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.
- Qabbani: I will not allow Islamic
Council to be turned to political council
The Mufti of the Lebanese
Republic, Sheikh Rashid Qabbani declared that he will issue the lists for the
elections of the Higher Islamic Council at the beginning of the New Year,
in accordance with the law and the norms. He added that he will call for the elections
during the last ten days of the month of February, expressing surprise towards
the political debate triggered by these elections.
“I will not allow them to
turn the Higher Islamic Council into a political council,” he told
As-Safir Daily.
Sheikh Qabbani added that they did not
cancel the elections as an implementation of the decision issued by the Council
of State, noting that they canceled their call for the elections before the Council
of State’s decision.
Michel Hayek declared that
the predictions play an essential role in the Lebanese political life, noting
that there is an important number of politicians who plan their moves and
decisions according to “trusted predictions”.
In an interview with
As-Safir Newspaper, Michel Hayek said that the rate of the politicians who
resort to predictions reached 35% in Lebanon, pointing that the consultations
take place confidentially.
In this context, Hayek
summarized the frequently asked questions by the politicians as follows: “Is there
any danger threatening my life or my family? What is the fate of the Syrian
regime? When will Saad Hariri return to Lebanon? What is the fate of Hezbollah’s
arms? Will Lebanon remain divided between March 8 and March 14 camps?”
Ma'ariv newspaper published an article whereby it unveiled that the Israeli government is
intensifying its efforts to push Hezbollah to be added to the European list of terrorist organization; due to the deterioration of the situation in Syria, noting
that the diplomatic Israeli effort turned to a diplomatic war against Hezbollah.
According to the daily,
these efforts come from the wish to isolate this organization due to the events
taking place in Syria, the deteriorating situation of the Syrian regime and in an attempt to
weaken its capabilities in Lebanon.
The article, published in
As-Safir Daily added that
the United States, Canada and Britain support this step, while France strongly
oppose it, stressing that “a decision like this may affect the fragile
political stability in Lebanon and lead to an escalation on the ground.”
In this context, the
leadership of the European Union in Brussels also disagrees with this step,
noting that it fears that Hezbollah may present a petition against the decision
to the European court in Luxembourg, calling for annulling it, claiming that
such decision has been taken without providing any judicial evidence.
It is worth mentioning
that Israel has started deploying its efforts to add Hezbollah to the European
blacklist in 2005, but France has been hindering these efforts since.