Lebanese President Michel Sleiman says the new Israeli scheme to build hundreds of Jewish homes in Jerusalem (al-Quds) shatters chances of bringing peace to the Middle East.

“The Israeli policy to renege on commitments and reject international demands is a sign that the belligerent enemy is either unprepared or unwilling to start serious negotiations with the Palestinians to achieve comprehensive peace in the region,” Sleiman said in a statement on Thursday.

He also reiterated that Israel is refusing to agree to a peace that would grant the Palestinians their legitimate rights — above all their moral and legal right to return to their homeland.

Israel’s interior ministry on Tuesday said it had approved the construction of 1,600 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo neighborhood in the mainly Arab eastern sector of al-Quds.

The announcement sparked swift condemnation from Britain, China, Russia, Turkey, the United States and a number of other countries.

There are currently 121 Israeli settlements and 102 Israeli outposts built on Palestinian land occupied by Israel in 1967.

These settlements and outposts are inhabited by a population of approximately 462,000 Israeli settlers. Some 191,000 Israelis are living in settlements around al-Quds, and an additional 271,400 are spread throughout the West Bank.

Lebanon’s rival political factions agree on a national defense strategy in a new round of talks hosted by President Michel Sleiman.

Nearly 20 party leaders and parliamentarians met at the presidential palace to hold the reconciliation talks established as part of a ceasefire deal that put to rest the 2008 clashes waged by some Sunni groups against the Hezbollah resistance movement.

The conflict, which left more than 80 people dead and pushed the country toward the brink of a civil war, erupted over efforts by the US-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to shut down Hezbollah’s private telecom network.

The West has been pressing the Beirut government to force Hezbollah to lay down its arms in order to relieve great worries on the part of the Tel Aviv regime, which suffered a major blow in its massive 2006 offensive against Lebanon at the hands Hezbollah forces.

But the Islamic movement has been resisting such pressures by the West and its Lebanese allies, insisting that its weapons are crucial in confront the persistent and growing threats from the Tel Aviv regime, which has been violating the Lebanese airspace on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, media reports have described the Tuesday meeting as revolving more around a national dialogue than an effort to disarm Hezbollah. Al-Jazeera also quoted sources close to the Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri as describing the talks as very positive and constructive.

Hezbollah supporters point out to the fact that the Lebanese army is not very well equipped to face an Israeli aggression and highlight the significance of the need for a complimentary relationship between Hezbollah and the Lebanese armed forces.

Since 2008, several rounds of talks have been held in hopes of reaching an agreement on a national defense strategy that would integrate Hezbollah’s weapons into the regular armed forces.

On Monday, Hezbollah’s deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem reiterated the Islamic movement’s determination to keep its arms.

On Tuesday, President Sleiman’s office issued a statement saying the main issue on the agenda was a “national defense strategy that would unite national capabilities for defending the country.”

Hizbullah’s Political Council held a dinner on Tuesday March 8th, 2010 to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of the Seal of Prophets Mohammad (pbuh) and to mark the end of Islamic Unity Week 2010.

The dinner took place at al-Saha Cultural Restaurant on Airport Boulevard bringing together political and religious figures from Lebanon and Palestine.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Gathering of Islamic Scholars, Sheikh Ahmad Zein spoke on behalf of the guests, whereas Sayyed Ibrahim Amin al-Sayyed spoke on behalf of Hizbullah.

The Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has urged the Arab League (AL) to reject calls for indirect talks with Israel.

“The League should follow the examples set by Lebanon and Syria in rejecting indirect negotiations with Israel,” Berri said on Friday.

“Once again, we will not rush to condemn Israeli aggression, and state the obvious, since we have already called on Arab [countries and institutions] to take a step that goes beyond condemnation, and get back to the root of facing occupation,” he added.

“We should revert to implementing the decisions of the Central Boycott Office of Israel, and take the necessary steps to expose the practices of the occupation forces in all international arenas,” Berri emphasized.

The Lebanese official further called for supporting the Palestinians in light of the recurrent Israeli threats.

On Friday, Israeli troops surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque since the early morning hours, raided the compound of the holy site in the occupied East Jerusalem Al-Quds and cordoned off the premises to push out the Palestinian worshippers who had gathered for the weekly Friday prayers.

The move triggered protests that quickly turned violent after Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters and stun grenades at demonstrators, leaving 60 Palestinians injured.

Russia has expressed concern over Israel’s repeated violations of the Lebanese airspace and sovereignty in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions.

In a statement on Thursday, Deputy Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yakovenko said that Israel’s non-abidance by the UN Resolution 1701 is manifested in its continued violation of the Lebanese airspace and the refusal to withdraw from al-Ghajar town.

He added that the Security Council will be looking into a report prepared by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about the implementation of Resolution 1701 and the conflict in the Middle East.

Yakovenko also noted that Israel’s settlement activities in Palestine are a serious obstacle to the Mideast peace process.

Israeli fighter jets invade Lebanese airspace almost on a daily basis and break sound barriers over several villages in southern parts of the country. The violations come amid heightened concern in Lebanon over recent Israeli threats and provocations against the country.

The UN considers the Israeli violation of Lebanese airspace to be against Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the Israeli offensive against Lebanon in 2006.

Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah says that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has been biased towards Israel.

Hezbollah issued a statement on Tuesday in reaction to Ban’s report on the implementation of Resolution 1701, issued following Israel’s 33-day war against Lebanon in summer 2006.

The Islamic movement charged Ban with applying double standards in his report on the resolution and with justifying Tel Aviv’s aggressions against the Lebanese nation.

The statement added Ban’s report glosses over Israel’s daily violations of Lebanese airspace as well as the regime’s spy rings in Lebanon.

Hezbollah reiterated its condemnation of such acts for threatening Lebanon’s security and breach of international laws.

In his report, Ban stated that Hezbollah’s military forces constitute a violation of the resolution which calls for disarmament of Lebanese groups.

“The presence of armed groups in Lebanon operating outside the control of the state constitutes a challenge to the ability of the state to exercise its full sovereignty and control over its territory,” Ban wrote.

He also urged Lebanese President Michel Sleiman to renew the session of the National Dialogue Table, which is supposed to address the issue of Hezbollah’s arms.

The UN report comes despite concerns expressed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who warned last month against Israeli attempts to spark a military confrontation with Lebanon.

“We hear a lot of Israeli threats day in and day out, and not only threats. We see what’s happening on the ground and in our airspace and what’s happening all the time during the past two months,” he said, highlighting Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace and .

In a joint news conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo in January, Hariri denounced Israel’s threats to target Hezbollah positions in the South of the country.

“We consider the Israeli threats on Lebanon to be a threat to the Lebanese government as a whole, rather than to one particular person,” he said, adding that “everywhere is under the authority of the Lebanese government.”

A Lebanese man arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel has confessed to involvement in the murder of a Hezbollah official.

“The man was arrested three weeks ago and has confessed to his involvement in the (2004) bombing that killed Ghaleb Awali,” in Hezbollah’s southern Beirut stronghold, AFP quoted a Lebanese security source as saying on Monday.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the man was arrested three weeks ago.

Over 70 people, including policemen and security officials, have been detained since the beginning of an espionage investigation in 2009.

Last week, Lebanon’s military prosecutor said that three Lebanese citizens had been charged with spying for Israel.

The judge said the suspects gave Tel Aviv information on civilian and military locations and political figures’ whereabouts.

The Hezbollah leader warns that the US embassy in Beirut engages in espionage activities for Israel, cautioning that the collaboration may lead to the “destruction” of Lebanon.

“All the information which the US embassy gathers in Beirut reaches Israel. Here we are not speaking about a normal foreign embassy which is gathering information for its own government … When it comes to the American embassy in Beirut, it is a different story,” said the Secretary General of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Monday.

“And so what is given to the US embassy and what reaches the Israelis, the information, all of these leads to the destruction of Lebanon. This helps the Israeli enemy to understand what is going on in Lebanon, to use this information against Lebanon and to take revenge against our country,” he added.

“What is the difference between espionage networks, which give information directly, or giving information by mediation, meaning giving it to the US embassy who then gives it to the Israeli side?” Nasrallah queried.

Hezbollah has fought off bloody Israeli incursions into Lebanon in 2000 and 2006. The second round of the offensives, known as the 33-Day War, killed about 1,200 Lebanese, most of them civilians.

The movement is also an active member of the country’s coalition government.

Lebanese lawmakers and high-ranking officials have held informal talks after it was publicized that the US Embassy has inquired about details concerning Lebanon’s mobile phone service providers.

“They had requested access to very detailed information on the mobile phone service providers in Lebanon — the stations, the antennas, technical information,” Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil told AFP.

“No one should request this information, whoever they are and for whatever end,” he added.

Lebanon’s As-Safir daily published the story about the April inquiry on Friday with the heading, ‘US embassy spies on Lebanon.’

The report prompted a meeting on Monday between parliament’s information and telecommunications committee and a large number of high-level officials, including the interior minister and the chief of police.

As the telecommunications minister at the time of the US inquiry, Bassil confirmed that he had turned it down.

Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah warned on Sunday that the embassy engaged in espionage activities for Israel, cautioning that such collaboration may lead to the “destruction” of Lebanon.

“All the information which the US embassy gathers in Beirut reaches Israel,” he said. “What is the difference between espionage networks, which give information directly, or giving information by mediation, meaning giving it to the US Embassy who then gives it to the Israeli side?”

Russian authorities have agreed to supply 10 Mi-24 advanced military helicopters to Lebanon instead of 10 MiG-29 fighter jets they had previously pledged to provide.

According to a report published by al-Nahar news website, the decision was taken after Lebanese President Michel Sleiman asked to receive the state of the art military choppers and the advanced missiles they carry in place of the Russian-made warplanes.

President Michel Sleiman returned Friday afternoon to Beirut concluding a 2-day official visit to Moscow, the first ever visit by a Lebanese head of state to Russia.

On Thursday, Sleiman met with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and the two signed a memorandum on military cooperation.

The Russian move is seen as a slap to the United States over its longstanding military relationship with Lebanon. American officials had occasionally intervened in the past when other countries offered to supply weapons.

Lebanon’s air force consists of only a few 1950s-era jets and a small number of Vietnam War-era helicopters. The MiG-29, often compared to the American F-16 fighter, is vastly more powerful than anything Washington was considering providing to Lebanon. The most recent Pentagon offer, in terms of air power, is a Cessna Caravan, a single-engine prop plane.

Lebanon military authorities say Israeli jets have violated the country’s air space and broke sound barriers over several villages in southern parts of the nation.

Several Israeli fighters invaded Lebanese air space on Friday night and hovered over southern towns of Sidon, Marjayoun and Hasbaya.

The incident came amid heightened concern in Lebanon over recent Israeli threats against the country.

The Lebanese military reports, almost on a daily basis, airspace violations by Israeli aircraft, but does not normally open fire on them.

The UN considers Israeli violation of Lebanese air space to be against Security Council Resolution 1701, which brought an end to the Israeli offensive on Lebanon in 2006.

The Lebanese army has arrested six more people on suspicion of spying for Israel, a security source has said.

Reports indicate that the suspects, including retired security officials, have been working for two separate espionage networks operating north and south of the country.

On Wednesday, Lebanon’s military prosecutor indicted three Lebanese with spying for Israel as part of an espionage investigation lasting nearly a year in which at least 27 suspects have been detained.

The judge said the suspects gave Tel Aviv information on civil and military locations and on political figures.

The wave of arrests began in April 2009 with the detention of a former brigadier general of the General Security directorate.

More than 70 people including policemen and security officials have been detained since the crackdown on spies has begun.

Senior Lebanese security officials have said the arrests dealt a major blow to Israel’s spying networks in Lebanon. Many of the suspects had played key roles in identifying Hezbollah targets that were bombed during Israel’s 2006 war against Lebanon.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hosts Lebanese President Michel Sleiman at the Kremlin in a first-ever visit by a Lebanese head of state to Moscow.

Medvedev told his visiting counterpart on Thursday that Russia has supported Lebanon over the last 65 years, and has had good diplomatic ties with Beirut.

He said the talks were conducted in a “very friendly and open atmosphere” and assured him of new impetus to the development between the two nations.

Medvedev referred to the energy sector, investments, tourism, environment and military-technical fields as the areas of cooperation.

“Russia has always supported and will always support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Lebanon, and we believe in the non-interference of its internal affairs. The problems of a multi-faith society like Lebanon should be resolved through its constitution and current political practice,” he said.

Sleiman, for his part, said that he agrees to improvement of cooperation at the level of “our representation in international bodies, especially considering Lebanon has been selected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.”

Both leaders, in a joint statement, also announced intention to coordinate efforts in the Middle East peace process.

The statement quoted by Russian news agencies declares that the Middle East peace agreement should stipulate that Israel must leave all Arabi territories occupied in June 1967 and that an independent Palestinian state has to be created.

During his visit to Moscow, Sleiman also met with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement has condemned a Tel Aviv decision to add the Cave of the Patriarchs in al-Khalil to its heritage list.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the political party denounced Israeli violation of the holy sites, calling on Muslims throughout the globe to raise their voice against the new Judaization move in the occupied West Bank.

The statement added that the Israeli announcement of the intention to include the “Tomb of the Patriarchs” in occupied al-Khalil in a so-called “national heritage plan” constitutes a new aggression against the Muslims’ holy sites as well as against their dignity. “It also undermines all human values, international norms and sanctities,” the statement read.

Hezbollah also called on the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference to assume their role and accomplish their duties in the face of the latest Israeli act of desecration.

Palestinian Authority’s caretaker Prime Minister Salam Feyadh called on the international community on Tuesday to pressure Israel into backing down on its decision to add the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb to the list of heritage sites. Feyadh said the move matched Israel’s policy to establish the occupation.

He added that the media had ignored the fact that Israel also declared Jerusalem (Al-Quds)’s walls as its heritage. “The Old City’s walls are inside eastern and occupied Jerusalem (Al-Quds), which will be Palestine’s eternal capital.”

Lebanese politician Samir Geagea has criticized Hezbollah leader Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah for threatening to hit Israel’s infrastructure in case of war.

In his speech on Hezbollah’s Anniversary of Martyred Leaders, Nasrallah warned Tel Aviv that Lebanon would adopt a retaliation strategy if Israel staged another war against the country.

“If you hit Rafiq al-Hariri international airport in Beirut, we will hit Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv,” Nasrallah said via a live video link in Beirut’s southern suburbs on February 16. “If you hit our ports, we will bomb your ports, and if you hit our oil refineries, we will bomb your oil refineries,” he underscored.

But Geagea on Monday criticized the Hezbollah leader over the remarks and urged him to submit his defensive strategy through the party’s ministers in the cabinet.

“Some parties don’t want for the Lebanese to take a break from speaking about war,” the leader of the Lebanese Forces told a packed news conference in Maarab.

“Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s speech does not concern all of the Lebanese, and the Lebanese people have not granted Nasrallah the right to decide on an all-out confrontation with Israel,” Geagea added.

“Nasrallah’s speech gives the impression that Lebanon is a failed state,” he charged.

The comments come despite concerns recently expressed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who earlier warned against Israeli attempts to spark a military confrontation with Lebanon.

“We hear a lot of Israeli threats day in and day out, and not only threats. We see what’s happening on the ground and in our airspace and what’s happening all the time during the past two months,” he said, highlighting Israeli violations of Lebanese airspace.

In a joint news conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo in January, Hariri denounced Israel’s threats to target Hezbollah positions in the South of the country.

“We consider the Israeli threats on Lebanon to be a threat to the Lebanese government as a whole, rather than to one particular person,” he said, adding that “everywhere is under the authority of the Lebanese government.”

A member of Lebanon’s parliament has called on the country’s military to expand its defensive capability through extensive cooperation with Iran and Syria.

“Iran and Syria are the only states willing to assist our country in building a powerful military,” Nawaf al Mousawi told lawmakers at the Lebanese Majlis.

Speaking a week after the movement’s Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah indicated a new approach toward Israeli aggression against Lebanon, al Mousawi added that “neither the United States nor Europe will provide Lebanon with what it needs to defend itself from Israel.”

Nasrallah on Tuesday warned that the movement will strike Israel’s infrastructure, including its airports and refineries, in the event of any Israeli attack on Lebanon.

“If you hit Dahiyeh, we will hit Tel Aviv. If you strike Martyr Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, we’ll strike your Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. If you hit our ports, we will hit your ports,” said the leader known for delivering on his promises.

“If you attack our refineries, we’ll attack your refineries. If you bomb our factories, we’ll bomb your factories. If you strike our power stations we will strike your power stations,” Nasrallah continued.

Tel Aviv’s military doctrine requires Israel to maintain absolute military superiority over its neighbors, a belief supported by the occupants of the White House since Harry S. Truman.

“The maintenance of Israel’s ‘qualitative military edge’ over any combination of its potential adversaries has been a cornerstone of US Middle East policy for more than a decade,” Shawn L. Twing, editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs says.

According to a 1979 Memorandum of Understanding, the United States has agreed to “endeavor to be responsive to military and economic assistance requirements of Israel.”

Washington will “continue to impose restrictions on weapons supplied by it to any country which prohibit their unauthorized transfer to any third party… and will take steps to prevent such unauthorized transfer.”

Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem has said that the Lebanese resistance movement is prepared for any surprise from Israel, such that Tel Aviv must think twice before any act of adventurism.

“Our core strength stems from the fact that we are the owners of the land and we have the right. Therefore, there’s no reason to be gripped by fear,” Sheikh Qassem stated in Beirut on Sunday.

He also stressed the necessity to strengthen and consolidate unity in the face of the Israeli threat to Lebanese territory.

“The taste of victory will finally be experienced by those who do not submit to occupation and who do not content themselves with anything in exchange for freedom, sovereignty, and dignity, no matter what great sacrifices need to be made to reach such a goal,” the senior Hezbollah official noted.

“If any political force performs its duty toward the country and nation, great achievements will be made on the road to independence. In addition, the arrogant powers will have no opportunity to shape our future as they wish,” Sheikh Qassem stated.

Israel has not achieved its objective of ending Hezbollah’s activities in Lebanon, and the Islamic resistance movement claimed victory in the 1996, 2000, and 2006 wars with Tel Aviv.

And other regional resistance movements are joining Hezbollah in the anti-Israel front.

Two months ago, the Hamas movement’s political representative in Lebanon, Ali Baraka, said the Palestinian resistance group will fight alongside Hezbollah should Israel launch a new offensive against Lebanon.

“We are guests in Lebanon and our policy will not change,” Baraka said on January 3 during a memorial service held to mark the first week after the death of two Hamas members in an explosion in Beirut’s southern suburbs on December 26.

“However, we are committed to resisting Israeli occupation forces,” he added.

“Israel should know that if it launches a new attack against Lebanon, we will not stand handcuffed. We will face the aggression side by side with our brethren in Lebanon — be they the resistance, the army, or the people, to repel the aggression,” Baraka stated.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has demanded an explanation from Libya regarding the fate of spiritual and political leader Imam Moussa Sadr.

“Where are Imam Moussa al-Sadr and his companions? We need to answer this question,” Suleiman said on Saturday.

It is widely believed in Lebanon that the founder of the Amal movement was kidnapped and killed on the orders of senior Libyan officials, as he went missing during an official trip to Libya in 1978.

Accompanied by two of his companions, Mohammed Yaqoub and Abbas Badreddin, Sadr was scheduled to meet with officials from the government of the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Libya has always denied involvement, saying that the three men left for Italy on August 31, 1978 after their stay in Tripoli and that it has no idea what became of them afterwards.

During an interview, Lebanon’s president said his country wishes to strengthen its ties with Tripoli but is also “determined to learn the fate” of Sadr and his companions.

Gaddafi has so far managed to ignore Lebanese calls for more information on the case, never officially visiting Lebanon since the cleric’s disappearance.

The president’s comments come ahead of next month’s Arab League summit in Libya.

Several political figures, including parliament speaker Nabih Berri, have called on the government to boycott the summit over the Sadr case.

The vice president of the Higher Shia Council has called Lebanon’s probable participation in the 22 member strong summit a “catastrophe.”

“Lebanon’s only condition for participating in the summit, irrespective of the level of representation, is that the issue of Sadr be discussed publicly in the opening session and before the media,” Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan said on Friday.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has warned of Israeli attempts to start a military confrontation with Lebanon, Syria and Iran.

Hariri, who was in Italy to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, urged Rome to pressure Israel to take part in peace negotiations.

“Israel can’t claim to be interested in the peace process without doing anything tangible in this regard,” Hariri said, noting that the Israelis were currently gripped with division.

The Lebanese prime minister, who was taking part in an interview with Italian channel RAI News 24 on Friday, added that while “Arabs want peace,” Israel only seeks war with “Lebanon, Syria and Iran.”

Hariri also highlighted daily Israeli violations of Lebanese air space and described them as unacceptable.

This is not the first time during the past weeks that Hariri has warned of the “escalating” threats that Israel poses to the Middle East, as officials in Tel Aviv have been repeating threats of a full-fledged war against Lebanon.

Late last month, an Israeli minister revealed the regime’s intentions to wage a third attack on Lebanon. Some news outlets have even reported that Tel Aviv had already mobilized its troops for the military aggression.

On February 5, Hariri objected to the increasing number of Lebanese airspace violations carried out by Israeli warplanes. He also called on the international community to prevent a possible Israeli attack on his country.

Just days later, he renewed his call and warned Tel Aviv that it would be confronted by a united Lebanon if war breaks out.

“I think they’re betting that there might be some division in Lebanon, if there is a war against us…Well, there won’t be a division in Lebanon… We will stand against Israel. We will stand with our own people,” he vowed.

After the assassination of a senior Hamas official in Dubai, Hezbollah issues an alert against disguised entry of terrorists into Lebanon.

The Lebanese resistance movement’s Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem urged vigilance against the terrorists who would attempt to clear the Lebanese customs using forged European passports.

Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was found dead in his room in a Dubai hotel on January 20, a day after arriving in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Dubai Police issued arrest warrants for 11 suspects, including 10 men and a woman, declaring that the passports used by the terror suspects to enter the UAE had been issued in European countries.

Most recently, Dubai Police Chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim said new evidence, including credit card payments and phone calls made by the suspects, confirmed the involvement of the Israeli Spy Agency, Mossad, in Mabhouh’s terror operation.

Qassem also reiterated that with Mossad’s role out in the open, the countries whose passports had been used to aid in the terror attack would now have to respond to some serious questions.