by AFP — BEIRUT: The judge investigating last year’s deadly Lebanon port blast on Monday rejected a request by MPs for more evidence before immunity for three ex-ministers can be waived, a judicial source said. Hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser exploded on the dockside at Beirut port last August 4, killing more than 200 people, injuring thousands and ravaging swathes of the capital. Afterwards, it emerged that officials had known about the explosive substance being stored there unsafely for years. Coming less than a month before the first anniversary of the tragedy, Monday’s move may mean a new standoff, with fears that the probe could be derailed by political interference. Earlier this month, lead judge Tareq Bitar said he had demanded that parliament lift the immunity of ex-finance minister Ali Hasan Khalil, former public works minister Ghazi Zaiter and ex-interior minister Nohad Machnouk. Bitar said he was looking at possible charges of “probable intent to murder” and “negligence”.

Deputy speaker Elie Ferzli said parliament’s administration and justice committee on Friday decided to “request all evidence available in the investigation, as well as all documents that prove suspicions”. He said the committee would reconvene once it had received a reply, to decide whether or not to waive immunity. On Monday, the judicial source said no further documents would be forthcoming. “The investigating judge rejected parliament’s request … In an official letter he explained that he had already handed over all the documents that needed to be handed over,” the source told AFP. – Protests – Lawyer and activist Nizar Saghieh said the committee’s request on Friday went against the separation of powers between the judiciary and the legislature, and “violated the confidentiality of the investigation”. “They’re just trying to buy time,” he alleged.

PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union said on Monday it wanted to agree by the end of July the legal framework for a sanctions regime targeting Lebanese leaders, but cautioned that the measure would not be immediately implemented. Led by France, the EU is seeking to ramp up pressure on Lebanon’s squabbling politicians after 11 months of a crisis that has left Lebanon facing financial collapse, hyperinflation, electricity blackouts, and fuel and food shortages. The move is part of broader international efforts to force a stable government capable of carrying out crucial reforms to emerge from nearly a year of political chaos and economic collapse following a blast that ravaged Beirut port. “I can say that the objective is to complete this by the end of the month. I am not talking about the implementation of the regime, just the building of the regime according to sound legal basis,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Brussels.

Nearly a year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and devastated swathes of the capital, Lebanon is still headed by a caretaker government. “Lebanon has been in self-destruct mode for several months,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Brussels. “Now there is a major emergency situation for a population that is in distress.” The EU first needs to set up a sanctions regime that could then see individuals hit by travel bans and asset freezes, although it may also decide to not list anybody immediately. Le Drian said there was now a consensus among the bloc’s 27 nations for a regime.

By Vivian Nereim and Donna Abu-Nasr — bloomberg.com — The sultan of Oman landed in Saudi Arabia on Sunday in the first visit by an Omani leader in over a decade, a sign of shifting alliances in the Persian Gulf as the kingdom reaches out to states with closer ties to regional rival Iran. Skyscrapers in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, were lit up in red and green, the colors of the Omani flag, to celebrate Sultan Haitham bin Tariq’s arrival. The visit to the city of Neom, where he was greeted by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, coincides with the opening of the first-ever land crossing connecting the countries as Oman tries to diversify trade routes. The Saudi cabinet also authorized officials to prepare and sign draft agreements with Oman in a slew of fields including commerce, culture, investment promotion and post and transport. “There’s been a lot of work behind the scenes to try to build the foundation of something much more significant between the Saudis and Omanis,” said Ayham Kamel, head of the Middle East and North Africa at the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. “Sultan Haitham is viewed in Riyadh as leaning toward Saudi in terms of Gulf affairs.”

A closer relationship could be an economic boon for Oman, which is struggling to diversify its economy away from oil. It also comes as Prince Mohammed reaches out to states once held at a distance over differences in their approach to Iran. Saudi Arabia has forged closer ties with Iraq, hosting the prime minister in March, and reconciled this year with Qatar — a Gulf neighbor it had a rancorous split from in 2017. Sponsored Content Resilience Through Digitalization and Sustainability Yokogawa At the same time, tensions have spiked between Saudi Arabia and another Gulf Cooperation Council neighbor, the United Arab Emirates, over differences on oil policy, geopolitical views and economic competition. “It’s almost a new crown prince who thinks about regional affairs differently,” Kamel said. “He’s much more interested in building a GCC-centric multifaceted relationship that does not rely only on one ally, which used to be the UAE, but builds on a much broader network of alliances.”

by ncregister.com — On July 1, leaders of Christian Churches of Lebanon — including heads of the Maronite, Melkite, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Chaldean, Syrian Catholic and evangelical communities — were gathered in Rome for a day of prayer and reflection with Pope Francis, in response to the devastating economic and political crisis in Lebanon. These religious leaders made special appeals to Lebanon’s citizens not to become discouraged and lose heart; to the political leaders to find solutions to the current economic, social and political crisis; to the Lebanese of the diaspora to serve the homeland; and to the members of the international community to undertake a joint effort to save Lebanon. In the words of Pope Francis, the intention of the gathering was that Lebanon “must remain a project of peace. Its vocation is to be a land of tolerance and pluralism, an oasis of fraternity where different religions and confessions meet, where different communities live together, putting the common good before their individual interests.”

Why Lebanon Is a Message

Prince Klemens von Metternich (1773-1859) was Austria’s foreign minister and architect of the “Concert of Europe” — a viable diplomatic system between the European Powers which kept Europe at peace for almost a century following the Napoleonic wars. Before sending his ambassador to Constantinople, Metternich instructed him: “Tell the Sultan, if there is war in Lebanon there will be war in the Levant, if there is peace in Lebanon there will be peace in the Levant.” The Austrian statesman and diplomat knew how to keep the equilibrium and balance of powers to ensure peace and stability. He understood that a peaceful Lebanon contributed to a peaceful and stable region, but an explosive region would sooner or later come back to haunt the territorial integrity of Lebanon, the Christian presence in the region and the coexistence among its religious communities.

باريس ـ بشارة غانم البون

“حدث نادر شهدته عاصمة الكثلكة التي انشغلت دوائرها الفاتيكانية بيوم لبناني طويل قلّما عرفته في السابق”. هكذا يُعلّق ديبلوماسي عتيق، خبير بشؤون الكرسي الرسولي على مدى اكثر من ثلاثين عاماً، على الساعات العشر التي خصّصها البابا فرنسيس لـ”لبنان الحبيب الذي احمله في قلبي”، على حد قوله.

وقد سجلت الأوساط المتابعة لملف العلاقات الفاتيكانية – اللبنانية ملاحظات على هامش جلسات هذا اليوم الطويل، وأبرزها الآتي:

-اظهار مدى الاهتمام الشخصي للبابا فرنسيس ومدى التزام المؤسسات الفاتيكانية بلبنان “ليس فقط تعبيراً عن القلق الكبير على وجود شعب ومصيره بل أيضاً حرصاً على مستقبل

بلد صغير بحجمه وكبير برسالته”.

By Sunniva Rose — thenationalnews.com — US and French diplomats have attempted to pressure a reluctant Saudi Arabia to increase its involvement in Lebanon in what analysts described as an unprecedented effort to save the crisis-hit country from itself. But the outcome of their negotiations remains unclear apart from potentially delivering more in-kind humanitarian aid. Ambassadors Anne Grillo of France and Dorothy Shea of the US visited Saudi Arabia on Thursday to discuss Lebanon’s economic crisis and political paralysis. They said in a joint statement afterwards that the country desperately needed a “fully empowered government”. The international community has refused to bail out the cash-strapped state after decades of mismanagement and corruption, arguing that politicians should first bring in laws to increase transparency and accountability.

The failure of Lebanese leaders to act has led to severe electricity, water and medical shortages amid rapidly increasing inflation and poverty. The local currency is trading at more than 19,000 Lebanese pounds to the dollar – less than a tenth of its official value. Lebanon is without a fully functioning government and political bickering over the formation of a new one persists. The previous Cabinet resigned following the deadly blast that rocked Beirut’s port on August 4 last year. “We are providing a lot of emergency and humanitarian aid to Lebanon but we could do much more if the Lebanese shouldered their responsibilities,” a French diplomatic source told The National. The US embassy in Beirut was not immediately available for comment. Saudi Arabia has traditionally been financially supportive of Lebanon and aligned with its Sunni Muslim and pro-Western leaders. But it has distanced itself in recent years owing to increasing concerns about the power wielded by Hezbollah. The Shiite Muslim group is backed by Saudi Arabia’s regional archenemy, Iran.

يجتازُ لبنانُ أزمةً وجوديّةً بموازاةِ أزَماتِه المتعدِّدةِ تَستدعي أن نقاومَها ونَهزِمَها لئلّا يَتفكّكَ المجتمعُ اللبنانُّي ذاتيًّا من دون حاجةٍ إلى قرارٍ سياسيّ. صار لهذه الأزمةِ الوجوديّةِ ديناميّةٌ خاصّةٌ بها، ومسارٌ نفسانيٌّ مستقلٌ عن مسارِ الأزَمات الأخرى. اللبنانيّون ليسوا سعداءَ في حياتِهم. اِسْأَلُوا وجوهَهُم ووجومَهُم. اِسْأَلُوا عيونَهم ونظراتِهم. اِسْأَلُوا صَمتَهم وتهيبّوا غضبَهم. أفْقَدوهم مشيئةَ الحياةِ ليُحبِطوا إرادةَ الثورة، إذ لا ثورةَ من دونِ قابليّةِ الحياة. حتّى أنَّ الاستشهادَ هو دفاعٌ عن الحياة.

تلاشَت اللمْعةُ التي مَيّزت طلَّةَ اللبنانيّين وغمْزةَ لقاءاتِـهم. اختفَت علاماتُ الفرَحِ وبحيراتُ الابتسامة. إنْ فَرِحوا شَعَروا بحَياءٍ تجاه الآخَرين، وإن حَزِنوا أحَسّوا بالظلمِ لأنّهم أبناءَ الفرحِ يُدعَوْن. كالوَشْم، نُقِشَت صورةُ المرفأِ المتفَجِّرِ على جِباهِهم وتَسرَّبَت إلى الضمير؛ فانْطَووا على ذواتِهم واعتذَروا من البهجَة. ليس بالانكفاءِ يَتِمُّ تخطّي الصعوبات، بل بالمواجهةِ الشاملةِ طالما أنَّ الأزمةَ شاملة. لكن، أين قادةُ المواجهة؟ جميعُهم أصبحوا تسوويّين، حتى الّذين يَدّعون الثورةَ والتغييرَ يخافون قولَ الحقيقةِ. الـــ”نَعَمُ” لديهم باهتةٌ والـ”لا” باردة. تأقَلموا مع الطموحاتِ السياسيّةِ وتَغافلوا عن النضالِ من أجلِ الطموحاتِ الوطنيّة. ومنهم من فَضّلَ السفاراتِ على الساحات.

يَشعُر اللبنانيّون بامتِعاضٍ مُبهَمٍ. يَتحدّثون عنه ويَعجَزون عن تحديدِه. يأتي ويَروح. يَكبُر ويَصغُر. لا يَعرِفون مصدرَه: أطَلعَ منهم أم دَخلَ إليهم؟ أهي ضِيقةٌ مادّيةٌ أم ضيقةٌ نفسيّةٌ أم ضيقةٌ حضارية؟ أيَستَدْعون طبيبًا، أم يَجلِسون بقربِ حبيبٍ، أم يَلوذون بالعائلة، والعائلةُ مُشتتَّةٌ في مشارقِ الدنيا ومغاربِها؟ ظّنوا أنّهم بالحركةِ والرياضة، بالانشغالِ والعمل، بالترفيهِ والقراءة، بالسفرِ والهِجرةِ، يَطردون تلك الضيقةَ الغريبة، لكنّها سُرعانَ ما تُعود إليهم ولو بَلغوا الصين… خالُوها انتقلَت إليهم مع وباءِ كورونا، لكنّهم أخذوا اللَقاحَ مرّةً ومرّتين وثلاثًا، وبَقيَت الضيقةُ جاثمةً على العقلِ والقلبِ والصدرِ وعلى مفاصلِ العافية تتحدّى عزيمتَهم الأسطوريّةَ وصمودَهم التاريخيَّ وقدرَتَهم على التكيّفِ مع المصائب.

By CHRISTOPHER HAMILL-STEWART — arabnews.com — LONDON: Hezbollah has used its financial backers in Iran and its significant military arsenal to “permeate the Lebanese state,” according to a paper launched this week. The paper — authored by Lina Khatib, director of London-based think tank Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa program, and launched at an online event on Thursday attended by Arab News — details how Hezbollah morphed from a resistance group against Israeli occupation to a hybrid power holding the Lebanese state in an ideological stranglehold. “Hezbollah has spread its influence throughout the Lebanese state, from the presidency of the republic to representative political institutions and the civil service, as well as Lebanon’s military and security institutions,” the paper said. “This influence is due to a number of factors: Hezbollah’s benefiting from a reliable external patron — Iran — unlike other parties in Lebanon; Hezbollah’s capacity in terms of organization, funding, physical resources and numbers of followers, which dwarfs that of other Lebanese parties.” Other means used by Hezbollah, the paper said, include the “weakness of the Lebanese state” and the existence of “a political system based on elite pacts.”

Khatib told event attendees that she urges analysts, particularly in the West, to take a “nuanced” approach to understanding the relationship between Lebanon and Hezbollah. “While Hezbollah is a contributing factor to the weakness of the Lebanese state, it’s also a product of the political system in Lebanon,” she said. “As long as the current political system in Lebanon continues to exist, it won’t be possible to reverse Hezbollah’s sway over the Lebanese state.” Khatib said the characterization of Hezbollah as a “state within a state” — popular in academic and policymaking circles — is inaccurate. This characterization “implies that Hezbollah is operating in a way that’s completely detached from the Lebanese state at large. Instead, what I argue is that Hezbollah permeates the state in Lebanon,” she added. “And when we say ‘the state,’ I’m not just talking about the state institutions, I’m also talking about the state as the space for the contestation of power in Lebanon. “This, I think, is vividly illustrated by how Hezbollah, unlike other groups in Lebanon … has surveillance capacities. That means it’s monitoring not just what happens inside state institutions, but it’s monitoring its allies and its opponents in all kinds of arenas: Cultural, social, education, economic. This is something that gives it a huge tactical advantage.”

By Bassam Zacca — arabnews.com — BEIRUT: As Lebanon is increasingly plagued by power outages as a result of the fuel crisis in the country, the blackouts are affecting all sections of society. Status and official standing offer little protection, with politicians and foreign diplomats just as vulnerable as residents and business owners. On Friday morning, two of the nation’s main power plants stopped working completely because of a lack of fuel. This had a knock-on effect on water supplies, as pumping stations cannot operate without electricity or fuel for back-up generators. Since Thursday, power supplies have failed across Bekaa, Tripoli, Saida, Sour, Nabateyye, Baabda, Mount Lebanon and Beirut, with blackouts now affecting more than 90 percent of the country. One of the people feeling the effects was Takeshi Okubo, the Japanese ambassador to Lebanon, who wrote on social media about his fears for the effects of the electricity crisis on healthcare. “Electric power supply is down at my residence since early morning,” he said in a message posted on Twitter. “I was told no prospect of resumption of power supply. My thought is with all the hospitals and clinics.” Within a short space of time his tweet had received more than 747 likes, been retweeted 133 times and attracted more than 55 replies.

Firas Abiad, the CEO and manager of Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH), recently said on Twitter that the main concern at most hospitals in Lebanon now is not the threat posed by the Delta variant of the coronavirus, nor shortages of medical supplies. “The major worry now is electricity, without which medical equipment cannot work,” he wrote. “Old generators cannot continue running nonstop. When they break down, lives will be at risk.” Abiad also sent a letter to government ministers about of the dire consequences of the fuel crisis and blackouts, warning that “backup generators won’t hold up for long amid this recurring and serious crisis.” He noted, for example, that the RHUH has already been forced to switch off air coolers in non-medical wards and some other departments.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Lebanese Interior minister Fahmi has denied a request by the judge probing the Beirut port explosion to question a top security official, a document seen by Reuters on Friday showed, as attempts to deliver justice over the catastrophe continue to flounder. Nearly a year after the Aug. 4 explosion, which killed more than 200 people, wounded thousands and devastated swathes of the capital, many Lebanese are furious that no senior officials have been held to account. The blast was caused by a massive quantity of explosive chemicals that had been stored unsafely at the port for years. The request from Judge Tarek Bitar to question Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of the powerful General Security agency, was rejected by caretaker interior minister Mohamed Fahmy in a letter to the justice minister.

In a statement, Ibrahim said he was subject to the law like all Lebanese, but the probe should take place “far away from narrow political considerations”. Bitar became the lead investigator into the blast after his predecessor, Judge Fadi Sawan, was removed in February following requests from two former ministers he had charged with negligence over the blast. Sawan had charged three ex-ministers and the outgoing prime minister Hassan Diab with negligence. But they refused to be questioned as suspects, accusing him of overstepping his powers. A parliamentary committee convened on Friday to study a request by Bitar for immunity to be lifted from former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, former Public Works Minister Ghazi Zeaiter and former Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk. After being charged, Diab said his conscience was clear, Khalil said he had no role in the blast, and Zeaiter called the charges “a blatant violation”. Machnouk has also denied any responsibility.