Hezbollah supporters poured out into the streets of Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
over the weekend in demonstrations against the first in-person negotiations between Israel and Lebanon on Tuesday in Washington, Israeli and Lebanese media reported on Sunday.
However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them...
pressure from Arab states, especially from Egypt, Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start..., and Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
, was placed on Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih
KnobbyBerri
...perennial Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians...
, who heads the Hezbollah-allied Amal Movement, to quell the demonstrations, the Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al Watan reported.
The pressure placed on Berri was meant to prevent anything that could promote civil unrest or destabilize the Lebanese government, and street protests constituted a red line.
The newspaper also reported that the demonstrations failed to reach the level the organizers had intended to pressure Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam against moving forward with the negotiations.
Hezbollah and Amal issued a joint statement Saturday evening, calling on their supporters to refrain from continuing the demonstrations.
Last week, Lebanon’s cabinet instructed security forces to restrict weapons in Beirut exclusively to state institutions, a move that fell short of full demilitarization of the capital.
"The army and security forces are requested to immediately begin reinforcing the full imposition of state authority over Beirut Governorate and to monopolize weapons in the hands of legitimate authorities alone," Salam said at the end of a cabinet meeting.
Meanwhile,
...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38...
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said in a statement that "the only solution to the situation Lebanon is facing is a ceasefire with Israel that would lead to direct negotiations between the two countries."
At a meeting held earlier Thursday with representatives of Lebanon’s Maronite community, Aoun said the Lebanese proposal for a ceasefire and negotiations was beginning to receive positive responses in international circles, adding that Lebanon continued to hold international talks on the matter.
Lebanese Ambassador to Washington Nada Hamadeh-Moawad, Israeli Ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter, and US Ambassador to Beirut Michel Issa — respectively leading the Lebanese, Israeli, and US delegations in Washington — will be in attendance at Tuesday’s planned talks, a US official familiar with the details told The Times of Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that Israel would begin negotiations with Lebanon "as soon as possible," aimed at disarming Hezbollah and reaching a full peace agreement between the countries.
Jerusalem and Beirut seemed to be at odds over the conditions under which the talks would take place, with Lebanon demanding a ceasefire first, while Israel insisted that they be held under fire.
Hezbollah, for its part, has strongly rejected any direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel.
The move is "a blatant violation of the (national) pact, the constitution, and Lebanese laws... and it exacerbates domestic divisions at a time when Lebanon most needs solidarity and internal unity to face Israel’s aggression," Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said on Saturday.