Hezbollah supporters run riot after Nasrallah praises victory

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Independent candidate Joumana Haddad campaigned to reform personal status laws. (Reuters)
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Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri criticized a new electoral law during Monday’s press conference in Beirut. (AFP)
Updated 26 June 2018
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Hezbollah supporters run riot after Nasrallah praises victory

  • Hassan Nasrallah hailed the Hezbollah's performance in the parliamentary elections a “great victory”.
  • Prime Minister Saad Hariri says he would still work with Michel Aoun, the Christian president aligned with Hezbollah, “because this alliance is achieving stability in the country.”

BEIRUT: Hezbollah supporters ran rampant through the streets of Beirut on Monday evening after the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah hailed a “great victory” in parliamentary elections.

Videos and photographs of supporters of the Iran-backed group, and Lebanon’s other main Shiite party Amal, showed motorbikes and cars parading their flags through the capital.

One image showed a Hezbollah flag attached to a statue of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005, allegedly by members of the group.

The image sparked outrage on social media. Rafiq Hariri was the father of the current Prime Minister, Saad.

In his speech, Nasrallah declared a “great political and moral victory for the resistance option that protects the sovereignty of the country.”

Supporters chanted “Beirut became Shiite” as they weaved between cars after the rally.

Results announced Monday night revealed the country’s first election in nine years is a strong victory for Hezbollah and its allies. 

The opposing coalition, led by Hariri, which has disintegrated in recent years, suffered heavy losses.

Earlier, Hariri, smarting from the bloody nose handed to his party, the Future Movement, attempted to set out his position for talks to form a government. 

He said he would still work with Michel Aoun, the Christian president aligned with Hezbollah, “because this alliance is achieving stability in the country.”

He added: “If the conditions of my nomination to head the government do not suit me, I would certainly decline.”

Hariri’s Sunni bloc won 21 seats, compared with 33 in the 2009 election, leaving him weakened but still likely to hold on to his job which, under Lebanon’s confessional system, is allocated to a Sunni.

“We were hoping to achieve a better result and a bigger bloc but the Future Movement faced a scheme to eliminate it from political life,” Hariri said. “I extend my hand to all those who want stability, the strengthening of the economy…and the improvement of the Lebanese living situation. I am unbreakable, and Lebanon can only be governed by all its components.”

Hezbollah and Amal retained their 27 seats in the 128 member parliament, according to the unofficial results. A coalition that includes the two groups and their allies won more than half of all seats.

Hariri’s forlorn press conference included the revelation that the number of Future Movement seats in Beirut had dropped from 11 to five.



The announcement of official results had been promised in the morning but was delayed for logistical reasons, sparking concern among some political forces over the increased chance of electoral fraud.

 

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The turnout was a disappointing 49 percent, down from 54 percent in 2009. Politicians failed to persuade the Lebanese people to go the ballot boxes, with many jaded by the deeply divided political forces, sects and clans that hold sway in the country, and the ineffectiveness of recent administrations in providing the basic services of government.

A preliminary reading of the results showed the Christian Lebanese Forces, which is anti-Hezbollah, had doubled its number of MPs from eight to 16, making it the party with the biggest gain in seats in the election. 

The Christian Free Patriotic Movement, the party of President Aoun, which is allied with Hezbollah, also increased the number of its seats, from 20 to 23.

The Parliament lost some veteran legislators, including Boutros Harb, Nicolas Fattouche and Ghassan Moukheiber. 

The fall of Harb, and of another politician, Faris Saeed, were considered major losses for what is left of Hariri’s March 14 coalition. 

Hezbollah lost two seats in the Baalbek-Hermel constituency.

The election also resulted in the entry to the Parliament of the president’s sons-in-laws: Gibran Basil and Shamil Roquez.

Of the 62 new MPs expected to enter parliament, 12 were Sunni, nine Shiite and 19 Maronite.

The election also marked the return to Parliament of supporters of the Syrian regime, raising concerns that with Bashar Assad’s position in Damascus now more secure, his government would revert to trying to influence the administration in Lebanon.

The number of elected women increased from four to six, including, for the first time, one from the Shiite community.

On Sunday night, Beirut’s streets experienced two waves of violence as dozens of motorbikes drove through the streets flying Amal and Hezbollah banners. Supporters shouted abusive chants against senior Beirut figures. They also tore up pictures of President Hariri in some areas.

Shooting incidents were also reported in areas popular with supporters of the Future Movement and of the Association of Islamic Charitable Projects.

A young man was killed in Akkar in northern Lebanon by stray bullets fired in the air in celebration. A woman was also hit by a stray bullet in Zgharta.

French Ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Fuchs congratulated the Lebanese “for their performance of the national duty during the parliamentary elections.”

Iranian state television quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi as saying: “Tehran respects the Lebanese people’s choices in the parliamentary elections and we are ready to work with the government elected by the majority.”

And in a sign that Hezbollah’s strengthened position could raise tensions between powers in the region, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett said: “The gains of Hezbollah show that there is no difference between the state and the Shiite group backed by Iran. Israel should not differentiate between them in any future war.”

On Monday evening, supporters of an independent candidate forecast to win a seat gathered outside the Interior Ministry to protest what they said were clear signs of fraud to deny her victory. 

Joumana Haddad, a novelist and candidate on the independent Kulna Watani list was forecast to win but TV channels stopped reporting her victory on Monday, AP reported.


Turkiye’s foreign minister visits Athens to help mend ties between the regional rivals

Updated 7 sec ago
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Turkiye’s foreign minister visits Athens to help mend ties between the regional rivals

ATHENS, Greece: Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrived Friday in Athens for meetings with his Greek counterpart as part of efforts to ease tension between the two neighbors and regional rivals.
Both NATO members, Greece and Turkiye have been at loggerheads for decades over a long series of issues, including volatile maritime boundary disputes that have twice led them to the brink of war. The two have renewed a diplomatic push for over a year to improve ties.
“Step by step, we have achieved a level of trust so that we can discuss issues with sincerity and prevent crises,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said in an interview with Turkiye’s Hurriyet newspaper published Thursday.
The meeting between the two foreign ministers follows a series of high-profile talks between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as part of a relation-mending initiative launched in 2023.
Officials in Athens are expected to raise concerns about rising illegal migration, as Greece has seen an uptick in arrivals. And, despite deep disagreements on Israel and fighting in the Middle East, both foreign ministers are also expected to explore ways to improve regional stability.
The talks will help set the stage for a Greece-Turkiye high-level cooperation council planned for early 2025 in Ankara, Turkiye.

Turkiye’s Erdogan hopes Trump will tell Israel to “stop,” NTV reports

Updated 9 min 57 sec ago
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Turkiye’s Erdogan hopes Trump will tell Israel to “stop,” NTV reports

ANKARA: Turkiye’s President Tayyip Erdogan said that he hoped US President-elect Donald Trump will tell Israel to “stop” the attacks and halting arms support to Israel could be a good start, broadcaster NTV reported on Friday.
Trump’s presidency will seriously affect political and military balances in the Middle East region, Erdogan was quoted as telling reporters on his flight back to Turkiye from Budapest, where he attended a European Political Community summit. 


Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead women and children, UN rights office says

Updated 15 min 55 sec ago
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Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead women and children, UN rights office says

  • UN Human Rights Office: Systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law
  • The youngest victim whose death was verified by UN monitors was a one-day-old boy, and the oldest was a 97-year-old woman

GENEVA: The UN Human Rights Office said on Friday nearly 70 percent of the fatalities it has verified in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
The UN count covers the first seven months of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip that began more than a year ago.
The 8,119 victims verified by the UN Rights Office in that seven-month period is considerably lower than the toll of over 43,000 provided by Palestinian health authorities for the full 13 months of conflict.
But the UN breakdown of the victims’ age and gender backs the Palestinian assertion that women and children represent a large portion of those killed in the war.
This finding indicates “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality,” the UN rights office said in a statement accompanying the 32-page report.
“It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.
Israel did not immediately comment on the report’s findings.
Israel’s military, which began its offensive in response to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in which Hamas fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and seized more than 250 hostages, says it takes care to avoid harming civilians in Gaza.
It has said approximately one civilian has been killed for every fighter, a ratio it blames on Hamas, saying the Palestinian militant group uses civilian facilities. Hamas has denied using civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, as human shields.
YOUNGEST VICTIM AGED ONE DAY
The youngest victim whose death was verified by UN monitors was a one-day-old boy, and the oldest was a 97-year-old woman, the report said.
Overall, children represented 44 percent of the victims, with children aged five-nine representing the single biggest age category, followed by those aged 10-14, and then those aged up to and including four.
This broadly reflects the enclave’s demographics, which the report said reflected an apparent failure to take precautions to avoid civilian losses.
It showed that in 88 percent of cases, five or more people were killed in the same attack, pointing to the Israeli military’s use of weapons with an effect across a wide area, although it said some fatalities may have been the result of errant projectiles from Palestinian armed groups.


Khamenei aide warns against impulsive Iran response to Israel attack

Updated 54 min 27 sec ago
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Khamenei aide warns against impulsive Iran response to Israel attack

  • Israel is engaged in conflicts with the Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon
  • Israeli warplanes struck military sites in Iran on October 26 in retaliation for a large Iranian missile attack

TEHRAN: An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned against launching an “instinctive” response to Israeli air strikes on the Islamic republic last month.
Israel, Iran’s sworn enemy, is engaged in conflicts with the Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israeli warplanes struck military sites in Iran on October 26 in retaliation for a large Iranian missile attack on Israel at the start of the month.
“Israel aims to bring the conflict to Iran. We must act wisely to avoid its trap and not react instinctively,” the adviser, Ali Larijani, told state television late Thursday.
Iran said it fired 200 missiles at Israel on October 1 in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while he was in Tehran.
After Israel hit back, it warned Iran against any counterattack, but the Islamic republic has vowed to respond.
“Our actions and reactions are strategically defined, so we must avoid instinctive or emotional responses and remain entirely rational,” Larijani added.
The former parliament speaker also praised Nasrallah for accepting a ceasefire during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war rather than making an “emotional decision.”
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a potential ceasefire between Tehran’s allies and Israel could affect Iran’s response to the Israeli strikes.


Hezbollah claims second attack on Israel naval base in 24 hours

Updated 08 November 2024
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Hezbollah claims second attack on Israel naval base in 24 hours

  • The group had on Thursday claimed another attack on the same area
  • Israel has been at war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah since late September

BEIRUT: Hezbollah said it targeted a naval base near the Israeli city of Haifa with missiles Friday, the second such attack in less than 24 hours.
The Iran-backed Lebanese group said it targeted the “Stella Maris” naval base northwest of Haifa with a missile barrage, “in response to the attacks and massacres committed by the Israeli enemy.”
The group had on Thursday claimed another attack on the same area.
In a separate statement, the group claimed that it had also targeted the Ramat David air base, southeast of Haifa, with missiles.
Israel has been at war with Lebanon’s Hezbollah since late September when it broadened its focus from fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip to securing its northern border.
It escalated its air campaign and later sent in ground forces into the country’s south.
This came after a year of cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah, which has said it was acting in support of Hamas Palestinian militants fighting Israel in Gaza.
The war has killed more than 2,600 people in Lebanon since September 23, according to the Lebanese health ministry.