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Lebanon's Arab tribes offer 'full support' to Salam
BEIRUT— The Gathering of Arab Tribes of Lebanon on Thursday voiced full support for Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's plan to restore the state's monopoly on arms and disarm militias, despite pushback from Hezbollah, Amal, and Iran-aligned allies.
Lebanon is home to numerous Arab tribes, particularly in the Bekaa, Akkar, and the Khalde area near Beirut. Sunni Arab tribes have been present in Lebanon since before the creation of Greater Lebanon in 1920, explained Sheikh Haytham Tohaymi, a member of the Hourouk tribe of Faour (Bekaa) and president of the humanitarian association Al-Inma' wal Tajaddod (Development and Renewal), to our publication in 2021.
During the Ottoman Empire, Sunni Arab tribes were nomadic and moved freely across Iraqi, Syrian, Lebanese, and Palestinian territories. But since the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916), the partitioning of the Middle East and border demarcation, these tribes have become sedentary.
"The Gathering of Arab Tribes announces its full support for the statesman that is Nawaf Salam," the group wrote in a statement, in which it denounces the "slanderous campaigns" against the prime minister. "As the proverb says: 'People only throw stones at fruit-bearing trees,'" the text reads.
Nawaf Salam urged to 'move forward'
"We reaffirm our full support for his efforts to extend the state's authority over the entire Lebanese territory and to restrict the carrying of weapons to legitimate armed forces, considering this a fundamental pillar of the protection of sovereignty and the maintenance of stability," the tribes added, encouraging the prime minister to "move forward."
"We will not allow anyone to harm the premiership or its leader. You are today the voice and prestige of the state, the symbol of national interest."
Clashes have sometimes broken out between members of the Arab tribes and Hezbollah supporters. Violence in particular flared up in the summer of 2021 in Khalde, south of Beirut, following a dispute over banners for Ashura commemorations, which escalated into gunfire and then further shooting during funerals and a wedding.
The government's decisions on Aug. 5 and 7 regarding Hezbollah's disarmament and the adoption of the "Barrack plan," a U.S. roadmap designed to ensure proper implementation of the cease-fire terms with Israel as of November 2024, led to a series of congratulations and support from part of Lebanon's political class, while Hezbollah, Amal and its allies are acting as if these measures "do not exist" and are warning against tensions in the country.
