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.
Well-informed ministerial sources told
as-Safir daily that blocking the roads in Downtown Beirut, by the families of the kidnapped troops, is unacceptable, noting however that the families’ movements are legitimate, as long as they do not harm other citizens.
The sources pointed out that the negotiations with the kidnappers are ongoing, stressing the need to keep the case confidential in order to avoid confusion and extortion.
In this regard, the same sources stated that the Qatari envoy is pursuing his work, “according to his own tactics and plans,” noting that the Lebanese government is ready to provide him with the necessary conditions to achieve the needed outcome.
Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said that the establishment of camps for the Syrian refugees is “a masked resettlement,” noting that the military operation carried out by Hezbollah in the Shebaa farms two days ago comes within the framework of the ministerial statement.
In a statement to
al-Akhbar daily, Bassil stressed Lebanon’s keenness on the stability of its southern borders and the implementation of the United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, accusing Israel of “manipulating the rules of stability and taking advantage of the Takfiri wave in order to change the balance of power in the region.”
In this regard, the minister said the latest operation carried out by Hezbollah in Shebaa farms took place in Lebanese land, recalling that the ministerial statement approved by the Lebanese cabinet stipulates the liberation of the Shebaa farms and any other occupied Lebanese land.
“The operation came as a response to an Israeli violation,” he stated.
Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi revealed that the latest demands raised by the kidnappers of the Lebanese troops include the opening of crossing points between the Arsal mountainous region and the town, ending the raid operations carried out by the army in Syrian refugee settlements and the release of a number of Islamist inmates held at the Roumieh prison.
In this regard, Azzi told
an-Nahar newspaper that these demands reveal that the kidnappers are not seeking negotiations or a prisoner exchange deal, but they intend to keep the hostages in custody as “a way to exert pressure on the Lebanese state.”
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon expressed his “deep concern over the activities of the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State organization in the mountainous regions surrounding the northeastern town of Arsal,” the
an-Nahar daily correspondent in New York reported.
He added that the secretary general warned against a substantial effect on Lebanon’s security and stability in case Hezbollah continues its intervention in the war in Syria.
According to the daily, Ban Ki Moon praised the efforts of the Lebanese Armed Forces in facing terrorist threats, expressing however his disappointment over the failure of the Lebanese politicians in electing a new president within the constitutional time frame.
“Keeping the presidential position in a state of vacuum will increase the fragility of the country in facing security, humanitarian and economic challenges,” he continued.