US Says Lebanese Government Must Pursue 'Real Change'

A view shows the damaged site of the massive blast in Beirut's port area, in Beirut, Lebanon August 31, 2020. (Reuters)
A view shows the damaged site of the massive blast in Beirut's port area, in Beirut, Lebanon August 31, 2020. (Reuters)
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US Says Lebanese Government Must Pursue 'Real Change'

A view shows the damaged site of the massive blast in Beirut's port area, in Beirut, Lebanon August 31, 2020. (Reuters)
A view shows the damaged site of the massive blast in Beirut's port area, in Beirut, Lebanon August 31, 2020. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Wednesday that any new Lebanese government must pursue fundamental reforms to benefit the Lebanese people and regional security.

"Business as usual in Lebanon just is unacceptable," Pompeo told reporters after an August 4 blast at the port in the capital Beirut killed at least 190 people, pilloried the country's economy and brought down the government.

"This has to be a government that conducts significant reforms," Pompeo continued.

He said the United States and France, whose Prime Minister Emanuel Macron was in Beirut Tuesday for consultations, shared "the same objective" for Lebanon.

"Real change is what the people of Lebanon are demanding, and the United States is going to use its diplomatic presence and its diplomatic capabilities to make sure that we get that outcome," he said.

"I think the French share that, I think the whole world frankly sees the risk."

Pompeo said the principal challenge is Hezbollah, which the US considers a terror group.

During his visit, Macron said Lebanese political leaders had agreed on a reform roadmap involving a government being put together within two weeks, following last month's devastating blast.

The last government resigned in the face of public anger over the explosion, which also wounded thousands and laid waste to entire districts of the capital.

Lebanon's prime minister designate Mustapha Adib has pledged to form a “government of experts” to drive desperately needed reforms in the disaster-hit and economically ailing country. Government formation processes in Lebanon often take months as political blocs haggle endlessly over their share of portfolios.



Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinians in the volatile northern West Bank town of Jenin are observing a general strike called by militant groups to protest a rare crackdown by Palestinian security forces.
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian security forces. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded. There was no sign of Israeli troops in the area.
Shops were closed in the city on Monday, the day after militants killed a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounded two others.
Militant groups called for a general strike across the territory, accusing the security forces of trying to disarm them in support of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally recognized but deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to act against armed groups.
The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s attack on “outlaws.” It says it is committed to maintaining law and order but will not police the occupation.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Israel’s current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and says it will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. Violence has soared in the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there.