Hariri discusses south Lebanon tension with UN secretary general …(1)

Prime Minister Hariri was quoted as voicing dissatisfaction with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's recent report to the Security Council in which he criticized Beirut for not sending army troops to the border with the Jewish state. Hariri who met Annan twice on the sidelines of the Doha summit reportedly called on the UN chief to press for the release of 19 Lebanese detained by the Jewish state and for “Israel” to withdraw from the occupied Shibaa Farms. Annan described the situation along the Lebanon-”Israel” border as "delicate". “Israel” stepped up violations of the border after Hizbollah captured  three soldiers from Shibaa Farms to swap them for Lebanese and Arabs held in the Jewish state. “Israeli” troops last night fired on civilians driving a car near the border gate of Fatima. No one was hurt. Earlier, “Israeli” soldiers fired explosive bullets near a group of Jordanian students on a visit to the frontier village of Kfar Shouba. Hizbollah warned “Israel” against continued attacks saying it would cost it quote dearly. Hizbollah stressed the resistance will continue to attack “Israeli” troops stationed on occupied Lebanese territory. “Israel” yesterday repeated that it considers Hizbollah, Beirut and Damascus responsible for the welfare of its captured soldiers. “Israeli” army chief of staff Shaul Mofaz refused to confirm or deny press reports that the soldiers had been seriously injured during their capture.

Nine more Lebanese return from “Israel”…(2)

“ Nine Lebanese who fled to “Israel” as the Jewish state withdrew from Lebanon in May returned home Monday, an AFP correspondent reported.

Only one member of the group was a former militiaman for “Israel’s” proxy militia. The others were women and children.

The refugees returned at the Naqoura border post and were taken by UN peacekeepers to Lebanese security forces.

Some 6,000 Lebanese, mostly members of the militia and their families, fled when “Israel” ended its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon, fearing reprisals from Beirut authorities or by Hizbullah, the militant movement that spearheaded armed resistance to “Israel”.

Some 1,250 of them have since returned to Lebanon.

Islamic Summit resolution calls on cutting ties with “Israel”…(3)

Muslim leaders have approved a non-binding resolution urging Muslim states to cut ties with "“Israel”" over what they said were its attempts to erase the Arab character of Al-Quds.

The leaders of the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Muslim world's biggest grouping, also denounced “Israel” late on Sunday for using helicopter gunships and tanks to quell a seven-week-old Palestinian uprising, and called for a U.N. peacekeeping force to protect Palestinians.

As the summit entered its second day on Monday, an aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat told Reuters in the Palestinian territories that Arafat was ready for any genuine peace talks, but accused “Israel” of seeking a military solution.

Arafat had told the summit on Sunday that the uprising would continue despite the heavy toll. At least 206 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed.

"This brutal aggression is a premeditated act as part of a consistent “Israeli” policy to impose the status quo and Judaize the holy city,'' said a summit resolution approved by the leaders at a closed session on Sunday night.

They said they would act against any attempt by the United States to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Al-Quds, saying statements by the U.S. Congress recognizing "“Israel’s”" claim to the holy city were a ``flagrant challenge to the sentiments of Muslims and Christians.''

The leaders affirmed their ``determination to cut relations with any country that moves its embassy to Al-Quds or recognizes it as the capital of “Israel”,'' the resolution said.

“Israel” declared the city, holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians, as its ``eternal and indivisible capital'' shortly after occupying it in the 1967 Arab-”Israeli” war.

``The leaders invite member states which have established relations with “Israel”, or are taking steps towards ties with “Israel” within the framework of the peace process, to cut these ties...and stop all forms of normalization until it complies accurately and honestly with U.N. resolutions dealing with Palestine and holy Al-Quds."

``The leaders...also urge the U.S. administration to revise its biased stance, which prevents the Security Council from shouldering its responsibilities, representing a dangerous violation of the U.N. Charter.''

OIC leaders also supported Palestinian and Arab calls for the formation of a U.N. peacekeeping force to protect Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Delegates said the leaders were on Monday discussing other regional issues, including the Iraq-Kuwait dispute, Afghanistan, how to support Muslim minorities and other economic issues.

The summit, held every three years, will end on Tuesday.

Two Palestinian martyrs and four “Israelis” killed in new confrontations…(4)

Two Palestinian teenagers were killed in the Gaza strip, bringing the death toll in nearly seven weeks of bloodshed to 211 martyrs.

Hospital sources in Gaza said Yahya Abu Shammala, 18, and Mohammed al-Taweel, 17, were shot dead in Khan Younis, a frequent flash point for “Israeli”-Palestinian clashes.

However, witnesses said there were no clashes with “Israeli” troops at the time, adding that Taweel had been shot as he stood outside his house and Shammala as he went of Taweel's aid.

Also on Monday, Palestinian gunmen shot dead four “Israelis” in the West bank and Gaza.

“Israeli” radio said Palestinians fired at vehicles near the Jewish settlement of Ofra on bypass road that allows settlers to avoid the nearby Palestinian-ruled town of Ramallah, killing three “Israelis”, one of them a women, and wounding eight.

The fourth “Israeli” was killed by Palestinian fighters at Kisofeem checkpoint close to Gaza.

Moreover, witnesses said that an “Israeli” military vehicle carrying soldiers was targeted in Ramallah,in the West Bank wounding a number of “Israeli” soldiers.

Palestinian sources reported that “Israeli” tanks shelled two Palestinian villages in the West Bank.  Five bombs hit a refugee camp near Ariha, wounding two Palestinian policemen critically.

On the other hand, an “Israeli” military statement said that Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an “Israeli” military bases near Ariha and near Jenin.  “Israeli” military patrols were also hit in northern Al-Quds, and near Tolkorm.

The statement revealed that “Israeli” Army used tanks and heavy machine gun especially against the Casino building in Ariha.

The “Israeli” military also reported that one of its outpost close to the Gosh Katif group of colonies and another outpost near Nei Dekaliam colony were subject to gunfire from Palestinian fighters who where in a vehicle.

Footnotes:

1-               Future TV, 13-11-2000.

2-               AFP, 13-11-2000.

3-               Manar TV, 13-11-2000.

4-               Same source.