Lebanon: MPs Criticize ‘Randomness of Legislation’

The Lebanese Parliament during the discussion of the general budget last week (Reuters)
The Lebanese Parliament during the discussion of the general budget last week (Reuters)
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Lebanon: MPs Criticize ‘Randomness of Legislation’

The Lebanese Parliament during the discussion of the general budget last week (Reuters)
The Lebanese Parliament during the discussion of the general budget last week (Reuters)

The majority of Lebanese deputies are still waiting for the 2024 budget law, which was approved by the Lebanese Parliament after three days of drawn-out disputes more than a week ago, to be referred to the Council of Ministers, which in turn sends it for publication in the Official Gazette, to become effective.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, a number of representatives noted that many of the articles in the general budget were based on “random” voting and decisions, leading to confusion across many sectors and triggering strikes in objection to the budget’s inclusion of taxes.
A member of the Strong Republic bloc, MP George Okais, pointed out that the “delay in publishing the budget in the Official Gazette resulted from lack of clarity in the final version of the texts.”
“There is confusion in dealing with two articles pertaining to banking and subsidies, which were introduced and not discussed in the Finance and Budget Committee,” he said.
Okais pointed to an “unprecedented randomness in legislation,” considering that the last budget parliament session has witnessed the “worst” form of legislation since 2018.
The Forces of Change MP, Paula Yacoubian, considered that it was necessary to “review the internal regulations of the entire Parliament.”
She told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Unfortunately, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri is confusing his person and his powers as Speaker of the Parliament with the powers assigned to the parliament... But what is more dangerous is that there may be tampering with what was approved in the budget... This is a new and additional blow to the democratic system, and a confiscation of the votes of representatives.”

Last week, Lebanon's parliament passed an amended budget for 2024 that experts said neglected to include crucial reforms that would help the country emerge from a financial meltdown that has gutted the public sector for nearly five years.
The draft was passed late on Friday after several heated exchanges in parliament's chamber with caretaker premier Najib Mikati, highlighting the deep divisions that have paralyzed Lebanese politics and prolonged a more than year-long vacuum at the presidency.



Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 30 Palestinians in Gaza, Medics Say

A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)
A body arrives at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah town, central Gaza Strip, 31 October 2024. (EPA)

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip have killed at least 30 Palestinians since Monday night, Palestinian media and medics said on Tuesday, as the Israeli army tightened its siege on northern areas of the enclave.

An airstrike damaged two houses in the town of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, where the army has carried out new operations since Oct. 5, and killed at least 20 people late on Monday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA and Hamas media said.

The Gaza health ministry did not immediately confirm the toll. Four other people were killed in the central Gazan town of Al-Zawayda around midnight on Monday, medics said.

Palestinian health officials said six people had also been killed in two separate Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and Deir Al-Balah in the central area of the narrow enclave.

The Israeli military said, without giving details, that its forces had "eliminated terrorists" in the central Gaza Strip and Jabalia area. Israeli troops had also located weapons and explosives over the past day in the southern Rafah area, where "terrorist infrastructure sites" had been eliminated, it said.

Palestinians said the new attacks and Israeli orders for people to evacuate were aimed at emptying two northern Gaza towns and a refugee camp to create buffer zones.

Israel says its forces have killed hundreds of Palestinian gunmen and dismantled military infrastructure in Jabalia in the past month.

More than 43,300 Palestinians have been killed in more than a year of war in Gaza, the authorities in Gaza say, and much of the territory has been reduced to ruins.

The war began after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.