No end in sight: Lebanon’s government crisis rages on as country on its knees 

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, July 26, 2021. (Reuters)
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Updated 26 August 2021
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No end in sight: Lebanon’s government crisis rages on as country on its knees 

  • Despite the Beirut Port explosion, soaring hyperinflation, food insecurity and crippling fuel shortages, the country’s leaders continue to prevaricate
  • Najib Mikati is the latest to take on the mantle, promising the swift formation of a government when he was appointed PM-designate on Jul. 26

DUBAI: More than 12 months since Lebanon’s cabinet resigned and with the country teetering on the brink of collapse, politicians look unlikely to form a much-needed government any time soon, sources warn.

Despite one of the world’s largest-ever non-nuclear explosions killing more than 200 people, soaring hyperinflation, food insecurity and crippling fuel shortages, leaders have continued to dig their heels in while two designated prime ministers have come and gone.

Najib Mikati, a billionaire businessman and former PM, is the latest to take on the mantle, promising a swift formation of a government within a month when he was appointed on Jul. 26.

“I gave my proposals, President Michel Aoun approved most of them and he made some remarks which are acceptable. God willing, we will be able to form a government soon,” Mikati said two days later. 

A month has passed, and Mikati is facing the same fate as his two predecessors — Mustapha Adib and Saad Hariri — who both failed to come to terms with Aoun.

Mikati is set to meet with the president on Thursday afternoon, with sources noting that both men are far from coming to terms on a government.  

“I believe Mikati will be forced to step down at some point like the others,” Mustapha Allouche, the Future Movement’s vice president, the party formed by Hariri’s late father, told Arab News.

According to Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing model, the president, a Maronite Christian, and the prime minister-designate, a Sunni Muslim, must both agree on a cabinet lineup in unison that is split equally between Christians and Muslims.

“What is happening now is merely a continuation of what has transpired over the past 12 months, with each political bloc maneuvering based on its own calculations,” Rosana Bou Monsef, a political analyst and veteran columnist for Lebanese daily An-Nahar, told Arab News. 

At the core of the issue, she said, is the president’s Free Patriotic Movement trying to secure favorable terms in the upcoming government, which could stay in power until after Aoun leaves office next year.

Lebanon is set to hold parliamentary elections in May, which given the turbulent political landscape and security situation, could be delayed. This would pave the way for the upcoming government to stay in place, take key decisions moving forward and exert pressure on political opponents.  

“It is becoming increasingly clear that the problem doesn’t lie with who will head the government but with the president’s group’s unwillingness to form a government except on its terms,” Bou Monsef said.

After nine months of grueling negotiations and a number of public spats with the president, Hariri stepped down in mid-July, saying “God help Lebanon” as he left the presidential palace.

Hariri had accused the president of blocking the formation of a cabinet in which the FPM, the party he founded and currently headed by his son-in-law MP Gebran Bassil, lacks veto power.

Eddy Maalouf, an FPM parliamentarian, denied the accusations, telling Arab News that the deadlock stems from Hariri and Mikati’s attempts to encroach on the constitution and name several Christian ministers.

“They must afford the president’s bloc the same rights afforded to the other parties,” he said.

Further complicating matters is Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah’s announcement on Aug. 19 that the party had secured fuel shipments from Iran. 

Amid typical governmental absenteeism, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah has seemingly taken matters into its own hands, vowing that fuel tankers would set sail to Lebanon from the sanction-ridden country. 

If Hezbollah follows through with its promise and the tankers actually do dock in Lebanon, it would open up the Lebanese state to the possibility of sanctions from the US, which has vowed to punish anyone that deals with Tehran. 

“The Iranian fuel has put Mikati in an extremely tough position as his government program was based on cooperating with the international community and Gulf countries to secure financial assistance for Lebanon,” Bou Monsef told Arab News. 

This was echoed by Maalouf, who maintained that Mikati is “hesitating in moving forward with the formation of the government in light of this development.” 

The possibility of Mikati stepping down is now gaining traction, Bou Monsef noted, “despite the international community urging him to move forward with negotiations.”

Mikati’s resignation would have a ripple effect across Lebanon’s political landscape, Allouche said. 

“If Mikati steps down, we’ll have to reconsider our calculations,” Allouche said when responding to a question on whether Hariri’s Future Movement bloc would resign from parliament. 

Sami Fatfat, a Future Movement MP, held out hope that a government would be formed but assured his party is “looking into different options, including mass resignations” if Mikati steps down.

“The next couple of days will be decisive,” he noted, as Lebanon braces for the potential arrival of the first shipment of Iranian fuel coupled with the end of Mikati’s one-month deadline. 


Israeli bulldozers flatten more Palestinian buildings in Tulkarm refugee camp

Updated 08 June 2025
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Israeli bulldozers flatten more Palestinian buildings in Tulkarm refugee camp

  • Entire residential area reduced to rubble in recent days, residents say
  • Israeli forces plan to destroy 58 structures in Tulkarm, 48 in Nur Shams

LONDON: Israeli forces have conducted demolitions for the third consecutive day in the Palestinian refugee camp of Tulkarm in the northern part of the West Bank, the site of military operations since January.

On Sunday, Israeli bulldozers resumed demolition of numerous residential buildings in the camp. The demolitions are part of the destruction plan of 58 structures in Tulkarm and 48 in the Nur Shams refugee camp.

More than 250 housing units and dozens of commercial establishments have been destroyed in both locations, according to Wafa news agency.

Residents say that an entire residential area in the Tulkarm camp has been reduced to rubble in recent days, with debris hindering access to surrounding buildings.

Israeli operations in Tulkarm for the past 133 days and in Nur Shams for the past 120 days have resulted in the deaths of 13 Palestinians and the displacement of almost 25,000 residents.

At least 400 homes have been destroyed and 2,573 damaged after Israeli forces sealed off roads and entrances with earth barriers and barred Palestinian residents from returning, the Wafa added.


Egyptian, Turkish FMs discuss Gaza ceasefire, mass graves in Libya

Updated 08 June 2025
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Egyptian, Turkish FMs discuss Gaza ceasefire, mass graves in Libya

  • Ministers warn of a ‘humanitarian disaster’ in war-ravaged Palestinian enclave
  • They also discussed the discovery of dozens of bodies in mass graves in the Libyan capital, Tripoli

LONDON: Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty discussed developments in Gaza and Libya with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.

The ministers, during a phone call on Sunday, highlighted the urgency of a ceasefire in Gaza and described the situation there as a “humanitarian disaster” amid Israeli attacks and military actions in the area.

They discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire, secure the release of Israeli hostages and ensure the delivery of humanitarian, medical and shelter aid to the enclave.

Abdelatty and Fidan discussed recent developments in Libya, including the discovery of dozens of bodies in mass graves in the capital, Tripoli.

The Egyptian minister highlighted Cairo’s support for Libya’s unity and integrity, ensuring that Libyans can hold presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously, without interference, as soon as possible, Kuwait News Agency reported.

Abdelatty said that Cairo and Ankara continue to cooperate in the economic, investment and trade sectors, and exchange views on urgent regional matters.


Israel vows to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching Gaza

Updated 08 June 2025
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Israel vows to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching Gaza

  • The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave

Israel’s defense minister has vowed to prevent an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg and other activists from reaching the Gaza Strip.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that Israel wouldn’t allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms.
Thunberg, a climate campaigner is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza’s territorial waters as early as Sunday.
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.
After a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade and the war end.
An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.


Gaza rescuers say 10 killed in Israeli attacks

Updated 08 June 2025
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Gaza rescuers say 10 killed in Israeli attacks

  • The civilians had been heading to an aid distribution center west of Rafah, near a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
  • The United Nations refuses to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality

GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli attacks on Sunday killed at least 10 people including two girls in the Palestinian territory, as the Israel-Hamas war entered its 21st month.

“Five martyrs and dozens of wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after the (Israeli) occupation forces opened fire on civilians at around 6:00 am,” agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said.

The civilians had been heading to an aid distribution center west of Rafah, near a site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed group that has come under criticism from the United Nations and humanitarian agencies.

The United Nations refuses to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.

Asked to comment on the latest killings, the Israeli military said it fired on people who “continued advancing in a way that endangered the soldiers” despite warnings.

It said the area around the distribution point had been declared an “active combat zone” at night.

“Around 4:30 am, people started gathering in the Al-Alam area of Rafah. After about an hour and a half, hundreds moved toward the site and the army opened fire,” eyewitness Abdallah Nour Al-Din said.

Outside the Nasser hospital, where the emergency workers brought the casualties, AFPTV footage showed mourners crying over blood-stained body-bags.

“I can’t see you like this,” said Lin Al-Daghma by her father’s body, while a man lay over his brother’s corpse.

They gave the same account as Din, and spoke of the struggle to access food aid after more than two months of a total Israeli blockade of Gaza, despite a recent easing.

Dozens of people have been killed near distribution points since late May, according to the civil defense.

Bassal said another five people, including two young girls, were killed around at 1:00 a.m. in a strike that hit a tent in the Al-Mawasi displaced persons camp in southern Gaza.


Israeli military hits Hamas member in southern Syria

Updated 08 June 2025
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Israeli military hits Hamas member in southern Syria

  • Israel and Syria have recently engaged in direct talks to calm tensions

CAIRO: The Israeli military said on Sunday that it struck a member of the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Syria’s Mazraat Beit Jin, days after Israel carried out its first airstrikes in the country in nearly a month.

Hamas did not immediately comment on the strike.

Israel said on Tuesday it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles toward Israel for the first time under the country’s new leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz held Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa accountable.

Damascus in response said reports of the shelling were unverified, reiterating that Syria does not pose a threat to any regional party.

A little known group named “Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades,” an apparent reference to Hamas’ military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024, reportedly claimed responsibility for the shelling. Reuters, however, could not independently verify the claim.

Israel and Syria have recently engaged in direct talks to calm tensions, marking a significant development in ties between states that have been on opposite sides of conflict in the Middle East for decade.