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Report: Arab Israelis Charged with Smuggling Hizbullah Explosives

An Israeli court charged on Wednesday several Israeli-Arab residents of Nazareth and Ghajar for allegedly helping Hizbullah transfer explosives to Israel, the Jerusalem post reported.

The Nazareth District Court charged the men with assisting in the infiltration of the 20 kilograms of C4 explosives on June 5, it said.

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Percussion Grenade Lands Near al-Daher’s House in 'Act of Sabotage'

A percussion grenade was tossed near the house of al-Mustaqbal bloc MP Khaled al-Daher in the northern district of Akkar at dawn Wednesday, the National News Agency reported.

NNA said the grenade landed in an olive grove 30 meters away from the lawmaker’s house in the town of Tebnine.

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Soldier Killed, 2 Injured in Bekaa Shooting

A soldier was killed and two civilians were injured on Wednesday when financial differences turned into a gunbattle between residents of two towns in the eastern Bekaa valley, the National News Agency reported.

NNA said soldier Mohammed Jaafar Nasereddine and Ali Assaad Dabbous and Mohammed al-Fliti were wounded when the residents of the towns of al-Ain and Arsal in Bekaa’s north battled with guns.

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Lebanese Expats Feel Underrepresented in Next Parliamentary Elections

The body that represents the Lebanese diaspora criticized the government on Wednesday for failing to allow millions of expatriates to have the right representation in parliament.

President of the World Lebanese Cultural Union Michel El Douaihy told An Nahar daily that there are around 12-15 million Lebanese expatriates, which means four or five times more than the number of Lebanese residing in the country.

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Bkirki Committee to Meet amid Divisions among Christians on Electoral Law

A committee of representatives of four major Christian parties is expected to meet in the coming days to announce its stance from a new electoral draft-law approved by the government amid clear differences in the viewpoints of its members, An Nahar daily reported on Wednesday.

Bkirki sources refused to comment on the draft but stressed that it supports a law that represents all Lebanese sects in the best way and guarantees equality between all confessions and Lebanese parties.

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Charbel Says he Received Pledges not to Block Airport Road Again

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel revealed Wednesday that the families of 11 Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria have vowed not to block the Beirut airport road again.

In remarks to An Nahar daily, Charbel said: “The airport road will not be blocked.”

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Jumblat Rejects Electoral Draft-Law Approved by Non-Sovereign State

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat slammed on Wednesday the government’s adoption of a new electoral law in the absence of a single sovereign state that enjoys the decision of war and peace.

In remarks to several newspapers, Jumblat said: “The electoral law cannot be discussed calmly in a tense sectarian atmosphere and in the absence of a single authority and a single state.”

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Geagea: Assad Regime in Its Final Days, Our Hand is Always Extended to Hizbullah

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea has stressed that Syrian President Bashar Assad's embattled regime “will not survive and it is definitely in its final days,” noting that “Hizbullah will not become more open to dialogue if the regime in Syria falls.”

In an interview on Al-Arabiya satellite TV network, Geagea said: “Hizbullah will not become more open to dialogue if the regime in Syria falls. Our hand is extended to Hizbullah all the time and I believe that there will be a major impact for the regime's fall but it will take time to manifest itself on the ground.”

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Hariri Rejects New Electoral Law: It is Directed against More than Half of Lebanese

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri slammed on Tuesday the new parliamentary electoral law, stressing that it will not be approved at parliament.

He said in a statement: “The least that can be said of the law is that it is directed against more than half of the Lebanese people and we reject it.”

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Lebanon Won't Attend Tehran Meeting on Syria

Lebanon has informed Iran that it will not take part in an upcoming meeting on the Syrian conflict that Tehran is hosting, a Lebanese diplomatic official said on Tuesday.

"The Lebanese foreign ministry has informed the Iranian authorities that Lebanon will not attend Thursday's meeting in Tehran, because it has never participated in any international meetings on Syria, in line with its policy of self-disassociation," the official told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.

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