LEBANON: Different sides tell different stories regarding explosion

On Tuesday, a series of mysterious explosions in southern Lebanon raised the sensitive issue of Hezbollah’s weapons.

Following the incident, the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) closed off the area to launch a joint investigation into the cause of the explosions.

Meanwhile, Israel quickly cited the explosion as evidence that Iran and Syria have continued to send weapons to Hezbollah in violation of U.N. resolutions.

A senior Israeli officer told reporters that a warehouse that blew up on Tuesday was filled with rockets smuggled from Syria.

"The walls of the building were crushed and there are also many holes in the roof of the building," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity, according to the Associated Press. "We believe that this is one of dozens of ammunition storage [depots] in southern Lebanon that were built by Hezbollah." This particular depot is part of "the buildup of the Hezbollah force" in Lebanon, he added.

LEBANON: Israeli cow incursion sparks border controversy

The Blue Line dividing Lebanon and Israel has been a flash point for conflict ever since the Israeli withdrawal in 2000 and is closely guarded by two national armies, thousands of United Nations troops and the ever-vigilant militant group Hezbollah.

But despite these elaborate security measures, it seems one group has been crossing the security fence daily and with impunity. 

Lebanese shepherds report Israeli cows are being driven into Lebanese territory to drink from the Baathail Lake, which they claim lies entirely within Lebanon.

"Each Israeli cow drinks more than 40 of our goats put together," shepherd Ismail Nasser, from the border village Kfar Shuba, told the Daily Star's Mohammed Zaatari. "Why doesn't UNIFIL consider this as a violation of the Blue Line?"

LEBANON: Hezbollah rhetoric leads Jewish comic to cancel visit

Gad Elmaleh, dubbed the "the funniest man in France," was scheduled to stage a number of performances at Lebanon’s Beiteddine Festival on July 13, 14 and 15.

But Elmaleh, who is of Jewish-Moroccan origin, recently announced that he has canceled all his performances in Lebanon this summer because of security concerns. He said he decided to do so "out of concern for his personal security and that of the [Beiteddine] festival" after a campaign against him by Hezbollah, the Shiite Muslim militia and political organization.

The dust-up began last week when the TV station affiliated with Hezbollah, Al Manar, aired a photo of Elmaleh accompanied by an image of an Israeli soldier dressed in military fatigues that bore a resemblance to Elmaleh. 

Al Manar and other pro-Hezbollah media organizations said Elmaleh was pro-Israel and had served in the Israeli army. 

LEBANON: With even Hezbollah's OK, Hariri likely next prime minister

Saad Hariri, leader of the U.S.-backed March 14 coalition, which successfully defended its status as the parliamentary majority in Sunday's elections, is expected to be named Lebanon's next prime minister, according to local news reports.

It appears that even Hariri's political rivals in the Shiite Muslim militant movement Hezbollah have given him their blessing, with the party's second in command, Naim Qassem, telling Reuters that Hariri is a "strong candidate" for the premiership.

The oft-cited alternative candidate is former Prime Minister Najib Miqati, a telecommunications tycoon from Tripoli who maintains close relations with Damascus. The real contest, however, is likely to be over the office of parliamentary speaker and specific cabinet appointments..

LEBANON: Analyst Paul Salem on prospect of Hezbollah election win

Lebanese voters head to the polls Sunday morning in elections that could determine their nation's future direction and strategic position in the Middle East.

Paul Salem, Lebanon analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is in the unique position of having access not only to major players in the Lebanese political game, but contacts in Washington that help him understand how Lebanon fits into the geopolitical picture.

Salem recently spoke to The Times about Sunday's elections, and whether a victory by the Hezbollah-led opposition, called the March 8 alliance, over the pro-U.S. March 14 coalition would have major regional repercussions.

Los Angeles Times: Do you think it's a foregone conclusion that the opposition will win? 

Paul Salem: No, I think it's still up in the air. There is a good chance it will be a hung parliament and no one will win a majority, there is also a good chance March 8 might win, but March 14 could also still eke out a majority. Obviously the West is more concerned with one of those possibilities, which is March 8 winning. 

LEBANON: As voters go to polls, many fears and a few hopes

Across the tiny Mediterranean country of Lebanon, voters head to the polls Sunday in an election that will have major ramifications across the region. Will Iran and its Hezbollah allies in the March 8 alliance win? Will the U.S. and its March 14 coalition allies retain control of parliament and government?

Among voters the rifts are stark. 

“If March 8 wins, it means problems,” said Sobhi Zaghal, a 65-year-old Sunni cafe owner who supports parliamentary leader Saad Hariri’s Future Movement.

 “March 8 is with Iran," he continued. "Iran means problems -- economic problems, political problems. Iran is in Iraq, Lebanon will become like Iraq. How could anyone want that?”

On the other side of the Sunni-Shiite sectarian divide that afflicts much of the Middle East, Hussein Fawaz had a very different view. 

“The current government are traitors and cooperated with Israel and the U.S.,” said the Shiite Muslim, a staunch Hezbollah supporter. 

“March 14 dealt with the Israelis against the nation,” he alleged.

LEBANON: Hezbollah draws former Israeli collaborators back home

With Lebanon still reeling from the discovery of multiple Israeli spy networks, local media is now reporting that Hezbollah and its allies are repatriating former Israeli collaborators who fled over the border to avoid prosecution in Lebanon.

It's a surprising move for Hezbollah, whose leader, Hassan Nasrallah, recently called for Israeli spies to be executed.

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LEBANON: Report linking Hezbollah to Hariri assassination raises questions

In a bombshell report published Saturday, the German weekly Der Spiegel says the investigation into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is moving toward the conclusion that the Shiite militia Hezbollah was behind the attack.

Based entirely on an unnamed source or sources, the Spiegel report said Lebanese investigators monitoring cellphone usage in the vicinity of the car-bomb explosion that killed Hariri lucked into a breakthrough discovery.

According to the report, the cellphones were used exclusively for phone calls among the alleged assassins except for one instance when one of the suspects used a phone to call his girlfriend. 

From that single call, investigators figured out the name of the  operative. Allegedly, he was Abdul Majid Ghamlush, described as an Iranian-trained agent who belongs to a "special forces" unit of Hezbollah, according to the report, which then goes on to link him to higher-ups in Hezbollah, including a commander named Hajj Salim. 

LEBANON: Israel prepping for Nasrallah kill, says Hezbollah

Everyone in Lebanon has been noticing how Hezbollah's rhetoric has been heating up lately. 

The group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, made it clear in a number of speeches this week that his party would tolerate neither spies, Israeli "aggression" nor what he described as Lebanese government hypocrisy. 

It's volatile talk ahead of critical June 7 elections in which Hezbollah needs to sway at least some Christians to vote in its favor.

On Monday, Nasrallah warned that the Islamic militant group would be on high alert as Israel prepared to conduct its largest military maneuvers since 1961, a series of armed forces and emergency services drills expected to take place toward the end of the month.

Now, the group's former international relations officer, Nawaf Moussawi, tells the pan-Arab daily Al Sharq al Awsat that the drills are a "rehearsal to confront the repercussions of the assassination of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, which will lead, if achieved, to a total explosion."