Lebanon
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New Israeli Psychological War: Phone Calls Promising Rewards in Exchange for Recruiting Spies

Israel has adopted a new form of psychological warfare on Lebanon through telephoning a number of southern residents on their mobile phones and informing them that they have won a financial reward from a Saudi bank.

Israeli security sources added that the residents are then asked to call a number, 4382094678, to receive their reward.

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Mofaz Hopes Sunnis Would Rule Syria and End Alliance with Hizbullah

Shaul Mofaz, head of Israel’s parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, on Monday hoped the Sunni majority in Syria would take power, ending the domination of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority, an outcome he said might bring an end to Syria's alliance with Shiite Hizbullah and Iran.

"The Sunnis are more moderate and this is good for Israel as it opens a possibility of future peace talks and preserving the quiet," Mofaz said in an interview with Agence France Presse.

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Israel Increases Surveillance near Maroun al-Ras

An Israeli bulldozer fortified on Monday an Israeli surveillance position adjacent to the southern town of Maroun al-Ras where a monument for Palestinians killed on May 15 was erected, reported the National News Agency.

The Israeli activity was accompanied by overflights by its fighter jets over the regions of Marjeyoun and Nabatieh.

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Williams Reminds Miqati of U.N. Chief’s Expectations from his Cabinet

U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams reiterated on Monday that U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon expects the new cabinet to announce its full commitment to international resolutions.

“I reiterated my expectation and the expectation of the Secretary-General that the government will restate its full support and commitment to the full implementation of 1701 in its ministerial declaration,” Williams said following talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail.

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Raad: Policy Statement to Be Devised According to New Majority’s Will

The head of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad stated on Monday that the formation of the new government “surprised the sides that had been meddling with the country’s future for the past few years.”

“They didn’t expect the new majority to form a cabinet, but they have since grown accustomed to it after the foreign powers that told them that it won’t be formed realized that they are incapable of thwarting its establishment,” he added.

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Report: Jumblat Travels after Instructions to Reject ‘Explosive’ Draft Policy Statement

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat traveled on Saturday after instructing his representatives in the cabinet not to accept any “explosive” policy statement draft, the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa daily reported.

The newspaper said Monday it had no information about Jumblat’s destination.

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Internal Security Drug Control Force Ambushed in Baalbeck

Unknown assailants opened fire on Monday at policemen from the Drug Control Office of the Internal Security Forces as it was preparing to destroy cannabis fields in al-Olaiq village in the eastern city of Baalbeck.

The National News Agency reported that the “force and the tractors that accompanied it came under an armed ambush after unknown assailants opened fire at it.”

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2 Options on Table of Policy Statement Committee Amid More Bickering on STL Clause

Prime Minister Najib Miqati has failed to bridge the gap between the cabinet’s centrist forces and mainly Hizbullah over the clause on the international tribunal in the policy statement, ministerial sources said.

The sources told al-Liwaa daily that consultations that Miqati held over the weekend away from the media spotlight failed to strike a deal between the two sides. The premier received a proposal from the Shiite party on the clause but the suggestion does not meet with Miqati’s own vision, the sources added.

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March 14 Links Delay in Policy Statement with STL Indictment but Majority Denies

The March 14-led opposition said Monday that this week would be decisive in terms of the majority’s effort to draft the cabinet policy statement amid reports that the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination would be issued soon.

Opposition sources told An Nahar daily that differences between the majority’s different parties are not expected to last long because the pro-government forces will be compelled to draft the policy statement before the indictment’s release.

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Israel Threatens to Attack Southern Lebanon if Situation ‘Deteriorates’

Israel threatened on Sunday to launch a large-scale military operation on southern Lebanon if the security situation continues to deteriorate in the region.

“Hizbullah has turned most of the villages in southern Lebanon into explosive spots,” security sources told the Israeli radio.

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