Who's friend and who's enemy?

Abdullah Shamseddine - Translated source almanarTV

10/10/2007 Just after Hezbollah Secretary General finished his speech last week marking Quds Day and accused Israel of having a hand in a number of assassinations in the country, first row leaders from the February 14 bloc rushed to denounce the accusation and even call it "a disaster." Observers from the Lebanese national opposition have concluded that the February 14 bloc has decided to gradually go for two parallel goals: To replace the existing enemy, which is Israel, with another, which is Syria and to gradually normalize ties with the Jewish state. The speech of the leaders of the February 14 bloc since the assassination of former Prime Minister Martyr Rafik Hariri points to an escalatory trend for that purpose. In one incident deputy Speaker and key February 14 figures described Israel as "a neighbor". Moreover, the head of the democratic gathering MP Walid Jumblatt frankly said he did not consider Israel an enemy at this stage. His ally, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea called for labeling Syria "Lebanon's enemy", in the wake of MP Antoine Ghanem's assassination last month. Opposition sources called to regard other concrete evidence that surfaced during the past couple of years. The head of the unconstitutional government Fouad Saniora, in an unprecedented move, agreed that Israeli journalists attend his press conference abroad and did not mind to answer their questions. Saniora's advisers have even started writing article in Israeli newspapers. The development in Lebanon coincided with a number of Israeli statements praising Saniora and his government. Israeli President Shimon Peres has recently stressed the necessity to preserve Saniora's government and said it is one of Israel's most prominent challenges.