Lebanon on 'brink of collapse'

UN envoy says 'extremely
critical' to avoid
Syria being
dragged into war
BEIRUT, Nov 24 (AFP): The EU's foreign policy chief warned Sunday that Lebanon was "on the brink of collapse" after Israel launched an intense air campaign two months ago following nearly a year of clashes with Hezbollah.
"Back in September I came and was still hoping we could prevent a full-fledged war of Israel attacking Lebanon. Two months later Lebanon is on the brink of collapse," Josep Borell told reporters in Beirut.
Meanwhile, the UN special envoy for Syria said on Sunday that it was "extremely critical" to end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza to avoid the country being pulled into a regional war.
"We need now to make sure that we have immediately a ceasefire in Gaza, that we have a ceasefire in Lebanon, and that we avoid Syria being dragged even further into the conflict," said Geir Otto Pedersen ahead of a meeting with the Syrian foreign minister in Damascus.
Since Syria's civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting the army and Iran-backed groups.
The Israeli military has intensified its strikes on targets in Syria since its conflict with Iran-backed Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon escalated into full-scale war in late September after almost a year of cross-border hostilities.
A Syrian war monitor on Friday said Israeli strikes on the city of Palmyra earlier in the week killed 92 pro-Iran fighters, after a United Nations representative said the attack was likely the deadliest to date.
Israel rarely comments on individual strikes in Syria but has repeatedly said it will not allow Iran to expand its presence in the country.
Man shot dead after firing near
Israel embassy in Jordan
A man was killed after opening fire on and wounding three members of the security forces near the Israeli embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman on Sunday, state media said.
Government spokesman Mohamed Momani described the incident as a "terrorist attack" and said the assailant was a criminal with a history of drug-related offences.
Investigations were underway to uncover the circumstances and motives behind the attack, which occurred at dawn, he told the official Petra news agency.
The Public Security Directorate, Jordan's law enforcement agency, earlier reported an exchange of fire in the Amman district of Rabieh, where the Israeli embassy is located.
The man "started firing gunshots at the security force, which in turn applied the rules of engagement, which resulted in the killing of the perpetrator", the agency added.
It said three public security personnel were injured during the incident and were receiving treatment.
Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, has maintained largely stable relations with its neighbour.
But the Rabieh district has been a focal point for protests against the Israeli embassy since Israel's war against the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas erupted in the Gaza Strip in October last year.
On October 18, two Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood members were killed in a firefight with Israeli forces near the Dead Sea.
And in September, a Jordanian truck driver shot dead three Israeli guards at the Allenby crossing between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.