People gathered on the outskirts of the border village of Kfar Kila on Sunday to mark the 21st anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon, which falls on Tuesday. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)
Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up.
Parliament affirmed Saad Hariri’s mandate after debating Michel Aoun’s letter slamming the premier-designate’s cabinet formation efforts. The president’s letter, sent Tuesday to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, accused Hariri of being “unable to form a government that meets citizens’ demands.” The letter was read out to Parliament on Friday before Berri postponed the session for one day to defuse tensions between MP Gebran Bassil, Aoun’s son-in-law, and Hariri. From the floor of Parliament on Saturday, Hariri accused Aoun of obstructing government formation, adding that the letter was aimed at absolving the president of responsibility. MPs affirmed Hariri’s mandate to form a government in agreement with Aoun at the end of the session. This latest episode in the cabinet formation crisis came exactly seven months after Hariri’s designation.
The United States pledged $120 million to support the Lebanese Army. The US has allocated “$120 million in Foreign Military Financing assistance to Lebanon for fiscal year 2021,” representing a $15 million increase over last year’s funding, the US Embassy said in a press release following a virtual defense conference between Lebanese Army chief Joseph Aoun, the US ambassador to Lebanon and US senior security officials. The money represents a major source of funding for the army, whose budget is LL2.9 trillion, or about $230 million at the market exchange rate. Army chief Aoun in March said soldiers were “suffering and starving” amid the country’s deepening economic crisis.
A “special committee” at the Health Ministry will study subsidized medicine import requests, Banque du Liban said Friday. Following a meeting between BDL Gov. Riad Salameh, caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan and the head of Parliament’s health committee, Assem Araji, the central bank announced the creation of a committee at the Health Ministry to study subsidized medicine import files held at the central bank. The bank said it has provided $485 million this year to cover imports of medicine, medical equipment, baby formula milk and raw material for the pharmaceutical industry at the official exchange rate. Importers of these necessities had requested $1.23 billion worth of invoices as of May 20, which exceeds the total for last year’s imports, BDL claims. Imports of subsidized medicine, fuel and foodstuffs are being delayed by months, allegedly due to BDL’s failure to provide dollar facilities promptly.
Meanwhile, BDL is set to inject dollars into commercial banks’ accounts abroad on Thursday as it begins selling dollars via the Sayrafa platform. The central bank announced it will start selling dollars to banks at the exchange rate of LL12,000 per greenback through its online money exchange platform. To obtain dollars, importers and individuals must deposit cash lira at banks by Tuesday, and BDL will transfer the requested dollars to banks’ correspondents abroad on Thursday. Customers must provide relevant documents to justify the purpose of their dollar purchases. The central bank’s intervention through Sayrafa is its latest attempt to protect the national currency value by withdrawing quantities of lira banknotes and providing hard currencies in return — its previous efforts have been unsuccessful. BDL Gov. Riad Salameh is set to appear in a pre-recorded interview with Saudi TV station Al-Hadath tonight at 10:10 p.m. to discuss the latest financial developments and the status of deposits at Lebanese commercial banks.
Tuesday marks the 21st anniversary of the liberation of south Lebanon from Israeli occupation. After invading Lebanon in 1978 and then again in 1982, reaching as far as Beirut, Israel withdrew from several regions between 1983 and 1985 but remained in control of the southern border area in coordination with its proxy, the South Lebanon Army, a Lebanese militia formed during the Civil War. A 15-year conflict would rage between the Lebanese resistance, mainly led by Hezbollah, and Israel, supported by its proxy militias. The occupation came to an end on May 25, 2000, when Israel withdrew its troops from Lebanon, leading to the collapse of the SLA.
If you find our coverage useful, and you have the means, help support our work by subscribing to L’Orient Today. Your contribution will help our young newsroom grow, while maintaining our commitment to providing independent, critical reporting on Lebanon’s most important issues. Thank you.