Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

IDF says it launched ‘widespread’ strikes on Hezbollah stronghold in south Lebanon

2023-12-31

[IsraelTimes] The IDF says it carried out "widespread" strikes on Hezbollah sites in Kfarkela in southern Leb
Leb

Link

Down Under

Australia says investigating Hezbollah's claim that Ali Bazzi was one of its fighters

2023-12-29

[An Nahar] Australia is investigating Hezbollah's claim that Ali Bazzi, who was killed in an ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
on Tuesday in Bint Jbeil, was one of its fighters.

Australia's acting foreign minister Mark Dreyfus said that Ali Bazzi and his brother Ibrahim Bazzi are both Australian citizens.

Ibrahim Bazzi had arrived in Leb
Leb

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Northern towns rocked by heaviest Hezbollah barrages since outbreak of war

2023-12-28

[IsraelTimes] No injuries, but buildings in largely evacuated Kiryat Shmona suffer damage as at least 34 rockets fired from Leb
...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. 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. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
day after Israeli strike kills Hezbollah man and 2 others

Sirens sounded repeatedly in northern Israel on Wednesday as rockets fired from Lebanon pummeled the towns of Rosh Hanikra and the city of Kiryat Shmona in a major escalation of violence along the restive border, as Israel’s top general vowed that the country’s military was prepared to battle the Hezbollah terror group, even as heavy fighting persisted in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
No injuries were reported in the attacks, which reportedly marked the most intense volleys on northern Israel since the region was plunged into war on October 7. Israel responded to the attacks with ~~Arclight~~ airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s in southern Lebanon.

The uptick came after an alleged Israeli strike killed a Hezbollah member, as well as his brother and his brother’s wife, and with Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
vowing Dire Revenge for the killing of a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer in Syria, which it has blamed on Israel.

At least 18 rockets were fired at coastal Rosh Hanikra at around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, in an attack that Hezbollah claimed was aimed at an Israeli Navy base in the area. At least six of the rockets were said to have been intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, with several others falling in open areas.

Several hours later, a second barrage was fired at the city of Kiryat Shmona. Six of the rockets impacted inside the city, causing damage to residential buildings and infrastructure, while another four landed in open areas within the municipal boundary, officials said. An additional three rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome, with the remainder landing in open areas.

Authorities in Kiryat Shmona said that at least 16 rockets were fired at the city, although Hezbollah claimed to have launched 30 in total.

The city, normally home to over 20,000 people, has been largely evacuated in recent months, along with other towns near Israel’s border, due to near-daily rocket, missile and drone attacks launched by Hezbollah and allied groups.

Hezbollah grabbed credit for the rocket barrages, as well as for three explosive-laden drones that hit the Mount Dov area, where several IDF positions are located, saying that they had launched the attacks "in response to the enemy’s repeated crimes."

Visiting Northern Command headquarters on Wednesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said that the military is "at a very high level of readiness" amid escalating Hezbollah attacks.

"Our first task is to return residents safely, and that will take time. Today we approved a variety of plans for the future, and we need to be ready for an offensive, if necessary," he said in remarks provided by the IDF.

"The IDF and within it the Northern Command are at a very high level of readiness. So far, the campaign here has been managed correctly and meticulously, and this is how it should continue. We will not return the residents without security and a sense of security," he added.

According to a security official speaking to Rooters news agency, Hezbollah fired more rockets and drones on Wednesday than it had on any other day since it the daily skirmishes began.

In response to the heavy fire from southern Lebanon, Israeli fighter jets struck the launch site of the drone attack, as well as other targets close to the border, the IDF said in a statement.

The near-daily festivities on Israel’s northern border began following Hamas
Hamas

...always the voice of sweet reason...
’s deadly onslaught inside Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza through which Israel has vowed to eliminate the Paleostinian terror group. Along with allied Paleostinian factions along the Lebanon border, Hezbollah has said that it is carrying out attacks on Israel in a show of support for the people of Gaza.

Iran-backed groups in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
, Iraq and Syria have also attacked Israel and US troops in the region repeatedly since October 7, in what is widely seen as a bid to stretch military forces thin as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza.

Four civilians and nine soldiers have been killed in attacks on the northern border, which have included dozens of anti-tank missile attacks. There have also been several rocket attacks from Syria, without any injuries.

Hezbollah has named 129 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 16 Paleostinian terror operatives, a Lebanese soldier and at least 19 civilians, three of whom were journalists, have been killed.

A strike on the southern city of Bint Jbeil late Tuesday night attributed to Israel killed three people, according to Lebanese media, two of them civilians.

According to the country’s state-run National News Agency, the bodies of Ibrahim Bazzi, his wife Shorouk Hammoud, and Ibrahim’s brother, Ali Bazzi, were pulled from the rubble of their destroyed home.

Another member of the family was reportedly maimed.

Ibrahim Bazzi was identified by one of his relatives as a Lebanese-Australian dual citizen. Although family members in the village alleged that Ali Bazzi was a civilian, Hezbollah put out a statement announcing his death as a "martyr on the road to Jerusalem," as it typically does when one of its fighters is killed.

Ibrahim Bazzi was said to have lived in Sydney and was only in Lebanon to visit his wife Hammoud, who just recently received a travel visa for Australia and so was not yet living with her husband.

Asked about the incident, the Israeli military said one of its jets had struck a Hezbollah military site overnight in Lebanon. Australian media quoted a spokesperson for Australia’s foreign ministry as saying it was aware of the report and was seeking confirmation.

Bint Jbeil is a Hezbollah stronghold and large parts of it were destroyed during the 2006 war between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Three killed in Israeli strike on Lebanon's Bint Jbeil

2023-12-28

[GEO.TV] Lebanese media reported that an Israeli strike has killed three people and injured one in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, 4km (2.5 miles) from the Israeli border.

The Israel-Leb
Leb

...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. 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. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
frontier has seen frequent deadly exchanges of fire amid the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
war.

More than 150 people have been killed on the Lebanese side, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also more than a dozen civilians, three of them journalists. Meanwhile,
...back at the wrecked scow, Agent 49 felt gingerly for his head. It was still there. He had been hoping differently...
on the Israeli side, at least four civilians and nine soldiers have been killed.

Australia says checking claim national killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon was Hezbollah member

[IsraelTimes] Australia on Thursday confirmed two of its citizens were killed in an Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon late Tuesday, and said it was looking at Hezbollah’s claims that one of the Australian citizens killed had links to the Lebanese terror group.

“We will continue to make inquiries about this particular person, with whom Hezbollah has claimed links,” Acting Foreign Minister Mark Dreyfus said during a media briefing.

“Hezbollah has claimed this Australian as one of its fighters. Our inquiries are continuing.”

Hezbollah is a “listed terrorist organization” in Australia and it is an offense for any Australian to provide it with financial support or fight in its ranks, Dreyfus said.

A Lebanese-Australian man, his wife, and his brother, who was a member of Hezbollah, were killed in the attack, attributed to Israel, on a home in the southern city of Bint Jbeil, Lebanese security and local sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, the bodies of Ibrahim Bazzi, his wife Shorouk Hammoud, and Ibrahim’s brother, Ali Bazzi, were pulled from the rubble of their destroyed home.

Ibrahim Bazzi was identified by one of his relatives as a Lebanese-Australian dual citizen. Although family members in the village alleged that Ali Bazzi was a civilian, Hezbollah put out a statement announcing his death as a “martyr on the road to Jerusalem,” as it typically does when one of its fighters is killed.

Ibrahim Bazzi was said to have lived in Sydney and was only in Lebanon to visit his wife, who just recently received a travel visa for Australia and so was not yet living with her husband.

At the funeral procession in Bint Jbeil on Wednesday, an AFP photographer saw three coffins draped in Hezbollah flags.

Bint Jbeil is a Hezbollah stronghold and large parts of it were destroyed during the 2006 war between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanon: Forensic Audit Sparks Internal Dispute

2021-04-10

[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
’s recent criticism of Banque du Liban’s delay in launching a forensic audit has sparked political controversy.

In a televised speech on Wednesday evening, Aoun said that the political parties "provided cover to the Central Bank, private banks and the Ministry of Finance," pointing to "the responsibility of all governments, departments, ministries, councils and agencies for every penny wasted over the years."

"All of them must be included in the forensic audit," he stated.

"The issue of forensic auditing is at the forefront of the priorities for the reform of the financial and economic situation. It is a battle that deserves and requires the support of all the forces," Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Mousawi stated.

"Banque du Liban has the duty to abide by the law issued for this purpose," he added.

For his part, the head of the Lebanese Forces
A Christian political party founded by Bashir Gemayel, who was then bumped off when he was elected president of Leb...
, Samir Geagea
...Geagea was imprisoned by the Syrians and their puppets for 11 years in a dungeon in the third basement level of the Lebanese Ministry of Defense. He was released after the Cedar Revolution in 2005...
, said that forensic audit was "not a slogan that is occasionally brought up, nor a means to attack a political opponent, but rather a sacred act aimed at reform."

Referring implicitly to Aoun, Geagea asked: "Why haven’t you supported the idea of forensic auditing since the beginning of this tenure despite the majority that you have in the cabinet or in the parliament?"

The political parties believe the Free Patriotic Movement
Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic...
(FPM) is holding onto the forensic audit in "an attempt to target its political opponents and conceal its responsibility for the crisis."

Deputy leader of al-Mustaqbal
... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri...
Movement, Mustafa Alloush, emphasized that a forensic audit needed "a government that would be able to take over the task."

A member of the Development and Liberation bloc, MP Ali Bazzi, noted that Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri
Nabih <q>Knobby</q> Berri

...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...
wanted a complete and comprehensive audit, in line with the law approved by the parliament, starting with the Central Bank.

"We have carried out our legislative duties and now we must see the implementation of the law," he said, referring to a bill passed by the parliament in December to lift banking secrecy on the accounts of officials for a year, and to expand the request for forensic audit in all state institutions, ministries and departments.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Report: Hizbullah Commander Killed in Lebanon not Syria

2013-12-11

[An Nahar] A high-ranking Hizbullah commander has died during training in a camp in Leb, security sources said, refuting claims he was killed in battle in Syria on Sunday.

The sources told An Nahar daily published on Tuesday that Ali Bazzi was mistakenly shot during a live fire training at one of Hizbullah's camps in Leb.

Hizbullah has lost scores of fighters since it joined Syrian

Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
The Scourge of Hama...
in battling the Sunni-led rebels, inflaming sectarian tensions on both sides of the border.

A Lebanese security source on Sunday said that Bazzi was killed in a "combat zone," without specifying the location.

A website for Bint Jbeil, Bazzi's hometown in southern Leb, announced his death on Sunday and posted pictures of him in military garb and holding an automatic rifle, saying he "died a martyr as he was carrying out his sacred duty as a jihadist."

A photo distributed in Sidon of Bazzi, showed a man with a white beard wearing a camouflage military uniform and a green beret.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Top Hizbullah Military Commander Ali Bazzi Killed in Syria Fighting

2013-12-09

[An Nahar] A top military commander of Hizbullah died in fighting Sunday in Syria, a Lebanese security source said.

"Ali Bazzi, a high-ranking Hizbullah military commander, was killed today in a combat zone," the source said without specifying the location.

Earlier the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that four Hizbullah fighters died Sunday during battles in Nabuk, one of the last rebel-held areas in the Qalamoun region bordering Leb.

"There is fierce fighting in Nabuk between government forces, backed by Lebanese Hizbullah fighters, and al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant," said the watchdog.

A website for Bint Jbeil, Bazzi's hometown in southern Leb, also announced the commander's death and posted pictures of him in military garb and holding an automatic rifle.

"Ali Hussein Bazzi... died a martyr as he was carrying out his sacred duty as a jihadist," read the announcement.

Meanwhile residents of southern Leb said that two other Hizbullah fighters -- Ali Saleh and Qassem Ghamloosh -- were also killed in Syria on Sunday and buried.

Hizbullah chief His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...
has repeatedly defended his group's involvement in Syria.

On Tuesday he said in an interview with OTV that Hizbullah is fighting in Syria to protect Leb from the Syrian rebels, who include jihadists linked to al-Qaeda.

Hours after that interview Hizbullah announced the death of one of its top military commanders, Hassan al-Laqqis, saying he was rubbed out near Beirut and blaming Israel for his murder.

And on November 28, the southern town of Rishknaniyeh held a funeral for Wissam Sharafeddine, another prominent Hizbullah field commander in Damascus' countryside.

Syrian regime forces made gains Sunday in the key town of Nabuk, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Regime forces have surrounded and pounded Nabuk for the past two weeks.

Taking the Nabuk area would cement regime control of territory linking Damascus province with Homs province in central Syria.

Also on Sunday, Hizbullah's al-Manar television broadcast a video showing four booby-trapped vehicles, saying they were seized by the Syrian army in Nabuk and they that were destined to be used in kabooms in Leb.

"Most of the booby-trapped cars that were sent to Leb came from Yabrud and Nabuk via Arsal," Nasrallah said on Tuesday, noting that had Hizbullah refrained from intervening militarily in Syria's Qusayr and Qalamoun areas, "dozens and hundreds of explosive-rigged cars would have entered Leb."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Hizbullah Backers Protest Anti-Islam Film in Bint Jbeil

2012-09-23

[An Nahar]

Thousands of supporters of Hizbullah protested on Saturday in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil against a film mocking Islam.

"This film that insults the Prophet is not merely a trivial creation carried out by a group, but American politics intended to be disseminated to the Western world," Hizbullah MP Nawaf al-Moussawi told the crowd.

Women in black chadors carried colorful Islamist flags alongside young children holding the Qoran, the Moslem holy book.

Moussawi ruled out a backlash against Christians in Leb, saying: "We participated with our Christian brothers wholeheartedly in the mass given by Pope Benedict XVI."

Several participants held posters of Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah alongside pictures of Syrian

Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Supressor of the Damascenes...
, whose ruling clan hails from the Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiism.

Some attacked Salafist holy man Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir, who has gained notoriety over the past year for his anti-Damascus
...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world...
stance.

"This Sheikh who instructs Moslems on the right path, what did he do for the south and for Leb? Did he say a word condemning the Israeli attacks?" asked demonstrator Mohammed Ali Bazzi.

"His every move was to disarm the resistance (Hizbullah), which is Israel's first demand," he told Agence La Belle France Presse.

On Friday, al-Assir held his own smaller rally in Beirut, where participants waved Syrian revolution flags, alongside Islamic flags and a large Turkish flag.

Leb is deeply divided between a Western-backed opposition, which supports the Syrian revolt, and the ruling majority led by Hizbullah, which is staunchly pro-Damascus.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanon MP : Berri is a Dictator

2008-05-09

MP Nabil de Freij accused Speaker Nabih Berri of being a "dictator," saying Parliament's economic committee had been summoned for a meeting during his absence. De Freij, in an interview with Naharnet, said Berri is "the person most (responsible for) blocking presidential elections in Lebanon." "When I was away, Berri summoned the economic committee which I head through (MP) Ali Bazzi," de Freij said. "And when I asked Bazzi why Berri called for the meeting, he replied by saying: 'I did not call for the meeting.'"

"They do things that they are ashamed of. Then they lie to cover up their deeds," he said.

De Freij said Berri's call for the committee meeting was aimed at directing media attention to "show embassies that he is carrying out his duties in Parliament."

"Nabih Berri is a dictator. He believes he can cheat the world by using this method, when this is all a lie," he went on to say. "Ali Bazzi was the one who signed the paper calling for the committee meetings. This is what I've been told," de Freij said. "Yet, he (Bazzi) denied the matter when I spoke to him."

De Freij accused Berri of closing Parliament doors as "part of the scheme aimed at hitting all institutions in Lebanon." He said a May 13 parliament session set to elect a president is unlikely to take place because there is no "green light" from Damascus to Lebanon elections.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Majority hands the Parliament petition on proposed amendment

2007-12-28

A delegation of Lebanons majority MPs which included Akram Chehayyeb, Antoine Zahra and Ammar Houri handed the petition on the proposed amendment to the Secretary-General of the Council of Deputies Adnan Dahir at 2 PM local time .

Chehayyeb said : "On behalf of the majority we have presented the petition on the amendment of article 49 of the Lebanese constitution to allow the election of the Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as President of the Republic signed by more than 10 MPs . This is an additional proof of the sincere desire of the parliamentary majority of March 14 to save the presidential elections by the election of Gen. Michel Suleiman as the compromise president for all of Lebanon, specially since the country is going through a lot of turmoil."

MP Antoine Zahra said : I apologize for the absence of MP Walid Eido and MP Antoine Ghanem , two of the colleagues that Akram and I are used to accompany . He added those 2 MPS that were killed by 'wild pigs' will be back one day when Lebanon becomes a truly independent and democratic and free country.

Eido and Ghanem who were outspoken anti Syrian MPs were assassinated in 2007. Syria ( and not the wild pigs ) was accused of the assassination but it denied any wrongdoing .

The MPs who signed the petition are Eli Aoun, Antoine Zahra, Imad Houri, Mustafa Hashim, Mohammad Qabbani, Serge Torsrkisian, Nabil de Freij, Riyad Rahhal, Jawad Boulos, Henry Helou, Akram Chehayyeb, Atef Majdalani, Ghazi Youssef. The petition urges the parliament to adopt the proposed amendment without any further delay to facilitate the election of General Suleiman and save the country from further turmoil.

MP Ali Bazzi, a member of Speaker Nabih Berris bloc predicted Berri will reject the petition, because he considers the government that initiated the proposed amendment to be unconstitutional.

Yesterday Hezbollah parliament bloc leader Mohammad Raad attacked Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government and accused it of seizing the presidential powers. Raad pledged "new complications" to the already tense situation.

The Lebanese media has also expressed pessimism about Saturday's election session and predicted that it will most probably meet the fate of previous attempts and leave the country without a president until after the new year when the parliament will be in recess. Saturday Dec. 29 is the date set for the election of the president.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Knobby will convene parliament in September to elect new president

2007-04-18

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri will convene Parliament on September 25 to elect a new president for Lebanon, according to MP Ali Bazzi, a member of the pro- Syrian Amal movement, an ally of Hezbollah. Bazzi, who made the announcement on Sunday during a rally in south Lebanon to commemorate the 12th anniversary of al-Mansouri massacre in Tyre, stressed that no political stability or decisions can be reached in Lebanon without the "essential role of the resistance," a reference to Hezbollah.

Bazzi said the legislative will convene to elect a new head of state to replace President Emile Lahoud without the presence of the "unconstitutional" government, adding that only MP-ministers will be allowed to attend the September session. "No way will Speaker Berri allow it (government) to be represented in parliament," he said.

Bazzi, who is also an official in the Amal movement which is headed by Berri, criticized some leaders in the March 14 coalition "for not possessing the intention nor the will nor a national plan to work together in order to salvage the country from its current political crisis."

He assured that the political stalemate that has gripped Lebanon since the resignation of six pro-Syrian cabinet ministers in November was not over the international tribunal, but over Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government "which has lost its legitimacy."

Lahoud's term, which was extended for three years in a Syrian-inspired controversial constitutional amendment in September 2004, expires in November 2007. The presidential election and the creation of the U.N.-backed international tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 murder of former Premier Rafik Hariri are at the heart of Lebanon's domestic disputes.

Geagea says: Why wait for 6 more months?
Lebanese forces chief Dr. Samir Geagea ridiculed the announcement as too little too late, and said why should we wait for 6 more months to elect a new president, the time to do it is now. Dr. Geagea also questioned the motive of Berri when he said that the president will not be from march 8 alliance nor March 14 alliance . Geagea said the opposition acts as what is theirs is theirs alone and what is ours is to be shared with them. Geagea said if this is the case we will also want to elect a new speaker ( to replace Berri) that is neither from March 14 alliance nor from march 8th alliance .

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Urgent meet held to resolve Ein el-Hellhole clashes

2005-10-26

An urgent two-hour meeting was held at the Hariri residence in Majdalyoun Tuesday to try and find a solution to the deadly skirmish that broke out near the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp Sunday. On hand were MPs Osama Saad, Bahia Hariri, Hizbullah representative Sheikh Hassan Ezzeddine and Amal representative MP Ali Bazzi, in addition to local political, religious, security and commercial personalities.

Participants highlighted the importance of lifting any political cover off of the perpetrators of the attacks, and urged the government and the Higher Relief Committee to compensate residents for any losses incurred in the firefight and to create a committee to follow up on the issue. The clashes, which left one man dead and four wounded, broke out Sunday between members of the disbanded Palestinian militia Jund al-Sham Brigades and armed Palestinian men from the neighborhood of Taamir.

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Hariri stressed the government must exert its control over Taamir, which is located just outside of the refugee camp. "Making such a request signifies holding a dialogue; this is why a committee of joint parties was created," she said. Hariri indicated that the committee will soon convene and meet with all Palestinian parties that have expressed a willingness to hold discussions. However, she also expressed the participants' opposition to any form of a self-imposed security apparatus in the area. Meanwhile, shop owners in Taamir returned to business Tuesday, as things seemed to be returning to normal.

Jund al-Sham official Ghani al-Sohmorani rejected responsibility for what he called "the passing individual clashes," and called for patience. Sohmorani, also known as Abu Ramez, denied allegations that there would be renewed violence if the wounded, currently in the hospital, should die. The imam of Al-Quds Mosque in Sidon, Sheikh Maher Hammoud, said talks are being held with Palestinian Islamic forces to secure the deployment of the army in the area. He added all parties in Sidon are discussing the deployment on the basis that the government only fills the security vacuum and does not exacerbate the problem, considering the concentration of forces from Usbat al-Ansar al-Islamiyya, Jund al-Sham and the Popular Nasserite Organization in the area.

Abu Ramez ruled out accusations the government was prodding his group to stir tensions, stressing it was the government's role to arrest any individuals responsible for violence. Explaining the clashes broke out while he was in a meeting with representatives of MPs Saad, Hariri and Usbat al-Ansar, Abu Ramez said he had immediately ordered the attacks to stop and called for the arrest of those involved. However, Sohmorani accused some Taamir residents of collaborating with the army to create a security gap to demonstrate the necessity of disarming the Palestinian camps. He refused to allow the army into the camps, pledging that he will fight "to the death."

Link

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