Khalil Fleihan
Daily Star correspondent

Foreign Minister Jean Obeid begins a regional tour on Saturday that will take him to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, where he will meet with high-ranking officials for talks focusing on the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland in accordance with UN Resolution 194.
Government sources said Tuesday that during his tour Obeid would discuss the need to establish a Palestinian state and reject any plans to permanently settle Palestinian refugees in the countries they now reside in.
The sources also said that Obeid would discuss the situation in the Occupied Territories and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East.
Obeid will convey a verbal message from President Emile Lahoud to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah and meet with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal and other senior officials.
He will arrive in Bahrain on Tuesday for talks with officials on bilateral relations, and return to Beirut on Thursday.
Lebanon, one of several countries that hosts Palestinian refugees, supports the right of the refugees to return to their homeland and has requested that the Arab League discuss a proposal to implement UN Resolution 194 calling for the return of Palestinian refugees at its next regular meeting.
Obeid will embark on the second leg of his regional tour on Jan. 14 by visiting Qatar.
Visits to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman are also being planned, to gather support for Lebanon’s campaign to block the permanent settlement of Palestinian refugees in the countries they presently live in.