BEIRUT: Lebanon’s judiciary wants to appoint a second judge to a stalled investigation into the Beirut port blast, according to a letter seen by Reuters, further complicating efforts to hold officials to account over a tragedy that killed more than 220 people.
Judge Tarek Bitar’s investigation into the 2020 explosion, which flattened swathes of the city when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port detonated, has been suspended since late 2021 by lawsuits brought by senior politicians whom he has sought to question.
That has left him unable to summon suspects or press charges, but also means that individuals detained after the blast but cleared of suspicion have remained in custody.
In the letter, dated Monday, Justice Minister Henry Khoury asked the country’s Higher Judicial Council to discuss assigning a judicial investigator “to work on urgent and necessary matters in the Beirut port explosion case.”
That secondary judge would stay in place “as long as the original investigator cannot carry out his missions — including release requests,” according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.
The Judicial Council had agreed to the plan, and Khoury would now propose one or more candidates, a senior judicial source said, adding that the new judge would not be empowered to issue charges.
Khoury did not respond to a request for comment.
Judges in Lebanon are often subject to influence from the governing elite, whose tradition of dividing up power along sectarian lines has plunged the country into a political and economic crisis.
A second judicial source said Bitar had been surprised by the move, which he considered “illegal,” and that he would not step down from his role and was keen to return to investigating in full.
A group of independent lawmakers denounced it for “gross violations” of the judicial process said it was intended as a “final blow” to Bitar’s role, according to a statement.
On Tuesday, two parliamentarians from the Free Patriotic Movement — a leading Christian party founded by President Michel Aoun — publicly called for detainees no longer considered parties to the blast to be released.
The letter cited the deteriorating health of some as the driver for Khoury’s request.
Lebanon seeks to name second investigator to stalled Beirut blast probe
https://arab.news/9dr2j
Lebanon seeks to name second investigator to stalled Beirut blast probe
- Judges in Lebanon are often subject to influence from the governing elite
Israel cuts off water and electricity to UNRWA in Jerusalem
- Israeli energy minister oversaw the execution of legislation passed at the end of 2025 to cut off water and electricity to UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem
LONDON: Israeli authorities cut off water and electricity to the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees located in occupied East Jerusalem.
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen visited UNRWA premises on Wednesday with workers from the water and waste company Hagihon to oversee the cessation of services.
“I arrived this morning to ensure that the water was cut off from the organization’s offices,” he told Israeli media.
Cohen was overseeing the execution of legislation passed at the end of 2025 to cut off water and electricity to UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem, following a decision in late 2024 to prevent the UN agency from operating in East Jerusalem and Israel.
In January, Israel forced UNRWA to evacuate its main office located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, after which it seized it and demolished it. Britain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Portugal, and Spain condemned the demolition.
UNRWA employs 12,000 staff in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, and its healthcare, education, and social protection services are essential for Palestinians, including those residing in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
