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Interview with a Lebanese "terrorist"
'The girl screamed. I don't remember anything else'
Samir Qantar, feted as a hero of the resistance in his native Lebanon this week, was reviled as a child-murdering monster in Israel, which freed him in exchange for the bodies of two soldiers killed by Hizbullah in the raid that triggered the 2006 war. Over four years Chen Kotes-Bar, an Israeli journalist and daughter of an Auschwitz survivor, spoke to prisoner 562885 ... the man behind a brutal terrorist act that is seared into her country's consciousness. This is an account of their extraordinary conversations.
Of interest to me was that he carried this out at the age of 16, anyone else remember what they were like at the age of 16? 'The girl screamed. I don't remember anything else' ... more -
Fallen Soldiers Swap
Five Lebanese militants linked to Hezbollah were set free in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers that were killed in a Hezbollah raid. Among the five militants was, Samir Kantar, who vowed to continue the fight against Israel shortly after being released. Many, especially Hezbollah supporters, are seeing this lopsided trade as a symbol of Hezbollah's power over Israel. Five Lebanese militants linked to Hezbollah were set free in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers that were killed in a Hez... more
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Who is Samir Kuntar? To Israeli's he is a cold blooded murdered of a four year ol...
This is a really sad day for Israel as what Kuntar did was awful and to release him and to see him welcomed as a hero is truly disturbing.
Israel has posted a clip on the video-sharing Web site YouTube detailing the crimes committed by Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar, who was freed on Wednesday as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Hezbollah.
The Prime Minister's Office produced the video and released it on Tuesday as part of a campaign to tarnish the image of the Lebanese guerilla group in light of the victory celebrations held in Lebanon for return of Kuntar, jailed in Israel in 1979 for a terrorist attack that left four Israelis dead. This is a really sad day for Israel as what Kuntar did was awful and to release him and to see him welcomed as a hero is truly disturb... more -
Israel identifies dead soldiers
"The Israeli army has confirmed that human remains handed over by Lebanon's Hezbollah as part of a prisoner swap are those of two of its soldiers.
The two men, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, were captured in 2006, but it was not certain they had died.
In return, Israel is handing over five Lebanese prisoners and the bodies of 200 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters. " "The Israeli army has confirmed that human remains handed over by Lebanon's Hezbollah as part of a prisoner swap are those of two of i... more -
Israel Confirms Bodies are Missing Soldiers
Israeli defense officials say forensics experts have positively identified the remains of two soldiers released by Hezbollah guerrillas. Israeli defense officials say forensics experts have positively identified the remains of two soldiers released by Hezbollah guerrilla... more
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Israel Testing Coffins for Missing Soldiers
Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas turned over to Israel two coffins believed to contain the bodies of Israeli soldiers, setting in motion a dramatic prisoner swap between the bitter enemies Wednesday. Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrillas turned over to Israel two coffins believed to contain the bodies of Israeli soldiers, setting in motion... more
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Israel, Hezbollah swap prisoners - 'Road to real peace looks good'
Hezbollah and Israel prepared to swap prisoners on Wednesday two years after their 34-day war -- a sequel hailed as a triumph by the Lebanese guerrilla group and as a painful necessity by many Israelis.
Under a deal mediated by a U.N.-appointed German intelligence officer, Israel was to free five prisoners in exchange for two soldiers captured by Hezbollah guerrillas in a 2006 cross-border raid, who are widely presumed dead.
Hezbollah security official Wafik Safa told the group's al-Manar television that the two Israelis were at the border, but he declined to say if they were dead or alive.
Israel will also hand over the bodies of 200 Arabs killed trying to infiltrate northern Israel. Hezbollah will return the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon. Hezbollah and Israel prepared to swap prisoners on Wednesday two years after their 34-day war -- a sequel hailed as a triumph by the L... more -
Israel-Hezbollah prisoner swap 'this week'
A planned prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah will take place on Wednesday, Israeli officials say.
Israel will release five Lebanese prisoners in exchange for two Israeli soldiers seized in a cross-border raid that triggered a 33-day war in 2006.
The condition of the two Israeli soldiers is not known, but it is widely believed that they are dead. The Lebanese prisoners due to be freed include Samir Qantar, in jail since 1979 for a deadly guerrilla raid.
Under the prisoner-swap arrangement, Hezbollah handed over documents about the navigator, including two previously unseen photographs, on Saturday. The photographs were passed on to his family along with letters that were reportedly written several years ago, but Israeli authorities said they provided no new information about his well being.
In the exchange Israel is also expected to hand over the bodies of 200 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters killed while infiltrating northern Israel.
A planned prisoner exchange between Israel and Hezbollah will take place on Wednesday, Israeli officials say. ... more -
Syria and Lebanon to open embassies in each other's countries
"The announcement came after Mr Sarkozy held talks with Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman and then Syria's leader Bashar Assad in Paris.
Lebanon and Syria broke off diplomatic ties after former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri was assassinated in 2005. Beirut accused Syria of involvement.
Mr Assad's welcome in Paris marks his return to the world stage.
"I would like to say what a historic step forward it is for France that Syrian President Bashar Assad is determined to open a diplomatic representation in Lebanon, and that Lebanon should open a diplomatic representation in Syria," Mr Sarkozy announced after meeting both men.
There has been no announcement by either Syria or Lebanon, but Mr Sarkozy said their leaders had authorised him to speak on their behalf.
Relations between Syria and Lebanon have been tense since the forced withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in mid-2005 after Mr Hariri's assassination.
But the two nations have not had diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level since they became independent in the 1940s."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid...
"The announcement came after Mr Sarkozy held talks with Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman and then Syria's leader Bashar Assad in Pa... more -
Syria, Lebanon to open embassies
Syria and Lebanon have agreed to open embassies in each other's capitals, French leader Nicolas Sarkozy has said.
The announcement came after Mr Sarkozy held talks with Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman and then Syria's leader Bashar Assad in Paris.
Lebanon and Syria broke off diplomatic ties after former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri was assassinated in 2005. Beirut accused Syria of involvement.
Relations between Syria and Lebanon have been tense since the forced withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in mid-2005 after Mr Hariri's assassination. But the two nations have not had diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level since they became independent in the 1940s.
Syria and Lebanon have agreed to open embassies in each other's capitals, French leader Nicolas Sarkozy has said. ... more -
Lebanon forms unity government with Hezbollah
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon ended weeks of wrangling on Friday and formed a unity government in which Hezbollah and its allies hold effective veto power, as agreed under a deal that ended a paralyzing political conflict in the country.
The decisive say granted to the former opposition led by Hezbollah, an ally of Damascus, shows that Syria has succeeded in wrenching back some political leverage in Lebanon, where it was the main power broker until its troops left in 2005.
The birth of the government, the first under newly elected President Michel Suleiman, should close a long political crisis that had threatened to plunge Lebanon into a new civil war. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon ended weeks of wrangling on Friday and formed a unity government in which Hezbollah and its allies hold eff... more -
Hezbollah gets veto power in Lebanese government
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon's prime minister has formed a national unity Cabinet in which Hezbollah and its allies have veto power over government decisions.
Prime Minister Fuad Saniora had been struggling to form a government since former army chief Gen. Michel Suleiman was elected president in May.
Saniora announced the Cabinet formation Friday in Beirut.
Hezbollah's veto power was part of an Arab League-brokered deal to achieve compromise between the U.S. and Western-backed parliamentary majority and Hezbollah-led opposition
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Lebanon's prime minister has formed a national unity Cabinet in which Hezbollah and its allies have veto power over ... more -
High emotions as Israel reaches deal for soldiers' return
The Israeli Cabinet's approval Sunday of a prisoner swap with the militant group Hezbollah touched off cries of victory in Lebanon and sparked fresh debate within the Jewish state over the price of its determination to retrieve missing soldiers.
After weeks of emotional public speculation and a six-hour Cabinet debate, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government voted 22 to 3 in favor of a deal that would return two captured Israeli soldiers. Olmert acknowledged Sunday that they were probably dead.
In return for the men or their bodies, Hezbollah would receive several imprisoned Lebanese militants, the bodies of about a dozen other fighters and the release of a still-unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners.
Hezbollah's leadership still has to approve the deal, but the Shiite Muslim group on Sunday hailed it as a victory for the strategy of armed resistance.
The Israeli Cabinet's approval Sunday of a prisoner swap with the militant group Hezbollah touched off cries of victory in Lebanon and... more -
Lebanon: Deaths amid fresh fighting
Two people have been killed in a second day of fighting in the north Lebanese city of Tripoli.
The deaths on Monday came a day after four people died as supporters of the ruling majority and the Hezbollah-led opposition battled in the Bab al-Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen areas of the city.
Some residents fled their homes and others hid as machine-gun fire and grenade explosions erupted on the streets.
One person was killed on Monday morning in renewed violence, while another died of wounds sustained in the previous day's clashes. More than 30 people have been injured in the fighting. A police officer was killed by a stray bullet on Sunday in al-Qobbe district while three other men were killed during clashes in Jabal Mohsen, security officials said.
The various factions had agreed earlier on Sunday that the Lebanese army should be deployed to maintain security and they would keep their fighters off the streets, but clashes continued soon afterwards. Two people have been killed in a second day of fighting in the north Lebanese city of Tripoli. ... more -
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 -
Israel calls for Lebanon peace talks
Israel said today it wanted to open "direct, bilateral" peace talks with Lebanon, as officials confirmed they have agreed a ceasefire with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas due to begin in the Gaza Strip from dawn tomorrow.
The talks with Lebanon would include discussions over the Shebaa Farms, an area of land held by Israel and claimed by the Lebanese.
The overture appears to have been encouraged by the US administration and comes after indirect talks between Israel and Syria were re-started for the first time in eight years.
The approach to Lebanon may indicate that an agreement is close at hand with the Lebanese group Hizbullah over the return of two Israeli soldiers captured at the start of the 2006 Lebanon war and who are now feared dead. Israel is reportedly ready to release some Lebanese prisoners in return.
Today Israeli officials were cautious about how long the Gaza ceasefire might last, warning that the agreement was fragile and a military invasion still an option.
Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defence official who was the envoy on the ceasefire negotiations, said: "This is not a peace agreement."
"A calm means that there is no type of terror, there is no difference if it comes from 'a' or 'b,"' he told Israel's Army Radio. "It's clear that if there won't be attacks on us, the army activity will be in accordance."
Palestinian militants fired rockets and mortars into southern Israel today and there was gunfire towards Israeli communities, but there were no reports of injuries.
Islamic Jihad said it carried out the attacks in response to the killing of 10 militants in Gaza this week.
"Thursday will be the beginning we hope of a new reality where Israeli citizens in the south will no longer be on the receiving end of continuous rocket attacks," said Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli prime minister. "Israel is giving a serious chance to this Egyptian initiative and we want it to succeed."
Others, even in the Israeli cabinet, spoke out against the decision to accept the ceasefire, which has been arranged after weeks of mediation by the Egyptians.
"A calm brings a great accomplishment for Hamas," Meir Sheetrit, an Israeli cabinet minister, told Army Radio. "They prove that their determination and the war and the continued attacks on Israel help them achieve what they want."
The ceasefire will develop in stages, with Israel gradually easing its economic blockade of Gaza if the ceasefire holds.
Funerals were held in Gaza today for militants killed in an Israeli air strike yesterday, among them Moataz Dogmush, a senior leader in the Army of Islam.
The small but extreme militant group was responsible last year for kidnapping the British BBC reporter Alan Johnston and also played a role in the capture in June 2006 of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who remains in captivity in Gaza.
Israel said today it wanted to open "direct, bilateral" peace talks with Lebanon, as officials confirmed they have agreed a ceasefire ... more -
Israel calls for Lebanese peace talks
On Wednesday, Israel called on Lebanon to open direct peace talks between the two countries, said a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
"Israel wants peace with Lebanon. We are currently negotiating with the Syrians and with the Palestinians, and there is no logical reason whatsoever why we can't negotiate with the Lebanese," said Olmert spokesman Mark Regev.
Regev said Israel "is interested in direct bilateral talks where every issue of contention will be on the table."
This comment came as Israel and longtime foe Syria hold indirect peace talks in Turkey.
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Israel has never had formal diplomatic relations with Lebanon. It fought a war in Lebanon two years ago against the militant Shiite group Hezbollah and another one during the 1980s against Palestinian militants based there.
Israel has formal diplomatic relations with two other nations on its border, Egypt and Jordan. On Wednesday, Israel called on Lebanon to open direct peace talks between the two countries, said a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minist... more -
Israel calls for Lebanese peace talks
Israel has called on Lebanon to open direct peace talks between the two sides, the prime minister's spokesman said Wednesday.
The appeal comes after Israel agreed to a truce with the Hamas leaders who control Gaza.
"Israel wants peace with Lebanon. We are currently negotiating with the Syrians and with the Palestinians, and there is no logical reason whatsoever why we can't negotiate with the Lebanese," spokesman Mark Regev said.
Regev said Israel "is interested in direct bilateral talks where every issue of contention will be on the table."
This comment came as Israel and its longtime foe Syria hold indirect peace talks in Turkey.
Israel has never had formal diplomatic relations with Lebanon. It fought a war in Lebanon two years ago against the militant Shiite group Hezbollah, and another during the 1980s against Palestinian militants based there.
Israel has formal diplomatic relations with two other nations on its border, Egypt and Jordan.
As for Israel's relations with the Palestinians, it has been engaged in peace efforts with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah movement.
The truce between Israel and Gaza's Hamas leaders is scheduled to take effect Thursday morning and last for six months, Hamas officials said. Video Watch how violence continues in Gaza » Israel has called on Lebanon to open direct peace talks between the two sides, the prime minister's spokesman said Wednesday. ... more -
A Vespa in Beirut
A Vespa in Beirut di Cristina Provenzano - Driver: Lorenzo Trombetta
Music: Scrambled Eggs http://www.myspace.com/scrambledeggslebanon
Giugno 2008.Un giro in Vespa per le strade di Beirut a ritmo di musica. Un città piena di contraddizioni, un caleidoscopio di mondi diversi. A Vespa in Beirut di Cristina Provenzano - Driver: Lorenzo Trombetta ... more -
The West's weapon of self-delusion by Robert Fisk - The Independent
So they are it again, the great and the good of American democracy, grovelling and fawning to the Israeli lobbyists of American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), repeatedly allying themselves to the cause of another country and one that is continuing to steal Arab land.
Will this ever end? Even Barack Obama – or "Mr Baracka" as an Irish friend of mine innocently and wonderfully described him – found time to tell his Jewish audience that Jerusalem is the one undivided capital of Israel, which is not the view of the rest of the world which continues to regard the annexation of Arab East Jerusalem as illegal. The security of Israel. Say it again a thousand times: the security of Israel – and threaten Iran, for good measure.
Yes, Israelis deserve security. But so do Palestinians. So do Iraqis and Lebanese and the people of the wider Muslim world. Now even Condoleezza Rice admits – and she was also talking to Aipac, of course – that there won't be a Palestinian state by the end of the year. That promise of George Bush – which no-one believed anyway – has gone. In Rice's pathetic words, "The goal itself will endure beyond the current US leadership."
Of course it will. And the siege of Gaza will endure beyond the current US leadership. And the Israeli wall. And the illegal Israeli settlement building. And deaths in Iraq will endure beyond "the current US leadership" – though "leadership" is pushing the definition of the word a bit when the gutless Bush is involved – and deaths in Afghanistan and, I fear, deaths in Lebanon too.
It's amazing how far self-delusion travels. The Bush boys and girls still think they're supporting the "American-backed government" of Fouad Siniora in Lebanon. But Siniora can't even form a caretaker government to implement a new set of rules which allows Hizbollah and other opposition groups to hold veto powers over cabinet decisions.
Thus there will be no disarming of Hizbollah and thus – again, I fear this – there will be another Hizbollah-Israeli proxy war to take up the slack of America's long-standing hatred of Iran. No wonder President Bashar Assad of Syria is now threatening a triumphal trip to Lebanon. He's won. And wasn't there supposed to be a UN tribunal to try those responsible for the murder of ex-prime minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005? This must be the longest police enquiry in the history of the world. And I suspect it's never going to achieve its goal (or at least not under the "current US leadership").
There are gun battles in Beirut at night; there are dark-uniformed Lebanese interior ministry troops in equally dark armoured vehicles patrolling the night-time Corniche outside my home.
At least Lebanon has a new president, former army commander Michel Sleiman, an intelligent man who initially appeared on posters, eyes turned to his left, staring at Lebanon with a creditor's concern. Now he has wisely ordered all these posters to be torn down in an attempt to get the sectarian groups to take down their own pictures of martyrs and warlords. And America thinks things are going fine in Lebanon.
For the full article click on the link
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fisk/robert-fisk-the-... So they are it again, the great and the good of American democracy, grovelling and fawning to the Israeli lobbyists of American Israel... more
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