Lebanon

Abbas Determined to Withdraw All Palestinian Weapons from Lebanon

This is Beirut 01/09 22:05 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Palestinian Camps Disarmament Hezbollah Palestine Mahmoud Abbas

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that his leadership is determined to withdraw all Palestinian weapons from Lebanon, calling the step essential to the country’s security and sovereignty. In an interview with Al-Arabiya, Abbas confirmed that he had reached an understanding with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on carrying out the ...

ExplainerUNIFIL Exit: Organizing the Withdrawal of 10,000 Peacekeepers from Southern Lebanon

Soumia Benmerzoug 01/09 20:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

South Lebanon UN Security Council United Nations Beirut International Airport Hezbollah

On August 28, the UN Security Council voted to end the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on December 31, 2026. After nearly half a century of presence in southern Lebanon, the 10,000 peacekeepers will be required to withdraw in 2027. The operation will be complex – logistically, militarily and diplomatically. How ...

Op-edLebanon, UNIFIL, and the Return of Sovereignty and Peace

David Hale 01/09 18:15 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon UNIFIL Hezbollah Iran

There was a real possibility earlier this summer that the United States was going to veto the renewal of the UNIFIL mandate in August. Ultimately, a wiser course prevailed, when the UN Security Council extended UNIFIL's mandate "for a final time" last week until the end of 2026. This step is a positive one for everyone concerned except ...

SpotlightDisarming Militias: Time for Lebanon to Assert a Firm Stance?

Élie-Joe Kamel 01/09 17:45 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanese Forces Amal Hezbollah United States

Lebanon is entering a critical week as the Cabinet prepares to meet on Friday, September 5. During the session, the army’s plan to disarm militias – most notably Hezbollah – is expected to be presented. The meeting comes amid mounting pressure from Israel and the United States, deep internal divisions and a so-called “consensus” ...

Le Drian in Beirut to Prepare Lebanon Conferences

This is Beirut 01/09 14:25 - Reading : less than a minute

Lebanon Emmanuel Macron Lebanese Army Joseph Aoun Jean-Yves Le Drian France

French presidential envoy and former foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian is expected in Beirut within days. He has been tasked by President Emmanuel Macron with following up on Lebanon’s political and economic developments. His mission will center on preparing two international conferences: one aimed at supporting Lebanon’s reconstruction, and ...

UNESCO Chief to Visit Beirut for Cultural and Urban Projects

This is Beirut 01/09 14:05 - Reading : less than a minute

Lebanon Baalbeck Unesco Audrey Azoulay Beirut Tyre

UNESCO announced on Monday that Director-General Audrey Azoulay will visit Beirut on September 3 and 4 to review the organization’s work in Lebanon and unveil new initiatives for cultural and urban rehabilitation. Over the past five years, UNESCO has mobilized over $45 million, leading one of its largest urban recovery operations in the ...

Raggi: State Monopoly on Arms Is a “Historic Step” Toward Sovereignty

This is Beirut 01/09 13:35 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon United Nations Youssef Raggi Border

Lebanon has reaffirmed its determination to strengthen ties with Gulf states and fully restore national sovereignty, Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said in an interview published Monday by the Emirati daily Al-Ittihad. He highlighted the government’s recent decision to grant the state exclusive control over weapons, describing it as a ...

Salloum Warns of Threat from Expired Medicines

This is Beirut 01/09 11:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Lebanon Joe Salloum Pharmacy Drugs Expired

Expired medications piled up in pharmacies pose a significant threat to patient safety. This is what Dr. Joe Salloum, head of the Lebanese Pharmacists’ Syndicate, expressed, calling on the Ministries of Health and Environment to ensure that expired drugs are collected and destroyed outside Lebanon. He stressed that the risk they present is ...

Bolton: Disarming Hezbollah Is Key to Middle East Peace

This is Beirut 01/09 11:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Hezbollah Middle East UN Security Council John Bolton

In an article to the Telegraph on Sunday, former US National Security Advisor John Bolton warned that Lebanon faces an existential choice: emerge from decades of war or again fall into civil conflict and terrorist domination. He argued that Israel’s strikes against Iran and its proxies following Hamas’s October 7 attack give Lebanon a chance ...

AnalysisSolomonic Judgment

Charles Chartouni 01/09 09:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Gaza Hamas

International issues are pending, and nothing seems to move toward negotiated solutions across Ukraine and the wide arc of conflicts extending through the Middle East. None of the actors is interested in peacemaking; on the contrary, these zones of active conflict tend to work in the best interests of countries vying for imperial conquests and ...

EditorialSeeking Regional Leaders with Sadat’s Vision

Michel Touma 01/09 08:15 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Nawaf Salam Lebanon Hamas Hezbollah Iran

Clothes do not make the man – a saying that fits today’s leaders of Iran’s radical factions, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Tehran’s proxies in Iraq and Yemen. They issue routine inflammatory statements and adopt media stances that are often exaggerated, sometimes bordering on the absurd. In response to the upheavals sweeping the region, they ...

Budget 2026: Quick Taxes or Deep Reform?

Liliane Mokbel 31/08 20:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Lebanon economy Budget 2026 Taxes Reforms

For 2026, the Finance Minister has promised a deficit-free budget, with revenues and expenditures in balance. An attractive prospect, but at what cost to Lebanese households? Tax hikes and new levies could quickly turn that balance into a burden for taxpayers. The draft budget has been submitted to the General Secretariat of the Council of ...