Introduction to the evening news 09-12-2011

The different Lebanese factions, including Hezbollah, unanimously denunciated the blast that targeted a UNIFIL French patrol on Friday. Yet this condemnation did not dissipate the fearful possibility that the UNIFIL may be the bloody mailbox used to deliver letters to more than one foreign country.          

France hastened to assure that the blast will not make it withdraw its troops from the UNIFIL. Nonetheless, the dilemma remains: Who is behind this blast that rocked a region surrounded by heightened security measures?         

Until this evening, no party claimed responsibility for the attack, even though claiming responsibility now does not help in uncovering the perpetrator. As a matter of fact, Abdullah Azzam Brigades who were said to be behind the recent RPG attack later released a statement denying any responsibility.           

On the other hand, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ spokesperson avoided linking the UNIFIL’s attack to the situation in Syria.            

In Syria, the death toll increased on “dignity strike Friday”, at a time when the Arab initiative is still trapped between the conditions and anti-conditions of Damascus and the Arab ministerial committee.         

Last but not least, in Lebanon, the wage increase decision has turned into a logjam after running into two NOs: a NO from the GLC, followed by another NO from the economic bodies.