Hezbollah, Amal to end boycott of Lebanon’s cabinet after three months of deadlock
-
Alaina
- . January 17, 2022
- . Update: January 17, 2022 7:33 pm
Lebanon–The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah and Amal announced on Saturday that they would end a boycott of cabinet sessions after three months of political deadlock. The two groups said, “We announce our agreement to participate in cabinet meetings to approve the national budget and discuss the economic rescue plan.”
The three months of political deadlock exacerbated the country’s economic crisis. The two groups are ready to return to government meetings to approve the 2022 budget. The two groups also want to discuss the economic recovery and measures to improve the living conditions of the Lebanese.
Related Posts
The groups had been refusing to attend cabinet sessions over a dispute in the handling of an investigation into the huge Beirut port blast in 2020. Lebanon’s economic crisis deepened after the tragic accident. The economic crisis pushed more than half the population into poverty. The Beirut port explosion was caused by a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely for years. The tragic incident killed over 200 people. Reportedly, the failure to hold cabinet meetings delayed talks on an economic recovery plan with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The talk was necessary to lift the country out of the economic crisis that had driven swathes of the nation into poverty.
Reportedly, the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah group and its allies demanded to remove the main investigator of the 2020 tragic explosion. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed group that has a well-armed militia. Amal is another Muslim Shi’ite group. The two groups sought the removal of a judge who had been overseeing the Beirut port blast probe. They accused Judge Tarek Bitar of bias after he sought to question two senior Amal figures over the tragic incident. Reportedly, virtual talks between the IMF and the Lebanese authorities would be held in the last week of January.
