Lebanon: Rahi Says EU Exploiting Syrian Refugee Crisis for Political Ends

Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi. (Reuters)
Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi. (Reuters)
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Lebanon: Rahi Says EU Exploiting Syrian Refugee Crisis for Political Ends

Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi. (Reuters)
Maronite Patriarch Beshara el-Rahi. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi accused the European Union of exploiting the crisis of Syrian refugees in Lebanon for political ends.
Rahi has repeatedly criticized the EU after a $1 billion was announced by EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen to help Lebanon tackle illegal migration.
The EU chief said the aid was designed to strengthen basic services such as to bolster border management, education and health amid a severe economic crisis, and will continue until 2027.
In his Sunday sermon, Rahi said the accumulating crises in Lebanon and the region necessitate the election of a new head of state.
“The situation in the region calls for the election of a president, so does the war in Palestine, and the issue of Syrian refugees residing illegally on Lebanese soil”, said Rahi.
He voiced calls for their swift return to safe areas in Syria. “Safe areas in Syria are much more spacious than Lebanon”.
He criticized the “lack of international and EU cooperation” to help Lebanon resolve the refugee crisis impacting the country’s already fragile economy.
“These countries are exploiting the refugee crisis for political gains in Syria. They do not want to draw a line separating the political crisis from the return of refugees to their homeland. They are making Lebanon carry this immense burden and its dangerous consequences”, he said.
On May 2, the EU chief announced a financial package of $1 billion for Lebanon that would be available from this year until 2027.
The aid will be disbursed "in grants", with 736 million euros earmarked to support Lebanon "in response to the Syrian crisis", an EU official said.
The grant sparked political and popular criticisms in Lebanon, mainly among Christian political parties, and after the killing incident of a Lebanese Forces official, Pascal Sleiman, by a Syrian gang. The perpetrators took his corpse to Syria.

Von der Leyen said the EU was committed to maintaining "legal pathways open to Europe" and resettling refugees, but "at the same time, we count on your good cooperation to prevent illegal migration and combat migrant smuggling".

Lebanon's economy collapsed in late 2019, turning it into a launchpad for migrants, with Lebanese joining Syrians and Palestinian refugees making perilous Europe-bound voyages.
Lebanon says it currently hosts around two million people from neighboring Syria -- the world's highest number of refugees per capita -- with almost 785,000 registered with the United Nations.



Ten Wounded, Including a Child, in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon

FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
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Ten Wounded, Including a Child, in Israeli Strikes on South Lebanon

FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2024, Lebanon, Zawtar: Thick Smoke billows from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar, where Israeli forces attacked alleged pro-Iranian Hezbollah positions.Photo: STR/dpa

Ten people, including a young child, were injured in two Israeli airstrikes carried out on Sunday in southern Lebanon, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said on Monday.

According to a statement made by the Public Health Emergency Operations Center, “nine civilians were wounded in an Israeli airstrike on the town of Burj Rahal in the district of Tyre”.

Also, an Israeli airstrike on the town of Zrariyeh in the Sidon district left a child critically wounded.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an Israeli military unit crossed into Lebanese territory after midnight, moving from the Khallat Wardeh border area toward the vicinity of Aita al-Shaab. It has taken position there.

Despite a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon's Hezbollah and Israel that aimed at ending over a year of conflict, Israel continues to target various parts of Lebanon particularly in the south often claiming they target Hezbollah fighters or positions associated with the group.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah agreed to withdraw from areas south of the Litani River - approximately 30 kilometers from the Israeli border - and dismantle its military infrastructure there. In exchange, the Lebanese Army and United Nations peacekeepers (UNIFIL) were to strengthen their presence in the region.

Israel, for its part, was required to withdraw from territories it occupied during the conflict. However, it has maintained control over five strategic highlands, which Lebanon continues to demand be vacated.