Malysian MP delegation supports Lebanese Resistance…(1)

Hizbullah secretary-general sayyed Hansan Nasrallah received a parliamentary Malaysian delegation on a visit to Lebanon.

The delegation first visited the Bekaa region and then toured former occupied southern Lebanon.

The Malaysian delegation headed by Fadel Nour, chief of the Islamic opposition party, first made a stop at the former “Israeli” military post on Mount Dabshah, which has been the scene of major Islamic Resistance military operations during the “Israeli” occupation.

The Malaysia deputies the toured the former “Israeli” concentration camp Khiam, were tens of Lebanese were tortured during their detention.

A Senior Hizbullah delegation accompanied the guests which had a look of the cells and other sections of the camp.  Border Fatimah gate was the next place to be visited. There, the Malaysian delegation expressed solidarity with the Lebanese people struggling to regain the occupied Shibaa Farms. 

“Israeli” jets again violate Lebanese air space…(2)

“ “Israeli” warplanes broke the sound barrier over Tyre southern port city on Monday, provoking panic among residents, Lebanese police said.

Three fighter-bombers swooped at low altitude over the city and nearby regions, causing loud supersonic booms that violently shook windows, said an AFP correspondent.

On January 14, “Israeli” warplanes also broke the sound barrier over a number of regions in Lebanon, even reaching the capital, Beirut.

Lebanon has frequently complained to the United Nations about the flights. In the month after the Hizbullah operation, “Israel” violated Lebanese airspace 123 times, according to UN figures.

“Israeli” diplomat hopeful on 3 captives…(3)

“ An “Israeli” envoy on Monday held out the possibility of a prisoner exchange to secure the freedom of three “Israeli” soldiers captured by Hizbullah last October.
Yaakov Levy, “Israel’s” ambassador to the UN’s European headquarters, told a news conference that there were some “behind-the-scenes moves,” but he gave no details.
Levy, who was accompanied by the relatives of the soldiers, said that the families’ prime concern was just to find out something about the soldiers’ health.
“They are being held incommunicado ­ no visits, no factual knowledge about their situation, their medical conditions,” Levy said. “There is suspicion they were wounded during the kidnapping and attack.”
“Israel” has acknowledged finding blood samples from all three soldiers at the scene of the kidnapping. The Daily Star reported in November that copious quantities of blood were found by UNIFIL peacekeepers in one of the two cars used to ferret away the captives, suggesting that at least one soldier had been seriously wounded.

Lahoud reiterates refusal to settle Palestinians…(4)

President of Lebanon Emile Lahoud asked Lebanese industrialists to have faith in the future, asserting that Lebanon's stance, which led to the liberation of the South, will be the motive for more security and political stability.

Speaking to a delegation of Lebanese Industrialists Association headed by Jack Sarraf, Lahoud said that the present atmosphere in the country will help strengthen the industrial sector, improve the Gross National Product (GNP), creat new job opportunities to attract young men, and reduce emigration.

The Lebanese President expressed his pride concerning the standard of industry in Lebanon, although the country is passing through difficult circumstances since 1975.

Moreover, the head of Lebanese Editors Syndicate Melhem Karam reported Lahoud's refusal to settle Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and his assertion of the necessity to complete the liberation of the country's soil and reach a just settlement in the region.

Landmines stopping development of southern Lebanon: UN…(5)

“ Un chief Kofi Annan's personal representative in southern Lebanon, Staffan de Mistura, said Monday that the presence of “Israeli”-laid landmines was preventing the development of southern Lebanon.

"The question of mines has very negative implications for a return to normal in southern Lebanon," he said after a meeting with Lebanese Foreign Minister Mahmud Hammud.

"They stop the agriculture, they stop the will of the donors to get involved, they stop the confidence of many Lebanese to return to their own territories," he said, adding: "We can and we should start looking now in protectiveactions between donars, the UN and the Lebanese authorities."

He said he agreed with the Lebanese minister on the need to carry out a large-scale operation to rid southern Lebanon of the danger of mines.

"It is an important initiative the governement of Lebanon is planning to take and we are ready to help," he said.

According to UN estimates, “Israel” has left at least 130,000 mines in the border area of 850 square kilometres (340 square miles) that it occupied in southern Lebanon for 22 years before pulling out May 24.

The spokesman for UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) Timour Goksel has said that “Israel” has supplied UNIFIL with maps showing the whereabouts of 70,000 mines, most of them anti-personnel devices, placed along the international border between Lebanon and the Jewish state.

"Even if the maps help UNIFIL to clear mines from its area of operation, they do not cover in depth" the former occupied zone and the Jezzin enclave to the north, which was controlled for 14 years by the pro-”Israeli” South Lebanon Army (SLA), he said.

UNIFIL said January 15 that its mine sappers had so far neutralised 2,159 explosives, including mines, unexploded shells and other explosive devices.

Lebanon asked Arab countries for help in financing part of the operations, for which the total cost is estimated at more than 50 million dollars, according to the Lebanese Foreign Ministry.

So far, only Jordan and Egypt have said they were prepared to send teams of experts to help in mine clearing operations.

Italy has already made a gift of 250,000 dollars to Lebanon to help its mine clearance, and Russia has sent a team of experts, although they have not yet gone to the site.

The number of victims from exploding mines has been rising regularly since the “Israeli” withdrawal. Nine Lebanese civilians have been killed and more than 60 others injured. The mines have also wounded a dozen members of the Lebanese army engaged in mine clearance.

UNIFIL meets to plan reduction of troop numbers to pre-pullout levels…(6)

Senior UNIFIL officers met in Naqoura on Monday to discuss ways of reducing troop numbers among the peacekeeping force’s contingents.
The meeting occurred in expectation that UNIFIL will be reduced to 4,500 soldiers, the pre-”Israeli” withdrawal total, when the mission’s mandate is renewed by the UN Security Council at the end of the month.
UNIFIL’s strength presently stands at 5,722.
A UNIFIL officer said that the contingent commanders were attempting to decide by how much each battalion would reduce its numbers at the end of their tours of duty.
UNIFIL’s numbers increased last summer when each battalion received reinforcements prior to redeploying into the former occupation zone. Ukraine sent a battalion of 650 soldiers to help clear “Israeli” minefields along the border. A Swedish contingent of 45 soldiers also arrived to clear land mines from new positions occupied by the Finnish battalion.
The Irish battalion increased its number by 100 but returned to the normal level of 650 when the present battalion arrived for its six-month tour of duty in October. The Swedish contingent departed in December.
Although no major reduction or change in task is expected when the mandate is renewed, the UN is looking to gradually reduce the number of peacekeepers in Lebanon.
Despite the prevailing tensions in the region, the border between Lebanon and “Israel” has generally been calm since “Israel’s” troop withdrawal last May and no longer justifies a military force of almost 6,000 troops.
The drain on the UN’s budget for peacekeeping operations is a further justification to wind down the mission. UNIFIL’s budget for 2000-2001, which expires at the end of June, stands at $146.8 million. UNIFIL’s account is in the red to the tune of $117 million.
Annan has reportedly recommended to the Security Council an initial decrease of UNIFIL to 4,500. The reduction would occur naturally when each battalion is replaced at the end of their tours of duty. Most battalions rotate in the spring.
UNIFIL’s senior adviser, Timur Goksel, said he was unaware of Monday’s meeting in Naqoura and attached little significance to it.
“One option being aired by Annan is to reduce the force to the pre-withdrawal level,” he said. “Our guys have taken this as a cue to plan reductions. But there is nothing definite yet.”

Footnotes:

1-       Manar TV, 22-1-2001.

2-       AFP, 22-1-2001.

3-       The Daily Star, 23-1-2001.

4-       Manar TV, 22-1-2001.

5-       AFP, 22-1-2001.

6-       The Daily Star, 23-1-2001.