War-torn Lebanon forms its first government in more than 2 years
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BEIRUT — Lebanon’s new prime minister on Saturday formed the country’s first full-fledged government since 2022.
President Joseph Aoun announced in a statement that he had accepted the resignation of the former caretaker government and signed a decree with new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam forming the government.
Salam vowed to “restore confidence between citizens and the state, between Lebanon and its Arab surroundings, and between Lebanon and the international community” and to implement reforms needed to bring the country out of an extended economic crisis.
“Reform is the only path to a true salvation,” he said in a speech Saturday.
He also promised to follow up on implementation of late November’s cease-fire agreement. The truce ended the most recent war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group, which is also a political party. Aoun also pledged to ensure that Israeli forces “withdraw from Lebanese territory until the last inch” and that war-damaged areas are rebuilt.
The cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah ended the deadliest bout of violence between the two sides in decades.
Salam’s Cabinet of 24 ministers, split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects, was formed less than a month after he was appointed, and comes as Lebanon is scrambling to rebuild its battered southern region and maintain security along its borders.
Lebanon is also still in the sixth year of a crippling economic crisis that has battered its banks, destroyed its state electricity sector and left many in poverty, unable to access their savings.
Salam, a diplomat and former president of the International Court of Justice, has vowed to reform Lebanon’s judiciary and economy and bring about stability in the country, which has faced political, economic and security crises for decades.
New government marks a shift away from Hezbollah
Hezbollah did not endorse Salam, but it did engage in negotiations with the new prime minister over the Shiite Muslim seats in government, as per Lebanon’s power-sharing system.
That was despite comments by U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus who said in a speech in Beirut on Friday that Washington had “set clear red lines from the United States” that Hezbollah would not be “a part of the government.” The comments drew backlash from many in Lebanon who saw them as meddling in internal Lebanese affairs.
Lebanon’s new authorities also mark a shift away from leaders close to Hezbollah. Beirut hopes to continue improving ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations who have been concerned by Hezbollah’s growing political and military power over the last decade.
Aoun, a former army chief, was elected president in early January. He was also not endorsed by Hezbollah. He has vowed to consolidate the state’s right to “monopolize the carrying of weapons,” in apparent reference to the arms of Hezbollah.
Clashes on eastern border
While the formation of a government appeared to be a sign of hope for the country’s future stability, Lebanon is still facing a tense security situation on more than one front.
Clashes broke out on the eastern border with Syria this week between Lebanese clans and the security forces of the new Syrian government, which are largely made up of former members of the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al Sham.
The porous border has long been a conduit for smuggling of people, weapons and drugs. Syrian officials said security forces were cracking down on smuggling gangs.
The Lebanese army said Saturday that several Lebanese areas had been “subjected to shelling and gunfire” from Syria and that it had given orders for soldiers stationed in the border area to “respond to sources of fire launched from Syrian territory.”
Cease-fire agreement extended
Separately, six people were killed and two injured in an Israeli drone strike Saturday in the area of Janata, near the eastern border with Syria, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it had struck “Hezbollah operatives” who “were operating in a strategic weapons manufacturing and storage site” belonging to the militant group.
Israel has continued to launch near-daily strikes on what it says are Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon since the implementation of the cease-fire agreement. The deal stipulates that Israel and Lebanon maintain the right to act in “self defense” but does not define what qualifies as self-defense.
The original 60-day deadline for implementing the terms of the cease-fire agreement expired in late January, but Lebanon and Israel agreed to extend it until Feb. 18.
Chehayeb and Sewell write for the Associated Press.
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