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Houthis Accused of Exploiting Beirut Blast to Raise Donations for Hezbollah

A general view shows the damage at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A general view shows the damage at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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Houthis Accused of Exploiting Beirut Blast to Raise Donations for Hezbollah

A general view shows the damage at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A general view shows the damage at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Yemeni activists accused Houthi militias in Sanaa of preparing to raise funds for the Lebanon-based Hezbollah against the background of the Beirut port explosion which struck the Lebanese capital and left around 100 people homeless.

On social media, Yemeni activists accused the Iran-backed Houthis of exploiting the Beirut blast to steal more funds from Yemenis and direct those funds into their war effort and financing the Lebanon-based Hezbollah. All this is taking place at a time Yemenis struggle to secure their daily meals.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi had ordered the group’s leaders to arrange for a donations campaign. Consequentially, Houthis sent out SMS texts asking people to donate to a specific bank account.

Yemeni activists slammed the behavior of the Houthi group, saying that it does not fathom the size of the disaster lying ahead for Yemenis because of the ongoing war, famine and disease. While the payroll of Yemeni public servants remains frozen, Houthis are rushing to aid Hezbollah under the presumption that it is to help the Lebanese people.

This is not the first time Houthis raise donations for the Lebanon-based Hezbollah. Last year, it raised around $132,000 through the Sam radio station after the international sanctions against Iran resumed.
Tehran’s funding of Hezbollah, since the sanctions, has been diminished significantly.

Yemeni activists say that the money gathered by the Houthi militias for Hezbollah confirms their involvement with Iran’s regional agenda.

The new Houthi campaign to collect donations for Iran angered residents of the capital, Sanaa, as many of them expressed to Asharq Al-Awsat their disdain for the group’s behavior, which is more keen on the interests of the Lebanese Hezbollah than for the benefit of Yemenis and alleviating their suffering.

“We are not surprised by the Houthi sectarian-inspired action to back its allies in the region,” a Yemeni activist in Sanaa said, adding that what is surprising is that those donation campaigns are being run while Yemenis are starving.

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Arab World

Aoun Wants Formation of ‘Consensual’ Lebanese Govt Representing All Components

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
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Aoun Wants Formation of ‘Consensual’ Lebanese Govt Representing All Components

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is advocating the formation of a government of “consensus” that includes representatives from all political factions.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam has requested that parliamentary blocs submit non-partisan nominees for ministerial positions, emphasizing that they must not belong to any political party.

Aoun stressed on Tuesday that all components of society have the right to be represented in the government, parliament and public administration, as this is already practiced in the army.

“We have significant opportunities that we hope to seize by uniting all elements of Lebanese society—civil, spiritual, and political. Together, we can rebuild our nation,” he declared.

Highlighting the importance of meeting international expectations, Aoun hoped for the rapid formation of a government to achieve political, economic, and security stability, which would allow citizens “to live with dignity, not merely in relative comfort.”

During meetings with professional delegations at the Presidential Palace, Aoun said: “We are at a crossroads. Either we take advantage of the current circumstances and rise above sectarian, religious, and political divisions, or we head in a different direction and bear full responsibility for failing to fulfill our duties.”

Negotiations between Aoun, Salam, and political factions over the formation of a government are ongoing. The discussions, which kicked off last week, have reportedly made progress, with efforts directed toward expediting the government formation process, issuing decrees, preparing a ministerial statement, and securing its vote of confidence from lawmakers.

While the Shiite duo of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement appear to have finalized their proposed nominees for the government, disagreements over the ministerial statement remain.

MP Waddah Sadek, who is backed by the opposition, firmly rejected the inclusion of the “Army, People, Resistance” term in the statement. He declared: “No ‘blocking third’ in the government, and no unconstitutional gimmicks. The slogan of the new phase in Lebanon should be: the ‘Army, People, and State.’”

The Kataeb Party echoed this stance, stressing that Lebanon, emerging from a devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel, must align with the Aoun’s inaugural speech and Salam’s remarks by ensuring the ministerial statement exclusively underscores the state’s monopoly over arms and the defense of the nation.

“The government must act decisively, dismantle militias, strictly enforce the ceasefire, and uphold its provisions across all Lebanese territory,” it demanded.

The Kataeb Party also urged Aoun and Salam to resist the “great extortion” by Hezbollah and Amal to secure specific ministries or positions, in violation of the inaugural speech, calling instead for the application of uniform standards to ensure the government’s success.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah adopted a more confrontational tone.

MP Hussein Hajj Hassan, a member of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, commented: “To those betting on Hezbollah’s weakness or the weakness of the Hezbollah-Amal alliance, what will you say when the government is formed? What will you say when you realize the strength of Hezbollah, the alliance, and the resistance’s supporters across all segments of Lebanese society? What will you say when you see the unwavering determination and unity of the resistance at every critical juncture?”