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October 19, 2005

Lebanonwire

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Palestinians in Lebanon subject to country’s laws: Abbas

BEIRUT, Lebanon, October 19 (Lebanonwire) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Future Movement leader Saad Hariri Tuesday that Palestinian factions in Lebanon’s refugee camps will abide by and are subject to the country’s governing rules and constitutional laws, Al Mustaqbal daily said Wednesday.

The news from Paris comes as tight safety precautions are enforced on the ground in Lebanon, where internal security forces and army personal are exhibiting a state of high alert in different parts of the country to prevent any security setbacks and gun licenses are temporarily suspended, the daily said.

The measures come as Detlev Mehlis, lead UN investigator into the former Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination probe, issues his findings in a report to the UN this Friday and as Terje-Roed Larsen, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, submits his report today on the implementation of UN 1559, which calls for the disarmament and disbanding of all militia in Lebanon.

Following Siniora’s return to Beirut and Hariri’s departure to Egypt, where he will meet with President Husni Mubarak, French Prime Minister Dominique De Villepin said from Paris “France is determined to stand by Lebanon and help it especially economically during the next donor conference of Lebanon’s friends in November.”

As for Abbas, who according to the daily, made his statements following a heavily mediated affair by France, he said that Palestinians in Lebanon “are guests and they need to respect the law there.” “They are under the law and not above it, and we expect them all to respect the law of the land and not interfere in Lebanese affairs.”

Siniora had also reiterated his position that Lebanon was responsible for the security of Lebanese and anyone living in Lebanon. “While we all agree that no weapons should exist outside the camps, we also understand that dialogue needs to ensue to prevent any escalation of the situation,” Siniora said.

Hariri said following his visit with Abbas “most Palestinians do not wish to destabilize Lebanon, except for certain factions that are supported by outside forces,” in a clear indication to Pro-Syrian Palestinians in Lebanon.

Upon his return to Beirut, Siniora said during a Ramadan feast “in all my visits, I received Arab and international support for Lebanon, but with cautions that we need to help ourselves before our friends could help us, and on this end we need to move faster towards implementing our reform program.”

Siniora pointed out that studies are underway to realign Lebanon’s borders with Syria “which were never clearly defined, and as result we should be able to claim more land.”

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