Hariri: We Are Going Ahead with Reinforcing Stability

PM Saad Hariri following the opening ceremony of the “Middle East Training and Conferences Center” at Rafik Hariri International Airport. Dalati and Nohra photo
PM Saad Hariri following the opening ceremony of the “Middle East Training and Conferences Center” at Rafik Hariri International Airport. Dalati and Nohra photo
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Hariri: We Are Going Ahead with Reinforcing Stability

PM Saad Hariri following the opening ceremony of the “Middle East Training and Conferences Center” at Rafik Hariri International Airport. Dalati and Nohra photo
PM Saad Hariri following the opening ceremony of the “Middle East Training and Conferences Center” at Rafik Hariri International Airport. Dalati and Nohra photo

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has stressed the government’s determination to reinforce stability and restore confidence in the country’s economy.

In a speech he delivered during the opening ceremony of the “Middle East Training and Conferences Center” at Rafik Hariri International Airport, the PM said: “The name of this airport was linked to Rafik Hariri because it was a focal point of his economic, development and strategic vision for Lebanon.”

The premier said that his slain father considered the international airport “our interface to the world, the first gate for the expatriates whom we want to return to our country, the tourists we want to see in our country and the investors whom we would like to see participating with their money and projects in our economic advancement.”

When Rafik Hariri reconstructed the airport to accommodate 6 million passengers, “people asked: Why 6 million passengers, and where will they come from? The result? Last year this airport received more than 7 and a half million passengers.”

“The number this year will be bigger, because in July and August alone, the airport registered more than two million passengers,” the Lebanese prime minister said in his speech.

He revealed that a project is underway to increase the capacity of 5 million extra passengers in an initial and urgent phase, to be completed in the general guideline that the public works ministry is setting, based on a donation by the Middle East to the Lebanese government.

Hariri lauded Middle East Airlines Chairman Mohammed al Hout, saying that under his tenure the company moved from being a deficit causer for the state to a successful company, flying in the name of Lebanon all over the world.

He said the company, which was losing tens of millions after the civil war, has been transformed to a firm that earns tens of millions a year with accumulated profits that reached under its current management more than one billion dollars.

Hariri also lauded Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, saying he has a brave and patriotic mind.

“I am also proud to announce that the beautiful hall in which we gather today, that was known so far as the DOME, is now called Riad Salameh Hall,” said Hariri.

“The Training and Conferences Center is an investment in developing the knowledge economy in Lebanon and an investment in human resources, which are the first pillar of the Lebanese economy,” the PM stated.
It provides the youth with job opportunities, reinforces the good reputation of the Lebanese pilot, the pilot trainer and MEA, he said.

“Our interest in expanding the airport and the high level of services in it, our interest in MEA and the ability of all Lebanese companies to maintain their leading levels in the region, our determination to achieve vital successes, our determination to reinforce stability, restore confidence, promote our economy, all this stems from one place:

“Our firm belief in Lebanon and its promising future, the capabilities of its people. Rafik Hariri believed in this and gave his life for it. All this has one target: Restore growth and create jobs especially for the Lebanese youth,” he added.



Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel's attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel's war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024.

Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and on Monday said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich's attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client's innocence would be proven beyond doubt, reported Reuters.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild.

Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

The hostages' deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and outraged hostages' families, who accused Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks that had faltered in the preceding weeks for political reasons.

Netanyahu vehemently denies this. He has repeatedly said that Hamas was to blame for the talks collapsing, while the group has said it was Israel's fault no deal had been reached.

Four of the six slain hostages had been on the list of more than 30 captives that Hamas was set to free if a ceasefire had been reached, according to a defense official at the time.

The Bild article in question was published days after the hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. It outlined Hamas' negotiation strategy in the indirect ceasefire talks and largely corresponded with Netanyahu's allegations against the militant group over the deadlock.

Bild said after the investigation was announced that it does not comment on its sources and that its article relied on authentic documents. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A two-month ceasefire was reached in January this year and included the release of 38 hostages before Israel resumed attacks in Gaza. The sides are presently engaged in indirect negotiations in Doha, aimed at reaching another truce.

In his statement on Monday, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara's announcement was "appalling" and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu's government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.