Switch off the editor’s digest free of charge
Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The Lebanese army has fired tear gas from Hisbollah, which protested against an Iranian flight that was excluded from landing in Beirut when the tensions between the government and the Shiite militant group increased.
The followers of Hisbollah blocked the streets on Friday and Saturday, which led to the airport from Beirut to the airport to the airport, but the Lebanese government said that it had decided to stop the plane to land on the airport about fears, the Israel could.
The Israeli military had accused Tehran of using civil aircraft to smuggle money to arm the militants.
Hassan Fadlallah, a member of Hisbollah, accused the army of an “unjustified attack”. . . About women and children who protested peacefully. “The army said on Sunday that it was forced to intervene after demonstrators blocked the street and confronted with military personnel and violated 23 soldiers.
The Iranian Tasnim news agency, which was connected to the Elite Revolation Guards, said on Sunday that Hisbollah’s protests “an ultimatum for the new Lebanese government was Nasrallah, planned for February 23.
The friction comes when the Iran, supported by Iran, rolls back from his weakened position in the Lebanon government, whereby the party is largely after a new administration was appointed this year. His conflict with Israel has also greatly reduced the group’s military wing.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hisbollah is to occur a new phase on Tuesday with the withdrawal of Israeli troops. Israel stated that it can keep some strategic positions in Lebanon.
The chairman of Hisbollah, Naim Qassem, insisted that Israel has to withdraw from all areas in southern Lebanon until the deadline.
The Israeli defense staff killed a woman and injured several others in the South Libanian village of Houla when the residents returned to the area on Sunday, said the Lebanese news agency. The IDF did not comment on the incident.
After a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Hisbollah has to be disarmed. Israel would prefer that the Lebanese army do this job, but nobody should doubt that Israel will do what it has to do to enforce the ceasefire. “
When the demonstrators gathered on Friday, a convoy of the UN peacekeepers were attacked to Beirut Airport. A vehicle was set on fire and the deputy commander of the armed forces was injured, said the Unifil mission in Lebanon.
The US State Department said that the attack was “reported to a group of Hezbollah supporters”. Hisbollah and Amal, an Allied Shiite movement, condemned the incident for which dozens of people were arrested.
Hisbollah asked the army to open the treatment of demonstrators and asked the Lebanese state to protect peaceful demonstrations and end up Iranian aircraft.
The demonstrators gathered after the Lebanese government revoked the permission for a passenger aircraft to fly from Tehran to Beirut on Thursday and tender Lebanese travelers, many pilgrims were stranded.
The decision to block the flight came after the military was accused of Iran on Wednesday to smuggle money to arm Hisbollah on civil flights to Beirut Airport.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that the plane was threatened, although it did not contain any details about the threat.
The Iranian civil aviation organization said that the Lebanese authorities had applied for the Iranian flights to their airport until February 18, the expiry date of the ceasefire, due to the safety conditions in Beirut.
The Lebanese officials have proposed to bring passengers home to the Lebanese national company through a third country, but Iran rejected this and insisted that Iranian flights are permitted.
“You cannot cancel the flights of Iran and replace them with Lebanese flights,” said Mojtaba Amani, the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, the Iranian media on Friday. “This matter can be solved, provided that the Iranian flights resume.”
