Iranians' Entry Into Lebanon Without Stamp Raises Controversyhttps://english.aawsat.com/home/article/1304186/iranians-entry-lebanon-without-stamp-raises-controversy
Iranians' Entry Into Lebanon Without Stamp Raises Controversy
Lebanon’s airport/NNA
The Lebanese Security General’s latest decision to issue Iranian travelers entering the country landing slips instead of stamping their passports has created controversy, especially amidst mounting US and Western pressures on Tehran.
The General Security asserted that such decisions are "entirely within its jurisdiction,” and do not mean that Iranians have entered the country illegally.
On Sunday, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying: “The General Security decided on stamping landing slips instead of passports,” adding that the role of the ministry is limited only to reporting such decision.
Experts said that such development could not be placed outside regional developments and had two objectives: to facilitate the transfer of Iranian money to Hezbollah away from any US sanctions, and the transfer of Iranians to Beirut and then to Syria, where they are fighting alongside the Assad regime.
Commentators on social media compared the Security General decision to a “military line” between Lebanon and Syria.
A source close to the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat on Sunday that the decision was new to the Iranians, but it has been applied for other countries in the past years.
“This procedure does not mean Iranians are illegally entering the country or that their names are not registered at the Security General,” the source said.
However, Lebanese Forces deputy Wehbi Katisha and head of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs Sami Nader both agreed that such procedures could not be separated from developments happening in the region, particularly in Syria.
“The decision is illegal and unconstitutional,” Katisha told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Such measures hide ambiguous intentions.”
He said this decision would aim to transfer money to people sanctioned by the US and to allow members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards entry into Lebanon before heading to Syria.
For his part, Nader told Asharq Al-Awsat that the decision would benefit Iranians in the transfer of experts and fighters to Syria via Beirut’s airport or the transfer of money to Lebanon and particularly to Hezbollah, in light of the current US sanctions against Iran.
Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian Rallies in Europe amid High Alert as Oct. 7 Anniversary Nearshttps://english.aawsat.com/world/5068102-tens-thousands-join-pro-palestinian-rallies-europe-amid-high-alert-oct-7-anniversary
Protesters attend a demonstration in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Strasbourg, eastern France, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Tens of Thousands Join Pro-Palestinian Rallies in Europe amid High Alert as Oct. 7 Anniversary Nears
Protesters attend a demonstration in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Strasbourg, eastern France, on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in London, Paris, Rome and other major cities around the globe Saturday to call for a ceasefire as the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel approached.
Massive rallies were planned in several European cities, with the largest gatherings expected from Saturday to Monday. Events will peak on Monday, the date of the anniversary.
In London, thousands gathered in Russell Square amid a significant police presence. Some of the march’s organizers had said they planned to target companies and institutions they claimed were “complicit in Israel’s crimes,” including Barclays Bank and the British Museum.
The atmosphere was tense as pro-Palestine protesters and counter-demonstrators, some holding Israeli flags, passed each other. Scuffles broke out as police officers pushed back activists trying to get past a cordon. Fifteen people were arrested on suspicion of public order offenses and assault, London's Metropolitan Police said.
In Rome, several thousand demonstrators gathered in spite of a ban by local authorities who refused to authorize protests in the Italian capital, citing security concerns. Protesters chanted “Free Palestine, Free Lebanon,” waving Palestinian flags and holding banners calling for an immediate stop to the conflict.
People wave Palestinian and Lebanese flags as they demonstrate in solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese people in central Sofia on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
In the northern German city of Hamburg, about 950 people staged a peaceful demonstration with many waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags or chanting “Stop the Genocide,” the dpa news agency reported, citing a count by police. Two smaller pro-Israeli counterdemonstrations took place without incident, it said.
Several thousand protesters gathered peacefully at Paris’ Republique Plaza in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people. Many were waving Palestinian flags while holding posters reading ”stop the genocide,” “free Palestine,” and “hands off Lebanon.”
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also planned to join rallies in Washington, New York’s Times Square and several other cities in the United States as well as in other parts of the world, including Denmark, Switzerland, South Africa and India. In the Philippines, dozens of left-wing activists protested near the US Embassy in Manila, where police prevented them from getting closer to the seaside compound.
Pro-Israeli demonstrations are expected to be held Sunday because Jews across the world are still observing Rosh Hashana, or the Jewish new year.
High security alerts
Security forces in several countries warned of heightened levels of alert in major cities, amid concerns that the escalating conflict in the Middle East could inspire new terror attacks in Europe or that the protests could turn violent.
Pro-Palestinian protests calling for an immediate ceasefire have repeatedly taken place across Europe and around the globe in the past year and have often turned violent, with confrontations between demonstrators and law enforcement officers.
A demonstrator holds a Lebanese flag in support of Lebanon amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, ahead of the anniversary of the October 7th attack, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Rome, Italy, October 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Italian authorities believed that the timing of Saturday's rally in Rome risked the Oct. 7 attack being “glorified,” local media reported.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi also stressed that, ahead of the key anniversary, Europe is on high alert for potential terror attacks.
“This is not a normal situation. ... We are already in a condition of maximum prevention,” he said.
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in Britain, said he and others will keep organizing marches until action against Israel is taken.
“We need to be out on the streets in even bigger numbers to stop this carnage and stop Britain being drawn into it,” Jamal said.
In Berlin, a march is scheduled from the Brandenburg Gate to Bebelplatz on Sunday. Local media reported that security forces have warned of potential overload because of the scale of protests. German authorities pointed to increasing antisemitic and violent incidents in recent days.
Earlier this week in France, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau warned the country’s regional prefects, expressing concern about possible tensions and saying that the terrorist threat was high.
A tense and bloody year On Oct. 7 last year, Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel, killing 1,200 Israelis, taking 250 people hostage and setting off a war with Israel that has shattered much of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, is seen with pro-Palestinian demonstrators marching to Downing Street to mark one year of the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip and to call for a permanent ceasefire as part of an event organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in London, Britain, 05 October 2024. (EPA)
More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed since then in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and civilians.
Nearly 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, with fewer than 70 believed to be alive. Israelis have experienced attacks — missiles from Iran and Hezbollah, explosive drones from Yemen, fatal shootings and stabbings — as the region braces for further escalation.
In late September, Israel shifted some of its focus to Hezbollah, which holds much of the power in parts of southern Lebanon.
