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.
An-Nahar Daily reported that the historical
Az-Zahir Baybars Mosque in Baalbek’s Ras al-Ain Park is still a subject of
dispute between Hezbollah’s sheikhs and the Sunni Endowment.
According to the daily, the Sunni Endowment possesses
all the documents proving the ownership of the mosque that Hezbollah has seized
a few years ago and turned into a chapel named “Ras al-Hussein Mosque”.
The endowment filed a lawsuit over
the “demolition, sabotage and violation of a historical mosque established on endowment
land No. 3566 in the real estate area of Ras al-Ain Park, Baalbek”.
Following the Army Command’s
announcement that its intelligence has arrested 3 people in Rmeileh possessing Israeli-made
weapons,
As-Safir Daily learned that the LAF has arrested two other accomplices,
one Lebanese and one Palestinian, in the case.
Pending interrogations of the suspects,
well-informed security sources revealed to the daily that preliminary
investigations were based on 3 hypotheses:
First, the group may have been
smuggling arms to the Syrian opposition. However, interrogations revealed that
the suspects have no “opposition ties”.
Second, the group may have sought
to sell these arms. This hypothesis was later refuted during investigations.
Third, the group could be collaborating
with Israel, which is so far the most likely option pending the investigations’
official results.
Ties between the Change and Reform
Bloc Head MP Michel Aoun and Speaker Nabih Berri are now linked to developments
regarding the EDL issue.
While Berri remained silent in
protest, sources closed to him revealed to
As-Safir Daily that he has distanced
himself from negotiations with mediators over the issue.
The sources added that the speaker
has tasked his political aide, Minister Ali Hassan Khalil with following up on
the issue with concerned parties on the basis of “accepting any formula that
the EDL contract workers or their representatives would themselves accept”.
“Campaign to Boycott Supporters of
Israel in Lebanon” revealed to
Al-Akhbar Daily that the Lebanese market is full
of Israeli-made beauty equipment even if imported via the U.S., Europe or
Dubai.
The campaign added that four
Israeli companies have invaded the Lebanese markets with their products.
Al-Liwaa Daily revealed that Lebanese
Singer Fadel Shaker put on a live performance on the occasion of Ramadan inside
the “protest tent” set up by Sheikh Ahmad Assir outside the Mosque of Bilal Ben
Rabah.
Assir gave Fadel Shaker a warm
welcome by kissing his head amid the cheers and applause of the audience. “Fadel
Shaker is a resistant and heroic artist”, Assir said.
In turn, Shaker greeted the
protesters, saying that their movement is “a sort of Jihad”.
Shaker also touched on the Syrian
issue, saying that “Bashar Assad will be eventually
smashed by the feet of the Free Syrian army”.