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Lebanon: Concerns Rise of Total Darkness after the Polls

Lebanon is crippled by frequent power cuts as corruption keeps hindering the improvement of the country's energy sector. (AFP)
Lebanon is crippled by frequent power cuts as corruption keeps hindering the improvement of the country's energy sector. (AFP)
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Lebanon: Concerns Rise of Total Darkness after the Polls

Lebanon is crippled by frequent power cuts as corruption keeps hindering the improvement of the country's energy sector. (AFP)
Lebanon is crippled by frequent power cuts as corruption keeps hindering the improvement of the country's energy sector. (AFP)

Warnings are growing in Lebanon that the country’s lingering electricity crisis could worsen after its parliamentary elections on May 15, amid fears of total darkness engulfing the nation in light of dysfunctional public services.

Walid Fayyad, Lebanon’s Energy Minister declared that the completion of the contract to import gas from Egypt through Syrian territory requires American guarantees in order not to fall under the Caesar law sanctions imposed on Syria.

In talks with the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum Tarek al-Mulla in April, Fayyad said that securing the necessary funding is in the hands of the World Bank. He also pointed out that US guarantees are required to exempt Lebanon from the repercussions of the Caesar law for oil transmission to Lebanon through Syria.

Lebanese lawmaker, Nazih Najem told Asharq Al-Awsat: “The problem is not in the agreement with the World Bank nor on how to import gas from Egypt and electricity from Jordan. The real problem is that the decision in Lebanon comes from abroad.”

He said that the government is aware that none of this will happen, but stands idle without looking for alternatives.

The MP said that unfortunately, the government waits for the street to explode in anger instead.

Najem explained that some alternative solutions for importing gas from Egypt and electricity from Jordan were presented to the government eight months ago without receiving any response.

Moreover, he stated that no US guarantees, exempting Egypt and Jordan from sanctions shall they export gas and electricity to Lebanon through Syria, were given to the two countries.

Lebanon suffers from a severe electricity crisis supply and seeks to resolve it through a plan supported by the US through the import of Egyptian gas which will be pumped through Jordan and Syria to operate a power station in North Lebanon. But the agreement was not even signed.

Energy and oil expert, Laury Haytayan told Asharq Al Awsat: “The government’s ambiguity is not reassuring for any foreign party to deal with it.”

She said the World Bank links funding of Lebanon’s electricity plan to the implementation of reforms which “unfortunately are nothing but promises.”

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Uncertain Future for the PFLP-GC in Post-Assad Syria

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
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Uncertain Future for the PFLP-GC in Post-Assad Syria

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Damascus on April 18 (AP) 

The brief detention of Talal Naji, Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), by Syrian authorities has renewed scrutiny over the status of Palestinian factions still operating in Syria, particularly those that aligned with the former Assad regime.

Naji’s arrest and swift release come amid a major political realignment following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024. Once one of the most active and heavily armed Palestinian groups in Syria, the PFLP-GC now faces an uncertain future, along with other factions that were long tolerated—or even supported—under Assad’s rule.

A well-informed Palestinian source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the new Syrian administration has appointed a figure known as Abu Abdul Rahman al-Shami to oversee the file of Palestinian factions. Since assuming the role, al-Shami has convened multiple meetings with faction representatives, including regular attendees from the PFLP-GC, to discuss the fate of their fighters, weapons, property, and military infrastructure.

According to the source, al-Shami has made it clear that the new government intends to hold accountable any individuals or groups implicated in crimes against Syrian civilians during the civil war. Palestinian factions have been instructed to surrender all weapons and military equipment, and to limit their activities to humanitarian and relief work. The PFLP-GC, the source said, has largely complied.

Despite the fall of the Assad regime, Naji and much of the PFLP-GC’s second- and third-tier leadership have remained in Syria. Its offices in Damascus reportedly continue to operate, though under heightened scrutiny. Other faction leaders, however, have fled. Among them are Khaled Abdul Majid (Popular Struggle Front), Ziyad al-Saghir (Fatah–Intifada), Mohammad al-Saeed (Liwa al-Quds), and Saed Abdel Al (Free Palestine Movement). Most are believed to have sought refuge in Lebanon.

Sources confirmed that several PFLP-GC fighters have been detained in recent weeks in connection with alleged war crimes committed during their cooperation with Assad’s forces. The Syrian government has also moved to seize faction offices and military installations across the country, including properties belonging to Fatah–Intifada, the Free Palestine Movement, and the Sa’iqa Forces. Sa’iqa’s leader, Mohammad Qais, remains in Syria.

In a further blow, authorities have reportedly frozen bank accounts belonging to some Palestinian factions, both in state and private banks, although it remains unclear whether the PFLP-GC is among them.

Additionally, it is widely believed that the PFLP-GC has handed over its military training camps, which were previously spread across Damascus countryside, Daraa, Aleppo, and Suwayda. “The situation is extremely sensitive, and everyone is anxious,” one Palestinian source told Asharq Al-Awsat. “It’s likely they’ve surrendered those sites.”

The sense of unease deepened last month when Syrian authorities detained two senior Islamic Jihad officials in Damascus: Khaled Khaled, head of the group’s Syria bureau, and Abu Ali Yasser, its chief organizational officer. Both remain in custody, and no official charges have been announced.

The current atmosphere of fear and uncertainty has driven faction leaders to avoid public comment. Most now insist on anonymity when speaking to local or international media.

Before the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in March 2011, Syria hosted more than a dozen Palestinian factions. As the conflict escalated, the Assad regime encouraged the formation of new pro-regime groups, composed largely of Palestinian refugees, to fight alongside its forces.