Beirut: Prime Minister Fouad Siniora yesterday issued an appeal for Lebanese to unite and end a months-long political crisis, on the eve of the first anniversary of a devastating Israeli war.
"Just as we stood together to confront the aggression... I take this opportunity to extend my hand again to all our brothers," he said in a speech to mark the 33-day war between Israel and Hezbollah fighters which broke out on July 12, 2006.
"Let us build on what brings us together. We have to return to dialogue and reconciliation," said the head of Lebanon's Western-backed government which has been paralysed by a nearly eight-month political crisis.
Siniora said unity was essential to overcome tough challenges ahead, especially post-war reconstruction, the extension of state authority over the whole of Lebanon, and implementation of long-awaited reforms.
He called for a presidential election to find a successor to his political rival Emile Lahoud to be held on time, before the formation of a national unity government as demanded by the Hezbollah-led opposition.
Support to Hezbollah
As political bickerings in Beirut continue, support to Hezbollah is still high in south Lebanon.
In Aita Al Shaab, Shadi Sa'ad's parents mourn their 19-year-old son, killed in the war, but say they are proud of what he did and are ready to let his younger brother join the "Islamic resistance" once he has completed high school.
"I just want him to finish his exams first," said Hani Sa'ad, fingering blue worry beads at his home in Aita Al Sha'ab, a village battered in some of the heaviest fighting of the war.
"I'm going to be a fighter too if the Israelis return. They have turned moderate people into people who hate them. I want revenge for my son. I want to drink the blood of the Israelis, not just kill them," added the 42-year-old with greying hair.
The words came out calmly and provoked no alarm from his wife Zeinab. "Haidar is now doing his middle school exams. He wants to join the resistance when he finishes school. He has chosen to follow his brother's path," the mother of five explained.
Shadi was among about 270 Hezbollah "martyrs" killed during the conflict.
He was not even a full-time fighter. Hezbollah relied heavily on part-timers like Shadi, who defended their towns and villages tenaciously when Israeli troops pushed into Lebanon.
"The situation can't last," Sa'ad said, predicting another war. "Israel can't accept the defeat it suffered and Hezbollah can't accept that the Israelis keep violating [air space]."
