LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJanuary
03/2010
Bible Of The
Day
Proverbs 17:22: "A merry heart does
good, like medicine"
Proverb 118-24: "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be
glad in it"
Free Opinions, Releases,
letters, Interviews & Special Reports
MECHRIC'S
Statement of
Condemnation of the Terror Massacre of Egyptian Christian Copts in
Alexandria/02.01.11
Minister Cannon Condemns Attack on Coptic Church in Egypt/January
02/10
Peace & goodwill unto the Middle
East?/By: Harry Hagopian/January
02/10
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 02/10
Italy urges strong EU response to
Egyptian church attack/Now Lebanon
'Political Message': 2 Bodyguards
Injured in Grenade Attack on Faisal Karami's House
/Naharnet
The Economist: 2011 Could Witness
'Most Destructive' Israel-Hizbullah War
/Naharnet
U.S. Cable: Ashkenazi Told
Americans in '09 Israel Preparing for Hizbullah, Hamas War
/Naharnet
Investigation of Tripoli grenade
attack underway/Now Lebanon
Sleiman voices support for Egypt
after bomb attack/Now Lebanon
Archbishop Rai Urges Officials to
Make Utmost Effort to Prevent Infiltration of Terrorists to Lebanon
/Naharnet
Gemayel: It is the Responsibility
of Arab Leaders to Preserve Security of Christians
/Naharnet
Future Movement delegation visits
Faisal Karami after attack/Now Lebanon
Do not think STL can be easily
abolished, says Mitri/Now Lebanon
Israeli Navy detains 'aid' ship sailing for Gaza/Ynetnews
Hezbollah faces indictments/Manila Bulletin
Iran Guards shoot down two
“Western spy” drones/Now Lebanon /Naharnet
Berri, Hariri Condemn Egypt Church
Bombing, PM Calls for Unified Arab Stance
/Naharnet
Nawwaf Moussawi: Bolton Created STL,
'S-S' Aims to Foil Plot
/Naharnet
Osama Saad: Harb's Draft-Law is
Dangerous and Violates the Constitution
/Naharnet
Houri: Aoun Still Dreaming about
Presidency Day and Night
/Naharnet
Halutz: Israel Could Have Bought
Arad's Freedom
/Naharnet
Lebanon:
2 Killed, 28 Wounded in Lebanon
Road Accidents on New Year
/Naharnet
Statement of Condemnation of the Terror Massacre of Egyptian Christian Copts in
Alexandria
by Middle East Christian International NGO
Washington DC
Jan 1st, 2011
The Middle East Christian Committee (MECHRIC), an international NGO that
coordinates efforts between associations from Egyptian, Iraqi, Lebanese,
Sudanese, Berber, Syrian, Iranian and other Middle East Christian backgrounds
condemns with vigor and vehemence, the Jihadi Terror attack massacre perpetrated
against the Coptic Christian people on New Year's Eve at Saints Church in
Alexandria. The barbaric act left dozens of worshipers killed and many more
wounded. The perpetrators, executing the Jihadi operation are followers of a
criminal ideology which is embodied by al Qaeda, by the Jihadi Salafi networks
and by their allies and supporters who have penetrated the ruling elites in the
region.
The Middle East Christian Committee (MECHRIC), founded since 1981 to monitor the
aggressions against the Christian peoples in the Middle East, and to express the
aspirations of the oppressed Christian populations from the Indian Ocean to the
Atlantic, declares its absolute solidarity with the Coptic people in Egypt and
presents its condolences to the families of the victims in Alexandria.
We urge the Christian peoples in the World to stand in solidarity with their
brothers and sisters in Egypt and pressure their respective governments to act
accordingly.
We call on the democracy and human rights forces in the Arab and Muslim world to
condemn these atrocities perpetrated against the Copts of Egypt and against the
Christians in Iraq and in other areas of the Middle East.
We hold the Egyptian responsible for the security of the Copts in Egypt, its
indigenous and native population.
We call on the United Nations to assume its responsibilities in extending its
protection to endangered populations as its charter affirms, to the Coptic
people of Egypt who have been under terror attacks and persecution over the past
years and since decades.
The Middle East Christian Committee (Mechric) hereby calls on the Secretary
General of the United Nations to dispatch an investigation team to Egypt to meet
with survivors and local investigators so that a report is made available to the
office of the Secretary General of the UN.
The "Mechric" Committee will continue to monitor the dramatic events in Egypt
and will remain in contact wit the various Middle East Christian NGOs worldwide
as well as with Governments and international organizations to follow up on the
consequences of the massacre.
Sami al Khoury
Co-Secretary General
usmaronite@aol.com
Magdi Khalil
Co-Secretary General
Magdi.Khalil@yahoo.com
MECHRIC is a federation of NGOs representing the aspirations of Mideast
Christians including Copts, Maronites, Assyrians, Chaldeans, Syriacs, southern
Sudanese, Iranians, Kabyles, Melkites, Orthodox, Evangelicals, Catholics and
others.
================================================
Also, you can watch an hour interview on ABN TV in Arabic (USA) with Dr Walid
Phares and Mr Majdi Khalil discussing the massacre in Egypt.
http://abnsat.com/abnnew/index.php?option=com_hwdvideoshare&task=viewvideo&Itemid=70&video_id=576
Minister Cannon Condemns Attack on
Coptic Church in Egypt/January
02/10
(No. 3 - January 1, 2011 - 4:15 p.m. ET) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the bombing
of alQiddissine Coptic Church in Alexandria, Egypt, which resulted in the deaths
of 21 worshippers.
“Canada condemns this latest vicious attack by extremists against Egypt’s Coptic
community. Our hearts and sympathies are with the families and friends of the
victims. That this attack took place during the celebration of New Year’s mass
is all the more tragic.
“We fully support the call by Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak to close ranks and
confront the terrorists who were behind this deplorable attack. We urge
Egyptians of all faiths to work together to end sectarian violence.
“We recognize the deep desire of the overwhelming majority of Egyptians for
religious tolerance and the centuries-long peaceful coexistence of Muslims and
Christians in Egypt.”
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Melissa Lantsman
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
613-995-1851
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
Follow us on Twitter.
We May Be Witnessing a New Age of Christian Persecution
GMT 1-2-2011 0:40:16
Assyrian International News Agency
In villages and monasteries in northern Iraq, and in churches in Baghdad, Irbil
and Mosul, it is still possible to hear Assyrian Christians talking and praying
in ancient Aramaic, said to be the language of Christ. Fewer in number now, the
Assyrians are the direct descendants of the empires of Assyria and Babylonia,
the original inhabitants of Mesopotamia. The Church of the East, currently
presided over by Archbishop Gewargis Sliwa in Baghdad is the world's oldest
Christian church.
Before the toppling of Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi Christian population numbered
some one and half million. By and large, Saddam's Ba'athist government didn't
discriminate against the country's minorities; indeed, Iraq's veteran Foreign
Minister, Tariq Aziz was the most visible of the country's Christians. Today,
barely 400,000 remain, with church leaders claiming that organised ethnic
cleansing is taking place, unchallenged. Iraq's Christians have in the past been
accused of collaborating with Britain and America, and while both Sunni and Shia
political leaders say they want Iraq's Christians to remain, some church leaders
are urging their remaining flock to abandon Iraq before it is too late and they
are massacred.
If al-Qa'ida has its way, this ancient culture and people will soon be no more.
In recent days, grenade and bomb attacks killed two more Christians and injured
18 more in Baghdad. Motorcyclists drove down streets, targeting Christian homes.
Back in October, suicide bombers attacked the Church of Our Salvation in
Baghdad, killing 58, before -- and this was unreported at the time --
grotesquely blowing themselves up, along with a child hostage, at the altar. In
a statement afterwards, al-Qa'ida said: "Christians are a legitimate target."
Tensions between Muslims and Christians are not confined to Iraq: yesterday
morning, at least seven people were killed and 24 injured in an explosion at a
Coptic Christian church, possibly in retaliation for the rape of a Muslim girl.
Several years ago, I helped set up Save the Assyrians, to put pressure on Iraq
to protect its minorities. The campaign had all-party support in Britain and a
role in persuading the European Parliament to work with the Iraqi authorities to
acknowledge the rights of Iraq's Christians. Britain has a special
responsibility towards the Assyrians, who helped the British to police Iraq in
the early years of the last century. Thousands were massacred in 1932 for
"collaborating".
Now, Iraq's remaining Christians want an autonomous Christian province in their
ancient Ninevah Plains homeland in northern Iraq. While Britain or the US may
not help their cause, for obvious reasons, the UN, EU and Commonwealth could add
their not inconsiderable weight. President Talabani of Iraq declared in November
that he had "no objection to a Christian province in Iraq". One Assyrian exile
in Britain, however, told me, "They keep talking, but nothing happens."
There is a widespread view among the Iraqi Christian diaspora that their
government is simply allowing what some now see as an inevitable and unstoppable
exodus of one of the world's most ancient civilisations.
Al-Qa'ida will have judged that a continuing campaign of terror could send
Iraq's remaining Christians fleeing within a decade. The terrible irony is that
the fate of Iraq's ancient Christian communities may have been sealed when the
avowedly Christian leaders of Britain and America decided to topple Saddam
Hussein.
By Mark Seddon
www.independent.co.uk
Copyright (C) 2011, Assyrian International News Agency. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use.
Italy urges strong EU response to Egyptian church attack
January 2, 2011 /EU foreign ministers must respond clearly and forcefully at an
upcoming meeting to attacks against and discrimination of Christians throughout
the world, Italy's foreign minister said Sunday. Speaking after a New Year's Eve
suicide attack on a church in Egypt which killed 21 people and left scores
injured, Frattini said it "tragically confirms that religious intolerance, above
all against Christians, has taken on an intensity and dimension that is very
serious and alarming and absolutely unacceptable"."The moment for a powerful and
clear political response by all governments that cherish human rights of which
religious freedom is a basic part has come," he said in a statement. Frattini
said the "European Union must be at the frontline in this battle." "This is what
Italy is asking of the EU," he added. EU foreign ministers will next meet on
January 31. Pope Benedict XVI earlier Sunday condemned the suicide attack on a
church in Alexandria as a "cowardly gesture of death.”Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak has blamed the attack on "foreign hands.”-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Investigation of Tripoli grenade attack underway
January 2, 2011 /The investigation of the grenade attack on the house of former
Prime Minister Omar Karami’s son, Faisal, is underway, the National News Agency
(NNA) reported on Sunday. Relevant security forces are analyzing the data
obtained from the surveillance cameras at the outskirts of Karami’s residence
when the attack took place, the NNA said.
It also said that the two men who were injured in the attack are in a stable
condition at a Tripoli hospital and gave their statement to the police.An
unidentified individual dropped a hand grenade on Faisal Karami’s house in
Tripoli at midnight Saturday, injuring two bodyguards. -NOW Lebanon
Sleiman voices support for Egypt after bomb attack
January 2, 2011 /President Michel Sleiman sent a letter Sunday to his Egyptian
counterpart, Hosni Mubarak, condemning a bomb attack that killed dozens outside
a church in Alexandria on Saturday. According to a statement issued by his
office, Sleiman said that the perpetrators behind the attack aim at inciting
sectarian strife in Egypt. The president voiced Lebanon’s support for Egypt
against terrorism, expressing his condolences to the families of the attack’s
victims.Egypt said a suicide bomber killed 21 people and wounded 79 outside a
Coptic church.
-NOW Lebanon
Future Movement delegation visits Faisal Karami after attack
January 2, 2011 /A delegation from the Future Movement, headed by the party’s
secretary general, Ahmad Hariri, visited the Tripoli residence of former Prime
Minister Omar Karami’s son after it was attacked by a grenade Saturday midnight.
According to the National News Agency (NNA), Hariri and the delegation held a
meeting at Karami’s residence. “We came to check on Faisal Karami,” Hariri said.
An unidentified individual dropped a hand grenade on the house of Omar Karami’s
son, Faisal, in Tripoli at midnight Saturday, injuring two bodyguards. The
Hariri and Karami families are Sunni political rivals.-NOW Lebanon
Do not think STL can be easily abolished, says Mitri
January 2, 2011/Now Lebanon/ “To think that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)
can be [easily] abolished is [unrealistic],” Information Minister Tarek Mitri
said on Sunday.
The minister told OTV that he does not know when the tribunal’s upcoming
indictment will be issued. He also said that holding a cabinet session depends
on the issue of “false witnesses” and “whether [the March 8 coalition] considers
that the matter was resolved or not.” The cabinet has met once since its
November 10 session and has not tackled institutional work in depth as March 8
and March 14 ministers have been deadlocked over how to resolve the issue of the
witnesses who gave unreliable testimonies to the international probe into the
2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Tensions are high in
Lebanon amid reports that the STL may soon indict Hezbollah members in its
investigation of the Rafik Hariri murder, a move the party repeatedly warned
against.-NOW Lebanon
Iran Guards shoot down two “Western spy” drones
January 2, 2011 /Iran's Revolutionary Guards have shot down two "Western spy"
drones in the Gulf, the Fars news agency quoted a top commander of the elite
military force as saying on Sunday."Westerners have a series of capabilities
which cannot be ignored, especially satellites or for example they have spy
planes which can take pictures in some places," Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the
air force wing of the Guards said. He said that the drones were mainly being
used in Iraq and Afghanistan but "some violations against our soil" have also
occurred.
"And we have so far downed many of their advanced spy planes. In the Persian
Gulf we have downed two of their planes and this is the first time that we are
saying it," Hajizadeh said without specifying when exactly the drones were shot
down.-AFP/NOW Lebanon
Peace & goodwill unto the Middle East?
Harry Hagopian, December 31, 2010
This week, men, women and children in numerous Middle Eastern households will
unavoidably be caught up in the yuletide spirit. They will hope for a more
peaceful world in 2011 and wish for the welfare and happiness of kith and kin
alike. But how realistic are those sanguine hopes, and how palpable are the
prospects today for peace and stability in the Middle East? Or to paraphrase
loosely the Dutch philosopher Spinoza, how brutal is the lack of peace in this
region?
Since the end of a year is not the time for excessive political pedantry, I will
unburden the reader of too many facts or figures and simply glaze over 2010 with
a couple of key issues from Israel-Palestine and Iraq that – apart from the
ongoing WikiLeaks saga – have tenaciously courted the headlines in much of the
European media over the past year.
In Israel-Palestine, following a spate of unyielding negotiations, the consensus
seems to be that peace between Israelis and Palestinians has now become even
less reachable. The Israeli waves of settlements in Jerusalem and the West Bank
are almost unstoppable. The expansion of the large settlements of Ma’ale Adumim,
the Gush Etzion block, Beitar Illit and Modi’in Illit continues unabated, while
there is also a fierce growth in the smaller and more remote outposts, such as
Tapuach, Talmon, Ofra, Eli and Shiloh. Even the recent American “sweeteners” to
Israel in the form of a $3 billion security assistance package, diplomatic cover
and advanced F-35 fighter aircraft have failed to coax Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a paltry 90-day settlement freeze that would help
resume the stalled negotiations with Palestinians. Today, there are over 300,000
Israeli illegal settlers in the West Bank, while another 200,000 are living in
East Jerusalem. When coupled with a 45 percent rise in home demolitions
(according to UNRWA 2010 reports), the eviction of many Palestinians or the
expropriation of acres of arable land, the season surely cannot feel too festive
for many Palestinian Muslims or Christians.
Is it any wonder that Hebrew University philosopher Moshe Halbertal argued
lucidly in a recent op-ed that the window for a two-state solution is closing
rapidly and that the Palestinians will soon lose their right to a sovereign
state? But if this were to happen, Israel will then permanently occupy the West
Bank and end up with a one-state solution that will have inside its belly 2.5
million Palestinians without rights of citizenship, alongside 1.5 million
Israeli Arabs who hail from al-Nakba of 1948. Can such a state exist peaceably
without sliding into apartheid or, worse, internal combustion? No wonder then
that a number of Latin American states have lent their de jure - albeit clearly
not de facto - recognition of Palestine, while the West is also upgrading its
missions as a way of circumventing a moribund peace process and helping convince
Palestinians that their statehood is not a spent dream.
Sadly, Palestinians at times also behave as their worst own enemies. Over the
years, they have committed egregious blunders – not least against each other, as
well as with Jordan and Lebanon. But no single people deserves homelessness and
injustice, and the EU today still largely supports the two-state solution
despite its failure to act as a competent midwife for this ectopic birth.
In Iraq, and putting all political shenanigans aside, one primary concern is the
ostensibly deliberate targeting of Christians by extremist groups, such as the
Islamic State of Iraq that is allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda. Such attacks have
become even more vehement after the deadly one on the Church of Our Lady of
Salvation on October 31. In fact, the situation is getting increasingly unsafe
for Christians, let alone for other small communities such as Yezidis and
Sabean-Mandaeans. Not to mention that one senses from the Iraqis themselves as
much as from the Christmas messages of Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop Rowan
Williams of a looming threat to their very existence. This sombre reality was
highlighted again last week when the UNHCR stated that Iraqi Christian numbers
had shrunk to roughly 500,000 from 1.4 million just before 2003.
Bluntly put, those Iraqi Christians who have been an integral part of the fabric
of Middle Eastern society for two millennia are now pretty much on the run. Some
are heading for cover in Kurdish regions such as Qosh, while others are leaving
for Syria, Jordan and even Turkey or Lebanon. But violence, forced displacement,
discrimination, marginalization and neglect have shaken their lives further, and
it is no surprise that some churches prudently cancelled their Christmas
celebrations out of concern for their faithful. Others are seeking the support
of European institutions - not least the European Parliament - but again with
scant success. Yet in the midst of much pessimism, one still finds prophetic
voices the likes of Meyassir, an Iraqi Chaldean Catholic priest, who advised his
congregation to “be careful not to hate the ones killing us, because they know
not what they are doing. God forgive them.”
One Christmas carol recites the words of the angel, “Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward all men.” But in many parts of the
Middle East, these words will be conspicuous not only by their biblical
mistranslation but also by the hollowness of their warmth and fuzziness. In many
hearts and hearths, it is the woes and hardships of 2011 that will be at the
forefront of peoples’ daily realities. They will worry about their lives and
livelihoods and wonder if their children and grandchildren will ever discover
the elusive peace and harmony that the carol proclaims so melodiously during
this season.
Peace and goodwill unto the Middle East? Such a breakthrough requires men and
women of responsibility in Israel-Palestine, Iraq and elsewhere to foster an
inclusiveness that leads toward an irenic outcome. Otherwise, the words of the
Christmas carol will remain - alas – redundant.
**Harry Hagopian is an international lawyer and EU consultant.
Berri, Hariri Condemn Egypt Church Bombing, PM Calls for Unified Arab Stance
Naharnet/Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri sent cables of
condolences to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak over the deadly bombing that
targeted a Coptic church in Egypt. The "heinous crime" is aimed at "using
religions as means to violate human, moral and religious values," Hariri said in
his cable. A suicide bomber killed 21 people and wounded 79 outside the Coptic
church in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria on Saturday, in an attack
Mubarak said was the work of "foreign hands." The Lebanese premier said it
was time for Arab leaders to make a "historic" initiative that would preserve
Islamic and Arab civilizations against a scheme that targets the unity of Arabs
and Muslims. "We call for a large-scale Arab move, whether through the Arab
League or through the leaderships, that would have a unified stance on this
issue," Hariri said. The statement "should consider any attack on
Muslim-Christian coexistence an attack on Arab national security," he said.
Beirut, 02 Jan 11, 08:38
'Political Message': 2 Bodyguards Injured in Grenade Attack on Faisal Karami's
House
Naharnet/Two of Faisal Omar Karami's bodyguards were wounded at dawn Sunday when
unknown assailants tossed a grenade at his house in the northern port city of
Tripoli, the National News Agency reported. "Two bodyguards were injured" in the
attack on the house of former premier Omar Karami's son in Tripoli's al-Maarad
street, NNA said.
A security source told Voice of Lebanon radio station that occupants of a
speeding vehicle tossed the grenade at 1:00 am at Karami's vehicle, which was
parked near his home.
Security forces are checking cameras installed in the street to find the
attackers, the source said. The director of the Islamic Charitable Hospital,
where bodyguards Salah Issa and Mohammed Habib are being treated, described
their condition as "stable," noting that they suffered wounds to their hands and
legs.
She added that they were interrogated by security authorities about the
incident's circumstances. While refusing to accuse any side, Faisal Karami said
the attack was a "political message."
"We will keep our political and historic stances," he vowed. The incident is
"very dangerous" although it did not cause any damage, Omar Karami said later in
the day.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani condemned the
attack, warning that "the recurrent daily attacks in Lebanon indicate that the
hands of evil are still seeking to cause harm to Lebanon and its people."He
hoped "investigations would identify the perpetrators so that they face the
deterring punishment." Beirut, 02 Jan 11, 18:22
U.S. Cable: Ashkenazi Told Americans in '09 Israel Preparing for Hizbullah,
Hamas War
Naharnet/Israel's army chief told a U.S. Congress delegation in late 2009 he was
preparing for a large war in the Middle East, probably against Hizbullah or
Hamas, leaked U.S. diplomatic cables showed Sunday. "I am preparing the Israeli
army for a large scale war, since it is easier to scale down to a smaller
operation than to do the opposite," Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi was quoted
as saying in a cable from the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv. The document, dated
November 15, 2009, was quoted Sunday in Norwegian by Oslo-based daily
Aftenposten, which said it had obtained WikiLeaks' entire cache of 251,187
leaked U.S. embassy cables. "The rocket threat against Israel is more serious
than ever. That is why Israel is putting such emphasis on rocket defense,"
Ashkenazi told the U.S. delegation led by Democrat Ike Skelton, the cable
showed.
The army chief lamented that Iran has some 300 Shihab rockets that can reach
Israel and stressed that the Jewish state would have only between 10 and 12
minutes warning in case of an attack. However, it was Hizbullah in Lebanon and
Hamas in Gaza that posed the most acute threat, he cautioned. According to the
quoted cable, Hizbullah is thought to have more than 40,000 rockets, many of
which are believed capable of reaching deep into Israel. U.S. officials
meanwhile reportedly estimate the armed group has acquired an arsenal of around
50,000 rockets. A 2006 war between Hizbullah and Israel killed 1,200 Lebanese,
most of them civilians, and 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers.
And in his comments made nearly a year after Israel on December 27, 2008
launched the deadly Gaza war, Ashkenazi said "Israel is on a collision course
also with Hamas, which rules Gaza." "Hamas will have the possibility to bombard
Tel Aviv, with Israel's highest population concentration," he was quoted as
saying. The Gaza war -- a response to hundreds of rockets fired into the Jewish
State -- killed some 1,400 mainly civilian Palestinians and 13 Israelis, 10 of
them soldiers. It ended on January 18, 2009. Israel had been harshly criticized
for putting civilians at risk during fighting in the densely populated Gaza
Strip. However, in the cable leaked Sunday Ashkenazi is quoted saying Israel
next time will not accept "any restrictions on warfare in populated areas," and
insisted the army had never "intentionally" attacked civilian targets.(AFP)
Beirut, 02 Jan 11, 16:39
Halutz: Israel Could Have Bought Arad's Freedom
Naharnet/Israel had the chance to buy the return of missing Israel Air Force
navigator Ron Arad but changed its mind over "nationalistic considerations,"
former Israeli army chief Dan Halutz has said. "We had the opportunity to pay
money in order to buy Arad's freedom but because of nationalistic
considerations, we decided not to do it," Halutz said while speaking at a
cultural event in Be'er Sheva on Saturday. "Some of the decision makers
regretted that later," he said. Arad's plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986.
Halutz made the reference to Arad in order to opine on the current predicament
of freeing kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. "Shalit's kidnapping occurred while I
was IDF chief and I understand the frustration," Halutz said. "If it had been
possible to do something immediately, we would have done it." "I was of the
opinion that we needed to strike Hamas immediately after the kidnapping, and not
stop until Gilad was returned." "Unfortunately, even now we don't have the
intelligence needed to do something," Halutz added. Shalit was snatched by
Gaza-based militants in 2006 during a cross-border raid. Beirut, 02 Jan 11,
07:55
Gemayel: It is the Responsibility of Arab Leaders to Preserve Security of
Christians
Naharnet/Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel urged Arab leaders on Sunday to
confront attacks against Christians in the Middle East with all possible means.
"These repeated attacks against Christians in the Middle East region give forces
of terrorism, intolerance and extremism a push," Gemayel told visitors at his
residence in Bikfaya. Arab leaders should "confront this phenomenon with all
possible means because it is the responsibility of all Arab leaders to preserve
the security of Christians in Arab countries," the former president said. He
also urged Lebanese officials from different sects to be on alert, saying such
incidents are not isolated. "They are a new logic aimed at creating religious
and sectarian strife that spares no one." Turning to the March 8 forces, Gemayel
said: "It is time for you politicians to understand that the policy of
obstruction would lead to devastation." "We as Lebanese are under one roof and
on a single boat that would spare no one if it sinks," the phalange leader
added. Beirut, 02 Jan 11, 13:40
Archbishop Rai Urges Officials to Make Utmost Effort to Prevent Infiltration of
Terrorists to Lebanon
Naharnet/Jbeil Maronite Archbishop Beshara Rai urged Lebanese officials on
Sunday to be on full alert to prevent the infiltration of terrorist networks to
Lebanon following the deadly church bombing in Egypt. In remarks to Voice of
Lebanon radio station, Rai said, however, that Lebanon had no groundwork for
attacks that took place in Iraq and Egypt against Christians.He called for
action to confront attacks against Christians, saying condemnation was not
enough. Rai also called on Egyptian authorities to treat Christians as citizens
without discrimination. Beirut, 02 Jan 11, 09:46
Osama Saad: Harb's Draft-Law is Dangerous and Violates the Constitution
Naharnet/Head of the Popular Nasserite Movement Osama Saad said Sunday that MP
Butros Harb's draft-law that prevents sale of property between Christians and
Muslims is dangerous and contradicts with the constitution. If adopted, the
draft-law "will have dangerous consequences at the national level. Its
implementation contradicts with the constitution," Saad said in a statement.
Under Harb's proposal, it would be illegal for Christians and Muslims to sell
property to each other for a period of 15 years, in order to "safeguard national
coexistence."
The statement said that Christians or Muslims were giving up their land and
heading to Beirut or abroad due to development negligence in areas outside the
capital and lack of job opportunities. Saad said the government should
prioritize prevention of "internal and external emigration" through the adoption
of economic and social policies rather than a draft-law that prevents
inter-religious land sales. Beirut, 02 Jan 11, 11:39
Houri: Aoun Still Dreaming about Presidency Day and Night
Naharnet/Al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Ammar Houri accused the March 8 forces of seeking
to change the Lebanese political system and said Free Patriotic Movement leader
Michel Aoun "was dreaming of the presidency day and night."In an interview
published by the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily on Sunday, Houri said: "Some believe
that destroying the Lebanese (political) structure and building it again would
benefit them and … help them reach the presidency.""Aoun is still dreaming about
the presidency day and night" after two generals who were under his command
reached the top post, the MP said in reference to Emile Lahoud and Michel
Suleiman.Houri said the current crisis is not the result of "the court and
justice," accusing his foes of seeking to replace the Taef accord with another
agreement and restructure the Lebanese political system. In remarks to Voice of
Lebanon, Voice of Dignity and Freedom, radio station on Sunday, Houri said the
attack on Christians in the Egyptian city of Alexandria was a "national
disaster" aimed at "striking coexistence and dividing the region." Beirut, 02
Jan 11, 10:12