Nadene Goldfoot
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged the Lebanese citizens to join Israel's fight against Hezbollah again. Fighting has continued despite an April ceasefire which was not observed by either Israel or Hezbollah and a conditional truce announced last week after Lebanese-Israeli talks in Washington. During this period, Israel bombed southern Lebanon and 12 people were killed yesterday, hopefully being Hezbollah. A border town said 2 municipal employees of which one was a municipal councillor, apprehended by Israeli forces who had approached the IDF, were later released.
"Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Israeli strikes on more than 30 locations in southern and eastern Lebanon on Wednesday, including on Tayr Debba and Deir Qanun al-Nahr, and on three towns where Israel's military issued evacuation warnings."
Sidon is a coastal city far from the border that has been relatively spared in major Israeli attacks. It hosts many displaced people. An Israeli drone strike on a vehicle was reported, so someone high up the ladder of Hezbollah must have been known to be in it.
Sidon is an ancient Syrian city now a part of Lebanon. It was regarded as the capital of the Phoenicians who are termed Sidonians in the Bible and i Homeric verse. The city is even mentioned in the Tel elAmerna letters. Jezebel was of Sidonian origin and introduced its Baal cult into Israel. Sidon was occupied on several occasions by the Assyrians, and was subject to Persia and was captured by Alexander the Great. Then later, after falling under Roman domination, it finally lost its independence.
Sidon officially became part of the modern Lebanese state following World War I, when the League of Nations established the French Mandate of Lebanon in 1920.
- The Ottoman Era (1516–1918): During the 17th century, Sidon heavily flourished and was rebuilt under the patronage of Fakhr ad-Dīn II, a renowned semi-independent ruler of Lebanon.
- The French Mandate (1920): Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Sidon was integrated into the newly created State of Greater Lebanon under French administration.
- Independent Lebanon (1943): Upon Lebanon gaining independence in 1943, Sidon became one of the major cultural, historic, and economic hubs in the southern part of the country. Prime Minister Nawaf Sllam
- Prime Minister Nawaf Salam: Serving as the Head of Government, the Prime Minister is historically a Sunni Muslim and directs the cabinet.
Previously, he served as Lebanon’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations and represented Lebanon in the U.N. Security Council in 2010 and 2011. He was a member of the Lebanese National Electoral Law Commission, the Lebanese National Commission of UNESCO, and the executive bureau of the Socio-Economic Council of Lebanon. In addition to stints in private law practice early in his career, he taught at American University of Beirut and Sorbonne University in Paris. Salam is author of numerous books, essays and articles, including several works in the fields of international, constitutional, electoral, and Islamic law, as well as on international organizations and international affairs. In 2019, he gave the keynote address at the Harvard International Law Journal 60th Anniversary Symposium, titled “Reflections on International Law in Changing Times.”Born in Beirut in 1953, Salam belongs to a prominent family in Lebanon. Both his uncle and cousin served as the Lebanese prime minister. His wife, Sahar Baassiri, is a journalist who also served as Lebanon’s ambassador and permanent delegate to UNESCO.
- 1992: Hezbollah participated in national elections for the first time, securing eight seats in the Lebanese Parliament.
- 2005: The group entered the national cabinet for the first time. Since then, it has maintained an active role in government, frequently leveraging its political and military power to veto government decisions or collapse administrations when its demands are not met. 2018: Hezbollah and its political allies reached the peak of their parliamentary influence, securing a majority in the general election. However, this coalition lost its parliamentary majority in the 2022 elections.
Resource:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Sidon
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