Netanyahu announced on Sunday that the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem (all in the West Bank) would both be added to the list of national heritage sites that the government plans to promote. He said that the rightist religious party Shas persuaded him add the two sites to the list and added:
Our existence depends not only on the IDF or our economic resilience – it is anchored in…the national sentiment that we will bestow upon the coming generations and in our ability to justify our connection to the land.
Following an unproductive Russia visit, a high-ranking Israeli delegation is to leave at the end of the month for Beijing. Both officials will not only talk about the increasing financial cooperation between two countries but also the request for sanctions on Tehran. Haaretz underlines that Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman have not visited China and held no significant talks with Chinese officials on the Iranian issue but have always held meetings with the rest of the 5+1 camp (Russia, USA, Germany, UK, France).
According to the Syrian news agency Champress, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri told Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday that he wishes to improve Lebanese-Syrian relations to better defend Lebanon against Israel, which continues to violate Arab rights. Assad’s adviser Buthaina Shaaban said that the talks were “frank” and “succeeded in overcoming difficulties that marred relations in the past five years.”
Hariri loyalist and former lawmaker Mustafa Alloush was more cautious: he said that the visit was “very difficult on the personal level” and involves “great sacrifice” and did not mean Lebanon had dropped its belief that Syria was responsible for the killing of Hariri’s father Rafik, the former Lebanese Prime Minister assassinated in 2005. However, Alloush added, “As prime minister of Lebanon, it is quite normal to have such a visit….It is necessary and there is a need to settle all aspects of the relationship.”
“At the end of the day, Syria is the nearest country to us. God willing this visit will bring stability and security to Lebanon,” Bahia al-Hariri, a member of the Lebanese parliament and the premier’s aunt, said in Lebanon.
So, what is the outcome of this visit by Hariri? Is it a natural consequence of Hezbollah’s weight in the cabinet or just a part of the coalition deal? Or is this an initiative by Hariri to decrease the tension inside Lebanon through an opening to Damascus, offering a diplomatic victory to Syria after five years of tension?
On Wednesday, the 30 members of the Lebanese cabinet approved Hizbullah’s right to keep its weapons. The endorsement dismisses a United Nations resolution after the Second Lebanon War calling on Hezbollah to disarm.
Some anlaysts have argued that the Western-backed Hariri Government is not willing to pursue disarmament, as this would raise tensions with Hezbollah, which has veto power over government proposals.
Since June, Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri has not been able to form a national unity government due to Hezbollah’s reservations. However, on Saturday, politicians from both camps confirmed that the Government is to be announced in the next two days.
Okab Sakr, who is close to Hariri, said, “The government is as good as formed. It’s all about the final touches now and its formation will be completed this weekend.” A Hezbollah statement confirmed, “Participants at the talks have agreed to forge ahead with the formation of the national unity government in accordance with the regulations that were agreed upon during the negotiations that had been conducted.”
It is expected that the Cabinet will consist of 15 ministers from Hariri’s coalition and 10 from the opposition, including two Hezbollah ministers and five ministers approved by President Michel Suleiman.
Stalemate over Lebanon Government: Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri (pictured) submitted the list for a new national unity government to Lebanese president Michel Suleiman on Monday. Hariri’s “March 14″ alliance gets 15 of 30 seats in the new cabinet and the opposition “March 8″ alliance 10 seats. The other five seats will be chosen by the president.
Hezbollah and its allies refused to support the list since several ministries and appointees that it demanded had been rejected by Hariri. Haaretz quotes one senior Hezbollah official: “We will not deal with this proposal because we know nothing about it. As far as we are concerned, it does not exist and we will have nothing to do with it.”
President Suleiman is not expected to approve any Cabinet proposal that does not have opposition support.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Government has decided to intervene. An Israeli official said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed the issue in the past, and that his position then still stands: “If Hezbollah joins the Lebanese government, then the Lebanese government is accepting responsibility for Hezbollah’s actions, including its actions against Israel.”
Israel’s Settlements Expand for Sake of “Human Rights”: On Monday, right-wing lawmakers, including Supreme Court Judge Eliyakim Rubinstein, celebrated the establishment of a new neighborhood in the E-1 corridor connecting Jerusalem to settlement suburbs in the West Bank. National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau and Information Minister Yuli Edelstein were also present.
Following Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s decision to approve construction of 455 new homes, this was a “victory” demonstration for some Likud Party members. Landau told the crowd:
This land is ours and ours alone… It is the Arabs who are occupiers… A settlement freeze is a violation of human rights. What can we tell the families? Don’t have any more kids, don’t build another house, you can’t have a playground here. This construction must not stop under any circumstances.
Netanyahu announced on Sunday that the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem (all in the West Bank) would both be added to the list of national heritage sites that the government plans to promote. He said that the rightist religious party Shas persuaded him add the two sites to the list and added:
According to the Syrian news agency Champress, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri told Syrian President Bashar Assad on Saturday that he wishes 
On Wednesday, the 
Since June, Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri has not been able to form a national unity government due to Hezbollah’s reservations. However, on Saturday, 
Stalemate over Lebanon Government: Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri (pictured) submitted the list for a new national unity government to Lebanese president Michel Suleiman on Monday. Hariri’s “March 14″ alliance gets 15 of 30 seats in the new cabinet and the opposition “March 8″ alliance 10 seats. The other five seats will be chosen by the president.
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