Lebanon Daily News Source 07/05/2022

Tuesday, July 5, 2022
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July 5th, 2022

DAILY NEWS

Hezbollah Drones Shot Down Near Karish Gas Field
On Saturday, three unarmed drones launched by Hezbollah were shot down by the Israeli military. Amid ongoing negotiations between the Israeli and Lebanese governments over the maritime boundary, Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Abdallah Bou Habib said, “Lebanon believes that any actions outside the state’s framework and diplomatic context while negotiations are taking place is unacceptable and exposes it to unnecessary risks.” [AP News]

Amal MP’s Submit Legislation Prohibiting ‘Messing with Deposits’
Yesterday, two Amal Movement MPs, Ali Hassan Khalil and Nasser Jaber, submitted legislation to the Lebanese Parliament prohibiting the Central Bank of Lebanon from, “messing with bank deposits, or reducing or haircuts from it from any side and disregarding the reason for the nature of this act, be it direct or indirect.” [L’Orient Today]

US Navy Offers Reward for Information on Illicit Cargos in Middle East
According to Reuters, “The U.S. Navy will for the first time reward individuals for providing information that leads to the seizure of illicit cargos such as illegal weapons or narcotics in waters across the Middle East, it said on Tuesday . . . The statement did not mention a specific country as being a target of the reward programme, but its implementation could complicate the shipments of Iranian weapons to Tehran’s allies in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.” [Reuters]

Israeli Caretaker Prime Minister Meets French President, Discusses Lebanon
Caretaker Prime Minister of the Israeli government, Yair Lepid, met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss a variety of issues, including the issues of the maritime border negotiations with the Lebanese government and Hezbollah’s weapons. [AP News]

OPINION & ANALYSIS

The Lebanese Center for Policy Studies
Addressing Food Insecurity In Crisis-Stricken Lebanon

Souhad Abou Zaki, Leila Dagher, and Amin Salam

Abou Zaki, Dagher, and Salam write, “Almost three years into the economic crisis, Lebanon shows no sign of recovery. The sharp decline in economic activity, coupled with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation, has pushed thousands of Lebanese households into poverty and unemployment. In addition to the rising poverty, the heavily indebted country that has long been struggling with structural macroeconomic anomalies and persistent political instability is now haunted by the sinister memories of the ‘great famine.’ Concerns about food and nutrition insecurity are intensifying at both the national and sub-national levels as the main food security indicators started to follow an alarming trajectory. Thus, there is a pressing need for government to prioritize food security and take immediate actions to prevent hunger and malnutrition. Examining the changing trends in the four main food security pillars, this brief provides several actionable policy recommendations that are urgently needed to strengthen food security in the short and medium-term, at both the national and household levels, recognizing the need for a more comprehensive food security plan that addresses food and nutrition security in its totality.”

Arab News
Lebanon-Israel Maritime Border Dispute Returns To The Fore

Najia Houssari

Houssari writes, “US mediator Amos Hochstein sent a proposal to Lebanon in March on the demarcation starting from Line 23, which was drawn in a zigzag form. Lebanon handed him an oral response, which he did not reveal, pending the Israeli response. Lebanon has been unable to confirm that Line 29 — which includes the Karish gas field — is the maritime border of Lebanon due to the failure of President Michel Aoun to sign a draft amendment to Decree 6433. It was issued in 2011 and specified that Line 23 was the point for negotiations with Israel to demarcate the maritime borders. However, Aoun considers Line 29 to be the point for negotiations. Line 29 gives Lebanon an additional area estimated at 1,430 square km while, according to the decree deposited with the UN, Lebanon only gets 860 square km of the disputed area . . .Former MP Fares Souaid said: ‘Hezbollah’s drones over Karish are aimed at reminding all parties that Iran is present in the ongoing negotiations between Lebanon and Israel over border demarcation under American auspices and at the expense of the Lebanese interest . . . The incident confirmed by Hezbollah may take place once again, and more serious incidents may occur. Therefore, we call on the nation’s representatives to raise the issue of Iran’s occupation within Parliament’.”

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the American Task Force on Lebanon, a non-profit, nonpartisan leadership organization of Lebanese-Americans.