25 September 2009 – The international community must step up pressure on Israel to fulfil its obligations to the Middle East peace process, Lebanon’s President told the General Assembly today, warning that Israeli “threats of attacks and wars” were futile and only delayed a long-term solution to the region’s troubles.Michel Sleiman told the Assembly’s high-level segment, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York, that Israel should be compelled to meet its obligations “within a specific and reasonable time-frame,” in line with a recent declaration by the Arab League at a summit in Doha.

“Or else, how are we to convince our peoples that the international community is capable of achieving a just and comprehensive peace and thus of putting an end to the various aspects of the Middle East conflict, including Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab territories and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State with Al-Quds as its capital, if it is not capable of forcing Israel to halt its settlement construction, to lift the unjust siege on Gaza, and to stop the judaization of Jerusalem?”

Mr. Sleiman said a lasting solution to the Middle East conflict will not work unless the parties demonstrate “genuine political will to commit themselves to peace and its obligations.”

But he accused Israel of not showing that will, given that “the soundness and usefulness of a just peace are still under discussion on both its Government and grass-roots levels.”

He added that “Israeli threats of attacks and wars persist as a means to impose control hegemony, as well as to impose a fait accompli, should they not be as means of expansion, displacement, and further encroachment of the Palestinians’ and Arabs’ rights.”

Mr. Sleiman contrasted this with the position of the Arab countries, which he noted “had put forward an integrated peace initiative that was unanimously adopted” in 2002.

Stressing the importance of the Palestinians having “their natural and legitimate right of return to their lands and homes, the Lebanese President described the Palestinian cause as being at the heart of the Middle East crisis.

“Israel’s resorting to force to impose a fait accompli is futile and shall neither weaken the will nor the determination of the Arab people to retrieve their rights. Partial and unilateral solutions could not achieve genuine peace, and unjust solutions are short-lived.”

Also criticizing “Israeli intransigence” in achieving Middle East peace was Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

In spite of immense efforts, including United States President Barack Obama’s unveiling of his vision for a peace pact based on a two-State solution and a halt to all settlement activities, “all of this has not lead to a conclusion to this conflict,” he told the Assembly.

“How is it conceivable that negotiations can be held on the borders and on Jerusalem at the same time that Israeli bulldozers are working to change the reality on the ground with the aim of creating a new reality and imposing the borders as Israel desires?” Mr. Abbas asked.

In his speech, the leader voiced his appreciation for Mr. Obama’s address to the debate earlier this week in which he “affirmed the necessity for ending the occupation that began in 1967 and the illegitimacy of the settlements.”

He also warned that “time is running out, and the risks are becoming greater as a result of the continued suffering of the Palestinian people under the last occupation in the world.”

Sheikh Naser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait, also calledtoday for an end to Israeli settlement activity, urging the international community and the Security Council to act to end Israel’s “policy of collective punishment it imposes on the Palestinian people.”

The United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict at the start of this year, he said, “clearly proves” that Israeli forces committed war crimes during the fighting.

The Council, the Kuwaiti leader said, must to end the “crimes against humanity” committed during Israel’s “brutal aggression” against Gaza.

Bayt.com to boost Lebanon’s labor market with country’s first Virtual Job Fair

September event will be seventh job fair in the Middle East to be hosted on the Bayt.com site
Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, has announced that it will be hosting the first ever virtual job fair (VJF) in Lebanon following the phenomenal success of previous fairs held around the region, in a bid to boost the labor market in the country. This September, job seekers can log on to the Bayt.com website for the unique opportunity to search for jobs, submit a CV, and interact with employers – in what has been hailed as one of the most convenient and hassle-free recruitment forums available today.

VJF Lebanon 2009, in cooperation with media partner Al Balad, will provide candidates with the easy and unique option to ‘attend’ the job fair from any Internet-accessible computer and submit their resumes to participating companies of interest; while enabling local, regional and international employers to establish an active talent-seeking presence, without physically being in a location.

Bayt.com’s COO, Dany Farha commented, “We have already held six virtual job fairs around the Middle East region, and they have proven to be a very popular way for job seekers to actively find and apply for employment – all via one central and convenient location. Holding this VJF in Lebanon demonstrates our commitment to providing a boost to the country’s labor market especially during this global economic downturn while showcasing how we develop innovative and easy methods to facilitate the process for employers to actively find, interact with, and recruit relevant job seekers; and for job seekers to easily research vacancies from some of the best employers in the country.”

The innovative virtual job fair features animated 3D “virtual booths” on the website for different participating companies, and like a physical job fair, each booth will be branded with the exhibitors’ names and logos and will provide access to a range of information about the company, including corporate culture, the company’s business activities and recruitment practices.

The fair will additionally feature a CV drop option for job seekers to directly submit their resume to the booths of their choice and directly apply for advertised jobs; and the opportunity for employers and job seekers to interact in real time via online or video chat. A series of links will enable job seekers to connect to a directory of current vacancies in a particular company, avoiding the hassle of having to root through various job postings.

Farha went on to explain how the virtual job fair offers a variety of benefits to job seekers. He said, “The fact that this fair will be fully online means that professionals currently employed but seeking new employment don’t have to take time off work to visit a physical location – saving them both time and the costs of travel to a physical location. In addition to this, the fair is completely confidential, so professionals can search and apply for jobs without fear of being recognized, unlike a physical job fair.”

As for employer benefits, the virtual job fair provides the ideal forum to increase brand awareness and visibility, and allows organizations to advertise their job vacancies on the Middle East’s number one job site, which already has over 3.5 million registered users, of whom are 150,000 Lebanese, from 94 industries and 182 countries. Participating in the online job fair also minimizes the hassle, time, and resource requirements often associated with event management at a physical job fair. It allows for cost savings for more than 50% and can maximize an organization’s HR ROI. Post event, employers that participated will have the option to measure the success of the virtual job fair for their organization, with Bayt.com’s advanced reporting tools.

“More and more employers are beginning to understand the significant role that online recruitment plays in the global marketplace – and how it is perhaps the most practical method of interacting with job seekers today. We are looking forward to welcoming many of Lebanon’s job seekers to find the job they’ve been looking for and for more employers to fill their talent gaps. In so doing, we are fulfilling our role as a leading recruitment job site in the region that seeks to improve the Middle East’s labor market through practical, efficient and measurable means,” concluded Farha.

For more information and to find out how to participate in Bayt.com’s first ever virtual job fair in Lebanon log on to www.bayt.com and click on the virtual job fair banner/button.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana makes a four-day trip to the Middle East, including Lebanon, next week as part of renewed international efforts to try to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, his office said Friday.
Solana, the 27-nation bloc’s top diplomatic representative, will hold talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Sunday, a statement said.

The following day he will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as President Shimon Peres and the Jewish state’s foreign and defense ministers.

On Tuesday, Solana will travel to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as well as EU officials working in the occupied territories.

He then moves on to Beirut, for meetings with President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Fouad Saniora and his designated successor Saad Hariri, as well as Speaker Nabih Berri.

His tour ends in Cairo Wednesday with talks with President Hosni Mubarak.(AFP)

Even by the standards of the Middle East, Lebanon has had a rough time of it. A bitter civil war and periodic Israeli invasions have left much of the country in ruins, but now that order appears to be restored, the country’s tourism ministry is wooing visitors back.

Lebanon has a lot going for it–beautiful beaches, good skiing, fine dining, fantastic historical sights, and cheap accommodation. There are World Heritage Sites such as Qadisha Valley (pictured here), a lush region sheltering ancient Christian communities. Unlike much of the Middle East, alcohol is legal and there’s good nightlife. There once was a time when Beirut was the party town of the Mediterranean. Of course that was before Ford was president, but there’s always hope that it can be so again. Hey, why not?

According to a BBC report, hundreds of thousands of tourists have visited Lebanon this year and officials are hoping for two million tourists before the end of the summer. Not bad for a country with a population of only four million.

The country has been relatively stable recently, and if they can keep Hezbollah in line and avoid getting attacked by Israel again, travelers looking for a bargain will have another stop on their agenda.

I’ve seen Lebanon, but only from across the border in Syria! Have you been to Lebanon? Post your experiences in the Comments section.