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Hariri Tribunal Preparing New Arrest Warrant against Ayyash

A statue of Lebanon's assassinated former PM Rafik Hariri is seen near the site of the suicide truck bombing that killed him in 2005, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 18, 2020. (Reuters)
A statue of Lebanon's assassinated former PM Rafik Hariri is seen near the site of the suicide truck bombing that killed him in 2005, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 18, 2020. (Reuters)
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Hariri Tribunal Preparing New Arrest Warrant against Ayyash

A statue of Lebanon's assassinated former PM Rafik Hariri is seen near the site of the suicide truck bombing that killed him in 2005, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 18, 2020. (Reuters)
A statue of Lebanon's assassinated former PM Rafik Hariri is seen near the site of the suicide truck bombing that killed him in 2005, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 18, 2020. (Reuters)

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) kicked off preparations to launch the public trials in the three cases related to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri by sending to the Lebanese judiciary a list of witnesses whose statements are requested by the court.

“In its new list, the Tribunal summoned six new persons and asked the Lebanese authorities to inform them of the need to testify at the STL headquarters in The Hague,” a Lebanese judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday.

The source said this list of witnesses is not the first and will not be the last, adding that the court is expected to send a new witness list at the trial state.

Meanwhile, the STL is expected to witness a new phase of in absentia trial in the coming months.

In August, the UN-backed tribunal found the main defendant, Salim Jamil Ayyash, guilty of the Beirut bombing that killed Hariri in February 2005.

Ayyash was a member of the Iran-backed Hezbollah party. He is also indicted for his involvement in the cases related to the assassination attempt against MP Marwan Hamadeh on October 1, 2004, assassination of former secretary general of the Lebanese Communist Party Georges Hawi on June 21, 2005 and failed attempt on the life of former Minister Elias Murr on July 12, 2005.

Asharq Al-Awsat learned from special sources at the Tribunal that Prosecutor Norman Farrell included in his indictment related to the cases of Hawi, Murr and Hamadeh, an arrest warrant in absentia against Ayyash.

The source added that that Pre-Trial Judge of the Tribunal Daniel Fransen had “certified the substance of the decision and referred it to Chamber I to proceed with the trial.”

On Nov. 4, Fransen will hold a third Status Conference with an aim to review the status of the Ayyash case and to ensure the expeditious preparation for trial, through an exchange between the Prosecution, Defense and Legal Representatives of the Victims.

The same source said Murr had omitted his personal right against any person involved in his assassination attempt, adding that this omission did not negate the follow-up of the case.

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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.