Hassan Diab is named Prime Minister after majority vote
- Hassan Diab, former Education Minister and longtime Professor of Engineering at the American University of Beirut, was able to secure 69 votes by MPs during parliamentary consultations Thursday, paving the way for his designation as Prime Minister.
- Diab was nominated and received the backing of Hezbollah, the Amal Movement, and the Free Patriotic Movement. Major March 14 parties either supported Judge Nawaf Salam (the Progressive Socialist Party, the Kataeb, and MP3 Nouhad el—Machnouk and Michel Moawad) or abstained from nominating a candidate (Future Movement, Lebanese Forces). Around 43 other MP also did not name a candidate.
- Diab pledged to rapidly form a government that would include “all political parties as well as the people’s movement"
Nationwide roadblocks after PM naming
- Despite modest political consensus on Hassan Diab for the premiership, Diab did not gain the support of the people. Protesters blocked roads in front of the PM—designate’s residence in Beirut’s Talet el—Khayyat, Verdun, and Kaskas, as well as Khaldeh, Sidon’s Elia Square, Tripoli’s Salam Roundabout, Mina’s Marj Roundabout, Jal el—Dib, and other areas.
- Several supporters of March 14—linked political parties have also taken to the streets because Diab’s nomination gained poor support from Sunni deputies, likely paving the way to a March 8 cabinet.
German parliament passes a motion to ban Hezbollah
- The German parliament approved a motion urging Chancellor Angela Merkel to ban all Hezbollah—related activities on German soil.
- This decision will do away with the country’s policy of distinguishing between Hezbollah’s political and military arms.
- The United States and Israel have previously lobbied Germany to enact a total ban on Hezbollah.
REPOSTED FROM @Megaphonenews