Lebanese Activists Fight Rampant Beachside Development

An area of coast fenced for development near a sea cave off the north Lebanon village of Amchit
JOSEPH EID - AFP
An area of coast fenced for development near a sea cave off the north Lebanon village of Amchit JOSEPH EID - AFP
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Lebanese Activists Fight Rampant Beachside Development

An area of coast fenced for development near a sea cave off the north Lebanon village of Amchit
JOSEPH EID - AFP
An area of coast fenced for development near a sea cave off the north Lebanon village of Amchit JOSEPH EID - AFP

In a pristine patch of Lebanon's north coast, a rare marine visitor has fuelled opposition to a seafront development, in a country where unchecked construction has obstructed access to beaches.

Residents of Amchit say a Mediterranean monk seal sometimes visits the area, taking refuge in the crystal-blue waters of a sea-cave accessible only by wading or paddling between low rocks to reach a tiny, sheltered cove.

But local environmental group Terre Liban has warned that a proposed development on the ground above risks causing the cave to collapse, destroying the secluded site.

"The seal chose this sea-cave because the water is clean" and the covered shore provides a resting place, said Farid Sami Abi Yunes, AFP reported.

The architect, 41, is among those campaigning for the cave to be listed as a nature reserve.

Mediterranean monk seals were once abundant but are now considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which cites threats including habitat loss.

Abi Yunes, one of those lucky enough to have snapped a picture of the seal while kayaking, said he was determined to protect the area.

"This villa must not be built... over a cave hosting an animal threatened with extinction," he said.

Residents of Amchit accuse the authorities of green-lighting the construction without considering the furry visitor.

Much of Lebanon's seafront is dotted with formal and informal structures and developments, some of them abandoned.

Milad Fakhri from the National Center for Marine Sciences says seals have been seen in Lebanese waters in recent years but "no official study has been carried out" into them.

Many resorts that now restrict access to the coast are unlicensed, built on land that was obtained during the country's 1975-1990 civil war.

Some establishments charge more than $30 a day for entry -- eye-watering prices in a country gripped by a crushing economic crisis.

Local group Nahnoo, which campaigns for the preservation of public spaces, says that more than 80 percent of Lebanon's coast is no longer freely accessible.

The group's president Mohammad Ayoub said most of the rest was effectively unusable because of the dumping of "raw sewage".

Rampant construction isn't new in Lebanon but now "people mobilize more to defend the public domain", Ayoub said.

The space, one of the last public beaches in the area, was formerly home to a civil war-era structure built illegally on the shorefront, said activist Tony Nassif, 26.

"We found out recently that the owner wanted to develop" the structure, effectively taking over the beach, Nassif said.

So "we decided to get together to demand it be demolished," he told AFP, pointing to the empty space now free for beachgoers.

Last month in Naqura on Lebanon's south coast, environmental groups including Nahnoo managed to stop preparatory development work at another seafront site.

Elsewhere, however, swimmers and sunbathers have already been pushed out.

Karl Metrebian, 32, said he changed beaches after the one he went to for years in Kfarabida was privatised.

"Everywhere in the world the coast is free," said Metrebian, who works in the entertainment industry. "Why should it be different here?"

Nahnoo's Clara Khoury accused authorities of turning a blind eye to coastal developments that blocked public access.

"In Lebanon unfortunately, when people have influence, the state makes exceptions," she alleged.



The Fragile Israel-Hezbollah Truce is Holding so Far, Despite Violations

Mariam Kourani removes a toy car from the rubble of her destroyed house after returning with her family to the Hanouiyeh village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2024, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
Mariam Kourani removes a toy car from the rubble of her destroyed house after returning with her family to the Hanouiyeh village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2024, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
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The Fragile Israel-Hezbollah Truce is Holding so Far, Despite Violations

Mariam Kourani removes a toy car from the rubble of her destroyed house after returning with her family to the Hanouiyeh village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2024, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
Mariam Kourani removes a toy car from the rubble of her destroyed house after returning with her family to the Hanouiyeh village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2024, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanon's Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline.

The deal struck on Nov. 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.

So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed, The AP reported.

Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline.

Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say. That is good news for thousands of Israeli and Lebanese families displaced by the war still waiting to return home.

“The ceasefire agreement is rather opaque and open to interpretation,” said Firas Maksad, a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute in Washington. That flexibility, he said, may give it a better chance of holding in the face of changing circumstances, including the ouster of Syria's longtime leader, Bashar Assad, just days after the ceasefire took effect.

With Assad gone, Hezbollah lost a vital route for smuggling weapons from Iran. While that further weakened Hezbollah’s hand, Israel had already agreed to the US-brokered ceasefire.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023 — the day after Hamas launched a deadly attack into Israel that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. Since then, Israeli air and ground assaults have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. At the height of the war, more than 1 million Lebanese people were displaced.

Hezbollah rockets forced some 60,000 from their homes in northern Israel, and killed 76 people in Israel, including 31 soldiers. Almost 50 Israeli soldiers were killed during operations inside Lebanon.

Here’s a look at the terms of the ceasefire and its prospects for ending hostilities over the long-term.

What does the ceasefire agreement say? The agreement says that both Hezbollah and Israel will halt “offensive” military actions, but that they can act in self-defense, although it is not entirely clear how that term may be interpreted.

The Lebanese army is tasked with preventing Hezbollah and other militant groups from launching attacks into Israel. It is also required to dismantle Hezbollah facilities and weapons in southern Lebanon — activities that might eventually be expanded to the rest of Lebanon, although it is not explicit in the ceasefire agreement.

The United States, France, Israel, Lebanon and the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, are responsible for overseeing implementation of the agreement.

“The key question is not whether the deal will hold, but what version of it will be implemented,” Maksad, the analyst, said.

Is the ceasefire being implemented? Hezbollah has for the most part halted its rocket and drone fire into Israel, and Israel has stopped attacking Hezbollah in most areas of Lebanon. But Israel has launched regular airstrikes on what it says are militant sites in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley.

Israeli forces have so far withdrawn from two towns in southern Lebanon - Khiam and Shamaa. They remain in some 60 others, according to the International Organization for Migration, and around 160,000 Lebanese remain displaced.

Lebanon has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement and last week submitted a complaint to the UN Security Council that says Israel launched some 816 “ground and air attacks” between the start of the ceasefire and Dec. 22, 2024.

The complaint said the attacks have hindered the Lebanese army's efforts to deploy in the south and uphold its end of the ceasefire agreement.

Until Israel hands over control of more towns to the Lebanese army, Israeli troops have been destroying Hezbollah infrastructure, including weapons warehouses and underground tunnels. Lebanese authorities say Israel has also destroyed civilian houses and infrastructure.

What happens after the ceasefire has been in place for 60 days? Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese towns has been slower than anticipated because of a lack of Lebanese army troops ready to take over, according to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesman. Lebanon disputes this, and says it is waiting for Israel to withdraw before entering the towns.

Shoshani said Israel is satisfied with the Lebanese army's control of the areas it has already withdrawn from, and that while it would prefer a faster transfer of power, security is its most important objective.

Israel does not consider the 60-day timetable for withdrawal to be “sacred,” said Harel Chorev, an expert on Israel-Lebanon relations at Tel Aviv University who estimates that Lebanon will need to recruit and deploy thousands more troops before Israel will be ready to hand over control.

Hezbollah officials have said that if Israeli forces remain in Lebanon 60 days past the start of the ceasefire, the militant group might return to attacking them. But Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Kassem said Wednesday that, for now, the group is holding off to give the Lebanese state a chance to "take responsibility” for enforcing the agreement.

Over the final two months of the war, Hezbollah suffered major blows to its leadership, weapons and forces from a barrage of Israeli airstrikes, and a ground invasion that led to fierce battles in southern Lebanon. The fall of Assad was another big setback.

“The power imbalance suggests Israel may want to ensure greater freedom of action after the 60-day period,” Maksad, the analyst, said. And Hezbollah, in its weakened position, now has a “strong interest” in making sure the deal doesn't fall apart altogether “despite Israeli violations,” he said.

While Hezbollah may not be in a position to return to open war with Israel, it or other groups could mount guerilla attacks using light weaponry if Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon, said former Lebanese army Gen. Hassan Jouni. And even if Israel does withdraw all of its ground forces, Jouni said, the Israeli military could could continue to carry out sporadic airstrikes in Lebanon, much as it has done in Syria for years.