The army command announced on Wednesday that the Siddiqin explosion that took place overnight may have been caused by a mine or cluster bomb left over from Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
It said in a statement that army units headed to the scene of the blast and conducted a wide search throughout the night and during the day on Wednesday without finding anything.
Full StoryMarch 14 General Secretariat coordinator Fares Soaid questioned on Wednesday the double standards adopted in tackling security issues in Lebanon, asking why it is easy for the army to enter the town of Arsal while it is prevented from entering the town of Siddiqin.
He wondered after the General Secretariat’s weekly meeting: “Why was it allowed to pursue Syrians in Arsal, while the army, which is responsible for protecting Lebanon and implementing U.N. Security Council 1701, was thwarted from heading to Siddiqin?”
Full StoryIsrael’s Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilnai announced on Tuesday that the Jewish state will properly handle a possible war with Hizbullah, adding that the party greatly fears Israel.
He said while visiting the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Shmona: “The Home Front Defense Ministry is exerting great efforts and funds in preparing for the next war with Hizbullah.”
Full StoryInformation Minister Walid al-Daouq announced after a cabinet session on Wednesday that the government would seek "clarifications" from the U.S. ambassador to Beirut after Hizbullah said it had succeeded in exposing CIA operatives.
Earlier on Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan, who represents Hizbullah in the 30-seat government, told reporters during a break from the cabinet meeting that the government had "decided to summon U.S. Ambassador Maura Connelly to question her on this issue."
Full StoryJustice Minister Shakib Qortbawi hoped that the government would find a “political” and “legal” solution to the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
In remarks to pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, Qortbawi said: “I have an opinion on this matter. I will express it without hesitation when it is discussed by the cabinet.”
Full StoryA huge explosion went off in an alleged arms depot in the Hizbullah stronghold of Siddiqin in the South overnight and party members prevented the security forces from reaching the area, media reports said Wednesday.
The reports said the cause of the blast could not be determined after Hizbullah drew a tight security dragnet around the scene of the explosion.
Full StoryThree Mustaqbal bloc MPs and several Sunni Muslim clerics on Tuesday called on President Michel Suleiman, Premier Najib Miqati and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji to shoulder their responsibilities concerning what they called “the attack against the Bekaa town of Arsal on the eve of the 68th anniversary of independence.”
“According to verified information, a plainclothes group comprising bearded members belonging to the ‘party of weapons’ (Hizbullah) entered the town of Arsal Monday night and tried to abduct a Syrian national belonging to the Qarqouz family,” said a statement issued after a meeting at MP Mohammed Kabbara’s residence in the northern city of Tripoli.
Full StoryHead of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, former premier Fouad Saniora, warned Monday that “those who disavow the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would be exposing Lebanon to danger.”
In an interview on MTV, Saniora said “financing is one of the aspects of dealing with the tribunal, but respecting the protocol signed between the Lebanese state and the STL is what’s important.”
Full StoryProgressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat voiced on Monday his support of the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, adding that the party understands Hizbullah’s insecurities over the matter.
He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “Keeping in mind its reservations, Hizbullah should cooperate positively with the issue of the funding in order to ease the tensions on the internal Lebanese scene.”
Full StoryHizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Nawwaf al-Moussawi said on Saturday that the developments in the region are more important than those who are seeking to entertain themselves on twitter.
“Those who are seeking to entertain themselves (with the developments in the country), or on twitter… have no place in this battle (that is going on in the region),” Moussawi said.
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