Hizbullah renews work on telecommunications system

The telecommunications system was one of the major obstacles preventing the formation of a new government in Lebanon.

By THE MEDIA LINE STAFF
Hizbullah flag border 248.88 (photo credit: AP [file])
Hizbullah flag border 248.88
(photo credit: AP [file])
Lebanon's Hizbullah terror organization has renewed its work toward completing its own telecommunications system, the Kuwaiti daily A-Siyasa reported. The organization is placing cables in several areas in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, according to informed Lebanese security sources. The telecommunications system was one of the major obstacles preventing the formation of a new government in Lebanon. Hizbullah was able to renew its works on the system after the establishment of the government, in which it holds veto power. The organization also benefits from the presence of a key ally, Communications Minister Jubran Basil, son-in-law of MP and former prime minister Michel 'Aoun. Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem visited Lebanon yesterday, three years after the Syrian army withdrew its forces from the country. Moallem expressed his confidence that the two neighboring countries would soon re-establish their diplomatic relations. The foreign minister also announced that there was nothing in the way of finally drawing the borders between Lebanon and Syria. "The Shaba Farms are Lebanese and the problem there is the Israeli occupation; it is not a Syrian-Lebanese problem," he said. Over the years, Syria has voiced conflicting opinions regarding sovereignty over the disputed Shaba Farms, which were conquered by Israel in 1967. The region is no more than 10 square miles on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Since the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel has been holding this area, which provides it with certain intelligence and strategic advantages. Shaba was recognized by the United Nations in 1974 as part of the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. In May 2000 Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon after 18 years. Lebanon's Hizbullah claimed the withdrawal was not completed because Shaba was actually on Lebanese - not Syrian - territory. This claim gave Hizbullah an excuse to continue its fight against the Israeli "occupier." In 1964 a joint Syrian-Lebanese committee recommended that the area be recognized as belonging to Lebanon, but the recommendation was never implemented by the two countries' regimes. Last year Syria's ambassador to the United Nations claimed the area belonged to his country.