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Lebanon’s Sunni Leaders Attack PM’s Latest Statement

Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian receives former PM Fouad Siniora
Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian receives former PM Fouad Siniora
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Lebanon’s Sunni Leaders Attack PM’s Latest Statement

Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian receives former PM Fouad Siniora
Lebanon's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian receives former PM Fouad Siniora

On Saturday, Lebanon witnessed a wave of criticism against statements made by Prime Minister Hassan Diab that targeted the Governor of the Banque du Liban Riad Salameh and economic and financial policies adopted by the Levantine country over the past years.

Some considered Diab’s speech as vengeful while others said that the prime minister had attacked Lebanon as a whole, both politically and economically.

“It is the stage of revenge, which they opened against a whole period, and assigned the prime minister to assume the attack,” ex-prime minister Saad Hariri said in a vocal statement against Diab, who is accused of seeking to end the free economic system in Lebanon.

Others like ex-prime ministers Tamam Salam and Fouad Siniora and MP Nouhad al-Mashnouq also attacked Diab for his recent statements from Lebanon’s Dar el-Fatwa.

“Diab’s statement is a continuation of a policy pursued by Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement, which formed the government, and it does not target a specific sect, but rather Lebanon as a whole,” sources close to the outspoken former prime ministers told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“Since forming the government, Hezbollah has been trying to seize more control over resources of this country, and here it is using Diab as means to an end,” the sources added.

Commenting on Diab’s statement, Siniora said: “This is not how things are handled, and what is required is to provide real remedies, because there are pressing living conditions; what is required today is the mobilization of citizens to support the process of real reform.”

“How can confidence be restored and we have not solved the judicial formations file? How can we gain the confidence of the Lebanese people, and we have not implemented the electricity law that has been in place for 18 years?” Siniora asked.

MP Mashnouq criticized Diab’s latest statement, pointing to “conspiracies” against the “Sunni community and Sunni politicians.”

“There is a conspiracy against Sunni politics and the Sunni community and we hope that Diab is not part of it,” said Mashnouq in remarks he made from Dar el-Fatwa.

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Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
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Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
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Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.