Now, I am far from an expert on Lebanon, and I’ve been reading Tony Bey and the others who know a lot more than I do, but I have a suspicion that this cannot be at all good:
Hizbullah strikes another achievement at the end of a particularly severe round of violence in Lebanon : Arab mediators have announced a breakthrough deal between feuding Lebanese factions struck after five days of talks in Qatar to end Lebanon’s 18-month political crisis.
As part of the deal, 11 of the 30 ministers in a national unity government in Beirut will be Hizbullah members, giving the Shiite organization the right to veto any decision. This was one of the main demands made by Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah during the recent crisis.
In other words, Hezbullah seems to have gotten everything it wants since sending its goons into Beirut to terrorize the non-Shia residents.
This is the way of the Arab world. Osama said it years ago: “When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature, they will like the strong horse.”
Sixteen of Lebanon’s current ministers will serve in the new government, and another three will serve on behalf of the president. Hizbullah agreed to compromise on its demand to establish an interim government and hold elections, and had refused at first to settle for only one-third of the government members.
The sides also agreed to appoint Lebanon’s army commander, General Michel Suleiman, the next Lebanese president.
Suleiman ordered the army to stand by as Hezbullah goons burned down opposition TV stations and murdered Sunnis.
Iran has more of a foothold than ever. Syria is supplying Hezbullah with weapons. So what is Israel doing right now?
The Prime Minister’s Office announced Wednesday that Israel and Syria have launched direct negotiations in Turkey.
Ynet has learned that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s associates, Yoram Turbowitz and Shalom Turgeman, have been meeting with senior Syrian officials in Ankara since Monday.
A dramatic statement issued simultaneously in Jerusalem, Damascus and Ankara said that “Israel and Syria have launched peace talks mediated by Turkey.
“The two sides have declared their intention to hold the negotiations in good faith and openly, and hold a serious and continuous dialogue in order to reach a comprehensive peace deal in accordance with the framework set at the (1991) Madrid Conference.”
Following the announcement, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said that Israel had agreed to fully concede the Golan Heights.
Sources at the Prime Minister’s Office told Ynet in response, “The negotiations are being held on the basis of the Madrid Conference principles. We do not recall an Israeli commitment at the conference to fully cede the Golan Heights.”
The Madrid principles are land for peace. So far, land for peace has proven to be the exact opposite: The Gaza Strip is no longer under Israeli control, and Israel is under daily rocket attack from the Strip. Palestinians in the West Bank still plot and attempt terror attacks on a daily basis, from tossing rocks and molotov cocktails at Israelis in the West Bank to trying to blow up soldiers at checkpoints.
Syria supplies weapons and material to Hezbullah. Syria has treaties with Iran, including a defense treaty. When Syria had the Golan Heights, they were used to bombard Israeli towns.
But that’s not all of it. The Olmert government is also ready to agree to the “truce” with Hamas, giving the terrorists a breathing space and room to re-arm.
Ceasefire in Gaza? Israel has accepted the principle of a proposed truce in the Gaza Strip, a senior official from Egypt, which has been brokering the negotiations, told his country’s official MENA news agency on Tuesday.
“Israeli leaders (have informed us) of their support for and understanding of the Egyptian proposals for a truce,” the news agency quoted the official as saying without giving his name.
Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman – who has acted as go-between in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas – conveyed the news to a delegation from the Islamist group which controls Gaza earlier in the day, the news agency added.
In Jerusalem, the Israeli government spokesman neither confirmed nor denied the Egyptian report.
“As far as we are concerned, we can only indicate that contacts are continuing,” said Mark Regev, spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
So let’s recap: Hezbullah invades Beirut, causes the deaths of 70 Lebanese, destroys opposition TV stations, and gets what it wants: The man it wants for president, the representation it wants in the government, and veto power over any decisions made by the rest of the Lebanese ministers. Syria supplies Hezbullah with weapons, keeps Hamas headquarters in downtown Damascus, regularly holds terrorism get-togethers to plot Israel’s destruction, sends terrorists into Iraq, and is partners with Iran. Hamas refuses to end its terror attacks against Israel and intends to destroy the Jewish State.
And yet, all three warmongers are getting—exactly what they want.
Terrorism works. Violence works. This proves it.