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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (AFP: Dan Balilty/Pool, file photo)
Hlehel, contacted on a visit to London by Israel's Haaretz newspaper, welcomed the decision and said it "boosts our position as an integral part of the Arab cultural landscape."
The author has been invited to pick up the prize at the Hay Festival Beirut39, which runs from Wednesday to Sunday.
However, the festival's organisers told AFP in Beirut that Hlehel's trip remained in doubt as he was still in need of a travel visa at such short notice.
"There is a problem here -- it's very difficult to arrange in such short timing," project manager Christine LaRoche said.
"We are speaking to the government now trying to sort it out. We need to see if we can manage to get him a visa by Friday."
A 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
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The author has been invited to pick up the prize at the Hay Festival Beirut39, which runs from Wednesday to Sunday.
However, the festival's organisers told AFP in Beirut that Hlehel's trip remained in doubt as he was still in need of a travel visa at such short notice.
"There is a problem here -- it's very difficult to arrange in such short timing," project manager Christine LaRoche said.
"We are speaking to the government now trying to sort it out. We need to see if we can manage to get him a visa by Friday."
A 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.
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