Daily star By Maroun Khoury and Therese Sfeir, BEIRUT: Lebanon’s fragmented political class Thursday seemed able to agree, for the most part, in its support for a "declaration of principles" issued by the Maronite Church. Hizbullah politburo member Hajj Ghaleb Abu Zeinab described the declaration as "positive in its general aspect," but said it contained "a few details that should be discussed." "There are several meeting points between the opposition’s demands and Bkirki’s declaration," Abu Zeinab told the Central News Agency.
He said those meeting points included the implementation of "a code of honor" that would apply to all parties, the creation of an international tribunal to try former Premier Rafik Hariri’s killers, a new electoral law, and the formation of a "reconciliation" government that would hold early presidential elections. But while Bkirki said a new electoral law should be based on the qada, "others have different views about the law," Abu Zeinab said. But the Hizbullah official said the presidency was "not a main obstacle that would prevent us from resolving the crisis." For its part, the Reform and Change parliamentary bloc offered its "full support" Thursday to the Church’s declaration, saying it considered the declaration to be "the basis for a comprehensive solution to Lebanon’s current crisis." Speaking after a separate meeting with Sfeir Thursday, former MP Fares Soueid from the March 14 coalition urged the opposition to end a week-long demonstration in the capital and abide by the declaration.
By Crispian Balmer , 
By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer , BEIRUT, Lebanon – Her voice brought together under one roof both supporters of the beleaguered government and opponents trying to topple it. Yet in this tense country, sharp disputes break out even at a performance by Fairouz, Lebanon’s premier diva and the star of a musical about a corrupt government. Last weekend’s three-night run of "Sah el-Nom," loosely translated as "A Good Night’s Sleep," was supposed to open an annual summer festival in the ancient city of Baalbek. Israel’s July-August offensive on Lebanon forced organizers to postpone until December, hoping that by then calm would prevail.But opening night coincided with a new crisis that many fear could tear apart the country 
In a televised message to the nation on Thursday night, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora affirmed that his government 
by Salim Yassine BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanese leader Michel Aoun has vowed that the opposition will escalate its street protests if the Western-backed government fails to accept demands for a unity cabinet. "If the prime minister (Fuad Siniora) and his camp continue to monopolize power, there will be an escalation of popular pressure," Aoun, 71, told AFP in an interview Wednesday.
by Michel Toum, L
December 2006 
By Daniel Williams, Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — The shooting death of a Shiite Muslim youth in Beirut increases the risk of converting Lebanon’s political power struggle into a sectarian conflict. Portraits of Ali Ahmed Mahmoud, 20, who died during a Shiite-Sunni Muslim street fight yesterday, hung at downtown plazas occupied by Hezbollah, the Shiite party that is campaigning to topple Lebanon’s pro-Western government. Placards declared Mahmoud a martyr. 
AP, Dec 4, 2006 Nearly two months after the rest of its army left southern Lebanon, Israel agreed yesterday to pull its few dozen remaining soldiers from the Lebanese part of a village divided by the border, yielding control to U.N. peacekeepers. The move came as Israel’s Cabinet discussed the three-day-old siege of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s government by pro-Hezbollah demonstrators in Beirut. Commentators here called the troop pullout a diplomatic gesture aimed at shoring up Siniora’s position, but some said it would be of little help.
