Israel will lift its 8-week-old Lebanon blockade on Thursday evening
Israel declared that it will lift its sea and air blockade of Lebanon on Thursday (at 6 p.m). It had faced widespread pressure for more than three weeks after a cease-fire took effect. Israeli PM Office announced the decision in a statement that was issued on Wednesday. The statement said that "US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, informed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that International forces are ready to take up control positions over Lebanon's seaports and airports". Following Olmert's announcement, Lebanon Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said that the blockade was lifted because of Beirut's "steadfast position" and "pressure" brought to bear on Israel. Lebanese legislators have been holding an open-ended sit-in since Saturday at the parliament building in Beirut in protest of the Israeli blockade.
Intelligence officer involved in Hariri murder probe survives assassination attempt
A senior police intelligence officer, involved in the investigation into ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's murder, survived an assassination bombing ambush with minor injuries in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. Lieutenant Colonel Samir Shehade was moderately injured in the explosion, which went off as his car drove by the village of Rmaileh, near Saida. Four of his bodyguards were killed in the explosion and three others were wounded including one civilian. All four were killed in the car that Shehade usually uses but he was traveling in another vehicle when the roadside bomb was detonated by remote control. He was involved last year in the arrest of four generals accused of involvement in Hariri's assassination, and he interrogated several witnesses in the probe. Shehade's assassination attempt came few weeks before Chief UN investigator Serge Brammertz is due to submit his second report on the Hariri murder. Media reports spoke of extremely important clues that were unveiled lately in relation with the assassination. Apparently, he knew of this information and had already been threatened many times. There are fears in the country of the assassinations' wave return ahead of the international tribunal. Political analysts are expecting a hot fall in Lebanon and are linking it to the regional developments.
Maronite Bishops say that the chronic disease is embedded in the Presidency
The Council of Maronite Bishops said Wednesday that the international political isolation of President Emile Lahoud was eroding the credibility of the post and the Christians in Lebanon. The council, headed by Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, was referring to visits and consultations by international envoys, who ignore the president. The statement also referred to political divisions tearing the Lebanese apart and added that "some groups are monopolizing the decision-making process and leading the country to unwanted situations". Referring to Hizbullah the statement said, "Each party pretends to seek Lebanon's interests but in reality it seeks to fulfill sectarian ambitions. This is a chronic disease that has to be extracted".
Annan urges Hizbullah to disarm and devote itself to political activities
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on Hizbullah to disarm and to devote itself to political activities, and said Lebanon must take the initiative in disarming the militants based in the south. Annan reiterated that UN peacekeepers would not help Lebanon disarm fighters, as this is not their mandate. Meanwhile, Annan said that Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Ibrahimi was appointed as a mediator for indirect talks between Israel and Hizbullah on the release of the two abducted Israeli soldiers. He will be in the region before the end of the week.
French troops begin patrols on Lebanon-Israel border
An advance team of French peacekeepers started to deploy in destroyed villages in the South on one of its first reconnaissance missions. Such patrols are a key test of whether the UN force will be able to guarantee the cease-fire. France has contributed 250 troops to the UNIFIL and another 1,800 are to begin arriving Saturday.
Under the cease-fire agreement, 15,000 Lebanese troops are due to deploy in the south to create a buffer zone with Israel and open the way for a full Israeli withdrawal. But the French troops said they hadn't been in contact with the Lebanese army, or been given much direction for their mission.
UNRWA:
Hizbullah committees started paying compensations to Palestinians affected by the conflict in Ein EL Hilweh camp yesterday (06/09). Hizbullah announced that it "will compensate all those who were affected by the Israeli aggression that did not make any distinction between Lebanese and Palestinian".
Normal Agency operations in all areas.
Signed: Richard J. Cook