Lebanon joins Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Green Initiative

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) confirmed on Friday that “Lebanon has joined the Green Middle East Initiative (L), launched by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.” (Supplied/AFP)
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) confirmed on Friday that “Lebanon has joined the Green Middle East Initiative (L), launched by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.” (Supplied/AFP)
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Updated 30 August 2024
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Lebanon joins Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Green Initiative

Lebanon joins Saudi Arabia’s Middle East Green Initiative
  • Caretaker PM Najib Mikati calls move ‘essential for Lebanon’

BEIRUT: Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati confirmed on Friday that “Lebanon has joined the Green Middle East Initiative, launched by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”

Mikati described the step as “essential for Lebanon, especially as southern villages and towns have suffered significant environmental and agricultural damage, necessitating cooperation with all of Lebanon’s friends.”

Mikati told Agriculture Minister Abbas Al-Hajj Hassan, and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin about the country’s inclusion in the initiative, and Hassan said: “Israel is destroying large areas, whether agricultural lands, fruit-bearing trees, or forests.

“Approving Lebanon’s participation in the initiative is a very positive sign for us Lebanese, the government, and especially for the Agriculture and Environment Ministries.

“The timing of today’s announcement comes amid the ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon. We thank the Kingdom for its efforts, as it has always stood by Lebanon in the toughest of times.”

Yassin said that one of the initiative’s goals was “to plant 40 billion trees across the Middle East.”

He added: “A key part of Saudi Arabia’s initiative is to protect the region, the Gulf, and Middle Eastern countries from ongoing climate change; halt land degradation and desertification; and explore ways to adapt more effectively to potential future changes.”

Yassin thanked “Saudi Arabia for agreeing to consider Lebanon’s file and for its inclusion in this very important initiative.”

He said: “This is part of the continuous and long-standing cooperation with Saudi Arabia over the decades. This initiative is timely and will be followed up by the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment and all concerned parties through joint reserves to increase vegetation cover.”

The cost of the damage to southern Lebanese border towns during the first six months of Israeli attacks has exceeded $1.5 billion, according to government figures.

The shelling and airstrikes have damaged the livelihoods of residents in the border area and their agricultural holdings.

Satellite images show the destruction of entire neighborhoods in villages along the Blue Line and the disappearance of forested areas covering mountain slopes and valleys.

Israeli attacks have displaced more than 110,000 people from dozens of villages.

Lebanese authorities have accused Israel of using phosphorus bombs to destroy forests and crops, while the Ministry of Agriculture has been unable to conduct a final assessment of the extent of the damage due to the ongoing Israeli operation.

The Ministry of Agriculture said in July: “The Israeli bombardment with white phosphorus (has) led to 700 small and large fires. More than 2,500 dunams (617 acres) of land have been completely burned, and the area of affected land consisting of forest and agricultural lands has reached 6,000 dunams (1,482 acres), with the targeted trees being olive, pine and oak.

“The damage to forested areas home to oak, Mount Tabor oak and laurel trees amounts to 55 percent, agricultural and citrus trees to 35 percent, and grasslands to 10 percent.”

Lebanese authorities are waiting for a ceasefire to conduct a final survey of the damage, but compensation is uncertain in a country that has been affected by a severe economic crisis for nearly five years.

Israeli raids on border villages continued on Friday, including valleys and forested areas, causing extensive damage.

The Israeli military fired flares over border villages near the Blue Line in the western and central sectors, reaching the outskirts of the city of Tyre. It also dropped incendiary bombs on the outskirts of the towns of Naqoura and Alma Al-Shaab.

The Israelis claimed that its warplanes “targeted several Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.”


Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison

Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison
Updated 5 sec ago
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Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison

Tunisia presidential candidate Zammel sentenced to 12 years in prison
  • It was the third prison sentence imposed on Ayachi Zammel in two weeks
  • Zammel, head of the opposition Azimoun party, has been jailed since last month

TUNIS: A Tunisian court sentenced presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel to 12 years in prison on Tuesday, amid growing opposition anger against President Kais Saied, whose critics accuse him of using the judiciary to sideline his opponents.

It was the third prison sentence imposed on Zammel in two weeks, just five days before the presidential election in which he is one of just two candidates permitted to stand against Saied. Three other high profile opposition figures were barred.

Abdessattar Massoudi, Zammel’s lawyer, said that Zammel was sentenced to 12 years in prison by Tunis court on charges of document falsification. Massoudi described the verdict as “unfair and a farce.”

Zammel, head of the opposition Azimoun party, has been jailed since last month on charges of falsifying voter signatures on his candidacy paperwork, accusations he described as manufactured by Saied’s government. He has been allowed to continue to stand in the election while jailed.

Political tensions in the North African country have risen ahead of the Oct. 6 election since an electoral commission named by Saied disqualified three other prominent candidates last month, amid protests by opposition and civil society groups.

Tunisia was the only Arab country to emerge with a peaceful democracy from the 2011 “Arab Spring” protests against autocratic rulers across the Middle East and North Africa.

But since being elected in 2019, Saied has gradually amassed greater powers, arguing that he needs them to combat a corrupt elite. He dissolved the elected parliament and began ruling by decree in 2021, a move the opposition described as a coup.

The electoral commission has rejected a ruling by Tunisia’s administrative court to reinstate the barred candidates for the upcoming election. Lawmakers loyal to Saied then approved a law stripping the administrative court of authority over election disputes.

The opposition and civil society groups called for a mass protest on Friday against what they describe as Saied’s authoritarian rule, and said they would continue escalation and demonstrations.


Israeli forces have carried out raids in Lebanon for months, military says

Israeli forces have carried out raids in Lebanon for months, military says
Updated 24 min 15 sec ago
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Israeli forces have carried out raids in Lebanon for months, military says

Israeli forces have carried out raids in Lebanon for months, military says
  • Hagari said the details were being declassified
  • Dozens of such operations had uncovered detailed plans by Hezbollah to enter Israel

JERUSALEM: Israeli forces have been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon for months, uncovering Hezbollah tunnels and weapon caches under homes and uncovering invasion plans by the group, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday.
Hagari said the details were being declassified, hours after Israel announced a ground operation against the Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon.
Dozens of such operations had uncovered detailed plans by Hezbollah to enter Israel and carry out an attack similar to the one led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year.
The findings and evidence discovered under homes in villages in southern Lebanon during the raids will be presented to the international community, Hagari said. He presented videos from soldiers’ body-cameras and maps.


KLM suspends Israel flights until year-end: spokeswoman

KLM suspends Israel flights until year-end: spokeswoman
Updated 22 min 20 sec ago
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KLM suspends Israel flights until year-end: spokeswoman

KLM suspends Israel flights until year-end: spokeswoman

Dutch national carrier KLM on Tuesday extended a suspension of flights to Israel until the end of the year, citing the deteriorating situation in the region.
"Given the situation in the region we've decided to extend a suspension of flights to Tel Aviv until the end of the year," KLM spokeswoman Elvira van der Vis said.


China says it opposes ‘infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty’

China says it opposes ‘infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty’
Updated 34 min 56 sec ago
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China says it opposes ‘infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty’

China says it opposes ‘infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty’
  • The foreign ministry said: “China... opposes infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity”
  • Beijing urged Israel “to take concrete actions to de-escalate the situation“

BEIJING: China said on Tuesday it opposed “infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty” after Israel said it had launched a ground offensive there, and that Beijing was “highly concerned” about growing tensions.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had launched a ground offensive targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, further escalating the conflict after a week of intense air strikes that killed hundreds of people.
However, the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon said the Israeli operation did not amount to a “ground incursion,” while Iran-backed Hezbollah denied any troops had crossed the border.
There was no way to immediately verify the claims, which came as Israel targeted south Beirut, Damascus and Gaza despite international calls for restraint to avoid a regional conflagration.
“China is highly concerned about the current situation between Lebanon and Israel and is deeply concerned about the further escalation of regional tensions due to related military actions,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
“China... opposes infringements on Lebanon’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and opposes any actions that exacerbate conflicts and lead to a further escalation of the regional situation.”
Beijing urged Israel “to take concrete actions to de-escalate the situation,” the statement said.


Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it fired missiles at Mossad HQ near Tel Aviv

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it fired missiles at Mossad HQ near Tel Aviv
Updated 01 October 2024
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Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it fired missiles at Mossad HQ near Tel Aviv

Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it fired missiles at Mossad HQ near Tel Aviv

BEIRUT: Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Tuesday said it had targeted the Israeli military intelligence base of Glilot near Tel Aviv.
The Iran-backed group “launched salvoes of Fadi 4 rockets at the Glilot base of the military intelligence’s unit 8200 and the Mossad headquarters located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv,” it said in a statement.