Lebanon to establish diplomatic relations with state of Palestine

The Lebanese Cabinet decided at its meeting Thursday to establish diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine to implement the Cabinet decision of 2008. The t decision came ahead of the visit by the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Lebanon on Tuesday, at the invitation of his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman. The Lebanese Information Minister Walid Daouk, told reporters that President Suleiman has said during the Cabinet meeting that Israel is exploiting the current developments in the region to embark on the establishment of 4300 new housing units in Jerusalem, as if it was in a race with the announcement of a Palestinian state or implementation of any peace initiatives.