his group has the right to combat them. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has repeatedly complained about Israel's overflights and has urged the country to abide by the UN resolution. Late Wednesday, the Lebanese Army statement said Israeli overflights on Tuesday "lasted more than an hour" and were in violation of Resolution 1701 According to Wednesday's lengthy statement, 10 Israeli jets flew in batches over southern border towns and villages and then headed north.It says another six Israeli warplanes flew in batches over the Mediterranean off the southern coastal city of Sidon and off the coastal town of Jounieh and the city of Byblos in the north before heading east. - The Daily Star, with AP

Heated Quarrels between Saniora, Shamseddine, Bassil over Reforms, Wiretapping
Naharnet/Cabinet has approved a series of urgent projects for Beirut, yet the session did not pass without quarrels among cabinet ministers over issues like reforms and wiretapping. The daily An Nahar on Friday said a heated quarrel broke out between Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and Administrative Reform Minister Ibrahim Shamseddine over a clause related to granting licenses to several new academic institutions.
It said that while Saniora was in favor of granting a license to universities, Shamseddine argued that they do not meet the legal and professional requirements.
The brawl ended with a cabinet decision to postpone debate on the issue until the universities meet the requirements.
An Nahar said Shamseddine also criticized the "freezing" of all dossiers related to reforms.
Meanwhile, Al Akhbar daily said an argument also erupted after Telecommunications Minister Jebran Bassil criticized the government over the wiretap issue.
Bassil argued that requests still coming in from certain security and judicial authorities contradict the agreed-upon administrative mechanism.
Cabinet responded, pointing to the need for holding a meeting of the ministerial committee in charge with the wiretap issue.
"It is not proper to withhold implementation of a law pending a meeting of the ministerial committee," Bassil told Al Akhbar.
Cabinet approved a number of items on its agenda, including implementation of infrastructure projects for Beirut and the transfer of U.S. $ 29 million from the municipality's budget to the Council for Development and Reconstruction for that purpose.
The meeting was characterized by the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Issam Abu Jamra after a boycott that last several months.
Cabinet ministers were confused by the atmosphere of friendliness between Saniora and Abu Jamra who exchanged kisses and warm handshakes, according to An Nahar. It said the reason behind the "easiness" between the two men was that they both wanted to pass a $30 million project for the completion of infrastructure work in Ashrafiyeh. Beirut, 03 Apr 09, 08:43

No Progress on Hariri-Jamaa Islamiya Election Alliance
Naharnet/No progress has been made with regard to the formation of an election alliance between Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri and Jamaa Islamiya.
Al-Akhbar newspaper said Friday talks between Hariri and Jamaa Islamiya have so far failed to bring view points closer.
Hariri on Wednesday met with a delegation from Jamaa Islamiya headed by Ibrahim Masri and reportedly informed it of the possibility to include its candidate, Ali Sheik Ammar, to his Sidon list. Hariri reportedly told the delegation he was willing to accept Jamaa Islamiya parliamentary candidate in Akkar Mohammed Hawshar if Prime Minister Fouad Saniora joined the election race. Jamaa Islamiya sources told Al Akhbar that Hariri was not willing to accept more than two candidates from the Islamic Grouping on his list, "provided that he grants us a cabinet portfolio in the next government." The delegation rejected Hariri's offer, insisting on having three candidates on Mustaqbal Movement's electoral ticket. "If they nominate Saniora in Sidon, we will be outside its (Mustaqbal Movement) election battle," one Jamaa Islamiya source said. "The same goes to Tripoli, meaning that our alliance with al-Mustaqbal faces a log of obstacles." Hariri met former Cabinet Minister Najib Miqati on Thursday to discuss election issues and is expected to hold talks again with him on Friday. Mustaqbal Movement will announce its election platform on Sunday at a massive rally in Beirut. Beirut, 03 Apr 09, 09:41

Aoun Amends Lists in Kesrouan, Jbeil and North Metn
Naharnet/Free Patriotic Movement leader Gen. Michel Aoun has finalized the lists of his candidates in the districts of Kesrouan, Jbeil and North Metn, pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Friday. The newspaper said Aoun replaced MP Nihmatallah Abi Nasr in Kesrouan with former legislator Fares Boueiz. In North Metn, the FPM leader favored Ghassan Ashqar (Syrian Social National Party) over Salim Salhab. Aoun also put the name of FPM official Simon Abi Ramia on the Jbeil list at the expense of MP Shamel Mozaya. Aoun's choice of candidates in other districts such as Baabda and Zahle depends on his allies' leniency to relinquish some seats in the FPM leader's favor, according to al-Hayat. As Safir newspaper, meanwhile, said that indirect contacts are underway between President Michel Suleiman and Aoun which would change the electoral equation particularly in Christian provinces such as Jbeil, Kesrouan, North Metn and Baabda. Beirut, 03 Apr 09, 10:08

Lebanese Communist Party Likely to Boycott Elections
Naharnet/The Lebanese Communist Party is expected to announce boycott of the upcoming parliamentary election, both in voting and candidacy.
The daily Ad Diyar on Friday said the Communist Party will announce its stance within the coming few days. It said the party was not going to give its votes to the minority across all electoral districts, including southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, pan-Arab daily Al Hayat said head of the Change and Reform bloc Gen. Michel Aoun was not "comfortable" by what seemed to be a decision to exclude cooperation with the Communist party. It said Aoun believed this could harm the minority lists in the Koura and Batroun provinces and other electoral tickets, particularly in western Bekaa. Hizbullah had informed the Communist party of its rejection to include its Deputy Secretary General Saadallah Mazraani on the minority list in Tyre after the two sides failed to reach a compromise in light of the Communists' decision to hold on to its candidates in western Bekaa, Koura and Zahle. Beirut, 03 Apr 09, 10:34

Sison Congratulates 5th Class of U.S.-Trained Cadets
Naharnet/U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison congratulated the fifth class of 290 Internal Security Forces cadets and presented them with their certificates, the U.S. embassy said in a press release. She also congratulated the twenty graduates of the second Supervision and Management Course which ended in March, the embassy said. The cadet course is a ten-week, state-of-the-art training program, taught by U.S. instructors and curriculum developers with the assistance of Lebanese police and legal professionals. Cadets learn the latest policing and law enforcement skills and how to apply these to on-the-job situations.
The Supervision and Management Course focuses on technical and leadership skills development so that non-commissioned officers can effectively lead field police units.  The embassy statement said the U.S. government continues training ISF personnel as part of the ongoing $80 million law enforcement assistance program which helps the ISF build its capacity and enforce the rule of law. Beirut, 02 Apr 09, 18:42

Saniora Calls for Reformative Approach to Economy after Polls
Naharnet/Prime Minister Fouad Saniora told a business gathering Thursday there was an urgent need for the next government to ensure the adoption of reforms to help rejuvenate the economy. In the opening speech of the 17th Arab Economic Forum in Phoenicia in the presence of 600 Arab, regional and international businessmen, official figures and investors. "There is a real need to revitalize Lebanon's economic potentials through going back – following the elections – to ensure the adoption of necessary corrective policies," he said. "Lebanon went nearly unscathed by the international financial crisis and succeeded in creating new job opportunities for the Lebanese," Saniora said. "We will surely bank on Lebanon's successes over the past years during the upcoming phase to be able to confront the challenges," he added.
He said he has proposed to Cabinet a work plan that outlines "pre-emptive measures against the possible ramifications of the international financial crisis."
As Lebanon prepares for parliamentary elections, Saniora said there is an urgent need to "neutralize" the economic sector in case of "any possible impacts that political events might cause." Addressing Arab governments, Saniora called for a collective economic effort in face of the international financial crisis which put and end to "five years of fast-paced economic growth in the Arab world." Saniora said that recent inter-Arab rapprochements, under the auspices of Saudi King Abdullah, can only benefit the Arab world if leaders "surpassed their personal and political differences and translated their unity through economic cooperation."For his part, MP Saad Hariri said he refuses to turn the elections into "a minor event as some politicians are trying to do.""The upcoming polls are crucial because they will help us reconfirm democracy as the foundation of governance in Lebanon and the people as the basis of authorities and because the elections will define Lebanon's economic course," he said. Beirut, 02 Apr 09, 19:36

Hizbullah MP warns British lawmakers of Israeli extremism
By The Daily Star /Friday, April 03, 2009
BEIRUT: Hizbullah MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan told the British House of Commons in a rare meeting Wednesday that the policies of the new Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "paint a bleak picture for stability in the region after he failed to endorse the idea of a two-state solution."
Hajj Hassan of Hizbullah's Loyalty to the Resistance bloc arrived in the United Kingdom on Sunday in response to an invitation by members of the House of Commons. "The next phase will be a bleak one because political vacuum is insupportable and because filling this vacuum will push region further into a state of tension and instability," he said. "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government will work to freeze the situation for four years as part a project to settle Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan," he added. He then reiterated Hizbullah's commitment to defend the rights of the Palestinians.
Netanyahu has failed to explicitly endorse the idea of an independent Palestinian state while his foreign minister said Israel was not bound by the 2007 Annapolis peace conference and will only abide by the 2003 road map. On Israel's summer 2006 war on Lebanon, Hajj Hassan said Israel was plotting to displace "1 million southerners, who had fled their towns, with the aim of settling the Palestinians in the abandoned homes." "However, [Hizbullah's] victory and the swift return of the displaced to their homes in the south filed the Israeli plot," the MP added. Hajj Hassan's unprecedented visit to London came after Britain said was ready for low-level talks with Hizbullah's political wing. He said his meetings with MPs from the Labor and Conservative parties "showed a great understanding to Hizbullah's position." He said the British government signaled its willingness for a more "open policy toward Hizbullah, which welcomes these meetings." - The Daily Star, with AP

Lebanese police free boy, arrest kidnappers in Aley
By Andrew Wander /Daily Star staff
Friday, April 03, 2009
BEIRUT: A 14-year-old boy kidnapped and held for ransom was dramatically rescued in an undercover operation carried out by Lebanese security services on Thursday morning.
Amin Jihad Khansa was snatched from a bus-stop on his way to school on Monday. Hours after he was seized, the kidnappers contacted his family and demanded a $1.5 million ransom for his safe release, sparking the three-day investigation that led to his rescue.
But their plans were thwarted by quick-thinking security officers who captured members of the gang and forced them to reveal his whereabouts without spooking the remaining kidnappers, a security source told The Daily Star on Thursday.
The source identified the leader of the gang as Abdel-Nasser Hassan Miqdad, who lives in the same building as the kidnapped boy. Officials say Miqdad comes from a wealthy family, and had spent time observing the habits of the Khansa family in order to plan the kidnap.
Undercover officers were immediately posted to the building where the family lived to search for clues in Amin's disappearance. Meanwhile, on Tuesday a second call was made to the family demanding the money.
By this time, investigators believed that the kidnap was entirely motivated by money and felt that they could buy time by promising the ransom would be paid. On the instructions of the police, Jihad Khansa, Amin's father, said he would gather the cash within 24 hours. "His abductors were solely interested in money," a security official told AFP news agency on Thursday.
The breakthrough in the hunt for the missing boy came on Wednesday. Undercover officers posted to monitor the building where the family live overheard two men, Ibrahim Ahmad and Ahmad Sheiko, discussing whether handcuffs may have injured their captive's hands. They apprehended the suspects immediately.
They were questioned for eight hours in a police station while security forces hatched a plan to rescue Amin. By this time, the kidnappers had confessed their involvement and were forced by security officials to telephone Miqdad to say that they were delivering the money.
A car was hired, and two armed officers hid in the back, holding one of the men at gunpoint and forcing him to drive to the Aley district, where they said that Amin was being held.
Miqdad came to meet them, thinking that the kidnapping was going according to plan, but the armed officers sprang out on him and forced him to take them to the house, where they found Amin, tied up and spread-eagled on a bed.
A fourth kidnapper, Ali Ahmad, was arrested at the scene. Investigators found that the boy had been drugged and bound, but was otherwise unharmed. "He is good shape and has been reunited with his parents," a security official said on Thursday.
Amin's family are delighted to have their son back. "We spent three awful days," his father said after his release. "But thank God, my son is perfect condition. He is a hero."
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, who announced the rescue in a press conference on Thursday, said that the operation shows that people can trust the security forces and pledged to continue their development. His comments were echoed by Premier Fouad Siniora, who praised the "high level of professionalism" displayed by the security forces. President Michel Sleiman said that is was the duty of the security forces to ensure the people's rights regardless of any obstructions and difficulties.

Number of candidates in elections reaches 270
Hariri says vote will be 'crucial' as siniora stresses need to rise above bickering
By Therese Sfeir /Daily Star staff
Friday, April 03, 2009
BEIRUT: Lebanon's political camps are finalizing their electoral lists ahead of the April 7 deadline imposed by the Interior Ministry, which announced Thursday that the number of candidates has reached 270. Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri said Thursday that the June parliamentary elections would be "fateful," adding that they would reinforce Lebanon's democratic principles.
In a speech delivered during the opening of the 17th Arab Economic Forum in Beirut, Hariri said: "I believe that these elections are fateful, because we, as Lebanese, will stress that democracy is the basis of rule in Lebanon and that the people is the basis of all authorities."
"These elections are also crucial for us, as politicians, because we regularly ask the Lebanese to renew their trust in us, based on a program that seeks to provide the citizens with decent living conditions in a free, sovereign and stable state," the head of the Future Movement added.
Hariri also said that the March 14 forces would soon announce a comprehensive socioeconomic program.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora stressed on Thursday the need to rise above political bickering and find the means to settle the country's pending issues.
During the inauguration of several development projects in Tripoli, Siniora said: "Lebanon does not have time to waste; stalling and political bickering have led the country to a brink."
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry issued a statement, saying the total number of candidates up to Thursday reached 270. The ministry added that it received 58 new candidacies on Thursday, including Bechara Merhej for Beirut's third district, Abbas Hachem for Jbeil district, Nadim Gemayel for Beirut's first district, Pierre Achkar for the Metn district, Farid Haikal Khazen for Keserouan, Fares Soueid for Jbeil, Assem Qanso for Baalbek-Hermel, as well as dozens of other candidates.
Sources in the opposition quoted by the Central News Agency (CNA) Thursday said that a meeting would be held between Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday to discuss the opposition's final electoral lists.
The sources added that the bilateral meeting would be followed by a meeting between Nasrallah, Berri, Aoun and former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh to finalize the lists.
But other sources in the opposition quoted by the CNA said that meetings that group different opposition leaders would only be held after the finalization of lists, in order to avoid any disagreements among the participants.
The CNA also said that a meeting would be held soon between former President Amin Gemayel, Hariri, head of the Progressive Socialist Party MP Walid Jumblatt and Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.
Sources in the majority told the CNA that during a planned election rally on Sunday at BIEL, the Future Movement would only announce its electoral program, but would not tackle the names of its candidates.
Orthodox candidate for Beirut's first district Nayla Tueni said Thursday that "everyone has the right to express their views in the elections, but attacking the martyrs is not acceptable."
Tueni's comments came in response to Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, who said earlier this week that Nayla's father, late journalist and MP Gibran, had "inconsistent positions."
"Things are very clear now; there are two different political projects and the Lebanese should choose the project they want," Tueni said during a gathering in Achrafieh. "This is a fateful battle, so we must be ready."
Tueni also said that if she won in the elections, she would defend women's right, the detainees in Syrian prisons, as well as other issues.
Also on Thursday, the People's Movement announced its candidates for Beirut's third district, including Ibrahim Halabi, who would run for the Sunni seat, and Najah Wakim for the Orthodox seat.
In a news conference held on Thursday, Wakim said that the 1960 electoral law adopted during the Doha Conference last year increased "confessional and sectarian divisions."
"This has put the country before two possibilities: the opposition winning the majority by a slight margin and forming a national unity cabinet, or the March 14 alliance winning by a slight margin and monopolizing the governing process," Wakim said, adding that in both cases "a crisis will immediately take hold after the elections."
In a separate development, Sidon MP Osama Saad said Thursday that Siniora was "a main partner in the political path that led to a serious deterioration in the Lebanese economic and social situations."
In a radio interview, Saad criticized Siniora's possible candidacy for the June elections, saying that the ruling majority was using "electoral money and confessional provocation to compensate for the weakness of their electoral program."
Saad added that he would submit his candidacy in the coming hours and expressed his confidence in the "loyalty of Sidon citizens."
National Liberal Party leader Dory Chamoun told LBC television on Thursday that he would commit to the March 14 alliance's decision concerning candidate nominations.
He said some Lebanese Forces supporters informed him that they were not satisfied with Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan's performance and that they would not vote for him."My problem with George Adwan is that he does not care about those who voted for him in the 2005 elections, but we do not have any personal disagreements," he noted.
He added that Democratic Gathering bloc MP Elie Aoun, George Adwan and himself were the names most likely to be the Maronite candidates in the Chouf district.
Abu Jamra ends boycott of Cabinet sessions
Nafez Qawas
Daily Star correspondent
BEIRUT: The Lebanese Cabinet convened on Thursday at the Grand Serail with 80 items on its agenda. Deputy Prime Minister Issam Abu Jamra, who has been boycotting sessions headed by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora for several weeks, was present at the session.
Addressing the ministers, Siniora praised the security forces for their success in liberating Amin Jihad Khansa, who was kidnapped earlier this week for a $1.5 million.
He also stressed the importance of cooperation between the Lebanese Army and other security forces.
Siniora called on the ministers to fully implement the articles on the ministerial policy statement before the the current Cabinet's mandate expires in June. He added that electoral campaigns should not influence the government's work.
Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah said he was optimistic that the national budget would be adopted within two weeks.
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud informed the attendees of Khansa's release, adding that investigations were ongoing into the kidnapping of MEA engineer Joseph Sader.
Sader, 50, an official of MEA's IT department, was abducted on February 12 near Beirut Airport, by three unidentified assailants. The ministers were still in session by the time The Daily Star went to press.

Time to reassess the Arab Peace Initiative in view of Israel's new cabinet
By The Daily Star /Friday, April 03, 2009
Editorial
With just three days under his belt as Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has already done enough damage to put the future of the state of Israel in jeopardy. Past peace treaties - and also potential future ones - have been badly undermined by the bouncer-turned-diplomat's wild remarks.
In his first two days in office, he rejected peace with Syria, by ruling out a withdrawal from the Golan Heights, and with the Palestinians, by insisting that Hamas be completely disarmed before any progress can be made in negotiations. He also derided the US-backed Annapolis agreement as a document that "has no validity" and insisted that his country was not bound to any of its principles.
In fact, Leiberman's combative views are perhaps best summarized by a sentence he uttered during an interview with Haaretz: "If you want peace, prepare for war."
What is perhaps most telling about the current situation is that Leiberman's ranting has generated strong criticism not just from Arabs, but also Israeli leaders. One of his most vocal critics on the homefront has been his predecessor, Tzipi Livni, who on Thursday warned that the new foreign minister's tirades meant that "Israel in effect announced that it was no longer a partner" for peace.
But while Israelis have been openly critical of the foreign minister's delirious stances, leaders in Europe and the United States have held their tongues, uttering only mild phrases of concern. It is still too early to tell whether they will opt to confront the Jewish state now that it is taking on the face of an openly combative entity.
To sum up the current situation: Israel is revealing itself to be an unabashed warmongering state, and the international community is twiddling its thumbs while trying to decide what to do about this new development. The responsibility for taking a decisive stance on the matter therefore falls on the shoulders of Arab leaders.
First, the Palestinians will need to get their own house in order and patch up their internal divisions. Whatever enmity Fatah and Hamas have toward one another ought to pale in comparison to the grave challenges posed to the Palestinian cause by the newly appointed Israeli government.
As for the Arabs, they need to revisit their 2002 peace initiative in view of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new cabinet. The bold Arab attempt to resolve the decades-old conflict was met with a cool response from the previous Israeli government, which at least tried to maintain the appearance of pursuing a negotiated peace agreement. The current Israeli government, on the other hand, has openly backed unending conflict and settlement expansion, thereby effectively declaring an open war on its neighbors. How will Arab leaders respond to this new and apparent threat?

Muslim Mob Drags Christian Women through Streets
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 2, 2009) - International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that Noor Husain, the father of a Muslim woman who eloped with a Christian man, led a mob of his neighbors and friends in an attack on his village's only church in Pakistan's Punjab province. After desecrating the church, the men forced their way into Christian homes, dragged out the women, and paraded them forcefully on the streets.
The assault, which occurred several months ago, so terrified the Christian community that 21 families fled, leaving only four Christian families who are still in the village.
"Petrified Christians locked their homes and fled to their relatives, living in other villages and cities, to save their lives," said Ashraf Masih, a Christian resident who has remained in the village.
Several Christians were injured, including two women whose teeth were broken.
After the incident, local politicians attempted to set up a "Peace Committee" to reconcile the two groups in lieu of requesting that the police get involved. When that effort failed, the Christians finally approached the police with a formal complaint, but as of press time police had not taken any action to prosecute the assault.
Ashraf is still hopeful that the Peace Committee will be able to work out a resolution to the conflict.
The incident occurred in Kot Lakha Singh village in Narrowal district, Punjab, Pakistan.
# # #
ICC is a Washington-DC based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.

Palestinian kills Israeli teenager with pickaxe, wounds boy, 7, before escaping
By Sebastian Scheiner, The Associated Press
BAT AYIN, West Bank - A Palestinian killed an Israeli teenager with a pickaxe and seriously injured a seven-year-old boy in a rampage through this West Bank Jewish settlement Thursday, posing an early test for the country's new hardline government.
The Israeli media broadcast pictures of the body of 13-year-old Shlomo Nativ, bespectacled with long sidecurls and a large skullcap worn by observant Jews. The images also showed the red pickaxe on the ground with drops of blood splattered on a road.
The attacker escaped the scene and Israeli troops, joined by bearded settlers armed with automatic rifles, were conducting a manhunt in the area. In the nearby Palestinian village of Safa, troops searched houses and rounded up residents in a schoolyard. The military said all roads around the settlement of Bat Ayin were closed.
The settlement is notorious in Israel for being the base of the radical Israeli "Bat Ayin Underground," whose members were arrested over a botched 2002 bombing attempt on an Arab girls' school in Jerusalem. The wounded seven-year-old's father, a member of the underground, is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for his involvement in that bombing attempt.
Avinoam Maymon, a 45-year-old resident of the extremist settlement, said he tried to stop the assailant after the attack, violently struggling with him for a minute or two. "He tried to kill me. I grabbed his hand and took the axe and he escaped," he told The Associated Press.
He said the attacker fled to a neighbouring "murderous village."
The attacker apparently entered Bat Ayin, located between Jerusalem and the southern West Bank city of Hebron, unhindered. The religious settlers have refused to build a security fence around their community - standard practice in most settlements - saying it would be a sign of weakness.
The teenager was quickly buried at a funeral Thursday afternoon, which was closed to the media at the family's request.
The attack came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office and will likely heighten tensions with the Palestinians. The leader of the hawkish Likud party has threatened a firm hand against militants and lowered expectations on the prospects for peace.
Government spokesman Mark Regev called Thursday's attack a "senseless act of brutality against innocents" and warned the new leadership would have a "zero tolerance policy" toward militants.
A murky Palestinian militant group calling itself the Martyrs of Imad Mughniyeh claimed responsibility for the attack in an email sent to The Associated Press.
The group is named for a Hezbollah leader killed in Syria last year in what is believed to have been an assassination by Israeli intelligence.
It has claimed a number of past attacks, but Israeli defence officials believe it is likely a name used by other groups to avoid Israeli reprisals.
The email said the militant group Islamic Jihad was also involved. The group's spokesman in Gaza would not comment.
The new government has already voiced skepticism about peace negotiations in its first days in office.
"The Palestinian leadership must both in word and in deed too have a zero tolerance policy to this sort of attack to demonstrate its commitment to peace and reconciliation," said Regev, the government spokesman.
Netanyahu was elected on a campaign that criticized the previous government's peace negotiations with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Since then, Netanyahu has said he will seek peace, but has given few details about his vision for a final agreement.
He has specifically refused to endorse the idea of an independent Palestinian state - a key demand of the Palestinians and a centrepiece of U.S. diplomacy in the region.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu's ultranationalist foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said Israeli concessions to the Palestinians would only invite more war. He also rejected the previous government's peace talks, launched at a U.S.-sponsored conference in 2007. Netanyahu has not commented publicly on Lieberman's statements. But a close Netanyahu ally, cabinet minister Gilad Erdan, said Thursday that Lieberman's comments largely reflected the position of the prime minister's Likud party. The appointment of the Lieberman has angered Palestinians and raised international concerns because of his hardline positions on peace and an election campaign that was widely seen as racist. In Cairo, Egypt's Foreign Ministry called Lieberman's remarks "a setback to peace efforts."

Canada summons Afghan ambassador over rape law
By Alexander Panetta, The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - Afghanistan's ambassador to Canada defended the progress made by women in his country after he received a diplomatic dressing-down over a controversial new law.
Omar Samad was called in by the Canadian government amid an international furore over legislation that would make it illegal for Shia women to deny sex to their husbands. He said the Afghan government is examining the law and will have no comment about it for now.
In the meantime, he asked for patience from his country's Western critics.
"I fully understand the reaction - the immediate, emotional reaction of countries like Canada who have done so much to build a young democracy," Samad said in an interview. "People also need to understand that this young democracy is immature. It is not at the same standard as a Canadian or European democracy. And it's in a very different cultural context as well. We are going to fall down, we are going to make mistakes, and we're going to move forward as a result."
He said the condition of women in his country - where they hold 89 of parliament's 351 seats - cannot be compared to the dark days under the Taliban.
Samad made the remarks after a host of Canadian politicians made it clear that this country has not lost soldiers' lives and spent billions of dollars in Afghanistan to see women's rights slide backward.
Critics worry the legislation undermines hard-won rights for women enacted after the fall of the Taliban's strict Islamist regime.
The law - which some lawmakers say was never debated in parliament - is intended to regulate family life inside Afghanistan's Shiite community, which makes up about 20 per cent of Afghanistan's 30 million people.
The law does not affect Afghan Sunnis.
One of the most controversial articles of the law stipulates that the wife "is bound to preen for her husband as and when he desires."
"As long as the husband is not travelling, he has the right to have sexual intercourse with his wife every fourth night," Article 132 of the law says.
"Unless the wife is ill or has any kind of illness that intercourse could aggravate, the wife is bound to give a positive response to the sexual desires of her husband."
One provision also appears aimed at protecting the woman's right to sex inside marriage, saying that the "man should not avoid having sexual relations with his wife longer than once every four months."
A spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said officials called in Samad on Wednesday to discuss the matter.
"We have informed the Afghan government of the damaging effect that the law could have and we pointed out that across the country, Canadians are following the issue closely," said a Foreign Affairs news release.
"We understand that the Afghan government intends to continue to review the law and discuss it with civil society. We are monitoring closely developments and will continue to make our principled position known."
Spokeswoman Catherine Loubier said Cannon discussed the issue with Afghanistan's foreign affairs and interior ministers in The Hague this week at an international meeting on the country's future.
Canadian diplomats have also met officials in President Hamid Karzai's office in Kabul and are seeking clarification on possible implementation of the law.
The proposed law has sparked outrage in Canada and abroad.
It would also restrict other rights of Afghanistan's minority Shia women, making it illegal for them to leave the house without permission or to have child custody.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff and politicians of all stripes have urged the Afghan government to honour its commitments to human rights, including respect for the equality of women.
Canada has lost 116 soldiers and spent up to $10 billion to support the Karzai government.
The father of one slain soldier called the law an insult.
"My son gave his life up for all these causes and to have President Karzai's government bring in a law like that, that's insulting," Jim Davis said Wednesday.
His son, Cpl. Paul Davis, was killed in Afghanistan in 2006.
The proposed Shia family law has cast a shadow over the international conference in The Hague.
Critics say Karzai approved the law in advance of his country's elections in the hope of winning critical swing votes from conservative Shia men.
But the law remains shrouded in mystery: it has not been published, Karzai's office has refused to comment on it, and its alleged details have only been made public by the Afghan parliamentarians who opposed it.

Obama backs Saudi peace initiative
By JPOST.COM STAFF
US President Barack Obama reiterated his support for the Saudi Mideast peace initiative in a meeting with King Abdullah on Thursday night, the White House said in a statement. In this file photo from the Middle East peace summit in Annapolis, Olmert shakes hands with Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei as Bush conducts a trilateral meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud
The February 2002 initiative calls for a full Israeli withdrawal from all territories taken in the Six Day War, including east Jerusalem, and a "just settlement" to the Palestinian refugee crisis in exchange for normalizing ties with the Arab world. The leaders "reaffirmed the long-standing, strong relationship between the two countries," continued the statement after the two met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in London. "They discussed international cooperation regarding the global economy, regional political and security issues, and cooperation against terrorism," it added.
Earlier Thursday, a US official stressed that while it may not be easy, his country would push hard for the continuation of the peace process and for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"We're going to be working hard to see what we can do to move the process forward. But we're under no illusions. It's not going to be easy," Reuters quoted US State Department spokesman Robert Wood as saying.
Wood explained that the Obama administration was interested in pursuing the two-state solution "because we believe it's in the best interests of all the parties in the region." "We have to engage constantly and remind the parties of their obligations and to try to set up a framework, a process for getting us toward that goal of a two-state solution," Wood added. Wood went on to say that new Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was "well aware" of the US position.
On Wednesday, Lieberman told Foreign Ministry employees gathered for a changing of the guard ceremony that "there is one document that obligates us - and that's not the Annapolis conference, it has no validity." The Annapolis process is posited on the idea of negotiating a final status agreement now, which would then be placed on a shelf until a later time when it would became clear that the Palestinians could control the security situation on the ground. "We will never agree to jump over all the clauses and go to the last one, which is negotiations over a final status agreement," Lieberman said. He noted that the agreement included dismantling terrorist infrastructure and setting up working, effective functioning Palestinian institutions. The US State Department spokesman on Thursday also announced that US special envoy to the Middle East, former Sen. George Mitchell, is set go to the region soon. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to visit Washington soon, possibly as early as next month, an Israeli official told Reuters.
Herb Keinon contributed to this report.

Who killed Annapolis?
Jerusalum Post
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has made a stormy entrance. The "ultra-nationalist" (BBC and al-Jazeera); is "blunt and belligerent" (The New York Times); "aggressive" (Haaretz) and a "racist" (Yasser Abed Rabbo). This new government will make "no concessions for peace" (Guardian) and "spurn the peace process" (CNN)
Why the uproar? Because Lieberman announced: "The Israeli government never ratified the Annapolis accord."
Ahem. Actually, the cabinet did endorse Annapolis, on December 2, 2007. Ehud Olmert sold it to his colleagues with the argument that the negotiations would not be constrained by any deadline, and with the promise that if an agreement was reached, it would be implemented only after the Palestinians halted all violence. Privately, prior to the cabinet's endorsement, Olmert briefed Lieberman; who then absented himself from the vote.
BUT THE thing is, Annapolis is dead - just as Lieberman so undiplomatically stated. And everyone knows it. It died when Mahmoud Abbas and Ahmed Qurei rejected Olmert's and Tzipi Livni's offer last year of virtually the entire West Bank (the Palestinians already have Gaza), plus tracts of the Negev to make up for strategic settlement blocs retained beyond the Green Line.
Olmert and Livni proffered international stewardship for the holy places, and were prepared to turn over east Jerusalem. A tunnel or bridge would connect east and west "Palestine," providing contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza.
The Kadima government balked only at a total pullback to the 1949 Armistice Lines, and on granting millions of Palestinian "refugees" the right to "return" to a truncated Israel - something that would demographically smother our Jewish population.
In other words, had the Palestinians taken Olmert's and Livni's astonishingly magnanimous deal, "Palestine" would have become the 22nd Muslim Arab state in the Middle East.
Still, the petulant way Lieberman made his Annapolis announcement detracted from the substance of what Israel's argument should be. Had he handled himself more adroitly, the next day's headlines might have read: "New Government Embraces Road Map." For Lieberman did pledge a total commitment to what is officially known as a "Performance-Based Road Map to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israel-Palestinian Conflict."
The Annapolis process was a stab at leapfrogging over the road map because the Palestinians could not - or would not - fulfill their obligation to end the violence. And the international community preferred the illusion of momentum Annapolis provided. The alternative would have been to concede that even "moderate" Palestinians are not prepared follow through on the hard work necessary to achieve a two-state solution.
Lieberman is convinced that all the sweet talk from Olmert and Livni got Israel precisely nowhere. Yet, significantly, the Netanyahu-Lieberman-Barak government is committed to achieving a Palestinian state via the road map. What now needs to be worked out is whether the Palestinians remain committed, and whether the steps to implement the road map must be taken sequentially (the Israeli view), or in some other undefined fashion (the Palestinian view).
The road map stipulates that,"A two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will only be achieved through an end to violence and terrorism, when the Palestinian people have a leadership acting decisively against terror and are willing and able to build a practicing democracy based on tolerance and liberty, and through Israel's readiness to do what is necessary for a democratic Palestinian state to be established…"
That would require Israel to freeze settlements and dismantle those established since February 2001.
This is what Lieberman supports. What could be clearer?
THE Lieberman flap comes as Israel buries another victim of Palestinian terror, 16-year-old Shlomo Nativ, who was hacked to death on Thursday in Bat Ayin, a settlement southwest of Jerusalem. It is this kind of Palestinian brutality - combined with diplomatic obduracy - that keeps the road map grounded.
By talking tough instead of talking smart, Lieberman claimed he won "respect." In fact, he handed an unnecessary win to those who misrepresent Israel's stance by arguing that it is blocking the creation of a Palestinian state.
This was an inept performance by our novice foreign minister, no question. Nevertheless, Annapolis has become just another footnote in the 100-year history of Palestinian rejectionism.

UN names Jewish judge to lead Israel-Gaza probe
Richard Goldstone, former chief prosecutor for war crimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, to head high-level mission to investigate alleged crimes committed by IDF during Operation Cast Lead
News agencies Published: 04.03.09, 12:46 / Israel News
The United Nations says a Jewish judge from South Africa will lead a high-level mission to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
The global body says its former chief prosecutor for war crimes in Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Richard Goldstone, will head the probe ordered by the Human Rights Council in January.
According to the mandate, the investigation will focus only on Palestinian victims of the three-week war between Israel and Hamas earlier this year.
According to a Palestinian rights group, 1,417 people including 926 civilians were killed in the fighting. Thirteen Israelis also died. Israel has refused cooperation with previous council probes, calling them biased.
"It is in the interest of all Palestinians and Israelis that the allegations of war crimes and serious human rights violations related to the recent conflict on all sides be investigated," Goldstone said in a statement.
"I am confident that the mission will be in a position to assess in an independent and impartial manner all human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in the context of the (Gaza) conflict," the president of the Human Rights Council, Nigerian ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi, said in a statement.
Goldstone will be accompanied by British human rights professor Christine Chinkin, Pakistani lawyer Hina Jilani and retired Irish Army colonel Desmond Travers.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report

Iran to UN: Arms ship seizure illegal
By JPOST.COM STAFF
The seizure of explosives from a Cypriot-flagged Iranian ship believed to be bound for Gaza has "no legal basis," Iran complained in a letter to the UN Security Council released Friday. Last month, a United Nations sanctions committee demanded an explanation from Iran and Syria as to how they were involved with the ship. At a Security Council meeting in New York, the ambassadors of France and Britain described the episode as a "gross violation" of existing resolutions banning Iranian arms exports due to its controversial nuclear program. British envoy John Sawers said the UK looked forward to the committee receiving explanations from Iran and Syria as to why the shipment was permitted by Iran as the reported state of origin and as to the involvement of Syria as the reported state of destination.
"Despite some politically-motivated allegations made by certain media and others about the cargo of the M/V Monchegorsk vessel, we wish to stress that the consignment of the said ship falls within the framework of normal trade transactions, and any allegations to the contrary are baseless," the Iranian letter stated.
"Accordingly, measures that have been taken in intercepting the ship's cargo and storing the said vessel's shipment have no legal basis, and the right to seek compensation through appropriate mechanisms remains reserved in this regard," it added.
Iran reiterated that its nuclear program "is completely peaceful, ... poses no threat to international peace and security, and therefore does not fall within the security council's purview by any stretch of law, logic or interpretation." Cypriot authorities unloaded the ship's cargo in February and said the vessel carried more than 90 containers loaded with "raw material that could be used in the manufacture of munitions." The cargo was taken to a Cypriot naval base. Diplomats in New York have told The Jerusalem Post that Cyprus has been eager to cooperate with its European Union allies on the issue, but the island nation has not yet taken any steps to destroy the cargo. The ship had been anchored off the port of Limassol since it arrived on January 29 under suspicion from US officials of ferrying weapons from Iran to Hamas in Gaza. The ship had been turned away from an Egyptian port and the US military said it found artillery shells and other arms aboard the vessel after stopping it earlier January in the Red Sea. But the US could not legally detain the ship, which continued on to Cyprus.
**Allison Hoffman, Jerusalem Post correspondent in New York, contributed to this report

Olmert defends Annapolis peace process
By GIL HOFFMAN
Jerusalem Post
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert took steps to leave behind a positive legacy on Thursday when he praised the Annapolis peace process at a Kadima event that paid tribute to him at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert shakes hands with US President George W. Bush in the Oval Office, Monday, a day before the Annapolis summit begins.
"I don't remember in the 60 years of the state of Israel any gathering in which on one stage there were leaders from Israel, the Palestinians, the US and foreign ministers from all the Arab countries," Olmert said of the Annapolis conference in 2007. "That can't just be erased. It was the entire Arab world saying that Israel was a fait accompli that cannot be erased or destroyed."
Olmert said Israel received unprecedented international support during his tenure and warned that it would pay a heavy price if it abandoned the Annapolis process.
Gheit: I won't shake Lieberman's hand
Although he repeatedly praised Kadima leader Tzipi Livni, who served as his foreign minister, Olmert hinted that he could eventually make a political comeback. He said the gathering would be his "last public event for a long time," but that he would be present at Kadima's victory party when it returned to power.
Prior to Olmert's speech, Livni praised him, hinting at air strikes in Syria and Sudan that the foreign press has reported that Olmert authorized.
Kadima leader Tzipi Livni addresses a faction meeting.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski
"No one can take away from you the things that are known and the things that will be known in the future," Livni said.
Livni criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government, which she referred to as "that strange thing the Knesset approved two days ago." She also praised herself for deciding to remain outside the coalition, saying that "no one gave us a mandate to bury hope in this government."
Referring to the upcoming Pessah holiday, Livni compared herself to Moses and the opposition to the Israelites in the desert.
"On Pessah, we celebrate the Jewish people following proper leadership in the desert," Livni said. "The leadership spoke to the people and taught them about their basic values."
Coalition chairman Ze'ev Elkin responded that Moses, unlike Livni, was known for his modesty. He added that Livni would parch in the desert of the opposition for a long time.

DEBKAfile's intelligence sources disclose that two weeks before the request was received in Beirut, three Syrian generals suspected of a role in the murder disappeared from their homes.
They are Gen. Rustum Ghazale, Syrian military intelligence chief in Lebanon in the early 2000s, his deputy Gen. Jam'a Jam'a, and senior intelligence officer in Beirut Col. Jemal Abu Jemal.
They went missing shortly after Syrian president Bashar Assad received assurances from UN officials close to the tribunal and French president Nicolas Sarkozy's advisers that the court had decided not to summon Assad in person, or his younger brother Maher Assad and brother-in-law Gen. Asif Shawqat as suspects in the case. But they would demand the extradition of the three missing generals.
Monday, the Belgian pre-trial magistrate Daniel Fransen asked the Lebanese judiciary to release to the tribunal's general prosecutor Daniel Bellemare all the documents and reports relating to the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005 and a list of detainees.
Justice minister Ibrahim Najjar said that by this request, the tribunal is claiming exclusive jurisdiction over detainees, including the four Lebanese generals held since 2005 as suspected accomplices in the murder.
DEBKAfile's Middle East sources report that Assad has apparently hidden the missing Syrian officers away in "protective custody" for the following reasons:
1. To make sure they do not escape and solicit the tribunal's protection as prosecution witnesses. They know enough about the Hariri assassination plot to incriminate the Syrian president and the entire Assad clan and also bring down the Syrian regime's mainstay, the intelligence service.
2. Or to use them as an insurance policy against the Assads' incrimination. If the tribunal agrees to leave the Assads and their intelligence services out of the proceedings, the Syrian president may consider throwing the three Syrian officers to the wolves as the primary conspirators and perpetrators of the assassination of the anti-Syrian Lebanese politician.
This was how Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi wriggled out of indictment for the Pan-Am airliner's terrorist bombing over Lockerbie in Scotland in 1986. He handed the special Scottish tribunal two senior Libyan agents who were convicted for the atrocity.
3. If challenged to release the three Syrian officers to the tribunal, the Syrian ruler can say they have disappeared and he does not know their whereabouts.
The request to the Lebanese government to relinquish authority in the Hariri case marks the opening of the international tribunal's proceedings.
The next step may well be a subpoena for the four Lebanese generals, incarcerated for four years in Beirut: They are Gen. Mustafa Hamdan, former head of the Lebanese presidential guard, Jamil Sayyed, former head of Lebanese intelligence, Ali Hajj, former head of Lebanese internal security, and Raymond Azar, former chief of Lebanese military intelligence.
They are suspected of acting on the instructions of the three missing Syrian officers and are in a position to incriminate figures at the top of the Syrian regime.
2009-04-02