Pod Save America Hosts Call on Democrats to Cut All Israel Military Aid, No Longer Accept AIPAC Funding
Jews, Israelis Targeted in Austria Amid Surge in Antisemitic Incidents; Local Jewish Community Calls for Action
‘All of Our Strength’: Over 1,000 Pro-Israel Activists Gather in DC for Solidarity Conference
‘Devastated’: Wesley LePatner, Killed in Manhattan Mass Shooting, Was a Jewish Communal, Philanthropic Leader
Sen. Angus King Vows to No Longer Vote for Israel Military Aid Until Gaza Conditions Improve
Europe Won’t Pressure Israel to ‘Commit Suicide’ Amid Gaza Backlash, Palestinian State Push, Says Israeli FM
Israel’s National Soccer Coach Attacked in Athens Before Soccer Fans Chant ‘F–K Israel, Free Palestine’ at Match
New York Judge Sentences Neo-Nazi to 5 Years for Livestreaming Bomb Threats Against Jewish Hospitals
US Pressures Lebanon to Issue Cabinet Decision to Disarm Hezbollah Before Talks Continue
UK Plans to Recognize Palestinian State in September Unless Israel Meets Conditions, Starmer Says
PM-Designate Asks Lebanon’s Government to Pay Dues to Special Tribunal
Error: Contact form not found.
by Reuters and Algemeiner Staff
Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri speaks after meeting with Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon March 22, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Prime Minister-Designate Saad al-Hariri asked the Lebanese government on Saturday to pay its dues to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and for the international community to shoulder its responsibility.
The tribunal was set up to prosecute those behind the 2005 assassination of Hariri’s father, Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It is 51% funded by voluntary contributions and 49% by the government, and could close after July if the funding shortage is not resolved.
The closure would prevent its work that is vital for putting an end to political assassinations in Lebanon, a statement by Hariri’s office said.
On Thursday, judges at the tribunal scrapped a new trial against the man convicted of the assassination because of expectations that it will be shut down.
“It is a regrettable decision for the train of justice to stop at a time when we are in most need of it and it is painful that the reasons are financial,” the statement said.
Last year the tribunal convicted in absentia former Hezbollah member Salim Jamil Ayyash for the bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others in a ruling that was being appealed.
Hariri, a veteran Sunni politician and former prime minister himself, has been trying to cobble together a cabinet since his designation in October at a time when Lebanon is under increasing danger of complete collapse on the back of an acute financial crisis.
Hariri has been at loggerheads with President Michel Aoun, an ally of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, over the naming of ministers.
