Kataeb Party Reiterates Call for Technocrat Government

Head of the Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel (Kataeb.org)
Head of the Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel (Kataeb.org)
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Kataeb Party Reiterates Call for Technocrat Government

Head of the Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel (Kataeb.org)
Head of the Kataeb Party, MP Sami Gemayel (Kataeb.org)

The Kataeb Party renewed its calls to form a government of technocrats and to adopt a policy of neutrality in the wake of the country’s deteriorating economic situation.

In a statement following its weekly politburo meeting, the party said: “We consider that Lebanon today is paying the price of being entangled in regional conflicts... We call for adherence to the policy of neutrality, stressing that Lebanon’s supreme interest is to preserve its historic Arab and international friendships.”

The Kataeb commented on the recent Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Beirut, noting that Arab messages during the meeting were “discouraging.”

The party, on the other hand, highly valued the initiative of Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rai to bring all Maronite leaders together around a dialogue table last week.

Calling on the different parties to rescue the country, the Kataeb emphasized that Lebanon could only have full sovereignty if its army became the only armed force on Lebanese territory.

The statement added that Moody’s downgrading the rating of Lebanon was a “very serious indicator and a new warning to the need to speed up the formation of a government of neutral technocrats, capable of implementing urgent reform policies, and to hold a national dialogue that will thoroughly examine all contentious issues.”



Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Man in West Bank

A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A picture taken in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah city shows the nearby Israeli Shilo settlement in the background, in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinian authorities said Israeli troops killed a 55-year-old man in the north of the occupied West Bank on Thursday -- an incident the Israeli army said involved a stabbing attack.

The Ramallah-based health ministry said the body in charge of coordination with Israel informed it that soldiers "shot and killed" the man in Rummanah, near Jenin, in the morning.

The Israeli military said separately that troops deployed in the village "neutralised" a man after he stabbed and "moderately injured" a soldier, AFP reported.

The army generally uses the term "neutralised" after killing someone.

Violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has soared since the Hamas attack of October 2023.

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy died Thursday of wounds suffered during an army raid near the West Bank town of Nablus last week, the health ministry said.

Since October 7, 2023, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 951 Palestinians, including many militants, the ministry said.

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Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.