h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

MPs settle in for second night of protest against Israeli siege
Qatar Airways vows to run blockade with flight on Monday

By Nada Bakri
Daily Star staff
Monday, September 04, 2006



BEIRUT: Lebanese MPs continued an open-ended sit-in Sunday for the second day in a row to protest Israel's seven-week blockade, which is still in place almost three weeks after a UN-brokered cease-fire. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who arranged for the sit-in, told local daily An-Nahar Sunday the "protest will continue day and night and I will personally sleep in Parliament until the sea and air blockade is lifted off Lebanon."

Berri launched his call for a sit-in on Thursday, inviting 128 deputies from all sides to take part in the protest at the Parliament building in Nijmeh Square until the siege is lifted.

In a letter to Arab governments Berri also "asked and insisted that all Arab planes and ships defy and break the blockade without seeking any permission from Israel."

Responding to his call, Qatar Airways announced Sunday that it will resume direct flights to Beirut Monday.

A spokeswoman from Qatar Airways said "we have asked for authorization from the Lebanese authorities and they have given it. Therefore flight QR 422 is going to go to Beirut."

The three-hour flight from Doha should therefore land in Beirut Monday at 3:30 pm.

It will make Qatar Airways "the first international carrier to make a commercial flight into Beirut since the war ended," the spokeswoman said.

The only two companies which have since the blockade been authorized to operate commercial flights to Beirut, via Amman, are Lebanon's Middle East Airlines and Royal Jordanian.

Israel imposed an air and sea blockade on Lebanon after Hizbullah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. It has since maintained the siege despite UN and international condemnation and efforts to break it.

The Jewish state has demanded that international forces and Lebanese Army troops deploy in South Lebanon to prevent more weapons from reaching Hizbullah, which has not disarmed despite the terms of the UN text which established a truce after 34 days of fighting.

Ten MPs or so at a time will stay overnight in the building.

Berri spent Saturday night in Parliament with two ministers, Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamade and Minister of State for Administrative Development Jean Hogassapian.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb

Nine MPs also remained overnight from every parliamentary bloc; MP Walid Jumblatt sent MPs Akram Chehayeb and Henry Helou; Amal sent MP Nawar Sahili, MP Michel Aoun sent representatives MP Ibrahim Kenaan and MP Abdullah Farhat; MP Butros Harb represented the March 14 Forces; MP Atef Majdalani the Future Movement and MP George Adwan the Lebanese Forces. Independent MP Pierre Dakkash was also present.

"The continuation of the siege will stifle Resolution 1701 and lead to its violation. It will also have negative repercussions on the rebuilding process," Berri said.

UN Security Council Resolution 1701 called for a cease-fire between Israel and Hizbullah which took place on August 14 after 34 days of fighting.

During Sunday's sit-in session Berri briefed MPs on the outcome of a series of suggestions he had proposed during Saturday's opening session of the protest to pressure Israel.

He said heads of parliamentary unions reacted positively to letters he sent them and there will be an urgent meeting in Jordan in the coming few days.

He also dispatched parliamentary delegations to meet with the Beirut ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the envoys of Arab countries that have relations with Israel to use their influence to end the siege.

Berri said that all ambassadors condemned the blockade as a violation of Resolution 1701 and supported Lebanese calls to end it.

Another proposal was to urge representatives of Arab countries at the Security Council to call for an immediate session to demand lifting the blockade.

Premier Fouad Siniora also participated Saturday in the sit-in and informed US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a telephone conversation that "the Israeli blockade of Lebanon is no longer acceptable."

Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said Lebanon was taking steps to lift the blockade, adding it would take escalatory measures until the goal is achieved.

"The blockade is in violation of Resolution 1701, and we have taken steps to make sure it is lifted," Salloukh said in a statement on Sunday. - With agencies


http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=75221

Qatar Airways to Defy Israeli Blockade, Flight Due Monday

Qatar Airways is to resume direct flights to Beirut on Monday despite the Israeli blockade on Lebanon, a company spokeswoman told AFP Sunday.
"We have asked for authorization from the Lebanese authorities and they have given it. Therefore flight QR 422 is going to go to Beirut," said the spokeswoman, who did not wish to be named.

The spokeswoman said the three-hour flight from Doha was due to land in Beirut on Monday at 3:30 pm (1230 GMT).

It will make Qatar Airways "the first international carrier to make a commercial flight into Beirut since the war ended", she added.

Israel imposed an air and sea blockade on Lebanon at the outset of its 34-day conflict with Hizbullah on July 12.

The blockade is being maintained despite UN Security Council Resolution 1701 calling for it to be lifted, although aid flights have landed at Beirut international airport, whose runways Israel bombed on July 13.

The only two companies which have since the blockade been authorized to operate commercial flights to Beirut, via Amman, are Lebanon's Middle East Airlines and Royal Jordanian.

Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said on Saturday he had received assurances at a meeting a week ago with Geir Pedersen, the UN secretary general's representative in Lebanon, that the blockade would be lifted.

"We received assurances from Mr. Pedersen that the blockade would be lifted in the coming days," he told reporters.

On Saturday the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, called on Arab countries to defy the air and sea blockade.

As some 100 Lebanese MPs staged a sit-in at the parliament building in central Beirut in protest at the continued blockade, Berri urged fellow Arab states to send boats to Lebanon without seeking Israeli authorization.

The international community, Berri said, should "take all necessary measures to lift the Israeli blockade which constitutes an extension of Israel's terrorist war".

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, went to Beirut on August 21, a week after the UN-brokered ceasefire took effect. He is the sole foreign head of state to have visited Lebanon since the hostilities broke out.(AFP)



Beirut, 03 Sep 06, 17:43

http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/Newsdesk.nsf

Qatar Airways plane lands in Beirut Mon Sep 4, 10:19 AM ET



BEIRUT, Lebanon - A Qatar Airways plane landed at Beirut airport on Monday carrying 142 passengers aboard, despite Israel's blockade on Lebanon. The Israeli army said the Qatar Airways flight had permission to land.

The landing came on the same day that Qatar became the first Arab country to commit troops to monitor a tense cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah, pledging 200 to 300 soldiers to a U.N. peacekeeping force.

The Airbus 320 landed at Rafik Hariri International Airport in the first of what the national carrier of Qatar said would be daily flights from Doha to Beirut.

Local Lebanese TV stations touted it as the first plane to break an Israeli air and sea blockade on Lebanon that continues to be enforced after the bitter 34-day fighting that pitted Israel against the Hezbollah guerrillas.

But the Israeli army said the Qatar Airways flight was coordinated with Israel, and was the fourth Qatari flight to land with Israeli permission in Beirut since Friday — an apparent reference to aid flights since this was the first known regularly scheduled commercial flight from Qatar.

In all, 20 airplanes landed at Beirut airport Monday, the army said, all of them with Israeli permission. Those include commercial flights from Amman that Israel had already previously allowed, plus aid flights.

Qatar Airways did not comment on whether it had sought Israeli clearance, stating only that it had received approval from Lebanese authorities to operate the flights.

Israel has refused to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon, contending it needs to prevent Hezbollah guerrillas from rearming after the 34-day Israeli offensive that ended with an Aug. 14 cease-fire. But it has allowed limited international flights.

The 34-day war between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel destroyed large sections of Lebanon's infrastructure, but runways at Beirut's international airport have been repaired.

Since the end of the war on Aug. 14 only two airlines, Royal Jordanian Airlines and Middle East Airlines, a Lebanese carrier, have been allowed by Israel to operate limited international flights to and from Beirut through Amman, the Jordanian capital.

Jordan Airlines is operating three flights a day to Beirut, whereas MEA is operating 80 flights a week, down from 130 flights before the war.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060904/ap_on_re_mi_ea/mideast_qatar_airways

Peace, noun, a period of cheating between two periods of fighting.

Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.

How true, Trig! We also say everyone wants peace in the Middle East, everyone wants a piece in the Middle East

Ambrose Bierce??

Never heard of him... I wonder why? to oogleg.

Thanks Trig!


* settles to read http://www.thedevilsdictionary.com/*

I've just read/skimmed this entire conversation, and wanted to make some comment. I haven't been following the news nearly as much as I should have done.

I now have 32 Internet Explorer windows open, nearly all of them being links from this conversation. I should, and will, read them, but not now.

What will I dream of tonight?

And how are you sleeping these days? What news of you and yours?

Let's quote Lu Tse, from Terry Pratchett's Nightwatch, "Is it not written, There's a lot goes on we don't get told?"

TRiG.

http://www.thedevilsdictionary.com/

A whole site of it. I've only come across extracts in various dictionaries of quotations (I collect the things). What fun.

And I just checked that I remembered the /peace/ definition almost perfectly.

TRiG.

Bless you, Trig. I hope you dream of wondrous events to come for you in the future

Me and mine are, thankfully, fine. Shocked and trying very hard to be optimistic, but fine.

Thank you for that link, by the way You have provided me with much convo ammo



Wilma

Just in case I was under the illusion that anything at all had changed...

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/09/05/lebanon.bomb.ap/index.html

Bomb targets Lebanon police convoy
POSTED: 1156 GMT (1956 HKT), September 5, 2006
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- A remote-controlled bomb on Tuesday wounded a senior police intelligence officer who played a key role in the investigation into the slaying of a former Lebanese prime minister.
Security officials said four of the officer's aides and bodyguards were killed in the sophisticated attack in south Lebanon.

Lt. Col. Samir Shehade, deputy chief of the intelligence department in Lebanon's national police force, was taken to the Hammoud hospital in Sidon, and hospital officials said his condition was stable.

The four dead were Shehade's aides and bodyguards, and another five were wounded in the attack, which occurred as Shehade's two-vehicle police convoy drove by the village of Rmaile, near the southern port city of Sidon.

Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation that the blast was caused by a roadside bomb loaded with nails. He said it targeted the car normally driven by Shehade, who was traveling in the other vehicle at the time.

Fatfat did not say who might have been behind the attack but said it could have been aimed at Lebanese security forces, who are deploying to south Lebanon under a U.N.-brokered cease-fire deal that ended a month of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas August 14.

Lebanese army troops are supposed to deploy in the south with a beefed-up U.N. peacekeeping force as Israeli troops withdraw.

Shehade also was involved in the arrest last August of four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals in Lebanon. The four were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Security officials said Shehade was involved in the interrogation of several witnesses in the Hariri probe, including Syrian intelligence operative Husam Taher Husam.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said Shehade had received threats because of his work in the Hariri probe.

Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, a prominent lawmaker in Lebanon, called the attack a terrorist act. "This is a message which we reject," he told reporters in Beirut.

The roadside bomb was detonated by remote control as the convoy traveled on a highway between two bridges, said other security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. Two of Shehade's bodyguards, Chief Sgt. Wissam Harb and Chief Sgt. Chehab Aoun, were killed. Two others later died of their wounds at a hospital.

Shehade's convoy was riddled with shrapnel and TV footage showed at least one bloodied man slumped on his seat in one of the cars. Police sealed off the area and began an investigation.

The Tuesday explosion came 10 days before U.N. chief investigator Serge Brammertz was to submit a report to the U.N. Security Council updating his findings on the Hariri investigation.

Previous reports have implicated top Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the killing, which rocked Lebanese politics and led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year-military presence.

Syria denies any role in the Hariri slaying or the subsequent bombings.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

What do your parents say in Lebanon?

Hi Kit,
My parents are not really saying anything about the politics. Now is the time for patience and rebuilding and praying, my dad says. They are disillusioned and taken aback that this was permitted to happen and my father's attitudes have changed dramatically. Don't forget, he was not even born in Lebanon (they only moved there five years ago) and has always been pro-US/UK. That has definitely changed.



W

This is interesting, if rather tasteless...

The Ultimate Mission To Israel

June 5-12, 2006
with Shurat Hadin -
Israel Law Center

Join doctors, attorneys, accountants, programmers and other professionals from around the world on an unparalleled and unprecedented Israeli reality-check:

Experience a dynamic and intensive eight day exploration of Israel's struggle for survival and security in the Middle East today.



Briefings by officers in the IDF Intelligence and Operations branches, including senior commanders of the Shin Bet security service and the Mossad.


An exhibition by the IDF undercover soldiers who carry out targeted killings of Palestinian terrorists and deep penetration raids in Arab territory.


Observe the trial of Hamas terrorists in an IDF military court.


First hand tours of the Lebanese front-line military positions, the Gaza border check-points, the controversial Security Fence and secret intelligence bases.


Discussions with Israel's Arab agents who infiltrate the terrorist groups and provide real-time intelligence.


Meetings with senior Cabinet Ministers and other key policymakers.


Small airplane tour of the Galil, water activities on Lake Kinneret, a cook-out barbecue and a Shabbat enjoying the rich religious and historic wonders of Jerusalem's Old City.

"This is not your mother and father's Mission. Jam-packed with unusual and in-depth views of what is really going on in Israel's ongoing war -- it is a "find" for the novice and an eye opener for people who consider themselves knowledgeable about the Middle East. Excellent accommodations fabulous food, comfortable transportation and fellow travelers who are menschen. Shurat HaDin are inspired leaders and Shabbat in Jerusalem is a delight".

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Haverford, Pennsylvania


First Class accommodations at the five-star Sheraton Plaza Jerusalem (Glatt Kosher)

Luxurious bus transportation

Knowledgeable tour guides

Lawyers can earn CLE credits

Personal cell-phone for each participant

Coordinated by the recognized leader in luxury travel to Israel - Isram Travel

The Ultimate Mission is run by Shurat HaDin - Israel Law Center


http://www.totallyjewishtravel.com/tours/solidarity_missions/item_252

Deployment debate conjures up Ottoman ghosts
By Jonathan Gorvett in Istanbul

Wednesday 06 September 2006

Turkish troops, if deployed, will not be told to disarm Hezbollah

The Turkish parliament's decision to send troops to Lebanon comes at the end of a sometimes furious debate, countrywide.

Drawing in politicians, academics, media stars and ordinary citizens, the discussion has not only focused on the current Lebanon-Israel tension, but has also homed in on the distant past.

In this argument, both the heroes and the ghosts of Turkey's forerunner, the Ottoman Empire, have become the battleground.

Recip Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, said in a national TV broadcast a few days before the vote: "It would be treason to our history, our future and the high interests or our people to stay away [from Lebanon]."

He was urging his people and his own party to commit Turkish troops to the UN force now being deployed in the battle-scarred eastern Mediterranean country.

Until its final collapse following the first world war, the Ottoman Empire, run largely from Istanbul by ethnic Turks, ruled over Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Palestine and much of the rest of the Middle East.

Sedat Laciner, director of the Ankara-based think-tank, the International Strategic Research Organisation (USAK), said: "Historically, Turkey has had a great role in the region.

"Turks governed the region for centuries, so it's very natural for us to be involved."

Armenian factor

However, this historical role also has its ghosts - and Lebanon is home to some of the most persistent.

About 120,000 Armenians live in Lebanon, with many of them the descendants of those who fled Ottoman territory back in 1915. That was when they claim the Turks launched a genocidal campaign against them. Lebanon's parliament also recognises these claims, which are denied by Turkey.

The Armenian Catholic primate of Lebanon thus dubbed Turkish troop deployment as "morally unacceptable" last week and Lebanese Armenians have been protesting against Turkish involvement outside UN buildings in Beirut and New York for the past few days.


Armenians oppose presence of
Turkish troops on Lebanese soil


Yet many others are very much in favour of the Turks' involvement, as Turkey has had long-standing ties with both sides in the current conflict.

Laciner said: "The Israelis, the Lebanese government, the Syrians - even Hezbollah - have all welcomed the idea of Turkish troops.

"Everyone in fact wants Turkish troops there except the Armenians."

Others are clearly worried, though.

Onur Oymen, deputy head of the main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), told Aljazeera.net: "Apart from Qatar, no Muslim country has committed troops. Why? Why hasn't Egypt, for example, or Saudi Arabia? Both big countries with big armed forces?"

Growing change

Meanwhile, many analysts see the prime minister's enthusiasm for the deployment as part of a growing change in Turkish foreign policy since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) - which has Islamist roots - came to power in 2002.

Mensur Akgun, of the liberal Istanbul-based think-tank TESEV, said: "This government has quite a different attitude towards the Arab world from its predecessors.

"The AKP is quite realistic and hard headed. Talking about neo-Ottomanism flatters the pride, but in the end doesn't really amount to much"

Mensur Akgun,
TESEV, a liberal Turkish
think-tank

"They are not burdened with the myopic view of some here that the Arabs stabbed us in the back during the first world war."

The Arab revolt against Ottoman rule during that war was a major blow against Ottoman hopes of victory. The revolt was famously backed by Britain and France, Turkey's first world war enemies.

Laciner agrees: "This willingness by the AKP to become involved in the Middle East is a departure from traditional policy.

"The first governments of Turkey after the end of the Ottoman Empire deliberately turned away from the Middle East, as they saw it as a place that was backward and tradition-bound.

"They wanted to be Europeans and thus saw contact with the Middle East as basically dangerous for this project. Since the AKP came to power, however, Turkey has mended many of its fences with the Arabs and has realised it cannot turn its back on its history and its geography."

Neo-Ottomanism

Relations with Syria have improved considerably in recent years, as have links with Iran, which supplies Turkey with a lot of its natural gas. Turkish companies have also been highly active in neighbouring Iraq. This policy has been widely dubbed "neo-Ottomanism" by the Turkish press.

Yet others see this shift as a natural result of the region's geopolitics and Turkey's wider goals.

The respected commentator and analyst Cengiz Candar said: "The Middle East is the number one region these days in global politics.


Some see deployment as crucial
to Turkey's efforts to join the EU

"At the same time, Turkey has been trying to say to the European Union, 'look, we are the vital bridge between the West and Islam, between Europe and the Middle East, so make us a member'. Turkey can't very well say that and then refuse to get involved in efforts such as this, in which the EU has a leading role."

Indeed, Turkey's efforts to join the EU are seen by many as a major reason for the deployment - along with a desire to please the UN. Here the key connection is Cyprus, with the divided island a long-standing sticking point for Turkish EU membership.

Candar said: "There's no direct link of course, but Turkey wants the UN to revive its ideas for reunification of the island and can hardly ask them to do that after turning down the UN's request for Turkey to become involved in Lebanon."

Yet the strategy has considerable risks.

Oymen said: "We have to keep our distance from what I believe is an attempt to create a buffer zone to the north of Israel.

"The UN resolution says we will have to disarm Hezbollah. This raises the possibility of us having to fight fellow Muslims."

No disarmament

The government insists, however, that Turkish forces will not have to disarm anyone and its commitment will be largely maritime-based.

Erdogan told his parliamentary group last week: "We will pull our troops out if asked to disarm Hezbollah."

Meanwhile, on neo-Ottomanism, the jury is still out.

Candar said: "Turkey's historic links are now largely an emotional thing.

"People think the Middle East was always our territory. But the public and the politicians are actually quite ignorant of Turkey's Middle Eastern history, in fact. And when this emotional link is translated into practical politics, it's a different matter altogether."

'Not imperialism'

Akgun agrees: "This is not the imperialism of previous centuries.

"The AKP is quite realistic and hard headed. Talking about neo-Ottomanism flatters the pride, but in the end doesn't really amount to much."

In the street, however, it amounts to quite a lot more.

Akif Beykoz, a student at Istanbul University's languages and literature faculty, said: "Since the end of Ottoman times, the Middle East has been a mess.

"Now the Americans are there, the Israelis are doing what they want. It's time we had a say."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/67032BF5-1F07-4CA8-A55F-1CD4FA383F0A.htm

UN warns of Gaza 'breaking point'

Gaza is becoming more isolated and desperate the UN is warning
Living conditions for Palestinians in Gaza have reached breaking point, a senior UN official has said.
The warning came from Karen Abuzayd, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency.

She said Israeli military action in Gaza over recent weeks was creating suffering and mass despair, rather than any desire for political compromise.

She added that Gaza was becoming increasingly isolated by financial sanctions, the Israeli siege of the territory and daily targeted killings.




Voices: Gaza life
Profile: Gaza Strip
Ms Abuzayd called for a UN observer mission to be sent to the territory.

"The strangulation of commerce and trade has ruined the economy, it has brought the institutions of government to a point of near-meltdown and badly shaken the society," she said.

"These pressures and tactics have not resulted in a desire for compromise on the part of the government or the people, or yet the fall of the government, but rather have created mass despair, anger and a sense of hopelessness and abandonment."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5326378.stm

Israel eases blockade of Lebanon

Israel is waiting for a UN force to take over before it withdraws fully
Israel has partly eased a blockade of Lebanon imposed in July at the start of its conflict with Hezbollah fighters.
Israel said the air blockade was lifted at 1800 (1500 GMT) but a naval embargo would remain until a sufficient UN naval force was in place.

Relatives of two Israeli soldiers, whose capture triggered the conflict, said the blockade should not be lifted until they had been freed.

The embargo held back recovery after Israel's seven-week bombardment.

Fighting ended on 14 August after the UN passed Resolution 1701 which called for a ceasefire and security arrangements for Israel's northern border.

The two kidnapped soldiers are currently in Lebanon - tomorrow, with the blockade lifted, they can find themselves in Tehran

Benny Regev, brother of captured soldier

But Israel kept up the blockade of Lebanese seaports and allowed only two airlines to use Beirut's international airport, on condition flights stopped over in Jordan.

Israel said international troops needed to be in place to prevent Hezbollah smuggling weapons into Lebanon.

Israel had cautioned a full lifting of the embargo would not happen "when the bell rings" at 1500 GMT.

A spokeswoman for Israeli PM Ehud Olmert said "the naval blockade will continue until the international naval force is in place."

The spokeswoman said the lifting was "a gradual process" that "could take hours or a day [to complete]".

Italian, French and Greek ships are expected to patrol the coast until a German-led force takes over.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he hoped Italian, French and Greek naval forces "will organise quickly and that we can pull back when they take up positions".

A Middle East Airways flight from Paris landed at Beirut shortly after 1500GMT.

"This is the first sign that the Lebanese are recovering their freedom," said Lebanese Transport Minister Mohammed Safadi.

Lost leverage

Lebanon estimates the country has been losing $30m-50m a day in trade because of the blockade - money desperately needed to help the rebuilding.



UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan says he hopes the move will "allow a permanent ceasefire and stabilise the situation between Israel and Lebanon".

There has been anger about the move in Israel, where Mr Olmert is already under pressure for his handling of the abortive military campaign to release the soldiers.

Cabinet and Kadima party colleague Shaul Mofaz said the blockade should have been maintained until Lebanon gave information on the fate of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

Relatives of the two men met Mr Olmert on Thursday to express their concerns.

Shlomo Goldwasser, father of one of the soldiers, said: "The blockade was a way to pressure Hezbollah, but there's no blockade any more."

"I'm not even angry. It just makes me even more sad."

Benny Regev, brother of the other captured soldier earlier told Israeli radio: "As far as we know the two kidnapped soldiers are currently in Lebanon... Tomorrow, with the blockade lifted, they can find themselves in Tehran."

International pressure

In Beirut, newspaper headlines celebrated ahead of the lifting of the blockade. "Lebanon opens up to the world again," said one.

Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said Israel had caved in as a result of Lebanon's refusal to compromise, coupled with international pressure on the Jewish state.


Lifting the blockade means rebuilding Lebanon can accelerate

UN officials have said German boats will lead a contingent of naval vessels from other countries - including France, Italy, Greece and the UK - in policing Lebanon's coastline.

Correspondents say supervising Lebanon's airspace and coastline is the first major test for the UN force charged with keeping the peace and preventing arms shipments from reaching Hezbollah.

Israel is also pulling its troops out of southern Lebanon as international peacekeepers arrive.

About 3,250 international troops are now in Lebanon under the UN banner, and UN officials say that figure could reach 5,000 troops next week.

The Spanish government on Thursday approved sending a team of 1,100 troops to join the UN force in Lebanon.

UN Resolution 1701 calls for a force of up to 15,000 peacekeepers to help police the border with Israel along with a similar-sized Lebanese force.

More than 1,100 Lebanese and about 160 Israelis died in the conflict, sparked by the capture of the two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah in a cross-border raid.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5323764.stm

... and the best comes last I love these kids



Lebanese youth call on US to respect democracy

By Rima Merhi

Friday, September 08, 2006


First person by Rima Merhi


In an ugly world where we can no longer distinguish between terror and the so-called war on terror, Lebanese youth take courage and energy from the real values of democracy, freedom, justice and human rights as taught at our universities, particularly the leading American universities in Beirut.

There is a real pressing danger that despite our commitment and passion for American ideals, Lebanese youth are becoming more and more isolated from the US in light of its foreign policy in the Middle East. "Israel's right to defend itself" has left us with a country in ruins amid a humanitarian crisis and environmental catastrophe that has taken our country back at least 20 years.

The whole world witnessed Israel's right to defend itself at the heartbreaking repeat massacre in Qana at the end of July. The apology of the Israeli government will not bring back the dead. It will not erase from our memories the sight of children and women agonizingly being pulled out of the rubble.

We acknowledge with equal sadness and regret the loss of innocent civilians in Israel. Lebanese youth watch in horror as the leading superpower and role model in the world sets a very dangerous precedent for allowing skirmishes across borders to escalate into full-blown disproportionate wars and crimes against humanity. Generation after generation are fed more hatred, poison and anger.

The universal principle of "human rights" in the Arab world have come to symbolize American double standards, if not blatant racism against Arabs, lack of respect for our culture and traditions, and ignorance of the socio-political realities that form our political systems. Lebanese youth urge the US government not to push us to the point of despair by giving us and our governments a fair hearing. The Bush administration must not doubt that the marginalization of one-and-a-half million Shiites, constituting more than one-third of the Lebanese population in a highly volatile region, will only lead to civil war in Lebanon and more terrorism in the world.

For years we witnessed first-hand the pain that angry, marginalized groups inflicted on each other. That pain and anger runs deep and has sadly inflicted a new generation.

Last year in democratic elections, Hizbullah was awarded seats in the Lebanese government. The Lebanese government sought to build a more representative form of government that fosters national identity through allegiance to the state.

Lebanese youth urge the US government to respect our democracy and help our government empower the Lebanese Army to take control over every inch of Lebanese soil. Despite the cease-fire, Israeli planes continue to hover over Lebanon, making it impossible for the Lebanese government to call for the disarmament of Hizbullah.

We would like to remind the Bush administration that Lebanon is not Afghanistan or Iraq. Lebanon is not governed by a dictator, nor is our society made up of tribes or clans. We have a nascent democracy that is representative of 18 sects in one of the smallest geographic countries in the world. Lebanese youth are one of the most educated in the Arab world. Two months before the July war, our government approved a bill in Parliament calling for the establishment of a youth shadow government - the first of its kind in the Arab world - to give youth a real voice in the country.

We are the same youth that led the Cedar Revolution, bringing an end to the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in March 2006. The dream of an independent, sovereign and democratic Lebanon was turning into a reality. We felt empowered to make our mark on history. With pride we watched the Arab masses turn to Lebanon as a potential beacon of true democracy in the Middle East. Bush applauded the partial fulfilment of Resolution 1559 and promised the Lebanese that "Freedom shall prevail in Lebanon. The American people are on your side!" Four months later, Bush gives Israel the green light not to destroy Hizbullah, but the whole of Lebanon.

We can not help but feel truly disappointed by the Bush administration. We are no different from American or Israeli youth. We share with all youth a desire for peace, democracy and sustainable development. Last July Lebanese youth expressed faith in the US government when I testified in the US Congress on our aspirations for national reform. The July war is a devastating blow to our morale. The big powers gamble with our futures once again by using Lebanese soil to fight non-Lebanese wars.

Lebanese youth refuse to live in the past. We refuse to survive in fear. We refuse to be robbed of our future. The "New Middle East" has to be a place where we work together to learn from the lessons of history. First and foremost, we must address the roots of Islamic fundamentalism in the region. No one will deny that Israel is no more secure today than it was 40 days or 40 years ago! By fighting the war on terror with more terror and imposing conditions that lead to the further marginalization of minority groups, the US is neither bringing security nor democracy to the region.

It is setting the scene for future disaster by turning moderate law-abiding peace-loving Muslims who are neglected and abused by the system into harsh vengeful radicals that cause a threat to the world at large. No amount of propaganda to the contrary will be effective so long as the facts on the ground speak for themselves. The "New Middle East" has to be a place where we respect our borders with one another and break the vicious cycle of hatred and revenge with tolerance and forgiveness. It has to be a place where we embrace our common humanity.


Rima Merhi is a Lebanese youth activist. She wrote this article for The Daily Star.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=75333

This post has been removed.

Israel tests ceasefire with Lebanon arrests

Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem and Clancy Chassay in Aita as-Shaab
Saturday September 9, 2006
The Guardian


Israeli troops in southern Lebanon detained four men yesterday for questioning in what appeared to be the first arrests since a ceasefire ended the war with Hizbullah.
An Israeli patrol south of the village of Aita as-Shaab, the scene of heavy clashes during the 34-day conflict, detained the men yesterday afternoon, the Israeli military said. It said the men were armed, though it was not clear if they were members of the Hizbullah militia. "We still have security responsibility for that area," a spokeswoman said. "There was a patrol south of Aita as-Shaab that identified four armed men. They are being questioned in that location." The military said the men had been detained during a regular patrol.

Although international forces are starting to deploy in southern Lebanon, there are at least five brigades of Israeli troops, numbering thousands of soldiers, still operating there. Television footage has shown the troops looking for and destroying bunkers and gun emplacements used by the Hizbullah militia.

There are also Lebanese troops now deployed in the south of their country for the first time in years and the beginnings of a 15,000-strong international force.

Earlier in the day Israel lifted its eight-week sea blockade of Lebanon and passed control to an international naval taskforce. On Thursday Israel had lifted its air blockade of the country, allowing commercial flights back into Beirut for the first time since the war erupted.

Major-General Alain Pellegrini, who heads the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, said an Italian-led naval force was patrolling the coast. "The blockade has seriously undermined the Lebanese economy and it is high time for it to end so as to allow the people to get back to their businesses," he said yesterday.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1868469,00.html