Introduction to the evening news 17-11-2012

30 years ago, on October 17, 1982, a Lebanese woman called Wadad Halwani made a call through the radio, prompting families of those abducted during the Lebanese war to gather for the first time and call for the release of their loved ones. Since then, the list of abductees went on and on and included those detained in Syrian prisons, whose fate is still unknown.       

30 years later, the same families took to the street in light of a regime including leaders of former militias, i.e. the abductors themselves. The parents and sons of the missing persons stood on the mass graves that the state is refusing to exhume, to say: “Enough waiting!”      

At a time when the Lebanese are still looking for their missing persons, Israel is proceeding with its new war on Gaza amid a possible ground invasion following the summoning of 75,000 Israeli reservists. As Hamas rockets reached Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel deployed an “Iron Dome” rocket-defense battery in Tel Aviv.            

Once again, Israel garnered US support. While the White House announced that Israel has the right to make their own military decisions and to self-defense, Cairo emerged as the capital of political talks. Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas political office and Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Cairo. The latter stressed the necessity to hold Israel responsible for its massacres.      

Also in Cairo, a meeting for the Arab foreign ministers kicked off and Arab League Secretary General Nabil Elaraby called for reconsidering peace initiatives with Israel.         

All these developments and more in our detailed news bulletin.


To watch the intro, click on the image above