Israeli minister: Hezbollah agents entering Gaza By JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press – Thu Jan 27, 2:25 pm ET
JERUSALEM – Israel's minister of strategic affairs said Thursday the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group has infiltrated agents into the Gaza Strip to train Palestinian militants.Gaza is ruled by the Hamas militant group, which, like Hezbollah, is sworn to Israel's destruction.The minister, Moshe Yaalon, Israel's former military chief of staff, told reporters that Hezbollah experts can get into the Gaza Strip, like the Iranian rockets are coming to the Gaza Strip. He said Hezbollah militants can go from Lebanon to Sudan, then to Egypt and on to Gaza.Israel charges that archenemy Iran sends rockets and other weapons to Gaza militants, smuggling them into the seaside strip through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.Yaalon said Hezbollah has a special unit, called 1800, to deal with the Palestinian militants. He said the Lebanese guerrillas also operate in the West Bank, paying militants.
Yaalon offered no evidence to support his claims.Israel has long accused Hezbollah and its Iranian backers of supporting Palestinian militants, but officials have said little about an actual physical presence of Iranian-backed militia in Gaza.Hamas has often denied that foreign forces are in Gaza. On Thursday, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called Yaalon's claim fabricated, and said all the factions in Gaza are Palestinians.Yaalon's office said Hezbollah has been infiltrating Gaza quietly since Israel withdrew in from the seaside strip in 2005.Israel and Hezbollah fought a bitter monthlong war in 2006, when Hezbollah rained almost 4,000 rockets on Israel as Israeli forces caused widespread destruction in Beirut and south Lebanon. A year later, Israel launched a punishing war in Gaza to try to put a stop to daily rocket attacks by Gaza militants.Associated Press writer Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City contributed to this report.
Lebanon overshadows U.S. ambassador's return to Syria
By Khaled Yacoub Oweis – Thu Jan 27, 1:47 pm ET
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – The United States resumed full diplomatic relations with Syria on Thursday just as tensions are growing again over neighboring Lebanon, where Damascus ally Hezbollah has gained the upper hand in a political crisis.New U.S. ambassador Robert Ford presented his credentials to President Bashar al-Assad, an official Syrian statement said, six years after Washington withdrew its top envoy following the assassination of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq al-Hariri.Assad wished Ford success in his mission, and the ambassador in turn said he hoped for improved U.S.-Syrian relations, which were downgraded in 2005 due to U.S. suspicions of Syrian involvement in the assassination -- which Damascus denies.But the diplomatic niceties masked differences over Lebanon where businessman Najib Mikati is trying to form a new government with support from the Shi'ite movement Hezbollah.This followed the crisis which pitted the armed group against U.S.- and Saudi-backed Sunni political leader Saad al-Hariri, son of the assassinated politician who was well connected in the West.
In a sign of tension over Lebanon, U.S. Senator John Kerry canceled a visit to Damascus that had been due this week, one diplomat said.President Barack Obama used a Congressional recess to bypass Republican opposition and nominate Ford.Obama went out of his way to send Ford. He will be expecting something in return. Lebanon is an obvious area but the Syrians realize that the United States does not have much more to pressure them with, another diplomat said.Washington imposed sanctions on Syria in 2004 for supporting Hezbollah and other militant groups, but the diplomat said it might not have many other tools for pressuring Damascus. Syria is already under U.S. sanctions. I think the Americans are scratching their head about what to do, he said.
Washington has also sought to weaken the alliance between Damascus and Iran. It is still pushing to resume peace talks between Syria and Israel, diplomats said, pointing out that Frederick Hoff, a U.S. official versed in the so-called Syrian-Israeli track, visited Damascus this month.Syrian political commentator Ayman Abdel Nour said Damascus was not averse to compromise if it felt the United States was lessening support for an international tribunal on the Hariri killing, which Syria views as a tool in the hands of its foes.An international investigation implicated Syrian security officials in the assassination. Damascus denies involvement.The United States is keeping the tribunal card close to its chest. But Syria is stronger on the ground in Lebanon, Abdel Nour said. He dismissed the possibility of Washington resuming a policy of internationally isolating Syria because Damascus has built ties with countries such as its northern neighbor Turkey.Ankara was not keen to see Saad al-Hariri fall from power, he said, but Turkey had enough interests with Syria to keep Damascus as an ally.Hariri fell from power after a deal collapsed between Syria and Saudi Arabia to push for a compromise involving their allies over the tribunal, which Hezbollah expects to indict its own members. The group deny any role in the killing.Billionaire Mikati, a friend of Assad, is now Lebanon's prime minister-designate.(editing by David Stamp)
US takes tougher line with Egypt, Arab allies By MATTHEW LEE and BRADLEY KLAPPER, Associated Press – Wed Jan 26, 4:52 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration sharpened its response to political upheaval and brutal crackdowns in Egypt on Wednesday, telling its closest ally in the Arab world it must respond to its people's yearnings for democracy as the largest political protests in years swept Cairo streets.But with no clear picture emerging of a democratic and pro-Western alternative to the three-decade rule of Egypt's authoritarian President Hosni Mubarak, it was unclear how hard the United States was willing to press its case.A day after delivering a measured response to Egypt's demonstrations, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Egypt had to adopt democratic and other reforms and allow peaceful protests. She told Cairo to lay off social media sites like Facebook and Twitter even as activists are using them to organize street gatherings and destabilize the government.The White House declined a direct opportunity to affirm support for Mubarak, who traveled to Washington to meet President Barack Obama just four months ago. Asked if the administration still backed Mubarak, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs would say only: Egypt is a strong ally.The tougher tone came as the U.S. struggles to confront an explosion of instability in the Middle East as Arabs from Tunisia to Yemen rebel against decades of political repression. Adding to the confluence of crises is the emergence of an Iranian-backed militant movement as Lebanon's dominant force and potentially embarrassing revelations creating new obstacles to Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Clinton said Mubarak's government had the power to ease tensions with anti-government activists, who defied an official ban on protests Wednesday by pelting police with firebombs and rocks in a second day of clashes. Police forces used tear gas and fired live ammunition in the air to disperse demonstrators. Some people were beaten.I do think it's possible for there to be reforms and that is what we are urging and calling for, Clinton told reporters at a State Department news conference with visiting Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.It is something that I think everyone knows must be on the agenda of the government as they not just respond to the protests but as they look beyond as to what needs to be done.The protests against Mubarak's three-decade grip on power were inspired by the ouster of another long-time leader, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in a popular uprising nearly two weeks ago.The day before Ben Ali fled into exile in Saudi Arabia, Clinton delivered a stark warning to Arab leaders across the Middle East that they faced possible revolt if they failed to address rampant social problems, repression and corruption that have alienated their populations, particularly the educated youth. Foundations of development and progress in the region were sinking into the sand, she warned.But having spent billions of dollars supporting its few Arab friends for decades, the United States is nearly as large a target for the unrest as the authoritarian regimes under siege.U.S. officials won't paint the problem as one of democracy versus loyalty, but Washington's labored approach to the protests in different countries illustrates a complicated blend of political idealism and realpolitik. It also points up the unpredictability of the tinderbox of Arab populism.Egypt represents the greatest challenge because of its strategic position bridging two continents, leadership status in the Arab world, lasting peace with Israel and the possibility of a hardline, Islamist movement filling the vacuum were Mubarak to be deposed.
The United States has urged peaceful political change in Egypt for years, but has tolerated routine police, judicial and human rights abuses there. It has provided Egypt with tens of billions of dollars in aid since it made peace with Israel in 1978. Last year, the country got more than $1.5 billion in economic support and military assistance from the U.S.Unlike Tunisia, a second-tier U.S. ally, Egypt has been the bulwark of American influence in the Middle East and served as an economically impoverished but politically powerful intermediary in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and beyond. When Mubarak last visited the White House in September it was to help relaunch moribund peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.Waiting in the wings is the Muslim Brotherhood, a cross-border Arab movement that has presented itself as the main opposition to Mubarak's rule in Egypt. That prospect is frightening to the United States and other Western nations because of its opposition to Israeli-Palestinian peace and much of the U.S. agenda in the region. Mubarak's weakened health in an election year and the questionable support for hereditary transfer of power to his son Gamal underscore the unsure footing for the country.
Jordan, the only other Arab state to make peace with Israel, is similarly vital to U.S. interests. Standing beside Clinton at the news conference, Judeh downplayed the chances of protests like those Tunisia and Egypt erupting in his country. He allowed that Jordanians have vented over rising oil and food prices, but maintained his country has the political openness to allow debate and dissent.That may not be the case in Yemen, a nation plagued by corruption, inequality and political divisions and which has emerged as a main battleground against al-Qaida. Yemen's government under the weak president Ali Abdallah Saleh fails most democratic litmus tests, but it has allowed U.S. drone strikes on suspected terrorists on its soil and become a key counterterror partner. It is unclear how instability and upheaval there would serve American interests. Linked to all of these crises is the diminished power of the United States — from global economics, where high U.S. unemployment and debt contrasts with booming growth rates in China, to the Middle East, where an intractable Iran has extended its influence over a large swathe of the Arabian peninsula.The U.S. has spent hundreds of millions promoting a pro-Western government in Lebanon, but saw the fragile coalition toppled by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which gets its backing from Iran. Hezbollah now holds the power in a new government being formed. That the process occurred constitutionally hasn't made it any easier for Washington to accept, and the Obama administration is threatening to withhold further direct support.Clinton said Wednesday that Israeli-Palestinian talks remained the No. 1 priority for the region, but an elusive peace deal six decades in the making was further complicated by this week's release of papers alleging wide-ranging Palestinian concessions.Clinton insisted that the U.S. remained absolutely committed to the peace process, though there's little to indicate that sentiment is shared by all parties.A final deal remains the official U.S. goal for this year, but prospects for such a monumental achievement failed to warrant even a mention in President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday — a suggestion the administration isn't too hopeful, either.
PA, Fatah can no longer speak for Palestinians
– Wed Jan 26, 2:08 pm ET
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories (AFP) – Gaza Islamists said on Wednesday that the Palestinian leadership could no longer speak for its people after leaked reports of its cooperation with Israel.Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials said after a meeting of several groups that all were agreed that deals made with Israel by president Mahmud Abbas's western-backed Palestinian Authority and his Fatah movement were invalid.The participants declared ... that the Fatah authority was not entitled to speak in the name of the Palestinian people and that no agreement it makes with the occupier is binding upon our people, senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan told AFP.
On Sunday, Al-Jazeera television began releasing what it says are more than 1,600 documents known as The Palestine Papers, which have exposed some of the far-reaching concessions Palestinian negotiators have offered Israel during 10 years of secret peace talks.The leaks also purport to show close security cooperation between the Abbas administration and Israel in a common fight against Hamas, which is Fatah's bitter rival and is pledged to destroy the Jewish State.In Wednesday's Gaza gathering, Islamic militants agreed on the need to restructure the Palestine Liberation Organisation in a way that makes it relevant to the Palestinian people and to stop negotiations (with Israel), Khaled al-Batsh, a local Islamic Jihad leader told AFP.On-off Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in September over Israel's settlement policies and Abbas is refusing to renew then until Israel halts building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Arab world experts at Davos call for reform By Dan Perry, Associated Press – Wed Jan 26, 1:14 pm ET
DAVOS, Switzerland – The head of the Arab League said Wednesday that Arabs were angry and frustrated and the name of the game is reform — a call lent urgency by turmoil of recent days, when a corrupt regime was overthrown in Tunisia and several people died in anti-government riots in Egypt.Arab League's Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who is Egyptian, spoke to reporters at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where a panel of Mideast economic experts convened separately to tackle the same question — and generally agreed the region needs better education, more transparent regimes, and cleverer business strategies.The issue that set off controversy at the closed session had to do with one characteristic the region's diverse countries generally share: the absence of genuine democracy. Audience members pushed the idea but the assembled experts seemed more skeptical — and, tellingly, most would not be quoted on the issue.One exception was Ennis Rimawi, a Jordan-based managing partner of Catalyst, a private equity firm specializing in energy and water technology.He said the efforts by Dubai to build a global financial center had inspired progress in other Gulf states, in clean energy, research and development and other areas. The Gulf was poised to be an economic powerhouse (with) a spillover effect in the poorer countries ... I'm very optimistic with the current leadership in place, largely in the (Gulf).
One panelist said the region needed strong but benevolent leaders — ones who would allocate resources fairly and transparently and nudge societies toward progress. It was the failure to sufficiently provide for the people this way that doomed the authoritarian leadership in Tunisia, he suggested.Another argued democracy was not part of Arab culture, with its respect for elders, tribalism and patriarchal traditions.A third suggested democracy was desirable — but not before the public was better educated and would not vote along tribal lines.Rimawi said Mideast nations should key on areas where they might naturally dominate, and identified three: the purchase of oil- and gas-related technical services needed by its main export industries, desalination-related business to resolve the water shortage, and solar energy to exploit the abundance of sun.But seizing these opportunities will be difficult under existing circumstances: Panelists noted that the Arab world lagged badly behind other regions in key innovation indicators such as patents per capita, and was generally seen as faring poorly in contract enforcement.
There was widespread agreement that the main problem was education.Many people have degrees but they do not have the skill set, said Masood Ahmed, director of the Middle East and Asia department of the International Monetary Fund. In part, this is because schools were turning out graduates prepared for work in the public sectors that dominate many of the region's countries — and not for driving a vibrant private sector more likely to innovate.The scarce resource is talent, agreed Omar Alghanim, a prominent Gulf businessman. The employment pool available in the region is not at all what's needed in the global economy.Ahmed said another problem was that most of North Africa's trade — some 80 percent — was with Europe, a region that was growing far slower than Asia and other parts of the world. For the region to better its current growth rate of some 4 percent — insufficient to leap out of the widespread poverty, especially given high population growth — it needed to diversify its industries and export markets.There were disagreements on whether the region's dirigiste economies were working. One panelist noted Dubai's government-mandated drive to create a world city inspired other regional states, while another said that the Arabs as a whole would never prosper in the Twitter generation until people were empowered and entrepreneurs freed of bureaucracy.
In his comments, Moussa said the Arab world was in flux.There is turmoil in the Arab world for so many reasons, internal as well as regional, and even international, he said.The Arab citizen is angry, is frustrated. That is the point. So the name of the game is reform.Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who was also attending the Davos forum, agreed that the solution is reform. But he warned that leaders might fear that if you open the door just a little, you cannot control it again.I hope they will take the right decision and move in the right direction and not clamp down,Annan said, adding that he expects what happened in Tunisia to have repercussions even beyond North Africa.Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report.
Iran's allies gain clout and possible softer edges By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press – Wed Jan 26, 11:46 am ET
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – From the Afghan badlands to the Mediterranean, evidence of Iran's reach is easy to spot: a mix of friend and foe for Kabul leaders, a power broker in Iraq, deep alliances with Syria and a big brother to Lebanon's Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza.Tehran's proxy portfolio suddenly has a bit more aura after Hezbollah's political gambit — bringing down a pro-Western government in Lebanon and moving into position to pick its successor.To those keeping score, it would appear that Iran is winning some important points around the Middle East at the expense of Washington and its allies.But such gains have potential built-in costs, experts say. With Iran's extended family increasingly joining the ranks of power — first in Gaza, then Iraq and now Lebanon — there also comes pressure to moderate and make other compromises often required from those in charge.It eventually could bring some uncomfortable contrasts for Tehran — with its partners in the region embracing more flexible policies and Iran facing more sanctions and isolation for refusing to make concessions over its nuclear program.Certainly there is more visible Iranian influence around the region, said Salman Shaikh, director of The Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. But these are no longer just vassals of Iran. As they move into political roles, there will be changes that Iran cannot control. We shouldn't look at Lebanon as a zero-sum game between Iran and the West.
The same may hold true elsewhere.In Iraq, influence from Iran is on the rise now that backers of militant Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have joined the government in Baghdad, which already had deep ties with Iran. Al-Sadr remains fiercely opposed to American occupiers — which his Mahdi Army militia battled for years.But al-Sadr — who took refuge in Iran in 2007 — showed hints of trying to cultivate a more statesmanlike demeanor during his first visit back to Iraq. Al-Sadr this month held meetings that included pro-Western figures such as President Jalal Talabani and urged Iraq's majority Shiites and Sunnis to look beyond their past bloodshed.There's little chance that al-Sadr will ease his demands that the Pentagon stick to its timetable to withdraw all troops by the end of the year. And his Iranian links are obvious. At a speech in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, his guards wore Iranian style outfits: identical gray suits with shirts and no ties.Yet now he has to answer to the Iraqi people about rebuilding the country, said Hadi Jalo, a political analyst at Baghdad University. He goes from outsider to insider and that means he has to look in all directions, including the West, and not just toward Iran.
Syria, too, appears to be facing similar choices.Earlier this month, the first U.S. ambassador to Syria since 2005 took up his post in Damascus. Washington hopes the deeper diplomatic engagement will further nudge Syrian President Bashar Assad into the Western fold and perhaps make him more receptive to future talks with Israel and appeals to cut support for Hezbollah.About a week later, Iran's acting foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, held talks in Syria over regional developments, said Syria's state news agency SANA.High on the agenda was the political upheaval in Lebanon and their roles as co-patrons of Hezbollah, which became heroes in the Muslim world for its war with Israel in 2006. The Shiite militant group has added to its stature by becoming Lebanon's king-maker: On Tuesday, Hezbollah picked billionaire businessman Najib Mikati as its choice for prime minister.Lebanon's government fell after months of tensions over a U.N.-backed investigation into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Many Lebanese blamed the killing on Syria and Hezbollah — with huge protests forcing Syria to end its 29-year military presence in Lebanon and opening the way for a pro-Western government led by Saad Hariri, the slain politician's son.The Hague-based tribunal has issued indictments, but they have not been made public. Many expect Hezbollah to be named.
Mikati, however, immediately sought to ease worries that Iran was now pulling the strings in Lebanon.I am not in a confrontation with the West, he told the private LBC station. We are looking to build good relations with the West.To some, it's not an empty promise — even as the Obama administration reconsiders its economic and military support for Lebanon, which has totaled $720 million since 2006. Israeli officials and others have noted that important U.S. allies in the Arab world, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, have raised no serious objections to the U.S.-educated Mikati despite their deep-seated worries about Iran.Saudi Arabia, however, advised its citizens Wednesday not to travel to Lebanon until the return of calm and stability.Lebanon will not suddenly become more Iranian or more Hezbollian than it was two days ago, said a commentary in the Israeli daily Ha'aretz. It will primarily be more Syrian, and that is a major difference, as Syria — which seeks to move closer to the United States and, thanks to France, sees itself as close to Europe — does not want Iran to seize control in its traditional sphere of influence.That still doesn't lessen the entrenched suspicions many Lebanese have toward Hezbollah and its backers in Iran.A secret diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks describes an April 2008 meeting in Beirut in which Lebanon's telecommunications minister at the time, Marwan Hamadeh, tells a U.S. diplomat about a fiber optics network installed in Hezbollah-controlled areas. The memo, from the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, said Hamadeh called it a strategic victory for Iran's telecoms agency by creating an an important Iranian outpost in Lebanon that further binds Hezbollah to Tehran.
Earlier this week, Lebanon's Sunnis staged two days of riots, decrying Shiite Hezbollah for leading what they called an Iran-linked coup in bringing down Hariri's government and bringing in one of its own choosing.Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born political analyst based in Israel, said the unrest cannot be ignored by Iran's ruling clerics.It was Hezbollah's actions that convinced many Sunnis to pour into the streets ... shouting Death to Hezbollah, he said.This is something which Israel, despite its massive military superiority, could never achieve. Food for thought for Iran's senior decision makers.Iran also was stung by demonstrations in Afghanistan this month over Tehran's decision to temporarily suspend shipments of fuel over suspicions they were aiding NATO forces. Fuel prices shot up as much as 70 percent in impoverished Afghanistan. It was a display of both Iran's importance as an economic lifeline to Afghanistan and its apparent sympathies for groups fighting U.S. forces and others. Iran has deep cultural and linguistic ties to much of western Afghanistan, which was once part of the Persian Empire.U.S. officials have alleged that Iran is providing weapons and other support to the Taliban and the so-called Quetta Shura — or governing council — believed led by Taliban commander Mullah Omar. It would, however, be an alliance of convenience that could strengthen the same forces that once targeted Iranians.Iran was a staunch opponent of the Taliban when it ruled Afghanistan before the U.S.-led invasion triggered by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.In the short-term, Iran is playing its hand well, especially in Lebanon,said analyst Javedanfar. This will boost Iran's position in the region as well as its leverage in negotiations with the West over its nuclear program. However, the Iranian are not playing the long-term game very well.
Anger in Lebanon as Hezbollah-backed Mikati named PM
by Jocelyne Zablit – Tue Jan 25, 9:13 pm ET
BEIRUT (AFP) – Hezbollah-backed billionaire Najib Mikati has been named Lebanon's prime minister-designate, giving the Shiite militant group increased clout in the deeply divided nation and sparking angry protests.President Michel Sleiman asked the tycoon Tuesday to form a government amid a day of rage by fellow Sunnis who blocked roads and burned tyres in anger at his nomination, prompting France and the United States to voice concern.The US accused the Iran- and Syria-backed Hezbollah of wresting government control by force, and vowed that a UN-backed tribunal trying the killers of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri -- which Hezbollah has been accused of trying to fend off -- would press on with its work.Mikati shortly after his appointment rejected attempts to cast him as Hezbollah's man and said he would cooperate with all Lebanese to form an inclusive government.Don't prejudge me or my behaviour, please, especially the international community, the 55-year-old told AFP in an interview.I say in all honesty that my nomination by Hezbollah does not mean I am bound by any of their political positions, except as concerns the protection of the national resistance, he said, referring to the Shiite militant group's struggle against neighbouring Israel.
Hezbollah and its allies brought down the government of the Western-backed Saad Hariri, Rafiq's son, on January 12 after a long-running standoff over the UN-backed probe into the senior Hariri's 2005 assassination.The militant group has said it believes some of its members will be indicted by the Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which it has denounced as part of a US-Israeli conspiracy.The make-up of Lebanon?s government is a Lebanese decision, but this decision should not be reached through coercion, intimidation and threats of violence,US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a statement.Unfortunately, Hezbollah, backed by Syria, engaged in all three in pursuit of its political goals, he said.The work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is of vital importance to stability, security and justice in Lebanon. Its work will continue, Crowley's statement added.
Mikati, who is close to Syria and is considered a moderate, earlier told reporters that he would reach out to all parties in forming his government.Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah echoed him, saying: The new government will not be a Hezbollah government nor will it be led by Hezbollah ... We don't want power.Protests had turned violent in the northern Sunni bastion of Tripoli, where frenzied demonstrators torched an Al-Jazeera van and ransacked offices of a local Sunni lawmaker who backed Mikati.Demonstrators also blocked roads in several other areas, including the capital Beirut, the southern coastal city of Sidon and the eastern Bekaa region.There were no immediate reports of any casualties, a security official told AFP.Mikati's appointment has angered Sunnis who see it as a bid by Hezbollah to sideline outgoing pro-western premier Hariri and impose its will in Lebanon.
According to Lebanon's power-sharing system, the country's prime minister must be a Sunni.I am a Sunni Muslim and I refuse to allow anyone to impose their candidate for premiership on our community, said Um Khodr, 50, who was among thousands of demonstrators in Tripoli.We will remain in the streets until the traitor Mikati leaves the post.Mikati told AFP that he would seek to address the thorny issue through dialogue.Stopping the tribunal today is no longer a Lebanese decision, he said, adding that Lebanon's cooperation with the tribunal was another question altogether. He did not elaborate.The United States, which continues to blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation, warned that a Hezbollah-controlled government would affect bilateral ties.A Hezbollah-controlled government would clearly have an impact on our bilateral relationship, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters.She said Washington was following closely and carefully developments in Beirut and harboured deep concerns about the influence of outside forces.Former colonial power France expressed concern for the stability of Lebanon and called for Mikati to form a government without outside interference.
Gaza rockets hit Israel, no casualties: army
– Tue Jan 25, 2:54 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Two rockets fired by militants in the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel on Tuesday evening but there were no reports of casualties, the Israeli army told AFP.Israeli media said that the two home-built Qassam rockets landed in open ground near a kibbutz in the Sdot Negev district, just east of the coastal strip.
Two weeks ago, Gaza's main militant factions agreed to observe a period of calm after weeks of increased rocket fire and rising tensions along the border which prompted a warning from Arab leaders that there was a risk of a major new Israeli invasion.Gaza's Hamas rulers said they would ensure the national consensus truce was observed and deployed forces along the border zone.Since then the border has mainly been quiet, although one rocket was fired on January 17 and the following day Israeli tanks staged a rare incursion into the northern Gaza Strip, killing one Palestinian and wounding two, medical officials said.In the weeks before the latest truce, Gaza militants fired scores of rockets into the Jewish state, prompting a flurry of retaliatory air strikes and raising fears of another massive operation along the lines of the 2008-9 war.The 22-day conflict, which ended in a ceasefire on January 18, 2009, killed 1,400 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, and 13Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.
UN chief condemns suggestion of Sept 11 cover up
– Tue Jan 25, 1:35 pm ET
GENEVA – The U.N. chief says a U.N. appointed expert on Palestinian rights made preposterous remarks when he alleged an apparent cover-up by U.S. authorities involving the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned Tuesday what he called the inflammatory rhetoric of Richard Falk, a U.N. special rapporteur appointed by the U.N.'s Human Rights Council in Geneva.Falk suggested the cover-up in a blog post this month and criticized mainstream media for being unwilling to look into doubts about the attacks in New York and Washington.Ban told the council that such statements undermine the U.N. and are an insult to the more than 3,000 people who died.Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. in New York, also said Tuesday she is appalled by Falk's remarks.
Violence erupts during Lebanon day of rage
– Tue Jan 25, 6:14 am ET
TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AFP) – Protests turned violent on Tuesday in Lebanon's Sunni bastion of Tripoli as frenzied demonstrators torched an Al-Jazeera van while protesting the likely appointment of a Hezbollah-backed premier.Angry demonstrators set upon the vehicle, smashing the windshield and tearing down the satellite dish before setting it on fire, AFP reporters witnessed.Demonstrators also torched the mopeds of other media outlets considered close to the Iranian-backed Shiite group Hezbollah.An AFP photographers witnessed similar incidents in the capital Beirut, where media considered close to the Shiite militant Hezbollah and its allies were attacked by stone-throwing and baton-wielding demonstrators.There were no immediate reports of injuries in the city, where there was a heavy security presence.A security official told AFP shots were fired in the air in Beirut. Shots also rang out in Tripoli.
The demonstrators in Tripoli also attacked a building housing the offices of Sunni lawmaker Mohammed al-Safadi breaking windows, doors and throwing furniture from the second-floor balcony.Safadi had been allied with outgoing premier Saad Hariri's Western-backed coalition but is now backing the Hezbollah-backed candidate for premiership.The incidents came amid a day of rage by the country's Sunni community to protest the likely appointment of billionaire businessman Najib Mikati, who hails from Tripoli, to head the next government.Hezbollah's opponents view Mikati's candidacy as a bid by Hezbollah to impose on the Sunni community their choice for the premiership.According to Lebanon's power-sharing system, the country's prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim.
