The
following are summaries of today's major stories published in the
Arabic press. LBCI does not edit press digest articles for content,
giving English-language readers insight into the various views expressed
in newspapers across the Arab world.
Governmental sources told
Al-Hayat
daily on Sunday that high-ranking Lebanese officials are willing to meet the
demands of international institutions and donor countries in terms of helping
the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, the United Nations Security Council said in a
statement on Wednesday.
Same sources reported that President
Michel Sleiman and Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati had told
the United Nations, ahead of the Security Council's session, to transfer the money
through the World Bank to a special fund for the displaced Syrians.
Bishop Samir Mazloum called on the
Lebanese parties to reach a common ground in regards to many outstanding
issues, noting that the crisis the country is going through prompts the Maronite
Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai to call for cooperation and
understanding.
In this regard,
An-Nahar newspaper
quoted Bishop Mazloum as saying that sharp divisions among the Lebanese people
are the reason behind the repeated calls of Cardinal Rai, adding that the
absence of dialogue leads to infighting and political vacuum.
Bishop Mazloum also denounced
political skirmishes as well as the failure to agree on a new electoral law and
the formation of a new government, pointing out that the aforementioned issues justify
Rai's call for a national dialogue.
Lebanon First bloc MP Khaled Daher told the
Kuwait-based
Al-Seyassah Daily that "Hezbollah has a clear strategy to undermine
the Lebanese state's institutions," and accused Hezbollah Secretary General
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of working on shaking the confidence of the
international community in the Lebanese state.
In this context, MP Daher said that "the Sunni
community has no confidence in the military institution, mainly after the attacks
that were perpetrated by members of the Lebanese Armed Forces in Akkar,
claiming the lives of Sheikh Ahmed Abdul Wahed and Sheikh Mohammad Mereb".
Caretaker Minister of Environment Nazem
al-Khoury said that the "crippling" conditions set by Lebanese
parties hurdle the formation of the new government, warning against a potential
political vacuum in Lebanon.
In this regard, Khoury told
An-Nahar daily
that all parties should exert efforts in order to avoid political vacuum which
is considered as a red line, noting that President Michel Sleiman alongside
Prime Minister-Designate Tammam Salam are adamant on the formation of a
national unity government.
The Minister also said that the incidents
taking place in the country do not go in line with democracy, noting that the
current crisis confirms that the Lebanese system should be reconsidered.