Prince Saud Al-Faisal views continuation of Lebanese crisis as unfathomable

Siniora: No choices but agreement, understanding

Yemen's initiative for dialogue between Palestinian factions faces obstacles on formula, conditions

Olmert OKs Lavrov entering 25 armored vehicles to PA

Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs arrived in Algiers on an official visit to Algeria.

He was received at Houari Boumédienne International Airport by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mourad Medelci and Saudi Ambassador to Algeria Sami As-Salih.

In an address to reporters on his arrival, Prince Saud Al-Faisal expressed hope that the upcoming Arab Leaders' Summit in Damascus will focus on the Lebanese issue.

He said the issue of the current Lebanese crises which remains unresolved to determine the Lebanese participation in the Summit is the current pressing issue, adding that the non-resolution of this issue until now is 'very ambiguous.'

He said although there are several attempts, particularly from the Arab League to provide just solutions to this problem but it is still at an impasse and threatens to generate negative impact on the unity of Lebanon.

Prince Saud said he seeks to discuss the Lebanese issue with Algerian President Abdulaziz Bouteflika to reach a common vision on how to get out of this crisis

. Speaking about his visit to Algeria, Prince Saud said his visit will allow an opportunity for consultations and discussions with his Algerian counterpart on issues that concern the two countries, the Arab and Muslim world.

He pointed out that he will sign the protocol for coordination between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Two countries, adding that he will convey to the Algerian President a message from The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

Algerian Prime Minister Abdulaziz Belkhadem received in Algiers Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Murad Medelci and Saudi Ambassador to Algeria Dr. Sami bin Abdullah As-Saleh.

Prince Saud Alfaisal stressed Saudi and Algerian keenness to develop their bilateral relations in the political, economic and security fields.

In a press statement following an audience with Algerian President Abdulaziz Bouteflika, Prince Saud said, "As we are happy for the presence of good bilateral relations between Algerian and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but the ambitions are much greater than this." Prince Saud mentioned that the two countries' views on Islamic and Arab issues are close together.

Mean while, Secretary General Amr Moussa is expected to reactivate the Arab initiative with a new mandate after the Arab summit scheduled in Damascus on March 29-30.

"Hope" to find a way out of Lebanon's crisis "depends on some activities that we'll carry out in the near future whether during the summit or in its aftermath when Lebanon returns to its normal situation," the Arab League chief said in Cairo after talks with Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani.

"The Arab League summit will discuss the situation in Lebanon…We will then take it (the initiative) to the swift implementation stage…by electing a president," Moussa said.

He hinted that he will return to Beirut "soon" after the summit.

Lebanon's participation in the summit is "necessary," Moussa said, adding that the country was a founding member of the Arab League and it is in a deadlocked situation which requires discussion during the summit.

The Lebanese cabinet has yet to decide whether to take part in the Damascus conference or boycott it. Several Arab countries have also linked the level of their participation to the election of a president in Beirut.

The Lebanese parliament is scheduled to meet on March 25 to elect a new head of state after 16 previous attempts have failed.

"We are working hard through our contacts with (Parliament Speaker Nabih) Berri, (Premier Fouad) Siniora, the majority and the opposition to make progress," Moussa said.

He also warned that obstructing the presidential election process and the implementation of the Arab League initiative is not in Lebanon's interest.

Qabbani, in his turn, urged Moussa to intensify efforts before the Damascus summit in resolving Lebanon's presidential crisis and said the "Arab League was the solution and the hope" in finding a way out of the crisis.

He urged Arab leaders "for more support to Lebanon so that it be represented by a president at the summit."

Qabbani also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit who expressed hope that the Arab summit would help resolve the crisis in Lebanon.

The March 14 Emigrant Assembly issued a statement expressing their regret over the “Syrian regime's practices of fraud and political arrogance against the Lebanese government, in coordination with its allies in Lebanon.”

The latest such treatment, the statement noted, was the “humiliating manner” in which Lebanon was invited to the Arab summit, set to be held in Damascus at the end of March. The Assembly said it hoped the Lebanese cabinet would neglect this invitation as it was not directed at the Prime Minister, as protocol deems.

The Emigrant Assembly pointed out that the timing of the invitation, which coincided with Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s visit to Senegal, was a “devious method” devised to “save face after it (Syria) realized that it would not be able to escape inviting Lebanon to the Arab Summit.”

Resigned Minister of Foreign Affairs Fawzi Salloukh received the invitation earlier.

“We are not surprised by the position of resigned Minister Fawzi Salloukh… because we know his position and political disregard for the dignity of Lebanon. But we are surprised that there was no objection by Speaker (Nabih Berri),” the statement added. The invitation, it continued, was “degrading” to national dignity.

The March 14 Emigrant Assembly called on Speaker Nabih Berri to take a “courageous stance in defense of the dignity of Lebanon.”

The March 14 Alliance has protested against what it called Speaker Nabih Berri's refusal to open parliament doors, accusing him of practicing "personal monopoly."

Continuous efforts to keep "parliament doors shut clearly and openly violate the constitution," and aim at "toppling the democratic system and hindering its institutions," the general secretariat of the bloc said in a statement.

Such efforts, the coalition said, also "contribute to the political and constitutional destruction plan" that serves the interests of the regimes in Damascus and Tehran at the expense of "the Lebanese interest and the path for independence."

The statement expressed the alliance's "determination to restore authority of the parliament secretariat" and curb Berri's attempts "to sum the powers of the parliament in himself."

The alliance will press ahead with its efforts "to re-launch parliamentary work" and "will take all necessary constitutional and political steps in this direction," March 14 pledged.

The statement came after Berri met two March 14 MPs Ayman Shuqair and Serge Torsarkissian to tackle the issue of reopening parliament doors which should have started its ordinary sessions mid March but failed to reach an agreement.

Mean while, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi has discussed with a delegation of Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) ways to implement the Yemeni initiative relating to healing the rift between the rival Palestinian factions.

The meeting called on the factions to resume dialogue to achieve the Palestinian people's interests and disappoint enemies.

The head of the delegation, general secretary of the Palestinian Democratic Union (FIDA) Saleh Ra'aft voiced the Fatah movement and other Palestinian factions had accepted the initiative, expressing their readiness to implement it in the reality.

The delegations from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (Fatah) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) have agreed to the Yemeni initiative for Palestinian reconciliation, but they do not agree on mechanisms for its implementation, said Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi.

Al-Qirbi said that the two delegations present in Sana’a gave full approval and unconditional support to the Yemeni initiative with the discussions in Sana’a focused on the operational aspects of its realization. Al-Qirbi also pointed out that he was still optimistic about reaching a complete and final agreement between the two sides.

Moussa Abu Marzouk, Vice-President of the Political Bureau of the Hamas Movement, agreed that a return the situation to what it was before June 13 of last year would be best, which means a return to the government of National Unity headed by Ismail Haniya. Marzouk. He further added that any disagreement about this must be settled by dialogue.

Abu Marzouk stressed the need to include correction of conditions for both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank at the same time and added that Hamas has agreed to the Yemeni initiative without any preconditions, and considers the seven points set by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh “are points that must be built upon dialogue”.

Speaking for the Fatah movement, Ziad Abu Ein, a senior Fatah operative and Deputy Minister for Prisoners’ Affairs in the Palestinian Authority said that to restore the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority is a prerequisite for the resumption of talks with Hamas.

The head of Fatah’s parliamentary faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council, Azzam Al-Ahmad, said that if Hamas accepted the full road map of the Yemeni initiative, Fatah would be ready immediately to initiate a national dialogue not only between the two Palestinian movements, but between each faction.

While acknowledging there were differences of interpretation in some of President Saleh’s initiative items, al-Qirbi expressed hopes of his country's successful efforts to bridge the gap between the Palestinians, without hindrance.

Yemen is relying on the unity of the Palestine’s case for the success of this initiative, al-Qirbi said and in light of the recent suffering in the Palestinian arena, it will be imposed upon Fatah and Hamas to reconsider their positions.

He pointed out that the differences centered on three items, one being the return of the situation on the Gaza Strip to what it was before June 14, 2007, in addition early elections and the formation of a government of national unity.

Regarding the supervision of the implementation of the Yemeni initiative, al-Qirbi said that his country has proposed forming a committee of concerned countries, notably Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, and expressed Yemen’s willingness to join this committee.

The Yemeni initiative consists of seven important points, including “returning the situation in Gaza to what it was" and "holding early elections and the resumption of dialogue on the basis of the Cairo Agreement 2005 and Mecca 2007", in addition to rebuilding the security services on a national basis to become a higher power, not affiliated with either faction in an established Government of National Unity.

In Israel, apartheid is seen clearly against the Palestinians, The Israeli Supreme Court had approved the land requisition more than a decade earlier on the understanding that the widening would benefit local Palestinians as well as Israelis. Five years ago, however – after of a series of attacks, including, in the first years of the intifada, shooting attacks, on Israeli motorists – the military closed off all the feeder roads to 443 from the Palestinian villages alongside it.

Israel argues that the prohibition is needed to guarantee the Israeli users of the road security. But another Israeli human rights organization, Btselem, while recognizing Israel’s duty to keep its citizens safe, said the blanket prohibition "appears to be based on extraneous reasons, the most important being Israel’s desire to annex, de facto, the area along which the road runs." It added: "If Israel were only interested in protecting the lives of Israelis using the road, without annexing the area, it could limit or even prohibit the travel of Israelis on the road, and build other roads and provide other means of transportation to connect Jerusalem and Tel Aviv."

Israel has authorized the Palestinian Authority to import 25 Russian-made armored vehicles to bolster security in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official said.

The vehicles, which will not be equipped with heavy machine guns, will contribute to rearming Palestinian forces after their defeat in the Gaza Strip by the Islamist Hamas movement last June.

The delivery of the vehicles, which has been pending for months, was approved during a visit to the region on Friday by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

They will be delivered to the West Bank from Jordan in the next few days.

Moscow has proposed providing the Palestinians with 50 armored vehicles over two years, but Israel can veto the second shipment if it fears that the vehicles may fall into the hands of militants.

0Israel held up the first shipment in December when the Palestinians requested that they be equipped with heavy machine guns.

Israel has given its final consent to allow Russia to supply the Palestinian Authority security services in the West Bank with Russian-made armored vehicles.

The agreement, which was consummated in principle this past November, was given the final go-ahead after Moscow agreed to a key Israeli demand to refrain from fitting the vehicles with machine guns, as the Palestinians had hoped.

Late last year, a political brouhaha erupted over reports of the deal, and Olmert was bitterly criticized by right-wing lawmakers for the decision.

During Thursday's meeting between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia accepted the Israeli demand that the vehicles not be mounted with machine guns as was originally planned. Palestinian police officers will be permitted to carry small arms only.

According to the understandings reached, 25 Russian-manufactured vehicles will be delivered to the Palestinians in the near future. An additional shipment of 25 vehicles will be temporarily stored in Jordan. Depending on the quality of security coordination with the Palestinians, Israel will decide when to transfer the remaining vehicles to the PA at a later stage.

During their meeting, Olmert told Lavrov that the transfer of armored vehicles to the PA had already been approved on the condition that the vehicles would not be equipped with machine guns, and that Lavrov should hammer out the final details of the deal with Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Government sources say the deal hit a snag over Russia's insistence that the machine guns be included on the armored vehicles. Defense officials said that once the Russians changed course and accepted Israel's objections over the machine guns, there was no reason to oppose the transfer.

Russia initially offered to supply the armored vehicles to the PA two years ago, however Israel balked at the request. In explaining their opposition, the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service argued that the vehicles would likely be used in any future confrontation with IDF soldiers. As such, the security establishment was fearful that the vehicles could even fall into the hands of Hamas.