BEIRUT: The US is taking a tougher line with the Lebanese banking sector on the funding of Hezbollah and Iran’s activities in Lebanon and the region.
A visit to Lebanon by Marshall Billingslea, US assistant secretary for terrorist financing, from Jan. 22-23, during which he met with political officials and bankers, indicated a new firmness by the administration.
A statement issued by the US Embassy about Billingslea’s visit mentioned Hezbollah and Tehran by name for the first time: previous statements about Treasury officials’ visits merely referred to the “application of US anti-terrorist financing laws” in general.
Dr. Ghazi Wazni, a Lebanese economist, told Arab News that a new penal code, which will be signed by President Donald Trump, is tougher than the previous law on monitoring and targeting. “It targets countries, companies, people and organizations outside Lebanon, which were not present in the previous law, that are linked to financing Hezbollah,” he said.
According to the statement from the US Embassy in Lebanon, Billingslea stressed “the importance of combating harmful Iranian activities in Lebanon, and the US commitment to helping Lebanon to protect the financial system from Hezbollah and Daesh and other terrorist organizations.”
Billingslea also urged Lebanon “to take all possible measures to ensure that Hezbollah is not part of the financial sector.”
“The statement of the assistant secretary of the treasury has two goals: To investigate the funding of Hezbollah activities because there are no reliable sources in the US Treasury for these activities, and the second is to exert political pressure by talking about Hezbollah’s involvement in illegal issues, including drug-trafficking or terrorist-financing,” Wazni said.
Wazni said that the timing of the visit and the American position “coincided with the creation of an American body charged with combating drug-trafficking, money-laundering and terrorism-financing. The Trump administration considers that the administration of his predecessor, Barack Obama, was lenient regarding the penal code on drug trafficking,” he said.
As for the impact of this American firmness on the Lebanese banking sector, Wazni said that the position of Billingslea does not threaten the banking sector because the US Treasury is aware that no financial operations relating to drug-trafficking and money-laundering get through Lebanese banks.
“Each banking process is monitored by correspondent banks in New York, which scrutinize every process and either freeze, approve or report it to the US Treasury. There is scrutiny by the Central Bank of Lebanon through the Special Investigation Commission and the Banking Supervision Committee and a third scrutiny by the banking sector itself, which established an auditing department to scrutinize each process.”
Wazni stressed that “there is no need to fear for the Lebanese banking sector, especially since the Parliament passed legislations which comply with high international standards, and the banking sector is fully committed to the decision of sanctions and the Parliament legislations are in line with international legislations, and the Central Bank issues circulars in this regard.”
Billingslea was keen, in a press conference held at the end of his visit, to note that “the law of preventing the international funding of Hezbollah does not target the Shiite community, but (it targets) the financial activities of Hezbollah all over the world, and it is important to distinguish between the Shiite community and the party and make sure that the (Shiite) community is treated fairly, and that its members can have banking services like everybody else.”
Arab News asked Hareth Suleiman, a political science professor at the Lebanese University and a member of the Independent Shiite Group, about the possibility of distinguishing between the Shiite community and Hezbollah in Lebanon and about the effects of the American sanctions on Shiites.
“It is hard to say that the Shiites have nothing to do with the two Shiite political groups: Hezbollah and Amal. And I do not think there is a difference in the issue of money-laundering between Hezbollah and Amal, and I have enough information and allegations about this, because money-laundering is going on in full swing within these two Shiite groups, and the creation of a safe haven for Shiites, away from the two groups, has many constraints due to the scarcity of potentials and the sense that the third group of Shiites is left without allies or support, and therefore the identification between the Hezbollah and Amal on the one side, and the ordinary Shiite citizen will continue because it is the stronger image.”
“The Shiite community has experienced similar crises at the time of hostage-taking, and the Lebanese Shiites were treated differently by the countries of the world, starting from reaching the airports until crossing to other countries,” Wazni said.
“The most dangerous thing now is if Hezbollah reaches a position, through the new electoral law, where it could hold the decision of the Parliament, the government, the security services, the Ministry of Justice and the military court. Then, the distinction between Lebanon and Hezbollah would be difficult.”
“To be able to distinguish between Hezbollah and other Shiites, we need facts that will control the boundaries of Hezbollah dominance,” he said. “If it’s left unchecked, the crisis would be felt by any Shiite citizen who wants to deal with the world.”
Lebanon expects tougher US action on banking sector to curb Hezbollah funding
Lebanon expects tougher US action on banking sector to curb Hezbollah funding
Palestinians rally at historic villages in northern Israel
- The descendants of the 160,000 Palestinians who managed to remain in what became Israel presently number about 1.4 million, around 20 percent of Israel’s population
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory
SHEFA-AMR: Thousands of people took part Tuesday in an annual march through the ruins of villages that Palestinians were expelled from during the 1948 war that led to Israel’s creation.
Wrapped in keffiyeh scarves and waving Palestinian flags, men and women rallied through the abandoned villages of Al-Kassayer and Al-Husha — many holding signs with the names of dozens of other demolished villages their families were displaced from.
“Your Independence Day is our catastrophe,” reads the rallying slogan for the protest that took place as Israelis celebrated the 76th anniversary of the proclamation of the State of Israel.
The protest this year was taking place against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza, where fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas has displaced the majority of the population, according to the United Nations.
Among those marching Tuesday was 88-year-old Abdul Rahman Al-Sabah.
He described how members of the Haganah, a Zionist paramilitary group, forced his family out of Al-Kassayer, near the northern city of Haifa, when he was a child.
They “blew up our village, Al-Kassayer, and the village of Al-Husha so that we would not return to them, and they planted mines,” he said, his eyes glistening with tears.
The family was displaced to the nearby town of Shefa-Amr.
“But we continued (going back), my mother and I, and groups from the village, because it was harvest season, and we wanted to live and eat,” he said.
“We had nothing, and whoever was caught by the Israelis was imprisoned.”
Palestinians remember this as the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, when around 760,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes during the war that led to the creation of Israel.
The descendants of the 160,000 Palestinians who managed to remain in what became Israel presently number about 1.4 million, around 20 percent of Israel’s population.
Many of today’s Arab Israelis remain deeply connected to their historic land.
At Tuesday’s march, one man carried a small sign with “Lubya,” the name of what was once a Palestinian village near Tiberias.
Like many other Palestinian villages, Al-Husha and Al-Kassayer witnessed fierce battles in mid-April 1948, according to historians of the Haganah, among the Jewish armed groups that formed the core of what became the Israeli military.
Today, the kibbutz communities of Osha, Ramat Yohanan and Kfar Hamakabi can be found on parts of land that once housed the two villages.
“During the attack on our village Al-Husha, my father took my mother, and they rode a horse to the city of Shefa-Amr,” said Musa Al-Saghir, 75, whose village had been largely made up of people who immigrated from Algeria in the 1880s.
“When they returned to see the house, the Haganah forces had blown up the village and its houses,” said the activist from a group advocating for the right of return for displaced Arabs.
Naila Awad, 50, from the village of Reineh near Nazareth, explained that the activists were demanding both the return of displaced people to their demolished villages within Israel, as well as the return of the millions of Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank, Gaza and other countries.
“No matter how much you try to break us and arrest us, we will remain on our lands,” she insisted.
Egypt rejects Israel’s denial of role in Gaza aid crisis
- Sameh Shoukry: “Egypt affirms its categorical rejection of the policy of distorting the facts and disavowing responsibility followed by the Israeli side”
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign minister on Tuesday accused Israel of denying responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza after his Israeli counterpart said Egypt was not allowing aid into the war-torn territory.
Israeli troops on May 7 said they took control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing to Egypt as part of efforts to root out Hamas militants in the east of Rafah city.
The move defied international opposition and shut one of the main humanitarian entry points into famine-threatened Gaza. Since then, Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel aid access through the Rafah crossing.
Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister, said in a statement that “Egypt affirms its categorical rejection of the policy of distorting the facts and disavowing responsibility followed by the Israeli side.”
In a tweet on social media platform X, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz had said, “Yesterday, I spoke with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock about the need to persuade Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing to allow the continued delivery of international humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
Katz added that “the key to preventing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now in the hands of our Egyptian friends.”
Shoukry, whose country has tried to mediate a truce in the Israel-Hamas war, responded that “Israel is solely responsible for the humanitarian catastrophe that the Palestinians are currently facing in the Gaza Strip.”
He added that Israeli control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing and its military operations exposes “aid workers and truck drivers to imminent dangers,” referencing trucks awaiting entry to Gaza.
This, he said, “is the main reason for the inability to bring aid through the crossing.”
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he is “appalled” by Israel’s military escalation in Rafah, a spokesman said.
Guterres’ spokesman Farhan Haq said “these developments are further impeding humanitarian access and worsening an already dire situation,” while also criticizing Hamas for “firing rockets indiscriminately.”
Since Israeli troops moved into eastern Rafah, the aid crossing point from Egypt remains closed and nearby Kerem Shalom crossing lacks “safe and logistically viable access,” a UN report said late on Monday.
Daesh claims attack on army post in northern Iraq
- Daesh said in a statement on Telegram it had targeted the barracks with machine guns and grenades
BAGHDAD: Daesh claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack on Monday targeting an army post in northern Iraq which security sources said had killed a commanding officer and four soldiers.
The attack took place between Diyala and Salahuddin provinces, a rural area that remains a hotbed of activity for militant cells years after Iraq declared final victory over the extremist group in 2017.
Security forces repelled the attack, the defense ministry said on Monday in a statement mourning the loss of a colonel and a number of others from the regiment. The security sources said five others had also been wounded.
Daesh said in a statement on Telegram it had targeted the barracks with machine guns and grenades.
Iraq has seen relative security stability in recent years after the chaos of the 2003-US-led invasion and years of bloody sectarian conflict that followed.
Israeli forces repeatedly target Gaza aid workers, says Human Rights Watch
- They are among more than 250 aid workers who have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted more than seven months ago, according to UN figures
- Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory
JERUSALEM: Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that Israel had repeatedly targeted known aid worker locations in Gaza, even after their coordinates were provided to Israeli authorities to ensure their protection.
The rights watchdog said that it had identified eight cases where aid convoys and premises were targeted, killing at least 15 people, including two children.
They are among more than 250 aid workers who have been killed in Gaza since the war erupted more than seven months ago, according to UN figures.
In all eight cases, the organizations had provided the coordinates to Israeli authorities, HRW said.
This reveals “fundamental flaws with the so-called deconfliction system, meant to protect aid workers and allow them to safely deliver life-saving humanitarian assistance in Gaza,” it said.
“On one hand, Israel is blocking access to critical lifesaving humanitarian provisions and on the other, attacking convoys that are delivering some of the small amount that they are allowing in,” Belkis Wille, HRW’s associate crisis, conflict and arms director, said in Tuesday’s statement.
HRW highlighted the case of the World Central Kitchen, a US-based charity who saw seven of its aid workers killed by an Israeli strike on their convoy on April 1.
This was not an isolated “mistake,” HRW said, pointing to the other seven cases it had identified where GPS coordinates of aid convoys and premises had been sent to Israeli authorities, only to see them attacked by Israeli forces “without any warning.”
EU top diplomat sees US ‘fatigue’ in Mideast
- Josep Borrell strongly criticized Israel’s war campaign, saying Gazans were ‘dying and starving and suffering in unimaginable proportions’ and that it was a ‘man-made disaster’
- Josep Borrell: ‘I see a certain fatigue from the US side to continue engaging in looking for a solution’
SAN FRANCISCO: The European Union’s top diplomat has said that the United States is showing “fatigue” in its Middle East diplomacy and called for greater EU efforts toward a Palestinian state.
On a visit to California, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell again strongly criticized Israel’s war campaign, saying Gazans were “dying and starving and suffering in unimaginable proportions” and that it was a “man-made disaster.”
“I see a certain fatigue from the US side to continue engaging in looking for a solution,” Borrell said in a speech Monday at Stanford University that was publicly released on Tuesday.
“We are trying to push with the Arab people in order to build together, the Arabs and Europeans, to make this two-state solution a reality,” he said in English.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made seven trips to the Middle East since the unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas which prompted a relentless Israeli military campaign in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
He has nudged Israel to allow in more aid, pushed against a regional escalation and pleaded for Israel to accept a two-state solution as part of a broader eventual deal that includes normalization with Saudi Arabia.
But the United States vetoed a Security Council bid to give Palestine full UN membership, arguing that statehood can only come though negotiations that address Israel’s security concerns.
The General Assembly last week passed a symbolic vote for Palestinian membership with the United States one of only nine countries to vote against.
The others opposed included two European Union members — the Czech Republic and Hungary. Among EU heavyweights, France voted in favor and Germany abstained.
Borrell acknowledged that the vote showed the European Union was “very much divided” over Gaza, unlike on the Ukraine war, and cited “historical reasons.”
“But it doesn’t mean that we don’t have to take a stronger part of responsibility because we have delegated (to) the US looking for a solution,” he said.
Borrell, a former Spanish foreign minister, in February sharply criticized the US arms flow for Israel, pointing to President Joe Biden’s own words that too many people were dying in Gaza.
Biden last week for the first time threatened to cut military aid to Israel, with one shipment of bombs already halted, if Israel defies US warnings and assaults the packed city of Rafah.
