by aljazeera.com -- In a television interview on Monday, Wehbe Lebanese Foreign Minister, Top diplomat appeared to blame Gulf nations for the rise of the ISIL (ISIS) armed group in the Levant region. “Those countries of love, friendship and fraternity, they brought us Islamic State,” he told Alhurra, without naming the countries. Wehbe made the comment during a verbal duel with a Saudi guest on the show, who blamed Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun for “handing over” his country to the Lebanese Shia movement, Hezbollah, which is backed by Riyadh’s rival Tehran. The Saudi foreign ministry strongly condemned Wehbe’s “insulting” remarks, saying they were “inconsistent with the simplest diplomatic norms”. The ministry “summoned the Lebanese ambassador to express the kingdom’s rejection and denunciation” of his comments, said the statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency. Wehbe apologised on Tuesday, saying he did not mean to offend “brotherly Arab countries”. In a separate statement, Nayef al-Hajraf, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), demanded a formal apology from Wehbe to Gulf states for his “unacceptable” remarks.

by alarabiya.net -- Joseph Haboush -- Lebanon’s top diplomat is expected to step down from his position this week, a senior Foreign Ministry official said late Tuesday, hours after the minister accused Gulf countries of supporting ISIS in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Charbel Wehbe, who is currently the foreign minister in a caretaker capacity, unleashed a reckless diatribe against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf during a televised interview with Al-Hurra on Monday.. Following public backlash from Lebanese officials, politicians and the public, Wehbe will now “probably announce that he’s stepping down,” the ministry official told Al Arabiya English. Beirut has already been reeling from strained ties with the Gulf due to Hezbollah’s increased influence and role in state institutions following the election of President Michel Aoun, an ally of the Iran-backed group, in 2016.

By LAMA ALHAMAWI — arabnews.com — RIYADH: Italy and the UN’s cultural arm have signed a €1 million ($1.21 million) funding agreement …

by ndtv.com -- The Israeli army said it launched artillery towards Lebanon on Monday in response to rocket fire from the neighbouring country that failed to hit the Jewish state. "Six failed launch attempts were identified from Lebanon that did not cross into Israeli territory," the army said in a statement. "Artillery forces fired toward the sources of the launches." A Lebanese military source told AFP three rockets had been fired from Southern Lebanon towards Israel. "Three Grad-type rockets were fired from the Shebaa Farms area," not far from the Israeli border, the Lebanese military source said. "The situation in the area is now calm," tweeted the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, which is in contact with both countries, several hours after the rocket fire. It is the second time rockets have been launched from Lebanese territory towards Israel since hostilities flared between the Jewish state and armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip last week.

Last Thursday, three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh toward Israel, a Lebanese military source said. Israel's army said those rockets had landed in the sea. A source close to Israel's arch-enemy Hezbollah said the Lebanese Shiite group had no link to the incident.

by Naharnet — Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on Lebanese authorities to “control the Lebanese-Israeli border” and “prevent the use …