President Michel Suleiman held talks on Monday with U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Maura Connelly on the security and political repercussions of Sunday’s Nakba Day clashes between Lebanon, Syria, and Israel.
He called on the United States to urge the Jewish state to respect international laws and agreements, once again condemning its attack against unarmed civilians.
Full StoryIsrael filed a complaint with the U.N. Security Council on Monday against Lebanon and Syria over the Nakba Day incidents that took place on Sunday.
Spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry told Agence France Presse: “We filed a complaint to the Security Council and U.N. Secretary General because Lebanon and Syria should be held responsible for violating our borders, international agreements, and U.N. resolutions.”
Full StoryThe Israeli army said Monday that Israel's frontiers were quiet, as thousands of bereaved Palestinians in camps across Lebanon laid to rest victims of a cross-border Israeli shooting and shops and schools in the camps closed for a day of mourning.
"Today is a day of general strikes in the camps in mourning for the victims who were killed by the enemy," Fatah commander in Lebanon Munir Maqdah, who is based in the notorious refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, told Agence France Presse.
Full StoryIsraeli naval forces fired warning shots Monday at a ship carrying aid to Gaza as it approached the shore, forcing it to withdraw to Egyptian waters, the vessel's Malaysian organizer told Agence France Presse.
"The MV Finch, carrying sewage pipes to Gaza, had warning shots fired at it by Israeli forces in the Palestinian security zone this morning at 0654 Jordan time (0354 GMT)," said Shamsul Azhar from the Perdana Global Peace Foundation.
Full StoryIsrael will resume the transfer of Palestinian tax revenue funds that it froze after a unity deal between rival Fatah and Hamas, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon said Monday.
"We have unblocked the funds because we have established that the agreement between Fatah and Hamas has had no effect, the security cooperation (between Israel and the Palestinian Authority) continues on the ground," Yaalon told Israeli public radio.
Full StoryEgyptian protesters demanding the expulsion of Israel's ambassador clashed with riot police outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo on Sunday, leaving at least 24 people wounded.
The police, who were backed by the army, fired dozens of tear gas canisters at the protesters, who ripped out paving stones to throw and burned tires.
Full StoryIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad branded Israel a cancer cell that must be removed Sunday, after Israeli gunfire killed 12 people and wounded hundreds as Palestinians marched in a mass show of mourning over the creation of the Jewish state.
"On the anniversary of this regime, people demonstrated in various places, but there were dead and wounded and this regime once again showed its real nature," he said in a television interview.
Full StoryIsraeli gunfire killed three people and wounded hundreds Sunday as Palestinians marched on Israel's borders with Syria and Gaza in a mass show of mourning over the creation of the Jewish state.
Tensions along the Israeli-Syrian frontier spiraled as thousands of protesters from Syria tried to force their way into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, prompting the army to open fire in one of the worst incidents of violence there since a 1974 truce accord.
Full StoryThe Higher Islamic Shiite Council’s objections against the Christian-Islamic summit’s closing statement reflected the turbulent political situation in Lebanon and raised questions over the possibility of holding another summit in the future, reported As Safir on Friday.
“Should the summit have been held without an agreement being reached or was it better that it not be held at all?” it asked.
Full StorySyrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf warned Israel of instability if the regime of his cousin President Bashar Assad falls, vowing to "fight to the end," according to The New York Times.
"If there is no stability here, there's no way there will be stability in Israel," said Makhlouf, who is on a list of 13 Syrian figures subjected to European Union sanctions for their role in violence against protesters opposing Assad's autocratic government.
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