Lebanon’s political power clans pass their assembly seats to the next generation

Updated 12 March 2018
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Lebanon’s political power clans pass their assembly seats to the next generation

BEIRUT: Nine years have passed since the last election in Lebanon, and voters could be forgiven for being excited to see some fresh young faces standing to win seats in a Parliament dominated by aging men.
But in many cases the names, and what they stand for, are all too familiar.
Nearly a quarter of the 128 seats are expected to be passed on from an older relative to another member of the family, as the country’s politics of clans and dynasties shows little sign of fading. Of these, 19 candidates are standing for seats currently held by a father or mother.
For many of Lebanon’s most powerful families, a seat in Parliament is seen as part of their inheritance.
“Our politicians are dealing with the parliamentary seat as a piece of private property, which can be inherited within the family,” said Zeina Al-Helou, the former secretary general of the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections.
“The son — or daughter — will remain on the same political track as their parents, which turns the issue into the monopolization of politics by a number of families.”
In total, 31 seats for the May election are being contested by a child of the MP already representing that constituency. The length of the delay in running the election has only added to the number of parents deciding it’s time to hand over the reins.
In some cases the parent has passed away or been the victim of an assassination.
Tony Suleiman Frangieh exemplifies the system of political inheritance in Lebanon. He comes from a family whose dynastic story is full of the tragic plot lines entwined in the country’s history.
Born in 1987, he is a candidate for the Zagharta district, a stronghold for Christian Maronites in the country’s north. If he wins, he will be the fourth generation of the family to hold the seat.
He is the son of the current MP Suleiman Frangieh, who decided to abandon the seat in the hope of becoming president.
He took on the seat from his father, Tony Frangieh who was assassinated at “the massacre of Ehden” in 1978, in the early years of the civil war.
And his father, another Suleiman Frangieh, was also the president of the country between 1970 and 1976, the period during which the civil war erupted.
It was therefore inevitable that the young Tony Frangieh would enter politics after he gained a master’s degree in economics from UK. His recent comments to Lebanese media suggest his education has done little to provide him with an alternative political viewpoint to that of his father. “I am convinced by the alliances of my father, and I believe that these friendships serve the country,” he said.
“The national reconciliation is essential to Lebanon.” He added that he had no desire to become a member of the government. “I am a candidate to the parliament, not to the cabinet,” he said.
A staff member from Frangieh’s office told Arab News: “The son is not leaving the political track of his father, he will be reinforcing it and expanding its efficiency.”
Other hopefuls standing in May as part of the new generation are Nezar Dalloul, son of the Shiite MP and ex-minister Mohsen Dalloul, and Abdulrahman Al-Bizri the son of the Sunni MP Nazih Al-Bizri.
Michel Mouawwad, the son of the President Rene Mouawwad, who was assassinated in the late 1980s, is planning to take the seat of Zgharta-Tripoli from his mother Nayla Mouawwad, who won it after her husband’s death.
Experts say that while the elections in May will bring new blood to the national assembly, the family affiliations mean it will be unlikely to improve the way it works.
The assembly has been gridlocked for years by wrangling between the various political factions. The lack of effective governance, and the Syrian refugee crisis means that basic services in the country have deteriorated since the last election.
Walid Fakhreddine, an expert on Lebanon’s political system, told Arab News that some families consider the parliamentarian seat an exclusive right.
“The problem is the absence of real political parties which would produce a healthy parliament,” he said.
“Those who are inheriting from their parents will continue on their same track, and remaining in power is the most important thing to them; they’re seeking some kind of prestige rather than achieving development in the country.”

Election haunted by a tragic past
Among the candidates in Lebanon’s May election are a number of children of MPs who were assassinated in recent years.
In most cases, the sons and daughters still don’t know who committed the crimes.
Walid Eido, a Sunni MP and member of the Future movement, was killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 2007. His son, Zaher is standing to win his seat.
Michelle Tueni, is also standing for a seat. Her father, Gebran Tueni, was killed in 2005 by a car bomb in Beirut as he traveled from his home to his newspaper’s office. He was one of the leaders of the Cedar Revolution against Syrian occupa- tion that erupted after the assassination of the former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Another candidate is Joseph Hobeika, the son of the MP Elias Hobeika who was assassinated in 2002.
 


UN envoy slams Israel’s ‘repeated and intensifying’ attacks in Syria

Updated 56 min 19 sec ago
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UN envoy slams Israel’s ‘repeated and intensifying’ attacks in Syria

  • “Such actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region, and destabilize Syria at a sensitive time,” said Pederson
  • He called on Israel “to cease these attacks which could amount to serious violations of international law”

GENEVA: The United Nations envoy for Syria on Thursday condemned Israel’s intensifying attacks in the country, warning they were destabilising the Syrian Arab Republic at a sensitive time.
Geir Pedersen decried in a statement “the repeated and intensifying military escalations by Israel in Syria, including airstrikes that have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties.”
“Such actions undermine efforts to build a new Syria at peace with itself and the region, and destabilize Syria at a sensitive time.”
His comment came after Syria accused Israel on Thursday of mounting a deadly destabilization campaign after a wave of strikes on military targets, including an airport, and a ground incursion killed 13 people.
Israel said it responded to fire from gunmen during an operation in southern Syria and warned interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa that he would face severe consequences if its security was threatened.
Israel has carried out an extensive bombing campaign against Syrian military assets since Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime strongman Bashar Assad late last year.
It has also carried out ground incursions into southern Syria in a bid to keep the forces of the new government back from the border.
Pedersen called on Israel “to cease these attacks which could amount to serious violations of international law and respect Syria’s sovereignty and existing agreements, and also to cease unilateral actions on the ground.”
He urged “all parties to prioritize diplomatic solutions and dialogue to address security concerns and prevent further escalation.”


Jordan’s King Abdullah calls for end to Israeli war in Gaza during Germany visit

Updated 03 April 2025
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Jordan’s King Abdullah calls for end to Israeli war in Gaza during Germany visit

  • He thanks Germany for supporting humanitarian response in the Palestinian enclave
  • Jordanian leader warns against Israeli military operations in the Occupied West Bank

LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan called for an end to the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip and urged for a return to a ceasefire agreement during a media conference on Thursday with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

He said that the “Israeli war on Gaza must stop, the ceasefire must be restored and humanitarian response efforts must resume,” Petra agency reported.

Jordan is sending aid to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, he added, urging the international community to end the tragedy there.

He thanked Germany for supporting the humanitarian response in the Palestinian coastal territory, where more than 50,000 people have been killed since late 2023 during the Israeli military campaign.

He also warned against Israeli military operations in the Occupied West Bank, which have resulted in the extensive destruction of towns and refugee camps, displacing thousands of Palestinian families. The Jordanian leader highlighted escalating attacks on Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem, increasing tension in the region and undermining peace efforts.

King Abdullah said that a two-state solution is essential for ensuring peace and security for both Palestinians and Israelis, as well as for the entire region, Petra added.

'Serious negotiations'

Scholz called for a return to “serious” negotiations to end the Gaza conflict as Israel pushed on with a renewed assault targeting Hamas in the territory.
“What is needed now is a return to the ceasefire and the release of all hostages,” Scholz said, urging a return to “serious negotiations with the aim of agreeing a post-war order for Gaza that protects Israel’s security.”

Speaking alongside King Abdullah II in Berlin, Scholz also urged for more humanitarian aid for Gaza.
“No humanitarian aid has reached Gaza for a month,” he said. “This cannot and must not continue.”
He added that “a sustainable peace that stabilizes the situation in the West Bank as well as Gaza can only be achieved through a political solution.”
Israel resumed intense bombing of Gaza on March 18 before launching a new ground offensive, ending a nearly two-month ceasefire.
At least 1,066 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed military operations there, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

*Additional reporting from AFP


Amnesty urges Syria to probe sectarian massacres as war crimes

Updated 03 April 2025
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Amnesty urges Syria to probe sectarian massacres as war crimes

  • Many from Assad’s Alawite minority have feared reprisals for his brutal rule
  • The massacres “must be investigated as war crimes,” Amnesty said in a statement

BEIRUT: Rights group Amnesty International on Thursday called on the Syrian Arab Republic's government to ensure accountability for sectarian massacres targeting the Alawite minority last month, saying they may constitute war crimes.
Several days of violence starting on March 6 saw the worst sectarian bloodshed since Islamist-led forces overthrew longtime president Bashar Assad, with massacres largely in the Alawite coastal heartland.
Many from Assad’s Alawite minority have feared reprisals for his brutal rule.
Amnesty said that “the Syrian government must ensure that the perpetrators of a wave of mass killings targeting Alawite civilians in coastal areas are held accountable.”
The massacres “must be investigated as war crimes,” it said in a statement.
Truth, justice and reparation are “crucial to ending cycles of atrocities,” it added.
The United Nations human rights office has said that “perpetrators raided houses, asking residents whether they were Alawite or Sunni before proceeding to either kill or spare them accordingly,” with men shot dead in front of their families.
Online footage, which AFP was unable to independently verify, showed men in military garb shooting people at close range.
Amnesty’s secretary-general, Agnes Callamard, said: “Once again, Syrian civilians have found themselves bearing the heaviest cost as parties to the conflict seek to settle scores.”
Interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) led the offensive that toppled Assad in December, has vowed to prosecute those behind the “bloodshed of civilians” and has set up a fact-finding committee, which has yet to announce its results.
Amnesty said authorities must “ensure independent, effective investigations of these unlawful killings and other war crimes.”
The Syrian authorities have accused armed Assad supporters of sparking the violence by attacking the new security forces.
Callamard said evidence indicated that “government affiliated militias deliberately targeted” Alawite civilians “in gruesome reprisal attacks,” with people killed “in cold blood.”
“For two days, authorities failed to intervene to stop the killings,” she said.
The violence has sent more than 21,000 fleeing to neighboring Lebanon, the UN has said, with thousands more seeking refuge at a Russian air base on the Mediterranean coast.
Amnesty said the Syrian government must “take immediate steps to ensure that no person or group is targeted on the basis of their sect.”


Israel steps up Syria strikes, says Turkiye aims for ‘protectorate’

Updated 03 April 2025
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Israel steps up Syria strikes, says Turkiye aims for ‘protectorate’

  • The Israeli army said its forces killed several militants who opened fire on Israeli troops
  • Reflecting Israeli concerns about Turkish influence in the new Syria, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Ankara of playing a “negative role” there

DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM: Israel stepped up airstrikes on the Syrian Arab Republic overnight, declaring the attacks a warning to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus as it accused their Turkish allies on Thursday of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.
The strikes, targeting air bases, a site near Damascus and the southwest, put renewed focus on Israeli concerns about the Islamists who deposed Bashar Assad in December, with Israeli officials viewing them as a rising threat at their border.
The Israeli army, which seized ground in the southwest after Assad was toppled, said its forces killed several militants who opened fire on Israeli troops operating in that area overnight. Syria’s state news agency SANA said that Israeli shelling had killed nine people in the area.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the airstrikes late on Wednesday evening were “a clear message and a warning for the future — we will not allow the security of the State of Israel to be harmed.”
Katz said in a statement that Israel’s armed forces would remain in buffer zones within Syria and act against threats to its security, warning Syria’s government it would pay a heavy price if it allowed forces hostile to Israel to enter.
Reflecting Israeli concerns about Turkish influence in the new Syria, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Ankara of playing a “negative role” there, in Lebanon and other regions.
“They are doing their utmost to have Syria as a Turkish protectorate. It’s clear that is their intention,” he told a press conference in Paris.
The Syrian foreign ministry said the Israeli strikes were an unjustified escalation aimed at destablising the country, calling on the international community to put pressure on Israel to “stop its aggression.”
Israel bombed Syria frequently when the country was governed by Assad, targeting the foothold established by his ally Iran during the civil war.

AIR BASE DESTROYED
The strikes late on Wednesday night were some of the most intensive Israeli attacks in Syria since Assad was toppled.
The Syrian foreign ministry said Israel struck five separate areas within a 30-minute window, resulting in the near-complete destruction of the Hama air base and wounding dozens of civilians and soldiers.
The Israeli military said it had struck remaining military capabilities at air bases in Hama and Homs provinces, in addition to remaining military infrastructure in the Damascus area, where Syrian media and officials said the vicinity of a scientific research facility was hit.
In Hama, a Syrian military source told Reuters a dozen strikes demolished the runways, tower, arms depots and hangars at the military airport. “Israel has completely destroyed Hama air base to ensure it is not used,” the source said.
Israel also said on Wednesday it targeted the T4 air base in Homs province, which it has repeatedly hit over the past week.
In the incident in southwestern Syria, the Israeli military said its forces were operating in the Tasil area, “confiscating weapons and destroying terrorist infrastructure” when several militants fired on them.
“The forces responded with fire and eliminated several armed terrorists from the ground and air,” the Israeli military said, adding there were no casualties among Israeli forces.
“The presence of weapons in southern Syria constitutes a threat to the State of Israel,” it said. “The IDF will not allow a military threat to exist in Syria and will act against it.”


Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight leaves more than 50 Palestinians dead

Updated 03 April 2025
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Israeli strikes on Gaza overnight leaves more than 50 Palestinians dead

  • The Israeli military ordered the residents of several areas — Shujaiya, Jadida, Turkomen and eastern Zeytoun — to evacuate on Thursday
  • Israel has imposed a month-long halt on all imports of food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle

DEIR AL BALAH: Overnight strikes by Israel killed at least 55 people across the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Thursday, a day after senior government officials said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and establish a new security corridor across the Palestinian territory.
Israel has vowed to escalate the nearly 18-month war with Hamas until the militant group returns dozens of remaining hostages, disarms and leaves the territory. Israel has imposed a month-long halt on all imports of food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle.
Officials in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the strip, said the bodies of 14 people had been taken to Nasser Hospital – nine of them from the same family. The dead included five children and four women. The bodies of another 19 people, including five children aged between 1 and 7 years and a pregnant woman, were taken to the European hospital near Khan Younis, hospital officials said. In Gaza City, 21 bodies were taken to Ahli hospital, including those of seven children.
The Israeli military ordered the residents of several areas — Shujaiya, Jadida, Turkomen and eastern Zeytoun — to evacuate on Thursday, adding that the army “will work with extreme force in your area.” It said people should move to shelters west of Gaza City.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel was establishing a new security corridor across the Gaza Strip to pressure Hamas, suggesting it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of the Palestinian territory.
Netanyahu referred to the new axis as the Morag corridor, using the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, suggesting it would run between the two southern cities. He said it would be “a second Philadelphi corridor ” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.
Israel has reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor, also named for a former settlement, that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the narrow coastal strip. Both of the existing corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority, led by rivals of Hamas, expressed its “complete rejection” of the planned corridor. Its statement also called for Hamas to give up power in Gaza, where the militant group has faced rare protests recently.
Netanyahu’s announcement came after the defense minister, Israel Katz, said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones, apparently referring to an existing buffer zone along Gaza’s entire perimeter. He called on Gaza residents to “expel Hamas and return all the hostages,” saying “this is the only way to end the war.”
Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory.
Netanyahu visits Hungary
Netanyahu arrived in Hungary early Thursday on his second foreign trip since the world’s top war crimes court issued an arrest warrant against him in November over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the the International Criminal Court has said there was reason to believe Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas — charges that Israeli officials deny.
ICC member countries, such as Hungary, are required to arrest suspects facing a warrant if they set foot on their soil, but the court has no way to enforce that and relies on states to comply. As Netanyahu arrived in Budapest, Hungary said it will begin the procedure of withdrawing from the ICC.
Plans for Gaza
On Sunday, Netanyahu said Israel plans to maintain overall security control of Gaza after the war and implement US President Donald Trump’s proposal to resettle much of its population elsewhere through what the Israeli leader referred to as “voluntary emigration.”
Palestinians have rejected the plan, viewing it as expulsion from their homeland after Israel’s offensive left much of it uninhabitable, and human rights experts say implementing the plan would likely violate international law.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war has left vast areas of Gaza in ruins and at its height displaced around 90 percent of the population.
Israeli strikes on Syria
Separately, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in southwestern Syria, Syrian state media reported Thursday.
SANA said the nine were civilians, without giving details. Britain-based war monitor The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said they were local gunmen from the Daraa province, frustrated with Israeli military encroachment and attacks in recent months.
Israel has seized parts of southwestern Syria and created a buffer-zone there, which it says is to secure Israel’s safety from armed groups. But critics say the military operation has created tensions in Syria and prevents any long-term stability and reconstruction for the war-torn country.
Israel also struck five cities in Syria late Wednesday, including over a dozen strikes near a strategic air base in the city of Hama.