Source: The National
The official website of the Kataeb Party leader
Security & Justice
Southern Lebanon Endures Massive Damage: 40,000 Homes Leveled Across 37 Towns
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed entire neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, leveling more than 37 towns and wiping out over 40,000 residential units, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaps in Coastal Radar Enabled Israeli Raid in Batroun, Army Commander Says
Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Tuesday 20 September 2022 09:55:33
Lebanon’s Negotiator on Maritime Border Dispute With Israel Arrives in New York
Elias Bou Saab, Lebanon’s deputy parliament speaker and lead negotiator on the maritime border dispute with Israel arrived in New York on Monday evening, several diplomatic sources told The National.
Mr. Saab’s trip was planned at the last minute, the sources said. He has come independently of the Lebanese delegation headed by Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who will land in New York on Monday night.
The Lebanese parliamentarian has become a key interlocutor in the maritime dispute with Israel, with ownership of lucrative undersea gas fields at stake.
He is in direct contact with US envoy Amos Hochstein, who will also be in New York. Mr. Hochstein visited Beirut this month.
A diplomatic source told The National that Mr. Hochstein may also meet Mr. Mikati in New York and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold a meeting with the Lebanese prime minister as well.
A deal is seen as close between Lebanon and Israel, and US President Joe Biden's administration is hoping to seal it in the coming weeks.
A resolution could delineate the maritime border between Lebanon and its southern neighbor for the first time since Israel was established in 1948.
A deal would involve a territorial swap in return for an Israeli concession granting Beirut extra maritime territory near the Qana gasfield.
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah issued a threat at the weekend to Israel, saying it could come under attack if it starts pumping in the Karish gas rig near the disputed area before a deal is sealed.
The party's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, said Hezbollah has "sent a very strong message, far from the media, that [Israel] faces a problem if it begins extraction from the Karish field before Lebanon obtains its rightful demands".
Israeli outlet Globes reported on Sunday that Hezbollah and Israel had exchanged indirect messages in recent days with the aim of avoiding a confrontation in Karish. The outlet said the goal is to reach a deal in the coming weeks.
Lebanon's President Michel Aoun is also hoping for a deal before his term ends on October 31. Mr. Aoun canceled his trip to New York for financial reasons, as Beirut struggles with an unprecedented economic collapse.