Ali Abdul Karim Ali
Latest stories
March 14: We Will Consider Govt. as ‘Collapsed’ Should it Reject Funding STL

The March 14 General Secretariat slammed on Wednesday Hizbullah’s recent positions, accusing it of acting as the sole authority on state decisions and the constitution due to its positions on the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: “We will consider the government as collapsed should it reject the funding of the tribunal.”

W140 Full Story
Ali: Lebanese Officials Must Reconsider Accusations against us by Resorting to Constitution

Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali questioned on Tuesday criticism by some Lebanese officials that have accused his embassy of being behind the disappearance of Syrian opposition members in Lebanon.

He said after holding talks with former Prime Minister Salim Hoss: “I don’t want to dwell on the details of this dispute, but I will renew my call for some sides to reconsider their positions based on the Lebanese constitution and cooperation agreements between Lebanon and Syria.”

W140 Full Story
Rifi’s Report Offers Insight into Kidnapping of Jassem Brothers by Salah Hajj

Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi’s investigation report on the kidnapping of Syrian opposition members reveals that the head of the Syrian embassy guard unit, First Lt. Salah Hajj, was the ringleader of the group that abducted the Jassem brothers.

An Nahar daily published on Tuesday the full report, which is based on witness testimony and telecommunications data.

W140 Full Story
Source: Rifi’s Accusations against Syrian Embassy are Accurate

A Lebanese security source revealed that Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali’s statements on the abduction of Syrian opposition members in Lebanon does not mean that he and his embassy may not be directly responsible for the kidnapping of the Jassem brothers and Shebli al-Aisamy.

The source told the Kuwaiti al-Anbaa newspaper in remarks published on Sunday that Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi’s statements on the matter “are accurate and they are based on damning facts and evidence.”

W140 Full Story
Syrian Ambassador Denies Rifi’s Accusations

Syrian ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali on Friday denied reports that his embassy was behind the disappearance of Syrian opposition members who have gone missing in Lebanon, calling such accusations "unfounded."

"I am puzzled by these unfounded claims that have been attributed to the police chief," Ali told reporters after meeting Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour.

W140 Full Story
Ministers Defend Silence on Incursion as March 14 Calls for Summoning Syrian Envoy

Cabinet ministers defended the March 8-led government against critics who accused it of intentionally not issuing a statement against several incursions made by the Syrian army in Lebanese towns in the North and the eastern Bekaa valley.

Information Minister Walid Daouq told Free Lebanon radio that the government didn’t discuss the issue during its session on Wednesday “because it is being solved at the level of involved ministers.”

W140 Full Story
Bkirki: Syrian Delegation’s Visit Aimed at Bridging Gap between Sects

Bkirki spokesman Walid Ghayyad said on Thursday that the media exaggerated the Syrian delegation’s visit to the seat of the Maronite church, noting that the visit was set after Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi was elected.

He told Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) that the developments in Syria “postponed the visit,” stressing that the discussions “focused on religion to bring sects closer.”

W140 Full Story
Karami to Miqati: Centrism Doesn’t Work

Former Prime Minister Omar Karami stated on Wednesday that centrism in governing Lebanon “does not work.”

He made his statements in reference to Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s description of himself as a “centrist” figure in Lebanon.

W140 Full Story
U.S. Official: Policy of Neutrality Towards Miqati Doesn’t Mean Support for Hizbullah

A top U.S. official has said that the Obama administration is adopting a neutral policy towards Premier Najib Miqati because it can’t easily overlook the way he came to power.

The official told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in Paris, that the U.S. “is adopting neutrality because it knows Miqati since he became prime minister in 2005.”

W140 Full Story
Al-Mustaqbal Admonishes Qabbani

Saad Hariri’s al-Mustaqbal movement is admonishing Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani for meeting with a delegation from Hizbullah and the Syrian ambassador on the day the international tribunal issued the indictment in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination case, a source said.

The Mustaqbal source told al-Liwaa daily on Friday that the movement’s lawmakers decided to boycott prayers led by Qabbani at al-Amin mosque on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr “to admonish the Mufti for some of his stances.”

W140 Full Story