Arab League calls on Quartet to press Israel into removing racist separation wall

Israeli police want Lieberman tried over corruption charges

Netanyahu refers Golan pullout to referendum

Clinton: U.S. still interested in dialogue with Iran

UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) considered the explosions took place in southern Lebanon Tuesday a serious violation of UN resolution 1701, local media reported Wednesday.

The blasts in the town of Kirbit Silim 20 km away from the Lebanese-Israeli borders were "probably caused by stockpiles of ammunition which were stored in an abandoned house." UNIFIL spokeswoman Yasmine Bouziane was quoted as saying.

"UNIFIL considers the incident a serious violation of UN resolution 1701, especially a violation of the provision which prohibits unauthorized weapons in the area of operations between Litani River and the blue line," Bouziane added.

UN resolution 1701 which ended the 34-day devastating war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite armed group Hezbollah, prohibited the presence of arms and armed element mainly held by Hezbollah in the region south of Litani River until the blue line on the boarders with Israel, which should be under Lebanese army and UNIFIL control.

A UNIFIL statement said that UNIFIL commander Gen. Claudio Graziano met Wednesday with Prime Minister-Designate Saad Hariri and Lebanese army commander Gen. Jean Khwaji, and informed them on the investigations which were carried out by UNIFIL and the Lebanese army in the area where the explosions occurred.

In Cairo, the Arab League urged the International Quartet to bring Israel to observe international resolutions, namely the UN General Assembly resolution regarding the illegitimacy of the separation wall that snakes through occupied Palestinian territories.

The Cairo-based bloc, in a statement marking the fifth anniversary of the UNGA resolution on the racist separation wall in the Palestinian lands, said this fence is yet an another Israeli attempt to annex more Palestinian lands to the state of Israel in a manner that violates international law.

"Some 138 Palestinian villages and communities have lost more than 555 square kilometers of lands that have become part of the Israeli side beyond the racist separation wall. In addition, 29 villages have become totally isolated and surrounded from four directions by this wall," the league said in its statement.

In Tel Aviv, Israeli police investigators said on Tuesday there is sufficient evidence to indict Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on suspicion of money laundering, breach of public trust, fraudulent receipt of goods and disrupting police investigations.

The National Fraud Unit officials met with Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz on Tuesday night to discuss the corruption investigation and presented with their findings, the Israeli daily Jerusalem Post reported.

The investigation has lasted for a long time. In March, some Israeli groups opposed Lieberman to take the office of foreign minister when the then Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu offered this post to the chairman of the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel is our home) party.

Lieberman however denied any wrongdoing in the ongoing cases when questioned by police before, and insisted that the probe is politically motivated.

The investigation was not over now, and the meeting focused on the steps needed to conclude the investigation as soon as possible, a senior Justice Ministry official told local news service Ynet.

The allegations apparently relate to a company run by Lieberman's daughter, the reports said.

An Israeli cabinet panel has endorsed a bill that would require parliamentary approval or a national referendum before any pullout from occupied Syrian territory, an official said on Monday.

The decision could delay any withdrawal as part of a peace agreement. Under current law Israeli governments have sole power to decide the terms of any peace treaty. It was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ministerial law committee on Sunday, the day a US envoy arrived in the region with the reported aim of seeking to restart Israeli-Syrian talks.

The official confirmed a report on Israel's Channel 10 television that the panel had revived a bill that would mandate that any withdrawal be approved by a two-thirds majority of Parliament, or a national referendum.

The measure, dubbed by Israeli media ''the Golan Bill'' after the strategic plateau captured in the 1967 war, must pass several more votes before it can become law.

''There is still a very long process ahead before this would become law,'' the official said. Frederick Hoff, an adviser to US peace envoy George Mitchell, arrived in Israel on Sunday. Officials have declined comment on media reports he was examining ways to renew negotiations between Israel and Syria.

The two countries last held direct talks in 2000 that stalled over the future of the occupied Golan Heights, which Israel annexed in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally.

Israel and Syria held indirect talks with Turkish mediation last year but Syria froze contacts to protest Israel's war last January in the Gaza Strip.

In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday the Obama administration still seeks dialogue with Iran despite what she called the Tehran government's deplorable and unacceptable use of violence to quell election protests.

In a foreign policy speech, Clinton also left open the prospect of talks with moderate elements of Afghanistan's Taliban movement.

Clinton said the crackdown on those protesting the announced results of last months presidential election puts a new complexion on the Iranian government in the way it is perceived internationally.

But, she nonetheless said the United States should engage directly with Tehran authorities on issues like Iran's nuclear program and support for terrorism to determine if it wants to become a responsible member of the world community or continue on a path to further isolation.

The Secretary addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington in a policy speech marking the upcoming six-month anniversary of the new administration, and on the eve of a key overseas trip by Clinton to India and Thailand.

Her speech and ensuing question and answer session stressed the Obama administration's exercise of so-called smart power that puts the use of diplomacy and developmental aid on a par with the military might.

She said that on Iran, the Bush administration made a mistake by refusing nuclear talks with Iran and outsourcing the policy process to others.

"Direct talks provide the best vehicle for presenting and explaining that choice," said Clinton. "That is why we offered Iran's leaders an unmistakable opportunity. Iran does not have a right to nuclear military capacity. We're determined to prevent that."

"But it does have a right to civil nuclear power if it reestablishes the confidence of the international community that it will use its program exclusively for peaceful purposes.

Iran can become a constructive actor in the region if it stops threatening its neighbors and supporting terrorism," she added.

Clinton, who leaves Washington late Thursday on her first mission to India as secretary, told her audience she also plans a visit to Pakistan in the fall, where in both countries the struggle against Islamic extremism in the region will be a key issue.

She said U.S. national security as well as the future of Afghanistan depends on a stable, democratic and economically-viable Pakistan and that Washington applauds Pakistan's new determination to deal with militants who threaten that country.

She said the United States is fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan because it protects al-Qaeda, but made clear it is open to dealing with Taliban supporters willing to break with terrorists.

"We understand that not all those who fight with the Taliban support al-Qaeda or believe in the extremist policies the Taliban pursued while in power," she said.

"And today we and our Afghan allies stand ready to welcome anyone supporting the Taliban who renounces al-Qaeda, lays down their arms and is willing to participate in the free and open society that is enshrined in the Afghan constitution."

The Secretary also stressed the Obama administration's renewed effort led by special envoy and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

She repeated U.S. calls on Israel to stop settlement activity and the Palestinians to end incitement and bolster security.

But she said the broader Arab world also needs to act now and emulate steps by the late leaders of Egypt and Jordan for outreach to Israel to create a climate for peace.

"Anwar Sadat and King Hussein crossed important thresholds, and their boldness and vision mobilized peace constituencies in Israel and paved the way for lasting agreements," said the secretary of state. "By providing support to the Palestinians, and offering an opening however modest the Israelis, the Arab states could have the same impact."

The Secretary, due to join ASEAN and other regional foreign ministers in security talks in Thailand on her trip, said the administration is helping organize a tougher joint effort to get North Korea back to negotiations for a denuclearized Korean peninsula.