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.
Close
sources to MP Walid Jumblatt declared to
Al-Akhbar newspaper on
Wednesday that Jumblatt is keeping good relations with Hezbollah under
duress of various reasons; first, his keenness not to repeat the events
of May 7, 2008 and second, his conviction that chaos would be
destructive and that the party that does not have military capacities
and organized closed areas such as Hezbollah will not be victorious.
On
another note, sources close to Jumblatt assured that he is keen on
maintaining good relations with Hezbollah, “but at the same time,
managed to express his opinion regarding the Syrian issue and his
hostility to the Assad regime.”
On Jumblatt’s statements
regarding the misuse of weapons, the sources emphasized that they are
not related to the weapons amended to fight Israel, “knowing that
Jumblatt believes in the necessity of keeping weapons to liberate
Palestine, yet he is convinced that they should stay in the custody of
the state and the Lebanese army."
Al-Liwaa
newspaper has reported on Wednesday that Palestinians these days are
fearing a major Israeli conspiracy that stipulates giving them a land
within the borders of Gaza Strip, without the West Bank that Israel is
planning to annex .
Al-Liwaa has unveiled Israeli attempts to
modify the borders of Palestine and displace the Arabs of the West Bank
and Jerusalem” if they do not replace their Arab and Jordanian
identities by Israeli ones.”
Sources
told
Al-Liwaa newspaper on Wednesday that the consultations held in the
past two days between Change and Reform bloc leader MP Michel Aoun, the
political assistant of the Secretary General of Hezbollah Hajj Hussein
Khalil and MP Ali Bazzi, delegated by House Speaker Nabih Berri, were
centered on preventing relations between Aoun and Prime Minister Najib
Mikati from reaching a dead end as a result of Mikati’s threat to
resign. According to the sources, this would preserve the government and
maintain the country’s stability.
The
March 14 youth and student associations will hold a rally Wednesday
evening to call for the expulsion of the Syrian ambassador and the
abolishment of the Lebanon-Syria Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation, and
Coordination. The participants will head from outside the Saint Jospeh
University (USJ) in Huvelin Street to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
An-Nahar
Daily quoted well-informed sources in March 14 as saying that the
students took all the decisions regarding the protest’s leadership and
organization, as well as the speeches that will be held outside the
Ministry in Achrafieh. The politicians including former MPs, ministers,
leaders and representatives of parties and movements will only be
participating in the protest.
The sources pointed out that those
responsible for student associations visited the director general of the
General Security Major General Ashraf Rifi and informed him of the
program of the protest that will be held with the protection of the ISF
and other security and military apparatuses.
- Berri: I haven’t looked into the request to lift MP Merhebi's immunity yet
House
Speaker Nabih Berri told
Al Joumhouria Daily on Wednesday that he has
not yet looked into the request to lift the immunity off MP Mouin
Merhebi since he was busy dealing with emergency issues; “I will do it
soon”, he said.
Berri said that Lebanon will head the Arab League
next month, which is a role it assumes every 11 years, stressing that
“this opportunity must not be missed”. Berri explained that the stance
of National Struggle Front Leader Walid Jumblatt is similar to his,
unlike what is being said about him being against the idea of Lebanon
heading the Arab League in light of the self-dissociation policy adopted
in regards to the Syrian crisis.