عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Lebanon: No Obstacles Hindering Designation of Hariri to Lead New Govt

Lebanon’s Prime minister-designate Saad Hariri speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Lebanon’s Prime minister-designate Saad Hariri speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
TT
TT

Lebanon: No Obstacles Hindering Designation of Hariri to Lead New Govt

Lebanon’s Prime minister-designate Saad Hariri speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS
Lebanon’s Prime minister-designate Saad Hariri speaks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

The binding parliamentary consultations, which will be held at the Baabda Palace on Thursday, are expected to see the designation of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri to head the new government, as the attempts of the former Foreign Minister, MP Gebran Bassil, to hinder his nomination have failed.

Hariri will be leading the government for the fourth time since the assassination of his father, late former Premier Rafik Hariri, in February 2005.

Political sources ruled out the possibility of unseen obstacles that would push for postponing the consultations for the second time within a week. They noted that Aoun had delayed the deliberations the first time last week to give Bassil a chance to reshuffle the cards and block the way to Hariri’s designation.

Consequently, the president could no longer delay the binding consultations, unless the FPM chief created a new issue, a former prime minister told Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity.

He noted that Bassil was known for disrupting cabinet sessions and hampering the productivity of governments. But political sources said that the president “lacks the pressure cards to use them to empower Bassil and save him politically. In this regard, they stressed that the consultations have become a subject of international and regional interest, with the mounting American and French pressure.

On the other hand, the sources underlined that the formation process would not be easy, especially if Bassil insisted on having the complete share of Christian ministers, with the refusal of the Lebanese Forces to participate in a government led by Hariri. These justifications may be Bassil’s last line of defense to recover his political strength, according to the sources.

However, the FPM’s insistence on having an independent technocrat to lead the new government would not meet a positive response from other blocs, the political sources said, as the premiership is a political post “par excellence.”

“Was Aoun elected president because he is a technocrat figure, or because he was leading a political movement?” they asked.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Israeli Rights Group Accuses Prison Authority of Failing Palestinian Prisoners after Scabies Outbreak

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)
TT
TT

Israeli Rights Group Accuses Prison Authority of Failing Palestinian Prisoners after Scabies Outbreak

Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir attends a discussion called on by the opposition on the release of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, 18 November 2024. (EPA)

An Israeli rights group said Monday that more than a quarter of all Palestinian prisoners currently held by Israel had contracted scabies since an outbreak was identified in May, and accused the prison authority of improper care and prevention.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel said that more than 2,800 prisoners had caught the rash-like infection, with more than 1,700 still actively infected. The outbreak was seen in five different detention facilities, the group said. It was citing figures it said came from the Israel Prison Service.

The group said it filed a legal petition calling on the prison service “to eradicate the scabies epidemic,” accusing the authorities of failing “to implement widely recognized medical interventions necessary to contain the outbreak.”

It said that it halted the legal proceedings after it received a commitment from the prison service to address the outbreak. The prison service said the court had cancelled the petition because the prisons had shown they were dealing with the outbreak in a “systematic and thorough” way.

Nadav Davidovich, an Israeli public health expert who wrote a medical analysis for the group’s court proceedings, said the outbreak was a result of overcrowding in prisons and apparent neglect from prison authorities. He said such outbreaks could be prevented if prisoners were held “in more reasonable conditions.” If the first infections were treated as needed, such an outbreak could have been avoided, he said.

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel also said that the Israel Prison Service had cited scabies as a reason for postponing lawyers' visits and court appearances for prisoners. It said those steps “violate prisoners’ rights and serve as punitive measures rather than public health responses.”

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the prisons, has boasted about hardening conditions to the bare minimum required by law.