The Middle East/Iran Inside Line: Hezbollah In, Lieberman Out, France-Germany Making a Difference?

Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Talks, Threats, and Propaganda
Israel-Palestine: After Mitchell Meeting, Netanyahu Presses His Advantage

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Lebanon: Hezbollah in Government: Prime Minister-designate Sa'ad Hariri declared on Wednesday: "The national unity government will include the [ruling] March 14 alliance, and I also want to assure the Israeli enemy that Hezbollah will be in this government whether it likes it or not because Lebanon's interests require all parties be involved in this cabinet."

France and Germany Speak Out on Middle East, Iran: On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then reiterated Germany’s call for two-state solution: "We shouldn't let the window of opportunity pass… The time is absolutely right. Let us do everything to use it."

Meanwhile, spokesmen for the Germany Government emphasised, "The German government advocates that no further settlements in the occupied territories be built. The federal government has emphasized repeatedly this position, and it has not changed." The spokesmem refused to give details on discussions over Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held in Gaza, "strongly appealed to his kidnappers to release him as fast as possible [as] his martyrdom has already lasted too long".

French President Nicholas Sarkozy, also on the scene, endorsed the German call for a halt to Israeli settlement expansion. He then switched to Iran, publicly warned that France would support further sanctions on Tehran if it did not stop uranium enrichment: "These are the same leaders, in Iran, who tell us that the nuclear program is peaceful and that the elections were honest. Frankly, who believes them?"

Sarkozy is due to meet with the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, in Paris next week.

Israel: Foreign Minister in Trouble?: Haaretz’s Aluf Benn has pointed out the “damage” Foreign Ministry Avigdor Lieberman is causing to Israel's reputation and called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to replace him with a “real statesman”.

Benn argues that Lieberman’s has not furthered his country’s national interests in diplomatic exchanges with other countries and has, indeed, alienated them thanks to his “aggressive” statements. Lieberman has put his Prime Minister in a “foolish” position and endangering the peace process by calling it a “dangerous folly”.

Israel and Lebanon: The Boiling Point

Netanyahu in London: Will Israel Make Any Move on Settlements and Jerusalem?

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Relations between Tel Aviv and Beirut are reaching a boiling point. After weeks in a battle of words, Israeli President Shimon Peres claimed to Kuwaiti al-Rai that Hezbollah had stockpiled 80,000 weapons, three times more than its munitions before the Second Lebanon War of 2006. He continued:

Hizbullah is working for its own interests and will always find a pretext to continue its policy against Israel, even if the IDF withdraws from Sheba Farms and the Lebanese Ghajar village.

Peres said Lebanon had "become the Iran of the region" rather than the "Switzerland of the Orient."

On Sunday, Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh told The Daily Star that Beirut would never negotiate with Israel over the return of captured land and that Lebanon would be the last Arab state to sign a peace treaty concerning Jerusalem. He said:

There will be neither direct nor indirect negotiations with Israel. Israel  should have withdrawn [from captured territory] from the first minute of Resolution 1701….They should implement all UN resolutions.

On the specific allegation, Salloukh said, “I don't know how he counted these rockets. Let them [Israel] give us a list showing who the source is and how they identify these rockets. [Peres] imagines too much.”

Although Salloukh is not speaking on behalf of Hezbollah, his words reflect a coalition position which includes the group. Indeed, the Lebanese Government may be mirroring the Israeli tactic to “create a situation on the ground that will render such a solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impossible while paying lip-service to the two-state solution.” Despite the tension, it is not only Tel Aviv that might prefer this to a settlement.