Will an agreement be reached on the demarcation of the border between Lebanon and Israel?
In recent days, many media outlets have rushed to publish “sensational reports” that Lebanon and Israel have reached an agreement on the demarcation of the maritime border. Of course, the US and Israeli media have been particularly active in publishing such information, presenting...
Lebanon Plagued by Social and Economic Woes
Almost three years of political, economic and social problems and disastrous policies have transformed life in Lebanon, once known as the “Paris of the Middle East”, and this land of hope now looks like a textbook example of how not to run a state. In a cogent analysis, the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir blames the failures on a political system which is focused...
Has Saudi Arabia Decided to Put an End to the Small and Defenseless Lebanon?
Recently, Saudi Arabia and its satellites Bahrain and Kuwait have decided to expel Lebanese ambassadors amid the rising tensions between Beirut and some countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC). In addition, Riyadh severed economic ties with Lebanon, which looks like a deliberately...
Lebanon’s Problems Are Only Getting Worse
Lebanon’s current problems directly result from the absence of a strong state, as the country has relied on aid instead of building a solid economy. The UN estimates that 78% of the country’s population currently lives in poverty. Where warring factions have empowered and enriched their leaders, the state has consistently refused to provide the essential...
A Window of Opportunity Opens Up for the Lebanese
After 13 months of political vacuum, a new government was finally announced in Lebanon, led by Najib Mikati, a 65-year-old Lebanese billionaire who headed the cabinet in 2005 and also in 2011-2013. He ranks 446th in the list of the world's wealthiest people with at least $2.6 billion in capital. Initially, he played the role of a compromise prime minister to lead...
Lebanon on the Verge of a Possible Solution to the Ongoing Crisis
A high-level Lebanese government delegation held talks in Syria in an attempt to solve the severe fuel crisis that has paralyzed the entire country. This is the highest level of official visit since the civil war in Syria started, unleashed by the West and the Gulf monarchies, more than a decade ago. The Lebanese delegation, headed...
Lebanon: Trouble and Misery Keep On Piling Up
At a time when Lebanon is facing a severe economic and political crisis, new border tensions between Hezbollah and Israel are, quite naturally, particularly undesirable for the country. But this week, both Israel and militants of the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah attacked each other across the Israel–Lebanon border. It is unclear why each side decided...
The Internal Crisis Continues to Tear Lebanon Apart
One year ago, a huge explosion occurred in the port of Beirut, killing 217 people. On the anniversary of the tragedy, thousands of Lebanese took to the streets to commemorate the victims and express their discontent about what is happening. The Lebanese people demand that those responsible for the tragedy be punished. As noted by the American news channel CNBC...
Lebanon in Distress is On the Verge of Collapse
The situation in Lebanon has deteriorated markedly in recent weeks, with mass protests over the deteriorating economic crisis and political collapse that have taken place in the country over the past three years. Protesters block roads and streets, set fire to tires and trash cans, protest insane price increases, another drop in the national currency against the US dollar...
Hariri Backtracks, Prince Salman Goes Quiet, and Lebanon Takes a Breath
"When you make peaceful revolution impossible, you make bloody revolution inevitable." ~ John F. Kennedy. The geo-political theater around the three-ring circus started by the Saudis yanking Prime Minister Saad Hariri out of Lebanon to get a Royal...