LCCC ENGLISH NEWS BULLETIN
October 17/06
Biblical Reading For today
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 11,29-32.
While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here
Latest New from miscellaneous sources for October 17/06
Jumblat Meets Sfeir on Return of Christian Refugees to the Shouf-Naharnet - Beirut,Lebanon
Syria Is Stirring Up Lebanese Civil Strife, -DEBKA file
Olmert calls on Siniora to make peace-Ynetnews.comPatriarch Delly: World has forgotten Iraqi Christians-AsiaNews.it - Italy
France to Host Lebanon Aid Conference in January-Naharnet - Beirut,Lebanon
Syria's treacherous network suspected of downtown Beirut bombing-Ya Libnan
Italy turns over UN Lebanon naval leadership to Germany-Xinhua
UN force only protects Israel: top Shi'ite cleric-ReutersANALYSIS - UN forces in Lebanon take al Qaeda threat in stride-Reuters
Perertz: Gaza won't be Lebanon-Ynetnews
Lebanon calls for aid talks in Paris on Jan 15-Reuters.uk
Lebanon Suspects Syria Involved in Beirut Terrorist Attack-Arutz Sheva
Syria 'aiding weapons smuggling'-Gulf Daily NewsSyrian army defensive, general says-United Press International
Olmert dismisses Syrian President Assad's call for peace talks-International Herald Tribune
FEATURE - Beirutis enjoy Ramadan night life-Reuters
Mexico probes Hezbollah financing links-Independent Online
High Court to expand panel of judges for Lebanon war-Jerusalem Post
Syria stirring trouble in Lebanon-Peninsula On-line
ADIH announces $600 million project in Beirut - Lebanon-Middle East North Africa Financial Network
Latest New from the Daily Star for October 17/06
Moussa demands massive Arab effort to help Lebanon rebuild
Siniora brushes off Olmert's call for peace talks
Jumblatt vows 'church bells will ring again' in villages of Chouf
Arab pressure helps Berri get Inter-Parliamentary Union to discuss aid package at annual session
Siniora sets January 15 as date for crucial Paris donor talks
Fadlallah warns Lebanese to be wary of UNIFIL
Fatfat chairs meeting on security crisis
Ebb in political clamor suggests impending new round of dialogue
Rizk warns of judicial slowdown after Murr withdraws approval of reshufflingCan Aoun convince his supporters to rise to his challenge?
2 grenades rock Downtown BeirutPeretz points finger at Iran over Arad
Rain soaks war-ravaged homes in southern suburbs
Germany takes over UNIFIL naval arm
Recently elected Druze council chooses new spiritual leader
Lahoud receives decree on judicial appointments
Hariri praises PM for gaining trust of world powers
Olmert calls on Siniora to make peace
At opening of Knesset winter session, Prime Minister Olmert calls on Lebanese leader to meet with him directly for peace talks. Olmert also urges Palestinians to resume negotiations with Israel, vows to work to change system of government in country
Ilan Marciano Published: 10.16.06, 16:20
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert opened the Knesset winter session Monday evening by calling on Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to meet with him and negotiate for peace. He also said that Israel wanted to make peace with Syria, but that the country would not be able to talk with a pro-terror leader like President Bashar Assad. Olmert stated that he intends to utilize every possible opportunity for real negotiations with the Palestinians.
Commenting on the Lebanese issue, Olmert said: "I wish to take this opportunity and call on the Lebanese prime minister to meet with me directly in order to make peace between Israel and Lebanon. I know that he is under a lot of pressure from home and from the outside. Israel can be a natural, serious partner for a peace-seeking country like Lebanon." According to the prime minister, "the campaign in Lebanon has ended and its consequences have influenced the entire region. We are drawing lessons and facing the shortcomings that have been revealed during the war. It's important to make clear that this has been a vital campaign. We have gained some significant achievements in this campaign."
The PM called on the Palestinians to resume negotiations, saying: "We have no intention to govern over another people," he said. Olmert also stated his intentions to change the governmental system and establish a constitution for Israel.
No compromise on captives
According to Olmert "there have been recent changes in the political arena. The Palestinian government is currently headed by Hamas, a government which unfortunately does not fulfill the minimal conditions set by the international community. As long as the Hamas government does not recognize the State of Israel, accept those accords that have been agreed upon and operate to halt terror attacks, we cannot engage it."
"We will not compromise over these conditions. We have not, for one moment, forgotten Cpl. Gilad Shalit. Gilad will come home. We know that the Palestinian people and their leadership are not one and the same. Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) is a legitimate partner and we are maintaining continuous talks with him and his people and I am willing to meet with him immediately."
Olmert opened his statement with the names of the kidnapped soldiers. "There must be a constitution and the political system must be reinforced. The Knesset must agree to establish a constitution and reform the governmental system," he said, emphasizing that "the elementary guidelines of my government are known to all. Any party that wishes to be an active partner and not just talk is welcome as a partner. I am willing to include additional partners in order to work together to promote the issues on the agenda.""This place has known great moments, but it has also known low moments which we would rather forget. Let us fulfill our jobs in becoming manner," said Olmert, "let us show all those who look upon us that they have someone to trust. Let us choose that which strengthens and not that which divides."
Katsav a no-show
The Knesset winter session commenced this Monday without much excitement, minus its leading star – President Moshe Katsav who decided to honor the legislative body with his absence, this following the police's recommendation to prosecute him for rape.
His absence shifted the spotlight to another leader, himself at a problematic crossroads in his political career – due, of course, to entirely different circumstances.Prior to the session the separate parties held meetings of their own. Olmert, speaking at the Kadima party meeting, said that he is "interested in seeing the coalition expanded," but also said that he was interested in "continuing the partnership with Labor." According to Olmert "there is a genuine intent to change the government system even during the current Knesset session and to continue efforts to establish a constitution for Israel." Olmert added that he had already appointed a group of Knesset members within his party to prepare a draft on the subject. "We will operate to pass our proposal and we will cooperate with other parties, including Israel Our Home. We need to consolidate widespread approval on two issues – changing the government system and a constitution for Israel. These things will contribute to governmental stability in Israel, something which we have been lacking for many years," said Olmert. Defense Minister Amir Peretz, speaking at the Labor party meeting, said:"To me this government is the right government in the current parliamentary situation in the Knesset. Peretz later added that a different coalition constellation might increase the government's chances of survival, even though the current one may "unfortunately create an even graver standstill in various areas."
Patriarch Delly: World has forgotten Iraqi Christians
by Yousef Hourany -In the aftermath of the murder of the priest Paulos Eskandar, the Chaldean patriarch denounced the indifference of the international community which, coupled with persecution, threatens to “empty” the Middle East of its Christian communities.
Beirut (AsiaNews) – Outside interference in Iraq as well as in Syria and Lebanon, coupled with the international community’s apparent indifference about the fate of the Christians in these countries, are concretely endangering the very existence of Christians in the Middle East. This was the view expressed by the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Emmanuel III Delly, the day after the murder of the Iraqi Syrian-Orthodox priest, Paulos Eskandar. Patriarch Delly, contacted by AsiaNews during his brief stay in Lebanon to participate in an Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Patriarchs of the East, talked about the situation in Iraq, which is not good because of “the interference of others in the life of a country which used to be, like Lebanon and Syria, a model of peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims, who lived harmoniously for more than 1,400 years.” The patriarch criticized the “role of the international community that is unable to control the dramatic situation in the country”. In an appeal to Iraq to return to peace and concord, he exhorted all men of goodwill to reinforce their support for its small Christian community.
Delly called for reflection on the forced exodus of many Christians because of persecution and the international community’s indifference. “There is the danger that the Middle East, the blessed land of God, will be emptied of its Christian presence,” he said. Already 80% have gone away, he continued, appealing for immediate aid to protect this “minority suffering because of the fratricidal war that has afflicted the country for many years”. Their departure is a “big loss not only for Iraq but for the cause of humankind, and it will have serious consequences for Muslims too.” Therefore, “let us defend the Christian presence in Iraq” despite the high price demanded of them by enemies of tolerance, forgiveness and welcome.
Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of the Chaldean Church for more than two years, pointed to the “need to keep the flame of the Christian presence burning in the land of Abraham”, exhorting Christians not to abandon the fertile land of Iraq. Delly recalled the commitment of the Holy See, which did not leave a single stone unturned in its efforts for a pacific Christian presence, with several missions undertaken by papal envoys since the start of the war. In Delly’s words, there is “continual violence” in today’s Iraq, which does not spare civilians, women and children, and which is destroying “the land and innocent men”. This makes the recently murdered priest, Fr Paulos Eskandar, all the more worthy of admiration as he refused to leave his flock despite all the threats he received. He showed “the strength of his faith in Christ, Lord of History”, also refusing to deny his faith. By his example, Christians “may learn to forgive and to persevere despite threats and challenges”. During his stay in Lebanon, Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly visited the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, at the seat of the patriarchate in Bkerke. Delly was accompanied by the Chaldean Bishop of Lebanon, Mgr Michael Kasargi, and by the Chaldean Exarch in Europe, Mgr Philippe Najem. He affirmed the attachment of all Christians of the East to Lebanon, described as a “message” by the late lamented Pope John Paul II, who believed that the “Christian presence in Lebanon is a necessary condition to protect the presence of Christians across the Middle East”.
UN force only protects Israel: top Shi'ite cleric
Mon Oct 16, 2006 6:57am ET
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon's top Shi'ite Muslim cleric said on Monday a reinforced international force on the Lebanese border was only there to protect Israel. Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah said United Nations peacekeepers were doing little to stop Israeli violations of Lebanon's sovereignty and urged the Lebanese to treat the force, UNIFIL, with caution.
"The widening of the scope of Israeli violations in the south and other areas in Lebanon and their repetition within the sight and hearing range of UNIFIL forces that don't interfere to stop these violations... affirm that these forces have come here to protect Israel not Lebanon," a statement from Fadlallah said."Therefore, it is the Lebanese people's right to put a question mark over its (U.N. force) role and to be cautious toward it in order to deal with it in a way that would protect Lebanon's security and peace." A U.N. resolution ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas on August 14. It also called for the deployment of up to 15,000 U.N. troops to join a similar number of Lebanese army troops in mainly Shi'ite south Lebanon. Israeli forces withdrew from virtually all of south Lebanon on October 1 but Israeli jets continue to fly over Lebanon.
Lebanon and UNIFIL say overflights violate Lebanese sovereignty and breach the U.N. resolution. But Israel has said the overflights would continue to help ensure that arms supplies do not reach Hezbollah from Syria. Israel has also not withdrawn from a small area of southern Lebanon which straddles the border between Lebanon and territory Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War.
Lebanon has since threatened to complain to the U.N. Security Council unless Israel leaves the Lebanese part of the Ghajar village.
Statements such as that of German Chancellor Angela Merkel who linked Berlin's decision to send a naval force to prevent Hezbollah from rearming by sea with Germany's "special responsibility for Israel's right to exist", have also upset many Lebanese politicians and officials.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
ANALYSIS - U.N. forces in Lebanon take al Qaeda threat in stride
Mon Oct 16, 2006
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon take seriously the threat implied by al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahri when he branded them "enemies of Islam" a month ago, while questioning the group's capacity to stage a spectacular strike.
The expanded U.N. mission, known as UNIFIL II, has gone relatively smoothly so far, with Hezbollah guerrillas ceding overt control of their southern strongholds to U.N. and Lebanese army troops and Israeli forces leaving all but one village.
But the risk of attack by Sunni Islamist militants lurks for UNIFIL, reinforced mostly by European troops since a truce stopped Israel's war with the Shi'ite Muslim fighters on Aug. 14. Troops from Muslim nations are also joining the U.N. force.
"The large presence of Western forces in UNIFIL could make it a tempting target for al Qaeda or a loosely affiliated group," said an official of a non-Lebanese Islamist group. "Statements by some countries that UNIFIL is here to protect Israel give them some justification to bring their war to Lebanon," said the official, whose group does not endorse al Qaeda's calls for global attacks on Western interests.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel drew criticism in Lebanon last month for linking Berlin's decision to send a naval force to prevent Hezbollah from rearming by sea with Germany's "special responsibility for Israel's right to exist".The damnation of UNIFIL by al Qaeda's deputy leader Zawahri has had no local echo since it was aired on Sept. 11, but neither the 5,200-strong ground force nor the German-led contingent patrolling the coast is ignoring it. "We're taking every threat seriously," Rear Admiral Andreas Krause said on Sunday when the German task force took over.
NAVAL NIGHTMARES
Thomas Jaensch, the captain of a German frigate, told reporters worst-case scenarios included attack by an "airborne device" or from an explosives-packed speed boat. "This happened to the U.S. Navy in Yemen," he said, alluding to the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. "It would be conceivable in this maritime area, but I think we'd be well-prepared."A U.N. security source said UNIFIL troops had taken protective measures on the ground, but there had been no increase in the alert level since Zawahri's remarks.
The Lebanese government, responsible for ensuring UNIFIL's security, says al Qaeda sympathisers are active in Lebanon, but that no group has specifically threatened the peacekeepers. "What Ayman al-Zawahri said may be serious because he is a serious man," acting Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat told Reuters in an interview on Saturday. "But such groups need a social base to work in and they don't have it in the (Shi'ite) south."
For now, UNIFIL can take comfort from a sense that Israel, Lebanon and Hezbollah all need a period of stability in the south after the bruising 34-day conflict that began on July 12. Hezbollah must regroup militarily and help its constituents rebuild their wrecked homes. Israel's government, under fire for its handling of the war, has little appetite for a new one.
Hezbollah has grudgingly accepted UNIFIL II, while warning it not to try to disarm or "spy on" its guerrillas or to deploy along the Syrian border, its main arms route in the past.
SECURITY COOPERATION
The Shi'ite group, which is backed by Syria and Iran, would probably be hostile to any Sunni militants seeking to upstage it on its own turf with attacks on UNIFIL.Before the war, Hezbollah worked closely with Lebanese authorities against al Qaeda-type groups, Fatfat said.
He said members of four such groups had been arrested in Lebanon this year, including one that had planned to bomb trains in Germany and an individual who had plotted with accomplices over the Internet to blow up a tunnel in New York. He said the four groups were not linked to each other, and the German bomb conspiracy had been technically primitive. Fatfat identified the Tripoli area in north Lebanon, the Palestinian camp of Ain al-Hilweh and parts of the southern Bekaa Valley as areas where al Qaeda might gain a foothold.
The northern city of Tripoli is a traditional Sunni bastion, but many Islamists there are closer to Saudi Arabia than to al Qaeda and are increasingly integrated in local politics, analyst Patrick Haenni of the International Crisis Group said. "They are turning from militants into notables," he said, adding that this could produce a vacuum in traditionally radical poor city districts which al Qaeda-type groups could exploit.
Haenni said Sunni militancy was more pronounced in squalid Palestinian refugee camps, off-limits to the Lebanese army.
A European diplomat, whose country is a UNIFIL contributor, said Syria might play a spoiling role, using Palestinian or Sunni Islamist groups to carry out attacks on foreign troops. Damascus says it is fighting al Qaeda, not sponsoring it.
The U.N. security source said the threat from such Sunni militant groups could not be discounted, despite the logistical difficulties they would face in organising a devastating attack. "I'm not saying you can't find people in Lebanon who would like to harm UNIFIL, or people who could be used to harm UNIFIL. But the main state and non-state players need UNIFIL. Any attack on UNIFIL would be against their interests," the source said.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Peretz: Gaza won't be Lebanon
In meeting with Knesset's Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, Defense minister says situation in Strip escalating, but steps to be taken towards calm
Ilan Marciano Published: 10.16.06, 13:39
Following a weekend of heavy fire in Gaza, Defense Minister Amir Peretz appeared before the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee and said that he had instructed the IDF to intensify operations in the area, in order to prevent arming of terror organizations.
"We're operating in the air, on the ground and underground searching for tunnels. We will hurt all terrorists, no matter from which organization," he said. In the security briefing that he gave committee members, Peretz stated that the situation in Gaza had intensified, but emphasized that security forces intended to prevent the situation from deteriorating in order to avoid entering an extensive ground operation in Gaza.
"We will not allow Gaza to become southern Lebanon. As far as we're concerned, the time has ended when we check the postmark of each and every missile that lands in Israel. We will target all terrorists." Peretz addressed the possibility of a comprehensive operation in Gaza, saying "the operations underway are in accordance to IDF and intelligence recommendations. I hope that things will not escalate. No one looks forward to extensive ground operations across Gaza. I prefer that political processes will become a restraining force, to prevent escalation."
Peretz also addressed the hazy signs of possible peace with Damascus, saying "Assad is two-faced and we are prepared in the event of an incident."
Advanced weaponry in Gaza
During the meeting, a senior intelligence officer described how terror organizations are smuggling anti-tank missiles and other advanced weaponry into Gaza. The threat of such weapons smuggling has become a more substantive one following the end of the second Lebanon war.
IDF sources posited that Palestinian terror organizations would try to arm themselves with anti-tank missiles, aided by Iran and Syria. Chief of the Shin Bet Yuval Diskin warned several months ago that the arming of these organizations was a strategic threat that much be addressed.
"If we don't deal with this problem properly, in a few years, the reality will be like that in Lebanon. We don't need to wait three years and then investigate what went wrong," he said at the time. According to Diskin, Palestinian terrorists are heeding lessons gleaned from the Lebanon war: "They understood the might of anti-tank missiles and guerilla warfare, as well as underground bunkers."
IDF sources reported that every new threat in Gaza requires different treatment from operating forces. The estimation is that advanced weaponry will continue to flow into the region. This past weekend, the IDF killed 11 Palestinian operatives in Gaza, during exchanges of fire. The IDF Operation 'The Four Species' was targeted primarily at preventing Qassam rocket launchings at Israel.
During the operation, Hamas operatives attempted to shoot anti-tank missiles at IDF forces. In response, soldiers fired a missile at the structure in which the operatives were hiding, killing seven. Four additional gunmen were killed, in two separate incidents, attempting to launch Qassams at Israel.
Lebanon calls for aid talks in Paris on Jan 15
Mon 16 Oct 2006 12:27:45 BST
(Adds details, background)
BEIRUT, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Lebanon, still struggling to recover from a devastating war with Israel, said on Monday it would hold an aid conference in Paris on Jan. 15. "It has been decided, and this is the decision that the cabinet has taken today, that the conference will be held in Paris ... on January 15th, 2007," Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
He said that French President Jacques Chirac had said he was prepared to host the conference in Paris.
Lebanon was due to hold the aid conference last year but scheduling it was repeatedly postponed. Israel's war with Hezbollah in July and August left much of southern Lebanon in ruins and crippled the country's economy, reviving the urgent need to hold the conference.
Even before the war, Lebanon was struggling to rein in a public debt of around $38 billion, whose servicing weighs heavily on public finances.
The International Monetary Fund has said it expects Lebanon's economy to contract 5 percent this year after the conflict and estimated that Lebanon suffered $3.5 billion in damage in an Israeli bombardment that began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12.
International donors pledged more than $940 million in August for Lebanon's immediate relief efforts at an aid conference in Stockholm. The World Bank also said it had approved a grant of $70 million to support the Lebanese government's reconstruction efforts.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
Lebanon Suspects Syria Involved in Beirut Terrorist Attack
11:13 Oct 16, '06 / 24 Tishrei 5767
(IsraelNN.com) Lebanese security officials suspect that Syria is involved in a Sunday attack near United Nations offices in Beirut, according to the Beirut Daily Star. However, they discounted the possibility that the attack, which wounded six people, was aimed at the U.N. offices.
It is the first time that civilian buildings were hit in downtown Beirut, perhaps as an attempt at destabilizing the country and causing security fears to spread, according to Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat. He told Reuters News Agency that someone close to Syria transmitted him a message that he and Prime Minister Fuad Siniora should "take care."
Syria 'aiding weapons smuggling'
JERUSALEM: Syria is aiding arms smuggling into Lebanon in violation of a UN resolution that ended 34 days of war between Israel and Hizbollah this summer, a senior Israeli intelligence officer said yesterday. "The weapons smuggling from Syria into Lebanon is continuing with official Syrian involvement," General Yossi Baidatz, head of the intelligence research department, told the weekly cabinet meeting. "Syria's President Bashar Al Assad continues to play an active role in the anti-Israel axis and supports Hamas, and Hizbollah," a senior government official quoted Baidatz as telling the cabinet. "There is conclusive and decisive evidence," Baidatz said. "Syria is continuing to sabotage the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 and is playing a conspirator's role in sabotaging Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora's ability to carry out his agenda," he said.
Syrian army defensive, general says
JERUSALEM, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- An Israeli general says the Syrian army has adopted a defensive, rather than offensive, stance since the war in Lebanon. Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, told Israeli ministers during their weekly meeting Sunday that Syrian president Bashar Assad believes Israel wants to attack Syria, the Jerusalem Post said. Baidatz said he believed that Assad provides backing to Hamas, the Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, and indicated that Assad helped to get weapons to Hezbollah, the Post said. Baidatz also told cabinet ministers that Hamas apparently was smuggling anti-aircraft missiles into the Gaza Strip, the Post said. If this information is correct, Baidatz said, it would mean that Hamas could better fight Israeli troop raids, the Post reported.
Olmert dismisses Syrian President Assad's call for peace talks
The Associated Press
Published: October 15, 2006
JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday rejected the possibility of talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying Assad was responsible for harboring terrorists and was attempting to destabilize the entire region, an official said.
Israel has accused Syria of providing weapons to the Hezbollah guerrillas before and during the recent war in Lebanon. Olmert said that since an Aug. 14 cease-fire went into effect, Syria has continued to meddle in Lebanese affairs and tried to undermine the country's pro-Western prime minister.
"It is not by chance that there is a Syrian decision together with Hezbollah to bring down the Prime Minister of Lebanon, (Fuad) Saniora," Olmert was quoted as telling ministers in Sunday's Cabinet meeting. "This is the same Assad with whom we are supposed to have a diplomatic process while Khaled Mashaal operates freely in his land?" he said. "This is the same Assad with whom we are supposed to have delusional talks about peace?"
Mashaal is the political chief of Hamas, based in Damascus, who leads the Islamic militant group's hardline approach of refusing the recognize Israel and renounce violence.
The official, who attended the meeting, spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter on the record.
"We want to make peace — peace with Israel," Assad told the German magazine Der Spiegel last month. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. broadcast last week, Assad said it remained to be seen whether Israel had the will to make peace.
During Sunday's Cabinet meeting, a senior military intelligence official said that Syria was preparing its army for a possible military conflict with Israel and was continuing to support the violent Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah groups. The official also said Syria was trying to smuggle weapons into Lebanon despite the arms embargo mandated in U.N. Resolution 1701, which included the cease-fire to halt the summer's war.
Olmert instructed the military to provide him with evidence of the arms smuggling.
Olmert added that ultimately the greatest threat to Israel came from Iran, and he was concerned about the precedent set by the nuclear test conducted last week by North Korea.
"Whoever takes the Korean matter lightly will soon find a nuclear weapon in Iran and ultimately a nuclear weapon in al-Qaida," he said.
JERUSALEM Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday rejected the possibility of talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying Assad was responsible for harboring terrorists and was attempting to destabilize the entire region, an official said.
Israel has accused Syria of providing weapons to the Hezbollah guerrillas before and during the recent war in Lebanon. Olmert said that since an Aug. 14 cease-fire went into effect, Syria has continued to meddle in Lebanese affairs and tried to undermine the country's pro-Western prime minister.
"It is not by chance that there is a Syrian decision together with Hezbollah to bring down the Prime Minister of Lebanon, (Fuad) Saniora," Olmert was quoted as telling ministers in Sunday's Cabinet meeting. "This is the same Assad with whom we are supposed to have a diplomatic process while Khaled Mashaal operates freely in his land?" he said. "This is the same Assad with whom we are supposed to have delusional talks about peace?"
Mashaal is the political chief of Hamas, based in Damascus, who leads the Islamic militant group's hardline approach of refusing the recognize Israel and renounce violence.
The official, who attended the meeting, spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter on the record.
"We want to make peace — peace with Israel," Assad told the German magazine Der Spiegel last month. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. broadcast last week, Assad said it remained to be seen whether Israel had the will to make peace.
During Sunday's Cabinet meeting, a senior military intelligence official said that Syria was preparing its army for a possible military conflict with Israel and was continuing to support the violent Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah groups. The official also said Syria was trying to smuggle weapons into Lebanon despite the arms embargo mandated in U.N. Resolution 1701, which included the cease-fire to halt the summer's war.
Olmert instructed the military to provide him with evidence of the arms smuggling.
Olmert added that ultimately the greatest threat to Israel came from Iran, and he was concerned about the precedent set by the nuclear test conducted last week by North Korea."Whoever takes the Korean matter lightly will soon find a nuclear weapon in Iran and ultimately a nuclear weapon in al-Qaida," he said.
Mexico probes Hezbollah financing links
October 13 2006 at 06:28AM
Mexican agents are investigating companies and individuals for possible financial ties to Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas, the government said on Thursday. Mexico launched the investigation after receiving a tip-off from the United States about six months ago that groups in Mexico had links to a US resident suspected of being involved with Hezbollah. Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca told reporters the probe has so far turned up "nothing special" and no illegal activities. "Some financial, economic relations have been found... with some people, some companies," he said, playing down media reports of a Hezbollah operation inside Mexico. 'We're not talking about a cell per se' "We're not talking about a cell per se," he said during a trip to Washington. The US government considers Hezbollah a terrorist organisation, although its political party made major gains in Lebanon's parliamentary elections in 2005 and it holds two cabinet posts in the government.
High Court to expand panel of judges for Lebanon war inquiry petitions
By DAN IZENBERG
For the second time in 10 days, the High Court of Justice on Sunday indicated that it is taking seriously petitions calling for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry to replace the Winograd Government Committee of Examination into the recent war in Lebanon.
The panel of three justices, headed by Ayala Procaccia, that has heard the case so far decided on Sunday to expand the number of justices. This is an indication that Procaccia and Justices Miriam Naor and Elyakim Rubinstein believe a serious legal issue is at stake and the decision must indicate a broader consensus than the usual bench of three. According to the decision, "we have decided to expand the panel of justices who will continue hearing the case. The decision as to how many, and which, judges will be appointed will be made by the president of the court, Dorit Beinisch."
The separate petitions were submitted by government watchdog organizations Ometz and The Movement for Quality Government. They charged that the Winograd Committee did not have the necessary status and prerogatives to investigate the war, and that it had been appointed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz, two of the main personalities that need to be investigated by the committee. The petitioners maintained that only a state commission of inquiry appointed by the president of the Supreme Court, would have the necessary independence to do the job properly. The law does not oblige the government to appoint any type of committee of inquiry. According to Section 1 of the 1968 Investigation Committee Law, the government "may" establish a state commission of inquiry, "if it is sees that there is a matter of vital importance at that moment which requires clarification." The petitioners argued that in previous rulings, the court did not rule out the possibility of ordering the government to appoint a state commission of inquiry in exceptional circumstances. If there was ever a time to apply that ruling, it was now, the petitioners maintained. After a preliminary hearing on October 3, the court headed by Procaccia issued a show-cause order instructing the government to provide a detailed response, including an affidavit signed by an authoritative government representative, responding to the petitioners' arguments.
The response was submitted last week. The state argued that the court should not intervene in a matter in which the law gave the government such wide discretion to decide whether or not to appoint a state commission. It also maintained that the government-appointed Winograd Committee had virtually the same powers as a state commission of inquiry and that its members were not caught in a conflict of interests since there were no benefits, but only hard work, involved in being appointed to the committee.
Syria ‘stirring trouble’ in Lebanon
10/16/2006
Source ::: REUTERS
beirut • Syria is bent on destabilising Lebanon, whose security forces are not yet strong enough to prevent more possible assassination attempts, Lebanese acting Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat said. Fatfat told Reuters in an interview on Saturday that he had recently received a message from someone close to the Syrians, telling him and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to "take care". The message had said the Syrians were "more angry than before February 14, 2005", the date of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri's assassination, Fatfat said. He did not spell out what had riled Damascus. Fatafat, a Sunni Muslim member of the anti-Syrian Future Movement, said he was sure Syria still had informants in Lebanon, despite its troop pullout last year. "The (Lebanese) security services are more powerful now, but not enough to control everything," he added.
ADIH announces $600 million project in Beirut - Lebanon
MENAFN - 16/10/2006
(MENAFN) Abu Dhabi Investment House (ADIH) has announced its $600 million project in the centre of Beirut will go ahead, as four world-renowned architects arrive in the City to finalize the design master plan, Gulf Daily News reported. The architects are in Beirut to take part in the final (of four) design workshops for Beirut Gate, which will be an integrated commercial and residential sea view project in the Beirut Central District, commonly known as Solidere. The development will comprise eight plots spread over 21,448sq/m and a built-up area of 178,500sq/m overlooking the famous Martyrs' Square of Lebanon, downtown Beirut and the Mediterranean. Beirut Gate is located near Foch-Allenby, an area famed for its historic and diversified architecture, blending Ottoman, Italian and French styles, Place de L'Etoile, and the main shopping district. Established in 2005, Abu Dhabi Investment House is promoted by leading financial institutions and a group of prominent businessmen and investors from the Gulf region.
Aoun calls for 'true representation' as rain ruins rally
Mp accuses cabinet of 'neglect'
Daily Star staff-Monday, October 16, 2006
BEIRUT: Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun told an abortive rally on Sunday that Lebanon's future could only be saved by a national unity government and the establishment of "equal and fair" relations with other countries. Addressing a press conference at a Rabieh hotel after heavy rains washed out a rally scheduled for Michel Murr Stadium in Dora, Aoun said that the "natural course" to "a strong national authority starts by forming a national unity government."
Thousands of supporters braved the wet weather to watch the former general's speech on large-screen televisions set up at the marina in Dbayyeh The FPM and its main ally, Hizbullah, have repeatedly called on the March 14 Forces-led Cabinet to resign, accusing it of corruption and a failure to meet its responsibilities during and after the recent war. "If we want to get out of the current crisis, we must start by establishing a national authority based on true representation," Aoun said.The FPM rally officially commemorated the former army commander's war on the Syrian presence in Lebanon, launched on August 13, 1990. The commemoration had been postponed due to the war that ended on August 14.
"The current government ... neglects people's needs ... and spreads corruption in the country," Aoun said. "This government doesn't represent the Lebanese and it doesn't bring them comfort ... It takes critical decisions unilaterally and annuls the role of monitoring institutions.
"They tell you that if the government is changed the country will fall into political void, but in reality you are living this void through a ministerial statement that was not executed."The MP also dismissed international support extended to the government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
"It is in vain that some cling to the legitimacy of this authority by claiming that the world's countries deal with it and recognize it," he said.
"We know that these countries have always dealt and continue to deal with de-facto regimes without being able to give them legitimacy. The legitimacy of authority springs from the people's will. "I warn them against wasting their last window of opportunity to build this nation, which has to pass through the path of forming a national unity government," he added.
Aoun also reiterated his call for the drafting of a new electoral law to "ensure true representation of powers on the ground" and early elections to form a new Parliament, which would then "elect a president who would form a new government in accordance with the Constitution and customs."
The MP has repeatedly expressed his desire to hold the Lebanese presidency.
"Building the state and its reform," he argued, "occurs by strengthening the rule of the law, through the principle of separation of powers ... It is impossible for a state to be built on corruption and bribery."Aoun also called for normalized relations with Syria based on mutual respect and equality.
"This calls for emphasizing the Lebanese nationality of Shebaa Farms and a total demarcation of the borders between both countries and monitoring it," he said.As for the status of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Aoun declared that the "failure of the international community to find a solution allowing the Palestinian refugees to return to their land will not cause Lebanon to transform their temporary status in Lebanon into a permanent one."
He called for the establishment of a "serious and prompt dialogue with the Palestinian Authority and its representatives in Lebanon to find a final and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue."Any such solution, he continued, must ensure "decent living conditions inside the camps and adopting necessary measures to allow free movement of Palestinians inside and outside of Lebanon" and solve "the issue of Palestinian arms since they are not justified and have actually become a national concern."Aoun said that Hizbullah's weapons were also "temporary.""We are looking for a proper frame to end the role of these arms," he said. "It is Lebanon's right as a sovereign, free and independent state to utilize all means to defend its land and its people against any aggression or interference in its internal affairs," he added. Aoun also urged his followers to embrace democracy and encourage non-violence. "The need for reform and change is growing across the country," he said, in reference to the FPM's Reform and Change parliamentary bloc. "From this point, we believe in democracy as a base for ruling and a lifestyle," he said. "We stress a modern Arabism that is open and interactive with all cultures. And we consider that Lebanon has a role in spreading the culture of peace in its region and the rest of the world." - The Daily Star
Can Aoun convince his supporters to rise to his challenge?
Monday, October 16, 2006
Editorial-Daily Star
MP Michel Aoun's remarks during a news conference on Sunday went well beyond the mudslinging, finger-pointing and sloganeering that have dominated the Lebanese political arena in recent weeks. Although the Free Patriotic Movement leader did issue the expected criticisms of the current government, he also went further by outlining a full-fledged political program and issuing a long list of reform proposals.
Virtually no major national issue was left unaddressed in Aoun's speech. At the core of the vision he outlined is "the establishment of a modern, democratic and just state that serves the interests of all the Lebanese people in terms of achieving justice and democracy." Aoun not only described the end goal of a modern state, but he also identified ways of getting there. He spoke of the need to promote national unity and do away with sectarianism and discrimination in all their forms. He called for a modern electoral law, administrative transparency and accountability, equality under the rule of law and a system of checks and balances. He highlighted the need to mend relations with Syria on the basis of mutual respect, and urged Damascus to demarcate the border and exchange diplomatic representation. He also called for "a fair, incorruptible, and independent judiciary," something which this newspaper has repeatedly urged the parliamentary majority to create.
No one can deny that Aoun's remarks reflect the opinions of the majority of the country's citizens. In fact, many of the reforms that Aoun called for on Sunday are items that have long been languishing on the parliamentary majority's agenda. Since nearly all the country's politicians have voiced support for political reforms, there is no reason not to meet the challenge of implementation. As Aoun himself said on Sunday, "great nations are those that can couple their political discourse with real application." Having issued this challenge, it is now up to Aoun to urge his bloc to meet it. As the head of the Reform and Change parliamentary bloc, Aoun comands a sizable group of 22 MPs. Together with their allies in Hizbullah, which hold 14 seats in Parliament, these deputies lack the power of a tsunami, but they are nonetheless well placed to make major waves. They can draft legislation to bring about the reforms that the majority says it supports, and in doing so either move the country forward or expose the obstructionism of those who are holding it back. Then everyone in Lebanon will know which parties are willing to put their words into action.
Syria Is Stirring Up Lebanese Civil Strife, Stoking Two Anti-Israel Warfronts
From DEBKA-Net-Weekly 272 Updated by DEBKAfile Special Military Report
October 16, 2006,
Expectations of an impending full-scale Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip were sent up a notch this week by the worrying news military intelligence AMAN chiefs put before the cabinet on Oct. 15.
Maj.-Gen Amos Yadlin and head of AMAN’s research division Brig.-Gen Yossi Baidatz reported deepening Syrian involvement in aggressive moves on three fronts: Damascus is pushing Iranian arms for Hizballah into Lebanon in blatant violation of Security Council resolution 1701 (as first revealed by DEBKAfile on Oct. 4), the first Syrian military instructors have arrived in the Gaza Strip to impart Hizballah’s combat tactics to Hamas and the Syrian army remains on a high state of preparedness.
These moves against Israel represent only half of Syrian president Bashar Asad’s grand design; and the weapons streaming to Hizballah are a small part of the arms smuggled into Lebanon. The lion’s share is destined for six pro-Syrian factions in Lebanon in preparation for the forcible overthrow of Fouad Siniora’s anti-Syrian government in Beirut, should his adherents in Beirut, spearheaded by Hizballah and his Maronite Christian general Michel Aoun, fail to attain power by political machinations.
A major step aimed at inflaming the Lebanese-Israel border region was taken by the pro-Syrian Lebanese chief of staff General Michel Suleiman last Friday, Oct. 13. He authorized Lebanese officers and men deployed on the border to summon Hizballah forces to fight in any border clash.
This order restored Hizballah to the flashpoint border zone just two months after it was supposedly evicted by the UN-brokered ceasefire of August 14. By getting Hizballah reinstated in its old frontline strongholds, Syria and Iran have put the finishing touches on one of the Lebanese front, one of their three war edifices against Israel after Gaza and Golan. These fronts are primed to squeeze Israel hard any time Iran comes under threat of military attack.
This encroaching multiple hazard catches the Israeli government and its armed forces without a remedy. The aftershocks of the Lebanon war are still not fully digested; neither are its mistakes admitted in Jerusalem.
UNIFIL too, which has committed to defer to the Lebanese government and army in all matters, now finds itself obliged to accept Hizballah’s inflammatory presence under Lebanese army sanction and therefore under its own aegis – another full-circle contradiction of the terms of Resolution 1701.
Syrian-Iranian-Hizballah domination is therefore in the bag. So too is the armament of Syria’s primary helpers in Lebanon, which were first outlined in detail by DEBKA-Net-Weekly of 272 of Oct. 6, 2006:
1. The largest recipients are Syria’s veteran tried-and-true allies, led by the clandestine Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), which is now awash with anti-tank rockets, mortars, heavy machine guns, explosives, automatic rifles and crates full of shells and other ammo. Made up mostly of Greek Orthodox Christians, the sinister SSNP has been a key operational arm of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon since the 1980s. It is closely allied with Hizballah and various other terrorist organizations.
2. Other major recipients are the Sunni Muslim militias of the northern Lebanese Tripoli district, the Sunni and Christian militias of the al Aakur region northwest of Tripoli, and the Christian Faranjieh Clan of Zgharta, whose lands lie southeast of Tripoli.
3. Then there are the communities who oppose the anti-Syrian factions of Lebanon. One is the Druze following of Talal Majid Arslan, rival of the extreme anti-Syrian Druze chieftain Walid Jumblatt, who not only resists Syrian influence in Lebanon but is daggers drawn against the Asad regime in Damascus.
4. Syria is also rapidly arming the Maronite Christians of Michel Aoun’s Patriotic Movement. Aoun has become the most powerful Lebanese ally of Hizballah’s Hassan Nasrallah and the leading Maronite opponent of Fouad Siniora and his pro-American, pro-French government.
The irony is that in May 2005, the United States and France brought Aoun back from his long Paris exile as their candidate for the Lebanese presidency. Quite soon, they withdrew their patronage; he was left with the choice of quitting politics and Lebanon or transferring his allegiance to the pro-Syrian camp and Hizballah. He opted for the latter.
5. The Shiite Amal militia headed by the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, which in recent years was overshadowed by Hizballah, is now on the receiving end of weapons and training by Syrian and Iranian instructors disguised as civilians.
6. The south is a mix of rival forces. Syria has further stirred the stew by lavishing arms on the Sunni and Christian family militias, the enormously wealthy and powerful Saad and Bizari clans of Sidon, who are adversaries of the Hariri clan and its head, the son of Rafiq Hariri, the Lebanese politician assassinated in February 2005.
A senior Western intelligence source posted in Lebanon told DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s intelligence sources: “Even a cursory survey of the recipients of Syrian arms supplies shows us Bashar Asad scouting for candidates to fight another civil war in Lebanon on his behalf. The most insignificant splinter willing to rally to the pro-Syrian flag is getting a dollop of hardware.”
Asad is clearly in a hurry to capitalize on the setbacks his enemies suffered in the Lebanon war to turn the clock back and restore his stranglehold on his small neighbor by one means or another. A civil flare-up might be headed off by the success of Nasrallah’s scheme to displace the Siniora government and substitute a pro-Syrian administration dominated by his own Hizballah and General Aoun.
Damascus would profit by -
A: An invitation to come riding back into Lebanon for a deeper and broader role than ever before.
B: The humiliation of the United States and France for booting Syria out of Lebanon two years ago.
C: The crowning of Hizballah – and therefore Iran – as victors of the Lebanon war with the last word in this episode.
D. Another knock to Israel’s standing and reputation.
E. The European peacekeepers would be sent packing without further ado by the pro-Syrian government in Beirut.
For the time being, it is hard to see Ehud Olmert, his ministers and chief of staff, whose performance in the Lebanon was sorely wanting, finding their way out of the thickets which have sprung up in its aftermath.