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Morning Brief

Kuwaiti response expected, Kataeb launches elections campaign, Sammy Clark dies: Everything you need to know to start your Monday

Here’s what happened over the weekend and what to expect today, Monday, Feb. 21

Kuwaiti response expected, Kataeb launches elections campaign, Sammy Clark dies: Everything you need to know to start your Monday

A military vehicle from the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon drives by a billboard, reading "Jerusalem is closer, we are on our way," on a hilltop in southern Lebanon's Khiam area on Feb. 18, 2022. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)

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Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday told Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram he expects a response to Lebanon’s reaction to Kuwaiti proposals “within three days.” The set of 12 proposals is aimed at mending diplomatic ties with the Gulf monarchies after the broadcast of remarks by former Information Minister Georges Kurdahi in October over Riyadh’s role in the war in Yemen quickly snowballed into a full-blown diplomatic crisis. Discussing one of the main contentious issues with the proposals, namely abiding by UN Resolution 1701, which established a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah after the 2006 war, Berri denounced the silence of the Lebanese “in the face of the position of Israel,” which, he says, continues to violate this resolution.

Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz yesterday threatened to “hold the Lebanese state accountable” after denouncing what he called “Hezbollah’s attempts to violate the sovereignty of Israel.” His remarks came two days after Israel flew military aircraft low over the Lebanese capital, sending residents across Lebanon into a state of shock and worry. Tension between Hezbollah and Israel had risen Friday, when for the second day in a row, a drone entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, prompting the Israeli army to activate its air defense system and dispatch fighter jets. “Iran is responsible for the arming process in Lebanon and the weakening of the country’s governance,” Gantz charged, speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. “During this week, we have seen several attempts by Hezbollah to violate Israel’s sovereignty,” he added. “I have a clear message to Hezbollah: … if we have to respond to the attack to defend ourselves, we will do so and cause great damage to the terrorist organization and its entourage,” Gantz emphasized. For its part, Hezbollah again praised the drone incursion. On Sunday, Nabil Kaouk, a member of Hezbollah’s central council, emphasized that “the equations have changed. Israeli drones used to violate Lebanese airspace. Today, it is the Lebanese drones that violate the space of the Hebrew state.” He described the incident as a “historic humiliation” for Israel.

Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel launched his party's campaign for upcoming legislative elections, assuring that it is a “part of the change” to which the Lebanese aspire. In a speech delivered at the Forum de Beyrouth, the Christian leader, who wants to spearhead the opposition, took aim at the ruling class, although many Lebanese would classify him as being part of that same group. Gemayel accused the Lebanese Forces and the Free Patriotic Movement of paving the way for “leaving a country collapsed and handed over to Hezbollah” due to their 2016 agreement, which allowed Michel Aoun to become president.“They destroyed our lives and our economy, undermined the resilience of the Lebanese, weakened the Lebanese lira and spent our money,” Gemayel continued, adding, “They could have spared us this if they had agreed to hold early legislative elections.” The Kataeb leader repeatedly demanded legislative elections be brought forward in the wake of the Oct. 17, 2019, protest movement, describing such polls as the only way to “get rid of the cartels in power.”

Around 100 relatives of the victims of the deadly 2020 explosion at the Beirut port gathered yesterday afternoon near the site of the tragedy to protest the state’s proposed demolition of the grain silos ravaged by the blast. The relatives oppose the demolition of the silos as they see it as an erasure of the disaster’s memory and, as one engineer whose daughter was killed in the blast reasoned, there aren’t any studies that clearly state the silos present any danger; on the contrary: they reportedly saved lives. Military and police officers were deployed at the scene after protesters briefly blocked Charles Helou Avenue in both directions. Relatives of the victims had demonstrated several times over the past week to demand the resumption of the investigation into the blast, which has stalled repeatedly amid an array of lawsuits and attempts at removing lead investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, from the case. On Tuesday, the Second Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, chaired by Roula Masri, rejected an appeal by former ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter, seeking to remove Bitar from the case. The two men are implicated in the investigation into the port blast.

Outrage ensued after an unidentified Google Maps user insulted deceased former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Friday. Google users who were looking for the location of Hariri’s grave on Friday night were met with an insulting description of the assassinated former premier instead: “Here is buried Rafik Hariri the bastard son.” While his son, former head of government Saad Hariri, has still not reacted to this affair, both Saad’s brother Bahaa and the Future Movement party, which Saad leads, condemned what Bahaa described in a statement as “unprecedented resentment, in violation of the most elementary religious and moral principles,” promising that the perpetrator “will pay dearly for what they did to Rafik Hariri and to all honorable Lebanese.” Imad Kreidieh, the boss of Lebanese telecom company Ogero, who is reportedly close to the Hariri camp, wrote on Twitter that Google had been contacted with the request to eliminate the insult, adding that authorities would receive a briefing note about the affair. By Saturday morning the manipulated mention of the location of Rafik Hariri's grave had already been erased.

Acclaimed Lebanese singer Sammy Clark has died at age 73 after reportedly suffering from heart-related issues. Born Sami Hobeika in Dhour Choueir, Metn, Clark was a singer, composer and musician, known for singing in both Arabic and many foreign languages. After joining the military band, he shot to stardom in the late 1960s singing Western songs with an acclaimed operatic range. A whole generation of Lebanese children grew up with Clark during the 1980s and ’90s when he dubbed the theme song of anime cartoons, such as Grendizer and Treasure Island.

Parliament will meet today and tomorrow at UNESCO Palace to tackle a range of draft laws and proposals. However, the 2022 draft budget, which cabinet approved earlier this month and which is considered a crucial step for Lebanon to unlock an international financial rescue package essential to charting a course out of the country’s current economic crisis, is reportedly not on the agenda.

In case you missed it, here’s our must-read story from the weekend:With the clock ticking, where does Lebanon stand in its negotiations with the IMF?” 

Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up.Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Saturday told Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram he expects a response to Lebanon’s reaction to Kuwaiti proposals “within three days.” The set of 12 proposals is aimed at mending diplomatic ties with the Gulf monarchies after the broadcast of remarks by former Information Minister Georges Kurdahi in...