Home » Politics & Society » Middle East Politics » News and Notes

News and Notes

© lawhawk

Lebanon will be receiving Pope John Paul II for the first time in a 2-day visit to the war-ravaged country. He had been scheduled to visit the country on a previous occasion but illnesses prevented the Pope from taking the trip. This is the second time this year that the Pope has visited war-torn countries; last month the Pope visited Bosnia to deliver a message of peace and hope to the significant Christian population. There are still some concerns about the Pope's safety given that the country lacks a cohesive government but the government has mobilized most of its security forces in anticipation of the Pope's arrival.

This comes on the heels of a court ruling sentencing, to life imprisonment, a Maronite Christian warlord who had planned an assassination attempt on a fellow Christian politician. It suggests that the government, although ruled by a Maronite Christian, has shown deference to its large Muslim population.

In another sign of easing tensions in the region, Israeli officials met with Palestinian security officials to discuss cooperative security measures. Joint patrols ceased after construction began on the Har Homa site adjacent to Jerusalem. There was also a meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and King Hussein of Jordan to discuss ways of getting the peace process back on track and discussing water rights along the Jordan River border.

There were some complications, however, with some members of the Palestinian Authority suggesting that any Palestinian who sells their property to an Israeli would be shot. This would apparently be in response to the fact that Har Homa and several other construction efforts resulted from legal land purchases from Palestinians to various Israeli concerns. While this may be considered rhetoric, it sends a clear message that the Palestinian people should put their national aspirations ahead of individual concerns of making a profit from their land. It also harkens back to the way Jewish Agency leaders called upon their membership to purchase and consolidate land prior to the creation of the State of Israel.

The copyright of the article News and Notes in Middle East Politics is owned by lawhawk. Permission to republish News and Notes in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.