by AP – By Josef Federman - Israel’s prime minister on Sunday welcomed a U.S. proposal for setting the maritime border with Lebanon, saying the American plan for resolving a long-running dispute between the neighboring countries would lift Israel’s economy and boost regional security. Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the proposal was delivered over the weekend to both Israel and Lebanon. While he said it was still being studied, he said the plan would strengthen Israel’s northern areas near the Lebanese border, allow Israel to produce additional natural gas and deliver new revenues to the national coffers. “This is a deal that strengthens Israel’s security and Israel’s economy,” Lapid told his Cabinet. He also said Israel would not oppose the development of “an additional Lebanese gas field” straddling the maritime border, as long as Israel receives “the share we deserve.” He said this would weaken Lebanon’s dependence on Iran, restrain the Hezbollah militant group and promote regional stability. He said the deal was being reviewed by legal and defense officials before it is to be voted upon by the government. Israeli media said a vote could take place Thursday.

On Saturday, the proposal was also delivered to Lebanese leaders. Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, under whom the negotiations began in 2020 and who is hoping to return to power in November elections, said he opposed the emerging deal and wouldn’t be bound by it if reelected. Lapid, the country’s caretaker premier, is hoping to fend off Netanyahu in the polls. “Lapid has no mandate to give sovereign territory and sovereign assets that belong to all of us to an enemy state,” Netanyahu said.

Lebanon and Israel have been officially at war since Israel’s creation in 1948 and both countries claim some 860 square kilometers (330 square miles) of the Mediterranean Sea. Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser for energy security at the U.S. State Department who has been mediating between the two neighbors, last visited Beirut in September, where he expressed optimism after meeting with Lebanon’s leaders. Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabi Berri, said in an interview with the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper Saturday the proposal “in principle meets the Lebanese demands.”

BEIRUT  (Reuters) – Lebanon’s parliament speaker said a draft, U.S.-brokered deal demarcating a disputed maritime border with Israel was “positive” but must be studied before a final reply is given, according to comments distributed by his office. Earlier on Saturday the Lebanese presidency said Beirut had received a letter from U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein regarding proposals for the maritime boundary demarcation between Lebanon and Israel, enemy states with a history of conflict. Hochstein has been shuttling between Lebanon and Israel in an effort to seal a deal that would pave the way for offshore energy exploration and defuse one potential source of conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah. In a tweet, the U.S. embassy in Beirut said Ambassador Dorothy Shea had met President Michel Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati “to provide the U.S proposal for a final agreement on the maritime boundary line”.

Lebanon’s Berri sees draft maritime deal as ‘positive’

Berri, a Hezbollah ally and one of Lebanon’s most influential politicians, told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper the draft of the final agreement was “positive”, according a statement circulated by his office. Berri considered that the draft “meets in principle the Lebanese demands” which reject the maritime boundary deal having any impact on the land border between the two countries, it said. Berri noted however that the agreement was 10 pages and in English and “would require study before the final response to it is given”.

NNA – Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, hoped Saturday for having a new president of the republic, a new government and restoring the beauty and good reputation of Lebanon. His words came during his visit today to the “Badr Hassoun” environmental village, accompanied by the Caretaker Minister of Economy Amin Salam, where they laid […]

by english.alaraby.co.uk — Rodayna Raydan — For decades, paying two electricity bills in Lebanon has been the norm: one for state-provided electricity and another for a subscription to a private electricity generator. Since 2019, Lebanon has been facing a severe financial crisis that the World Bank has called one of the worst in modern history. The country’s already struggling electricity sector has felt the impact of the economic downturn, and has become notoriously dysfunctional. Today, residents of Beirut only receive two to three hours of state electricity per day. A few years ago, many would rely instead on private electricity generators. But with rising inflation, many were forced to reprioritize needs, laying aside their generator subscriptions. Instead, solar panels now dot rooftops, parking lots, and balconies, allowing for a return to normalcy.

“The soaring demand for solar installations, according to Khoury, explains where the country could potentially be heading in terms of renewable and clean energy” “Lebanese are increasingly turning to the sun to meet electricity needs, and solar power has become a must to secure a supply of sustainable electricity,” Ramzi Salmen, an environmental engineer, told The New Arab. “The positive environmental outcome is the production of clean, renewable, and emission-free power,” Salmen emphasised. According to the IMF, electricity accounts for almost half of Lebanon’s USD 85 billion of public debt. The government has been subsidising Electricite du Liban, the national electric company, for years, accumulating to USD 35 billion.

Sustainable electricity experts say that the Lebanese government needs to build new power plants, shut down inefficient old ones, and utilise renewable energy to provide 24-hour electricity at lower costs, reducing public spending and debt and increasing productivity. This, in turn, would generate “green jobs” in the renewable energy sector and contribute to economic growth. “People are switching to solar for two main reasons: one is the security of the power supply as it is one of the most convenient options, but also because it is the cheapest source of electricity now compared to conventional energy sources that use diesel fuel,” Pierre Khoury, president of the Lebanese Centre for Energy Conservation (LCEC), told The New Arab.

by naharnet — MP Paula Yacoubian of the Change parliamentary bloc has accused the other opposition forces of “turning against the understanding” that both groupings were reportedly working on in a bid to agree on a single candidate for the presidential election. “Is there a figure that is more sovereign than (ex-MP) Salah Honein? Why […]

سجعان قزي

@AzziSejean

لكي نَتمكّنَ من انتخابِ رئيسِ جُمهوريّةٍ لا يُشكِّلُ تحديًّا لأحدٍ يجب أن نختارَ مبدئيًّا رئيسًا من خارجِ المشروعَين السياسيّين اللذين يَشطُران لبنان ويُقسّمانِه عَمُوديًّا وأفْقيًّا. إذ أيُّ مرشَّحٍ حياديِّ يَملِكُ الشَجاعةَ والقُدرةَ على حكمِ الدولةِ اللبنانيّةِ ما لم يَتمّ التوافقُ عليه بين المشروعَين اللذين لا يلتقيان دون هزيمةِ أحدهما؟ في المنطقِ ذاتِه: “المرشَّحُ الحياديُّ” هو مرشَّحُ تحدٍ أيضًا، بحيثُ سيَعتَبره أركانُ المشروعَين تحدّيًا لهم ونُكْرانًا لصِفاتِـهم التمثيليّة. وإذا ما تراجعَ الرئيسُ الجديدُ عن موقعِه الحياديِّ والتَحَق بأحد المشروعين صار فريقًا، فهل يستطيعُ أن يَحكمَ البلادَ ضِدَّ المشروعِ الفارسيِّ/السوريِّ ذي الامتدادِ اللبنانيّ، أو ضِدَّ المشروعِ الخليجيٍّ/الأميركيِّ ذي الامتداد اللبناني كذلك؟ في هذه الحالةِ لا يعودُ هناك فرقٌ بين مرشَّحِ التحدي المختارِ أصلًا من أحدِ المشروعَين ومرشَّحِ “اللاتحدّي” الـمُنضوي لاحقًا إلى أحدِ المشروعَين.

الّذين يُطالبون، عن حسنِ نيّةٍ، برئيسٍ لا يُشكِّلُ بالمطلقِ تَحدّيًا لأحدٍ، يراهنون على بقاءِ الرئيسِ الجديد خارجَ المحاورِ وفوقَها ليكونَ عَرّابَ المصالحةِ الوطنيّةِ أكثرَ من رئيسِ الجمهوريّة. لكنَّ حَسَنيَّ النيّةِ فاتَهم أنْ لا مصالحةَ لبنانيّةً قبلَ مصالحةِ محاورِ الشرقِ الأوسط، أو بموازاتِها، أو قبل انسحابِ اللبنانيّين من المحاورِ الإقليميّةِ، أو حسمِ موازينِ القوى في ضوءِ نظامٍ عالَميٍّ يبحث عن استقرار بعدما أخْفقَ نظامُ ما بعدَ سقوطِ جِدارِ برلين (09 تشرين الثاني 1989). وما يُثيرُ المخاوفَ هو أنْ تؤثّــرَ تعقيداتُ الـمِنطـقةِ وحروبُـها وتسوياتُـها على الوضعِ اللبناني، لاسيّما أنها في مرحلةٍ جديدةٍ بدأت بارتباكِ مفاوضاتِ ڤيينا حولَ الـمَلفِ النوويّ الإيرانيِّ، بتَعثّرِ الهجومِ الروسيِّ في أوكرانيا وتهديدِ بوتين “باستعمالِ السلاحِ النوويِّ لحمايةِ شعبه”، بانتصارِ اليمينِ القوميِّ في إيطاليا، بزعزعةِ الوِحدةِ الأوروبيّةِ، بالانتفاضةِ النِسويّةِ الإيرانيّةِ ضد تَعسّفِ النظامِ بخاصةٍ ضّدَ المرأةِ هذه المرّة، بالاضطراباتِ المتجدّدةِ في العراق، باستدارةِ تركيا نحو إسرائيل وسوريا، بانتشار همجيّةِ طالبان في أفغانستان، وبنجاحِ التطبيعِ العربيِّ/الإسرائيليّ. لقد باتت مصالحةُ اليهودِ والمسلِمين سهلةً أكثرَ من مصالحةِ المسلمِين الفرس والمسلمِين العرب.

BEIRUT (AP) – KAREEM CHEHAYEB — Lebanon’s Parliament on Thursday failed to elect a new president, with the majority of lawmakers casting blank ballots and some walking out. Under Lebanon’s fragile sectarian power-sharing system, the country’s 128-member parliament votes for a president, who must be a Maronite Christian. That’s a challenging threshold, and in the […]

by middleeastmonitor.com — Issam Naaman — A semi-orchestrated campaign has been seen in Lebanon over the past week calling for the terms of the 1989 Taif Agreement to be implemented. It has involved government heads, ministers, MPs, religious authorities, leaders of political parties, journalists, social media, and women and men from various organisations, circles, regions and affiliations. But why is this happening now? Is it because the American, French and Saudi Arabian foreign ministers issued a statement in New York about the need to “commit to the Taif Agreement which enables the preservation of national unity and civil peace in Lebanon”? Is there anyone within the Lebanese government who opposes the Taif Agreement or calls for its provisions to be bypassed? Or did the three foreign ministers instruct their allies and supporters of their collective interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs to raise this issue at this particularly difficult time? If so, why? I would like to remind everyone, opponents and loyalists alike, that most of the reforms and obligations stipulated in the Taif Agreement are an integral part of the Lebanese constitution. The government of Prime Minister Selim Hoss drafted a law to include the agreement’s reforms within the body of the constitution, and the House of Representatives approved it on 21 September, 1990. All we need to move forward is to implement the terms of the existing constitution.

The most prominent reforms legislated an introduction for the constitution and amended 31 articles in the constitution, the most important of which are the following: Article 22, which provides for the election of a Parliament on a national, non-sectarian basis, and a Senate with powers limited to crucial issues. Article 24, stipulating that Parliamentary seats are distributed equally between Christians and Muslims. Article 95, which works to abolish political sectarianism according to a phased plan. Is there a country left in the modern world other than Lebanon where many of the provisions of its constitution have not yet been implemented after more than 32 years? The articles were included because the sectarian quota system in government with all its complexities and corruption was adopted upon the establishment of the State of Greater Lebanon by a decision made by the French colonial authorities in 1920. Moreover, we still see the control and corruption of members of the ruling regimes, and the prioritisation of their own interests at the expense of the general national interests, as well as extreme positions taken by some religious figures and institutions.

BEIRUT, (Reuters) – Lebanon plans to slash its official exchange rate, replacing the 1,507 per dollar rate adopted 25 years ago with a rate of 15,000 in a step towards unifying numerous exchange rates, the finance minister told Reuters on Wednesday. After saying the move would come into effect on Nov. 1, the ministry later said the step was conditioned on the approval of a plan to address the crisis, which is under discussion in parliament. The Lebanese pound has plunged by more than 95% from the official rate since Lebanon fell into financial crisis three years ago, with dollars currently changing hands at around 38,000 on a parallel market. “The goal is for there to be a unification of the exchange rates in Lebanon,”

Finance Minister Youssef Khalil said, calling the decision a “fundamental step” in that direction. The step would come into force on Nov. 1, the ministry said. “Today, Lebanon has entered a new phase and is no longer using an official U.S. dollar exchange rate that makes no sense … Now we have one that is useful, based on which you can steer the economy toward a better situation,” he said.

The decision – which Khalil said was agreed with central bank governor Riad Salameh – marks a milestone in the meltdown that has plunged swathes of the population into poverty in the worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. “We have to wait before anticipating further moves,” he said. Ruling politicians have so far taken scarcely any action towards tackling the crisis. Unifying the numerous exchange rates operating in the country is one of several conditions set by the IMF for Lebanon to secure a badly needed aid package. The Fund has said this is crucial to boosting economic activity. The IMF said last week progress in implementing reforms remained very slow, with the bulk yet to be carried out.

By Doreen Abi Raad — cruxnow.com — BEIRUT — Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai denounced the launching of “boats of death” from Lebanon following the drowning of nearly 100 migrants who had attempted to flee the crisis-stricken country. The boat reportedly set off toward Europe Sept. 20 from the port of Miniyeh, near Tripoli, carrying between 120 and 170 migrants and refugees, mostly Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians. Two days later, it sank in the Mediterranean off the coast of Tartus, Syria, about 30 miles north of Tripoli. “Tragedies have become the daily bread of the Lebanese,’” Rai, Maronite patriarch, said in his Sept. 25 homily at Dimane, the patriarchal summer residence in north Lebanon. “We are appalled by the drowning of … people at sea, boarding boats unfit for long-distance sea crossing,” he said.

Rai lamented “immigration at any cost,” the desperate measures taken by those who embark on a risky, perilous sea journey to escape Lebanon’s suffocating economy with the hopes of a decent standard of living abroad. “The search for life sometimes leads to death,” Rai said. “What is more dangerous is that this tragedy is not the first, so where are the deterrent security measures taken by the state to prevent the boats of death from launching?” the cardinal asked. Earlier in September, at least six people, including children, were killed when a boat bound for Europe from Lebanon sank off the coast of Turkey.

In April, a small migrant boat with dozens of people on board sank off Tripoli. More than 40 people were killed, and many are still missing. “The state is responsible for this tragedy by its inability to get the country out of its economic, financial and social crisis,” Rai said. “We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, and we ask God to comfort their hearts with the abundance of his mercy,” he said.