Report: Hezbollah willing to negotiate over Shaba Farms

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Hezbollah officials have reportedly told French President Nicolas Sarkozy that the group is not opposed to a diplomatic solution to the Shaba Farms dispute, according to a report published in the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat on Monday.

This would mean a departure from the Shi'ite militia's traditional policy on the matter, which has been to support the use of force in order to return the 8 square mile disputed area in the Golan Heights.

According to Al-Hayat, the matter came up during a meeting held between Sarkozy and senior Lebanese political leaders, including recently elected Lebanese President Gen. Michel Suleiman, during his visit to the country over the weekend.

Sarkozy also reportedly said that he will bring up the issue of Shaba Farms during his visit to Israel in two weeks. He will reportedly try to encourage Israel to use diplomatic means to resolve the matter."

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[bemildred]

1. I thought this a strange story.

There is no "departure" between "to support the use of force in order to return the 8 square mile disputed area" and "is not opposed to a diplomatic solution to the Shaba Farms dispute", it simply means they want it back by whatever means will do the job. If they were insisting on taking it back by force, then there would be some "departure" in allowing it to be returned by diplomatic means. Since they do not have the means to conquer and hold it, it's somewhat of a silly argument anyway, as diplomatic means are the only means that will do the job.