Perspectives: Lebanon and Hezbollah

Perspectives: Lebanon and Hezbollah, is a new UANI weekly resource highlighting developments in Lebanon and the activities of the terrorist group Hezbollah.  

Cabinet Formation

Lebanese PM Saad Hariri Meets with President Aoun to Discuss Cabinet Formation
Al-Liwaa reported that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri met with President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. However, other outlets - including OTV and El-Nashra - reported that Hariri did not deliver a proposal to Aoun on the makeup of the cabinet, nor did they discuss which individuals would be given specific ministries. Al-Joumhouria reportedPrime Minister Hariri saying that the two agreed to hold a follow-up meeting in the near future.

Lebanese Cabinet Formation Still in Limbo As Politicians Shift Responsibility
The formation of a new Lebanese cabinet remained in limbo this week, as Lebanon's political factions attempted to shift blame for the delay onto their political opponents. Al-Markaziareported that Lebanese Forces chairman Samir Geagea called on President Michel Aoun to "personally intervene" and solve the cabinet formation deadlock, days after Aoun said that he would not take the necessary initiative to form a new government. Al-Joumhouria reported that Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement denied responsibility for the government formation deadlock, saying the ball was in Prime Minister Saad Hariri's court to end the stalemate. Meanwhile, Walid Joumblatt's Progressive Socialist Party - aligned with Hariri - denied its responsibility for the deadlock over allocation of Druze-earmarked cabinet positions, shifting blame to Talal Arslan's rival Druze party, the Lebanese Democratic Party, which is aligned with President Aoun, the Free Patriotic Movement, and Hezbollah.

Hariri Promises New Cabinet by 15 Days, as Main Christian Parties Continue Jostling for Ministries
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri told MTV Lebanon's "It's About Time" TV program that a new cabinet would be formed in 10 to 15 days at most. Meanwhile, however, the country's two largest Christian parties - the Hariri-aligned Lebanese Forces (LF) party and the Hezbollah-aligned Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) - continued to clash over the number of Christian-earmarked Ministries each would receive. While the LF insisted in a press statement that it would settle for no less than one-third of Ministries in a future cabinet - in proportion to its percentage of the Christian vote in the last parliamentary elections - FPM's chairman and caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said that LF was only entitled to three Ministries at most. Bassil also addressed Prime Minister Hariri's expectation that a cabinet would be formed within two weeks, saying he didn't want to give the Lebanese people false hope.

General Politics 

Hariri: I Will Never Visit Syria, and I Was Not Detained in Saudi Arabia
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri told MTV Lebanon's "It's About Time" TV program that he would never visit Syria, "not for Lebanon's sake, nor anyone else's," and that he was a different man today in 2018 than when he carried out his last visit to Damascus in 2010, to meet with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Hariri also addressed his surprise resignation in November 2017 during a last-minute visit to Saudi Arabia, insisting once again that he had not been detained or held hostage by Saudi authorities.

Hezbollah and Israel

Israeli Defense Minister: We Will Soon Reveal More Intel on Hezbollah's Missile Sites in Lebanon
Israel's Channel 10 News reported that Israeli Defense Minister Avigor Liberman said that Israel would soon reveal more information on Hezbollah's alleged missile conversion sites in south Beirut, in response to Lebanese denials of their presence. 

Hezbollah Transnationally

French Police Raid Headquarters of Muslim Organization for Supporting Hezbollah
Le Figaro reported that approximately 200 French officers raided the headquarters of Centre Zahra France, located in Grand-Synthe claiming the organization openly supported several terrorist groups, chief among them being Hezbollah.

Treasury Department Sanctions Hezbollah Financiers, Entities
The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designatedMohammad Abdullah al-Amin as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) for providing material support to Adham Tabaja, a Hezbollah insider and financier. OFAC additionally sanctioned seven Lebanon-based companies owned or controlled by Al-Amin: Sierra Gas S.A.L. Offshore, Lama Foods S.A.R.L., Lama Foods International Offshore S.A.L., Impulse S.A.R.L., Impulse International S.A.L. Offshore, M. Marine S.A.L. Offshore, and Thaingui S.A.L. Offshore. 

Security Issues

Pro-Hezbollah Druze Politician Claims Hezbollah Fed Israel Disinformation on Alleged Beirut Missile Sites
Al-Joumhouria reports that the pro-Hezbollah Druze politician and former parliamentarian Wiam Wahhab claimed Hezbollah intentionally misled Israel on the presence of missile conversion sites in Beirut. Wahhab alleged that, because the region is "facing potential open war, with rockets being fired [at Israel] from Lebanon, Syria and Iraq," Hezbollah "waged a disinformation campaign, giving false information to Israel," in order to distract it. Meanwhile, claimed Wahhab, this allowed Hezbollah to "transfer rockets to its military positions."

Lebanese Caretaker FM Gebran Bassil Takes Ambassadors on Tour of Alleged Hezbollah Beirut Missile Site, Ambassadors Support Lebanon's Position
On Monday, Lebanon's caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil led foreign ambassadors and diplomats on a visit to areas alleged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to contain Hezbollah missile conversion sites. The Washington Post reports, "No evidence of missiles or their production was seen." Al-Joumhouria later reported that the ambassadors expressed their understanding of Lebanon's position, and the support of their countries for Lebanon, its security, and stability. In related news, Al-Joumhouria also reported that Lebanon intends to turn to the UN Security Council and Arab League to present its position regarding the Israeli claims, and will make Israel's "escalatory action" the focus of the next UNIFIL-led tripartite meeting between IDF and Lebanese Armed Forces representatives. 

Financial News

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Reports Increase in Private Sector Deposits to President Aoun
LBCI reports that Lebanese Central Bank Governor Riyadh Salameh delivered a report to President Michel Aoun indicating that - between August 2017 and August 2018 - the Bank maintained the stability of its assets at 44 Billion Lebanese Pounds. The same report showed that private sector deposits in the Central Bank increased from $178 Billion to $183 Billion during that same period. However, Al-Joumhouria reported on a meeting between a World Bank delegation and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in which the foreign delegation expressed their concern over the "sensitivity" of Lebanon's economic situation.