Source: twitter.com --- 7 hours ago ya_libnan: Hariri: None of the wars with Israel was ever launched by Lebanon / #Germany #Hezbollah #Israel #Lebanon #Syria http://ow.ly/16NEU7 ...
Source: www.yalibnan.com --- 8 hours ago In an exclusive interview on Friday Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri told DPA the failure of the international community to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the heart of Lebanon’s tense relationship with the Jewish state, which is constantly searching for a pretext to attack Lebanon. “War in the region has never been due to a decision taken by Lebanon. Any war is a direct result of inaction on the part of the international community and the failure to move seriously on the peace process,” the 39-year-old son of assassinated Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri said in Beirut, ahead of a three-day visit to Germany starting Sunday. Israel and Lebanon have traded threats in recent months over the apparent build-up of forces by Hezbollah along the border between the two states. In 2006 Israel invaded southern Lebanon and bombed Beirut in response to what it saw as the Hezbollah threat. Hezbollah and Lebanon’s other political factions have returned to the so-called National Dialogue despite tensions over the fact that Hezbollah — now a part of the government — refuses to concede that it having its own heavily armed militia is at odds with democratic politics. Hariri brushes over the arms issue. “This is not the first time that Hezbollah has been part of the government. This goes to show how the Israelis are always looking for pretexts. Hezbollah is represented in Parliament as a result of democratic elections.” The group, which h ...
Source: www.yalibnan.com --- 1 day ago Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized during an interview with As-Sharq radio station those who claim that “Lebanon should be defended by its state, people, army and Resistance ” saying it is a combination that no history could tolerate. “No state in the world could co-exist with a revolution,” Geagea said. Geagea said weapons outside the control of the state either in Palestinian camps or in bases outside the shantytowns or with Hezbollah are a sign of abnormality. Geagea said the national dialogue is meant to discuss all weapons outside of the state’s control, whether it be the Palestinian’s or Hezbollah’s arms.He added : “It would be better to continue with dialogue even if practical results were not achieved.” March 14 alliance: In response to the recent concerted attacks by members of March 8 alliance , Geagea said “Critics attempting to isolate the LF are also targeting the March 14 alliance”, Geagea said the annual March 14 alliance meeting set to take place at the Bristol Hotel on Sunday is a routine meeting that the coalition has held since 2005. Earlier in the week, General Secretariat Coordinator Fares Soueid said the March 14 alliance would re-launch a unified political vision during the conference. Christian community Geagea said that there have been various attempts throughout history to isolate the Christian church, but they have failed. He added that the Bkirki initiative undertaken by Maronite Patriarch Nas ...
Source: www.alsumaria.tv --- 1 day ago In New York, Michael Williams, the UN special coordinator for Lebanon belittled theories talking about the possibility of a new war between Israel and Hezbollah however he called on all relevant parties to desist from inflammatory statements. He told reporters that he briefed the Security Council ... ...
Source: www.yalibnan.com --- 2 days ago Syria’s ambassador to UN has again protested against the inclusion of Damascus in U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon’s reports on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1701 without taking into consideration the Syrian point of view. “It has become unacceptable to continue to mention Syria in those reports,” Syrian Ambassador to the UN Bashar Ja’afari wrote in identical letters to Ban and the council president, Gabon. Ban accused Syria of smuggling arms to its Hezbollah ally in Lebanon, delaying demarcation of borders with Lebanon and of fostering Palestinian militant organizations along the Lebanese Syrian borders. In a letter Jaafari said the U.N. chief should instead focus on the daily violations of Lebanese airspace by Israeli fighter jets. Jaafari also sent letters to Ban and members of the Security Council in which he reiterated that demarcation of the border between Lebanon and Syria is a bilateral issue. Jaafari also denied the presence of armed Palestinian bases on the Lebanese-Syrian border saying the bases are only present on Lebanese territories. Ja’afari assured Ban that relations with Syria and Lebanon, following Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s visit to Syria last December, will grow stronger in the coming months. He said that Hariri’s visit “marked a historic shift in Syrian-Lebanese relations. Discussions were held on all aspects of relations between the fraternal countries and means of enhancing (them) in all f ...
Source: en.newsxs.com --- 3 days ago Yahoo! News : International : The Christian Science Monitor - Lebanon’s top politicians have resumed a series of round-table discussions to devise a national defense strategy, at the heart of which is finding a compromise over the militant Shiite Hezbollah’s powerful military ... ...
Source: www.csmonitor.com --- 3 days ago The most powerful politicians in Lebanon resumed discussions on national defense, with questions of how to rein in Shiite political party Hezbollah's powerful military wing on the table. ...
Source: pewresearch.org --- 4 days ago Muslim publics are split on extremist groups, including Palestinians who oppose their own such group (Hamas) but support Hezbollah. ...
Source: www.earthtimes.org --- 5 days ago Beirut - Lebanon's rival political parties on Tuesday held a national dialogue to discuss defence strategy for the country - in the presence of Hezbollah representatives who refused to discuss their own movement's arms. Hezbollah, which has backing... ...
Source: twitter.com --- 5 days ago ya_libnan: Gemayel: keep Lebanon out of the game of axes' / #Hezbollah #Iran #Lebanon #National Dialogue #Syria http://ow.ly/16KYuZ ...
Source: elderofziyon.blogspot.com --- 5 days ago Today, various Lebanese groups are meeting to discuss " defense strategy " - and there is great disagreement over what that means: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the mere fact that dialogue will resume is a "positive sign." "The mere fact that the key parties are meeting even if they don't reach quick results is also a good sign," Geagea said in remarks published Monday by the daily An-Nahar. Politicians from rival parties are due to meet Tuesday for a new session on defense strategy under President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace. National dialogue was launched in March 2006, before the devastating summer war between Hizbullah and Israel, to determine the fate of the weapons held by the group. But it has been delayed several times because of the country's successive political crises. Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government has failed to resolve the thorny issue of Hizbullah arms since its formation in November, when it defeated the Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition. Hizbullah has refused to disarm since the end of the 1975-1990 Civil War and insists that its weapons are necessary to defend Lebanon against Israeli aggression. He noted that the "only" item which remains for discussion on the dialogue table was Hizbullah weapons. "So, there is no room for argument," Geagea said. "The topic has already been determined and Hizbullah arms fall under the defense strategy." "We look at the matter from this angle," he added. H ...
Source: www.yalibnan.com --- 5 days ago A meeting was held Monday on the eve of the national Dialogue talks between Prime Minister Saad Hariri, former PM Fouad Saniora, Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel and Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea . The meeting led to agreement that the defense strategy should be the only item for discussion. The four leaders, according to Al-Liwaa newspaper also agreed to raise the issue of Arab League involvement in dialogue sessions on the basis that the defense strategy is both a Lebanese and Arab responsibility. Also prior to the talks Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt called for a “gradual solution” to the issue of the resistance that would lead to the eventual integration of Hezbollah fighters into the Lebanese army “This issue, however, should be discussed under appropriate conditions for the resistance politically and militarily,” Jumblatt said in remarks published Tuesday by the daily As-Safir. He said this issue should be discussed after the Lebanese army’s defense capabilities were strengthened and not before. Jumblatt said the defense system should include anti-aircraft guns, surface-to-air missiles as well as anti-armor and ground defense weapons. He stressed the need to deal with the issue of the defense strategy in a “comprehensive manner and in accordance with the prevailing conditions, and not from the standpoint of the resistance’s arms.” During the dialogue talks Tuesday Marada Movement leader MP Suleiman ...
Source: www.iloubnan.info --- 5 days ago Le dialogue national qui reprend ce mardi au Liban sur le sort de l'arsenal du Hezbollah chiite a peu de chances d'aboutir, cette question étant largement tributaire de puissances régionales comme l'Iran, estiment des analystes. ...
Source: gatewaypundit.firstthings.com --- 5 days ago Barack Obama nominated a US ambassador to Syria in February after a 5 year absence . The US recalled its Ambassador in the wake of the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005 and speculation over Syrian involvement. The UN investigation is still ongoing. Iranian regime President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Syrian dictator Assad and Hezbollah terror leader Hassan Nasrallah met for dinner last month in Damascus. Hassan Nasrallah (far right) has made few public appearances since 2006. This dinner was held right after US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns’s visit with Assad in Damascus. Watching Barack Obama’s Middle East foreign policy is like watching a horror movie. Barry Rubin at The Jerusalem Post reported: The stories of the US engagement with Syria and the sanctions issue regarding Iran’s nuclear program are fascinating. Each day there’s some new development showing how the Obama administration is acting like a deer standing in the middle of a busy highway admiring the pretty headlights of the automobiles. It’s like watching the monster sneak up behind someone. Even though you know he won’t turn around, you can’t help but watch in fascinated horror and yell: “Look out!” But he pays no attention. Briefly, the Syrian government keeps punching the US in the face as Washington ignores it. On March 1, a new record was set. The place: State Department daily press conference; the star, spokesman P ...
Source: www.fox13now.com --- 5 days ago BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's rival political groups have resumed national reconciliation talks and Hezbollah's weapons are a main topic on the agenda. ...
Source: www.cnsnews.com --- 5 days ago Lebanon's political parties are holding a "national dialogue" on Tuesday to discuss a defense strategy for the country, but Hezbollah has made it clear that the subject of its weapons arsenal will not be on the table. ...