Lebanon’s Adib in Baabda Monday to Propose Government Lineup

PM-designate Mustapha Adib met Aoun last week (NNA)
PM-designate Mustapha Adib met Aoun last week (NNA)
TT

Lebanon’s Adib in Baabda Monday to Propose Government Lineup

PM-designate Mustapha Adib met Aoun last week (NNA)
PM-designate Mustapha Adib met Aoun last week (NNA)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate, Mustapha Adib, is expected to visit President Michel Aoun in Baabda Palace on Monday to propose his government lineup, informed sources said, adding that the PM is optimistic that the cabinet would be formed soon.

The sources said French Ambassador Pierre Dukan, a member of the French team concerned with President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative on Lebanon, is expected to visit Beirut this week to follow up with Lebanese officials on means to agree on unified figures on the country’s financial losses to present them to the IMF as soon as the government is formed.

Hezbollah and the Amal Movement, which is headed by Speaker Nabih Berri, would not participate in the new government if they fail to name their ministers and take the finance portfolio, said the sources.

In a statement on Sunday, Berri’s office said the Speaker has informed Adib that Amal will not be participating in the next government on the proposed foundations.

It added that Berri also told Adib his party was ready to cooperate to the “fullest extent to serve Lebanon’s stability and finances, implement reforms and rescue its economy.”

The statement said the problem is not with the French, but rather internal.

“One slogan was launched for the government: specialization in exchange for [potential ministers] not being aligned with parties and not affiliated with parliamentary [blocs], vetoes on ministries, inviting support from abroad and without holding consultations,” the statement said.

On Sunday, head of the Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil received separate telephone calls from Macron and Adib.

For his part, Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi said that from now on, “we cannot accept a cabinet similar to its predecessors,” describing the country’s political system as mired in an epidemic of selfishness, financial corruption and quotas at the expense of public money and the people of Lebanon.

Rahi’s statement came at a religious sermon during the 40-day memorial service dedicated to the Aug. 4 Beirut Port victims.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Audi also lashed out at political leaders.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
TT

Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.