Lebanon's divided parliament has been in a political deadlock failing to elect a president 12 times since November 23 over disputes between the ruling majority and the Hizbollah-led opposition. A parliamentary session set for January 12 is also unlikely to lead to the election of a president.
The 22-nation regional organization adopted the three-point plan, proposing a speedy presidential election, the formation of a national unity government and new legislation regulating elections and governmental appointments. The plan was adopted by foreign ministers of the Arab League member states in Cairo, Egypt, last Saturday.
A commentator at Lebanon's opposition-leaning newspaper As-Safir said on Wednesday coordinating the plan with Lebanon's political factions could be difficult. "Adopting a plan in Cairo is one thing, and putting it into practice in Beirut is another one," George Aalam said.
The pro-Western parliamentary majority and the pro-Syrian opposition agree that army General Michel Suleiman should succeed ex-President Emile Lahoud to break the political impasse, but the factions cannot agree on the formation of a new government.
Moussa is proposing the parties have ten portfolios in the government each, with the president appointing the other ten ministers and backing or blocking the factions' decisions with their help.
Aalam said the ruling bloc which earlier described the Arab League offer as a "painful compromise," would hardly agree to have the number of its portfolios cut from the current 15 to 10. "I think they will demand more portfolios," the commentator said.
Moussa's visit comes as Israel lodged a protest with the UN over Tuesday's rocket attack from Lebanon. Two rockets exploded in the northern border village of Shlomi, where no casualties were reported.
This is the second rocket attack on Israel since a month-long war with Lebanon's Hizbollah in the summer of 2007. No Lebanese groups have so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but local analysts suggest a Palestinian group active in southern Lebanon could be behind the assault ahead of a visit to Israel by U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday.
A statement circulated by the Israeli Foreign Ministry said Tel Aviv was also considering other measures to respond to the attack.
