Lahoud renews rejection of settling the Palestinians in Lebanon

Lebanese President Emil lahoud on Sunday stressed that Lebanon is committed to the right of the Palestinians' return back to their lands and the establishment of their own independent state with Jerusalem as a capital, noting that he will not accept under any condition to settle the Palestinians in Lebanon.

Lahd's statement was made in comment of information published by the London- based al-Hayat daily on Saturday saying that Israel has approved to give concessions in the question of Jerusalem and the settlement that surpass what was stated in the Camp David, for the approval of the Palestinian side to postpone discussions in the two issues of the refugees and the right to return.

President Lahoud asked the Lebanese foreign minister Mahmoud Hamoud to convey this Lebanese stance through all Lebanese diplomatic missions abroad and the ambassadors of the Arab and foreign states accredited in Beirut about the Lebanese stand which was earlier confirmed by Lebanon in several occasions.

The Lebanese President noted that the palestinian proposal made by Palestine's representative at the Arab league on giving the choice to every refugee either to return back to Palestine or to be compensated is considered a flagrant violation to the successive Arab summits especially the recent Cairo Arab summit and the Islamic summits and also especially the recent Doha one, besides a flagrant violation to the bases on the ground of which the Madrid conference was built on clinging to the land for peace formula.