By Hussein Abdallah, BEIRUT: Former President Amin Gemayel called on Sunday for the disarming of Hizbullah and Palestinian factions inside and outside refugee camps. The Phalange Party leader issued the call during a speech at a memorial service to mark two years since the assassination of his son, MP and Industry Minister  Gemayel. "The state cannot allow any illegal military presence on any of its territories … not the weapons of Palestinian factions … not the weapons of Hizbullah," he told the party faithful and senior members of the March 14 Forces of which the Phalange is a part. " The time has come for all these arms to be handed over to the state."  He added that "illegitimate" arms in Lebanon have exposed the country to the threat of Israeli attack and reflected negatively on the economic situation.

"We can build our economy through Paris I, II, and III and not through Zelzal 1, 2, and 3," he said, referring respectively to international donor conferences to support Lebanon and some of the missiles believed to be in Hizbullah’s arsenal.  The memorial service was held in Karantina, a northern suburb of Beirut, and included the swearing in of 4,200 new Phalange members.  Gemayel also said that talks on a national defense strategy should focus on finding ways to maintain peace in Lebanon. "We need a strategy for peace and not war," he said. "Lebanon’s peace is its only defense."  However, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri called Sunday for preserving Lebanon by preserving the resistance. "Resistance should remain in the heart of the South, which will always be in the heart of Lebanon," he said.  Speaking during a ceremony for his Amal Movement’s Al-Resala Scouts, the speaker addressed the security situation inside Palestinian refugee camps.

"The camps, which were always a target for Israel, are becoming a target for terrorism," he said, urging Palestinian factions to develop a unified stance against extremism. Berri’s remarks came as Palestinian groups at Sidon’s  Ain al-Hilweh camp were considering ways to arrange the handover of a fugitive to the Lebanese Army.   Separately, President Michel Sleiman begins a two-day visit to Iran on Monday at the invitation of Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  "The president will discuss everything: political and economic issues, bilateral relations, the situation in the Middle East, the peace process," a government official told AFP Sunday on condition of anonymity.  Talks will also cover Lebanon’s efforts to forge a national defense strategy – where Hizbullah’s arsenal remains a thorny issue – the official said. Iran is a staunch supporter of the Hizbullah, which is also backed by Syria, but Tehran has denies Western and Israeli charges that it provides military assistance to Hizbullah.  Last May, the Shiite group and some of its allies staged a brief takeover of mainly Sunni parts of west Beirut, amid deadly clashes which brought the country to the brink of civil war and left at least 68 people dead.

BEIRUT (AFP)