Lebanon's Parliament in Beirut. (Credit: Diego Fiore/Bigstock)
Lebanon’s Parliament on Thursday passed a law stiffening penalties for celebratory gunfire, amending a 2016 law, during a full-day plenary session. The move came just days after preliminary municipal election results in northern Lebanon left at least two people injured by stray bullets.
Other items on the agenda included the return of Syrian refugees and migrants, the deportation of those in Lebanon illegally, a general amnesty proposal, and recovery efforts in areas hit by Israeli attacks. However, these proposals lost their "double urgency" status — a designation that allows for immediate parliamentary discussion — and were instead referred back to committees.
Harsher sentences for ‘celebratory’ gunfire
The adopted text, introduced by MP Ashraf Baydoun, amends Law No. 71 of Oct. 27, 2016, which criminalized celebratory gunfire, by increasing the penalties. The decision followed Sunday night’s injuries to two people — including LBCI journalist Nada Andraos — from stray bullets in Tripoli after election results were announced.
Though illegal, celebratory gunfire is common in Lebanon, including during family gatherings and funerals. The original 2016 law imposed jail terms ranging from six months to three years, and up to 10 years of hard labor plus fines in cases resulting in death. But the practice has persisted. According to Beirut-based Information International, stray bullets have killed an average of seven people and caused 15 injuries per year between 2010 and 2021.
Confusion over tax exemptions for war-affected residents
Another key item — a draft law granting tax and fee exemptions for residents affected by the ongoing war between Hezbollah and the Israeli army — sparked heated debate in Parliament.
According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), the bill was submitted by Hezbollah and Amal MPs along with Elias Jaradeh, a protest movement MP representing the South. It was initially passed, but then provoked backlash. Tripoli MP Ashraf Rifi told L’Orient-Le Jour that several anti-Hezbollah MPs argued the exemptions should apply to all war-damaged areas, not just southern villages.
A sharp exchange erupted between MP Kabalan Kabalan (Amal) and MP Paula Yacoubian (reformist), who criticized the process by which the bill was adopted. Kabalan accused Yacoubian of “caring more about Israeli interests than the Israelis themselves,” to which she replied that she had been “dragged into this war” by the Hezbollah-Amal alliance.
Finance Minister Yassine Jaber intervened to note that a similar bill had already been approved by the Cabinet and was awaiting parliamentary debate. “We can’t ask homeowners whose houses have been destroyed to keep paying bills,” he said. Speaker Nabih Berri then decided to postpone discussion of the current proposal for one month, to allow time to review the government's version. In the meantime, according to the NNA, water, electricity and telecom bills for affected residents will be frozen.
MP Hassan Fadlallah (Hezbollah), one of the drafters of the bill, said after the session that “our main concern is to ease the burden on those directly impacted by the Israeli aggression against Lebanon.” He said the law was “comprehensive, covering all affected individuals in Lebanon, with a specific clause for the border villages that remain deserted.” If the government’s proposal is not adopted within the month, the version initially passed on Thursday will automatically take effect.
According to a final report by the World Bank, Israeli strikes caused $6.8 billion in damage in affected Lebanese areas, with economic losses totaling $7.2 billion. The short- and medium-term cost of reconstruction is estimated at $11 billion. The report covers the period from Oct. 8, 2023, to Dec. 20, 2024.
Bassil urges return of Syrian refugees 'within six months'
As two draft laws are to be discussed regarding the return of Syrian refugees and migrants to Syria, MP Gebran Bassil, leader of the Free Patriotic Movement and known for his push for repatriation to Syria, called for immediate steps to facilitate these procedures.
“There is no longer any security reason preventing the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland after the war has ended, no political obstacle after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and no economic obstacle following the lifting of sanctions,” Bassil wrote on X. “What is preventing their return to their country?”
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would end U.S. sanctions to “give [Syria] a chance for greatness,” and cited persistent lobbying by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the reason for the decision.
Trump urged both the Lebanese presidency and government to bring up the issue at the upcoming Arab summit, due to take place this weekend, in which Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will take part.
“It is necessary to pass a law in Parliament that would require the return of Syrians to their country within six months,” Trump added. “Lebanon has paid the price of the crises in Syria, and it has the right to benefit from their resolution. Do not deprive Lebanon of this opportunity.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates nearly a million Syrian refugees were in Lebanon before Bashar al-Assad’s fall on Dec. 8. Several times since this event, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa has called on the millions of Syrian refugees who fled the civil war to return to their country.
Families of Islamist detainees protest
Outside Parliament, families of Islamist detainees gathered at Martyrs’ Square, staging a sit-in just before the session began. They were there to push for the general amnesty law, which had been placed on the agenda by the Parliamentary Bureau.
The Civil Emergency Committee, which has long supported the amnesty effort, thanked Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for moving the proposal forward.
“We thank Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri for this step,” the committee said in a statement, urging MPs to “approve the draft law included in the agenda [the last item on the list] with some amendments to make it more comprehensive.” The group also called on MPs “not to adjourn the session before discussing and approving the draft law.”
Riots were also ongoing at Roumieh Prison for the same reasons — demanding a general amnesty and reduction of prison sentences — a source at the Internal Security Forces told L'Orient Today. "However, riots usually take place during parliamentary sessions, so it's not really anything major or new," the source explained.
While those calls were being made, Parliament went through a procedural reshuffling, dropping the urgency status from 53 proposed laws, all of which were referred to specialty committees for further review.
Among them was one aimed at amending Law No. 42/86, which currently prohibits the sale of Lebanon’s gold reserves held at the central bank without parliamentary approval.
The proposed amendment seeks to address the management and sale of these reserves, which have been a topic of ongoing debate amid Lebanon’s financial crisis.
Also deferred was a draft law introduced by MP Fouad Makhzoumi proposing the use of the Costa Brava landfill site to build a solar power station, which would help power Beirut’s international airport and ease the city’s broader energy crisis. Another dropped item included a proposal to reinstate certain administrative powers to the president and council of the Lebanese University, Lebanon's only public university.
In addition, the urgency was lifted on a draft law that would add a new article to Law No. 131/2019 to enhance the protection of Beirut’s pine forest.