Hezbollah threats undermine unity of Lebanese government

Demonstrators wave Lebanese flags during protests near the site of a blast at Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 11, 2020. (Reuters)
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Updated 14 October 2021
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Hezbollah threats undermine unity of Lebanese government

  • Judge Tarek Bitar’s efforts to hold senior officials to account for suspected negligence are facing mounting political pushback

BEIRUT: The Cabinet session that was scheduled for Wednesday has been adjourned as ministers were at odds following the speech of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, the presidency’s media office announced on Wednesday.

The announcement came following consultations between President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati after Nasrallah’s speech, in which he insisted on removing Judge Tarek Bitar, who is leading the investigation into the Beirut port blast.

The ministers of Hezbollah, the Amal Movement and the Marada Movement threatened to suspend their participation in the Cabinet.

According to a government source, these ministers believe that “Bitar was appointed in virtue of a decree and can thus be removed in virtue of another one.”

Aoun’s ministers and those from the Free Patriotic Movement who support Bitar have hit back, arguing that “it is not possible to remove him from the case like this, based on the principle of the separation of powers.”

Officials have stepped up their communications in an attempt to find a compromise that takes into account legal and constitutional principles.

A judicial source told Arab News: “The government issued a decree referring the crime to the Supreme Judicial Council; it did not appoint the judicial investigator. The Minister of Justice together with the Supreme Judicial Council did, and no political party has the right to take Bitar off the case.”

On Wednesday, Bitar headed to the Palace of Justice in Beirut to wait for the Court of Cassation to decide on a request to dismiss him from the case, but none of the court’s judges appeared at the Palace of Justice.

Protesters organized a sit-in in front of the Palace of Justice in Beirut in support of Bitar. A protester told Arab News: “We do not understand Nasrallah’s attack against the judiciary. What is behind this fear of the results of the investigations into the port explosion?”

Hezbollah and Amal supporters called for demonstrations on Thursday “to denounce Bitar’s actions.”

These escalating tensions could lead to a face-off between protesters in the streets. This approach was adopted following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 when Hezbollah did not recognize the Special Tribunal for the Lebanese, nor its verdicts, and refused to hand over any of the accused.

Hezbollah brought Washington into its criticism of the port explosion investigation, with MP Hassan Fadlallah releasing a statement on Wednesday that said the US State Department’s position on the probe is “a direct intervention in the investigations to divert them from the right track, in order to keep them within the US political agenda to settle scores with the resistance and its allies in Lebanon.”

The State Department urged the Lebanese authorities “to complete a swift and transparent investigation into the horrific explosion in the Port of Beirut. The victims of the August 2020 port explosion deserve justice; they deserve accountability. We support Lebanon’s judicial independence. Judges must be free from threats and intimidation, including Hezbollah’s.”

The department added in a press briefing: “We’ve long been clear that Hezbollah’s terrorists and illicit activities threaten Lebanon’s security, stability, and sovereignty. Hezbollah, we believe, is more concerned with its own interests and those of its patron, Iran, than in the best interests of the Lebanese people.”

Bitar had suspended his inquiry into the explosion on Tuesday after being notified of a dismissal request from the defendants, MP Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter, as part of the pressure exerted on him.

Minutes before he halted his inquiry, Bitar issued an arrest warrant in absentia against Khalil for refusing to appear for questioning on Tuesday.

Hezbollah and the politicians who are accused of “negligence and causing the death and injury of hundreds of people,” are insisting on a trial before the Supreme Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers instead of the Supreme Judicial Council.

On Wednesday, the head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, called on those who are subject to Hezbollah’s intimidation to “immediately resign, starting with the president — who is supposed to be vigilant about respecting the Constitution — the prime minister and the government.”

The solidarity of the Lebanese government did not last long, with division breaking out at its first real test.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese pound was being traded at 21,000 pounds to the dollar on the black market. This devaluation affected fuel prices, chaos prevailed in markets, and public transportation drivers threatened to take to the streets.

In a brief report published on Wednesday, the World Bank warned of the Lebanese authority’s “ambiguity in terms of the solutions it is putting together, and the Central Bank’s reluctance to explain the details of its plans and perceptions.”

The World Bank expressed fears of “the ongoing depletion of the Central Bank’s reserves, albeit at slower rates.”

The report expected “a further deterioration in economic indicators related to the direct living situation and an increase in the proportion of groups suffering under poverty in all its dimensions.”

 


Bahrain elected to Arab seat at UN Security Council for 2026-2027, succeeding Algeria

Updated 11 sec ago
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Bahrain elected to Arab seat at UN Security Council for 2026-2027, succeeding Algeria

NEW YORK CITY: The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday elected Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia to the 15-member UN Security Council for two-year terms starting on Jan. 1, 2026.

The Security Council is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions such as imposing sanctions and authorizing use of force. It has five permanent veto-wielding members: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

The remaining 10 members are elected, with five new members joining every year. Bahrain, Colombia, the DRC, Latvia, and Liberia — who were all elected in uncontested slates — will replace Algeria, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Guyana and Slovenia.

To ensure geographical representation, seats are allocated to regional groups. But even if candidates are running unopposed in their group, they still need to win the support of more than two-thirds of the General Assembly.

Bahrain received 186 votes, DRC 183 votes, Liberia 181 votes, Colombia 180 votes and Latvia 178 votes.

The General Assembly on Monday elected former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock as president of the 193-member body for its 80th session, which begins in September.


Jordan condemns Israeli settler incursion into Al-Aqsa, reaffirms responsibility for mosque

Updated 35 min 41 sec ago
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Jordan condemns Israeli settler incursion into Al-Aqsa, reaffirms responsibility for mosque

  • Hundreds of Israeli settlers entered Al-Aqsa compound in the Old City, which is part of occupied East Jerusalem
  • Jordanian Foreign Ministry said settler incursion would not be possible without protection, facilitation of Israeli police

LONDON: The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by extremist Israeli settlers, describing the action as provocative.

On Monday and Tuesday, hundreds of Israeli settlers entered the compound in the Old City, which is part of occupied East Jerusalem. The ministry described the setters’ behavior as “inflammatory acts that aim to impose new temporal and spatial divisions at the mosque.”

Settlers regularly tour the site under the protection of Israeli police and are often accompanied by government officials and far-right ministers.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah said that the settlers’ incursion “would not be possible without the protection and facilitation of the Israeli police,” demanding that the Israeli authorities “halt their irresponsible and dangerous practices.”

On Tuesday, some settlers performed Talmudic rituals in Al-Aqsa compound known as “epic prostration,” in which the worshipper bows low to the ground in a display of humility and reverence, the Petra news agency reported.

Qudah emphasized that the 144-dunam area of Al-Aqsa Mosque is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims. He highlighted that the Jerusalem Endowments Council, which operates under Jordan’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, is the only legal authority responsible for managing and regulating Al-Aqsa’s affairs, Petra added.


Palestinian appeals for blood donations unanswered in Gaza due to widespread hunger, malnutrition

Updated 03 June 2025
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Palestinian appeals for blood donations unanswered in Gaza due to widespread hunger, malnutrition

  • Nearly 2 million Palestinians face imminent risk of widespread hunger as Israel has mostly restricted access to sufficient humanitarian aid
  • Hospitals across Gaza are experiencing a critical shortage of essential medications, surgical supplies, and diagnostic imaging equipment

LONDON: Palestinian medics are facing challenging conditions while treating patients and the injured in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing Israeli attacks in the coastal enclave.

Health and medical staff have reported to the Wafa news agency that their appeals for community blood donations have gone largely unanswered due to widespread hunger and malnutrition, while life-saving resources are rapidly depleting in many hospitals.

Nearly 2 million Palestinians face an imminent risk of widespread hunger as Israel has mostly restricted access to sufficient humanitarian aid since it resumed its military actions in March.

Hospitals across Gaza are experiencing a critical shortage of essential medications, surgical supplies, and diagnostic imaging equipment, hindering doctors from carrying out emergency procedures necessary to save lives, Wafa added.

Operating rooms, intensive care units, and emergency departments are struggling under the pressure of a growing number of critically injured patients, and fuel is running out to generate power.

On Monday, Palestinian medical sources in Gaza revealed that 41 percent of kidney failure patients have died since October 2023 amid ongoing Israeli attacks and restrictions on humanitarian and medical aid.

Israeli forces destroyed the Noura Al-Kaabi Dialysis Center in northern Gaza over the weekend, one of the few specialized facilities providing kidney dialysis to 160 patients.


UN chief urges Yemen’s Houthis to release aid workers

Updated 03 June 2025
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UN chief urges Yemen’s Houthis to release aid workers

  • “I renew my call for their immediate and unconditional release,” Guterres said
  • “The UN and its humanitarian partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates”

DUBAI: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday demanded Yemen’s Houthi militants release dozens of aid workers, including UN staff, a year after their arrest.

The Iran-backed militants, who control much of the war-torn country, detained 13 UN personnel and more than 50 employees of aid groups last June.

“I renew my call for their immediate and unconditional release,” Guterres said in a statement issued by the office of his special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg.

“The UN and its humanitarian partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates for the benefit of the people they serve,” he added.

A decade of civil war has plunged Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with more than half of the population relying on aid.

The arrests prompted the United Nations to limit its deployments and suspend activities in some regions of the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country.

The Houthis at the time claimed an “American-Israeli spy cell” was operating under the cover of aid groups — an accusation firmly rejected by the UN.

Guterres also lamented the “deplorable tragedy” of the death in detention of a World Food Programme staffer in February.

The Houthis have kidnapped, arbitrarily detained and tortured hundreds of civilians, including aid workers, during their war against a Saudi-led coalition supporting the beleaguered internationally recognized government.


Lebanon on bumpy road to public transport revival

Updated 03 June 2025
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Lebanon on bumpy road to public transport revival

  • Public buses, now equipped with GPS tracking, have been slowly making a come back

BEIRUT: On Beirut’s chaotic, car-choked streets, Lebanese student Fatima Fakih rides a shiny purple bus to university, one of a fleet rolled out by authorities to revive public transport in a country struggling to deliver basic services.
The 19-year-old says the spacious public buses are “safer, better and more comfortable,” than the informal network of private buses and minivans that have long substituted for mass transport.
“I have my bus card — I don’t have to have money with me,” she added, a major innovation in Lebanon, where cash is king and many private buses and minivans have no tickets at all.
Lebanon’s public transport system never recovered from the devastating 1975-1990 civil war that left the country in ruins, and in the decades since, car culture has flourished.
Even before the economic crisis that began in 2019 — plunged much of the population into poverty and sent transport costs soaring — the country was running on empty, grappling with crumbling power, water and road infrastructure.
But public buses, now equipped with GPS tracking, have been slowly returning.
They operate along 11 routes — mostly in greater Beirut but also reaching north, south and east Lebanon — with a private company managing operations. Fares start at about 80 cents.


Passengers told AFP the buses were not only safer and more cost-effective, but more environmentally friendly.
They also offer a respite from driving on Lebanon’s largely lawless, potholed roads, where mopeds hurtle in all directions and traffic lights are scarce.
The system officially launched last July, during more than a year of hostilities between Israel and militant group Hezbollah that later slammed the brakes on some services.
Ali Daoud, 76, who remembers Lebanon’s long-defunct trains and trams, said the public bus was “orderly and organized” during his first ride.
The World Bank’s Beirut office told AFP that Lebanon’s “reliance on private vehicles is increasingly unsustainable,” noting rising poverty rates and vehicle operation costs.
Ziad Nasr, head of Lebanon’s public transport authority, said passenger numbers now averaged around 4,500 a day, up from just a few hundred at launch.
He said authorities hope to extend the network, including to Beirut airport, noting the need for more buses, and welcoming any international support.
France donated around half of the almost 100 buses now in circulation in 2022.
Consultant and transport expert Tammam Nakkash said he hoped the buses would be “a good start” but expressed concern at issues including the competition.
Private buses and minivans — many of them dilapidated and barrelling down the road at breakneck speed — cost similar to the public buses.
Shared taxis are also ubiquitous, with fares starting at around $2 for short trips.
Several incidents of violence targeted the new public buses around their launch last year.


Student and worker Daniel Imad, 19, said he welcomed the idea of public buses but had not tried them yet.
People “can go where they want for a low price” by taking shared taxis, he said before climbing into a one at a busy Beirut intersection.
Public transport could also have environmental benefits in Lebanon, where climate concerns often take a back seat to daily challenges like long power blackouts.
A World Bank climate and development report last year said the transport sector was Lebanon’s second-biggest contributor to greenhouse gas and air pollution, accounting for a quarter of emissions, only behind the energy sector.
Some smaller initiatives have also popped up, including four hybrid buses in east Lebanon’s Zahle.
Nabil Mneimne from the United Nations Development Programme said Lebanon’s first fully electric buses with a solar charging system were set to launch this year, running between Beirut and Jbeil (Byblos) further north.
In the capital, university student Fakih encouraged everyone to take public buses, “also to protect the environment.”
Beirut residents often complain of poor air quality due to heavy traffic and private, diesel-fueled electricity generators that operate during power outages.
“We don’t talk about this a lot but it’s very important,” she said, arguing that things could improve in the city “if we all took public transport.”