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Israel and Hezbollah close to prisoner swap
Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel are putting the final touches to an agreement to exchange prisoners, a Lebanese political source said on Wednesday.
The deal, mediated by a U.N.-appointed German negotiator, would see Hezbollah returning two Israeli soldiers captured in 2006 for four Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of about 10 Hezbollah fighters. It is not clear whether either of the Israelis is still alive. Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel are putting the final touches to an agreement to exchange prisoners, a Lebanese political source said o... more -
Chertoff: Hezbollah Makes Al Qaeda Look 'Minor League'
JERUSALEM — Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff warned Thursday that the radical Islamic group Hezbollah "makes Al Qaeda look like a minor league team," and poses the greatest threat to national security.
"Someone described Hezbollah like the A-team of terrorists in terms of capabilities, in terms of range of weapons they have, in terms of internal discipline," Chertoff told FOX News. "To be honest, they make Al Qaeda look like a minor league team.
"They have been more disciplined, and they've been in some senses more restrained in the kinds of attacks they carry out ... in recent years, but that's not something we can take for granted," he warned.
Chertoff, speaking before the opening of a two-day terrorism forum in Jerusalem, also warned of the threat of a terrorist smuggling a bomb aboard a passenger airplane.
"I don't think we're really worried about hijacking because we've put a lot of measures in place like a locked cockpit door, flight deck officers who have weapons and the air marshals," Chertoff told FOX News. "So the next threat becomes the bomb. Something that either a person takes on board themselves or smuggles into the cargo."
"One way we've addressed smuggling a bomb is by reducing the size of liquids you can bring on board," Chertoff said. "That was a direct result of learning terrorists had developed a way to disguise liquid explosives.
"The second thing we're in the process of doing is intensifying the degree of screening we use for baggage that goes into the cargo. Whether it comes from the passenger or is shipped from company. All of this is raising the level of defense," he said.
Hezbollah, which represents most of the Shia in Lebanon and whose related factions hold a combined 37 seats in parliament -- more than a quarter of the legislative body -- is openly dedicated to the destruction of Israel.
In a 2000 interview with the Washington Post, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said, "I am against any reconciliation with Israel. I do not even recognize the presence of a state that is called 'Israel.'"
Military analysts estimate Hezbollah's armed strength to be about 1,000 full-time highly trained members, with as many as 10,000 volunteers who openly patrol the streets of Beirut and other Lebanese towns.
The group's primary weapons are believed to consist of an arsenal of Russian- and home-made rockets, as well as arms supplied through Iran, the group's political and spiritual ally.
In addition to Chertoff, the two-day security forum, hosted by Israeli Minister of Internal Security Avraham Dichter, includes representatives of Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Italy, the United Kingdon and the Palestinian Authority.
Part of the agenda will cover the psychology of bombers and a demonstration by Israeli security experts of how to foil an airplane hijacking. JERUSALEM — Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff warned Thursday that the radical Islamic group Hezbollah "makes Al Qaeda look li... more -
New Beirut clashes: Lebanon bans bikes, protests
Lebanon on Tuesday banned motorbikes, political demonstrations as well as flag waving and provocative slogans from the Lebanese capital until further notice after clashes between rival factions last night.
"Motorbikes will be banned in Beirut effective at 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) on May 27, 2008, until further notice," an interior ministry statement said.
Demonstrations, the waving of party flags or provocative slogans were also banned in the city.
It is common practice in Beirut for supporters of various rival political parties to drive around the city waving party flags, blaring slogans on loudspeakers and shooting in the air.
Hezbollah and its ally Amal movement put out a statement on Tuesday calling on their supporters to put an end to these practices saying that they would "not provide political cover for them."
ast night's clashes came as Hezbollah supporters were celebrating a speech by their leader Hassan Nasrallah, who vowed his powerful group would not use its weapons to achieve political gains.
Rival supporters insulted the Hezbollah backers who reacted by firing off a stun grenade at the Sunni mosque of Abdel Nasser.
The Lebanese army cordoned off the area and restored order, said state-run Tele Liban, without giving details or reporting any casualties.
It was the first such incident since the army took control of west Beirut after Hezbollah pulled out its fighters who seized control in several days of mostly Shiite-Sunni clashes earlier this month that killed 65 people.
Lebanon on Tuesday banned motorbikes, political demonstrations as well as flag waving and provocative slogans from the Lebanese capita... more -
Israel and Syria hold peace talks
Israel and Syria announced on Wednesday that they were engaged in negotiations for a comprehensive peace treaty through Turkish mediators, a sign that Israel is hoping to halt the growing influence of Iran, Syria’s most important ally, which sponsors the anti-Israel groups Hezbollah and Hamas.
Senior Israeli officials from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office and their Syrian counterparts were in Istanbul on Wednesday, where both groups had been staying separately, at undisclosed locations, since Monday. The mediators shuttled between the two. Syria and Israel have not negotiated this seriously in eight years.
Syria’s motives are clear: it wants to regain the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, and to re-establish a relationship with the United States, something it figures it can do through talks with Jerusalem.
The American government opposed Israeli-Syrian negotiations because they feared that such a negotiation would reward Syria at a time when the United States is seeking to isolate it for its backing of Hezbollah and its meddling in Lebanon, Bush administration and Israeli officials said. The United States yielded when it became clear that Israel was determined to go ahead, they said.
Israel and Syria announced on Wednesday that they were engaged in negotiations for a comprehensive peace treaty through Turkish mediat... more -
Rival Lebanese leaders sign a deal to end conflict
Rival Lebanese leaders signed a deal on Wednesday to end 18 months of political conflict that had threatened to push the country to a new civil war.
The agreement, reached after six days of Arab-mediated talks, also paved the way for the election of a new president.
Parliament will convene on Sunday to elect army chief General Michel Suleiman as head of state, aides to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told Reuters in Qatar, where the feuding sides signed the accord.
The agreement between the U.S.-backed ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition resolved a dispute over a law for holding 2009 parliamentary elections and met the opposition's long-standing demand for veto power in cabinet.
It followed a Hezbollah military campaign this month against the ruling coalition which bolstered the opposition's political strength. Hezbollah, a group backed by Iran and Syria, routed its rivals in six days of conflict that killed 81 and prompted the Qatari-led mediation.
The fighting was Lebanon's worst civil conflict since the 1975-1990 war and exacerbated tensions between Shi'ites loyal to Hezbollah and Druze and Sunni supporters of the government. Rival Lebanese leaders signed a deal on Wednesday to end 18 months of political conflict that had threatened to push the country to a ... more -
Saudi-Israeli Plot Against Hezbollah
Former Saudi Ambassador to the US Prince Bandar bin Sultan asks Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert to move against Hezbollah.
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What's really happening in Lebanon?
Clashes between supporters of the US-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition have shaken Lebanon. Six days of deadly sectarian bloodshed is the worst violence in the country since the end of the 15 year civil war in 1990. Real News Analyst Pepe Escobar examines what is happening in Lebanon.
Clashes between supporters of the US-backed government and the Hezbollah-led opposition have shaken Lebanon. Six days of deadly sectar... more -
Lebanon.. Up and down with the weeks warfare.
" It's the only country in the Arab world with a functioning parliamentary system that is not dependent on and does not answer to the executive; that, however, is true only when Parliament actually functions, a feat it has not been able to accomplish in several months as a result of the inability of the 128 members of Parliament to come to an agreement regarding the election of the next president. "
Lebanon still without a President faced more violence in the past week, with Shiite Hezbollah forces launching offensives on south and west of the country attacking Sunni pro-government opposition. More than 60 people have been killed in the clashes since the violence broke out, however a set of deals appears to have been brockered for the west of the country after heavy fighting around a druze stronghold in the Chouf Mountains. The fighting was active for the last week involving heavy fire power, and on Sunday Walid Jumblatt handed the area over the the Lebanese Army. Beiruit seems to follow similar deal, and although Hezbollah crushed all opposition before pulling out, the army is said to take control on teusday 6am (3am GMT) and will restore order by force if neccessary.
Since sunday an uneasy truce has been called, althuogh there have been reports of shootings up to 24 hours after the " truce " across the country, but they are wide spread and rare. Although there are reports that Hezbollah collumns were acting up from east Bekaa on monday night.
A delegation from the Arab League has been sent including Secretary General, Amr Moussa, and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jabr Al Thani, seeking to draw attention to the political instability in Lebanon and solve it. " It's the only country in the Arab world with a functioning parliamentary system that is not dependent on and does not answer to the ... more -
Fierce Fighting Breaks Out East of Beirut
Fierce clashes broke out on Sunday in the mountains east of Beirut between supporters of the Western-backed government and followers of Hezbollah, the militant group backed by Iran.
The fighting, in the Shouf and Aley districts in the mountains overlooking the capital, Beirut, followed overnight clashes in the northern city of Tripoli that left at least two people dead and five wounded, according to security officials. Fierce clashes broke out on Sunday in the mountains east of Beirut between supporters of the Western-backed government and followers o... more -
Hezbollah rocks eastern villages
Control of several villages loyal to Lebanon's pro-government Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has been handed to the army after an attack by Hezbollah.
The group's fighters used heavy weapons and small arms to attack the mountain settlements south-east of Beirut.
A truce was called after the Druze capitulated to avoid bloodshed, a BBC correspondent reports.
It follows four days of fighting in which Hezbollah stormed west Beirut, raising fears of a return to civil war.
About 40 people have died in total in the clashes, which pitch the Syrian-backed Shia Islamist movement Hezbollah and its allies against the governing Western-backed Sunni, Christian and Druze alliance.
Beirut was quiet on Sunday, after control of areas seized by Hezbollah was handed to the Lebanese army, but clashes took place overnight in Lebanon's second city, Tripoli.
Credit: BBC Control of several villages loyal to Lebanon's pro-government Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has been handed to the army after an attack ... more -
Hezbollah fighters pile pressure on Lebanon rivals
Lebanon's factional violence raged on in the mountains around Beirut on Sunday, as gunmen from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement battled Druze allies of a government which is supported by Washington.
The fighting in Aley, a town in the mountains overlooking the capital, and nearby villages killed at least eight people.
Hezbollah, which is also backed by Syria, and its allies have in recent days routed pro-government gunmen in Beirut in Lebanon's worst civil strife since the 1975-1990 civil war.
The campaign led by Hezbollah has increased pressure on the governing coalition, supported by the United States and Saudi Arabia, to accept the opposition's terms for ending 18 months of political conflict. Lebanon's factional violence raged on in the mountains around Beirut on Sunday, as gunmen from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement b... more -
Lebanese violence reaches northern city of Tripoli
"Fighting has been reported through the night in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between Hezbollah sympathisers and supporters of the government.
Machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades are being used and people have been fleeing their homes, correspondents say.
Three people died in the northern city on Saturday.
Meanwhile, an uneasy calm has descended on the capital, Beirut, scene of four days of bloody street battles.
More than 30 people died in those clashes between Hezbollah fighters and government supporters.
On Saturday, Hezbollah agreed to pull its fighters off the streets of the Muslim western part of the city after the army overturned government measures aimed at curbing the group".
BBC News "Fighting has been reported through the night in the Lebanese city of Tripoli between Hezbollah sympathisers and supporters of the gov... more -
Calm returns to Beirut's streets
"Lebanon's opposition has begun withdrawing its fighters from the streets of Beirut, handing control to the army, after seizing much of the city in battles with government supporters. "The opposition welcomes the army's decision and will proceed with the withdrawal of all its armed elements so that control of the capital is handed over to the military", an opposition statement said. Thirty-seven people have been killed in the four days of fighting that erupted after the government said it would take action against Hezbollah's communications network and sacked the head of security at Beirut airport, who is close to the group".
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies "Lebanon's opposition has begun withdrawing its fighters from the streets of Beirut, handing control to the army, after seizing much o... more -
Hizbullah agrees to pull its gunmen off Beirut streets
"Hizbullah announced today that it would withdraw its forces from west Beirut after a request from the army for the Shia group to end its stranglehold the city.
The announcement came after the Lebanese prime minister made his first statement since fighting began earlier in the week. In a televised address filmed at the government's headquarters that he and other cabinet ministers had been unable to leave for days, Fuad Siniora called Beirut "occupied' and "besieged" and branded Hizbollah's violent seizure of the west of the capital city, an "armed coup".
He also signalled a compromise, however, by saying that he would be happy to hand over mediation on the telecommunications issue that sparked the fighting to the army.
Issuing a statement shortly after the prime minister spoke, the Lebanese army accepted the role offered them by Siniora. It also announced that the airport security chief, whose sacking at the beginning of the week also had some part in precipitating the crisis, would be reinstated. He was dismissed when Hizbullah surveillance cameras were found at Beirut airport. In return, the army called for Hizbullah forces to withdraw".
Allegra Stratton and agencies
guardian.co.uk "Hizbullah announced today that it would withdraw its forces from west Beirut after a request from the army for the Shia group to end ... more -
New Lebanon Violence
Constant protesting, violence and attacks have once again turned the streets of Beirut into a battlefield. Hezbollah supporters have infiltrated Lebanons capital, blockaded the airport and set fire to communication hubs and other buildings. Elsewhere in the city, what started out as protests has turned to violence and destruction, forcing many to leave their homes in hopes of finding safety.
Hezbollah supporters have infiltrated Lebanons capital, blockaded the airport and set fire to communication hubs and other buildings. Constant protesting, violence and attacks have once again turned the streets of Beirut into a battlefield. Hezbollah supporters have i... more -
Hezbollah seizes control in west Beirut
"Heavily armed Hezbollah fighters seized control of large parts of west Beirut on Friday, patrolling the deserted streets in a show of force that underscored the Shiite militia's refusal to back down in its escalating confrontation with the American-backed government. Hezbollah allies also forced a government-allied satellite television station off the air and burned the offices of its newspaper affiliate, as Sunni fighters loyal to the government largely melted away, outnumbered and outgunned, during a third day of armed clashes here. By Friday afternoon, Hezbollah fighters and paramilitaries were riding joyfully through west Beirut in trucks and cars and on scooters, shouting and firing weapons into the air in a victory celebration..."
International Herald Tribune
By Robert F. Worth and Nada Bakri
Published: May 9, 2008 "Heavily armed Hezbollah fighters seized control of large parts of west Beirut on Friday, patrolling the deserted streets in a show of... more -
Podcast: Lebanon close to civil war.
The violence stems from unresolved tensions following Hezbollah's 32-day war
with Israel in southern Lebanon in 2006.
In Burma, news about Burmese National league for democracy leader Aung San Suu. The violence stems from unresolved tensions following Hezbollah's 32-day war with Israel in southern Lebanon in 2006. ... more -
Hezbollah gunmen take Beirut neighborhoods
Shiite Hezbollah gunmen seized control of key parts of Beirut from Sunni rivals loyal to the U.S.-backed government Friday, in a dramatic show-of-force certain to strengthen the Iranian-allied group's hand as it fights for dominance in Lebanon's political deadlock.
An ally of Hezbollah said the group intended to pull back, at least partially, from the areas its gunmen occupied overnight and Friday morning - signaling Hezbollah likely does not intend a full-scale, permanent takeover of Sunni Muslim parts of Beirut, similar to the Hamas takeover of Gaza a year ago.
The clashes eased by Friday evening as Lebanon's army began peacefully moving into some areas where Hezbollah gunmen had a presence.
But as Hezbollah gunmen celebrated in the capital's empty streets - including marching down one of its glitziest shopping lanes - it was clear that the show-of-force would have wide implications for Lebanon and the entire Mideast.
Shiite Hezbollah gunmen seized control of key parts of Beirut from Sunni rivals loyal to the U.S.-backed government Friday, in a drama... more -
Hezbollah takes over west Beirut
Gunmen from the Shia militant group Hezbollah have seized most of western Beirut, driving out supporters of the Western-backed government.
The gunmen, who also back Hezbollah's Shia opposition allies, have forced the closure of pro-government media.
The fighting was sparked by a government move on Monday to shut down Hezbollah's telecoms network.
At least 11 people, mainly civilians, have been killed and dozens injured in the city in three days of clashes.
The UN Security Council has urged the rival parties to stop fighting amid fears of civil war breaking out. Gunmen from the Shia militant group Hezbollah have seized most of western Beirut, driving out supporters of the Western-backed governm... more -
Hezbollah Gunmen Seize Control of Parts of Lebanon's Capital
Hezbollah gunmen have seized several parts of Lebanon's capital from Sunni fighters loyal to the country' Western-backed government, in clashes that left at least 10 people dead.
Fighters from the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah also forced the pro-government television station Future Movement off the air Friday and attacked an affiliated newspaper. Hezbollah gunmen have seized several parts of Lebanon's capital from Sunni fighters loyal to the country' Western-backed government, i... more
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