Special Dispatch Series | No. 2640, 2641 | November 9, 2009
Lebanon/Syria
*Special Dispatch No. 2640
A Second Hizbullah Missile Explosion in South Lebanon Intensifies Lebanon's Internal Dispute over Hizbullah's Weapons
On the evening of October 12, 2009, the Lebanese media reported on an explosion in the home of senior Hizbullah official 'Abd Al-Nasser 'Issa, in the village of Teir Felsay, east of Sidon in South Lebanon, and that several people were killed and more were wounded in the blast. Some reports stated that what had exploded was a shell stored in 'Issa's home; others said that the blast was at a Hizbullah arms depot, like the Khirbet Silim blast several months previously, in July 2009.
Hizbullah issued an announcement that the incident involved an explosion in 'Issa's home, but denied that anyone had been killed and said that only one person had been wounded.
Following the blast, Lebanese and Arab columnists identified with the March 14 Forces published articles warning against the danger posed by Hizbullah in Lebanon, and criticizing the "disinformation" campaign of the media identified with Hizbullah. In contrast, the Lebanese newspapers identified with Hizbullah published articles expressing pride in Hizbullah's continued amassing of arms, and of its ongoing activity south of the Litani River.
To read the full dispatch, visit http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD264009.
*Special Dispatch No. 2641
Board Chairman of Pro-Syrian Lebanese Daily Writes about Assad-Abdallah Summit "
In an article published November 2, 2009 in the pro-Syrian Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, which is identified with the opposition, Ibrahim Al-Amin, chairman of the newspaper's executive board, described the understandings on Lebanon that were reached by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Saudi King Abdallah in meetings October 7-8, 2009 in Damascus. He also wrote on how each of the leaders explained the agreements to his allies in Lebanon. The effort to reach understandings on Lebanon came after five months in which the March 14 Forces and the Hizbullah-led Lebanese opposition failed in their attempts to form a national unity government – a failure that stemmed mainly from the demands and conditions presented by General Michel Aoun for joining the government.
To read the full dispatch, visit http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD264109
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