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Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Lebanese woman holds up bank, retrieves deposit to treat ill sister

  • By Al-Mayadeen English
  • Source: Al Mayadeen
  • 14 Sep 2022 17:09
2 Min Read

In a deepening economic crisis, more Lebanese are taking things into their own hands.

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  • Lebanese citizen
    BLOM Bank HQ in Beirut

Lebanese woman Sali Hafiz was able to retrieve around 13,000$ of her trapped deposits after briefly holding up a branch of BLOM bank in Beirut on Wednesday morning.

As the Lebanese economy is facing a deep crisis since 2020, banks have imposed limited withdrawals of hard currency for most depositors, leaving more than 75% of the population struggling to make ends meet and afford even the most basic goods.

Hafiz stated that she needed her savings withdrawn in order to treat her cancer-stricken sister.

"I was begging for money for months, my sister is dying in front of me. The bank is the 1 that robbed us. After begging the bank, they told me that they'll give me $200 max from my own money. That doesn't help w my sister's cancer medication" Sali Hafiz https://t.co/ICy4sVNjGW https://t.co/58xTY6FZIp pic.twitter.com/ePOJNzWAft

— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) September 14, 2022

Read more: Lebanese cancer patients live in fear after drug subsidies lift

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On a live stream on her Facebook page during the event, Sali said, "I came today to claim the deposits for my sister who is dying in the hospital."

"I came to claim my rights," she said.

On a similar event on the same day, Lebanese man Rami Charafeddine barged into MED bank in Aley and retrieved nearly 30,000$ of his deposit before turning himself in to the security forces that escorted him to the local police station.

Lebanon 🇱🇧 depositors hold up bank and take hostages to withdraw savings

Sali Hafez told al-Jadeed TV that the gun she was carrying was a toy

Another depositor M. SH. managed to get $30,000 from a bank in Aley before being arrested by the ISF https://t.co/n4GBunijW8 https://t.co/IvzzRLggjz pic.twitter.com/9LPIvFsXVn

— Saad Abedine (@SaadAbedine) September 14, 2022

It is noteworthy that as public frustration with bank policies increases, more citizens are hailing such actions as heroic and rightful on social media, which was clearly seen in the case of Bassam Al-Sheikh Hussein, a Lebanese man that took a bank hostage in order to retrieve a small part of his savings to pay for his father's surgery.

Read more: World Bank: Lebanon crisis among most severe since 1850s

  • Lebanese government
  • Economic crisis in Lebanon
  • Central Bank of Lebanon
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