Hezbollah, regarded as a terrorist group by Washington, joined the Lebanese cabinet for the first time Tuesday as prime minister delegate Fuad Siniora finally unveiled a new government after weeks of wrangling.
Siniora's government, which was approved by President Emile Lahoud after three previous draft line-ups had been rejected, is the first since May-June elections gave anti-Syrian groups a majority in parliament for the first time since the civil war. "We have reached agreement on a 24-member government," Siniora had told reporters earlier after holding mandatory consultations on the cabinet with the under-fire pro-Syrian head of state.
It was the first elected government since the last Syrian troop left Lebanese soil under intense domestic and international pressure in April, ending a three-decade military presence.
Siniora has pledged to try to rebuild national unity shaken by the killing in February of his close ally, former billionaire prime minister Rafiq Hariri, and embark on sweeping reforms to revive the debt-laden economy.
In the weeks since his nomination last month, Siniora had been scrambling to form a new government in the face of mounting tensions with Damascus, which has dominated Lebanon politically since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.
Washington and Paris, the sponsors of UN Resolution 1559 calling for Syria's withdrawal and Hezbollah's disarmament, voiced concern over the delay in setting up a new government.
After failing to form a government of national unity and then a cabinet of technocrats, Siniora said Friday he intended to form a government from a broad spectrum of parties including the pro-Syrian Hezbollah-Amal alliance.
Hezbollah, which continues to be involved in sporadic clashes with Israel on the tense border, exclusively patrols the formerly Israeli-occupied south.
Its participation in the new government is likely to pose a problem for the international community which is demanding that Hezbollah's militiamen - regarded in Lebanon as a legitimate resistance to Israel - give up their weapons.
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