Lebanese Judiciary Orders Seizure of MP’s Assets

Police forces gather outside the parliament building in Downtown Beirut November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
Police forces gather outside the parliament building in Downtown Beirut November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
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Lebanese Judiciary Orders Seizure of MP’s Assets

Police forces gather outside the parliament building in Downtown Beirut November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
Police forces gather outside the parliament building in Downtown Beirut November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi

The Lebanese judiciary ordered Thursday a provisional seizure of MP Hadi Hbeish’s assets in a case filed against him over his assault on Mount Lebanon Judge Ghada Aoun.

Judge Faisal Makki in Beirut issued Thursday an order on the provisional seizure of the assets belonging to Hbeish.

The seizure comes in light of the Lebanese state's case against the lawmaker to pay compensation to the state over his assault on Aoun.

Based on Makki’s decision, the state should be awarded LL500 million in damages in addition to another LL50 million.

Therefore, the judge ordered the provisional seizure of Hbeish’s immovable properties and cars.

In December, there was tension between Hbeish and Aoun after the arrest of Director-General of the Traffic and Vehicles Management Authority Hoda Salloum, who is a relative of the MP.

Following her arrest, Hbeish headed to the Justice Palace in Baabda where he launched a fierce verbal attack on Aoun for ordering Salloum’s arrest.

A video showed the lawmaker describing the judge as “a militiawoman and a symbol of corruption.”

Following the verbal assault, Aoun told a local television channel that “Salloum’s arrest was based on data and evidence,” and part of nationwide efforts to clamp down on corruption.

She then filed a complaint against the deputy over defamation and threats.

Hbeish said that Aoun had arrested Salloum unlawfully.



Israel Bombs Power Station and Two Ports Controlled by Houthis in Yemen

 Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Bombs Power Station and Two Ports Controlled by Houthis in Yemen

 Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)
Black smoke raises following airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP)

Israeli warplanes bombed a power station and two ports in Houthi-controlled Yemen on Friday in retaliation for Houthi drone and missile strikes against Israel, and pro-Houthi media said at least one person had been killed and nine wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iran-backed Houthi militias were "paying and will continue to pay a heavy price for their aggression against us".

A series of airstrikes targeted the Red Sea port of Ras Issa and six others the major port of Hodeidah, said Al Masirah TV, the main news outlet run by the Houthis, while Harf Sufyan District in Amran province also came under air attack.

An employee at the Ras Issa port was killed and six others were injured, the outlet said.

Earlier, British security firm Ambrey said airstrikes on the Ras Issa port targeted oil storage facilities in the vicinity of shipping berths, though no merchant vessels were reported to have been damaged.

The supply of petroleum derivatives is stable, the Houthi government spokesperson Hashem Sharaf Eddine said after the attack.

Thirteen airstrikes also targeted the Hezyaz central power station in Yemen's capital Sanaa, Al Masirah TV reported. It said three citizens had been injured, including a worker at Hezyaz, and a number of homes had been damaged.

An Israeli military statement confirmed the targets, saying the power station served as a "central source of energy for the Houthi terrorist regime in its military activities". It added that the targets struck were examples of the "Houthis' exploitation of civilian infrastructure".

Within the past 48 hours, the Houthis have fired three drones at Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv and more drones and missiles at the US aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said.

The Houthis have targeted Israel, hundreds of kilometers to the north as well as international shipping in waters near Yemen since November 2023 in support of Palestinians at war with Israel in Gaza.

Israel has responded with airstrikes in Houthi-held areas of Yemen, as have British and US forces in the region.

Netanyahu said last month Israel was only at the beginning of its campaign against the Houthis.