Lebanon Ready for Peace With Israel Under UN ResolutionsLebanese Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said Lebanon is always ready to make peace with Israel as long as it is on the basis of related UN resolutions.Official NNA news agency Thursday quoted Aridi as saying that if Ariel Sharon forms the new government and insist on his stubborn policies, the region will see more extremity, tension and terrorism. He added that not only Lebanon, but all the world, is fearing the Middle East will fall into an inferno of "violence and terrorism" because of Sharon's dishonorable past. However, the minister agreed that Lebanon is ready to reach peace agreement with Israel at any time on the basis of U.N. resolutions that stipulate Israel's withdrawal from occupied Arab land. "We will not cling to the past of Sharon while he shows a serious peace gesture. But I doubt the possibility", he said. Meanwhile, Aridi said Lebanese have reasons to worry about Israel's coming military action against Lebanon as Sharon's aggressive policies presented during his election campaign. He pointed out that "the Arabs welcome the peace and the door for peace is open for any Israeli government. However, we are ready for the war either and Sharon has seen the results of the confrontation and force." Sharon achieved a landslide win in Tuesday's prime ministerial election over Ehud Barak. He was the main architect of Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon. An Israeli inquiry found him indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of civilians at the Palestinian refugees camps of Sabra and Shatila in Beirut. |
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