Hizbullah says fight will go on…(1)

Hizbullah’s South Lebanon commander pledged Tuesday to continue attacks against “Israeli” as long as Lebanon’s territory remains under occupation and its citizens are held by “Israeli”.
“Our duty as resistance is not to be patient with our enemy or allow it to feel comfortable,” Sheikh Nabil Qaouk said. He made the comments at the opening of a Sidon book exhibition organized by Hizbullah.
Qaouk said Hizbullah must utilize the political shifts and military developments currently taking place in the region. “We must take advantage of all these circumstances to tighten the rope on this occupying enemy,” he said. “Those advising Lebanon to stop its operations want to serve “Israeli”, granting it relief when it is incapable of response and confrontation.”
Qaouk said the occupation was far from being over so long as “Israeli” continues to occupy parts of Lebanon and hold Lebanese prisoners in its jails.
“We are confident that we are very close to liberating the Shibaa Farms and Kfar Shouba hills,” he insisted. “We are also confident of Lebanon’s capacity to completely recover its land and liberate all its detainees, so why should we miss this opportunity?”
Qaouk also said Hizbullah did not recognize the UN-drawn Blue Line along the Lebanese-”Israeli” border.
“We acknowledge neither blue nor green lines,” he said. “We believe only in lines and decisions that bring back our prisoners and return our land.”
Qaouk slammed those calling for Beirut to deploy its troops along the border in the South, saying their intent was to provide protection for the “Israeli” soldiers.
“They want the Lebanese army to act as a police for the occupation on the borders of the Zionist entity,” he said.
Qaouk hailed the Palestinian intifada and praised those who were able to “override systems and besiege “Israeli” from inside, while depriving it of security and safety.”
A grouping of parties insisted Tuesday that resistance operations in the Shibaa Farms would continue, saying any comments otherwise came from “suspect quarters.”
The parties, among them Amal, Hizbullah and the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party, met at Hizbullah’s Information Center. They said recent “aggressive campaigns” against the Syrian presence had increased by “daring to call for a cessation of resistance operations to liberate the remaining occupied territory, while asking that the UN Security Council help recover it.”
Those who support these campaigns, they said, “are trying to exploit the socio-economic crisis to implement American-”Israeli” designs.”
A statement issued by the group said “the gathering, while strongly denouncing moves undertaken by these suspect parties, reaffirms that it abides by resistance operations as a means for liberation.”
“Those calling for abandoning resistance operations,” it claimed, “are in fact advocating keeping the Shibaa Farms under occupation.”
The statement affirmed the “unity of struggle” between Lebanon and Syria, labelling the issue “not a subject for argument.” It also urged the Arab people to give their continued support to the intifada.

Lahoud, Assad discuss “Israeli” threats…(2)

Syrian President Bashar al-Asad called Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on the phone. Both leaders discussed the latest developments especially that concerning “Israeli” threats and violations of Lebanese sovereignty.

President of Lebanese editors' Syndicate, Melhem Karam who visited Lahoud Tuesday, reported the Lebanese President's confirmation that the Shibaa Farms is Lebanese land, and that Syrian-Lebanese consultations will go on for the interest of both countries.

Karam visited Lahoud to congratulate him for his second year as President. They discussed various Lebanese and Arab issues.

Kfarshouba inhabitants support Resistance action for soil liberation…(3)

Inhabitants of the Lebanese southern village of Kfarshouba asserted that they will not renounce demanding for the liberation of a big portion of their village still under “Israeli” occupation.

During a meeting with Abdel Raheem Murad, MP for the western Bekaa region and Minister of Education, Kfarshouba inhabitants maintained that the only way to regain their land is through resistance operations.

MP Murad, on his side, said that the “Israeli” threats will not keep the resistance fighters from playing their role, stressing that Shibaa Farms will only be liberated through resistance.

Lebanon tells unifil staff to move from “Israeli”…(4)

“Lebanon has told U.N. peacekeepers who work in the south and live in “Israeli” to relocate their homes by January, a senior Lebanese security official said on Monday. The official, who declined to be named, was speaking after Lebanese forces at the weekend stopped families of U.N. troops at the border at Naqoura, the town where the U.N. Interim Force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) has its headquarters. A UNIFIL official confirmed the incident, saying it was the first time U.N. families had been barred from Lebanon since “Israeli” ended its 22-year-old occupation of south Lebanon in May.  A Lebanese security official who was not named told AFP "it was a misunderstanding that was fixed", adding UNIFIL civilian personnel will not be affected by the new restrictions.  "Members of UNIFIL and their families are allowed to move across the border but they have until January to relocate their homes to Lebanon," a General Security official told Reuters.     "We informed UNIFIL of our decision three months ago and asked them to comply. During the occupation, the families of some UNIFIL members were forced to live in “Israeli” but now, after the withdrawal, UNIFIL is based on Lebanese soil," he said.     UNIFIL spokesman Timor Goksel said he was seeking clarification from the Lebanese government on the decision, adding: "We hope that this was a mistake." It was not immediately clear how many UNIFIL members would be affected by the Lebanese decision. A UNIFIL official said most of the force's civilian staff lived in Lebanon while some officers had homes in “Israel”. "Our soldiers have had to bow to the Lebanese demands and families have already moved into Tyre and Beirut," a UN officer said. UNIFIL comprises 5,400 troops from nine countries. The force was created after “Israel's” 1978 invasion with aim of helping the Lebanese government regain sovereignty over its land. UNIFIL troops have deployed along the Lebanese-”Israeli” border since the “Israeli” pullout, but the government has stopped the force from fanning out along the whole frontier. 

Eighteen militiamen sentenced for collaboration with “Israeli”…(5)

Beirut's military court has sentenced 18 people suspected of collaboration with “Israel” to sentences running from fines to 15 years in jail, a court source said. Six were sentenced in absentia to 15 years each, the minimum sentence laid down for those convicted in their absence.    Of the remainder, one was sentenced to three weeks in jail with a fine of one million Lebanese pounds (666 dollars), and the 11 others, all women, were fined 500,000 Lebanese pounds (333 dollars).   In total, 1,568 sentences have been ordered since the June 5 start of the trial of some 2,200 Lebanese accused of collaborating with the Jewish state before its May 24 withdrawal from southern Lebanon, after 22 years of occupation.   Three death sentences and one life term have been issued in absentia for "collaboration with the enemy and murder of resistance fighters."   Most of the former fighters with the “Israeli”-backed and controlled militia have been sentenced to jail terms of one to two years in prison, along with a ban of the same duration against visiting the former occupied zone where they used to live.   Some have been found innocent and others, mainly women, have only been fined 500,000 Lebanese pounds for going to the "enemy state" of “Israeli”.    After sitting just once a week during the court holiday season, the military court has returned to holding three marathon sessions per week to wrap up the matter. 

Fadlallah wants boycott of US goods…(6)

Senior Shiite cleric Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah urged Muslims on Tuesday to show solidarity with the Palestinian intifada by boycotting “Israeli” and American products.
“The simplest way for Muslims to protect their interests and to change what is being unlawfully done to our Palestinian brothers,” he said, “is to impose an economic boycott on all those who support the Zionist enemy, and especially the United States.
“The US is the arch-foe of … Islam, and we must boycott US products as much as possible,” he added in a statement. “We must also boycott all “Israeli” goods and all shops and companies that help “Israeli” financially.”
Fadlallah, who last month urged Arabs to wage holy war against “Israel”, also told Muslims that they must prevent their governments from putting funds in US banks “because this money is passed on to “Israel” through an umbilical cord.” ­

More Intifadah fighters attacks the Occupation…(7)

Palestinian Intifadah fighters opened fire Tuesday on an “Israeli” army patrol near the industrial region south of Tolkorm in Gaza.

Near the West Bank town of Jenine a bomb went off near an army force.

Earlier on Monday Palestinian gunmen detonated two roadside bombs when enemy vehicles was passing by.

On the other hand, at least fifteen Palestinians were wounded by “Israeli” bullets near Rafah, in Gaza strip, and number were also shot during clashes with “Israeli” soldiers at Ram cross road north of al-Quds.

Footnotes:

1-     The Daily Star, 29-11-2000.

2-     Manar TV, 28-11-2000.

3-     Same source.

4-     Future TV, 28-11-2000.

5-     Same source.

6-     AFP, 28-11-2000.

7-     Manar TV, 28-11-2000.