By Joyce Karam — thenationalnews.com — The head of Lebanon’s main intelligence agency has held talks with senior US officials in Washington to discuss resuming negotiations with Syria on the release of American hostages, including Austin Tice. Maj Gen Abbas Ibrahim, who heads Lebanon’s General Directorate of General Security, was flown to Washington on a private flight organised by the US government. He met with senior White House, State Department and intelligence officials in his first visit since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021. In an exclusive interview with The National on Tuesday, he said the release of Tice, a freelance journalist and former marine who disappeared while reporting in 2012, was a top item at talks.

Lebanon fosters unique role in freeing Western hostages “We discussed Mr Tice’s file and we agree that it has to make progress, but we have to see first how we can bridge the gap, how to bring the views closer between Washington and Damascus,” Maj Gen Ibrahim said. Maj Gen Ibrahim leads Lebanon’s most powerful security service after the military and has a reputation as a savvy negotiator who has helped to secure the release of US residents and citizens such as Sam Goodwin, a tourist who had been held in Syria, and Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese businessman with US permanent residency who was released from Iranian custody in 2019. He also successfully mediated the release of Canadian tourist Kristian Lee Baxter in 2019 after he was detained in December 2018 by Syrian authorities while on holiday. There is now the possibility that negotiations will pick up from where they left off at the end of former president Donald Trump’s term in November 2020. “We came very close during Mr Trump,” Maj Gen Ibrahim said.

By Scott Peterson — csmonitor.com — With a Lebanese flag draped over her shoulders, and optimism for political change filling her heart, Nisrine Hammoud joined hundreds of thousands of her fellow citizens on the streets during Lebanon’s “October Revolution” in 2019. “We feel like we are alive again,” she told the Monitor late one night at Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square back then, as protesters demanded the toppling of a political class renowned for corruption, and a total uprooting of the entrenched sectarian system that was leading to state collapse. An election was the “only chance” to make such change, Ms. Hammoud said. “It’s up to us. It’s up to the people to decide if they are going to go back to their old ways, or we are going to go forward.”

WHY WE WROTE THIS

Changing an entrenched system requires energy. While some in Lebanon voted last week to break with the past, most still voted for sectarian parties, an indication of fear and fatigue. That election finally came May 15, but with mixed results for activists like Ms. Hammoud. Pro-change candidates won a dozen or more of the 128 seats in Parliament, and Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies lost their majority, dropping from 71 to 58 seats. The result outstripped modest predictions for anti-establishment candidates, and so was lauded as a “breakthrough” by some Lebanese media. But it also showed the challenges of changing the country’s baked-in sectarian system at a time when people are worn down by the demands of survival. Indeed, popular disgruntlement has grown even more widespread following the Beirut port explosion in August 2020, and the further disintegration of the economy and services that has now left more than 70% of Lebanese living below the poverty line.

MP Farid Haykal el Khazen confirmed on Monday to LBCI that he is not an ally of Hezbollah and will remain independent within the National Bloc alliance, adding that when it comes to situations on the national level, he is committed to the constants of Patriarch Rai. He supports all of the arms to be […]

by Dr AmiraDr Amira Abo el-Fetouh — middleeastmonitor — The whole world has watched the parliamentary elections in Lebanon, as if they are taking place in their countries due to the nature of Lebanon and its important strategic location, adjacent to Israel, as well as the presence of Hezbollah, one of Iran’s most important arms in the region, given its overwhelming influence in Lebanon. This has made Lebanon into a State within a State, with Iran as the de facto ruler, holding the keys and the wheel of the government. This is in addition to the armed militia it possesses in the country, armed with missiles, weapons, military equipment and fighters, amounting to over 100,000 according to Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, who added that Iran pays them their pension, food, drink, treatment and housing; everything is provided by Iran. This is what caused the Lebanese people to say that Iran occupies Lebanon and that it needs to be liberated and gain independence from Iran. The Lebanese words are not coming out of nowhere, or merely words for the sake of words; it comes from their anger at Hezbollah’s infiltration of all parts of Lebanon. They were even backed by one of the Iranian political officials in Iran, who said, “Iran occupies four Arab capitals, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.” Hezbollah had previously stormed and occupied Beirut and Al-Jabal in the events of 7 May, 2008, with what was known as the “black shirts”.

Herein lies the importance of the recent parliamentary elections, which some considered a key stage in Lebanon, especially as they came amid a severe economic crisis, bank bankruptcy, loss of Lebanese deposits, increase in inflation rates, massive poverty and a significant decline in its national currency, which lost about 90 per cent of its value, causing the Lebanese people to become frustrated and refrain from participating in the elections and voting. The people have grown tired and disgusted with the ruling clique, which will be brought back in the elections. This is because the sect leaders do not change or step down until they die, and then their children inherit their seats, and they are recycled. This is why the participation rate in these elections was much lower this year, compared to the past elections in 2018, even amongst the Shia sect, despite Nasrallah and Berri urging their Shia supporters to participate in large numbers and tempting them with money.

By Najia Houssari — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities on Monday began removing concrete barriers around the country’s parliament building after the election of former protesters as MPs. The security measures had been put in place at the outbreak of massive anti-government protests in 2019. They are to be relaxed following the election of a dozen reformist newcomers to the 128-member legislature, including some who had taken part in the protest movement. Some of the new MPs had called for the restrictions to be eased before they attended the first session of the new parliament. Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi attended the start of the work yesterday afternoon. The clearing will be completed before the next parliament session is held, a statement from House Speaker Nabih Berri’s office said.

The move comes after the election of 15 MPs from the Forces of Change group, which was demonstrating in the streets around parliament, in addition to a number of independent MPs. Beirut MP Ibrahim Mneimneh, from the Forces of Change, said: “There is no need for the barriers placed around the people’s house because it is for the people. They are needless barriers.” He said that the measures decided by Berri were the result of the traditional ruling forces realizing “the decline of their popularity, so they decided to respond to the popular demands.”

MP Waddah Sadiq, a former protester, said the fences around parliament are a separation wall. “Today, parliament represents the people who demand change, so they decided to ease the procedures,” Sadiq sad. Sadiq said that the economic and living crises “are increasing, and people may turn to a state of rejection again. We need the pressure to address them.” He said that the previous government did not take any effective handling measures. The plan approved by the government included neither recovery nor economy, said the MP. “Therefore, we are entering a difficult phase and we will be on the side of the people.”

By Najia Houssari – arabnews.com — BEIRUT: Newly elected reformist MPs in Lebanon are planning strategies following election breakthroughs that grant them significant sway in the parliamentary balance of power. Thirteen reformist MPs in Lebanon who entered the legislative race on the values of the 2019 anti-establishment uprising, as well as 21 independent MPs, have entered the newly elected Lebanese Parliament. Analysts have added up MPs to figure out the size of the parliamentary blocs, which are divided between sovereign blocs and pro-Hezbollah groupings. Figures show that elected MPs may be positioned within 13 blocs divided into two opposite larger camps, forming the 128-MP Parliament.

The sovereign MPs can be classified based on their previous positions. A total of 68 MPs are opposed to Hezbollah. They include members from the Lebanese Forces Party, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Islamic Group and the Lebanese Phalanges Party, as well as independents and reformists. Meanwhile, the pro-Hezbollah camp includes the party itself, the Amal Movement, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Marada Movement, the Tashnaq Party and Al-Ahbash, for a total of about 60 MPs. There is much speculation about how the new independent MPs will deal with upcoming events, and how they will position themselves on the parliamentary map.

A political observer told Arab News: “We will see the true colors of every MP when topics related to core issues are discussed.” The observer added: “Will these MPs change their stance regarding Hezbollah’s illegal weapons, although some have avoided addressing this sensitive issue in the past? Will these MPs be able to form a unified bloc that can influence decisions within Parliament, or will they remain independent, each working alone?”

By Dale Gavlak — VOA News — AMMAN — Lebanon’s newly elected parliament begins its mandate Sunday, and one of its first acts is to elect a speaker and deputy speaker. The speaker position is held by a Shiite Muslim, and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri has headed the parliament since 1992. Observers say reformist lawmakers and others in the new legislature see Berri as part of the long-standing problem related to corruption and Iran-backed Hezbollah influence. Observers say that it is not just the more than a dozen independents and reformists along with 19 lawmakers from the Lebanese Forces, a mainly Christian party and critic of Hezbollah and Iran, that do not want long-standing speaker Nabih Berri to keep his post. Even President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement is against Berri’s nomination.

Habib Malik of the Lebanese American University tells VOA that this new parliament would like to see Berri, who has been around for nearly three decades, replaced by another Shiite leader. “An important milestone now will be the election of the speaker of the chamber. Nabih Berri, who has been there, is posed to want to return. There are mounting calls against him, and a lot of the new MPs will not vote for him. But here’s again where Hezbollah can play tricks and try to bring him,” he said. Dania Koleilat Khatib, with the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut, tells VOA that all the Shiite lawmakers are either from Berri’s Amal Movement political party or Hezbollah, so an independent Shiite lawmaker is unlikely. “Will they vote for Berri to become again as speaker of the parliament? They’re saying that Berri might now, just to save face — to say that he was outvoted — he will say that I will retire. He will suggest one of his people to be the speaker of the parliament. Someone, of course, that he can control 100%,” she said.

The false story published by tayyar.org about Cheikh Sari el Khazen is a typical example of a declining party that is failing in all aspects of national and political life. They are desperate to portray themselves as “victims” to generate new support. Their fabrication about Cheikh Sari el Khazen article and photoshops is both a […]

NNA – Head of the “Democratic Gathering” parliamentary bloc, MP Taymour Jumblatt, stressed today on “the continued struggle for Lebanon’s sovereignty to protect the state, our independent national decision, and our normal relations with the brotherly Arab countries.” “The elections are a new juncture that proves Lebanon’s democratic identity and diversity that many have tried […]

By Rawaa Talass — arabnews.com — DUBAI: For many Lebanese, the past can be a painful subject. A civil war destroyed large swaths of the country between 1975 and 1990. The postwar period has been marked by sectarian strife and government dysfunction. But in spite of the traumas of recent decades, Lebanon remains a land of immense cultural wealth, with a rich history reflected in its architectural, cultural and anthropological heritage. This is why the Beirut Museum of Art, or BeMA, which is due to open in 2026, has been billed as a “beacon of hope” in a country beset by political paralysis, economic decline and a worsening humanitarian crisis.

When Sandra Abou Nader and Rita Nammour launched the museum project, their goal was to showcase the wide diversity of Lebanese art and provide facilities for education, digitization, restoration, storage and artist-in-residency programs. “They realized that there was, in fact, very little visibility for the Lebanese artistic scene, within the country and abroad, and for Lebanese artists, whether modern or contemporary,” BeMA’s art consultant, Juliana Khalaf, told Arab News. About 700 works of art will be on display at the new venue, drawn from the Lebanese Ministry of Culture’s collection of more than 2,000 pieces, the bulk of which have been in storage for decades. “We are going to be housing this very important collection,” said Khalaf. “We call it the national collection and it belongs to the public. It’s our role to make it, for the very first time, accessible. It’s never been seen before.”