Israel Matzav

Hezbullah is Lebanon

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora thanked Hezbullah today for its 'sacrifices' on behalf of the Lebanese people. Sorry, but no excuses for Siniora this time.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuoad Siniora expressed his 'gratitude' to Hizbullah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah for "sacrificing their lives for the country."

During a press conference held in wake of the Qana village incident in which 55 Lebanese were killed, Siniora asked: "Is Israel's mission to wipe out the Lebanese? It seems they want to kill all of us. One of those killed today is a baby just one day old. With its aggression, Israel is encouraging extremism."

"Israel won't obtain a thing through the war," he added. "Does it believe that through war it will obtain goals? They won't obtain a thing, and the opposite is the truth. The entire Lebanese nation is united against the Israeli aggression," Siniora said.

Siniora emphasized that Lebanon won't take part in negotiations between Israel and Hizbullah "until the Israeli war machine stops spilling the blood of innocents."

...

Earlier, Siniora was interviewed on the American CBS network and turned to American citizens for aid in reaching an immediate ceasefire. The Lebanese prime minister declared that "there was no point in holding diplomatic negotiations when the blood was boiling."

In response, Vice Premier Shimon Peres, who arrived at the United States to manage Israel's public relations [Just what we didn't need, especially since even Olmert admits that our best spokesman is none other than 'opposition leader' Bibi Netanyahu. CiJ], said that "Siniora can tell Hizbullah to stop firing and there will be a ceasefire, but the government there is acting like a side observer. When Hizbullah stops shooting, the tragedy will end."

Peres added that the Lebanese people were not Israel's enemies, but that they could not allow Hizbullah to act as a state within a state. Peres said that Siniora does not influence over his country.

What an appropriate place for Siniora to be - on CBS, the bastion of (un)truth. Maybe they can even have Dan Rather come back to interview him.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:23 PM