Lebanon’s Adib in Baabda Monday to Propose Government Lineup

PM-designate Mustapha Adib met Aoun last week (NNA)
PM-designate Mustapha Adib met Aoun last week (NNA)
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Lebanon’s Adib in Baabda Monday to Propose Government Lineup

PM-designate Mustapha Adib met Aoun last week (NNA)
PM-designate Mustapha Adib met Aoun last week (NNA)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate, Mustapha Adib, is expected to visit President Michel Aoun in Baabda Palace on Monday to propose his government lineup, informed sources said, adding that the PM is optimistic that the cabinet would be formed soon.

The sources said French Ambassador Pierre Dukan, a member of the French team concerned with President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative on Lebanon, is expected to visit Beirut this week to follow up with Lebanese officials on means to agree on unified figures on the country’s financial losses to present them to the IMF as soon as the government is formed.

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, which is headed by Speaker Nabih Berri, would not participate in the new government if they fail to name their ministers and take the finance portfolio, said the sources.

In a statement on Sunday, Berri’s office said the Speaker has informed Adib that Amal will not be participating in the next government on the proposed foundations.

It added that Berri also told Adib his party was ready to cooperate to the “fullest extent to serve Lebanon’s stability and finances, implement reforms and rescue its economy.”

The statement said the problem is not with the French, but rather internal.

“One slogan was launched for the government: specialization in exchange for [potential ministers] not being aligned with parties and not affiliated with parliamentary [blocs], vetoes on ministries, inviting support from abroad and without holding consultations,” the statement said.

On Sunday, head of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil received separate telephone calls from Macron and Adib.

For his part, Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi said that from now on, “we cannot accept a cabinet similar to its predecessors,” describing the country’s political system as mired in an epidemic of selfishness, financial corruption and quotas at the expense of public money and the people of Lebanon.

Rahi’s statement came at a religious sermon during the 40-day memorial service dedicated to the Aug. 4 Beirut Port victims.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi also lashed out at political leaders.



Independent Israeli Commission Blames Netanyahu and Others for October 2023 Attack

A protester walks between vehicles as people protest demanding the release of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, ahead of a possible ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A protester walks between vehicles as people protest demanding the release of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, ahead of a possible ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Independent Israeli Commission Blames Netanyahu and Others for October 2023 Attack

A protester walks between vehicles as people protest demanding the release of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, ahead of a possible ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A protester walks between vehicles as people protest demanding the release of hostages who were kidnapped during the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, ahead of a possible ceasefire deal between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, Israel, November 26, 2024. (Reuters)

The independent civilian commission of inquiry into the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel has found Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly responsible for the failures leading up to the attack, alongside former defense ministers, the army chief and the heads of the security services.

The civil commission presented its findings today after a four-month probe in which it heard some 120 witnesses. It was set up by relatives of victims of the Hamas attack, in response to the absence of any state probe.

The commission determined that the Israeli government, its army and security services “failed in their primary mission of protecting the citizens of Israel.”

It said Netanyahu was responsible for ignoring “repeated warnings” ahead of Oct. 7, 2023 for what it described as his appeasing approach over the years toward Hamas, and for “undermining all decision-making centers, including the cabinet and the National Security Council, in a way that prevented any serious discussion” on security issues.

The commission further determined that the military and defense leaders bear blame for ignoring warnings from within the army, and for reducing the army’s presence along the Gaza border while relying excessively on technological means.

On the day of the Hamas attack, the report says, the army’s response was both slow and lacking.

The civil commission called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack.

Netanyahu has opposed launching a state commission of inquiry, arguing that such an investigation should begin only once the war is over.