The Lebanese parliament voted to give confidence to the new government headed by Hassan Diab yesterday, and Diab confirmed his government's commitment to independence from political attraction, and the state’s duty and endeavor to liberate the Shebaa Farms and Kafr Shuba hills and the Lebanese part of the village of Ghajar, while more than 200 people were injured in clashes in central Beirut, After the protesters tried to block the parliament’s access to parliament, while the Lebanese army confirmed that the riots and infringement of public and private property distorted demands and did not fulfill them, and did not fall into the category of expressing opinion,
After a session that lasted about eight hours, which was attended by 84 deputies out of 128, the Speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berri, announced that 63 deputies voted in favor of granting confidence to the new government, in return for the refusal of 20 of them, and one abstention.
The confrontations took place in the vicinity of the Lebanese parliament between the demonstrators and the security forces, in conjunction with the Council's discussion of the ministerial statement, which was prepared by the government of Hassan Diab.
Clashes erupted between the security forces and demonstrators gathered in the streets leading to the parliament’s headquarters, and the demonstrators tried to block the parliament’s arrival to the parliament’s headquarters to prevent it from taking place due to their refusal to give confidence to the government, and the security forces and the army imposed a security cordon in the vicinity of the parliament’s headquarters, and several roads were closed with huge concrete barriers to prevent The demonstrators have access to the parliament building.
Since yesterday morning, the demonstrators gathered at several streets leading to the House of Representatives, and confrontations erupted in one of the roads between them and the security forces who threw stones at them, while the latter responded with water cannons and tear gas.
On another street, demonstrators sat on the ground to block a road that MPs could take, but the army officers tried to prevent them, which led to a stampede between the two parties.
Despite the spread of demonstrators in the vicinity of the parliament, a number of deputies succeeded in reaching the seat of Parliament, and a number of them arrived early even before the start of the demonstrations, and one of them used a motorbike to cross, according to local media, which also indicated that deputies spent the night inside their offices.
While one of the ministers tried to reach the area, protesters stood in front of the car and threw it with eggs, and one of them shouted "I resigned", but the security forces forced the protesters out, and opened the barbed wire in front of the car to enter it.
The demonstrators held banners reading "No confidence ... you will help the banks to make people known", in reference to the strict measures imposed by banks for months on cash operations and depositors withdrawing their money.
The Lebanese army said in a tweet on its account on the social networking site «Twitter», that “the riots and infringement of public and private properties distort the demands and do not fulfill them and do not fall into the category of expressing opinion”, adding that “maintaining the safety of the movement is a necessity to protect everyone.” Addressing the demonstrators, the army continued: “The army and security forces are charged with protecting you and keeping pace with you during peaceful demonstrations, so do not confront them by force and abide by their directives to preserve your security and safety.” He emphasized that the right to peaceful protest is guaranteed by the constitution and guaranteed by law, as is the right to freedom of movement.
For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced yesterday his government's commitment to independence from political attraction and resisting the Israeli occupation, and he said during his speech in the Parliament: “We intend to work as a government that works to serve Lebanon, its people and its economy, a government independent of political attraction, working as a team Work by specialists, a government that considers many of the movement’s demands not only right, but also urgent and at the heart of its plan. ”
He continued: «The government adheres to the provisions of the constitution rejecting resettlement, and adheres to the right of return to the Palestinians, as we will work with brotherly and friendly countries to find a solution to the funding crisis for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and we continue to strengthen the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue to spare the camps what is happening in them of tensions, which is not The Lebanese accept it, according to the unified Lebanese vision document. ” He added, "The government affirms the state's duty and its endeavor to liberate the Shebaa Farms, the Kafr Shuba hills, and the Lebanese part of the village of Ghajar, by various legitimate means, while emphasizing the right of the Lebanese to resist the Israeli occupation, return its aggressions, and recover the occupied lands."
Great challenges
The new Lebanese government faces major challenges at the economic and financial levels in light of an accelerating economic deterioration, a liquidity crisis, and the accumulation of public debt to about $ 90 billion, which is equivalent to more than 150% of GDP.
On February 6, the Lebanese government unanimously approved its ministerial statement, which includes the titles of its plan of action in the coming period, and referred it to parliament for confidence.
After gaining confidence and directing its work, the government hopes to gain the support of the international community, which links its financial support to Lebanon with structural reforms in several sectors and the reduction of the public deficit. Beirut - AFP
The Lebanese Army for the Protesters: "The riots distort the demands and do not fulfill them, and do not fall into the category of expression of opinion."