Lebanon’s top diplomat expected to step down

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by aljazeera.com -- In a television interview on Monday, Wehbe Lebanese Foreign Minister, Top diplomat appeared to blame Gulf nations for the rise of the ISIL (ISIS) armed group in the Levant region. “Those countries of love, friendship and fraternity, they brought us Islamic State,” he told Alhurra, without naming the countries. Wehbe made the comment during a verbal duel with a Saudi guest on the show, who blamed Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun for “handing over” his country to the Lebanese Shia movement, Hezbollah, which is backed by Riyadh’s rival Tehran. The Saudi foreign ministry strongly condemned Wehbe’s “insulting” remarks, saying they were “inconsistent with the simplest diplomatic norms”. The ministry “summoned the Lebanese ambassador to express the kingdom’s rejection and denunciation” of his comments, said the statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency. Wehbe apologised on Tuesday, saying he did not mean to offend “brotherly Arab countries”. In a separate statement, Nayef al-Hajraf, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), demanded a formal apology from Wehbe to Gulf states for his “unacceptable” remarks.

by alarabiya.net -- Joseph Haboush -- Lebanon’s top diplomat is expected to step down from his position this week, a senior Foreign Ministry official said late Tuesday, hours after the minister accused Gulf countries of supporting ISIS in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Charbel Wehbe, who is currently the foreign minister in a caretaker capacity, unleashed a reckless diatribe against Saudi Arabia and the Gulf during a televised interview with Al-Hurra on Monday.. Following public backlash from Lebanese officials, politicians and the public, Wehbe will now “probably announce that he’s stepping down,” the ministry official told Al Arabiya English. Beirut has already been reeling from strained ties with the Gulf due to Hezbollah’s increased influence and role in state institutions following the election of President Michel Aoun, an ally of the Iran-backed group, in 2016.

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Italy and UNESCO sign €1 million agreement to restore Beirut’s Sursock museum damaged in port blasts

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By LAMA ALHAMAWI -- arabnews.com -- RIYADH: Italy and the UN’s cultural arm have signed a €1 million ($1.21 million) funding agreement to renovate one of Beirut’s most famous museums. Located in a historic villa in Achrafieh, the Sursock Museum was severely damaged in the Beirut port blasts last August. The building houses more than 1,500 works of art along with other valuable collections. The memorandum of understanding was signed by the Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Marina Sereni and the director of UNESCO’s Beirut office, Costanza Farina, in the presence of the chairman of the museum’s board of trustees, Dr. Tarek Mitri. The Sursock Museum suffered severe damage during the Beirut Port blast. (AFP/File) “We firmly believe that culture and the protection of heritage are needed in times of crisis, more than ever,” Sereni said. “To this end, the Lebanese population can continue counting on the support and the partnership of the Italian Government and its people.”

The cost of restoring the museum has been estimated at nearly €2.5 million with France already giving €500,000 to replace the smashed stained-glass windows and wood-lined Arab salon. The new funding will come through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and be used under UNESCO’s Li Beirut initiative, which aims to repair schools, heritage buildings, museums and galleries damaged in the Beirut blasts. “The Italian Cooperation and UNESCO’s support for the reconstruction of the museum is invaluable,” Zeina Arida, director of the Sursock Museum, said. “It will allow Beirut and its citizens to reclaim a space that has become a second home for so many people in the cultural sector and the local community at large, a space which aims to promote openness and support knowledge production.” Farina said the funding was the largest contribution so far to the Li Beirut initiative. “I salute Italy for its positive response to our call that will support the rehabilitation and revitalization of the museum as a heritage building as well as a promoter of cultural life,” she said.

Sursock Museum was set up in the 1912 villa donated by Lebanese collector Nicolas Sursock. It opened in 1961 and became a major hub for Lebanese artists, while hosting exhibitions from around the world. It stayed open during much of the Lebanese Civil War and underwent a major renovation in 2008. Located just 800 meters from the center of the port blast, the museum suffered severe structural damage.

Israeli artillery fires shells into Lebanon, says Lebanese security source

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by ndtv.com -- The Israeli army said it launched artillery towards Lebanon on Monday in response to rocket fire from the neighbouring country that failed to hit the Jewish state. "Six failed launch attempts were identified from Lebanon that did not cross into Israeli territory," the army said in a statement. "Artillery forces fired toward the sources of the launches." A Lebanese military source told AFP three rockets had been fired from Southern Lebanon towards Israel. "Three Grad-type rockets were fired from the Shebaa Farms area," not far from the Israeli border, the Lebanese military source said. "The situation in the area is now calm," tweeted the UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon, which is in contact with both countries, several hours after the rocket fire. It is the second time rockets have been launched from Lebanese territory towards Israel since hostilities flared between the Jewish state and armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip last week.

Last Thursday, three rockets were fired from southern Lebanon near the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh toward Israel, a Lebanese military source said. Israel's army said those rockets had landed in the sea. A source close to Israel's arch-enemy Hezbollah said the Lebanese Shiite group had no link to the incident.

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Al-Rahi Urges Authorities to Control Lebanese Border with Israel

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by Naharnet -- Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on Lebanese authorities to “control the Lebanese-Israeli border” and “prevent the use of Lebanese territory as a launchpad for rockets,” after three rockets were fired recently from Lebanon at the sea off Israel amid a major Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “Beware that some become implicated in the events, directly or through proxies, which would subject Lebanon to new wars,” al-Rahi warned in his Sunday Mass sermon. He noted that all Lebanese “have paid enough in such uncontrolled conflicts.” “The Lebanese people are not ready to see their country destroyed once again more than it is already destroyed,” al-Rahi went on to say.

by the nationalnews -- “We call on authorities in Lebanon to control the Lebanese-Israeli borders and prevent Lebanese territory from becoming a launching pad for missiles,” the Maronite patriarch said. The Israeli military reported that three rockets were launched from south Lebanon towards Israel on Thursday, causing no damage. Three other rockets were fired on Friday from Syria towards Israel, with one landing inside Syria. In both cases, it was unclear who fired the rockets. “Beware that some are involved directly or through auxiliary parties in what is happening and exposing Lebanon to new wars,” said Patriarch Al Rai during his Sunday sermon, in an apparent reference to Hezbollah, which denied organising the protests. “All the Lebanese have paid enough due to these uncontrolled conflicts. The Lebanese people are not ready to destroy their country again any more than it already is,” said Patriarch Al Rai. “There are peaceful ways of [expressing] solidarity with the Palestinian people without getting involved militarily. It is Lebanon’s duty to be balanced between neutrality, which preserves its safety and message, and its commitment to upholding the rights of the Palestinian people.” Patriarch Al Rai criticised Israeli air strikes in Gaza. “What the Palestinians are exposed to is heart-wrenching, especially that children, women and the elderly are among the victims,” he said. “The time has come to stop the cycle of violence, demolition and killing and to endorse a final solution to the Palestinian issue after 73 years of wars, destruction and Israeli oppression.”

The truth of Hezbollah and the banking system

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By by Giulia Dal Bello -- globalriskinsights.com -- With the Lebanese Lira hitting a new low at the beginning of March, Lebanon is at the brink of collapse, undergoing fuel shortages and driving its population into poverty. The economic crisis has worsened in the last year due to the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, the explosion of the port of Beirut in August, and, above all, to the Lebanese political class that has repeatedly failed to form a government. The political vacuum has given room to Hezbollah, which is likely one of the actors responsible for stalling the government’s formation, to demonstrate its abilities in managing the country through its apparently well-developed social welfare.

Hezbollah, namely the Party of God, has been largely criticized for being one of the main causes behind the current financial crisis, many Lebanese are turning to the terrorist organization in order to enjoy basic services that the state is no longer able to provide. As a means of gaining consensus, Hezbollah has implemented a series of programs and initiatives to assist the population economically, such as expanding the services of its parallel banking system, carrying out smuggling with Syria in order to provide cheaper goods, making donations to the Shi’ite population, and supporting agricultural projects to ensure weak families’ economic independence. Parallel Banking System

Firstly, when traditional banks shut their doors and froze dollar accounts, Hezbollah was able to supply hard currency through its parallel banking system known as Al-Qard al-Hasan Association. Al-Qard al-Hasan Association (AQAH), literally the “benevolent loan”, is managed as a charity, but, in fact, it can be considered a banking system for all intents and purposes. Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, encouraged depositing the money at Al-Qard al-Hasan, claiming that the bank had already provided $3.7 billion in loans to some 1.8 million people. He depicted the association as rock-solid, declaring that the Party’s supporters, who deposited money at the al-Qard al-Hasan, managed to keep their money when banks claimed that they were unable to pay their depositors in dollars.

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Lebanese in war of words over Palestine action

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by arabnews.com -- Najia Houssari -- BEIRUT: Lebanon’s response to the violence in Gaza and its relationship with Palestine is the subject of angry debate after rockets were fired from southern Lebanon toward Israeli settlements. Former MP Nadim Gemayel warned that “Lebanon is neither a military base nor a missile platform for Palestinian factions or Iranian militias.” He demanded that “the state and security services act quickly and strike with an iron fist, for Lebanon today cannot afford to repeat the experience of the 60s.” Gemayel said the “number one cause today is the Lebanese cause only.” MP Bilal Abdallah said that “Lebanon is facing an economic collapse and a vacuum in its political power, and the Palestine issue should not be put at the forefront.” He told Arab News: “What is happening requires insight and calm.”

The remarks of both political figures came as Lebanese and Palestinian youths stormed a fence on the Blue Line between Lebanon and Israel on Friday. However, they were unable to cross the Israeli security barrier that stood in their way. Groups of young men demonstrated near the border area facing the settlement of Al-Mutla, and attempted to cross a barbed-wire fence to gain access, but were met with tear-gas canisters fired by Israeli troops, forcing them to disperse and return to Lebanese territory. The incident came after rockets were launched from southern Lebanon on Thursday toward Israeli settlements. While Hezbollah denied any connection to the strikes, a statement hinted at the group’s potential involvement in the conflict if violence worsens.

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