Signs by the municipality of Hadath, in the Baabda district, calling on residents and property owners in the area to consult the municipality before signing any real estate contract. Photo circulating on social media.
BEIRUT — “So that Hadath remains a town for its residents: Don’t sell or rent your house, don’t sell or rent your land. The municipality will not sign [validate your contract],” read a billboard displayed in Hadath (Baabda district), in Beirut's southern suburbs.
The billboard has reignited previous debate on social media over restrictions imposed by Hadath Municipality President George Aoun on real estate transactions.
Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, Aoun said the decision, in place since 2010, aims “to strengthen coexistence among the different communities.” Residents and property owners in Hadath are thus encouraged to consult the municipality before signing any sale or rental contract.
According to Aoun, the approach seeks to “preserve national coexistence among different communities."
“Hadath was historically an area with a strong Christian majority,” Aoun said. “Today, between 30 and 35 percent of the area’s residents and property owners are Christian,” he added, citing “a demographic shift among the various communities.”
“We respect all faiths, but we must preserve the identity of our city. Christians must remain attached to Hadath,” he said, adding that “every municipality must work to preserve the identity of its city or village.” He added he does not “understand” why, each time the municipality reiterates its decision, “it’s the same story and everyone acts surprised.”
'The internal Zionists'
The initiative has once again sparked mixed reactions on social media. “Ain al-Rummaneh and Furn al-Shubbak follow the same principle. This discriminatory, sectarian, religious and racist decision carries dimensions revealing hatred,” one user wrote on X.
Another user commented: “The internal Zionists are more cruel and more criminal than the Zionists of the world,” referring to the Israeli army.
Other users praised the move, arguing that it protects the social fabric of the town. “If only all municipalities could follow Hadath’s example, where it is forbidden to have Syrian residents or anyone not belonging to the community,” another user wrote on the platform.
Before the outbreak of the Civil War (1975–1990), the area stretching from Hadath to the airport was made up of predominantly Christian residents. Since the end of the conflict, Shiite investors have increasingly moved to Hadath, buying land to relieve crowding in the neighboring southern suburbs, which south Lebanon residents fled to during the Israeli occupation (1982-2000).
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