Salam's Cabinet secures a vote of confidence from Parliament following policy debate| LIVE

Prior to the vote, Lebanese Forces MP Georges Adwane, took to the podium to say that Salam's speech had “convinced us that the government is doing everything in its power” to advance its stated goals. “We therefore support the renewal of confidence,” he said.

⚡ Salam's government has secured Parliament's vote of confidence with 69 votes in support, nine votes against, and four abstentions. The vote was requested by Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil, who said he was dissatisfied with Salam's response to questions from MPs.

“We have not received the answers to our questions, neither in writing nor in the prime minister's speech today,” Bassil said. “You will see over time that confidence in this government will erode. We will continue our positive opposition and shed light on the practices and lack of vision.”

FPM is not represented in Cabinet.

When it was Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's turn at the podium, he used his speech to remind Parliament that his cabinet had only been formed "a few months ago," and emphasized that his commitment to reform remains steadfast.

He said it would be "impossible" for Cabinet to backtrack on the ministerial statement referring to the restoration of the state's monopoly on weapons and the launch of reforms to rebuild the country, and he assured that government is determined to “put an end to Israeli attacks” on Lebanese territory. Effort continue, he assured, to “extend state sovereignty north and south of the Litani River.”

Salam also spoke on the Syria-Lebanon relationship, telling MPs that the rate of Syrian refugees returning to Syria, "in the thousands," is accelerating every day, and that measures have been taken to regulate the Syrian workforce.

According to Salam, 120,000 Syrian refugees have been "removed from the General Security registers.”

Baabda MP Alain Aoun, formerly of the FPM, said he wished for Parliament to broaden the scope of its concerns: “Is war imminent? Is there a danger coming from Syria? What about the fate of bank deposits? These are the questions that citizens are asking.”

“The Lebanese government has visited Syria. Can it provide answers to the concerns of the Lebanese people, particularly those in the Bekaa Valley?” he asked. “We will renew our confidence in the government so that it can offer a chance to all Lebanese people who are waiting for results from its actions.”

“Restoring the state's monopoly on weapons is no longer a slogan, but rather an essential element of the new deterrence equation,” he said in conclusion.

Khalil continued...

He called on the state to “explain how it intends to defend its sovereignty and its citizens” without the weapons held by militias, including Hezbollah.

“I come from a region that the [Israeli] enemy is determined to turn into scorched earth, while its inhabitants cling to their true identity by remaining on their land,” Khalil told his fellow MPs.

Armed resistance against Israel was not an "autonomous or specific project, but rather a reaction to the inability of the national defense system to fulfill its functions," Khalil said. "If weapons do not protect us, let the state tell us how it protects its sovereignty and its citizens.

"We want a strong [Lebanese] Army that is aware that Israel is an enemy. We want to build the state, its institutions, and continue to implement the Taif Agreement and the Constitution."

Khalil continued...

"We did not see a firm stance in response to what happened yesterday," Amal MP Khalil continued, referring to the Israeli bombardment that killed 12 people digging a well in the Bekaa.

"No serious diplomatic action has been taken by Lebanon, either in terms of documenting the violations or at the Security Council level,“ he lamented. ”The government has not met once with the parties concerned to draw up a reconstruction plan."

“The concern is existential, not imaginary,” he said, and it “must be understood in order to be addressed, rather than exploited.”

“The homeland can only be built through mutual trust, regardless of our political differences. It can only be stable through collaboration between its components.”

Ali Hassan Khalil, Amal MP and right-hand man of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, focused his speech on the ostensible cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, and the latter's relentless violations of it.

"It is necessary to recall that Lebanon has accepted an unambiguous cease-fire, which includes the cessation of aggression, the withdrawal from occupied territories, the deployment of the army, and the release of prisoners," Khalil said. "The enemy has not respected this commitment."

Khalil said that there are no recorded truce violations from the Lebanese side, while Israeli violations number more than 3,500 and Israeli attacks have killed more than 220.

"The most serious issue is the inability of the American and French sponsors to compel the occupier to implement the agreement," he protested.

During his speech, MP Neemat Frem (Keserwan) told Parliament that Lebanon "faces a major threat," which he claimed all Lebanese are concerned about, referring to the state's mission to achieve a monopoly on all weapons in the country.

“The issue of weapons is linked to the credibility of the state's work, which places a heavy responsibility on all of us,” he said.

He also called on the executive branch to reconsider the fuel tax, which the government imposed on certain fuels, including gasoline, in late May. He criticized the tax as a punitive measure against the average Lebanese.

Taking his turn at the podium, Hezbollah MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan said that while there is a "persistent effort from Lebanese authorities regarding the situation in the South, there are Lebanese parties that adopt Israel's narrative."

"I wished the colleagues who demanded us to implement Resolution 1701 would mention the massacre committed by the occupation in the Bekaa yesterday," referring to an Israeli airstrike that killed 12 people who were working to dig a well in the district of Baalbeck.

"To this day, Lebanon is prevented from rebuilding because it is besieged by the Friends of Lebanon," he said, sarcastically. "The five-member [cease-fire monitoring] committee has done nothing and Israel has not implemented Resolution 1701."

Lebanon, Israel, France, the U.S. and UNIFIL are all members of a committee who is meant to process complaints and violations regarding the November cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel, the latter which attacks Lebanon on a daily basis.

The MP also mentioned the issue of the electoral law, saying that the way it is being discussed does not serve the national interest and "some parties want to take advantage of the developments that have taken place based on the interventions of other countries."

In his speech to Parliament, Change MP Firas Hamdan said that "discussing the government after a period of time is an important development and comes after a period of obstruction."

"We hear many allegations trying to hold this government responsible for the collapse, but we congratulate [PM Nawaf] Salam on his ability to endure. Those who ruined the country have no right to put forward their theories," he added.

"We will support the government on certain issues and be critical of others. Currently, the first and biggest issue is that of appointments, which unfortunately still adopts the same mentality of the existing system," he said, referring to key financial positions recently appointed amid steep criticism.

Read more about this appointments here. 👈

MP Ahmad al-Khair's speech also included the warning that the "Lebanese are slowly losing hope," adding that he doesn't know if the window of opportunity for change is still open.

"Lessons must be learned from past experiences, as there is no resurrection of the state as long as there is a duality of arms," he said.

"The responsibility lies with those who possess weapons, who are required to cooperate with the state to enforce the law and confine weapons to its hands."

Khair also criticized “the increase of 100,000 pounds on gasoline” and asked: “Where is the reform promised by the government? And the economic recovery?”

"The citizen is tired of the authorities' disconnect from reality."

A shouting match between Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) MP Salim Aoun and MP Ahmad al-Khair broke out in Parliament. Other MPs then restrained Aoun when he tried running toward Khair.

Khair had been addressing Parliament, when he indirectly referred to the FPM, saying “there is a fear that the government's slogan of 'reform and rescue' will become like the slogan of 'change and reform,'" which is FPM's slogan.

Aoun then called out: "We're not your punching bag," to which Khair responded, "Shut up."

Change MP Firas Hamdan was up next on the podium after Khair. When Aoun kept up his interruptions, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri warned him: "Don't test me."

Tashnag MP Hagop Terzian tells Parliament that if Prime Minister Nawaf Salam doesn't have confidence in his Cabinet's ministers, he should resign.

"Transparency was completely disregarded in one of the government sittings. A mechanism was used to appoint deputy governors of the central bank that we were not informed of," he said.

"We want an answer from the government about this mechanism. We are an essential component of this country, we have been bypassed and this will not pass."

Hagop Terzian, the Armenian Orthodox MP from the Tashnag party, is the first to take the floor in today’s session.

This is the first session of its kind held by Parliament since 2017. Tuesday’s opening hours were dominated by debates, particularly over the issue of Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Read Yara Abi Akl’s recap of yesterday’s session here.👈

Welcome to our live coverage of the second parliamentary session on the general policy debate with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s Cabinet, formed five months ago.