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Putin’s Special Envoy in Beirut to ‘Inspect’ Return of Syrian Refugees

Syrian refugee children stand next to their family tents at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, April 23, 2018. (AP)
Syrian refugee children stand next to their family tents at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, April 23, 2018. (AP)
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Putin’s Special Envoy in Beirut to ‘Inspect’ Return of Syrian Refugees

Syrian refugee children stand next to their family tents at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, April 23, 2018. (AP)
Syrian refugee children stand next to their family tents at a Syrian refugee camp in the town of Bar Elias, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, April 23, 2018. (AP)

A Russian delegation, headed by Alexander Lavrentiev, President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for Syria, is expected on Tuesday to begin an official visit to the Lebanese capital to follow up on the latest developments related to the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.

Lavrentiev is also expected to hand Lebanon, and later Jordan and Iraq, an invitation to participate as observers in the upcoming round of Astana talks set for July.

He is scheduled to meet with President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil.

The Russian official is set to head to Syria after his stop in Beirut.

Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lavrentiev will “inspect” the issue of returning refugees to Syria given that the factors to ensure the success of the Russian initiative for their return are “not available yet.”

His visit coincides with political escalation against the displaced and government measures to activate the labor law that has affected Syrians working in Lebanon.

Bassil’s Free Patriotic Movement has been championing these efforts.

Political sources that reject the aggressive rhetoric against the refugees told Asharq Al-Awsat: “No party in Lebanon links the return of refugees to the political solution in Syria. We all agree that Syrian refugees need to return before the achievement of a political solution.”

However, the sources said that those calling for the “immediate” return of refugees fail to take into consideration the fact that the Syrian regime has not yet officially called on the refugees to return to their homeland.

“Some Lebanese ministers who regularly visit Damascus did not hear such a call,” the sources added.

Lebanese political sources said the Russian initiative is until now “frozen”, pending an international push that will take shape with the upcoming meeting between US President Donald Trump and Putin during the G20 summit in Japan later this month.

Last week, Russia’s defense ministry announced that some 900 Syrian refugees had returned to their homes from Jordan and Lebanon in 24 hours.

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Arab World

Lebanon Releases Israeli Citizen Held in Detention for a Year

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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Lebanon Releases Israeli Citizen Held in Detention for a Year

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This picture taken from a position in northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, shows an Israeli flag (L) on a destroyed building, and a Lebanese flag (R) painted on a damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Mais al-Jabal on November 25, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

An Israeli citizen detained in Lebanon has been returned to Israel after more than a year in detention, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday. 

There was little information given about the man, identified as Salah Abu-Hussein, an Arab citizen of Israel. His imprisonment had not garnered public attention in Israel or Lebanon. 

Israeli media reported that the man’s family had reported him missing around a year ago and was unaware he was in Lebanon, reported The Associated Press. 

Lebanon's General Security agency said in a statement that Abu-Hussein was held after crossing the border into Lebanon illegally. It said he was trying to leave Israel “due to his unwillingness to live there" and was arrested by Lebanon's Army Intelligence forces. 

“After conducting the necessary investigation, under the supervision of the competent judiciary, no security suspicions were proven against him,” the statement said. Due to his nationality, Abu-Hussein could not be “deported or released as is the standard procedure for non-Lebanese who enter illegally.” He was eventually handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross to be returned. 

At the time of his crossing, Israeli forces and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were engaged in ongoing low-level clashes in the border region, which escalated into a full-scale war in September 2024. It was halted by a US-brokered ceasefire two months later. 

Abu-Hussein's release was negotiated in secret over the past few months in cooperation with the Red Cross, according to Gal Hirsch, Netanyahu’s coordinator for the Hostages and the Missing, who is also Israel’s point of contact for the hostages in Gaza. 

On Thursday, Lebanese Authorities handed Abu-Hussein to Hirsch at the Rosh Hanikra crossing between Lebanon and Israel, which is not open to the public. 

Lebanon and Israel do not have diplomatic relations and Israeli citizens are prohibited from entering Lebanon under Lebanese law, with rare exceptions for Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship. 

Netanyahu hailed the return of Abu-Hussein. “This is a positive step and a sign of things to come,” he said after Abu-Hussein returned. 

There was no official comment from the Lebanese government on his release apart from the General Security statement. 

A group advocating for Lebanese citizens held in Israeli prisons denounced the move. The Representative Committee of Lebanese Prisoners and Freed Prisoners said in a statement that 19 Lebanese citizens are imprisoned in Israel and called the release of the Israeli citizen by Lebanon “blatant betrayal.”