REPORT: MP Aoun says Israel does not want Lebanon to extract oil

                      
The Change and Reform bloc held its weekly meeting Tuesday whereby it tackled the latest developments in Lebanon and the entire region.       

Following the meeting, MP Michel Aoun said that there are two urgent oil decrees that were submitted to the parliament before its resignation, adding that they were not signed due to “political and personal reasons.”                   

“It is unacceptable to tamper with Lebanon’s credibility in the issue of oil, Israel does not want Lebanon to extract the commodity in order to monopolize the energy market”, MP Aoun added.            

Interest in drilling in the eastern Mediterranean has grown since two natural gas and oil fields were discovered off Lebanon's shores.           

Lebanon hopes that gas and oil discoveries could help address its government debt and chronic domestic power shortages, but repeated delays mean it is already several years behind in exploring those potential reserves.           

As for the file of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, MP Aoun noted that the bloc called for dealing with this issue from the onset of the crisis, but “borders remained uncontrolled and illegal crossings open.”                 

The United Nations said in mid-April that the number of Syrian refugees flocking into Lebanon is estimated at 450,000, and the inflow surpasses the capacity of the country.             

On terrorism, Aoun decried what he viewed as the participation of some Lebanese in foreign plots; "Had they not done that security forces would have been able to impose security."                   

“Terrorist acts aim at creating chaos to serve the interests of foreign agenda," he said.               

On Friday the 23rd of August, two explosions rocked the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli near the al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques, leaving 45 killed and almost 500 others injured.           

This after a powerful car bomb tore through the Beirut Southern Suburbs' region of Roueis, a stronghold of Hezbollah on Thursday the 15th of August, claiming the lives of 27 civilians and leaving more than 289 wounded, some of whom are still receiving treatment.          

The blasts come amid rising tension in Lebanon resulting from Syria's civil war, which has sharply polarized the country along sectarian lines and between supporters and opponents of the regime of President Bashar Assad.


To watch the full LBCI report, please click on the video above.