- Title: LEBANON/SAUDI ARABIA: Arab world not hopeful of Israeli elections results
- Date: 11th February 2009
- Summary: BEIRUT, LEBANON (FEBRUARY 11, 2009) (REUTERS) BEIRUT STREET VARIOUS OF TRAFFIC NEWSPAPER STAND
- Embargoed: 26th February 2009 12:00
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- Topics: International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVADPTUOLZZ4E65PVBNBBZE4CXRP
- Story Text: The Lebanese and Saudis say Israeli elections results don't give much hope for peace settlement in the Middle East.
In Lebanon, citizens said on Wednesday (February 11) that Israeli elections will not bring any difference and changes on Israeli policy towards Lebanon.
"A criminal state like Israel doesn't know anything called peace. They don't know its meaning. If they want peace, they had 50 years in the region to show it," said Beirut resident Ibrahim.
Israel faced deep political uncertainty on Wednesday after its election ended with clashing claims of victory by centrist Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and hawkish rival Benjamin Netanyahu.
"All of them are bad, all want to kill the people. I don't think none of them is better than the other. They are all enemies of God so we do not trust anyone of them," said another Beirut resident Fayez Fraijeh.
Lebanon is still rebuilding after its war with Israel in 2006, set off when the Shi'ite group, Hezbollah, abducted two Israeli soldiers and killed others in a cross border attack. Nearly 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 157 Israelis, mostly soldiers, died during the 34-day war.
In Saudi capital Riyadh Dr. Mohammad Al Qahtani, a scholar for the Institute of diplomatic studies, has been closely watching the Israeli elections.
"You have Kadima party nominee winning by slim margins so it is going to be coalition government, so I think you are going to see a government may be tilted towards the right with no change, with no acceptance of the Arab initiative for peace, so it is back to square zero and it is a problem when you have, you know, a government that is not pushing towards peace no matter how lenient you are in giving more peace initiative or willing to compromise," Al Qahtani said.
It will be up to President Shimon Peres to decide, after hearing recommendations from political parties, whether to ask Livni or Netanyahu to try to form a coalition.
Israeli media said he would have no choice but to invite Netanyahu to lead a government if rightist parties, which hold a parliamentary majority, recommend the Likud leader over Livni.
But it would be the first time in Israel's 60-year history that the party that won the most parliamentary seats in an election did not get a chance to form the government.
Nearly final results gave Livni's Kadima party 28 seats to 27 for Netanyahu's right-wing Likud in the 120-member Knesset. She said she would become prime minister and invited him to join a "unity government". - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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