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The Other (Ugly) Face of Lebanon

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah - Lebanon, formerly the "Switzerland of the Middle East," has been revealed since 2019 as a corrupt state in which politicians and laypeople have plundered the national treasury, while its sectarian regime has led to political paralysis. Rivers of garbage flood the cities. 40% of Lebanese physicians have left the country. Druze politician Walid Jumblatt admitted transferring $500 million out of the country. The value of the Lebanese currency has fallen in 2021 from 8,400/$1 to 30,000/$1. Almost a quarter of a million Lebanese left the country in the first quarter of 2021. Funds transferred to Lebanon after the port explosion in Beirut, which devastated a third of the city, have disappeared. Lebanese citizens are forbidden to withdraw their money from the national banks. This did not stop the outflow of $6 billion in less than three months. Hizbullah behaves in Beirut as if it was the second capital of Iran, with banners bearing the portrait of Qassem Suleimani decorating the main arteries leading to Beirut international airport. The writer, a Middle East analyst at the Jerusalem Center, was former Deputy Head for Assessment of Israeli Military Intelligence.
2022-01-06 00:00:00
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