Hezbollah: We have proof Israel killed Mughniyah

Hezbollah's deputy secretary general Naim Qassem has again accused Israel of responsibility for the assassination of the organization's senior military figure, Imad Mughniyah. In a speech Friday to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, Qassem said, "We have clear proof, 100 percent, that cannot be doubted, that Israel is the head of the assassination."

Qassem's statements were directed at reports that Syria was responsible, which had been made by anti-Syrian elements in Lebanon. Mughniyah's wife had also referred to "treacherous Syria" as responsible for the killing in the Lebanese and Iranian press.

However Friday, Qassem said, "Know that Israel is responsibile and it must bear the whole responsibility."

According to Arab media reports, Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah is to give an address tomorrow in Beirut to mark the 40th day since Mughniyah's death. He is expected to discuss both the conflict with Israel and the severe political crisis in Lebanon regardring the presidential election.

Meanwhile, senior Palestinian sources yesterday denied reports of a breakthrough in reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah in Yemen's capital Sanaa.

Yesterday, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubakr al-Qirbi told reporters that Fatah had already agreed to the final version of a draft accord, and that Hamas had asked for time to consult their leadership. However, Hamas now seems to be delaying its response to the Yemeni demand that Hamas give up control of Gaza.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said yesterday that Hamas had agreed only that the initiative could serve as a basis for talks and not as a precondition for immediate implementation.

On Thursday, amid mutual recriminations, Fatah announced its representatives were leaving Yemen. However, both sides subsequently acceded to a request of Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, to continue the talks through yesterday.

The Yemeni plan calls for a return to the status quo before the June 2007 Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, and the establishment of a national unity government as a transitional government until early presidential and parliamentary elections could be held and the reorganization of Palestinian security forces.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives met yesterday in El Arish with senior Egyptian security officials to discuss the gradual opening of the Rafah crossing. The parties discussed the release of 50 Hamas men being held by the Egyptians, following reports that the Egyptians tortured Hamas men taken into custody in Sinai.

Dick Cheney arrives

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, who arrived in Israel yesterday, vowed the U.S. would never pressure Israel to take steps that threaten its security. "America's commitment to Israel's security is enduring and unshakable, as is Israel's right to protect itself always against terrorism, rocket attacks and other attacks from forces dedicated to Israel's destruction," Cheney told a joint news conference with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

"We want to see a resolution to the conflict, an end to the terrorism that has caused so much grief to Israelis, and a new beginning for the Palestinian people," Cheney also said. However, he also said the Unites States would not dictate to the two sides.

"We must not and will not ignore darkening shadows of the situation in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria and Iran, and the threats these areas pose to Israel," the vice-president said.

Cheney, who was welcomed at Ben-Gurion International Airport by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, will be in Israel and the Palestinian Authority for two days. He is expected to meet today with President Shimon Peres, Livni, opposition head MK Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Tomorrow Cheney will visit the Palestinian Authority, and return to Israel for another working meeting with Olmert before leaving the country.