LCCC
ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
ِJanuary
11/2010
Bible Of The
Day
The Good News According to
Matthew 7/1-12: "7:1 “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. 7:2 For with
whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you
measure, it will be measured to you. 7:3 Why do you see the speck that is in
your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? 7:4 Or
how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and
behold, the beam is in your own eye? 7:5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam
out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of
your brother’s eye. 7:6 “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs,
neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under
their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given you.
Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. 7:8 For everyone
who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. 7:9
Or who is there among you, who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a
stone? 7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent? 7:11 If you
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 7:12
Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them;
for this is the law and the prophets.
Free Opinions, Releases,
letters, Interviews & Special Reports
New Opinion: Myths and threats/Now
Lebanon/January
10/11
Interview with Toufiq Ghanem,
son of Lebanese slain M.P. trusts tribunal/Daily Star/January
10/11
Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 10/11
Clinton calls on Arab world to
prevent Iranian threat/AP
Israel targets new Iran-built Hamas
command centers in Gaza/DEBKAfile
Hariri Meets Ban, Urges Him to Put
Pressure on Israel's Border Violations /Naharnet
Hizbullah: Enemies of Resistance
Don't Want Truth, They Want to Take Revenge upon Resistance /Naharnet
UN chief backs Lebanon
tribunal on Hariri/AFP
Lebanon's Hariri urges more UN
pressure on Israel/Ynetnews
Patriarch Sfeir receives MP
Nadim Gemayel/iloubnan.info
Rahhal: There’ll be no compromise
at expense of STL/Now Lebanon
Chamoun: Hezbollah should abide by
state rule/Now Lebanon
MTV: Sleiman, Berri to have
important role in resolving Lebanese impasse/Now Lebanon
Siniora: Talk that Hariri has to
fulfill requirements is unfounded/Now Lebanon
Houri: Saudi-Syrian compromise has
to succeed for Lebanon’s sake/Now Lebanon
Moussa: Opposition awaits responses
on compromise/Now Lebanon
Saad advises waiting for compromise
clarification/Now Lebanon
Hajjar: There is no compromise to
abandon STL/Now Lebanon
Cabinet change is out of the
question, Zahra says/Now Lebanon
Zahra: No Solution in Sight Unless
March 8 Stops Hijacking of State Institutions /Naharnet
WikiLeaks: Hizbullah Believed Syria
'Responsible' for Mughniyeh's Murder /Naharnet
Upbeat Syria sees Lebanon solution
this month/Daily Star
Hariri to
Meet Sarkozy
Naharnet/Prime Minister Saad Hariri is to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy
in New York later Monday, pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported.
Hariri is also scheduled to hold talks with Saudi King Abdullah. Al-Hayat quoted
well-informed sources in Paris as saying U.S.-French-Saudi-Lebanese talks are
likely to address the Lebanon situation. It said a meeting could take place
between Hariri and U.S. President Barack Obama. Beirut, 10 Jan 11, 09:02
Hariri Meets Ban, Urges Him to Put Pressure on Israel's Border Violations
Naharnet/U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon added his backing to the work of a U.N. tribunal
investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri,
in a meeting with his son, current premier Saad Hariri. During the one-hour
meeting in New York on Sunday, Hariri urged Ban to increase pressure on Israel
to end all violations of Lebanese borders, and to help prevent it from
exploiting underwater oil and gas. Hariri insisted on the full implementation of
U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, sources in the Lebanese delegation said.
Pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat on Monday said Hariri will meet later today French
President Nicolas Sarkozy. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed new
support for the tribunal in a meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri in New
York on Friday. Growing tensions in his country have dominated Hariri's talks on
his trip. Members of Hizbullah are to be named in indictments to be filed by the
Special Tribunal on Lebanon, according to media. The indictments are expected to
be filed within weeks despite a Hizbullah campaign against the tribunal's work,
according to diplomats.
"The secretary general reiterated his support for the work of the tribunal, and
stressed that it is an independent body. He hoped its work would help end
impunity in Lebanon," Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky said after the Ban-Hariri
meeting. "They had a cordial and constructive meeting. The Secretary-General
commended the prime minister for his leadership of Lebanon at a critical time,"
Nesirky said in a statement. Ban and Hariri also "discussed regional and other
efforts to promote stability," the spokesman added.
Hizbullah has denied any involvement in Rafik Hariri's 2005 assassination and
has said the UN-backed tribunal is politicized. The younger Hariri has resisted
Hezbollah demands that he renounce the investigation. Ban and Hariri also
discussed efforts to implement U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, passed in
2006 to end an Israeli military offensive into south Lebanon.
The resolution called for an end to Hizbullah attacks on Israel and for Israel
to end its military operations. "The two discussed a number of aspects of
Security Council Resolution 1701, including the need to end Israeli air
violations," said Nesirky. "The secretary general stressed the importance of
both parties working for the full implementation of the resolution, and the good
work being done by UNIFIL. He took note of the Lebanese concerns on the maritime
boundary issues." Hariri met Clinton in New York on Friday night. Clinton
"expressed very clearly her support for the Hariri tribunal," a source who was
at the meeting told AFP. "Secretary Clinton expressed her strong support for the
independence and sovereignty of Lebanon," added the source, speaking on
condition of anonymity. The Saudi monarch, King Abdullah, is staying in a hotel
near Hariri's and Clinton also met the king on Friday night. Saudi Arabia and
Syria have been attempting to mediate in the dispute between Hizbullah and
Hariri's government. The Saudi ambassador to Washington, Adel Al-Jubeir, also
met Hariri on Friday.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 10 Jan 11, 07:26
Hizbullah: Enemies of Resistance Don't Want Truth, They Want to Take Revenge
upon Resistance
Naharnet/Hizbullah official Nabil Qaouq on Monday warned that enemies of the
Resistance do not want the truth, but want to take revenge upon the Resistance.
"All the enemies of the Resistance are seeking to target it indirectly through
the international tribunal," he said. "They do not want truth or justice. They
want to take revenge upon the Resistance and seek compensation for their defeat
in July 2006," Qaouq added. He accused Washington of obstructing an agreement to
end the crisis over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
"Those hurt by a solution, the U.S. on top of them, are not looking forward to
an agreement to the Lebanon crisis, but instead they are seeking to deepen
internal divisions and drag the country to (sectarian) strife," Qaouq said.
Beirut, 10 Jan 11, 00:37
MTV: Sleiman, Berri to have important role in resolving Lebanese impasse
January 9, 2011 /President Michel Sleiman and Speaker Nabih Berri will play a
significant role in finding solutions to the current Lebanese impasse, MTV
reported on Sunday.
According to the television channel, Sleiman and Berri will strive for a
solution that satisfies all Lebanese parties. The report did not elaborate
further. Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Thursday that Saudi-Syrian mediation
efforts led to agreement months ago, but accused Hezbollah of not living up to
their end of the deal. Syrian and Saudi officials have reportedly been
communicating in efforts to reach a compromise that would resolve tensions in
Lebanon due to reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon may soon indict
Hezbollah members in its investigation of the 2005 assassination of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri.-NOW Lebanon
Siniora: Talk that Hariri has to fulfill requirements is unfounded
January 9, 2011 /The talk that Prime Minister Saad Hariri has to make certain
concessions in order to end the Lebanese impasse is unfounded, Future bloc
leader MP Fouad Siniora said on Sunday. “We have to be patient. We [should not
act] on the basis of inaccurate information… We have to wait until PM Hariri
returns from New York to know the results of this visit,” Siniora said according
to the National News Agency. The MP welcomed Arab efforts to resolve the
Lebanese impasse, particularly Syrian-Saudi ones, and added that “the Taif
Accord, democracy and justice must be taken into consideration.”“Stability and
security cannot be achieved if there is no justice.” “[Problems] should be
resolved in the cabinet. We should not lay conditions for the cabinet to
convene,” he said, adding that dealing with the increase of gas prices can be
dealt with in the cabinet and not through demonstrations. Energy Minister Gebran
Bassil on Friday expressed his support for citizens’ participation in
demonstrations to protest increases in gas prices. In an interview published
Friday in the daily Al-Hayat, Hariri said that Saudi-Syrian mediation efforts
led to agreement months ago, but accused Hezbollah of not living up to their end
of the deal. The PM headed to New York on Friday to meet with Saudi King
Abdullah and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Syrian and Saudi officials
have reportedly been communicating in efforts to reach a compromise that would
resolve tensions in Lebanon due to reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
may soon indict Hezbollah members in its investigation of the 2005 assassination
of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. -NOW Lebanon
Houri: Saudi-Syrian compromise has to succeed for Lebanon’s sake
January 10, 2011 /“The Saudi-Syrian initiative [to resolve tensions in Lebanon]
has to succeed for the country’s interest,” Lebanon First bloc MP Ammar Houri
said on Monday.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri has taken positive steps but they have been rejected
by the other side, Houri told As-Sharq radio. Also on Monday, Houri held a press
conference on oil exploration legislation, saying that although the Lebanese
government has done its job, the issue is being held up due to the paralysis of
state institutions. Lebanon’s cabinet has not convened since December 18 due to
a dispute between March 8 and March 14 ministers over the issue of witnesses who
gave unreliable testimonies to the international probe into former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 murder. Syrian and Saudi officials have reportedly
been communicating to resolve Lebanese tensions due to reports that the STL may
soon indict Hezbollah members, a move the party has repeatedly warned against.
In August parliament passed an oil exploration bill, which calls for the
establishment of a treasury and a committee to oversee exploration and drilling
off the coast of Lebanon. -NOW Lebanon
Moussa: Opposition awaits responses on compromise
January 10, 2011 /Although some denied that there was a Saudi-Syrian compromise,
now it is clear that there is a compromise and “the opposition is awaiting
responses on some issues,” Development and Liberation bloc MP Michel Moussa said
on Monday. “There is an agreement whose clauses must be implemented equally, but
first it must be announced,” Moussa told New TV. Syrian and Saudi officials have
reportedly been communicating to resolve Lebanese tensions over reports that the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon may soon indict Hezbollah members in its
investigation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination. Hariri
said in a Friday interview that a Syrian-Saudi agreement has been finalized, but
“[I] will not implement any commitment I made before the other party implements
what it [said] it would commit to.”However, on Saturday, Hezbollah Deputy
Secretary General Naim Qassem said that Hezbollah has already done its part and
Hariri knows what he must do.-NOW Lebanon
Saad advises waiting for compromise clarification
January 10, 2011 /There is talk about Saudi-Syrian dialogue producing a
compromise, but there is a dispute over what is demanded of the difference sides
and “it appears that no one knows the content of this compromise yet,”
Democratic Gathering bloc MP Fouad Saad said on Monday. The compromise has not
yet been announced and everyone should wait for it to be clarified, he told NOW
Lebanon. Saad also expressed surprise that “March 8 forces demand that March 14
concede the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) when everyone knows that the
tribunal is ongoing and cannot be abolished.” Syrian and Saudi officials have
reportedly been communicating to resolve Lebanese tensions over reports that the
STL may soon indict Hezbollah members in its investigation of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination.Saad Hariri said in a Friday
interview that a Syrian-Saudi agreement has been finalized, but “[I] will not
implement any commitment I made before the other party implements what it [said]
it would commit to.”However, on Saturday, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General
Naim Qassem said that Hezbollah has already done its part and Hariri knows what
he must do.
-NOW Lebanon
Alloush: Hariri Won't Allow Certain Red Lines to be Crossed
Naharnet/Mustaqbal official Mustafa Alloush on Monday said Prime Minister Saad
Hariri will not allow "certain red lines" to be crossed. "There are certain red
lines that PM Hariri will not allow to be crossed regardless of any
intervention," Alloush told the Voice of Lebanon radio. Alloush said Hariri will
not compromise on a settlement on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He uncovered
that the "U.S. and others on the one hand and Iran on the other hand have
indirectly intervened in Saudi-Syrian talks" to find an exit to the STL crisis.
Beirut, 10 Jan 11, 07:51
Chamoun: Hezbollah should abide by state rule
January 9, 2011 /National Liberal Party leader MP Dori Chamoun called on
Hezbollah Sunday to hand over its weapons and operate under the rule of the
Lebanese state.
The MP told MTV that “helping the Lebanese state to stand on its feet is
[Hezbollah’s] duty as well as that of other parties.”He also said that Saudi
Arabia and Syria are playing the role of “firefighters to prevent [conflict] in
Lebanon.” Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Thursday that Saudi-Syrian mediation
efforts led to agreement months ago, but accused Hezbollah of not living up to
their end of the deal. Syrian and Saudi officials have reportedly been
communicating in an effort to resolve tensions in Lebanon stemming from reports
that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon may soon indict Hezbollah members in its
investigation of the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
-NOW Lebanon
Rahhal: There’ll be no compromise at expense of STL
January 10, 2011 /“There will be no compromise at the expense of the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL),” said Minister of Environment Mohammad Rahhal in an
interview on Monday.
Rahhal – a member of March 14’s Future Movement – told Future News that issue of
“false witnesses” is a big lie, adding that Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s trips
abroad are aimed to achieve Lebanese stability. “President [Michel] Sleiman and
Hariri are aiming toward settlement and preserving the STL.”Lebanon’s cabinet
has not convened since December 18 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 former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 murder. Syrian and Saudi
officials have reportedly been communicating in efforts to reach a compromise
that would resolve tensions in Lebanon due to reports that the STL may soon
indict Hezbollah members, a move the party has repeatedly warned against. Hariri
travelled to New York on Friday to meet with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz
for the second time in 10 days in a bid to boost Saudi-Syrian efforts. The PM
also met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. -NOW Lebanon
Hajjar: There is no compromise to abandon STL
January 10, 2011/There is no compromise to abandon the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon (STL) and March 14 will not agree to such a deal, Lebanon First bloc MP
Mohammad al-Hajjar said on Monday. Prime Minister Saad Hariri has made it clear
that March 8 must implement its commitments, and Hezbollah must stop suspending
the country’s institutional life, Hajjar told New TV. “Any understanding that
preserves stability without stopping justice is acceptable.” Syrian and Saudi
officials have reportedly been communicating to resolve Lebanese tensions over
reports that the STL may soon indict Hezbollah members in its investigation of
former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination. Saad Hariri said in a
Friday interview that a Syrian-Saudi agreement has been finalized, but “[I] will
not implement any commitment I made before the other party implements what it
[said] it would commit to.”
However, on Saturday, Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Naim Qassem said that
Hezbollah has already done its part and Hariri knows what he must do.
-NOW Lebanon
Cabinet change is out of the question, Zahra says
January 10, 2011 /Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahra said on Monday that
change of cabinet was brought forth by March 8’s media, adding that such a move
“is out of the question.” He told the Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that Prime
Minister Saad Hariri is continually being asked to make concessions and “the
other side” is disabling state institutions. However, Zahra added that fears of
internal strife have decreased. The LF MP commented on his party’s relations
with Syria, saying, “We want state-to-state relations.”
Tensions are high in Lebanon amid reports that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
may soon indict Hezbollah members in its investigation of the 2005 assassination
of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a move the party repeatedly warned
against. Syrian and Saudi officials have reportedly been communicating in
efforts to reach a compromise that would resolve tensions. According to Hariri,
a Syrian-Saudi agreement has been finalized, but he will not implement any
commitment before March 8 implements what it said it would commit to.
Tawhid Movement leader Wiam Wahhab said on December 31 that the Saudi-Syrian
compromise to end Lebanon’s political impasse “will call for a pro-March 8
government.”
-NOW Lebanon
Zahra: No Solution in Sight Unless March 8 Stops Hijacking of State Institutions
Naharnet/Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra on Monday warned there is no solution
in sight unless the Hizbullah-led March 8 alliance stops hijacking of State
institutions.
"If the March 8 camp was not convinced that State institutions must stop being
hijacked, we are not heading toward a solution soon," Zahra told the Voice of
Lebanon radio station.
"Government paralysis is then likely to last a long time," he warned. Zahra
described as "cautious" the relationship with Syria. Beirut, 10 Jan 11, 08:07
Hizbullah: Enemies of Resistance Don't Want Truth, They Want to Take Revenge
upon Resistance
Naharnet/Hizbullah official Nabil Qaouq on Monday warned that enemies of the
Resistance do not want the truth, but want to take revenge upon the Resistance.
"All the enemies of the Resistance are seeking to target it indirectly through
the international tribunal," he said. "They do not want truth or justice. They
want to take revenge upon the Resistance and seek compensation for their defeat
in July 2006," Qaouq added. He accused Washington of obstructing an agreement to
end the crisis over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
"Those hurt by a solution, the U.S. on top of them, are not looking forward to
an agreement to the Lebanon crisis, but instead they are seeking to deepen
internal divisions and drag the country to (sectarian) strife," Qaouq said.
Beirut, 10 Jan 11, 00:37
New Opinion: Myths and threats
January 10, 2011
Now Lebanon/Two statements that emerged over the weekend from March 8
politicians show that the bloc’s policy of justifying its current political
stance is still based on an unsavory concoction of propaganda and threats. It is
a tune of which we are all becoming weary. The first was from Amal MP Ali Hassan
Khalil, who on Friday tried to convince us that the real enemy of March 8 is
Israel, and not the March 14 alliance, as many Lebanese, with good cause,
thought.
He trotted out the predictable sermon that Lebanon is at the epicenter of a
Zionist strategy to “shatter” the region and concluded with the familiar
boilerplate: "All sides should consolidate internal unity, the Resistance and
the army to confront dangers.” So March 14 isn’t the enemy then? Someone should
have told this to the government of Fouad Siniora in early May 2008, when March
8 gunmen, led by Hezbollah, overran western Beirut, killing innocent civilians
and taking the country to the brink of civil war in response to a government
decision. It was nothing short of an attempted coup, but then again Khalil would
probably argue that his bloc was forced to take action that day because, by
dismantling Hezbollah’s illegal phone network and sacking the head of airport
security, the government had severely affected the Resistance’s ability to wage
its ongoing war with – yes, you got it – Israel.
In reality, Khalil’s bland utterances only serve to divert attention from March
8’s real agenda, which sets it firmly and unequivocally at odds with its local
political opponents. March 8 must stop using Israel as a smokescreen to justify
a policy of domestic disruption that, in the last six months, has all but ground
the country to a halt.
March 8 must also stop tarring March 14 with a Zionist brush simply because it,
quite reasonably, wants all weapons to be in the hands of the state and because,
with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, it has seized the opportunity to seek
justice for the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and subsequent
politically-motivated killings. In March 8’s world, anyone who wants one army is
conspiring against the Resistance, and anyone who endorses international justice
is buying into an Israeli plot.
But then again, we got a glimpse of the real face of March 8 when Khalil’s ally,
Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah, said on Sunday that the so-called Syrian-Saudi
solution (a negotiation track that no one appears to know much about, and yet it
is being hailed as Lebanon’s salvation) is necessary to face off against the
real threat facing Lebanon, namely the US and Zionist-inspired tribunal.
Opposition to the Syrian-Saudi track, he said, would lead to “economic and
social problems,” shorthand for the suffocating and obstructionist behavior
adopted by March 8 members of Lebanon’s so-called consensus government. It has
led to an ever widening disconnect between the state, its people and a private
sector that, by all accounts, is the only entity keeping the country afloat.
Khalil must be heartened that Prime Minister Saad Hariri was at the UN’s New
York headquarters this weekend addressing the Israeli threat, discussing Israeli
border violations and disputes over the exploitation of offshore gas. As for
Fadlallah, we don’t need his threats. Then again, threats have become the
hallmark of a March 8 bloc running out of ideas. Threats are maybe all it has
left.
WikiLeaks: Hizbullah Believed Syria 'Responsible' for Mughniyeh's Murder
Naharnet/Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Lebanon Abdel Aziz Khoja has informed U.S.
diplomats in Beirut that Hizbullah believed the Syrians were responsible for
Imad Mughniyeh's assassination in Damascus, according to a leaked cable. No
Syrian official was present at Mughniyeh's funeral in Beirut's southern suburbs
the following day. Khoja said Iran was represented by its foreign minister who
had come to calm down Hizbullah and keep it from taking action against Syria.
But according to the leaked documents, U.S. reports reveal Syrian President
Bashar Assad's regime was shocked at the killing of Mughniyeh, a founder member
of Hizbullah. U.S. reports from February 2008, revealed by WikiLeaks, described
how Assad's regime was shocked when Imad Mughniyeh was murdered by a bomb
planted in his car. Mughniyeh was wanted by the U.S., Israel, France and other
governments.
"Syrian military intelligence and general intelligence directorate officials are
currently engaged in an internecine struggle to blame each other for the breach
of security that resulted in Mughniyeh's death," the U.S. embassy cable said.
Khoja said that another rumor was that Syria and Israel had made a deal to allow
Mughniyeh to be killed, an Israeli objective.
According to U.S. diplomats, Mughniyeh's murder led to tensions between Syria
and Iran, perhaps because Tehran shared Khoja's suspicion of Syrian complicity
in the affair.
It took more than a year for Syrian-Iranian relations to improve, with a
low-profile visit to Damascus in late 2009 by the commander of the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard's (IRGC) elite al-Quds force, Qassem Suleimani, described by
a Lebanese source as being at "the business end" of Hizbullah's military
activities, The Guardian wrote. U.S. officials speculated that Suleimani's long
absence was "perhaps a reflection of lingering tensions between Iran and Syria
that erupted after the assassination of Mughniyeh". It said that both the U.S.
and Israel say explicitly that they want to weaken the links between Iran and
its main Arab ally, Syria. Mughniyeh, linked to the kidnappings of western
hostages in the 1980s, was a controversial and shadowy figure whose influence
reaches beyond the grave. In 2006, Defense Minister Elias Murr told U.S.
diplomats that Mughniyeh was "very active in Beirut", hinting that he was
involved in a spate of murders of Lebanese politicians who were hostile to
Syria, the Guardian said. It said that according to Murr, Mughniyeh was working
with the IRGC on the one hand and the Syrian intelligence supremo (and President
Assad's brother-in-law) Asef Shawkat on the other. Beirut, 09 Jan 11, 16:09
Clinton calls on Arab world to prevent Iranian threat
By ASSOCIATED PRESS /01/10/2011 11:28
US secretary of state accuses Teheran of trying to foment new conflict in ME to
distract attention from nuclear program.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday accused Iran of trying to
foment new conflict in the Middle East to distract attention from its nuclear
program. She said the Arab world must reject such attempts, sharpen enforcement
of sanctions, and back Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Clinton told a pan-Arab television talk show that sanctions against Iran have
slowed its progress in developing nuclear weapons. But she said the world has to
keep up the pressure. She said that if Iran is able to produce a nuclear weapon,
it will spark a disastrous arms race in the region.
At the start of a three-nation tour of the Persian Gulf, Clinton also said Arab
countries in particular should work to build confidence between Israel and the
Palestinians so that stalled peace talks can resume.
On Sunday, in meetings with leaders in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat and Doha,
Clinton said she would look for more Arab backing for the new government in Iraq
and more financial support for the Palestinian Authority.
Such progress may help forestall Palestinian moves to declare statehood or seek
UN action against Israel.
"We continue to believe strongly that New York is not the place to resolve the
longstanding conflict and outstanding issues between the Israelis and the
Palestinians," Clinton said. "We do not think that that is a productive path for
the Palestinians or anyone to pursue."
Discussing the Iranian nuclear sanctions, the US secretary of state said that
the world must keep pressure on Iran over its suspect nuclear program despite
recent estimates that the country may be further behind in efforts to develop
atomic weapons than previously thought.
Clinton told reporters accompanying her on a three-nation tour of the Persian
Gulf that Iran "remains a serious concern" no matter when it might be able to
produce a nuclear weapon. And she urged countries in the region that do business
with Iran "to do everything within reason" to help ensure the sanctions are
enforced.
Israel targets new Iran-built Hamas command centers in Gaza
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report January 10, 2011, The Israeli air strikes in Gaza
early Monday, Jan. 10, described officially as aimed at "terrorist targets" and
"smuggling tunnels" were in fact systematic missions to start destroying the new
Hamas underground command centers which Iranian Revolutionary Guards engineers
are building across the enclave. This is reported exclusively by debkafile's
military sources.
The enhancement of Hamas's military capabilities against Israel is seen as
Iran's punishment for the attacks on its nuclear scientists and installations,
while serving its broader effort to control the Gaza Strip as its Mediterranean
outpost.
Sunday, Jan. 9, the heads of Hamas's military wing Ezz e-Din Al-Qassam tried to
persuade Iran's Palestinian proxy, Jihad Islami leader Amin al Hindi, to rein in
his group's missile and mortar attacks on Israeli towns and villages and its
rocket strikes against Israeli border patrols. They argued that these attacks
caused no real harm, depleted the resources needed for a major showdown with
Israel and provoked the IDF into prematurely launching another round of the Cast
Lead campaign of 2008-2009. This campaign had already begun, they said, with the
Israel Air Force's precision bombing of the new Hamas facilities going up for
the next Palestinian war on Israel; Israel should not be driven to devastating
attacks before the facilities were in place.
debkafile's sources report that IRGC engineers who stole into Gaza in recent
weeks have been working around the clock to lay a network of command centers
across the territory according to detailed plans . In highest demand in Gaza
today are not the missiles capable of hitting Tel Aviv but the concrete smuggled
in mainly from Egypt.
The "terror targets" the IAF struck Monday in Gaza City and Khan Younis were
those very command centers.
To tempt Jihad Islami leaders into keeping their powder dry for now, Hamas
offered them cabinet portfolios, hoping to buy them off with ceremonial
departments, sumptuous offices, fancy cars and "budgets." However, Al Hindi, who
takes his orders from Tehran, refused to play. He told Hamas: We don't want
money; we want to step up our war on Israel.
According to debkafile's Iranian sources, Tehran is aiming to launch a war of
attrition from the Gaza Strip by using the Palestinian Hamas and Jihad Islami to
constantly batter the border fence and the Israeli populations in its vicinity
and so elevate the level of confrontation with the IDF.
Since Jihad Islami takes its orders directly from Tehran, Hamas - which also
depends on Iranian directives, funding and military aid received through
Damascus – cannot afford to force its will on the Jihad Islami and risk an open
breach with Tehran.
Hamas-Gaza's only recourse is to persuade Khaled Meshaal, head of its Damascus
wing, to press Tehran to rein in Jihad Islami and so save the unfinished command
centers from destruction. Hamas seems to think that in Tehran one hand doesn't
know what the other is doing. In fact, according to our sources, Iran is acting
deliberately to stir up confusion among the Palestinan organizations in the Gaza
Strip while also maintaining military tensions around the border fence and
southwestern Israel at a high pitch.
While its air force takes advantage of the confusion Iran is generating in Gaza
to wipe out the new military command centers, Israel's military planners are
fully aware that this is a short-term strategy which carries a high price. Their
reprisals for attacks are predicted by Iran and serve its strategic objectives
in the Gaza Strip. Iran can rebuild Hamas's destroyed command centers but is
determined to allow no letup in Palestinian violence from the Gaza Strip.
Israeli strategists are therefore expected to chart different and novel modes of
operation for stemming the attacks now fully orchestrated from Tehran. So far,
Iran is doing better in the Gaza Strip than in Lebanon. There, it calls the
shots for a single radical group, the Hizballah, whereas in Gaza it holds the
two dominant radical Palestinian movements in the palm of its hand.
Son of slain M.P. trusts tribunal
Toufiq Ghanem says political killings destablizing Lebanon, not international
court
By Wassim Mroueh
Daily Star staff
Monday, January 10, 2011
Interview
BEIRUT: The son of a slain M.P. said he was confident the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon (S.T.L.) would uncover the truth behind his father’s assassination,
adding that political killings, rather than the court, were destabilizing the
country.
“The wound is so deep and we have great hope in this tribunal because it is our
last resort,” Toufiq Ghanem, the son of late M.P. Antoine Ghanem, said in an
interview with The Daily Star.
“We rely on this tribunal because it is the first of its kind in Lebanon,”
Ghanem said, adding that the decisions of previous international tribunals
whether in Sudan, Yugoslavia or Sierra Leone proved not to be politicized.
Ghanem said unlike the international judiciary, the Lebanese judiciary could be
paralyzed. “We hope the [international] tribunal for Lebanon will continue its
work.”
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has slammed the S.T.L. as an “Israeli
project” targeting the resistance, expecting members from the party to be named
in a looming indictment by the Netherlands-based court, while strongly denying
any involvement.
“It is unfortunate that a Lebanese group says so … this [dispute over the
tribunal] could have been avoided if Sayyed Hassan [Nasrallah] assured Saad
[Hariri] that he would hand over any rogue member from Hizbullah that turns out
to be involved, and in return receive assurances from Hariri to reject any
indictment that lacks concrete evidence,” he said.
But Hizbullah has strongly denied the presence of rogue members within its
ranks.
“This is a big lie … there are rogue members in every party including the Kataeb
[Phalange] party, of which I am a member,” Ghanem, 33, said.
The U.N.-backed S.T.L. was established to try the assassins of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri and a number of politicians, including Ghanem, who was
assassinated in an explosion on Sept. 19, 2007, in Sin al-Fil, near Beirut.
Syria and Saudi Arabia are allegedly trying to broker a compromise over the
court.
Asked what would be his position if Saad Hariri agreed on compromising on the
S.T.L., Ghanem said he had “full confidence in Saad [Hariri]. He could have
changed his stance like [Progressive Socialist Party leader, M.P.] Walid [Jumblatt]
did after May 7. He endured enormous pressure.”
In May 2008, pro-Hizbullah fighters overran western neighborhoods of Beirut
following a decision by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s Cabinet to
dismantle Hizbullah’s telecommunications network. In the wake of the clashes,
Jumblatt, once a staunch supporter of Hariri’s March 14 coalition, adopted
moderate rhetoric, after which he withdrew completely from the alliance in
August 2009.
Many factions voiced concern that releasing the indictment before reaching a
settlement might destabilize Lebanon.
“It is the crime that destabilizes Lebanon and not revealing the truth, what
kind of settlement are they discussing? What will the other side give up in
return for us rendering concessions over our martyrs?” asked Ghanem.
“Except if the other side is the criminal, then the settlement will call for us
to turn a blind eye over the matter in return for a pledge that they will not
spark strife, this is rudeness!”
“You are not allowed to know the truth over who killed your father, brother,
neighbor, or even the passersby who died in the explosions.”
But Ghanem said he had no suspicions over any side regarding his father’s
assassination.
“All options are possible … I wonder why Hizbullah is fiercely rejecting the
tribunal, although my father maintained good ties with the party’s officials,
would Nasrallah have accepted that we reject a tribunal looking into the killing
of [his son] Hadi Nasrallah?” Ghanem asked.
Hadi Nasrallah was killed in 1997 when fighting Israeli forces occupying south
Lebanon.
“Let us wait until the indictment is released, and then we will figure out
whether the tribunal has fooled us for five years or its work is serious,”
Ghanem said.
The elder Ghanem, who was a Kataeb official, was slain a few days after
returning from the United Arab Emirates.
“I came with my father to Lebanon Sunday on fake names, and he was assassinated
Wednesday,” his son noted.
He did not rule out that sides behind Hariri’s assassination might also be
involved in his father’s killing.
Ghanem said it had been more than a year since the S.T.L. team of investigators
looking into his father’s assassination had visited his family.
“When they used to come, they used to ask us questions, but they haven’t given
us information about the investigations so far,” he said.
Upbeat Syria sees Lebanon solution this month
Damascus officials expect meeting of rivals to announce deal prior to Tribunal
indictment
By Hussein Dakroub /Daily Star staff
Monday, January 10, 2011
BEIRUT: Syria is optimistic that a Saudi-Syrian-brokered agreement to resolve
Lebanon’s months-long crisis will be implemented later this month, an Arab
diplomatic source said Sunday, a move that is likely to defuse political and
sectarian tensions over indictment in the 2005 assassination of former Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri.
Speaking to The Daily Star after meeting with senior Syrian officials in
Damascus, the source said Syria believed a U.N.-backed court’s indictment into
Hariri’s killing being issued this month was unlikely, a move that is expected
to give the Saudi and Syrian mediators more time to clinch a deal from the rival
Lebanese factions.
“The agreement worked out by Saudi Arabia and Syria has been accomplished. Only
technical aspects of the deal are left to be finalised, including a crisis of
deep confidence between the feuding parties,” the source said.
The source said efforts were under way to arrange a meeting later this month
between the March 8 and March 14 factions with the presence of Saudi and Syrian
representatives at which the accord would be made public.
In a further signal that the Saudi-Syrian bid was heading toward smooth sailing,
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz will leave New York for Morocco on Jan. 21 to
pursue his convalescence following back surgeries, the source said. He added
that Abdullah’s presence in the Moroccan city of Agadir was expected to help the
king’s son, Prince Abdel-Aziz, shuttle easily between Damascus and Beirut as
part of the Saudi-Syrian contacts.
However, the source warned that Saudi Arabia was coming under “heavy U.S.
pressure” not to proceed with the deal being thrashed out with Syria. “There are
American fears that the Saudi-Syrian agreement will eventually lead to the
abolition of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,” the source said.
The source also cautioned that Syria would pull out of the agreement with Saudi
Arabia if the S.T.L.’s indictment was released before the announcement of the
agreement.
Syria’s reported optimism, coupled with Speaker Nabih Berri’s statement that
January is a “decisive” month for the Saudi-Syria mediation bid, came as Prime
Minister Saad Hariri was to meet again in New York early Monday (Beirut time)
with the Saudi king to discuss the Riyadh-Damascus contacts on Lebanon.
Hariri met late Friday with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has met
with the Saudi king on what was described as a “courtesy” visit following his
recovery from back surgeries in New York last month.
Clinton discussed with Abdullah and Hariri rising tension in Lebanon over the
forthcoming indictment at separate meetings in New York, U.S. officials said.
Clinton reaffirmed strong U.S. support for Lebanon’s independence and for the
work of the U.N.-backed tribunal that is investigating the assassination of
Hariri’s father, said a source who attended the half-hour meeting between
Clinton and Hariri at a New York hotel.
Asked whether the Lebanese prime minister also supported it, the source replied,
“That goes without saying.”
The source added that Clinton had also expressed strong support for the
independence and sovereignty of Lebanon, a phrase often used to imply criticism
of attempts by neighboring Syria to exert control over Lebanese affairs.
Clinton herself made no comment to reporters other than to praise her meeting
with Hariri as “excellent.” The United States has repeatedly underlined its
commitment to Hariri’s government and to the tribunal.
Before meeting Hariri, Clinton held a 45-minute meeting in an adjacent hotel
with the Saudi king. No details of their talks were available, but State
Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said before the meeting: “Certainly, she will
emphasize to the king, as well as to the prime minister, our support of the
democratic government in Lebanon, as well as our ongoing support for the Special
Tribunal.”
Hariri’s national unity Cabinet has been paralyzed for months by political
tension and the rival factions’ dispute over the controversial issue of “false
witnesses” linked to the U.N. probe into Rafik Hariri’s assassination. It has
met only once since November 10 and it failed at its last meeting on December 15
to settle this issue when the March 8 ministers demanded a vote for referring it
to the Judicial Council, the country’s highest court, prompting President Michel
Sleiman to defer the session.
In an interview with the Saudi newspaper Al-Hayat last week, Hariri said Saudi
Arabia and Syria had reached an agreement to resolve the Lebanese crisis several
months ago, but its implementation has been held up by Hizbullah and its March 8
allies who have failed to carry out their share of the deal. Hariri’s remarks
drew a quick response from Berri and a Hizbullah minister who rejected Hariri’s
accusation.
Hizbullah M.P. Ali Fayyad said the March 8 camp has done its share of a solution
for the crisis and was ready to help in implementation. He warned of U.S.
attempts to obstruct the Saudi-Syrian solution. “The current stage is not one to
score points or to engage in negative rhetoric … A solution is in the interest
of all the Lebanese,” Fayyad told a rally in the southern village of Majdal
Slim.
M.P. Mohammed Hajjar of Hariri’s Future parliamentary bloc said the Saudi-Syrian
bid sought to prevent a military explosion in Lebanon and the overthrow of
Hariri’s Cabinet. “We in the Future Movement say there are firm and known
things. The tribunal will remain and the indictment will be issued on time.
Security is ensured, undermining stability is forbidden and the toppling of
Hariri’s Cabinet is also forbidden.”