Khalaf al-Habtoor says he fears visiting Lebanon after being threatened on social media

Emirati businessman Khalaf al-Habtoor, head of the Al Habtoor Group conglomerate, said in an interview Thursday with Reuters that Lebanon is still not safe, and he was threatened to be "slaughtered and killed" in 2024, after having announced on Tuesday the cancellation of all his planned investments in the country

"I was threatened, and not just with a slap or something light. If that were the case, it wouldn't be serious, but I was threatened to be killed and slaughtered," said Habtoor, speaking on Zoom from a hotel he owns in Budapest. The threat, made on social media by an anonymous person, led Habtoor to file a complaint, for which he won in a Lebanese court, he specified.

When asked about the possibility of reevaluating his decision to further invest in Lebanon amid ongoing negotiations to form a new government, Habtoor responded that if the country can provide security and protection, he "would definitely return."

"Not a single penny can be invested as long as there is no security and safety," he stated.

Habtoor has not set foot in Lebanon for about twenty years, Reuters noted. He told the news agency that the death threat prompted him to abandon plans to launch a media outlet in Beirut in 2024. Known for his anti-Hezbollah stance, Habtoor abandoned plans last June to launch a TV channel in Lebanon, citing "security risks" without further details. One of his hotels, the Hilton in Sin al-Fil in the northern suburbs of Beirut where several foreign media occupied rooms turned into offices during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, temporarily closed its doors in 2024, after rumors that a Hezbollah-affiliated channel was seeking accommodation there. The hotel finally reopened in early November.

Optimism then withdrawal

In recent weeks, the billionaire who owns two hotels in Beirut announced he would make new investments in Lebanon upon the formation of a new government. He notably mentioned plans to renovate Habtoorland, an amusement park he opened in the early 2000s in Jamhour (Baabda) which has since been abandoned, as well as the Habtoor shopping center, located near his hotels in Beirut, which closed at the start of the economic crisis in 2019.

On Tuesday, he announced the cancellation of all his planned investments in Lebanon.

"The current situation in Lebanon, the lack of security and stability and the absence of prospects for improvement have prompted us to cancel all the investment projects we were planning to implement in Lebanon," Habtoor wrote on X.

Habtoor also stated that he, his family and the group's directors will refrain from traveling to Lebanon, adding that he will sell all his properties and investments in the country. "These decisions ... are the result of a careful study and thorough monitoring of the on-site situation," he said.

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Habtoor cancels planned investments in Lebanon citing current situation

Nawaf Salam was tapped on Jan. 13 to form the new government after the election on Jan. 9 of General Joseph Aoun as president, ending more than two years of vacancy at the helm of the state. The accession of the two men to power has sparked hopes of renewal among many Lebanese, following the weakening of Hezbollah.

A week ago, the United Arab Emirates announced the reopening of their embassy in Beirut, more than three years after it was closed. However, Habtoor pointed out that the Gulf state had not yet given the green light for its citizens to visit the country.

On Monday, Habtoor criticized how residents of southern Lebanon returned to their villages as well as provocations from Hezbollah and Amal supporters who paraded on motorcycles in Beirut. Israeli gunfire has killed dozens of people in southern Lebanon since Sunday as residents tried to reach their villages near the border still occupied by Israel following the expiration of the deadline for withdrawing Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. The White House announced the extension of the ceasefire agreement until Feb. 18.