Lahoud: some don't want Lebanon to be stable and prosper

Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh on Tuesday appealed to the international Quartet Committee to take rapid measures and compel Israel to withdraw from all occupied Palestinian lands, Syrian Golan and Lebanon's Shabaa Farms.

"Just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East will not be achieved unless Israel withdraws from all occupied Arab lands and implements international relevant resolutions," Salloukh said in a statement.

He expressed hope that the Israeli pullout from Gaza is a step that should be followed by other steps in the near future to enable Palestinians to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Meanwhile, President Emile Lahoud called for dealing with plots which target Lebanon, considering the bombing act of al-Zalqa trade market late yesterday as "another face of conspiracy to destabilize security and stability in the country." "These crimes aim at achieving purposes that don't serve the interest of Lebanon and its territorial integrity," Lahoud said in a statement.

He added that "each time Lebanon moves towards security and stability, the hand of criminals obstruct those moves to halt the process of development and progress."