A convoy of vehicles arrives at Lebanon's southern town of Naqoura on Oct. 27, 2022. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
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Just days ahead of the end of his presidential mandate and with Parliament having made no apparent progress on electing his successor, Michel Aoun last night issued an ultimatum to Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati. In an interview with TV channel LBCI, the president said he will give Mikati until Monday — the day Aoun’s term in office officially ends — to form a government; otherwise, he “will sign the [caretaker] government's resignation.” Aoun did not elaborate on what such a move would mean on a legal level. Lebanon’s cabinet has been serving in a caretaker capacity since assuming the status in the aftermath of parliamentary elections in May. To date, Aoun and Mikati have failed to agree on a new lineup of ministers. Meanwhile, Parliament has met four times in sessions dedicated to electing Aoun’s successor, but has thus far failed to progress the elections beyond a first round of voting in which no candidate has received the support of two-thirds of MPs required to be elected president. If, by Oct. 31, no successor to Aoun is chosen and no new cabinet is appointed, Lebanon will for the first time in its history experience a simultaneous power vacuum in both the presidency and the cabinet.
“I hope the benefits are felt soon by all Lebanese people,” the US mediator in the indirect maritime border negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, Amos Hochstein, said yesterday, officially marking the end of the border dispute after both sides signed the final agreement. Hochstein forwarded the agreement to a United Nations official after it was signed during separate meetings with Lebanese and Israeli delegations at the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) base in Naqoura. Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid each signed the agreement before the Naqoura meeting. In a statement after the deal was approved, Aoun stripped the delineation of any “political dimension,” emphasizing that it had no bearing on Lebanon’s foreign policy. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made a similar statement during a televised speech. Both statements were in response to Lapid’s earlier claim of a “political achievement” underlying the deal, namely, according to him, Lebanon’s de facto recognition of Israel. The signing ceremony at Naqoura seated the delegations in separate rooms, with each signing only a unilateral agreement destined for registry at the UN, to avoid any allegations of “normalization” between the warring parties. Earlier this week, Israel began gas production in the Karish field, included as part of the agreement in the Israeli exclusive economic zone. Lebanese officials have urged for the immediate commencement of gas exploration following the deal’s signature, enacting changes to the consortium licensed to undertake the efforts on Wednesday. Despite the expected boon to Lebanon accompanying gas exploration, experts have cautioned against regarding it as a palliative to the country’s compounded crises.
Hector Hajjar, Lebanon’s caretaker social affairs minister, scheduled a second series of repatriation trips for next week after several hundred Syrian refugees were returned to Syria on Wednesday. Hajjar said the number of refugees returned aboard the first trips, estimated at around 750, was “encouraging.” A Thursday statement from Lebanon’s General Security reiterated the “voluntary” nature of the returns and claimed the process took place in cooperation with “the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).” UNHCR previously denied that it was “facilitating or promoting” repatriation, limiting its presence to “reaching out and counseling refugees.” The refugee rights organization, among other rights groups, has cast doubts on the safety of Syrian refugees’ return to their country.
Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi called on governors throughout Lebanon to “tighten their supervision on all sources of water” in an effort to curb the spread of cholera, which as of yesterday had killed 15 people since the outbreak began. Some 368 confirmed cases have been registered in the country to date. The spread of cholera is exacerbated by inadequate access to clean water. Mawlawi added that daily reports will be expected “from every governorate.” Local authorities in cooperation with international organizations implemented measures attempting to curtail rising cholera infections by waiving cholera-related hospitalization fees at public institutions, establishing field hospitals, organizing awareness campaigns and supplying fuel to power water infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia modified the visa request process for select Lebanese citizens, inducing “a significant relaxation,” according to the president of the Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies in Lebanon, Jean Abboud. A new visa request procedure for entry into Saudi Arabia was announced in a Thursday statement from Middle East Airlines. Lebanese citizens will be granted a visa upon arrival in the kingdom if their passports are valid, they were previously conferred a Schengen, US or UK visa and are in possession of a bank card capable of making international payments in foreign currencies. Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Bukhari stressed the strengthening of Lebanese-Saudi relations during a series of meetings with Lebanese officials last week.
In case you missed it, here's our must-read story from yesterday: “Memorial or demolition? Fate of Beirut port silos still hangs in the balance”
Compiled by Abbas Mahfouz