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Beirut – “Al-Quds Al-Arabi”:
Hours after Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah downplayed the importance of border control and his call for coordination between the Lebanese and Syrian armies, the army leadership announced in a statement that “army units seized Lebanese-Syrian northern and eastern borders and with different dates between 5/7/2020 and 14 5/2020, 10 tanks and trucks loaded with approximately 215,000 liters of diesel, and confiscated two trucks and 4 vans loaded with approximately 71 tons of flour, and they arrested 25 people. ”
The statement stated that “the army units take the necessary measures to control the borders and prevent smuggling through illegal crossings, and that the detainees were transferred with the seizures to the competent judicial authorities.”
The issue of border smuggling attended the cabinet meeting that was held at the government house led by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, and the council decided to confiscate the trucks and tanks smuggled with their cargo, provided that the decision is issued by decree without the need to amend a law.
Hezbollah Secretary-General’s positions on the smuggling issue met with disapproval by force activists on March 14 and rejected any normalization with the Syrian regime, and some of them stated that “whoever wants normalization with Bashar al-Assad go to him and sit on his lap and print kisses of work on his cheeks. “
Lebanese Forces party leader Samir Geagea tweeted, criticizing the decisions of the Supreme Defense Council, calling them “disappointing”, saying: “This is something we have heard over and over in the past, and not led to no practical results on the ground. “
He believed that “what resulted from the Supreme Defense Council meeting means that there is no decision, and more delay, which means in practice the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars annually due to smuggling operations carried out out at a time when we’re begging a handful of dollars from abroad. “
He emphasized that “all that is required is a clear and decisive political decision in the Lebanese army government, internal security forces and all security forces concerned about the closure of illegal and illegal crossings between Lebanon and Syria” .
Representative Nadim Gemayel also responded to Nasrallah’s refusal to deploy international forces at the borders. He said: “Nasrallah demonizes any decision that serves Lebanon and considers it detrimental to its interest. No, sir … there is no salvation … nor a resurrection before solving the problem of weapons that dominate the state and its sovereignty” .
He added: “Resolutions 1559 and 1701 serve the interest of Lebanon, whether you like it or not, even if you consider that both are addressed to you and you are free! We say Lebanon first, and you say Iran first. “
As for former March 14 force coordinator Fares Saeed, he commented on the army’s statement on the seizure of trucks at the border, saying: “All the commendable efforts of the army on the border with Syria do not eliminate the need to support him. with international forces in accordance with the relevant resolutions. “
In an attempt to stop waste in the power sector, which costs the state annual losses of $ 2 billion, the Cabinet reportedly approved a memorandum of understanding with companies seeking to establish power plants in Lebanon. Energy Minister Raymond Roma said: “We agreed on the Memorandum of Understanding with the companies, with some amendments, with all the details of the agreement and the mutual terms.”
He added: “The companies are ready to cooperate, and the memoranda of understanding were consolidated with an approved memorandum and China expressed its desire for financing.”
“The work will begin in the first stage in Zahrani and then in Deir Ammar,” explained Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad.
Abd al-Samad noted after the session that “the prime minister stressed that we must accompany the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund internally, and stressed the follow-up to investigations into speculation on the national currency,” calling for “the disclosure of all the names of those involved, as well as the fraudulent fraud file, “and said:” We are eager to reveal the truth without interfering, and we will not accept coercion or malice. “
In addition, the scenes of complete closure and the freedom of the streets of the movement returned to Beirut and the Lebanese regions on the first day of the renewal of public mobilization for a period of four days, which ended on Monday morning, after that the numbers of Corona virus infection increased again, and the army, the security forces and the municipal police carried out patrols to control the violations and guarantee that the decision was implemented well.
These measures coincide with Lebanon’s willingness to receive the third batch of Lebanese-carrying planes from abroad, in light of fears that returnees will not adhere to domestic quarantine procedures, as happened with several citizens who transmitted the infection. Others, while 4 Lebanese were reported to have come from Africa, falsified the results. PCR controls so they can return to Lebanon.
