An employee disinfects a bed at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut. (Reuters/Issam Abdallah)
Authorities put Lebanon back on curfew as the number of known, active coronavirus cases nears 40,000. Starting today, residents won’t be allowed out from 9 p.m. till 5 a.m. The Interior Ministry also put 115 municipalities on lockdown, almost double last week’s number. The syndicate representing restaurant owners pushed back against the curfew and continuing policy of partial lockdowns, calling for officials instead to call a two-week full lockdown of the whole country and all sectors and then lift it before the holiday season in December. Meanwhile, hospitals remain close to capacity: as of Friday, 270 of the country’s 306 ICU beds were full, according to the World Health Organization.
Demonstrators angry with the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad gathered near the French Embassy Friday and Sunday. Friday’s protest was organized by Hizb al-Tahrir, a Sunni fundamentalist party. Security forces blocked streets surrounding the embassy, causing massive traffic jams, and clashed with protesters who threw rocks and other objects as they tried to reach the embassy. Sunday’s protest, which drew a few dozen people, was called for by Sheikh Nabil Jachi from south Lebanon, L’Orient-Le Jour reported. The republication in September of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad by controversial French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo has sparked growing outrage in the Muslim world and a series of violent incidents in France, while many Muslims who condemn the acts of violence were nevertheless angered by French President Emmanuel Macron’s defense of the cartoons in the name of free speech.
Negotiations to form a new government appeared to have hit a snag. While there had been optimistic predictions that a new government would be announced Sunday or Monday, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri did not visit the Presidential Palace over the weekend. (His last trip to Baabda was Wednesday.) Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai, in an address on the occasion of the first Sunday of the liturgical year, criticized cabinet formation delays, accusing parties of "adhering to their quotas and sectarian portfolios while half the Lebanese people cannot find a food ration to eat and are packing their bags to emigrate.”
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon will hold a hearing on Wednesday to give the latest developments in the trial for the murder and attempted murders of three Lebanese politicians. Salim Ayyash is on trial in absentia for alleged involvement in the killing of George Hawi, a former secretary-general of the Lebanese Communist Party, and the attempted murders of former ministers Marwan Hamadeh and Elias Murr. Wednesday’s “status conference” is set to be live-streamed on the STL’s website in three languages, but the pretrial judge may choose to close the session if confidential matters are being discussed. In August, the international court found Hezbollah-linked Ayyash guilty as the “main criminal” in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.
All eyes are on Tuesday’s presidential election in the United States. Whether Donald Trump wins another term or is ousted by Joe Biden, the outcome of the election will determine the direction of US foreign policy for the next four years. The Trump administration has taken a harder line towards Iran — and, by extension, Hezbollah — than its predecessor, so some have predicted that a Biden presidency would see an easing of that pressure. But while Biden could take a more conciliatory line regionally, he would be unlikely to reverse the US’ growing sanctions offensive in Lebanon, which is supported by both Democrats and Republicans. Regardless, we may not know the results of the election immediately — or even this week — due to the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic and potential legal battles.