Mayor Talal Akil inspects the damage to his home in the village of Jibbin near the border with Israel on November 20, 2023, after it was targeted the night before by an Israeli strike. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Controversy followed the publication by al-Akhbar newspaper of an alleged decision by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to financially compensate families in southern Lebanon affected by Israeli attacks ongoing since Oct.8, when Hezbollah and Israel began their exchange of fire.
Contacted by L'Orient Today on Wednesday, the prime minister's office said it had "no comment" to make on the information reported by al-Akhbar and that they would officially announce any plans.
Mikati's commitment, as reported by al-Akhbar, outlines a compensation plan of "$20,000 for each family who lost a member" and "$40,000 for every completely destroyed residential unit."
90,000 people have been displaced from border villages since the exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel started.
"The proposed compensation plan, totaling over $46 million, aims to alleviate the suffering of those impacted by the recent conflict," al-Akhbar reported.
Additionally, funds will be allocated to compensate tobacco farmers in border towns, such as Rmeish, Aitaroun, Houla, and Mais al-Jabal, who suffered significant losses due to the conflict.
"There are discussions with Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri regarding an initiative that the Lebanese Tobacco and Tombacs Authority would carry out in order to compensate the affected tobacco farmers in the border towns, especially in the towns of Rmeish, Aitaroun, Houla and Mays al-Jabal," al-Akhbar added.
'Hezbollah decided to go to war, not the government'
However, skepticism has arisen regarding the source of these funds and the government's authority to provide compensation.
Hezbollah, through its MP Hassan Fadlallah, had previously announced its own compensation for those affected by skirmishes in southern border villages, allocating $100 to displaced southerners monthly, but has not announced anything yet regarding compensations for destruction and casualties.
Some criticism of the Lebanese government's decision stems from the belief that it was Hezbollah that decided to go to war with Israel and not the Lebanese government.
“We did not decide on war, and we did not open a front to support anyone who decided to go ahead and pay. It is not our duty to defend anyone,” a social media user said on X.
مش نحنا قررنا الحرب ومش نحنا فتحنا جبهة لمساندة حدا يلي قرر يتفضل هو ويلي دافشوا يدفع مش واجباتنا ندفع عن حدا
— francoise ?? (@francoi45934503) March 20, 2024
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had repeatedly said that the war on Lebanon’s southern front is in solidarity with its key ally Hamas in its war against Israel.
Nasrallah had explained that although they did not take part in the implementation of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct.7 they support it and “support any Palestinian resistance operation against Israel.”
244 Hezbollah members have been killed in Lebanon and Syria by Israel since then.
Samir Geagea, head of the Lebanese Forces Party, had repeatedly argued that those responsible for causing displacement should be the ones to compensate victims, not the state.
In November, Geagea said that “the people of the south deserve every compensation, but it should be the ones who caused their displacement to compensate them, not the Lebanese state, as they are the ones who decided to carry out the operations from the south.”
“It’s shameful that some are speaking in such a sectarian way since knowing that the government might compensate the people of the south who have sacrificed to protect this country,” Qassem Hashem, a member of the parliamentary bloc of the Amal Movement, said in a statement, relayed by the state-run National News Agency, Thursday.
“This is a national issue that concerns everyone without exception,” Hashem concluded.
Others believed that southerners have paid a heavy price due to their presence in proximity to Israel since it was founded in 1945.
“South Lebanon and the people of south Lebanon have been paying taxes from the conflict with Israel since 1948. They have the right to be compensated, and it’s not a lot to ask for them to be compensated,” a social media user said on X.
جنوب لبنان واهالي جنوب لبنان من سنة 1948 بيدفعوا ضريية الصراع مع اسرائيل مش كتير عليهن أي تعويض مهما كانت قيمته.
— Ali Maz (@AliMaz47385027) March 21, 2024
In the last full-scale war fought between Hezbollah and Israel in July 2006, the Lebanese government had said that it had paid around $318 million in reconstruction of damages and Hezbollah had said that it paid around $300 million in reconstruction other than cash handouts distributed to people to whose houses and businesses were affected.
Billions of dollars worth of aid had poured down on Lebanon, most notably from Gulf countries in 2006.
However, since then the relationship between Lebanon and the Gulf countries has been strained. In 2021, Gulf countries withdrew their ambassadors from Lebanon after George Qurdahi, who was the Minister of Information at the time, had accused Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of being “accomplices in the war against Yemen.”