Qatar PM says to help Lebanon rebuild after government is formed

BEIRUT: Qatar’s prime minister said during a visit to Beirut on Tuesday that Doha would help Lebanon rebuild after a devastating Hezbollah-Israel war, but only after a new government is formed.
Reeling from years of crisis and a conflict, Lebanon has pinned hopes on Gulf states to fund reconstruction, with Qatar having been heavily involved in such efforts after the Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006.
“When it comes to economic support and support for reconstruction, there is no doubt that the State of Qatar will be there,” Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani told reporters after meeting Lebanon’s newly-elected President Joseph Aoun.
“We look forward to ongoing efforts to form a government, and after that, we will discuss these files,” Al-Thani said, adding that he looked forward to forming “a strategic partnership” with Lebanon.
Al-Thani is set to meet other senior officials during what he described as a “visit of support,” including prime minister-designate Nawaf Salam, who has been tasked with forming a government, though efforts have stalled.
Qatar was among five countries, including the United States, France, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which lobbied heavily for Lebanon to elect a president last month and end a two-year vacuum due to political deadlock.
A fragile Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire has been in place since November 27, after more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war.
Al-Thani said it was crucial for Israeli troops to “adhere to the agreement on the withdrawal... from southern Lebanon.”
He also called for implementing a Security Council resolution that states United Nations peacekeepers and the Lebanese army should be the only forces present in the country’s south.
Under the truce deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period.
Hezbollah was also to pull back its forces north of the Litani River — about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border — and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
The withdrawal period was extended to February 18 after the Israeli military missed the original January 26 deadline.
Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violations of the truce deal.
Al-Thani also said Qatar would continue providing humanitarian aid, as well as support for Lebanon’s cash-strapped army.
Washington is the main financial backer of Lebanon’s army but it also receives support from other countries including Qatar, which has granted in-kind and monetary aid.