Rita Boulos, a member of the Kataeb Party’s political bureau, raised the alarm over what she described as a “systematic” and “unlawful” acquisition of land along the Chouf coast by a shadowy association with alleged ties to U.S.-sanctioned individuals.

Speaking to Voice of Lebanon radio, Boulos said the party has been monitoring suspicious property deals in the area for at least five years. The scale and pace of the acquisitions, she warned, point to a targeted effort that threatens the identity and stability of several coastal towns.

“Just last month, a property in Rmeileh was sold by a member of the Harmoush family to a group called the Al-Kawthar Social Charity Association,” she said. “That’s when we started asking questions.”

According to Boulos, the municipality had no prior knowledge of the transaction, raising concerns about transparency and oversight.

“When we looked into the association, we found that those running it are under U.S. sanctions,” she said. “The association’s property purchases are not limited to Rmeileh. They also extend to Dibbiyeh and Damour."

The Kataeb official warned that the pattern of acquisitions risks altering the demographic and geographic character of the Chouf region. 

“We support coexistence, but we categorically reject this deliberate and methodical targeting,” she said. “We have already lost the unique identity of several villages in the Chouf district.”

Boulos called for greater authority to be given to municipalities to confront such developments and urged the Lebanese state to step up its regulatory oversight.

“We need the financial public prosecutor to open an immediate investigation into the association’s funding sources. Its financial disclosures to the Ministry of Interior reveal clear evidence of tax evasion," she said.

“If the authorities don’t act, we’ll take legal steps to expose the association’s real identity and who’s financing it.”

Boulos urged the Ministry of Finance to place precautionary holds on the properties in question and freeze all registrations until funding sources are verified. She also called on the Ministry of Justice to direct the Financial Public Prosecutor to treat the matter with urgency.

She praised the Rmeileh Municipality for taking proactive steps by drafting a land-use master plan to limit unregulated urban expansion and the spread of residential compounds.

“This kind of approach should be adopted across all municipalities as they are the first line of defense,” she said.

Boulos noted that the temporary closure of property registry offices had allowed dubious sales to proceed under the radar, enabling parties seeking demographic change to register properties away from public scrutiny.

“These deals were registered quietly, out of public view. Now that they’re coming to light, the state and the judiciary must intervene immediately to stop further registrations.”

She voiced concern over the security implications of the situation, citing fears over the presence of groups labeled terrorist organizations. 

“We need to restore stability and rebuild investor confidence, particularly with rising concerns about cells linked to Hezbollah and the so-called Resistance Brigades operating in the area,” she warned.

In closing, Boulos called on municipalities to work with urban planning authorities to classify their lands and protect what remains of their communities.

“We place our trust in the Ministry of Justice, especially after the approval of the judicial independence law. We’re also counting on the state, the president’s inaugural speech, and the ministerial policy statement,” she said. “The state must reclaim public lands in the South and move swiftly to shut down the operations of suspicious associations. That’s the only way to preserve the identity of our villages.”

The Al-Kawthar Social Charity Association has long been on the radar of U.S. authorities. On February 26, 2020, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the group as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorism.

According to OFAC, Al-Kawthar is owned, controlled, or directed by Atlas Holding, a company that itself is tied to the Martyrs Foundation in Lebano, an Iranian-affiliated organization that the Treasury describes as integral to Hezbollah’s global terror financing apparatus. The Martyrs Foundation has been known to fund Hezbollah’s military operations and provide financial support to families of the group’s fighters.