Siniora: Lebanon's Problems Caused by Hezbollah

 Former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora gestures at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, November 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora gestures at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, November 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Siniora: Lebanon's Problems Caused by Hezbollah

 Former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora gestures at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, November 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora gestures at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, November 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora reiterated that Lebanon was hijacked by Hezbollah, stressing that the country could not be restored without the return of the rule of state.

In an interview with a number of media outlets, including Asharq Al-Awsat, Siniora said any solution to the crisis with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries should begin with the resignation of Information Minister George Kordahi.

“The problem is Hezbollah; it is no longer permissible to ignore the perpetrator,” he said, asserting that the state “no longer enjoys the free decision.”

The danger of what is happening lies in “messing with the democratic system,” the former premier warned, noting that the national unity governments that were formed following the Doha agreement and the events of May 7, 2008 (Hezbollah’s invasion of Beirut and some areas) were an “unnatural context for the course” of the democratic political life.

He stressed that a natural democratic rule requires “a majority that controls, and an opposing minority,” adding that the Council of Ministers should be the basis for decision-making.

Siniora considered that the election of President Michel Aoun to power “messed up the role of the Presidency of the Republic,” pointing out that the president should be the symbol of the unity of the Lebanese in line with the Constitution.

“When he became a party to the internal crisis, he lost his ability to unite the Lebanese people,” the former premier stated.



Polio Vaccination Starts in North Gaza Despite Obstacles

A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Polio Vaccination Starts in North Gaza Despite Obstacles

A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A medic administers a polio vaccine to a Palestinian girl at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

A campaign to vaccinate a final 200,000 children in north Gaza against polio began on Tuesday although health and aid officials said the operation was complicated by access restrictions, evacuation orders and shortages of fuel.

The campaign in north Gaza, the part of the territory hardest hit by Israel's 11-month military offensive against Hamas militants, follows the vaccination of more than 446,000 Palestinian children in central and south Gaza earlier this month.

Medical staff had started administering vaccines in the north despite a dire need for fuel, among other challenges, said Dr. Moussa Abed of the primary care unit in Gaza's health ministry.
Vaccination centers are in areas that are militarily very active, difficult to reach and isolated if things go wrong, said Sam Rose, a deputy director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
"There are some nerves, but we'll have to make it work," he told Reuters by text message.
On Monday, Israel stopped a convoy that included vehicles and fuel for the vaccination campaign as well as a World Health Organization team trying to get to Gaza's Al Shifa hospital and the mission had to be aborted, the WHO's Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in a briefing.
'EXTREMELY DIFFICULT'
Israel also issued an evacuation order in north Gaza, the first in more than two weeks, that included areas that are part of humanitarian pause zones agreed upon for the polio vaccinations, according to a UN update on Monday.
"The centralization of services in the south makes it extremely difficult for us to get fuel, to get access to vaccinations, and to all other logistics," Mahmoud Shalabi of Medical Aid for Palestinians, a UK-based charity, told Reuters via a spokesperson.
"There is still no fuel for the movement of vehicles for vaccination teams in the north."
The campaign to vaccinate some 640,000 children in Gaza began on Sept. 1, following confirmation by the WHO last month that a baby had been partially paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years.
The campaign in north Gaza aims to conclude a first vaccination round, with a second set to commence after a month.