Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt - Lebanese and Egyptian leaders on Tuesday presented a common front against Israeli allegations that Syria had supplied the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah with SCUD missiles.
The brief meeting between Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh came amid rising tensions between Lebanon and Israel over the allegations against Syria and Hezbollah, which forms a key component of the Lebanese government.
Israeli President Shimon Peres earlier this month accused Syria of smuggling the SCUDs into Lebanon. US officials summoned Syria's top diplomat in Washington to register their concern over the allegations, but noted they had no confirmation of any such transfer.
Israel fears that the missiles, which have a range that would allow them to hit Tel Aviv, could inflict far greater damage than the Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanese territory during the July 2006 Lebanese-Israeli war.
That conflict left hundreds of Lebanese civilians and 18 Israeli civilians dead.
"The 2006 war, and all the (Israeli) spies being caught (in Lebanon) indicate the amount of Israeli enmity toward Lebanon," Hariri told reporters after meeting Mubarak.
"All remarks by the enemy must be taken seriously, and therefore the necessary contacts must be made," Hariri said.
The premier said he briefed Mubarak on his efforts to secure international backing to avert an Israeli attack, and that Mubarak had briefed him on Egyptian efforts toward the same end.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said in a statement that Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit had sent a message to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton conveying "the anxiety that many Lebanese feel about ... the increasingly warmongering tone in the media, which presages a looming threat."
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit was in Lebanon earlier this week on a visit he said was meant to show Egypt's support for Lebanon and Syria in the face of the Israeli accusations.
During that visit he called the allegations "laughable," and "a big, meaningless lie."
Hariri said Mubarak had told him of "positive" signs from his communications with the Israelis, that Mubarak did not believe the Israelis were preparing a new war against Lebanon, but that Egypt would stand by Lebanon and Syria should they be attacked.
Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320871,egyptian-lebanese-leaders-reject-scud-missile-claims.html.
The brief meeting between Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm al-Sheikh came amid rising tensions between Lebanon and Israel over the allegations against Syria and Hezbollah, which forms a key component of the Lebanese government.
Israeli President Shimon Peres earlier this month accused Syria of smuggling the SCUDs into Lebanon. US officials summoned Syria's top diplomat in Washington to register their concern over the allegations, but noted they had no confirmation of any such transfer.
Israel fears that the missiles, which have a range that would allow them to hit Tel Aviv, could inflict far greater damage than the Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanese territory during the July 2006 Lebanese-Israeli war.
That conflict left hundreds of Lebanese civilians and 18 Israeli civilians dead.
"The 2006 war, and all the (Israeli) spies being caught (in Lebanon) indicate the amount of Israeli enmity toward Lebanon," Hariri told reporters after meeting Mubarak.
"All remarks by the enemy must be taken seriously, and therefore the necessary contacts must be made," Hariri said.
The premier said he briefed Mubarak on his efforts to secure international backing to avert an Israeli attack, and that Mubarak had briefed him on Egyptian efforts toward the same end.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said in a statement that Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit had sent a message to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton conveying "the anxiety that many Lebanese feel about ... the increasingly warmongering tone in the media, which presages a looming threat."
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit was in Lebanon earlier this week on a visit he said was meant to show Egypt's support for Lebanon and Syria in the face of the Israeli accusations.
During that visit he called the allegations "laughable," and "a big, meaningless lie."
Hariri said Mubarak had told him of "positive" signs from his communications with the Israelis, that Mubarak did not believe the Israelis were preparing a new war against Lebanon, but that Egypt would stand by Lebanon and Syria should they be attacked.
Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/320871,egyptian-lebanese-leaders-reject-scud-missile-claims.html.
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