Lebanon
Lebanon and Israel need a proper border agreement
Comment Is Free, 4 Aug 2010
Focusing on a pact to calm border tensions is far better than arguing over who fired the first shot in this week's confrontation
Drawing
conclusions
Comment Is Free, May 31, 2007
The investigation into Rafik Hariri's assassination sets an important
precedent for Lebanon and the whole of the Middle East.
A
new peril in Lebanon
Comment Is Free, February 13, 2007
Lebanon is no stranger to bombings, but
today's attack is especially alarming.
A
smoking gun
Comment Is Free, November 24, 2006
Pierre Gemayel's murder has been added to
a list of 15 other attacks being investigated by the UN - but this case has
one vital difference.
'This
is the most panicked I've seen Lebanon'
Guardian, November 22 2006
Brian Whitaker, Clancy Chassay in Beirut and Hugh Macleod in Damascus
Amid all the destruction that Lebanon has witnessed over the years, the
bulletholes in the window of Pierre Gemayel's car yesterday seemed almost
insignificant - but their consequences may be tremendous.
Veering
off the road to recovery
Comment Is Free, November 14, 2006
Lebanon has run into a political impasse, and the
country may once again be heading for a period of government paralysis.
Hizbullah
'used cluster bombs'
Guardian, Friday October 20 2006
Hizbullah fired cluster bombs into civilian areas of northern Israel in the
recent conflict, Human Rights Watch said yesterday.
We
still have 20,000 rockets, says Nasrallah
Guardian, September 23 2006
In a defiant "victory" speech in a bombed-out suburb of Beirut,
the Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said yesterday his organisation
had recovered from its month-long war with Israel and now possessed more
than 20,000 rockets.
In
the lion's den
Comment Is Free, September 12, 2006
Tony
Blair met with demonstrators on his trip to Lebanon -
as well as criticism from an unlikely source.
A
collective punishment
Comment Is Free, September 5, 2006
The argument for Israel's
continuing blockade of Lebanon's air and seaports
doesn't stand up to much scrutiny.
Lebanon
asks for $500m to help build homes and clear bombs
Guardian, September 1 2006
Lebanon's prime minister appealed
yesterday for $500m (£263m) in aid after "15
years of postwar development" were wiped out by
Israeli bombs in a month of fighting with Hizbullah
guerrillas.
Israel
must pay
Comment Is Free, August 23, 2006
Lebanon is entitled to compensation for
the devastation Israel has wrought.
Resolutions
and irresolution
Comment Is Free, August 18, 2006
UN resolution 1559 calls for the
independence of Lebanon from all outside interference - that means Israel too.
Reconstruction
alone estimated at $7bn in Lebanon
Guardian, August 16 2006
With the tenuous ceasefire still holding, Lebanese government ministers met
yesterday to begin the laborious process of estimating civilian damage caused by
a month of Israeli bombing.
Beirut
bombarded hours before start of ceasefire
Guardian, August 14 2006
Hours before a UN-brokered truce was due to take effect, Israeli forces
pressed on with their offensive yesterday, battling with Hizbullah guerrillas in
southern Lebanon and launching an unprecedented air strike against the capital,
Beirut.
Resistance
agrees truce, can it now resist a fight?
Guardian, August 14 2006
Twenty-four hours ahead of the Israeli cabinet's meeting to approve a
ceasefire in the four-week-old war with Hizbullah, the Lebanese Shia
organisation declared itself ready to abide by a truce, but with conditions.
14
die as bombardment goes on across Lebanon
Guardian, August 12, 2006
Israeli warplanes and artillery continued to bombard Lebanon yesterday, from
the southern border to the far north of the country, killing at least 14 people.
Hizbullah, meanwhile, said it fired 150 rockets into Israel, although Israeli
rescue officials put the total at about 80 ...
War
and peace
Comment Is Free, August 11, 2006
An intriguing email arrived the other day.
It was headed "Call for peace" ...
Towards
a Lebanese solution?
Comment Is Free, August 7, 2006
Talk of an international peacekeeping
force as a buffer zone in South Lebanon is misguided. Only the Lebanese
themselves can provide a sustainable solution.
Militants
merge with mainstream
Guardian, August 5, 2006
Nour, a 19-year-old university student, came with two friends to one of
Cairo's biggest squares on Thursday night carrying Lebanese and Hizbullah flags.
"This is the first time I ever take part in a protest," she said ...
The
world must rein in Israel
Comment Is Free, August 3, 2006
The onslaught on Lebanon is fuelling
recruitment to terrorist groups and denials of the Jewish state's right to
exist.
A
10-step programme for peace
Comment Is Free, August 1, 2006
The solution to the crisis in
Lebanon involves Israel, Hizbullah, Syria, the UN, the
EU, Russia and the US as well as Beirut.
Syria
stands to gain from Lebanon's pain
Guardian, July 31 2006
The Bakdash ice-cream parlour is one of the great institutions of old
Damascus, established in 1895 and renowned throughout the city. Among the more
distinguished visitors to have sampled its produce is the king of Jordan,
whose photo hangs prominently on the wall. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of
Hizbullah, may be too busy just now to drop in for a pistachio-sprinkled
cornet ...
Muslims
unite in anger over Lebanon
Guardian, July 28 2006
From Egypt to Indonesia there were outpourings of popular anger today against
the continued Israeli bombardment of Lebanon - though there is also growing
frustration in the Middle East at the apparent impotence of Arab leaders.
The
T-shirt seller of Beirut
Guardian Unlimited, July 27 2006
The Phoenicians were the greatest traders of the ancient world and the
Lebanese are their descendants. In Lebanon, every situation - no matter how
dire - is an opportunity for someone to do business.
UN aid convoy heads to south Lebanon
Guardian, Wednesday July 26, 2006
The first UN relief convoy left Beirut today carrying emergency supplies to
the devastated south of Lebanon, but without assurances from Israel that it
would not be attacked.
Rice lacks recipe for success
Guardian Unlimited, Tuesday July 25, 2006
There's no denying her stamina. Less than 48 hours after painfully giving
birth to a "New Middle East", Condoleezza Rice flew by helicopter into
Beirut. At least, I think she did.
Scale of the human crisis emerges
Guardian, Tuesday July 25, 2006
The people of Lebanon are facing their "hour of greatest
need", the UN said yesterday in launching an emergency appeal for $150m (£81m)
to help an estimated 800,000 civilians whose lives have been disrupted by
Israeli bombing of Lebanon.
Unfashionably late to leave
Guardian Unlimited, Monday July 24, 2006
I got to know Karim when I was based in Beirut for a few months last year.
He lived nearby and, conveniently for me, he owned a brand new washing
machine that his employer had given him as a sort of bonus. Karim (not his
real name) was a Syrian who had been working in Beirut for several years ...
Bombs on a Starry Night
Guardian Unlimited, Friday July 21, 2006
I was just finishing work last night and feeling a bit tired when word went
round that two British journalists had been kidnapped in central Beirut by
Hizbullah. Oh no, I thought. That's all we need now.
Battered Lebanon counts the cost of Israeli onslaught
Guardian, July 21, 2006
The catastrophic scale of destruction inflicted on
Lebanon's infrastructure and economy by the Israeli
bombardment was becoming apparent yesterday as
government officials released details to the Guardian of
the damage so far.
Lebanese who fled as youngsters forced to flee again with own
children
Guardian, July 20, 2006
Wearing a sweat-soaked vest and beach shorts and clutching a
leather briefcase in one hand and a baffled five-year-old in
the other, Joe Noujeim cut an odd figure as he walked down
the gangplank of a 5,200 tonne British destroyer ...
The daily grind
Guardian Unlimited, July 20, 2006
It is 8am on a beautiful summer's morning. Outside Cafe
Younis, half a dozen men are sipping coffee and reading
newspapers under the shade of the trees. Fifteen minutes
later, somewhere not very far away, a bomb hits Beirut, but
nobody flinches or even glances up from his newspaper. The
Lebanese are accustomed to it.
Massive evacuation gathers pace
Guardian, July 19, 2006
Thousands of Lebanese nationals and western expats were
scrambling to leave the country yesterday as Israel's
week-long bombardment of Lebanon continued.
Relief as first group of Britons taken to Cyprus on Royal Navy
warship
Guardian, July 19, 2006
British evacuees exchanged the perils of Beirut for the rough
comforts of below decks on a Royal Navy destroyer last night ...
Mass evacuation from Beirut under way
Guardian, July 18, 2006
A mass evacuation of British, American and other foreign
nationals from Beirut was under way today as Israel
continued its bombardment of Lebanon.
Two sides of the war
Comment Is Free, July 17, 2006
Viewed from Lebanon, the TV coverage of destruction in Israel seems wildly out
of proportion compared with what is happening across the border.
A competent military force that should not be underestimated,
experts say
Guardian, July 17, 2006
Hizbullah will not only take war to Haifa, but "beyond Haifa, and
beyond beyond Haifa", its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said in a
televised speech last week - and some experts are prepared to
believe him ...
As the bombs rain down, a refugee crisis unfolds on the streets
of Beirut
Guardian, July 17, 2006
Lebanon was on the brink of a humanitarian crisis yesterday
as Israeli forces continued their bombardment and thousands
of Shia Muslims either fled their homes or found themselves
trapped.
Rescue of Britons depends on ceasefire, FO says
Guardian, July 17, 2006
As the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and the assault ship
HMS Bulwark headed towards the eastern Mediterranean, the
advice from the Foreign Office to the estimated 10,000
Britons in Lebanon last night was to stay put.
A new war, but both sides recall old ones
Guardian, July 15, 2006
The three Syrian guest-workers arrived before dawn
yesterday, as they did every morning, to set up their coffee
stall beneath the flyover, hoping to catch the breakfast
trade from early risers in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
That was when the bomb blew them away, along with a large
section of the road above their heads. Nobody seemed to
remember their names ...
Blundering into Lebanon
Comment Is Free,
July 14, 2006
Ehud
Olmert has made some serious mistakes in his
cross-border attacks.
Borderline beneficiaries
Comment Is Free,
July 12, 2006
Israel's
UN resolution-breaching incursion
strengthens the hands of the Lebanese
government's enemies.
Flashpoint
farmland
Guardian Unlimited, Wednesday May 10 2006
The Lebanese prime minister, Fuad Siniora, has just
ended a three-day visit to London that included
talks with Tony Blair. Among other things, Mr
Siniora was seeking Britain's help over the obscure
but thorny issue of the Shebaa Farms, a contentious
bit of territory where the borders of Lebanon, Syria
and Israel meet.
Assad
pledges support for UN Hariri inquiry
Guardian, Friday March 17 2006
Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, said last night he would meet a UN
commission investigating the murder of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik
Hariri.
UN
wants to question Assad in Hariri inquiry
The Guardian, January 03 2006
The UN commission investigating the assassination
of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri has
asked to interview Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad,
the commission said yesterday.
Syria
accuses former vice-president of treason for Hariri
claim
The Guardian, January 02 2006
Syria's ruling Ba'ath party has expelled the former
vice-president Abdel-Halim Khaddam and intends to put
him on trial for treason, the country's official news
agency, Sana, said yesterday.
Middle
East tension rises as UN prepares to accuse Syria of
Hariri assassination
The Guardian, September 23 2005
UN investigators will next month
directly implicate the Syrian government in the
assassination of Rafik Hariri, the former Lebanese
prime minister, potentially igniting a new Middle East
crisis.
Damascene
subversion
Guardian Unlimited, September 19 2005
An extraordinary sense of
foreboding has developed among Syria-watchers over the
last few days - a feeling that momentous events are
just around the corner. Some even suggest the regime
of the president, Bashar al-Assad, could fall within a
matter of months.
Long
shadow of the Beirut massacre
The Guardian, September 06 2005
The arrest last week of four
Lebanese generals on charges of murder, attempted
murder and terrorism is an unprecedented event in the
Middle East: high-ranking officers have been arrested
before - often on trumped-up charges
Beirut
murder mystery
The Guardian,
June 22 2005
The international investigation into the murder
of Rafik Hariri finally got under way last week, four months and two days after
the devastating explosion that killed the former Lebanese prime minister along
with at least 20 other people as he drove along
Unnatural
selection
The Guardian,
June 13 2005
What happened, I sometimes wonder, to all those
Lebanese flags? Earlier this year they were everywhere in Beirut; draped from
balconies, fluttering from cars and motorbikes, and waved by demonstrators in
their hundreds of thousands.
Picnic
protest
The Guardian,
April 11 2005
It was the dinner party of the century. In the
colonnaded streets of Beirut's city centre, the packed open air restaurants were
turning customers away. Thousands more had to make do with ice creams or
sandwiches bought from stalls.
Crisis
unites protesters in Beirut's tent city
The Guardian,
March 12 2005
After a night sleeping out in Beirut's tent city,
anti-Syria demonstrators sneak into the Virgin Megastore across the road for a
wash and brush-up. Three lads from the camp are in the toilets talking politics
and one is re-gelling his hair.
Writing
on the wall
The Guardian,
March 09 2005
Beirut, the morning after. The Hizbullah
demonstrators who packed Riad al-Solh square yesterday have gone, and so have
most of the anti-Syrian demonstrators from the day before.
Farewell
to Lebanon's Mr Fix-it
The Guardian,
February 15 2005
Rafik Hariri was more than a politician; in many
ways he was Mr Lebanon. Besides serving as prime minster for 10 of the last 14
years, he was a hyperactive businessman, a self-made billionaire who, through
his television station and daily newspaper, controlled ...
The
power of words
The Guardian,
November 23 2004
Damascus would do well to defuse anti-Syrian sentiment in Beirut and the
wider world with an offer of dialogue ...
By
unpopular demand
The Guardian,
September 06 2004
Last Friday the Lebanese parliament decided, by
96 votes to 29, to give President Emile Lahoud three more years in office.
Green
gold
The Guardian,
June 11 2001
High in the Bekaa valley, relaxing under a fig
tree's shade, farmer Ali pours glasses of tea. This year, God willing - and the
Lebanese army permitting - his harvest will be good. The spring rains have been
generous and now even the gravel at the roadside is flecked with green.
Triumphant Hizbullah face the test of peace
June 08 2000
Abdullah Qasir, a Hizbullah member of the
Lebanese parliament, quotes a Koranic verse: "If you are rude, people will not
like you."
Hizbullah heroes face the test of peace
June 01 2000
Abdullah Qasir, a Hizbullah member of the
Lebanese parliament, quotes a Koranic verse: "If you are rude, people will not
like you."
Picnics and pilgrimages on day of victory
May 29 2000
From all over Lebanon they came in their tens of
thousands. Banners along the road proclaimed "the day of victory". A silver
Buick had its boot lid tied down over a picnic table, the flag of Hizbullah
fluttering gaily from its roof.
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