In his Friday sermon at the mosque in Bourj Brajneh in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Kabalan sharply criticized Prime Minister Nawaf Salam following his visit to the Bekaa, a region heavily affected by Israeli strikes, near the Lebanese Syrian border.

“The country is not built with flowers. The Bekaa doesn't need spectacular visits, but development, programs, job opportunities, educational and humanitarian infrastructure, and the fulfillment of promises from a state that has been living in lies for half a century,” he said.

“America before Israel”

The highest religious figure of Shiite Islam in Lebanon, known for his close relationship with Amal and Hezbollah, accused the government of being “indifferent” to the plight of the Shiite populations in the Bekaa, South Lebanon, and the southern suburbs of Beirut. While estimating that it was subject to “foreign diktats,” recalling the episode of landing prohibitions issued against Iranian airplanes last February. “He who doesn’t dare make the decision to allow the landing of Iranian civilian planes at the airport does not hold any real national decision,” he declared.

“The solution is in a state that says 'no' to America before Israel, a state determined to consolidate its capacities and national interests, instead of fleeing, submitting, or passively watching the flagrant Israeli violations,” which continues to carry out strikes almost daily in South Lebanon and other regions of the country since the entry into force of the ceasefire agreement on November 27, 2024.

“The solution starts by helping the South, not by hiding behind hollow slogans waiting for political gains,” he proclaimed.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam notably visited the Masnaa border post on Thursday. He presided over a meeting at the headquarters of the Baalbek-Hermel governorate before meeting with residents of the region. His visit was praised by families, clans, and notables of northern Bekaa, gathered for the occasion. They thanked the Prime Minister for his “promising” initiative for the return of the state in the region and informed him of the “urgent” issues to be addressed in the area, particularly those of Syrian refugees, the 38 “deserted” border villages due to tensions, the delineation of the border, and the importance, in their view, of a “fair” general amnesty law.

The Lebanese-Syrian border recently experienced clashes between Shiite clans considered close to Hezbollah and the new Syrian authorities. The Lebanese army immediately deployed on the scene and regularly conducts operations related to combating smuggling and trafficking at the northern and eastern borders of Lebanon.