Libya struggles to rein in militias a year after Gaddafi's fall [BBC Arabic, UK]

Presenter, Male #1
The proliferation of weapons is one of the main challenges facing the Libyan government, which is attempting to restore stability a full year after the downfall of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi's regime. This, despite the government's initiatives aimed at collecting weapons and integrating the revolutionaries into society. However, the presence of armed militias outside of the government's security apparatus is raising concerns about the militarization of the state, amid the presence of tribalism, and the failure to complete the national reconciliation process after the revolution.

Reporter, Male #2
Even though a whole year has passed since the war ended and Libya's liberation was announced, the extensive proliferation of weapons, and the presence of brigades outside the government's security apparatus still represents the first obstacle for Libyans, on both the government and public levels.

Guest, Male #3
The spread of weapons among some members of the population disrupts security.

Guest, Male #4
Right now, the large quantity of weapons is negative, not positive, because the brigades are not like before. We seem safe, but we want them to join the army. The army provides excellent security.

Guest, Male #5
From a security standpoint, even families going on a trip, or visiting someplace, are scared. If one takes a bit longer than usual to go somewhere, there's also fear. There still isn't any stability.

Reporter, Male #2
The announcement that some groups gave up their weapons and handed over their headquarters to the army was welcomed. One such group that did was Ansar al-Sharia, which is believed to have participated in the storming of the American consulate in Benghazi. This leads authorities to remain concerned that other groups are still operational, amid repeated attacks and assassinations.

Guest, Male #6 (Brigadier General Hamad Hasi, Commander of the Barka Military Commission)
I think that the Ansar al-Sharia group was wronged. This group was with me on the front lines. Those people fought and did something good. But Ansar al-Sharia, and all the armed groups, are now under suspicion. The revolutionaries formed brigades and became armed. I don't think their ideologies are like what's being said about them. Their only goal is to ensure Libya's complete stability, as well as stability in the eastern part of the country. That's why people joined these armed groups. But at the same time, I can't deny the presence of al-Qaeda. They are here, but their presence isn't visible.

Reporter, Male #2
The Libyan government is also trying to collect weapons and integrate the revolutionaries within a clear legal framework. But reservations remain in other government bodies, such as the Warriors' Affairs Commission, which is affiliated with the prime minister's office, and deals with integrating the revolutionaries into society.

Guest, Male #7 (Mustafa al-Sajzali, President of Warriors' Affairs Commission)
I assure you that all of the revolutionaries in Libya are looking for the opportunity to have a dignified life. They are looking for a way to contribute to building the state. That was the aim of the commission's project. We succeeded in some aspects, but the government hindered some of those projects by delaying their support. The government was also late in creating measures for revolutionaries to be integrated into government institutions.

Reporter, Male #2
And although the militias are not registered political parties, they still play a major role in a country that toppled what was described as a dictatorship through an armed revolution, whose pillars were those militias.

Reporter, Male #2
This camp holds revolutionaries who participated in the war during the Libyan revolution. But these camps do not include many armed brigades, or the thousands of revolutionaries who still have arms, and are deployed in different parts of Libya. The Libyan government says that this deployment is the main obstacle facing the stabilization of the security situation in the country. From inside the February 17th Brigade in the city of Benghazi, Amr Jamil, BBC.

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Qatari emir breaks siege on Gaza in 'historic' visit [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Presenter, Female #1
The prime minister of the deposed Palestinian government, Ismail Haniyeh, announced that the visit by the Emir of Qatar to the Gaza Strip is an official announcement that the political and economic blockade, which has been imposed on the Strip for years, has been broken.

Presenter, Male #1
Under the slogan, "A hand resists, a hand liberates, and a hand builds," Haniyeh noted that the reconstruction grant offered by Qatar to the Strip reached 400 million dollars. He noted that it counts as a victory for the Palestinian people over the blockade.

Guest, Male #3 (Ismail Haniyeh, Prime Minister of Deposed Palestinian Government)
This visit is an official declaration that the political and economic blockade that has been imposed on the Gaza Strip has been broken. This blockade was imposed by the forces of oppression and tyranny, aiming to break our will, end our resistance, and suppress our stance.

Presenter, Male #1
This visit to the Strip, which is being described as historic, is the second for the Emir of Qatar after his visit in 1999.

Presenter, Female #1
Between the two visits, the situation in Gaza has witnessed big changes.

Reporter, Male #2
When the Emir of Qatar came to Gaza over 13 years ago, in a visit described as historic, he was the first Gulf leader to come to Palestine since 1967, and the situation there was far from the current scenario. At the time, he was welcomed by the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. He appeared comfortable with the messages that the visit brought, since the man was longing for Arab support in a confrontation with Israel, which took on different characteristics after the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993.

Reporter, Male #2
At the time, Arafat was suffering from Israel's reluctance to implement the terms of the Wye Plantation agreement. The agreement was signed in October 1998, in order to bring the Oslo Accord out of the choking deadlock it had reached.

Reporter, Male #2
Gaza now is different from the Gaza that the Emir of Qatar had visited the first time. The discussion within it about its peace and agreements has become part of the past. Since July 2007, the Strip has been suffering from a choking blockade, described as the longest in modern-day history. The blockade was permeated by a destructive war between the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.

Reporter, Male #2
The visit by the Emir of Qatar to a land that came out from under Israeli destruction was not the only one on his record. He was the first Arab official to visit Beirut's southern suburbs, and the Lebanese south, after the 2006 war. He was also one of the most prominent contributors in the rebuilding of southern Lebanon's cities and villages, which are adjacent to the border with Israel, after they were exposed to a war described as the most destructive in its modern history.

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Karzai condemns NATO's killing of four children in eastern Afghanistan [Press TV, Iran]

American forces have killed at least seven Afghans and separate incidents across the country on Sunday; four children were among the victims. They died in American missile attacks against Taliban militants in the eastern province of Logar. President Hamid Karzai issued statements strongly condemning the US-led operations, saying that such civilian casualties will not be accepted or tolerated by the Afghan people.

Meanwhile, an American soldier was killed in a Taliban attack in eastern Afghanistan; US military officials confirmed the death, but the exact location is not clear yet. Earlier in the day, the Taliban launched a missile attack on a convoy of US forces in Laghman Province.

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US presidential candidates spar over who can inflict greatest suffering on Iranians [Press TV, Iran]

In the US presidential election, the stakes are high as incumbent President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are neck-and-neck in US opinion polls. While the economy remains a major issue, the candidates' foreign policy outlook is likely to impact a number of undecided voters. Their third and final presidential debate focused on their foreign policy agendas, and included their stances on Syria, Israel, and Iran.

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Obama, Romney both agree on supporting Israel in last US presidential debate [IBA, Israel]

The US presidential candidates faced off against one another for a final round in Boca Raton, Florida, heading into the verbal match in a dead heat just two weeks before Election Day. Public opinion polls reveal that 48 percent of undecided voters believe that US President Barack Obama won the third debate over his Republican rival Mitt Romney, who registered just 40 percent. Last night's debate concentrated on foreign policy issues, highlighting both candidates' claims of support for Israel and opposition to a nuclear Iran.

Joining IBA in the studio is their special political analyst and CEO of the KEEVOON Research Group, Mitchell Barak, to discuss the upcoming elections in both the United States and Israel.

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Syria's Assad declares amnesty as push for truce continues [New TV, Lebanon]

Presenter, Female #1
A Syrian anti-aircraft missile fell on a health center in the border city of Reyhanli in Hatay Province, without any injuries reported. The battles are still continuing in several Syrian areas.

Reporter, Female #2
After a visit that lasted nearly a week, Lakhdar Brahimi left Syria. He left a positive atmosphere behind him, according to an announcement by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad, who was bidding farewell to Brahimi. Al-Miqdad expressed his hope to reach a speedy solution regarding the ceasefire during Eid al-Adha, and stressed the importance of reaching a solution on the ceasefire.

Reporter, Female #2
Al-Miqdad saw that Brahimi's visit to Syria was very successful, and that working with him is bountiful. And within the framework of the expected calm, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree that gave a general pardon for crimes committed before the 23rd of this month. Meanwhile, Damascus accused France of obstructing efforts to stop the violence in Syria by supporting violence and terrorism.

Reporter, Female #2
A statement by the Syrian Foreign Ministry called on the international community, especially the Security Council, to seriously work with the French body that is preventing a halt to the violence and terrorism in Syria. This comes at a time when the United Nations, through its envoy Brahimi, is laboriously seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis with a halt to the violence and terrorism.

Reporter, Female #2
On the other hand, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian announced that a national dialogue, which would include all parties involved in the Syrian crisis, may begin soon in Tehran, or in another country in the region. He also noted that groups from the opposition refused to participate, adding that Tehran is still trying to persuade them.

Reporter, Female #2
On the ground, the decisive battle in Maarat al-Numaan continues between the regime's army and the Free Army, which is trying to control the city. And in Aleppo, Syrian planes waged air raids on a neighborhood that is being controlled by armed groups. As for the capital Damascus, regime forces continued their raids on a number of neighborhoods, and clashed with members of the Free Army.

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Syrian channels blocked by EU as media cries foul over West's double standards [NBN TV, Lebanon]

Presenter, Female #1
The issue of blocking Syrian satellite channels is raising questions.

Reporter, Male #1
Once again, Syrian media is under attack. Journalists are being targeted, and media institutions are being suspended from satellite broadcasting systems. The Syrian government announced that the administration of the European satellite Hotbird blocked Syrian TV and the Drama channel, implementing previous sanctions imposed by the Arab League and the European Union on Syrian media. It forced those involved to invite their viewers to get the signal from the Russian satellite.

Reporter, Male #1
This decision raised a series of questions in Syria revolving around the issues of freedom of the media, double standards, and how some express anger over the jamming of some channels, while others decide to cancel official media outlets without any credible reasons.

Guest, Male #2
As media professionals and researchers, we see many media channels in the world, some of which are also insulting and immoral, but they're available on satellite. At the same time, a voice is silenced, like the voices of the Syrian satellite channel and the Drama channel. If we were to say the Syrian satellite channel is insulting, then why was the Drama channel also blocked? What does that channel offer? What does the Drama channel offer in general? The problem lies in the double standards that are used. There are clear, honest, and absolute double standards.

Guest, Male #2
The political principles of the West are now being adopted in the media. We are speaking out because we're proud of our media. Our media has been successful, and has developed. It presents a real and rational image. But they just want one voice to be heard: The voice of demagoguery, the voice of the jungle, it's the jungle they represent.

Reporter, Male #1
It is surprising that the Drama satellite channel was blocked, a channel that only broadcasts art shows.

Guest, Male #3
Syrian journalists and Syrian TV personnel say that had it not been for the power and influence of the satellite channel, which broadcasts the truth, then serious efforts to block it would not have been exerted by Arab and Western satellite providers.

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Youths Against Settlements launches new campaign to counter Israeli settler attacks [Palestine TV, Ramallah]

Presenter, Male #1
The "Youths Against Settlements" group launched a voluntary campaign under the slogan, "We will resist here," to communicate with citizens, especially in the neighborhood of Tel Rumeida, in order to strengthen their resistance.

Reporter, Male #2
In the framework of their campaign to strengthen the citizens' resistance, the "Youths Against Settlements" in Hebron launched a campaign called, "We will resist here," which works to help families living in Tel Rumeida. It supports them against settler attacks by carrying out volunteer work in their homes.

Guest, Male #3
The work we are doing today is near the Ramat Yishai settlement in Tel Rumeida. We go to homes that are really close to settlers and are subjected to almost daily attacks, and to exclusive displacement by settlers and the occupation. We go to a house, and we volunteer our day. We paint what we can around the house, and we clean the gardens, fix the electricity, fix water pipes. We try to make them feel like they're not alone, and that the Palestinian youths are standing by them.

Reporter, Male #2
The voluntary campaign included rehabilitating homes by painting them, cleaning the yards outside, and fixing the electricity and water.

Guest, Male #4
We must show that we're neat, and that the surroundings around our homes are organized. And we're sending a strong message to the settlers that we will resist in our homes, despite their attacks and their cruelty in attacking our children, and throwing stones and garbage at our homes. We'll continue to resist. It will be impossible for us to leave our homes until the last settler leaves.

Guest, Female #1 (Sundos al-Azza)
I'm very happy that there are young people coming here to help us, and that they feel the suffering that we endure from living next to a settlement that constantly attacks us. We are very happy that they're helping, and we're happy with the efforts of these young people.

Reporter, Male #2
Al-Azza's family home is subjected to continuous attacks by settlers in the Ramat Yishai settlement, which has been established on the citizens' land. The settlers did not like seeing the volunteers, who were working on building a barricade that would protect the family from the settlers' stones and garbage. The settlers started calling them names and obscene words before they called on the occupation's army to prevent the youths from continuing their work.

Guest, Male #5
In several instances, about a dozen of them came to attack us. But what's more important to us is to continue doing what we're doing. You saw what the lady in the settlement did. She called on the soldier and complained, so she would prevent us from doing our work.

Guest, Male #5
The work that we're doing is legal, but sometimes the army comes and tells us it's unlawful because the settlers would hurt us. But God willing, we will continue our work, so that it continues to lift the families' morale.

Reporter, Male #2
This campaign, whose volunteers have relied on local donations, is considered a new kind of peaceful popular resistance that aims to preserve the land and national identity in this neighborhood. Amid the occupation's and settlers' continuous attacks on the citizens and their property here, the "Youths Against Settlements" group has insisted on forming a barrier to combat these attacks through peaceful resistance, and their voluntary campaign titled, "We will resist here."