Israel defends Jerusalem evictions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JERUSALEM (CNN) — Israel moved to defend itself in the face of international criticism Monday over its eviction of dozens of Palestinian families from a neighborhood of Jerusalem they have lived in for generations.
Left-wing Israeli activists protest against the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in east Jerusalem.
“I think a lot of the criticism is simply not fair,” said Mark Regev, a government spokesman, who described the dispute as a legal one between two private parties over who had title to a property in East Jerusalem.
In the court action, a settler group sued claiming the Palestinians had violated an agreement under which they were allowed to live in the houses.
“As you know, the Israeli court system is independent and professional,” Regev said, referring to the Supreme Court’s decision that paved the way for the evictions. “Many times it goes on the Palestinian side if they think that’s where the justice is and, in this case, they ruled in favor of the Jewish side.”
After the Palestinians were moved out, two Jewish families moved in.
Regev’s comments came a day after the evictions drew widespread condemnation.
“Israel, the occupying power, once again has shown its commitment to the settler organizations by evicting more than 50 Palestinians, many of them children, from the houses where they have lived for more than 50 years,” chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said in a statement.
“Tonight, while these new settlers from abroad will be accommodating themselves and their belongings in these Palestinian houses, 19 newly homeless children will have nowhere to sleep.”
Regev said he understood the plight of those Palestinian families who slept Sunday night on the streets, but suggested they should have made other plans.
“They chose for this political statement,” he said. “Really, they should have known this was coming and made correct preparations.”
And he denied the suggestion that the evictions were part of any systematic effort to move Palestinians out of East Jerusalem and move in Jewish families.
“There is no such government policy,” he said. “On the contrary, here you see a situation where private people bought private property and that’s what it is, and the court dealt with a land dispute between two private groups of people.”
The United States, the United Nations and the European Union condemned the move.
“We are all, in the international community, very upset,” U.N. Special Envoy Robert Serry said as he surveyed the scene.
None of the new Jewish residents wanted to talk with CNN.
In the United States, a State Department spokesman urged Israel to refrain from “provocative actions.”
“As Secretary [of State Hillary] Clinton has stated previously, the eviction of families and demolition of homes in East Jerusalem is not in keeping with Israeli obligations under the Roadmap,” said Robert Wood, referring to the 2003 “Roadmap for peace” plan.
“We urge that the government of Israel and municipal officials refrain from provocative actions in East Jerusalem, including home demolitions and evictions. Unilateral actions taken by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community.”
Senior State Department officials told CNN that Acting Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Feltman had conveyed the United States’ concern to the Israeli ambassador in Washington.
Israel has claimed East Jerusalem as part of its sovereign capital since taking the eastern part of the city from Jordan during the Six-Day War in 1967.
Also condemning the evictions were British diplomats.
“We are appalled by the eviction in East Jerusalem this morning,” the British Consulate said. “These actions are incompatible with the Israeli professed desire for peace. We urge Israel not to allow the extremists to set the agenda.”
The evictions happened as Israel and the United States have been increasingly at odds over U.S. President Barack Obama’s insistence that Israel’s government freeze all settlement activity as a necessary step toward advancing negotiations with Palestinians.
Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took strong public exception to American requests that an Israeli building project in the disputed and mostly Arab East Jerusalem be stopped.
The Bush administration had no problem with such projects as long as Israel built within the construction lines of existing settlements in the occupied West Bank.
UNIFIL to build fence on Blue Line to guard against Zionist cows
BEIRUT: United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is in the process of erecting a fence in the southern Kfar Shuba area with the aim of preventing cows from Israeli flocks crossing the Blue Line and using Lebanese water supplies, a spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
The fence, which will be erected by the Spanish contingent of the UN peacekeeping force, will be two meters high and surround the Baathaiil Lake once finished in the next ten days.
A UNIFIL spokesperson told The Daily Star that they are assisting the Lebanese authorities by creating the fence “in order to prevent cattle crossing around the Kfar Shuba region.”
Media reports on Monday suggested that the fence, once erected, will allow Lebanese shepherds to pass over to the opposite side of the lake.
The spokesperson could not confirm these reports but said that “[UNIFIL] has been requested by the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces]” to implement the fence’s construction. There are currently no plans to build additional Blue Line fences in the region.
Recent reports of incursions by Israeli livestock have been condemned by Kfar Shuba municipality officials as violations of Lebanese sovereignty and, by extension, Israeli transgression of UN Security Council resolution 1701 – which stipulates that both countries must acknowledge the UNIFIL-administered Blue Line, demarcated after Israeli military withdrew from South Lebanon.
This comes a month after a UNIFIL meeting, in which municipality members urged peacekeepers to keep Israeli cows out of Lebanon by any means necessary.
Jumblatt says he’ll join Sleiman’s bloc in upcoming cabinet
PSP leader’s shift in stance receives praise, criticism
BEIRUT: Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblatt announced on Monday that his party would align itself with President Michel Sleiman in cabinet, a day after the PSP leader said he was reconsidering his membership in the March 14 Forces. In an interview with MTV Monday evening, Jumblatt defended his decision to distance himself from March 14, saying that he was “an exceptional and independent case.”
“I am going to join the president, which is considered as a guarantee when deciding on the big issues,” he said.
“I will examine the conditions when I have to vote in Parliament and the cabinet,” he said, adding that “In the cabinet, we will join the president.”
Asked whether his departure from March 14 would obstruct the cabinet formation, Jumblatt said: “There are enough MPs in the Democratic Gathering to vote with the majority.”
The PSP politburo exerted efforts on Monday to clarify Jumblatt’s stances to long-term ally and Future Movement leader Premier-designate Saad Hariri, after his announcement sparked outrage among March 14 factions and received praise from some opposition parties.
Speaker Nabih Berri, a leading member of the opposition, on Monday said Jumblatt’s remarks were likely to have repercussions on the March 14 Forces.
Jumblatt’s remarks are said to cap a gradual swing in his political stance that could weaken the March 14 Forces’ influence in the cabinet that Hariri is trying to form. Jumblatt’s departure from the coalition would strip the alliance of the majority it won in the June parliamentary elections and weaken its position in the coalition cabinet which Hariri aims to forge.
Speaking on Sunday at the opening of the PSP general assembly, Jumblatt questioned his alliance with March 14, saying “it was driven by necessity and must end” and stressed the need to consider forming a new alliance “free of bias.”
He also slammed the March 14 Forces’ electoral campaign, saying it was “driven by the rejection of the opposition on sectarian, tribal and political levels rather than being based on a political platform.”
Opposition parties, including the Syrian Social Nationalist Party and the Lebanese Communist Party, welcomed Jumblatt’s shift in stance.
Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel, a March 14 member, said Jumblatt’s shift in position was “not surprising.”
“Some have forgotten March 14’s sacrifices for Lebanon,” he told reporters following a meeting with Tourism Minister Elie Marouni on Monday.
Gemayel added that while certain goals can be achieved through political repositioning, “this should not be at the expense of other parties, which were honest and transparent.”
Meanwhile, March 14’s General Secretariat said the coalition and Jumblatt “have diverging views on numerous issues.”
The Secretariat’s general coordinator, former MP Fares Souaid, said the March 14 Forces were “keen to preserve Walid Jumblatt’s weight and position inside the coalition.”
“We refuse, however, to engage in a dispute with him,” Souaid said on Monday.
Souaid said overnight contacts with PSP officials confirmed that Jumblatt was still part of March 14 Forces.
Souaid said that the March14 Forces and Jumblatt were at odds “mainly concerning the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,” to try the Hariri assassins. He added that Jumblatt considered “civil peace as more important than justice.”
Souaid claimed Jumblatt’s remarks were made under pressure from Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
On Monday, PSP caretaker Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi and MP Wael Abu Faour, both members of the Future Movement, led contacts to clarify Jumblatt’s remarks to Hariri and other members of their party.
Hariri’s “Lebanon First” parliamentary bloc is expected to hold a meeting on Tuesday to discuss Jumblatt’s latest stances.
The Future Movement issued a statement late Sunday night underlying its commitment to the “Cedar Revolution.” It also said each political party has the right to adopt its own stance.
“The Future Movement believes in the right of each political party to adopt the stance and slogans that it wants,” it said in a statement. “However, the interest of the Lebanese citizen comes before any other party or movement.”
Implicitly lashing out at Jumblatt, the Future Movement said some politicians needed to be “reminded of their shameful history, when they fulfilled their own personal interests on top of the nation’s interests.” – with Reuters
Nasrallah: Israel behind Der Spiegel claims
Hizbullah leader says his remarks on May 7 clashes ‘taken out of context’
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah accused Israel on Monday of being behind a report implicating his party in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and called the claim “very, very dangerous.” “The report in Der Spiegel is very, very, very dangerous,” Nasrallah said in comments transmitted via video link to thousands of supporters massed in Hizbullah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“I consider the report in Der Spiegel an Israeli accusation that Hizbullah killed the martyr Rafik Hariri and we will deal with this claim as such,” he said.
“Israel has issued its verdict in the Hariri case,” he said in a speech marking the ninth anniversary of the 2000 withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
Germany’s Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday that the UN commission probing the Hariri murder had new evidence that Hizbullah special forces “planned and executed” the Beirut car bombing on February 14, 2005.
The attack killed the billionaire former premier and 22 other people.
“Through this report they [the Israelis] are saying that if the international community does not punish Hizbullah then Israel will punish it along with its leader,” he added. Israel has reacted to the report by calling for an international arrest warrant for Nasrallah.
“The report in Der Spiegel on Nasrallah’s direct involvement in the assassination of Hariri should raise concern in the entire international community,” Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Sunday.
“He should have an international arrest warrant issued against him, and if not, he should be arrested by force,” he added.
A spokeswoman for the prosecutor at The Hague-based tribunal said it was unclear where the German magazine had gotten its story.
“The office of the prosecutor doesn’t comment on any issues related to operational aspects of the investigation,” the spokeswoman said.
Der Spiegel’s report comes ahead of a June 7 election pitting Lebanon’s US- and Saudi-backed parliamentary majority against an alliance headed by Hizbullah, supported by Syria and Iran.
Nasrallah said the report was clearly aimed at sowing discord between the country’s Sunnis – most of whom back the majority in Parliament headed by Hariri’s son Saad – and the Shiites, most of whom back Hizbullah and its allies.
“The Israelis and the Americans wondered how to scuttle the election and influence its outcome. Der Spiegel was their answer,” Nasrallah said.
“Spiegel … and the Zionists are saying: ‘Oh Sunnis, those who killed your leader are the Shiites and more specifically Hizbullah,” he said. “As such, your vengeance and your war should be directed at them.”
President Michel Sleiman on Monday described the Der Spiegel report as “suspicious,” saying it harmed the Hariri tribunal’s work.
Sleiman said he was confident the tribunal would not be used for political purposes.
The Hizbullah chief in his hour-long speech, which was met with celebratory gunfire in Beirut, also warned that his troops would be on alert when Israel launches one of its biggest military man oeuvres ever at the end of this month.
“No one will see us, no one will see our weapons, no one will know we’re there,” he said. “If you [the Israelis] are stupid enough to enter our land, we will destroy your troops and your army.”
Hizbullah fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006 that killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, most of them soldiers.
The Sayyed said that his earlier statements, in which he described the May 7, 2008 armed clashes as “a glorious day,” were “taken out of context,” adding, “May 7 was a painful and sad day, because civilians died and property was destroyed.”
Nasrallah urged supporters to “vote massively” for opposition tickets all across Lebanon,” he also praised his ally Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) leader MP Michel Aoun, describing him as “an honest and patriotic man.”
“This is not a temporary electoral alliance, but a national, responsible and strategic alliance,” Nasrallah said of his party’s alliance with Aoun.
“[Aoun] has a complete and clear vision. The embassies have no influence on this man, and no one can tell him what to do. This man is loyal to Lebanon as a unified nation with a unified people, and he is one of the most reliable leaders for the Christians,” he added.
According to Nasrallah, political differences must be resolved between the March 14 alliance and Aoun “before we reach an understanding with them, or make any kind of contact.”
Nasrallah said his party fights Israel “to protect all of Lebanon and all the Lebanese not only the Shiites.”
“No one can take anything from us through threats or intimidation, but you can take all that you want by just being loyal. We are loyal to those who are loyal to us,” he said. – The Daily Star, with AFP
Embassy: Germany has no information on magazine’s report
BEIRUT: The German Embassy in Beirut said on Monday Germany has no information regarding a report by the weekly Der Spiegel suggesting Hizbullah was behind the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
An embassy statement said Germany supports “independence” of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Germany’s Der Spiegel reported on Saturday that the UN commission probing the murder had new evidence that Hizbullah special forces “planned and executed” the Beirut car bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people.
Also on Monday, Syria dismissed as “lies” the German magazine’s report. “I invite the prosecutor to use his prerogatives concerning these lies which undermine the international investigation,” Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told a news conference.
Syria, a key backer of Hizbullah, has been widely blamed for Hariri’s murder but Damascus has repeatedly denied any involvement.
Two months after the February 14, 2005, attack, Syria pulled its troops from Lebanon under international pressure ending nearly three decades of domination over its small neighbor.
Moallem described the report as “insignificant” and urged Der Spiegel to probe “who wrote the article and who is behind it.” - The Daily Star, with AFP
Jumblatt thankful for Nasrallah’s ‘kind words’
CHOUF: Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat thanked Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday for his “kind words” during the latter’s Monday night speech.
On Sunday, Jumblatt had described a report by German newspaper Der Spiegel, accusing Hizbullah of direct involvement in the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, of aiming to sow the seeds of strife in Lebanon, adding that it was “worse than the Ain al-Rummaneh bus incident.”
The Ain al-Rummaneh bus incident is considered to have flared up Lebanon’s 1975-90 Civil War.
“I salute the courage of Mr. Walid Jumblatt’s latest remarks because his analysis of the situation is correct and I endorse it,” Nasrallah said in his speech
Speaking to Al-Jazeera news television on Tuesday, Jumblatt underlined the “dimension” of Nasrallah’s words.
Jumblatt said the Der Spiegel report was “similar to Israel’s pretext of 1982 when it used the [Palestinian Liberation Organization's assassination attempt on its ambassador to London Shlomo Argov] as an excuse to launch its invasion Lebanon.
Der Spiegel on Saturday carried out a report suggesting Hizbullah plotted and executed the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Der Spiegel report could cause civil unrest
A report that Hizbullah was behind the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri is a dangerous claim which could spark civil strife as Lebanon prepares to hold crunch elections, analysts believe. “If the Special Tribunal for Lebanon comes out and confirms the report, we could be facing an all-out civil war,” Paul Salem, head of the Beirut-based Carnegie Middle East Centre, told AFP of the UN-backed probe into the murder.
“On the other hand, it could be just a report in a newspaper.”
Germany’s Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday that the UN commission probing the Hariri murder had new evidence that Hizbullah special forces “planned and executed” the Beirut car bombing on February 14, 2005. The attack killed the billionaire former premier and 22 other people.
“We don’t know where they are getting the story from,” a spokeswoman for the prosecutor at The Hague-based tribunal said. “The office of the prosecutor doesn’t comment on any issues related to operational aspects of the investigation.”
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Israel was behind the allegations, which he rejected, late on Monday in a speech marking the ninth anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal in 2000 from southern Lebanon after 22 years.
Der Spiegel’s claims come ahead of a June 7 election pitting Lebanon’s US- and Saudi-backed parliamentary majority against an opposition alliance headed by Hizbullah, supported by Syria and Iran.
Hizbullah called the report “pure fabrication” and a bid to influence the election and deflect attention from a crackdown on alleged Israeli spy networks.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem called the report “lies which undermine the international investigation.”
Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, an expert on Hizbullah, said although the majority in Lebanon has so far refrained from capitalizing on the allegations, the tables could turn at any moment.
“I would say the very dangerous implications it could have had have fizzled out, particularly as no officials of the majority camp have used it,” she said. “But if [the majority] uses the report against Hizbullah, then of course we’re going to see instability in Lebanon, and that’s putting it mildly.”
Last May, clashes between opposition and pro-government gunmen led to more than 110 deaths and took Lebanon close to another civil war.
Analysts questioned the timing of the Der Spiegel report, saying it was no coincidence it came before the elections and amid the espionage crackdown.
“The nature of the report is provocative, its timing is far from naive and, coupled with the Israeli reaction, it is a clear attempt to incite unrest,” said Fadia Kiwan, head of political science at Beirut’s Saint Joseph University.
“One word could set the streets on fire.”
Israel on Sunday reacted to the report by urging the arrest of Nasrallah.
Der Spiegel said Hizbullah is implicated in Hariri’s murder through the discovery of two linked mobile phone networks belonging to the militant group’s “operational arm.”
It said a secret unit of Lebanese security forces, led by intelligence expert Captain Wissam Eid, filtered out the numbers before Eid was himself murdered in January 2008.
A Hizbullah commando unit is also thought to be behind Eid’s killing, Der Spiegel said.
Saad-Ghorayeb called the reference to Eid and his unit a bid to sow discord between Hizbullah and state security services which have been cooperating on the spy rings.
Since January Lebanon has charged at least 18 suspects, including a retired general, with spying for Israel.
“There are so many powers that would want to implicate Hizbullah in this and tarnish its reputation before the election,” Saad-Ghorayeb said. “But most people don’t buy the report.
“The evidence is way too flimsy.” - AFP
Lebanese army colonel arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel
A Lebanese army colonel has been detained on suspicion of spying for Israel, security sources said on Tuesday. The sources said the colonel was arrested last week and was being questioned about links to Israeli spy agencies. Lebanon’s MTV television identified the colonel as Mansour Diab from Akkar.
Lebanon is holding up to 30 suspects in what security sources say is a widening investigation into espionage for Israel.
At least 21 suspects have already been charged, some in absentia, and several have confessed, the authorities say. A former Lebanese general is among those charged.
Israel has not commented on the arrests.
On Tuesday, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) Information Department arrested three more suspected spies in two separate Palestinian refugee camps in the southern, coastal city of Sidon.
Collaborating with the Palestinian police, the ISF apprehended Samir al-Hajj and Abu Hani Farhan in the Ain al-Hilweh camp and Khaled al-Qun in Mieh Mieh.
Lebanese officials have displayed what they say is sophisticated communications equipment and other gadgets found in the homes or offices of some of the suspects.
Lebanon says at least two spies fled to Israel last week and has demanded Israel hand them back.
Senior Lebanese security officials say the arrests have dealt a major blow to Israel’s spying networks in Lebanon.
They say many of the suspects played key roles in identifying Hizbullah targets that were bombed during Israel’s 34-day on Lebanon in the summer of 2006.
Other suspects have been charged with monitoring senior Hizbullah officials and at least one is alleged to have played a role in the 2004 assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, a military commander for the group.
March 14 vows to confront plot ‘to topple state and Taif Accord’
Aoun predicts JUne 8 will mark ‘end of current era’
The March 14 Forces pledged on Tuesday to face “plans to topple the state and the Taif Accord,” vowing to “build the state of Lebanon and establish a unified authority and army.” The March 14 Forces held a gathering at the Bristol Hotel in Beirut, in the presence of the coalition’s leaders and electoral candidates from across the country. In a statement issued afterward, the alliance said: “Together we will confront those who wish to topple the state and the Taif Accord.”
The statement also rejected what the alliance called “plans to establish the three-way sharing of power instead of the equal sharing of power between Christians and Muslims.” They added that such plans threatened the country’s stability.
The statement also called for the establishment of an independent judiciary and voiced the March 14 Forces’ support for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which will try those accused in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
At the end of the meeting, participants signed a declaration to renew the coalition’s oath and commitments.
Separately on Wednesday, Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun said that on June 8, a day after the parliamentary elections, the country would witness the “end of the current era.”
Addressing a delegation from the Metn towns of Bteghrin and Khenshara, Aoun said that after the elections, Metn residents would be saved from problems “they witnessed over a period of 18 years.”
Meanwhile, a candidate for the Shiite seat in Zahle, Mohsen Dalloul, a former MP and defense minister, withdrew from the electoral race on Wednesday. Dalloul announced his decision during a news conference in which he said he thinks the Shiite community in Lebanon is threatened.
In other developments, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the March 14
Forces were likely to maintain the parliamentary majority following the elections. During an interview with Al-Anbaa newspaper on Tuesday, Geagea said he was optimistic regarding the elections, adding that the country could not be ruled by one party regardless of the elections results.
Geagea added that the Free Patriotic Movement’s popular support largely decreased, adding that he was expecting “surprising results in districts previously dominated by the FPM.”
Asked about a possible meeting between him and Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the LF leader said “the political rift between us is too big and too deep,” adding that he met Nasrallah a few times during the dialogue session.
Meanwhile, Hizbullah MP Mohammed Raad said on Tuesday that based on available information “the opposition is likely to win the upcoming parliamentary elections, despite US intervention.”
During a ceremony on Monday in Kfar Tibneet, Raad denied accusations that the opposition was trying to annul the Taif Accord and to replace it with the Doha Agreement. “The Taif Accord is what the Lebanese agreed upon to establish the state,” he said.
Separately, Democratic Gathering bloc MP Marwan Hamadeh said that he did not believe that a meeting would be held between Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt and Nasrallah before the elections. “In any case, the next national dialogue session will convene on June 1. We hope that Sayyed Hassan will attend the dialogue, or else he will be represented by MP Mohammad Raad as usual,” he said.
Telecommunications Minister Gibran Bassil, meanwhile, stressed the importance of Hizbullah’s weapons to face Israel threats. During an electoral visit to Batroun, Bassil said that Hizbullah’s weapons were not a threat to Lebanon, adding that “the real danger which the country was able to surmount” was posed by “active and dangerous fundamentalist movements and explosions across Lebanon.”
“What Hizbullah is calling for today is a unified Lebanon. Hizbullah’s weapons are necessary to confront Israel and the conspiracy of settling” Palestinian refugees in the country, he said.
Lebanon faced “grave dangers over the past years including fundamentalist networks that mushroomed in Nahr al-Bared,” he said, referring to the northern Palestinian refugee camp that saw deadly clashes between militants in the army in 2007.
On the elections, Bassil said the FPM was not against the Lebanese Forces and Phalange Party winning a majority in Parliament. “But the FPM is opposed to a Hariri family parliamentary majority,” he added.
He expressed hope that the FPM would have “the largest parliamentary bloc through which we can combat corruption.”
Bassil said political opponents who “describe themselves as independents and centrists are unable to realize the change that we aspire for.” The 2005 elections presented an “opportunity to restore unity among the Lebanese based on partnership and balance. But we were stabbed by those we extended our hand to,” he added. - The Daily Star
Cabinet approves appointments to Constitutional Council
Nafez Qawas
Daily Star correspondent
BEIRUT: Cabinet approved on Tuesday the appointment of the remaining five members of the Constitutional Council but postponed discussion over the 2009 state budget.
“The ratification of the state budget was left pending and the next Cabinet to be formed following the June 7 polls will be tasked to deal with this issue,” a well-informed ministerial source told The Daily Star.
The Cabinet session, headed by President Michel Sleiman, was held at Baabda Palace.
The new members of the Constitutional Council appointed by the ministers include Maronite Issam Sleiman, Orthodox Salah Mukheiber, Shiite Asaad Diab, Sunni Toufik Subra and Druze Suheil Abdel-Samad.
Sleiman is the personal adviser of President Michel Sleiman during the current dialogue sessions, while Diab was a former minister of social affairs and a former president of the Lebanese University. Diab is also known to be close to Speaker Nabih Berri. The biographies of Mukhaiber, Subra, and Abdel-Samad were yet to be distributed as The Daily Star went to press.
The Constitutional Council is the only governmental body with the authority to arbitrate post-election challenges, and though five of its seats were filled in December, political jockeying held up the remaining appointments until Tuesday’s Cabinet session.
Parliament elected five jurists to the Constitutional Council last December – Antoine Kheir, Antoine Msarra, Zaghloul Atiyeh, Tarek Ziadeh and Ahmad Taqieddine.
During previous Cabinet sessions, the opposition was insisting on resolving the pending constitutional and administrative appointments within a single package that would also include the controversial issues of the 2009 national budget. But the opposition later agreed on postponing discussions over the state budget.
Opposition ministers had held a meeting before the Cabinet session kicked off on Tuesday at the office of deputy Prime Minister Issam Abu Jamra.
Higher Security council urges cooperation on Israeli spy networks
BEIRUT: The Higher Security Council called on Tuesday for promoting coordination between ministries and security forces on Israeli spy networks.
During a meeting held at the Baabda Palace, the council discussed upcoming Israeli maneuvers, alleged Israeli spy networks and preparations for the June 7 parliamentary elections. The meeting was attended by President Michel Sleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Defense Minister Elias Murr, Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud, Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah and Economy Minister Mohammed Safadi.
In remarks after the meeting, Major General Saeed Eid said the council’s decisions would be kept secret, adding that attendees called for increased coordination between ministries and security forces to deal with Israeli spy networks and other security issues. - The Daily Star
Hizbullah details how Israel quit south in 2000
Resistance commander sheds light on attacks that drove Israelis out of Lebanon
Israel did not pull out of south Lebanon in May 2000 in order to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 425, as Tel Aviv claims, but was rather forcefully ousted, according to the account of a Hizbullah military commander who took part in operations targeting Israeli troops prior to their withdrawal.
“It was the resistance’s consecutive and effective hits and large casualties that drove Israelis out and forever,” said the military commander, who spoke to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity.
In 1999, Ehud Barak won a sweeping victory in Israeli elections on a campaign promise to leave Lebanon in accordance with Resolution 425 within a year. After assuming office in July that year, the then-premier began negotiations with Syria aimed at reaching an agreement for a coordinated Israeli pullout. The negotiations broke down before a deal was achieved, but Barak went ahead with his plans and carried out a unilateral withdrawal by May 25, 2000, six weeks ahead of his stated July 7 deadline.
Almost nine years after the Israel pullout, a Hizbullah commander revealed to The Daily Star, in a rare interview, details of the resistance’s operations in south Lebanon that he says forced the Israelis to rapidly leave the country, even though they had been unable to reach a deal to do so on their own terms.
The commander said his party decided to divulge the information at this time, “because people have the right to carve in their memories what led to the liberation of south Lebanon.”
More specifically, Hizbullah revealed details of the Aramta operation in April 2000, which according to the commander heralded the liberation of all of south Lebanon.
Occupied South Lebanon till 2000
On April 4, 2000, Hizbullah fighters carried out an early morning raid on a heavily armored Israeli outpost in the southern village of Aramta, reducing it to rubble.
“The Aramta was one of the key outposts in south Lebanon during the Israeli occupation; it was sort of a filter zone,” the 40-something fighter explained.
According to the commander, Aramta was a “sensitive area.” He explained that the village served as a vital link between the southern zones of Jezzine and Marjayoun. It is located in the Jabal al-Rihanne area, known for its elevated highlands and rugged geography.
Israeli troops were heavily present in the Aramta area, and Israeli MK surveillance drones hovered in the skies of the village around the clock, the fighter recalled.
“It was clear for the Israelis that if they lose Aramta and the Jabal al-Rihanne region, then it would be impossible for them to keep a presence in Marjayoun,” the commander said.
“We took a decision to destroy the Aramta outpost on their heads,” he added.
To distract the enemy’s attention, Hizbullah began shelling a nearby Israeli outpost, the infamous Bir Kalab, on the same day they were planning to conduct the Aramta operation. Bir Kalab was identified for years with Israel’s occupation and an outpost that kept on shelling surrounding resistance areas.
“We also shelled 29 other outposts as a sort of camouflage,” he said.
“Over the past few years we had intentionally focused our attention on launching attacks against the Bir Kalab without making any real attempts to take it over,” the commander said.
The Israelis had come to think that Bir Kalab was Hizbullah’s real target and that the party was struggling in vain to capture it, he said. On April 4, 2000, the Israelis sent reinforcement to Bir Kalab instead of the real target, which was Aramta.
“By the time the Israelis realized that Aramta was under attack our mission was complete,” he added.
The commander also recalled that in Aramta, which was closely watched by Israelis, there was “direct contact between us and the Israelis and this enabled our fighters to gain tremendous experience.”
The commander, a tall man with imposing features, spoke about the “unusually high” morale that characterizes Hizbullah fighters.
He said fighters wanted to shatter myths about Israel, particularly the notion that the state is invincible.
“We used to sneak in and out several times a day, and later on we made sure to destroy an armored vehicle and bring it to our zone every time we would go in,” he said. “This was humiliating to the Israelis.”
While preparing for the attack on the Aramta outpost, the commander said groups of 12 fighters would deliver canons to specific posts surrounding Aramta, being careful not to make any suspicious moves.
“This was our way of telling them that their MKs, which were worth millions of dollars, were useless, and that their guards were being paid for doing nothing and that their whole system had become worthless,” he said.
According to the commander, military operations needn’t rely solely on sophisticated technology. In Aramta for example,” he said, “we stuffed soccer balls with bombs so as to have them roll easier to their targets.”
“Creativity and old tactics or weaponry can prove to be very effective,” he said, citing an ancient German military tactic which stipulates that a strong opponent with sophisticated capabilities should be challenged with traditional tactics and weapons so as to confound them.
A truck loaded with some 5 tons of TNT was capable of pulverizing the fortified cement outpost in Aramta.
Asked whether the Aramta operation carried the signature of Hizbullah’s Imad Mughniyeh, the officer conceded that the slain top military commander had played a role in planning the attack.
However, he categorically rejected the assertion that Hizbullah was weakened by Mughniyeh’s assassination.
“Hizbullah does not rely on one person, Hizbullah’s true value is that it relies on teamwork,” he said, adding that vacant positions are automatically filled.
“I am not saying that the replacement will be as good from day one, but they will eventually learn and pass their knowledge to others,” he said.
Mughniyeh was killed when a bomb planted inside his car exploded in a suburb of Damascus on February 12, 2008.
Speaking about Hizbullah’s general strategy of attack against Israel, the officer said his party had “a clear-cut strategy, which consists of carrying out consecutive and repetitive strikes so that the enemy would come to realize that its venture in south Lebanon was falling apart.”
“A policy of patience and endurance is also key to our success,” he added.
Hizbullah’s strong point, according to the fighter, is that it could easily hide its strengths and capacities, unlike Israel whose “capabilities and strength are very big and known to all.”
He said he would have no problem surrendering his group’s weapons, “once Lebanon is strong enough to protect its territories and citizens.”
Echoing Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the commander said the resistance in south Lebanon thrived “after the state failed to shoulder its responsibilities in fighting the Israeli occupation.”
“We don’t have a hobby of conducting military operations or engaging in futile wars … We are normal people who want to live a normal life and preserve our dignity,” the fighter said, as he tore up a piece of paper on which he had drawn sketches of the posts his troops had attacked and liberated. The Daily Star was refused a request for a copy of the sketches.
Blue-line Map of south Lebanon 2000 by UN
Hizbullah dismisses Spiegel allegations as ‘fabrications’
BEIRUT: Hizbullah vigorously denied on Sunday allegations made by a German magazine that a UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has obtained new evidence proving Hizbullah was behind his murder, calling the “fabrications” a cheap attempt at influencing Lebanon’s June 7 elections.
“This is a pure fabrication aimed at influencing the election campaign and deflecting attention from the news about the dismantling of spy networks working for Israel,” a statement issued by Hizbullah’s press office said on Sunday.
There are “signs that the investigation [launched by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon] has yielded new and explosive results,” Der Spiegel magazine’s English version, Spiegel International, said on Saturday.
“Spiegel has learned from sources close to the tribunal and verified by examining internal documents that the Hariri case is about to take a sensational turn,” the report said. “Intensive investigations in Lebanon are all pointing to a new conclusion: that it was not the Syrians, but instead special forces of Hizbullah that planned and executed [Hariri's assassination].” Hariri was killed along with 22 others, including Economy and Trade Minister Basil Fuleihan, in a massive car bomb that ripped through Beirut’s seafront as Hariri’s motorcade passed. His murder was widely blamed on Syria, though Damascus has always denied involvement.
According to Der Spiegel, a special team of the Lebanese security forces headed by Captain Wissam Eid had uncovered eight mobile phones that were traced to areas near Hariri on the days leading up to his assassination and on February 14 itself. The phones, which were all purchased on the same day in Tripoli and activated six weeks prior to Hariri’s killing, were used exclusively for communication among their users.
“But there was also a “second circle of hell”; a network of about 20 mobile phones that were identified as being in proximity to the first eight phones noticeably often,” the Spiegal report said. All of the phone numbers apparently belonged to Hizbullah.
One of the assassins – Abd al-Majid Ghamlush – made the mistake of calling his girlfriend from one phone, allowing investigators to trace him. He was also identified as purchasing the phones, but has since disappeared and could be dead. His error, said Spiegel, “led investigators to the man they now suspect was the mastermind of the terrorist attack: Hajj Salim, 45.”
Salim is thought to have assumed the role of commander of Hizbullah’s military wing after its leader Imad Mughniyeh was assassinated in February 2008, and reports directly to Nasrallah, the magazine added. According to sources quoted in the report, investigators have also identified which Hizbullah member purchased the Mitsubishi truck used in the assassination. “They have also been able to trace the origins of the explosives, more than 1,000 kilograms of TNT, C4 and hexogen,” Spiegel said. There was also evidence that Hizbullah members were behind the January 2008 assassination of Captain Eid, which was “apparently intended to slow down the investigation.”
The German magazine said Tribunal chief prosecutor Daniel Bellemare and his colleagues have apparently been aware of the information for a month, but wanted to keep it under wraps for fear of destabilizing the political situation in Lebanon.
Hizbullah responded to the report with indignation, saying Der Spiegel was not the first media outlet to take aim at the party. “Publishing these accusations and attributing them to sources close to the international court dents the credibility and honesty of the tribunal and its work and requires firm and clear action toward the publishers of these wicked fabrications,” Hizbullah added.
“These are nothing but police-like fabrications made in the same dark room that for four years fabricated similar stories regarding the [involvement of] Syrians and the four officers,” the Hizbullah statement said in reference to four former Lebanese generals released last month after spending almost four years in prison on suspicion of involvement in Hariri’s killing.
Former LAF Intelligence chief Raymond Azar, Mustapha Hamdan of the presidential guard, Internal Security Forces director Ali Hajj and General Security director Jamil al-Sayyed were released on April 29 after the Tribunal’s prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said he could not justify their continued incarceration. They had been the only remaining suspects in custody after three others were released earlier this year.
In separate comments Sunday, Hizbullah MP Nawar Saheli also dismissed the report as “a big lie.” “We are waiting for the international tribunal to react and to see where the German magazine got its information from,” Saheli told AP.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh likewise rejected the Der Spiegel report as “totally false.” UN officials have not questioned any Hizbullah members as part of their investigation, Salloukh said from Damascus, where he was participating in a foreign ministers meeting.
Officials from the Future party meanwhile said they would make no comment on the Spiegel report, although Walid Jumblatt, a Druze leader in the March 14 coalition, said the report was aimed at heightening tension between Lebanon’s different sects. “Beware of rumors and press leaks, they could damage the work of justice and provoke discord and sedition,” he said during a rally on Sunday. “It seems that some newspaper reports are trying to precede the tribunal’s verdict in order to foment strife, hatred and divisions.”
Information provided by Bellemare or through his official spokesperson was the only dependable information about the investigation, the statement said, reiterating that the office’s work was “evidence-driven, objective, neutral and impartial and leaves no room for a prejudged outcome.”
The Spiegel report comes just two weeks ahead of Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, which have been described as the country’s most competitive in decades. The polls pit the March 14 coalition headed by Hariri’s Future Movement against the Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition.
Upon learning of the Der Spiegel report, Israel’s hardliner Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called for the arrest of Hizbullah’s secretary general, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. The report “on Nasrallah’s direct involvement in the assassination of Hariri should raise concern in the entire international community,” he told reporters in Jerusalem. “He should have an international arrest warrant issued against him, and if not, he should be arrested by force.” Nasrallah remains at the top of an Israeli most wanted list after Hizbullah and Tel Aviv fought a 34-day war in July 2006.
Tensions between the neighboring countries have grown in the wake of the discovery of several undercover intelligence operations. Dozens of Lebanese and one Palestinian have been detained by Lebanon’s intelligence services since January, in what Lebanon’s security chief General Ashraf Rifi has called the country’s strongest ever strike against covert operations by Israel’s Mossad agency.
