One crisis after another hitting Lebanon… What’s next?
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The Lebanese judiciary initiated investigations into Beirut port explosion, summoning a number of political and military figures from all ranks, which raises questions about the timings and real intentions behind such measures.
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11 months have passed since Beirut Port Explosion.
One month before the first anniversary of the Beirut port explosion catastrophe, the Lebanese judiciary blew a surprise of high caliber by summoning current and former political and security officials. After listening to the witnesses and defendants, the judicial investigator Judge Tariq Bitar gave his orders to start the prosecutions.
To this end, Judge Tariq Al-Bitar sent a letter to the Lebanese parliament through the Public Prosecution Office, requesting lifting the immunity of former Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil, former MP Ghazi Zuaiter, and former Minister of Interior Nohad Al-Machnouk, in preparation for prosecuting them and summoning them to court.
Al-Bitar also intends to summon former Public Works Minister to be questioned over the Beirut Port blast. He also plans to question the Head of the State Security Apparatus, Major General Tony Saliba as a defendant, as well as the Director-General of the Public Security Apparatus, Major General Abbas Ibrahim.
Al-Bitar also instituted legal proceedings against several former top security officers, including the former Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Jean Kahwagi, given that the army is in charge of security in the port, along with other security agencies with different roles and responsibilities.
Nehme to Al-Mayadeen: No Hasty Steps
The editor-in-chief of “Africa Asia” magazine, Majed Nehme, told Al Mayadeen that "the Lebanese investigation should have gone straight to the source first before taking such hasty steps," stressing that "Israel" depends on the Lebanese infighting, and this is no new strategy."
The judicial decision comes in conjunction with the internal crises Lebanon is going through; a severe economic-financial crisis, a political crisis represented by the continued faltering of the government’s formation, and warnings of a full-blown collapse, knowing that the stifling crisis has been ongoing since late 2019, and there are no clear signs for solving it.
The absence of officials to address the current situation comes amid mutual accusations of corruption and obstructing the formation of the government, which Saad Hariri was commissioned to form 8 months ago.
The repercussions of the crisis are evident in the continuous collapse of the Lebanese Pound against the USD that continues to rise in the black market without any justification or real reason for it.
In addition, sharp fuel shortages and an increase in electric power rationing reflect the failure of the Lebanese government to shoulder its responsibilities, noting that the Lebanese treasury is almost empty, which had led the Lebanese authorities to stop paying foreign debts.
The crises that Lebanon is going through are not far from the ongoing events in the region. Lebanon suffers from continuous foreign intervention, targeting primarily the Resistance, especially after the victories achieved by its allies and the axis to which it belongs, the last of which is the "Sword of Jerusalem" (Seif al-Quds).
"Israel" is the biggest beneficiary of the Beirut Port Explosion
Many people circulated the hypothesis that "Israel" was behind the explosion of Beirut Port. The issue is not clear yet, but "Israel" has actually become the biggest beneficiary of the destruction of the port.
Along with "Israel", the Americans do not hide their hostility to the Lebanese Resistance and Hezbollah, and they are trying in various ways to suffocate the Resistance and intimidate its supporters, not to mention the measures taken against whoever just sympathizes with the Resistance across the world and the US sanctions imposed on any Lebanese leader or figure who exhibits any close relation to it. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that, with regard to top Hezbollah leaders and figures, the US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea spares no effort whatsoever to foment sedition against Hezbollah round the clock.
Unfortunately, some Arab countries have joined "Israel" and the US in their attempts to impose restrictions on the Lebanese people, which confirms that Lebanon's current crisis is not alienated from the regional conflict.
Nicolas to Al-Mayadeen: No guarantee Beirut Port investigations won't be exploited
Professor of International Relations at the Lebanese University, Leila Nicolas, confirmed that "all crises in the region find an outlet for them on the Lebanese arena."
She also told Al Mayadeen, "A big question mark can be raised as to why Hassan Diab was summoned, while Saad Hariri was not," pointing that "when there is a crime as big as what had happened at the port of Beirut, all assumptions must be taken into account."
Nicolas stressed that " No one should be allowed to maintain immunity regarding the issue of Beirut port," saying that "there is no guarantee that the investigations regarding Beirut port explosion will not be exploited externally and internally."
Jouni to Al-Mayadeen: Lifting immunity will cause a crisis in Lebanon
Professor of International Law at the Lebanese University, Hassan Jouni, pointed out that "the process of lifting Parliamentary Immunity may lead to a major political crisis in Lebanon."
He told Al Mayadeen, "A major problem will break out in the Parliament on account of lifting the immunity, which will consequently be reflected in the streets," wondering why certain Lebanese MPs who funded armed groups in Syria were not put under investigation.
Jouni said, "What I fear in both law and politics is the repetition of Detlev Mehlis' experience concerning Abbas Ibrahim," noting that "we are facing a very dangerous situation, so what is the guarantee that this will not follow the same path as that of the Mehlis file?"
