’’Israel’’ Afraid of Hizbullah on Oil, Electricity in Parliament

It might be very difficult and too early to know what really took place inside the closed meetings room in which the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmed Davutoglu delivered the supposed US-Turkish message to the Syrian leadership.

The Tuesday long six and a half hours meeting ended and what came out to the media suggests the Syrian reply was decisive, strong, and clear.

Syria-Turkey Exchange Messages

"Syria will not be tolerant in pursuing the armed terrorist groups for the sake of protecting homeland's stability and citizens' security, as it is also determined to complete the ongoing steps of comprehensive reform," Syrian President stressed during his meeting with Davutoglu.
 
SANA reported that al-Assad briefed to the Turkish Minister on the events witnessed by some Syrian cities as a result of the acts of killing and terrorizing perpetrated by the armed terrorist groups against the civilian citizens and law enforcement members.
 
Ahead of the meeting, Turkey said it was to deliver "a strong message" to the Syrian regime. But, as the meeting ended, it was clear that Davutoglu had toned down his rhetoric.

"The meetings were lengthy but friendly, and we hope that Syria would return to peace and reflect political reform in the future days and weeks," he added.

The Turkish Foreign Minister affirmed that he is not conveying any message from any one, saying that Turkey is keen on Syria's security and stability.

Speaking to reporters on his return to Turkey from Damascus, Davutoglu pointed out "that stability in Syria is the key for the region's stability."

The head of the Turkish diplomacy revealed that "the talks were cordial" but did not say what steps they had discussed or whether there was an agreement.

"We discussed ways to prevent confrontation between the army and the people in the most open and clear way," Davutoglu said.

"The bloodshed should end and civilian blood should be prevented from being spilled. All the steps needed for the process of reform to start should be taken."

"Six hours of political dialogue between the Turkish and Syrian delegations removed the frown that the Syrian leadership was keen to show in front of TV cameras to show the extreme indignation of the Turkish explicit or non-explicit statements," "as-Safir" Lebanese newspaper reported.

"The mood of the delegates after the meeting, was natural, and the frown, which was evident at the beginning of the meeting disappeared in the end, but did not show the usual friendliness in the Turkish-Syrian previous meetings," the daily clarified.

Meanwhile, envoys from India, Brazil and South Africa are preparing to go to Damascus.

India's UN ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri told reporters that the three countries would be "calling for restraint, abjuring violence, and promoting reform, taking into account the democratic aspirations of the people."

"The governments of the three nations, under an initiative of the IBSA forum of emerging economies, are seeking to help open a dialogue between Syrian authorities and the public to help bring months of brutal violence to an end," a Brazilian foreign ministry spokesman told France Press Agency Tuesday.

Officials said country's representatives were to meet "high-level" Syrians on Wednesday.

As the Lebanese scene in the last few hours was fully dissociated to monitor the Syrian developments, a set of files reappeared on the political field.

Aoun on Syria, Weapon Smugglers into North

A security reference informed "as-Safir" that "the process of smuggling weapons into Syria from Lebanon that have been seized recently, is still under investigation, and that there are critical data that the investigation revealed about people involved in the case and who belong to a senior movement in "March 14"."

Confirming that this wasn't the first carried out by these people, the source told the daily that the three people involved in this issue are W. Th., his cousin S. Th., and A.A pointing out that these "had been referred early to the military court, and then were transferred recently to "al-Qibe" prison in Tripoli, without being transferred to "Romieh" prison on the pretext that there are no places for them."

The source said the three suspects had been referred to the military court. "Confessions made by them uncovered the presence of a fourth involved individual. He has been identified only by his initials as M.E. and said to be from North Lebanon and close to a local commander of a prominent "March 14" group and the "mastermind." He is still at large."

Change and Reform Bloc leader MP Michel Aoun demanded on Tuesday the Syrian people to return to their senses, calling on them "resort to the ballot boxes instead of resorting to murder and massacres in dealing with internal affairs."

"The terrorism is being committed by the (armed) organizations and not the state as they are saying," Aoun emphasized.

Clarifying that Syria is being pressured to sever its ties with Iran, Hizbullah, and Hamas and launch negotiations with Syria and not introduce reform, Aoun confirmed after the weekly meeting of his bloc that he "don't think Syria has harmed anyone on the Turkish border or any of the Arab forces."
 
"Whoever goes to Syria sees that it is calm, but there are a few problems," he added.

"All of the wars the US is waging will not result in the establishment of a pro-American government in the Middle East," the MP concluded.

STL No Detainees, Electricity in Parliament

In a parallel context, "The Lebanese authorities have reported to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on the measures that they have taken to search for, arrest, and transfer those the STL accused in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri," said the STL press office in a statement.

Stating that so far none of the four people who are accused has been detained, Lebanese Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza submitted his report Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Parliament will resume its sessions Wednesday.

Energy Minister Jibran Bassil underlined the need for Parliament to approve the plan to develop the electricity sector "particularly since the bill is the work of more than one and a half years and has been approved by all political forces."
"Therefore there is no reason for any group to reject the bill," Bassil told "as-Safir".
"Parliament today faces a test - it either illuminates Lebanon or leaves it in the dark," Bassil said.
 
For its part, "an-Nahar" has learned that "March 14" MPs will strongly oppose an attempt to pass a bill authorizing Energy Minister Jibran Bassil to spend $1.2 billion to produce 700 MW power.
 

"Israel" Monitors Out of Fear

On the maritime borders, "Israel" has deployed unmanned aerial vehicles to monitor Occupied Palestine maritime resources, as it fears Hizbullah might attack its gas fields, the Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.

The move intensifies "Israel's" fear following the Secretary General of Hizbullah His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's warning in late July that if Lebanon's oil facilities were attacked, "Israel's" oil installations would be the resistance next target.
 
The "Israeli" paper also reported that "the "Israeli" navy had drafted an operational plan to protect the offshore gas fields and the decision to deploy drones was made in order to maintain a 24-hour presence over the site."
 
""Israel's" concern is that Hizbullah will try to attack the "Israeli" gas rigs at sea in explosive-laden ships, or with anti-ship missiles," the daily said.
 
The Jerusalem Post also reported that last week, the head of Naval Intelligence, Yaron Levi, said Hizbullah had obtained advanced missiles capable of hitting "Israeli" ports or offshore oil and gas rigs.

"Terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hizbullah have become de facto rulers," Levi was quoted by the paper as saying. "They are sponsored by countries with significant military capabilities."


Source : Newspapers