The prosecutor's office in the Middle East country concluded that the IHT publisher could not legally be held responsible for the ads placed by the Anti-Defamation League, which backed Israeli army moves into West Bank towns to put a stop to Palestinian terrorists.
Lebanese laws prohibit the publication of pro-Israeli material as the country is, in name at least, still at war with Israel. Israel only pulled out of Southern Lebanon last year after 20 years.
The ads condemned Palestinian acts of terror and declared that "Israel we are with you. Now more than ever". They were placed by the Anti-Defamation League, the US-based Jewish civil rights group that monitors anti-Semitic activity.
Last month, it was reported that Lebanese Prosecutor General Adnan Addoum had decided to proceed with a case against the Herald Tribune. The paper could have faced a hefty fine or even a prison sentence for the Herald Tribune's Lebanese representative. However, the Lebanese government needed to prove that there had been intent to cause insult.
The prosecutor accused the Herald Tribune's distributor of "weakening pan-Arab feelings and stirring racism" by publishing the ads in the April 5 edition. The Lebanese publishing partner, the Daily Star newspaper, withheld the issue after the Lebanese government said it was preparing legal action against the Herald Tribune.
The Herald Tribune, jointly owned by the New York Times and Washington Post, began printing in Beirut in July.
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