LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِNovember 09/2010

Bible Of The Day
Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 06/Salvation/1-16
6:1 Working together, we entreat also that you not receive the grace of God in vain, 6:2 for he says, “At an acceptable time I listened to you,  in a day of salvation I helped you.”Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. 6:3 We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed, 6:4 but in everything commending ourselves, as servants of God, in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, 6:5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings; 6:6 in pureness, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love, 6:7 in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, 6:8 by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; 6:9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not killed; 6:10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. 6:11 Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians. Our heart is enlarged. 6:12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. 6:13 Now in return, I speak as to my children, you also be open wide. 6:14 Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 6:15 What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever? 6:16 What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Free Opinions, Releases, letters, Interviews & Special Reports
Fares Soueid: Interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio -NNA/November 08/10
Resistance is not exclusive/Now Lebanon/November 8/10
Kuwaiti paper calls for 'unconditional' talks with Israel/By JPOST/November 08/10
Why Ehud Barak should be the next Mossad chief/By Amir Oren/Haaretz/November 08/10

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for November 08/10
U.N. Indictments Near in Lebanon Killing /Wall Street Journal
Canada's PM, Mr. Harper vows to stand up for Israel Module body/By The Canadian Press
Geagea: If We Had to Choose between Government, STL, It'd Be Better to Have No Government/Naharnet
Lebanon cannot stop STL, Kerry says/Now Lebanon
US Senator Kerry Discusses General Situation with Suleiman, Hariri /Naharnet
Ghajar on Table During Netanyahu's U.N. Visit /Naharnet
Lieberman: Hizbullah, Lebanese Government Hampered Efforts to Reach Solution on Ghajar /Naharnet
UNIFIL: Israel is Obligated to Withdraw from Northern Section of Ghajar /Naharnet
Cabinet Convenes under Suleiman Wednesday /Naharnet
Jumblat Meets Suleiman: I'm Worried, Things Are Dealt with Through Dialogue /Naharnet
Berri: Attempts to Further Delay Cabinet Meeting will Leave Negative Repercussions on Situation /Naharnet
Report: Mughniyeh among suspects behind Hariri murder/By JPOST
Sahili: Hizbullah Not afraid of Indictment nor of Those who Stand Behind It /Naharnet
Williams after Meeting Fneish Calls for Opening Lines of Communication between Lebanese /Naharnet
Wall Street Journal: STL will Soon Indict Hizbullah Members /Naharnet
Harb: March 8 Forces are Attempting to Stage a Coup against the Institutions /Naharnet
New 'King' Witness in Hariri Murder Uncovered /Naharnet

Harper vows to stand up for Israel
By The Canadian Press
OTTAWA - Stephen Harper says he'll take a forceful stand against anti-Israel rhetoric no matter the political cost to his government at international organizations such as the United Nations and the Francophonie.
The prime minister delivered the opening speech Monday at a two-day conference on anti-Semitism, taking place on Parliament Hill.
He noted Canada's unsuccessful bid for a UN security council seat this fall, saying he believes the country is morally obligated to stand up against those who would attack Israel.
"And I know, by the way, because I have the bruises to show for it, that whether it is at the United Nations or any other international forum, the easy thing to do is simply to just get along and go along with this anti-Israel rhetoric, to pretend it is just being even-handed, and to excuse oneself with the label of honest broker.
"There are, after all, a lot more votes — a lot more — in being anti-Israel than in taking a stand."
The reference to "honest broker" was a thinly veiled swipe at Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.
Ignatieff attacked the Conservative government in a speech this month for sacrificing Canada's ability to command respect on the issue of peace in the Middle East. Ignatieff said Harper has used Israel as a wedge issue in Canadian politics, and called for a return to a time when Canada was seen as an honest broker in the world.
Harper said Israel may be subjected to fair criticism, and noted that Israel subjects itself to such criticism as part of a healthy, democratic debate. But he spoke of a "solemn duty" to defend the vulnerable and challenge the aggressor at home and abroad.
"Not just because it is the right thing to do, but because history shows us, and the ideology of the anti-Israel mob tell us all too well, that those who threaten the existence of the Jewish people are in the longer term a threat to all of us."

Geagea: If We Had to Choose between Government, STL, It'd Be Better to Have No Government
Naharnet/If we had to choose between the government and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, then it would be better to have no government, and let no one think that we can be blackmailed, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea announced Monday. "Let them refrain from using the provocative approach with us," Geagea added. In a chat with reporters, Geagea reminded that "the popular majority, using the Taef Accord's logic, was with us (March 14 forces), and we gained the majority in Parliament, and we're not willing to speak contrary to this logic.""Any mulling of a new Taef must be collectively made by all Lebanese parties, and I don't believe that any party is willing to raise a new problem by reconsidering the basis of the Lebanese regime," Geagea added. As the LF leader said that a major maneuver was taking place "in a bid to refer the case of martyr premier Rafik Hariri and all martyrs once again to the Lebanese Judiciary," he reminisced that "the Lebanese had exerted their utmost efforts in order to establish the STL and fulfill justice."
Commenting on Hizbullah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem's latest remarks that the March 8 camp has the popular majority, Geagea called on the top Hizbullah official to "re-examine the results of the 2009 parliamentary elections."As to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner recent remarks about a "new Taef Accord," Geagea said: "Minister Kouchner did not raise anything in this regard during our meeting."Answering a question about "STL's politicization, especially after U.S. official John Kerry said that the indictment will not accuse a community or a party, but rather individuals," Geagea reminisced STL Prosecutor Danielle Bellemare's remarks, "which all were in that vein."
He noted that some Western officials were only echoing what Bellemare has personally revealed. As to a potential strife in the Christian arena after Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji vowed to confront any possible discord, Geagea ruled out any potential strife, "neither in the Christian arena, nor in the national arena given the State's stance in this regard."
Also Monday, Geagea held talks in Maarab with Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Awadh Assiri, who described the Lebanese as "intelligent."
"It is impossible that they don't reach what benefits this country," Assiri added. The ambassador conveyed the hopes of Saudi King Abdullah to "see all political forces sitting at one table, because a Lebanese solution is what will remain and last, rather than a solution imported or imposed on the Lebanese."Asked about the meeting that gathered him to the ambassadors of Iran and Syria, Assiri said: "A friendly relation connects us as ambassadors, and the meeting was social and brotherly because our concerns and efforts are common, on the grounds that Lebanon deserves more time to resolves its issues." Beirut, 08 Nov 10, 19:24

U.N. Indictments Near in Lebanon Killing
NOVEMBER 8, 2010
By JAY SOLOMON in Washington and MARGARET COKER in Beirut
Wall Street Journal
U.N. Indictments Near in Lebanon Killing
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703665904575600374005892944.html
The United Nations-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is moving to indict between two and six members of the militant group Hezbollah by year-end, according to people briefed on the tribunal's work, stoking fears of renewed sectarian strife in the Middle East country.
The U.S. has scrambled to bolster support for the tribunal and the pro-Western government of Lebanon in the face of threats of violence from Hezbollah if the indictments are handed down.
Among those being looked at in the U.N. probe, according to the people briefed on it, is Mustafa Badreddine, a senior Hezbollah military commander and brother-in-law of Imad Mugniyah, who was among the Federal Bureau of Investigation's most-wanted men before his death nearly three years ago.
Mr. Mugniyah is alleged by U.S. officials to have overseen a string of terrorist attacks against American interests in the 1980s, including the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut that killed 241 servicemen. Mr. Mugniyah, who was killed in a 2008 car bombing in Damascus, Syria, is also believed by U.N. investigators to have played a role, along with his brother-in-law, in the car bombing in downtown Beirut that killed Mr. Hariri and 22 others, according to the people briefed on the probe.
The rising tensions inside Lebanon have significantly undercut the Obama administration's efforts to mend relations with Syria, among the suspects in Mr. Hariri's murder. The U.S. has coveted better ties with Damascus, both to stabilize Lebanon and underpin the broader Arab-Israeli peace process. Washington has also hoped to weaken Syria's military alliance with Iran.
In recent months, however, Syrian officials have called for the ending of the U.N. tribunal. And U.S. officials have publicly charged Damascus with transferring increasingly sophisticated missiles to Hezbollah.
In initial reports, U.N. investigators alleged that Syrian intelligence agents played a role in Mr. Hariri's death, a charge Damascus has denied. At the time of the assassination, Syria had 15,000 troops inside Lebanon, oversaw virtually all of Beirut's security and political decisions and closely coordinated its actions with Hezbollah.
In 2005, the U.N. court ordered the detention of four Lebanese generals who worked closely with Syria. They were released last year after a prosecuting judge said the court didn't have enough evidence to continue holding them; they could still be indicted at a later time.
Syrian officials are calling for the U.N.'s probe to be scrapped in favor of an independent Lebanese investigation. "This is not the proper way to reach the facts behind who assassinated the late Prime Minister Hariri," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said in a September interview. "It [is] known that the forces who stand behind this effort have to decide between stability or disturbance."
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in July that he expected members of his group to be indicted, but he has denied that Hezbollah played any role in Mr. Hariri's death and has called the tribunal's work politicized against Hezbollah. Mr. Nasrallah has publicly presented information that he says implicates Israel in the assassination.
Israel has denied any role in Mr. Hariri's killing and called Hezbollah's claims "unfounded and ridiculous."
Parliamentarians from a Hezbollah-led bloc in Lebanon's government have tried to open a separate judicial inquiry into the matter, a move critics say is intended to stall the work of the tribunal.
Members of Hezbollah's central committee didn't respond to requests for comment.
The offices of the U.N. Special Tribunal for Lebanon declined to comment Friday on the status of the Hariri case. But the president of the tribunal told reporters in The Hague, the Netherlands, last Wednesday that it is his hope that the indictments will be issued next month. "We want to show that our international tribunal can do justice in an impartial way, free from bias," Italian Judge Antonio Cassese said.
Much of the tribunal's case rests on intercepts of cellphone communications among the alleged assassins in February 2005, according to the individuals briefed on the case. The alleged perpetrators initially worked through a closed cell-phone network. This protection was compromised when one of the group's members called his girlfriend, according to these people.
The expected indictments have stoked growing concern in Washington and Arab capitals about the stability of Lebanon and the durability of Beirut's pro-Western government, led by Prime Minster Saad Hariri, Rafik Hariri's son. Lebanon is viewed in the U.S. as a key front-line state in Washington's battle for regional influence with Iran and Syria. Tehran and Damascus are the principal arms suppliers and funders of Hezbollah.
In recent days, people who identified themselves as Hezbollah supporters in Beirut have attacked and injured U.N. staff working on the investigation into Rafik Hariri's death. Mr. Nasrallah and other Hezbollah leaders have publicly warned Saad Hariri's government against providing any further assistance to the tribunal, and have suggested violence if indictments are handed down.
"Such an indictment is a warning bell equivalent to lighting the fuse, to igniting the wick for an explosion, and is dangerous for Lebanon," Hezbollah's No. 2 official, Naim Qassem, told the BBC Arabic service on Tuesday.
Hezbollah isn't likely to give up any of its members to the tribunal, and Lebanon's armed forces are significantly weaker than Hezbollah's militia. In 2008, Hezbollah militiamen briefly seized swaths of territory in Beirut, following a standoff over security issues with Mr. Hariri's pro-Western faction during Lebanon's previous government.
The Obama administration has scrambled in recent weeks to increase its support for Saad Hariri, as well as for the tribunal. Last Wednesday, the U.S. said it was providing an additional $10 million for the court's operations. Lebanon is responsible for 49% of the tribunal's budget, which was originally envisaged at $40 million per year. But Hezbollah lawmakers have tried to block further funding.
The State Department's point man on the Middle East, Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman, visited Beirut late last month to pledge Washington's support for the tribunal. He also held meetings with two politicians seen as critical to Saad Hariri's political survival—President Michel Suleiman and Walid Jumblatt, head of Lebanon's Druze minority.
Mr. Suleiman, the former commander of Lebanon's armed forces, has been seen as an independent arbiter between the government and Hezbollah camps. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also called Mr. Suleiman in recent weeks, according to the State Department.
"We wanted to reaffirm our support for Lebanon and the work of the tribunal," said a senior U.S. official working on the Middle East. "We also wanted to remind President Suleiman that we have certain expectations of the Lebanese military and the state."
Mr. Jumblatt, originally one of the strongest supporters of Saad Hariri and the investigation into his father's murder, has damped his enthusiasm for the U.N.'s work in recent months, saying it risks setting off a sectarian conflict inside Lebanon. Hezbollah represents Lebanon's Shiite population, while Mr. Hariri is the leader of the country's largest Sunni political faction.
Members of Mr. Hariri's coalition have interpreted Hezbollah's warnings over the possible indictments as a bid to incite fresh sect-based violence.
"The rise of sectarianism by the opposition worries us," says Ammar Houri, a parliamentarian from Saad Hariri's Future party. "It should worry everybody."
Despite the younger Mr. Hariri's personal stake in the probe, it isn't clear how much resolve he will ultimately show in pushing for the enforcement of any indictments. After fending off an electoral challenge by the Hezbollah-led opposition in the summer of 2009, Mr. Hariri has reached out to Mr. Nasrallah. The two sides agreed on a unity government, led by Mr. Hariri.
In a rare meeting earlier this summer, Mr. Hariri suggested to Mr. Nasrallah that the two cooperate on a crisis-management strategy for handling the indictments, according to people close to Mr. Hariri. Mr. Nasrallah rejected the idea, these people said.
Senior U.S. officials said there are indications that Hezbollah and its political allies could use the indictments to force an end to the current unity government. Mr. Hariri's slim parliamentary majority is vulnerable to the defection of key Christian and Druze politicians, like Mr. Jumblatt.
"I'm acting under the assumption that Hezbollah wants to topple the government constitutionally, rather than turning its guns on the Lebanese people," said one senior U.S. official. "Hezbollah wants to challenge any indictments and gut the tribunal of any meaning inside Lebanon."
Parliamentary allies of Hezbollah deny that the group is seeking to overthrow the government or upend the political system by force. "The opposition respects the rule of law," said Walid Sukkarieh, a retired Lebanese general and current parliamentarian allied to Hezbollah.
Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com and Margaret Coker at margaret.coker@wsj.com
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US Senator Kerry Discusses General Situation with Suleiman, Hariri
Naharnet/U.S. Senator John Kerry on Monday discussed the general situation with President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Kerry arrived early Monday on board a private plane from Addis Ababa. He is accompanied by an official delegation for talks with Lebanese officials. Beirut, 08 Nov 10, 12:22

Wall Street Journal: STL will Soon Indict Hizbullah Members
Naharnet/The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is close to indicting senior Hizbullah commanders, reported the Wall Street Journal on Monday. U.N. investigators are likely to indict between two and six members of the party before the end of the year, including Mustafa Badreddine, brother-in-law of slain Hizbullah official Imad Mugniyeh, it added. Beirut, 08 Nov 10, 14:40

Cabinet Convenes under Suleiman Wednesday
Naharnet/Cabinet will convene under President Michel Suleiman at 5:00 pm Wednesday, November 10, the state-run National News Agency said. There was no mention as to whether Cabinet would discuss the controversial false witnesses' issue or not. An-Nahar daily on Monday said difficulties facing efforts to hold a Cabinet meeting without a Government split reflected the real problem the national unity government was facing. It quoted a source from Suleiman's ministerial bloc as saying there were no new developments regarding the false witnesses' issue. "Everyone is still waiting for the outcome of consultations and contacts between the concerned sides," the source said. Well-informed political sources had said that both Damascus and Riyadh have intensified consultations last week in a bid to reach an understanding on the possible exists to the crisis.
They pointed to the recent visit by the adviser to the Saudi King, Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, to Damascus during which he discussed "written ideas for an exit." The ministerial source stressed that holding a Cabinet meeting for vote on the false witnesses is "out of the question because that would paralyze the Government." An-Nahar said a vote could lead to a Government split. A ministerial source in Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri's bloc, for his part, said failure to hold a Cabinet meeting this week could mean a Cabinet session is also unlikely to convene next week due to Eid al-Adha holiday. Moreover, the source cautioned that unless Cabinet meets, national dialogue, which was scheduled to convene before Nov. 22, is threatened to collapse, increasing political unrest and tension. He said Saudi-Syrian efforts have not yet produced a solution to the Lebanon crisis. Beirut, 08 Nov 10, 13:32

Jumblat Meets Suleiman: I'm Worried, Things Are Dealt with Through Dialogue
Naharnet/President Michel Suleiman on Monday met a Democratic Gathering ministerial delegation led by Druze leader Walid Jumblat.
Jumblat told reporters after the meeting at Baabda Palace: "I am worried. Issues are dealt with through dialogue. Voting on the false witnesses' issue should be a last resort."
On the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Jumblat said, the Court can only be abolished through a decision by the U.N. Security Council. Jumblat had said in remarks published earlier by the daily As-Safir that his visit aims to show solidarity with Suleiman. He stressed that boycotting dialogue or the President was "not permissible." Regarding the fate of Cabinet meeting this week, Jumblat said he still sticks to his stance – reaching consensus on a deal on the false witnesses' issue and avoid voting in Cabinet. "A Syrian-Saudi Arabia dialogue is more important than Lebanon details," he thought. "We must not make any step that may reflect negatively on this dialogue," Jumblat stressed. Beirut, 08 Nov 10, 10:18

Berri: Attempts to Further Delay Cabinet Meeting
will Leave Negative Repercussions on Situation
Naharnet/Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said attempts to further delay Cabinet meeting will leave "negative repercussions on the general situation in Lebanon and on the next dialogue session.""It would also mean that the country is a farmhouse," Berri said in remarks published Monday by As-Safir newspaper. He stressed that he, together with President Michel Suleiman, have exerted utmost efforts in a bid to resolve the dispute over the false witnesses. "But we cannot stay like this for long because I am afraid an indictment will be issued while we are still dragged into this dispute," Berri warned. Beirut, 08 Nov 10, 09:41

Williams after Meeting Fneish Calls for Opening Lines of Communication between Lebanese
Naharnet/U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams stressed on Monday the need to "open the lines of communication between the Lebanese."He called on them to resort to the national dialogue as "the only way to end the current crisis in Lebanon and protect it and its future."He made his statements after holding talks with State Minister for Administrative Development Mohammed Fneish. Williams relayed to the minister the U.N.'s interest in the Lebanese internal political scene, adding that the meeting was an opportunity to discuss local and regional matters, as well as the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolution 1701. Beirut, 08 Nov 10, 14:49

New 'King' Witness in Hariri Murder Uncovered
Naharnet/A new "king" witness in the inquiry into the murder of the former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has reportedly been uncovered. Ad-Diyar newspaper on Sunday said that, according to U.N. investigators, the new key witness was a "close friend" of Imad Mughniyeh, a senior Hizbullah commander who was killed in a car bombing in Damascus Feb. 12, 2008. It said this witness quit political work many years ago and several years before Hariri's 2005 assassination. The U.N. investigation committee, according to Ad-Diyar, will issue its indictment based on information provided by this witness.  The only known "king" witness in the Hariri assassination till this date is Syrian Zuheir Siddiq. The report could not be independently verified. Beirut, 07 Nov 10, 12:38

Sahili: Hizbullah Not afraid of Indictment nor of Those who Stand Behind It
Naharnet/Hizbullah MP Nawwar Sahili on Sunday said Hizbullah is not afraid of an indictment to be issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. "To those who believe we are afraid, we tell them that we are not afraid of an indictment nor are we afraid of those who stand behind this Israeli-American decision," Sahili told a group of Hizbullah supporters. He accused the United States of establishing a foothold in Lebanon since the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri. "If not for the assassination of the late PM Rafik Hariri, the U.S. wouldn't have been able to introduce its scheme in Lebanon that quickly," he said. "One month after the (Hariri) assassination, Americans were back in Lebanon with a team in Lebanon that boasts about its relationship with the U.S.," Sahili added. "The other camp, and the U.S. behind it, thought that if they cannot curtail the Resistance and Hizbullah then let us launch a new called 'indictment,' a decision which has only one goal – stirring up strife in Lebanon and point the blame on what they have called 'rogue elements,'" he went on to say. "But the Resistance is the real target behind all that." Turning to the false witnesses' issue, Sahili explained that an Opposition proposal to refer this issue to trial is a Lebanese demand – a demand by Lebanese people who have lived four years of political crisis."The accusation," he said, "was not political as some idiots today say.""When an accusation leads to prison, animosity, semi-strife, political differences and a crisis in the country that nearly brought us to the brink of civil war in 2008, all of that is the result of some people who misled the investigation and lied," Sahili stressed. Beirut, 07 Nov 10, 16:43

Ghajar on Table During Netanyahu's U.N. Visit
Naharnet/Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday will present U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon with a plan to withdraw from the northern sector of the disputed border village of Ghajar. Israeli media said Netanyahu will inform Ban in New York that he has approved a plan for a unilateral withdrawal from the northern part of Ghajar. Netanyahu plans to ask a group of Cabinet ministers to approve the withdrawal proposal after he returns from a U.S. trip late this week. But Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has accused Hizbullah and the Lebanese Government of hampering efforts to reach a solution on Ghajar. Speaking at a joint press conference with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle on Sunday, Lieberman said the withdrawal would not be coordinated with the Lebanese government as had initially been planned. "Israel decided to withdraw unilaterally from the village of Ghajar," he said.
"The Foreign Ministry has prepared all the work on the matter of withdrawing from Ghajar," Lieberman said. "In our opinion, it was possible to have reached a trilateral agreement with the U.N. and the Lebanese Government long ago. It was the Lebanese government and Hizbullah representatives within the Lebanese Government that knocked that down."
Lieberman noted during his meeting with his German counterpart that he "agrees" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the time has come to implement the decision through an agreement with the United Nations without waiting for an approval from the Lebanese Government.
"We support this arrangement, and I hope it will be approved shortly," he said. Details of the plan were not released, though Israel clearly would like assurances that Hizbullah won't be able to gain a foothold there from which to threaten cross-border attacks. An Israeli withdrawal could also set the stage for more tension between Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's political bloc and its Hizbullah rivals, who have extended their political influence in Hariri's shaky coalition government and maintain the country's strongest military arsenal.
Hariri's allies would likely use the pullout to argue that Hizbullah no longer needs its weapons and that disputed land can be regained with the help of the international community instead. Hizbullah, which refuses to disarm, is already saying its military power would be to thank for any Israeli pullout.
The political director of the U.N. force in Lebanon, Milos Strugar, said the force has been "actively engaged with both parties" in an effort to facilitate an Israeli withdrawal from the area.
Ghajar sits on a strategic corner where the boundaries between Syria, Israel and Lebanon are in dispute. Israel captured the entire village of some 2,000 people from Syria in 1967.
In 2000, after Israel withdrew its forces from south Lebanon, U.N. surveyors put the border in the middle of the village, leaving Israel in control of the southern half.
Israel reoccupied the northern part in the 2006 war. After the fighting, Israel pledged to withdraw from that sector but gave no timeline for doing so.
Ghajar's residents are members of Islam's Alawite sect, whose followers include many members of Syria's ruling elite. Most of the villagers have said in the past that they want the village to remain united, regardless of who controls it. Israeli officials have met several times with the U.N. peacekeeping force stationed in southern Lebanon to discuss a possible handover.
A senior Lebanese army officer refused to comment on the possible withdrawal before the Lebanese government is formally informed by the U.N. of a plan. Hizbullah on Sunday positioned itself to claim victory for any pullout. "If the withdrawal happens, it (Israel) won't be doing it for free but because of fear of the resistance and Lebanon's strength through the resistance," Hizbullah NP Nawar Saheli told The Associated Press in Beirut.(Naharnet-AP) Beirut, 08 Nov 10, 07:32

Harb: March 8 Forces are Attempting to Stage a Coup against the Institutions
Naharnet/Minister of Labor Butros Harb noted on Monday that the March 8 forces are seeking to stage a coup against the state institutions.He told Voice of Lebanon radio that it aims to transfer the false witnesses file to the justice council, a matter that would take years for it to handle. It wants to pressure the government to request the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to delay looking into the assassination until the justice council makes its decision over the false witnesses file, he added. Furthermore, the minister stated that the March 8 forces are pressuring President Michel Suleiman, MP Walid Jumblat, and their ministers to adopt their views over the tribunal, adding that it is unacceptable that Suleiman be pressured to subject the false witnesses file to a vote. Beirut, 08 Nov 10, 13:44

Resistance is not exclusive
November 8, 2010
Now Lebanon/Hezbollah has seized the Shia community in Lebanon, gained control over war and peace decisions and taken hold of most state institutions. The means to this end have been years of resistance against Israel. Hezbollah today dictates the definition of resistance as if they own it. They see resistance as an armed struggle against only one enemy, and pay no attention to how we as Lebanese resist any number of forces, including Hezbollah themselves, in our everyday lives.
Hezbollah wants us to forget the Lebanese National Resistance Front, which did not have the strength of other larger militant groups in Lebanon, estimated at having some 200–500 or so fighters, but was a highly effective force. Hezbollah never mentions it in their media and political rhetoric as part of the resistance movements in Lebanon.
Today, no one else has the right to resist Israel or other forces that jeopardize Lebanon’s sovereignty. Hezbollah decides who resists and why. To fight and have access to weapons, you need to be a Shia Hezbollah member, trained in Iran and ready to become a martyr as you fight Israel. Even martyrdom has become an exclusive practice that only “noble Hezbollah fighters” have the right to achieve. Hezbollah’s signature needs to mark every act of resistance, otherwise, nothing can be gracious enough to be called resistance, and no one is noble enough to be called a martyr. According to Hezbollah, resistance has to be armed, and it also should target Israel. But what about civil resistance? What about peaceful resistance? What about resistance against Syria, Iran and other regimes that have controlled Lebanon for years? Today Hezbollah is attacking the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for being a Zionist tool that aims at destroying the resistance, their resistance. But we have questions for Hezbollah: Do you care about those who were assassinated since 2005? Do you consider them martyrs? Do you really want to know the truth? Or is your only concern your image and having unending, aggressive control of the details of our daily lives?
Resistance is not only yours to dominate. We resist everyday because we live in this country while you, Hezbollah, threaten the state with a takeover and keep us constantly fearing when your next war with Israel will start.We resist while planning for a future you make uncertain. We resist when we send our kids to school in the morning hoping that they will come back safe. We resist when we travel but cannot be certain we can return at the end of our trip.Your daily threats of strife, of another military attack on us (not on Israel), and your frowning dark faces on TV do not make us feel safe in our own homes. We resist as we watch these faces yelling at us, only because we tend to believe in other forms of resistance.
Can you at least leave us hope? There is nothing left but the hope that someday, we will agree to disagree. Some of us believe that the STL could actually deliver justice, and that justice can be achieved without gambling with security. Can you, Hezbollah, let us hope without being classified as traitors? Resistance is ours as much as it is yours. It could be a noble concept, so let’s not ruin it.

Lebanon cannot stop STL, Kerry says
November 8, 2010
(NOW Lebanon)
Following his meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, US Senator John Kerry said that Lebanon is powerless to stop the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), despite Hezbollah’s efforts to torpedo the court."Those who are trying to make it an issue, those who oppose it, they need to think carefully about rule of law, about the institutions that have put this tribunal together, and what it is trying to accomplish, well outside of your prime minister's ability to affect," the Senator said in a clear message to Hezbollah. Kerry added that Washington supports the STL, which, he said, was not created by the US or any individual entity in the region. The US senator also said that no one knows what the tribunal’s pending indictment will be. “I think whatever those findings are, they are not directed at a whole group of people.”He also affirmed to Hariri the United States’ steadfast support for a sovereign, independent and stable Lebanon. “We are very grateful for the steadfast, steady leadership that the Prime Minister is presenting under difficult circumstances.”Kerry will meet later today with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus to discuss challenges facing the Middle East. “Nothing that we discuss and nothing that we agree to with respect to Syria will ever come at the expense of Lebanon or the people of Lebanon.”Kerry’s visit to Lebanon comes amid rising tension over the UN-probe into the 2005 assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri. There are fears that should the court indict Hezbollah members, it could lead to clashes similar to those of the 2008 May Events—when gunmen led by Party of God took over half of Beirut.Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly said that the STL is an “Israeli project” that will indict members of his party. -AFP/NOW Lebanon

Report: Mughniyeh among suspects behind Hariri murder
By JPOST.COM STAFF
11/08/2010 09:58
Tribunal set to indict former Hizbullah leader responsible for several terrorist attacks, and his brother-in-law, in murder of Lebanese PM. The United Nations tribunal investigating the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri is preparing to indict several Hizbullah members by the end of the year, among them top Hizbullah leader Imad Mughniyeh who was killed in a car bomb in 2008 and his brother-in-law Mustafa Badr al-Din, a top military commander of the group, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday morning.Mughniyeh and Badr al-Din are two of the six possible Hizbullah members who the UN is moving to indict for Hariri's murder, according to the report. Mughniyeh was among the US Federal Bureau of Investigation's most-wanted men before his death. The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon was set to announce that Din is the main suspect in Hariri's assassination months earlier but, according to an Israeli television report in late July, Hariri’s son, current Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri, asked the tribunal to postpone releasing Din’s name because of the potentially incendiary implications for Lebanon of such an announcement. Hariri and 22 other people were killed in a car bomb in downtown Beirut in 2005. Hizbullah's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has called on all Lebanese to boycott the UN tribunal, saying all information gathered by the team was being sent to Israel.Nasrallah has previously acknowledged that members of his group would be among those indicted by the tribunal, but he has dismissed this as an “Israeli plot

Kuwaiti paper calls for 'unconditional' talks with Israel
By JPOST.COM STAFF
11/08/2010 14:04
'Arab Times' calls on Abbas to follow in Sadat's footsteps, "embarrass" Israel, after PA president says Bush agreed to NATO presence. An editorial published in the Kuwaiti daily Arab Times called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to "leave the grey area, forgo expectations for an Arab and regional miracle that will never come, and start unconditional negotiations" with Israel. "While the Palestinians reel in agony, deprivation, austerity and loss of their land, the Arab opposition and Tel Aviv government are busy wobbling in the ‘no-war, no-peace’ conditions," the editorial stated. The author of the editorial, Ahmed al-Jarallah, the Arab Times' editor-in-chief, added that Abbas should follow in the footsteps of former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and "try to cause international embarrassment for Israel even if the latter continues to apportion land areas to itself through its settlement construction."
Jarallah further said the Palestinians previously had the chance to regain lost territory through the self-governance plan approved in the Camp David Treaty.
"They should have taken this opportunity and built on it later to become a nation with clear landmarks but they instead chose to move towards the path of Arab slogans and bargaining until the problem was blown out of proportion. Instead of a West Bank void of Israeli settlers in 1978, the Palestinians are now offered 22 percent of the land; so the longer the waiting period, the lesser the space," Jarallah wrote.
The editor-in-chief called on the Palestinians to "realize that they bear the brunt and pay the price on their own, while the slogan traders in Iran, Lebanon and Syria put their hands and feet in water, using these poor people as fighting tools."
The editorial came a day after Abbas stated that the Palestinians will have the last say if negotiations with Israel fail, according to the Ma'an News Agency.
Speaking at forum on peace and security in Abu Dhabi, Abbas said "We met our obligations, but you [Israel] did not, and so we will be discharged from obligations," as quoted by Ma'an.
Abbas recalled that in previous rounds of negotiations, the US under former president George W. Bush agreed to deploy NATO forces on the borders of a Palestinian state, and added that the Palestinians had agreed on borders and security with Israel when former prime minister Ehud Olmert was in office.
However, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu rejected those agreements, and "created obstacles when he insisted on staying in the Palestinian territories and demanded recognition of Israel as a Jewish state," Abbas was quoted as saying.
The PA president reiterated his demand that settlement construction stop completely before negotiations are resumed.

Fares Soueid: Interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio -NNA
November 8, 2010
The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) carried the following report on November 7:
The March 14 General Secretariat Coordination Fares Soueid assured in an interview with the Voice of Lebanon radio that “the Bkirki meeting aims at assuring all the Lebanese that there will be no solutions serving one group at the expense of others. It also aims at saying that the Christians have not pulled out from the national battle. Today, the battle is between the Lebanon we are seeing in the center of the capital, and the Lebanon of coffins. It is a battle of existence and our way of life, which also aims at saying to our Muslim partners that they are not alone in this battle and that the blood of martyrdom brings us together.
The goal behind the meeting is to say to the Arab world and the international community there is a team in Lebanon, and especially the Christian team, which is engaged in the battle to establish a state that would protect the Lebanese citizens, both the Muslims and the Christians. We will not allow an organization to intimidate the Christians, or another official or non-official organization to reassure the Christians that their areas will be spared if they settle for watching the events on television screens, abstain from talking about Hezbollah’s arms, the international tribunal and Lebanese-Syrian relations, if they do not hold on to international legitimacy so that they are not subjected to the same practices endured by the Christians in Iraq and wait until the end of the incidents and adapt to them. We reject this logic and say we are a spearhead in the construction of this country and the state of this country. There is no disagreement over the principle of the resistance, considering that when Israel was occupying wide territories in the South and in West Bekaa, Hezbollah – with the support of the Lebanese people – deployed massive efforts. However, the disagreement with it is over the fact that whoever spilt blood to liberate the land cannot surrender the decision-making powers in this land to non-Lebanese [sides].
There is no room for coexistence between two logics: the logic of surrendering the country to an Islamic non-Arab state and placing Lebanon in the face of the Arab decision, and the logic of those who want to live. On Wednesday, we will be facing a test during the cabinet meeting which will discuss the ‘false witnesses’ file. The team of the president of the republic, maybe the team of Deputy Walid Jumblatt, the team of the prime minister and the March 14 forces will refuse to vote. The cabinet session might even witness a political dispute which could lead Lebanon not toward civil war, but toward political tensions which could prevail over the general climate until the issuance of the indictment. The postponement of the Cabinet session is also possible to avoid confrontation.
Hezbollah will not use its arms in the domestic arena because that would require a green light from Syria, which [the party] will not get. Moreover, in order to use its arms externally, it must get an Iranian green light, which is highly unlikely for the time being. This is due to the fact that the Syrians and the Iranians were cautioned that any tampering with Lebanon’s stability will lead to the eruption of war in the region and that everyone will pay the price for that. In light of these international and regional restraints, the wishes of one team cannot prompt the implementation of any steps to undermine domestic stability. The party is trying to stage a coup, by moving parliamentary and ministerial blocs from one position to another and by changing certain features. However, this will not succeed because the party is unable to use its arms, neither domestically nor abroad.
The Christians in Lebanon are the ones who defended the country whenever it was exposed to threats. Now, the entity is in danger and coexistence is in danger. The Lebanese are entitled to know that after what happened in Iraq, and the Muslims have the right to fear strife. Therefore, there is no salvation for one team without the others, and it is for that purpose that we called on all the parties, at the head of which is Hezbollah, to return to the state. The Church does not need anyone’s protection because it is the one protecting Lebanon, the Lebanese Republic and coexistence. Moreover, no one is hiding behind the Church which pointed out from Rome that the Christians’ presence was linked to stability which in turn was linked to peace. [The national dialogue table] is necessary but its mechanisms require a reassessment following the visit of the Iranian president, considering that the resolution of the issue of the arms requires dialogue between the Lebanese and Iranian states.
[However,] the international tribunal was formed via a decision by the Security Council and can only be eliminated through a decision by this same council. The scenarios being put forward today aim at obstructing the tribunal. Syria did not learn from the mistakes of the past and has not yet turned a new page with Lebanon.”

Why Ehud Barak should be the next Mossad chief
Admired when he worked in the shadows, outrageous in public, the current defense minister would serve better in a less public role.
By Amir Oren/Haaretz
08.11.10
A long-standing Mossad chief retired before the prime minister decided who would replace him. The Shin Bet chief was not available to take the job. The next in line, the head of Military Intelligence, excused himself. This played out in 1963: Isser Harel resigned, Amos Manor was not available, and David Ben-Gurion's military secretary, Colonel (later Major General ) Haim Ben-David, called on his friend at the General Staff, Major General Meir Amit.
Also today, the main candidates to head the Mossad, following Major General (res. ) Meir Dagan's eight-year tenure, are the other defense establishment leaders: Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin and MI chief Amos Yadlin. Neither wants the job; that is, they want it, but only if they were to get it. Losing the race is not a pleasant experience.
Yadlin's advantage is his varied background: Air Force, Washington, head of the intelligence branch tasked with collection, assessment and operations. His disadvantage is his character. For some reason, his superiors are much more impressed with him than those who are in touch with him. Something about his personality undermines his qualifications. He was the head of Air Force intelligence and the Air Force chief of staff, but was not appointed chief of operations and was later passed over for Air Force chief.
Military Intelligence is much larger than both the Mossad and the Shin Bet combined, but its leader is a great deal less independent than those of the other two bodies. It is also not entirely clear who in the military is the direct equivalent of the latter two's leaders: the head of MI or the chief of staff.
Yadlin is closely affiliated with Dan Halutz, who appointed him. After the MI failures in the 2006 Second Lebanon War, and the appointment of Gabi Ashkenazi as chief of staff, for a while Ashkenazi and Dagan were speaking directly.
Yadlin's background and character make him a good candidate to head something like the National Security Council. Diskin's background is a lot more narrow, but he is decisive, commanding and described as "forceful" by defense establishment officials. His civilian garb is deceptive. The Shin Bet and the Mossad are military organizations that are even more centralized than MI.
"In terms of discipline and rules, our organization resembles a military organization," Dagan said during a rare public appearance this year. "We have a system of commanders and subordinates, who carry out orders under any condition."
The intelligence community carries out joint operations. MI and the Shin Bet use materials the Mossad acquires, and they provide human and technological resources for its operations. Diskin, unlike Dagan, grew inside his organization. Yadlin too, like his predecessors since Amit, with the exception of Yehoshua Sagi and Aharon Ze'evi-Farkash, was assigned to the top and did not climb through all the MI ranks.
MI officers have come to terms with this, a result of how appointments are made at the General Staff. Mossad officers are still resentful, and are hoping for an appointment from within. However, the chances of this are now even lower than those of an internal appointment for the Prison Service commissioner (it will come as no surprise if Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, much to the joy of the prison guards and the Druze community, appoints Central District Commander Nazim Sabiti as head of the Prison Service ).
However, above all the Mossad leadership candidates stands a non-candidate, who is nearly perfect in his own eyes, to the same extent that he has shortcomings in the eyes of others: Ehud Barak. He was commander of the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, chief of the Planning Directorate and of Military Intelligence, chief of staff and foreign minister, prime minister and defense minister. In terms of knowledge of diplomacy, defense and intelligence, he has no rivals. His entire thinking is special operations, sabotage, cunning, deception, penetration behind enemy lines in the garb of a Filipina housekeeper. A politician, but not a public servant. Admired when he worked in the shadows, outrageous in public. A lightweight in the cabinet but close to Benjamin Netanyahu and his family. There is a chance, though it is not certain, that the Turkel Committee and the attorney general would approve appointing him.
In February, three days before Ashkenazi steps down, Barak will be 69 years old. He will no longer be a political leader or a statesman, but it would be a pity not to make use of his talents and experience. Until he retires, he can serve the State of Israel as head of Mossad.