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.
Kuwaiti Al Siyasa Newspaper reported on Saturday that a
European security report issued by the French military intelligence revealed
that the telecommunication networks that Hezbollah established in the last
three years along the Litani River have been infiltrated dramatically by the
Israeli Mossad.
The report added that, unaware of the gravity of this
infiltration, the party’s security apparatuses believe 3 or 4 devices are
breached by Israel, among which is the one destroyed last week after it was
coincidently detected near the blue line separating between Israel and Lebanon.
However, Hezbollah uses these devices to mislead the Israeli intelligence by sending
false and confusing information.
The report revealed that, since 2008, the Israeli
intelligence managed to install detectors, wiretapping and spying devices near
Hezbollah’s various network stations. In response to these breaches, the party
tried in the last few months to expand its network across different Lebanese
regions, such as Tripoli, Akkar and Wadi Khaled.
In this context, A European diplomat told the daily that
significant Lebanese parties such as the Lebanese Forces and Future Movement as
well as some key embassies such as the U.S., French, Italian, Spanish, Saudi,
UEA and Jordanian embassies, established, after Hezbollah’s network had been
detected in 2008, their own telecommunication networks, some of which are more
developed and effective. This fact prompted the party’s leaders and allies not
to use their networks on each occasion, fearing the dense forest of
international communication networks, indisputably topped by the Israeli ones.
Al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday that the Free Patriotic
Movement is outraged by Hezbollah’s ministers voting against the wage
adjustment plan put forth by Minister Charbel Nahhas, pointing out that both
sides are discussing the matter from several angles.
According to the daily, Hezbollah Leader Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah received during the last 36 hours Minister Gibran Bassil, who refused
to deny or confirm the information to al-Akhbar.
The daily quoted Aounists as saying that “we have been
abandoned,” as they mentioned that the most shocking thing to them was that
Nasrallah had previously stressed that he endorses Aoun’s “rightful demands”.
According to the daily, FPM Leader MP Michel Aoun was
showered, in the past two days, with letters asking him about the point in
allying with a party to whom they give everything and, in return, did not side
with them over an issue that interests the entire country.
The daily added that, Hezbollah’s situation is not better off
given that the party’s recent position in the cabinet drew the ire of many of Hezbollah’s
leaders.
Al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman steered
clear of criticizing the Lebanese cabinet during his recent visit to Lebanon
after Washington has repeatedly insinuated that it is a Hezbollah-led
government.
The daily
added that Feltman regarded the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad as
inevitable.
The U.S.
diplomat seemed very resolute when he gave his opinion on Assad’s fall, some of
whom he met with reported.
The daily
added that Feltman praised PM Najib Mikati’s initiative to fund the STL
regardless of the way the funding was carried out, adding that Washington
considers this act as a proof of Lebanon’s commitment to international
resolutions.
Al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday that the current focal
point in the region is exerting economic pressure on Syria through sanctions,
embargo and boycotting along with measures that mainly target the capitalist
class, businessmen and the urban bourgeoisie in Syria on the grounds that
Syria’s leaders survival mainly hinges
on the bourgeois support.
The daily added that U.S. officials visited Beirut, during
the recent few weeks, and told concerned Lebanese officials that they are
requested to fully cooperate while dealing with “three entities”: Hezbollah,
Iranian financial transactions and financial dealings with Syria.
The U.S.
officials directly asked about the possibility of canceling Lebanon’s bank
secrecy, allowing the disclosure of all accounts and the control of their
owners and transactions, a matter almost impossible under the current
situation.
Well-informed sources told Al-Akhbar that agreements were
concluded over a series of measures that could lead to the same result by means
of “information technology”, since their request cannot be carried out by means
of law.
Al-Mustaqbal learned from well informed sources on Saturday
that some residents of the border town of Ramia attacked members of a UNIFIL
patrol affiliated with the Italian contingent, snatching their two
cameras.
The daily added that the LAF immediately intervened and saw
to it that the two cameras were restored to their owners.