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Beirut – On Wednesday, Lebanese political circles were shocked by the way the Amal Movement defended its member of the Presidency, former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, who was subjected to sanctions by the US Treasury.
These circles said that what most surprised them was the revelation by the Shiite movement, led by Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, that there was a “complete” agreement with the United States on the maritime borders between Lebanon and Israel.
The Amal Movement statement took Washington’s refusal to acknowledge the existence of such an agreement, as it stated that it “reveals the truth that the traffic agreement that demarcates the maritime borders in southern Lebanon was completed with the United States of America. and it was agreed on 7-7-2020 and so far it rejects the moment of its announcement without any justification. ” .
The movement considered that “the firman (a Turkish phrase from the days of the Ottoman Empire) and the United States Department of the Treasury came at a time when the Lebanese, with most of their political and parliamentary forces, were close to or below to achieve an inclusive government that should work to lift Lebanon out of its crises. It is this decision to tell us that what drives us are prepositions … It is a mistake to believe that ”.
In the first reaction to the declaration of the Amal movement, the United States Under Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, David Schenker, expressed his hope that he could come to Beirut and then sign an agreement that delimits the borders between Lebanon and Israel in the next few weeks, and highlighted: “We are close to reaching an agreement. On the land and sea border framework, Tel Aviv and Beirut have already made some real progress.
The US Treasury Department justified the imposition of sanctions on two former ministers, Ali Hassan Khalil (a Shiite) and Youssef Fenianos (a Maronite), for their links to corruption and for facilitating deals in the interests of Hezbollah. Lebanese political circles expected the imposition of sanctions against more Lebanese figures within ten days.
These circles said that what was reported by the US Treasury in the context of the announcement of the sanctions against Khalil and Fenianos indicates a good knowledge of the smallest details related to the practices of the two former ministers, especially since the Lebanese know that Ali Hassan Khalil is affiliated with Hezbollah more than what is considered “Amal”. Fenianus is just a Maronite figure who has put himself in the service of Hezbollah.
Fenianos said: “It helped Hezbollah to gain access to sensitive legal documents related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (the court that tried the Rafik Hariri case).”
The Treasury said: “Hezbollah has provided Fenians in exchange for political services hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
He accused Ali Hassan Khalil of “using his position to help Hezbollah avoid US sanctions, transferring funds from government ministries to Hezbollah-linked institutions in a way that avoids imposing US sanctions.”
Under US sanctions, any assets of these two politicians in the US will be frozen and they will be prevented from negotiating with the US financial system.
In a tweet, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described Hassan Khalil and Fenianus as “two corrupt Lebanese former ministers who used their positions to provide material support to Hezbollah.”
He added that “Hezbollah depends for its survival on the corrupt Lebanon’s political system.”
The US secretary warned that “anyone who helps serve Hezbollah’s political or economic interests increases the erosion of what remains of effective government and facilitates the financing of terrorism.”
“The United States supports the Lebanese people’s demand for reform, and we will use all the powers at our disposal to strengthen the accountability of the Lebanese leaders who failed their people,” he said.
