Hankash: Various Risks Threaten Lebanon if Neutrality is Not Adopted

Kataeb MP Elias Hankash. (NNA)
Kataeb MP Elias Hankash. (NNA)
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Hankash: Various Risks Threaten Lebanon if Neutrality is Not Adopted

Kataeb MP Elias Hankash. (NNA)
Kataeb MP Elias Hankash. (NNA)

Born in 1977, around two years after the eruption of Lebanon’s civil war, Kataeb MP Elias Hankash says it is difficult for him to forget the sound of explosions and shells and the scenes of people running towards shelters.

“If there is anything that we must have learned from this war is not to repeat it, because no one is prepared for their children to live what we went through,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat as Lebanon marks on Tuesday the anniversary of the eruption of the conflict.

According to Hankash, the Kataeb party “played a fundamental role in defending Lebanon and its land, and in confronting the plots targeting the Lebanese.”

“I have the honor of belonging to a party that did not raise its weapon in the war against any Lebanese, because we fought our main battles against the Palestinians and the Syrians who were undermining this country’s dignity and sovereignty,” he emphasized.

Asked about the main reason for the outbreak of the war, Hankash said: “It was the lack of awareness at the time by the Lebanese, who sympathized and expressed solidarity with strangers against their fellow countrymen.”

He stressed that the failure to adopt neutrality and some parties’ commitment to foreign agendas will keep the country open to various security risks.

“What reassures us that this war will not be repeated, is the awareness of the Lebanese people not to fall into this trap again. This was manifested in its most beautiful form during the uprising of October 17, 2019,” he underlined.

On whether he believed that there were parties inside Lebanon pushing towards war again, Hankash said: “I don’t know whether some sides have an interest in pushing for a war. What we hope for is that those who are affiliated with foreign powers would not implement agendas that seek sedition in Lebanon.”

He continued: “A war needs two parties. In Lebanon, only one side is armed and capable of waging a war, without neglecting the Palestinians’ weapons that need to be controlled exactly as Hezbollah’s.”

“Nevertheless, I think that everyone believes that war is a loss for all parties, and I do not see the factors that would ignite it,” the MP told Asharq Al-Awsat.



Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
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20

Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo

Lebanon's new government will negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a new program and will work to deal with the country's financial default and public debt, according to a policy statement approved by the cabinet late on Monday.

The statement, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, said the government would work for an economical revival that could only be achieved through restructuring the banking sector.

Lebanon has been in deep economic crisis since 2019, when its financial system collapsed under the weight of massive state debts, prompting a sovereign default in 2020 and freezing ordinary depositors out of their savings in the banking system.

Beirut reached a draft funding deal with IMF in 2022 - contingent on reforms that authorities failed to deliver.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who took office as part of a new government agreed earlier this month, told Reuters an IMF mission is expected to visit Lebanon in March.

Jaber said he had met the IMF's resident representative in Lebanon, Frederico Lima, and confirmed that the government plans to move ahead with reforms.

Lebanon's political landscape has been turned on its head since the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, long a dominant player in Lebanese politics, was badly pummelled in last year's war with Israel.

Reflecting the shift in the power balance, the government policy statement did not include language used in previous years that was seen to legitimize a role for Hezbollah in defending Lebanon, saying instead "we want a state that has the decision of war and peace".

The statement said it was required to adopt a national security strategy and a foreign policy that works to 'neutralize' Lebanon from conflicts.

In the field of energy, the Lebanese government will seek to resume work in oil and gas exploration, according to the cabinet statement. It said the government planned to establish a Ministry of Technology and Artificial Intelligence.

With a new administration in neighboring Syria, the statement said the Lebanese government believed it has an opportunity to start a serious dialogue aimed at controlling and demarcating the borders and working to resolve the issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon.