Hammoud for pullout of Israeli forces from occupied Syrian, Lebanese lands

Lebanese Defense Minister Mahmoud Hammoud stressed yesterday the necessity of ending the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan and Lebanese Shebaa Farms and giving the Palestinians their legitimate rights.

Following his meeting with a French delegation headed by the Chief of Staff of the French armies Peter Taupeaun, Hammoud said that the Middle East region is passing through "crucial and difficult developments caused by the repercussions of war on Iraq, the Israeli continued occupation to Palestinian lands and Israel's crimes perpetrated against our people in Palestine."