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US MEDIATOR HOLDS INDIRECT NEGOTIATIONS TO DEMARCATE SOUTHERN MARITIME BORDERS, SAYS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT MORE PROGRESS IN DEMARCATION FILE

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NNA - The US mediator tasked to hold indirect negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime border, Mr. Amos Hochstein, confirmed that the talks held with President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, and Prime Minister Najib Mikati, were very important, expressing his optimism in additional progress in the file of demarcating the southern maritime borders. Hochstein also hoped to return to the region soon to reach desired results. Mr. Hochstein’s positions were expressed in the one and a half hour meeting held with the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister. The meeting was attended by: US Ambassador in Beirut, Ms. Dorothy Shea, Senior Adviser to the American Mediator, Mrs. Nadine Zaatar, the Director of Transnational Affairs of the Middle East and North Africa at the US National Security Council Ms. Lindsey Merrill and US Embassy diplomat Harald Olchen. On the Lebanese side, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab, Director General of the Presidency of the Republic, Dr. Antoine Choucair, Director General of General Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim, Advisor to the Speaker of Parliament Dr. Ali Hamdan and diplomatic advisor to the President of the Republic, Ambassador Osama Khashab, attended.

Mr. Hochstein presented the outcome of the consultations held with Israeli officials regarding the issue of demarcating the southern maritime borders, and listened to a unified Lebanese position in accordance with the declared Lebanese constants. After the meeting, Speaker Berri was asked whether the meeting was positive, and he replied “God willing, all is good”. For his part, Premier Mikati, did not make any statement as he left Baabda Palace, making a positive hand gesture. On the other hand, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab said “The atmosphere is positive. The gap in the differences in this file has narrowed and the time period that separates us from the return of the American mediator to Beirut it will be short”. MP Bou Saab also pointed out that “Everyone was satisfied, and we are waiting to achieve what was discussed during the meeting, and God willing, we will see results in the next few weeks in this field”. In response to a question, Deputy Parliament Speaker Bou Saab indicated that “No one asked us to cut down the blocks and extend the pipes. Lebanon demanded its entire blocks and nothing changed in its position. Hochstein never offered us any sharing of wealth, blocks or profits with the Israeli enemy”.

Rahi: Fears of a huge fall if forces fail to elect a new President of the Republic

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NNA - Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, presided this morning over Sunday Mass service in Diman. In his religious homily, the Patriarch underlined that “dropping the new government formation issue cannot be accepted as it if were just a detail in the structure of the Lebanese state system, knowing that the Taif Agreement made the Council of Ministers, along with the Presidency of the Republic, the pivotal pillar and the center of the executive authority.” He added: “There is no value for appointing a new prime minister if it is not followed by cabinet formation...We are surprised that those involved in forming the government are belittling this matter, contrary to the Constitution and the Taif Agreement.” Al-Rahi stressed that “the formation of a new government is a sign of respect for the democratic system, ensuring the completion of the contract of constitutional institutions, the functioning of governance and the separation of powers, and the continuation of legitimacy through a government with full powers in the event of an obstacle, God forbid, with regards to electing a new President of the Republic.”

The Patriarch continued to consider that “the existence of a legitimate government gives the state the ability to negotiate with the Arab and international communities, to take decisions and sign treaties,” adding, “What we fear is that if the political forces are unable today to form a government, then tomorrow they will be unable to elect a new president...and hence the huge fall!” “But we hope and pray that it won't happen...” he said.

Referring to the incident involving Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj, Patriarch al-Rahi considered that it constitutes a test of the extent of separating between religion and state. “Some were complaining about the interference of sects in the state, while the state attacked a constituent sect and a religious cleric, known for his piety and service to the people, who ought to have been respected by the state by preserving his movement between Lebanon and his parish...Instead, they fabricated an incident, turned it into a case, and organized media campaigns to distort the image of the Archbishop and the Church's humanitarian and national mission...” He added: “We reaffirm that working with an ‘enemy country’ was never part of our culture, our spirit and our dignity. We are the first to respect and defend the laws, so we ask the authority to respect and abide by them. We are the first to respect and defend the judiciary, but we ask judges and judicial officials to respect the sanctity of the judiciary and liberate it from maliciousness and dependence on political and sectarian forces.”

Three U.S. Cardinals Issue Statement in Support of Maronite Bishops Moussa el Hage

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by adw.org -- Three United States Cardinals, who serve as Honorary Chairs of the Religious Advisory Board for In Defense of Christians, express fraternal solidarity WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the three (3) U.S. Cardinals who lead the Roman Catholic Archdioceses of Washington, D.C., New York and Galveston-Houston join with their Middle Eastern counterparts in a statement of support for the Maronite Bishops and Archbishop Moussa el-Hage, O.A.M., Maronite Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land, and Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem, Palestine and Jordan. Archbishop El-Hage was recently arrested, detained and interrogated by Lebanese authorities upon returning from his Episcopal See in Haifa. Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Galveston-Houston Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan currently serve as Honorary Chairs of the Religious Advisory Board for the organization, In Defense of Christians. In Defense of Christians is the nonpartisan human rights and advocacy organization advocating for a Middle East in which the rights of every person are protected and respected regardless of religious creed, and in which ancient and diverse Christian and other religious minority communities of the Middle East thrive peacefully in their native lands.

Today, the three Cardinals, as the In Defense of Christians Religious Advisory Board Honorary Chairs, issue the following statement in support of the Maronite Bishops: “We join with His Eminence Béchara Boutros Cardinal Raï, the Maronite people, and others in the international community; we stand in fraternal solidarity with Archbishop Moussa el-Hage, O.A.M., Maronite Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land, and Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem, Palestine and Jordan.

IBRAHIM DISCUSSES WITH HOCHSTEIN, SHEA DEMARCATION FILE DEVELOPMENTS

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by english.alarabiya.net -- US envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut Sunday to push talks to resolve a bitter maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel over Mediterranean waters with offshore gas fields. “Reaching a resolution is both necessary and possible, but can only be done through negotiations and diplomacy,” the US State Department said in a statement ahead of Hochstein's visit. Washington's envoy for global infrastructure and investment is “facilitating negotiations between Lebanon and Israel on the maritime boundary”, the statement added.

Hochstein met with Lebanon's Energy Minister Walid Fayad on Sunday, and was scheduled to meet with President Michel Aoun and prime minister Najib Mikati the following day. The maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel escalated in early June, after Israel moved a production vessel to the Karish offshore field, which is partly claimed by Lebanon. The move prompted Beirut to call for the resumption of US-mediated negotiations on the demarcation dispute. Lebanon and Israel have no diplomatic relations and are separated by a UN-patrolled border. They had resumed maritime border negotiations in 2020 but the process was stalled by Beirut's claim that the map used by the United Nations in the talks needed modifying. Lebanon initially demanded 860 square kilometres (330 square miles) of territory in the disputed maritime area but then asked for an additional 1,430 square kilometres, including part of the Karish field. Israel claims that the field lies in its waters and is not part of the disputed area subject to ongoing negotiations.

Lebanese Face Long “Offensive” Queues To Buy Bread

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By AFP -- In bankrupt Lebanon, Khalil Mansour has to queue for hours every day just to buy bread for his family, and some days he can’t afford it. In a country that was once nicknamed the “Switzerland of the Middle East” for its thriving banking sector before the financial crisis hit in 2019, the chronic lack of staples of the Lebanese diet was hard to bear. Lebanon defaulted on its national debt in 2020 and its currency has lost around 90 percent of its black market value.

The World Bank has branded the financial crisis as one of the worst since the 19th century, while the United Nations now estimates that four out of five Lebanese live below the poverty line. Faced with calls from international creditors for painful reforms in exchange for the release of new aid funds, the embattled government has been forced to end subsidies on most essential commodities — though not yet on wheat. The price of subsidized bread has increased, albeit less than without subsidies, but bakeries have started to ration staples. A bag of flat Arabic pita-like bread now officially sells for 13,000 Lebanese pounds (43 US cents). It costs more than 30,000 on the black market. “Last week I had to go three days without bread because I can’t afford to pay 30,000,” said Mansour, 48.

For Mansour and most Lebanese, buying bread means standing in long queues outside bakeries for hours, and sometimes by the time it’s their turn, the bakeries have run out of bread. “Today I queued for three hours, yesterday two and a half. What now?” Mansour said on Friday outside a bakery in Beirut. “I have to support my family. What else can I do?” asked Mansour, who earns the equivalent of $50 a month in a pastry shop.

Lebanon doubts Ukraine claim of stolen grain on Syrian ship

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By KAREEM CHEHAYEB -- BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon appeared Friday to reject claims by the Ukrainian Embassy in Beirut that a Syrian ship docked in a Lebanese port is carrying Ukrainian grain stolen by Russia, following an inspection by Lebanese customs officials. A senior Lebanese customs official told The Associated Press that there was “nothing wrong" with the cargo of the Laodicea, which docked in the Lebanese port of Tripoli on Thursday, and that its papers were in order. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The controversy surrounding the ship has underscored how Lebanon, a tiny Mediterranean country bordering Syria, has been in the crosshairs of Russia’s months-long war in Ukraine. The Laodicea is carrying 5,000 tons of flour and 5,000 tons of barley that Ukraine's Embassy in Beirut says was illegally taken by Russia. After the embassy raised the alarm, Lebanese authorities initiated an investigation. The Russian Embassy, meanwhile, has told Lebanese media that the Ukrainian claim was “baseless.”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury had sanctioned the Laodicea in 2015 for its affiliation with the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad. According to the Ukrainian Embassy, the Laodicea is among scores of vessels that Kyiv alleges transported grain stolen by Russia. An embassy statement Friday said the ship had turned off its AIS tracking system in the Black Sea for 10 days, after docking earlier this month in Russia-controlled Crimea's port of Feodosia. There, the embassy said, it was “loaded with barley and wheat flour illegally exported from the territories of Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Kherson” in Ukraine — areas taken by Russia in the war.

Protesters storm bakeries, pastry shops as Lebanon’s food crisis deepens

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By Najia Houssari -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Angry citizens on Wednesday stormed bakeries and pastry shops in Lebanon as the country’s food crisis deepened. Long queues formed outside many stores with residents waiting impatiently in searing heat for subsidized bundles of bread. As stocks and tempers ran short, many people opted to buy other bakery products, some priced at 40,000 Lebanese pounds ($1.5) for 10 thin loaves. Others vented their frustrations by taking to social media platforms, blaming politicians and bakeries for the problem while slamming mafia organizations for selling subsidized flour on the black market and smuggling it to Syria.

In some places, soldiers were forced to intervene, removing protesters from shops, and defusing heated arguments between queueing customers. Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam said: “Around 49,000 tons of wheat are expected to arrive in Lebanon by the end of this week. Hopefully the ships will arrive faster. The crisis is the result of flour being stolen from our country. “A crisis cell headed by the economy ministry will be formed and a new mechanism will be set up for distributing wheat and flour fairly, and prosecuting those creating the crisis.” Lebanon’s inability to secure US dollars to continue subsidizing medicines, wheat, and fuel, on Wednesday resulted in petrol prices rising by 14,000 Lebanese pounds to reach 617,000 pounds per 20 liters.

Georges Brax, a member of the gas station owners’ syndicate, said: “The central bank used to secure 100 percent of the US dollars needed to import fuel, according to its Sayrafa platform rate. Now it provides only 85 percent. The remaining 15 percent needs to be secured based on the black-market rate.” Fadi Abu Shakra, a representative of the union for fuel distributors and gas stations in Lebanon, said: “We keep going backward. If the issue is not resolved, I don’t know where we could be heading.” At its Wednesday meeting, a ministerial committee set up to address the repercussions of the financial crisis on public facilities and headed by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, reiterated its previous recommendations to meet the demands of public sector employees, who have been on strike for more than a month, pending the approval of the 2022 budget and avoiding any burden on the state treasury.