by english.alaraby.co.uk -- Israel’s state broadcaster has hosted controversial Lebanese writer and journalist Maria Maalouf on its Arabic-language service Kann News, in the first ever appearance of a Lebanese woman on Israeli TV. In her interview, Maalouf - who is well-known for her strong anti-Hezbollah stance - said: “Hassan Nasrallah and Iran’s party in Lebanon have taken the state hostage and returned it to the stone age. The recent crisis with Saudi Arabia demonstrates that Hezbollah has alienated Lebanon from its Arab surroundings”. “I’ve told Nasrallah that he is a murderer, that he has killed the children of Yemen, Syria, and Iraq... and our citizens in the port of Beirut”, she added. Maalouf informed viewers that she plans to visit Israel, adding that she has had positive interactions with American Jews who she has found to be "loving towards others... unlike the Palestinians who are only interested in taking Arab money”.

The YouTube clip of Maria Maalouf’s interview has since been removed from Kann News’ official page, but recordings can still be found online. In response to her comments, lawyer Ghassan al-Mawli - representing a number of former Lebanese prisoners who served sentences in Israeli jails - has filed a case against Maalouf in a Lebanese military court “for the crime of communicating and collaborating with the Israeli enemy”. Maria Maalouf began her career as a host of mainstream political programmes on Lebanese television. In 2017, she made headlines for calling on Israel to assassinate Nasrallah, and again in 2020 after insisting “Palestine is not my struggle” in the wake of the UAE-Israel normalisation deal. Maalouf now resides in the United States, where she works for Hawas TV. No peace agreement exists between Israel and Lebanon and media appearances by Lebanese citizens on Israeli TV, and vice-versa, are extremely rare.

By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati was on Friday awaiting the results of behind-the-scenes consultations aimed at bridging the gap within his government and mending ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, after they severed diplomatic and economic ties with Beirut in protest over statements made by Information Minister George Kordahi. MP Ali Darwish, a member of Mikati’s parliamentary bloc, told Arab News: “Through the roadmap that Mitaki announced on Thursday, he put forward an initiative to defuse the crisis." Darwish stressed that Mikati “is a moderate man by nature over whom there is consensus, which is essential in a country like Lebanon, so it is crucial for him to carefully and wisely handle issues.” Mikati had once again called on Kordahi to “follow his conscience and prioritize national interest.” Kordahi, however, is refusing to resign from the government.

Speaking about the possibility of Mikati’s government falling if Kordahi and his political team stand firm, Darwish said: “Mikati understands the Lebanese situation and believes that as long as he is prime minister, he can help Lebanon maintain good relations with the Arab countries.” Darwish added: “If Mikati were to resign, Lebanon could face unimaginable consequences.” The MP also said the current government “is based on a formula that brings together all the Lebanese, and if we were to lose the executive authority, we would be stripping Lebanon of the decision-making authority.” Speaking on behalf of the anti-Hezbollah Sovereign Front, former Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said: “Hezbollah formed governments based on its interests, controlled the state and took it hostage for Iran’s sake.” He called on Mitaki to resign, saying: “You are the prime minister of a dysfunctional government, and the country does not need more Hezbollah governments.” Rifi noted: “This entire regime needs to leave, starting with the president from Hell, Michel Aoun. We need to steer away from the axis of evil, and justice must be applied.”

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s tourism minister unveiled a new slogan for the crisis-swept country on Thursday that aimed to portray the precarity of life there as a point of pride, roughly translating to “I love you in your madness”. Lebanon is suffering a financial and economic meltdown which the World Bank has labelled as one of the deepest depressions of modern history, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and a massive explosion at Beirut’s port that destroyed large parts of the city and killed more than 215 people. “This will be our touristic identity that the world will see,” Tourism Minister Walid Nassar said at a news conference with other senior ministers in Beirut. The slogan was developed cost-free for Lebanon by Dubai-based advertising company TBWA, he said. TBWA Chief Creative Officer Walid Kanaan said it was “near-impossible” to find ways to market a country in the grip of multi-layered economic and political crises, but that he had found inspiration in Lebanon’s people. “This is our country, a crazy country … crazy in its nightlife, crazy in its food and generosity. And no matter how crazy the situation in Lebanon is, we can only say, ‘we love you in your madness,'” Kanaan said, unveiling the slogan.

Originally a lyric in a song by Lebanese star singer Fairuz released before the outbreak of Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war, the new catchphrase will be displayed on planes of Lebanon’s national carrier Middle East Airlines and used in social media campaigns, Kanaan said. The official English translation will be “A crazy love.” Tourism, historically a major component of Lebanon’s economy, has dramatically declined since late 2019. Some 2 million tourists visited the country in 2018, according to the former tourism minister, while media reports citing official figures suggest that numbers fell to a few hundred thousand in 2020.