"The purpose of this blockade at this point is beyond me," Elias Sfeir, owner of Tools and Building Materials, said, reflecting a general sentiment among business leaders.

"Now we feel that more and more the Israeli attitude is aimed against all the Lebanese, it is no longer against Hezbollah as such."

Sfeir said 15 containers with goods worth $500,000 for his company have been blocked in ports outside Lebanon since the blockade went into effect on July 13.

"If this goes on for another month, I’ll have to shut down and tell all the staff - 40 people - to go home," he said.

Sami Salman, managing director of TransMed, a company that bottles soft drinks and mineral water and imports consumer products such as detergents, diapers and chocolate, said the blockade had needlessly brought the Lebanese economy to its knees and had victimized the entire population.

"We have had, without exaggeration, $25 million in losses," Salman said, adding that he had been forced to lay off 10% of his workforce of 800 employees.

"We will need five to seven years to recover from this if the blockade stops now," he said. "But if it continues, it will be much more."

The UN Development (UNDP) last week put at minimum $15 billion Lebanon’s direct and indirect losses as a result of the conflict.

Lebanon's Port employees protest against blockade
Lebanon's Port workers took part in a protest march against Israel's air and sea blockade of Lebanon, along a route from Beirut's port to the parliament building in Nejma square , downtown Beirut on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006. during the protest they waived the Lebanese flag and denounced the Israeli blockade on Lebanon

Syrian Parliament stage a sit-in
Members of the Syrian People's Assembly (parliament) staged a sit-in on Tuesday in solidarity with their Lebanese counterparts to protest an Israeli blockade on Lebanon, the official SANA news agency reported.
The legislators voiced support to their Lebanese counterparts who have been carrying out a sit-in since Saturday in a cable message sent to Lebanese parliament head Nabih Berri, the report said.

Egypt demands lifting Lebanon blockade

Egypt summoned Israel's ambassador in Cairo today to demand the lifting of Israeli sea n dir blockade of Lebanon, saying it was hindering aid, a Foreign Ministry official said.
Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab affairs Hany Khalaf told journalists that the blockade was hindering aid to Lebanon and was a violation 'in letter and spirit' of the UN-brokered truce that helped end the war.

GCC demands lifting of blockade
In Jeddah, the Foreign ministers of the Gulf states yesterday demanded an end to Israel’s air and sea blockade on Lebanon. Ministers also pledged to “continue their support for Lebanon and contribute to its reconstruction as part of a common Arab effort.”

Annan's 3 step process for ending Lebanon blockade

UN secretary General Kofi Annan has been growing impatient also with the blockade but has been working on trying to get it lifted.

In an interview with The New York Times. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan outlined a three-step process he hopes will end with the lifting of Israel's blockade of Lebanon within 48 hours.

The first step, Annan told the newspaper on his flight from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, was France's agreement in principle Tuesday to a Lebanese request to take part in monitoring the Lebanese coastline.

President Jacques Chirac's office confirmed the agreement, which it said was reached after Annan passed on Lebanon's request in a telephone conversation with Chirac late Monday.

The second step in the plan, Annan said, was having Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora write him a letter formally authorizing the Germans to take up their positions off Lebanon.

In this regard, the UN chief said there was disagreement over timing between Siniora, who wants the blockade lifted before he authorizes the German deployment, and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who wants the Germans officially committed before he lifts the blockade.

Annan said he hoped the temporary presence of French, Italian and Greek ships would convince Israel that no weapons would be smuggled to the Hezbollah militia if the blockade is lifted.

The third and final step in the plan, said Annan -- who is not quoted directly by the newspaper -- was an Israeli announcement that it will lift the blockade.

Annan's hope was that the three-step process could be completed within 48 hours.

But an official said Wednesday in Beirut that Siniora fears the Israeli blockade could drag on despite Annan's hopes.

"The prime minister is beginning to fear that despite all the optimism expressed the blockade will drag on and Israel will impose new conditions to lift it," said the official, who did not want to be named.

Siniora discussed the matter by telephone Tuesday with Annan, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, the source said.

Israel said it would lift the air and sea blockade around its northern neighbor only once it was sure Beirut was enforcing an arms embargo against Hezbollah.

Israel imposed the restrictions at the start of its month-long offensive against Hezbollah group on July 12, saying it aimed to prevent the Shiite militia from rearming.

Lebanese officials say the blockade is in violation of UN Resolution 1701 which brought an end to the 34-day war on August 14.

Picture: Lebanon's Port workers in a protest march against Israel's air and sea blockade of Lebanon on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2006.

Sources: Agencies, Ya Libnan