War of Words Between Saniora, Berri over Council of the South
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora on Saturday denounced a rocket attack on Israel from southern Lebanon that sparked a retaliatory volley of shells from the Jewish state.
"The Israeli shelling is an unacceptable and unjustified violation of Lebanese sovereignty," Siniora said in a statement. "The rockets launched from Lebanon threaten the country”s security and stability and constitute a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701."
Resolution 1701 ended the devastating 2006 summer war between the Shiite militant group Hezbollah and Israel.
Siniora”s statement came after two rockets were launched early on Saturday from the south into northern Israel, and the Israeli military responded with artillery.
Israeli public radio said one woman was lightly injured by flying glass in her home when a rocket hit near the Israeli town of Maalot close to the border.
There were no reports of injuries in Lebanon and no claim of responsibility for the rocket attack.
Siniora denounced the attacks on both sides as unacceptable and called on the army and UN peacekeepers stationed in southern Lebanon to do their utmost to "prevent Lebanon from sliding into a new cycle of violence."
A war of words erupted between Premier Fouad Saniora and Speaker Nabih Berri who reportedly called Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah "a liar like his master" over the Council of the South issue.
"The remarks made against the prime minister and finance minister, if true, are repugnant … and lead to a rejected and denounced deterioration in political rhetoric," Saniora”s press office said in a statement on Saturday.
"It”s a pity that the interests of southerners have become a product" of political wrangling that disrupts government work, the statement added.
The retort came after Berri called Shatah "a liar like his master" for denying that an agreement was reached regarding the Council of the South.
In an interview with the daily al-Akhbar on Saturday, Berri expressed anger at Saniora for allegedly backing off from an agreement on allocations for the Council.
Berri wants LL60 billion for the Council while Saniora is against the proposal. If the cabinet fails to solve the problem, the 2009 state budget is unlikely to pass.
The statement of Saniora”s press office said any pressure on the government to adopt specific demands would have a negative effect on public interest.
"Any pressure on the cabinet to force it to agree on specific demands would negatively affect public interest … and would infringe the boundaries drawn by the Constitution for cooperation between all powers," it said.