DAILY SCOPE: Presidential Initiative Shrinking? More ISIL Cluster Cells Dismantled

Local Editor

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES:

AS-SAFIR:

Franjieh's Trip to Baabda to Pass through Rabieh?!
International Verdict: Egypt to Pay Fine for "Israel"

AL-AKHBAR:
Flying Presidency: No Permission for Landing Yet

AL-JOMHOURIA:
Three Maronites against One!

AL-BINAA:
Kerry and Fabius: Government and Opposition to Cooperate against Terrorism under al-Assad

AD-DIYAR:

Decisive Presidential Week, Aoun-Franjieh Meeting Pivotal

Lebanese newspapers on Monday discussed the hot topic of presidency in Lebanon, which unlike major issues started big but seems to have been shrinking. Sources suspect that if the matter remains on this pace of arguments and disagreements, the initiative will soon die and prove unfruitful. Lebanese dailies also followed up on the terrorist cells in Lebanon, with more extremists of Lebanese and Syrian nationality being arrested owing to the efforts of the army intelligence and the security forces who have been closely following up on the matter and have dismantled numerous networks in the past weeks.

AL-JOMHOURIA: Stances Assure Presidential Initiative Alive, Fears of Collapse

Well-informed sources told al-Jomhouria newspaper that opposite to how things should happen, the case of presidency in Lebanon started off as big and then began to collapse and shrink.

According to the sources, if it were not for some stances that keep reassuring the coming steps and further developments, the initiative to resolve the presidential crisis would have been considered as reached a dead end.

The last initiative being discussed in newspapers has been the nomination of head of the Marada party Suleiman Franjieh for Presidency. Franjieh's running for the presidency is an opportunity for a patriotic settlement, Public Health minister Wael Abou-Faour said on Sunday.

A national equilibrium cabinet following Franjieh's accession to the presidency is bound to re-launch the statist process and the political, security and constitutional balance this might entail, he argued.
Meanwhile, the daily confirmed that a rift exist between March 14 forces, particularly between the Future party and Lebanese Forces over the initiative. This comes as former premier MP Saad Hariri announced his nomination of Franjieh as president.

"Contacts between them are ongoing as demonstrated by the recent visit of Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq to Geagea in Maarab," the sources said.
Different sides in the country have been urging the political factions to come together and to "seriously" take into consideration the new initiative aiming at ending the presidential vacuum. Lebanon has been without a president since May 2014 when the term of Michel Suleiman ended without the election of a successor.

AS-SAFIR: Hamza Member of ISIL Cluster Cell, Many More Arrested

Security sources told As-Safir newspaper that Mohammad Hamza, who detonated himself along with two members of his family in northern Lebanon on Saturday belonged to the sleeping terrorist cluster cells in Lebanon that have been formed by ISIL. According to the source, he and his cell were ready to perform security attacks upon demand, adding that he was in touch with other Lebanese and Syrian terrorists that are listed as a case of priority at the army intelligence and are being followed up closely.

Sources also noted that simultaneously with the raid on Hamza's home, the security forces conducted other raids and arrested numerous suspects in Tripoli and Minieh areas in northern Lebanon.
Hamza blew himself up during an army raid on his home as reported medical and security sources. The army has carried out a series of raids since the two suicide bomb blasts claimed by ISIL killed around 45 people in Beirut's Dahiyeh last month.

AS-SAFIR: Egypt on Cross-Roads With "Israel"; Appeal or Diplomacy

International law expert Mohammad Atallah told As-Safir newspaper that "Egypt stands before two choices: to either appeal the verdict within 6 weeks after it has been issued, which I do not see as possible because the verdict has been pending for 3 years and the Egyptian court maybe has nothing new to present. Second, Egypt would have to resort to diplomacy, where it can exploit its good relations with "Israel" to decrease the amount of compensation, especially in light of negotiations on the possibility of importing gas from "Israel".

For years, "Israel" was receiving some of the cheapest gas in the world until Egypt decided to halt its export of gas supplies three years ago, and freeze gas import talks until the dispute was resolved. Egyptian prosecutors probing the case after the 2011 revolution said it had cost Egypt $714mn in lost revenues, but other analysts believe the figure is closer to tens of billions of dollars.

Egypt had been selling natural gas to "Israel" under a 20-year agreement, but the deal collapsed in 2012 following attacks by militants on the pipeline in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Egypt said on Sunday it would appeal an order by international arbitrators to pay $1.76 billion in compensation to the "Israeli" company Electric Corp. The" Israeli" company resorted to international arbitration after the attacks stopped the flow of gas.

Source: al-Ahed news