Press Digest for Tuesday November 11, 2014

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.

• Hariri will not reject dialogue with Hezbollah - Sources

Sources following up on the relation between the Future Movement and Hezbollah told As-Safir newspaper on Tuesday that former Prime Minister Saad Hariri will not reject dialogue sessions that he had previously called for holding; however, emphasized that these sessions should be up to his expectations.

The sources stated that dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Bloc will be difficult, stressing that some issues will not be resolved, such as Hezbollah's intervention in the Syrian crisis.

In the same regard, the sources noted that there is no tangible perception for these expected dialogue sessions.

• Number of refugees in Lebanon decreased by 4,000 persons - Minister

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbass stated on Tuesday that reports of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) show that the number of refugees in Lebanon started decreasing although measures pertaining to their influx were not fully implemented.

In this regard, Minister Derbass told An-Nahar newspaper that the number of refugees decreased during the month of October by four thousand persons, noting that the ministerial committee tasked with following up on the issue of refugees in Lebanon will implement what was agreed upon during the Berlin Conference on the Syrian Refugee Situation.

• MP Jumblatt: I cannot but support the choice of the Syrian people

Democratic Gathering leader MP Walid Jumblatt stated on Tuesday that "the Syrian people rose in rebellion against President Bashar Assad in bid to get rid of his criminality."

"I cannot but support the choice of the Syrian people," Jumblatt told Al-Mustaqbal newspaper.

MP Jumblatt added to the newspaper that the Syrian people resorted to the Al-Nusra Front for various reasons, saying "it is impossible that they are all terrorists."

• Terrorist groups were plotting attacks against the army - Sources

A military source stated on Tuesday that investigations with Imad Jomaa and Ahmad Mikati revealed that a terrorist cell was plotting an attack from Arsal towards Hermel, Tripoli, and Akkar in order to declare an Islamic State.

The source told Al-Joumhouria newspapers that the arrestees are both affiliated with the Islamic State, stressing that they were receiving their orders from an IS official.

The source also pointed out that investigations with the aforementioned arrestees as well as other groups revealed that they were planning attacks against the Lebanese army; however, emphasized that the military institution controlled the situation and arrested members of these groups.