| Short version: The Leb pols have returned to business as usual, Hezbollah's not going to give up its fascination with guns and explosives and the government's impotent to do anything about it. So they're twisting and turning and contorting themselves to manage to let the Hezbers have their way while seeming to adhere to 1701. We return to conditions as they were before the war, with the addition of rubble in Beirut and Tyre and the presence of UNIFIL troops who will have to get out of the way when the next flareup occurs. |
BEIRUT: A compromise agreement currently being hammered out between Hizbullah and the Lebanese government is expected to allow the party to keep hidden weapons in South Lebanon, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Tuesday. | “While Hizbullah would need to keep the weapons it possesses south of the Litani River hidden, an agreement for areas north of the river would be 'left to a long-term solution'... ” |
Resolution 1701 calls for Israel and Lebanon to support a solution based on previous UN resolutions requiring "the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon" apart from state security forces. While the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) within the new resolution does not require foreign troops to disarm Hizbullah themselves, the force is authorized "to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind" and to support the Lebanese Army in asserting control over all of Lebanon.
| “... the session scheduled for Sunday was indefinitely postponed amid reports that Hizbullah ministers would try to pass the hidden-weapons compromise despite strong opposition from some ministers of the March 14 Forces...” |
The minister said Resolution 1701, which provides a mandate for an expanded UNIFIL of 15,000 international troops, contained "obligations" that had to be met. "What do you want, Minister Fneish? Not to implement the decision? OK let's not implement it and the hell with the country then," said Sarkis. Energy Minister Mohammad Fneish is Hizbullah minister in Siniora's Cabinet.
Sarkis said commitment to implement the resolution and to unite behind Siniora's Cabinet is to spare the country "a political division and problems." Government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said private discussions are being held to convene a Cabinet session, but with no success yet. They said the talks focus on a pre-set agreement of what the session will decide regarding Hizbullah's weapons south of the Litani River and the deployment of the Lebanese Army there.
| “He said a 'sustainable peace cannot be fulfilled but through a comprehensive solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.'” |
Separately, Berri met Tuesday with Egyptian Ambassador Hussein Darrar and Saudi Ambassador Abdel-Aziz Khoja. Berri also received a phone call from the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Haddad Adel, who expressed his country's support for Lebanon. In another development, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi visited the headquarters of Hizbullah's Al-Manar television station in Haret Hreik, which was completely destroyed by Israeli raids, and hailed the "steadfastness of Al-Manar reporters and employees."