Lebanon’s new president names head of the International Court of Justice as the country’s new prime minister.
Prominent diplomat and president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in The Hague Nawaf Salam has been named as Lebanon’s new prime minister.
Salam was asked to form Lebanon’s new government after he was named prime minister by a large number of legislators on Monday, in a move that has apparently angered Hezbollah and its allies.
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Salam’s nomination was made by western-backed groups as well as independents in the Lebanese parliament. Salam has the support of Saudi Arabia and western countries as well. Hezbollah legislators abstained from naming any candidate for the prime minister job.
Salam’s nomination is regarded by many as a glimpse of hope after the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war that has killed at least 4,000 people, and injured close to 20,000 others.
The war has also caused widespread destruction across the country, mainly in the south, but also reaching the capital Beirut. The damage is estimated at hundreds of millions of euros.
The war came to a temporary halt in late November when a US-brokered 60-day truce went into effect.
Shortly after Salam won majority backing from Lebanese legislators, people celebrated in the streets of Beirut with fireworks, hoping that his nomination, and last week’s election of Joseph Aoun as president, would help release billions of euros of investments and loans by foreign donors, relieving a dire economic crisis that has plagued the country for years.
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Neither Aoun nor Salam are considered part of the country’s political class that is blamed for widespread corruption and mismanagement over the past decades.
Tensions with Hezbollah
In past years, Hezbollah has repeatedly blocked Salam from becoming prime minister, labelling him as a US-backed candidate.
“We will see their acts when it comes to forcing the occupiers to leave our country, bringing back prisoners, reconstruction” and the implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolution that ended the Israel-Hezbollah war, the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc, Mohammed Raad, said after meeting with Aoun.
Raad added that Hezbollah extended its hand last week by electing Aoun and they were hoping to meet an extended hand from the other side, “but this hand was cut off.”
What’s next in the process?
After a day of consultations between Aoun and legislators, Salam got the backing of 84 deputies, while outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati received nine votes. Thirty-four legislators from the 128-member legislature abstained.
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati congratulated Salam shortly after results were out to congratulate and wish him luck with the new job.
Salam is expected to be back in Lebanon now that he is prime minister-designate. A meeting is schedule for Tuesday at the presidential palace in Beirut between Aoun, Salam and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to formally initiate the process of forming a new cabinet.