SAT 20 - 4 - 2024
 
Date: Aug 2, 2011
Source: The Daily Star
Lebanon's Arabic press digest - Aug.2 , 2011

Following are summaries of some of the main stories in a selection of Lebanese newspapers Tuesday. The Daily Star cannot vouch for the accuracy of these reports.


Al-Mustaqbal: Sleiman stresses dialogue, softer rhetoric ... Jumblatt’s position absent "in solidarity with the oppressed peoples"
Army confronts Israeli violation at Wazzani


The 66th anniversary of the Lebanese Army Day coincided with an Israeli violation at Wazzani, which stressed the importance of the army's pivotal role and the need to provide Lebanon with equipment so that the military can embark on a steady pace and confident about overcoming the difficulties and face every lurking enemy.
At the time Hezbollah took the opportunity of the Israeli aggression to assert that "any attack on any party as part of the ‘army, the people, the resistance’ equation is an attack on Lebanon as a whole," the swift intervention by the Lebanese Army put an end to what could have been a serious deterioration on the border.
On the other hand, the ceremony to mark Army Day did not prevent President Michel Sleiman from conducting further consultations in an effort to revive national dialogue. In this respect he discussed ways to relaunch all-party talks with Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea.


Meanwhile, MP Walid Jumblatt did not write his weekly editorial in Al-Anbaa magazine Monday, and the Progressive Socialist Party said that the "time is not a time for delivering speeches and giving advice or drowning in boring Lebanese details, but it’s time for solidarity, though moral, with the oppressed peoples and that’s why Jumblatt’s editorial won’t come out today [Monday]. "


An-Nahar: Lebanese-Israeli confrontation on eve of delineating economic zone
Sleiman: We cannot accept a truce or cold war


The brief confrontation between the Lebanese Army and Israeli forces in the Wazzani region Monday morning was not completely over as just before midnight Israeli troops brought 10 tanks and bulldozers, and using flood lights, began strengthening their positions and erecting earth mounds across the [border] fence.
The confrontation occurred after less than a week since the attack against the French UNIFIL contingent in Sidon and also coincided with Lebanese Army Day. But most importantly the incident came on the eve of preparations to settle the controversial issue of Lebanon’s maritime border with Israel via a draft law to delineate the exclusive economic zone.


Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman's speech for Army Day focused on national dialogue, urging political leaders to tone down their rhetoric and explaining that his goal was to "protect Lebanon in the face of the dangers as well as the internal and external factors that threaten it."
Sleiman also noted that dialogue "does not only seek to resolve sticking issues, but also to proactively avoid conflicts (...) and, consequently, dispel feelings by some that Lebanon is in a state of truce between two armed conflicts, or is in a state of a cold civil war, a matter which we cannot accept."
 
Ad-Diyar: Sleiman on Army Day: The people reject [sectarian] strife


Lebanon celebrated Army Day with a meaningful, national message that was sent from the soldiers positioned in Wazzani after the honorable confrontation  they fought to defend the land against Israeli troops who had tried to penetrate into south Lebanon and violating Security Council Resolution 1701 once again.
Meanwhile, an agreement was reached Monday between the government and Parliament on adopting an oil law during Thursday’s parliamentary meeting after mulling it at a Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday.


Meanwile, a Cypriot official revealed that Cyprus would start drilling for oil on  Oct. 1 in the 13 maritime regions.
The official noted that the last time he was contacted on the demarcation of the maritime border with Lebanon was late in 2010.
He said Cyprus would cooperate with Lebanon in the event Lebanon wanted to delineate its sea borders or if a common area between Lebanon and Cyprus was found to contain oil.



 
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