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3 1 (August 27, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/goveaae0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Inf'min h le itv eaesne11 Lebanon Lebanon, a country of 5.5 million people, faces the worst economic crisis in its history amid ongoing political unrest, the spread of COVID-19, and an August 2020 explosion that severely damaged the port of Beirut and surrounding areas. Lebanon hosts the largest number of refugees in the world per capita (over one million, mostly Syrians), which has raised social tensions and strained public services. U.S. policy toward Lebanon has focused on countering the influence of Iran and Hezbollah, and on bolstering the Lebanese state-while calling for reforms to counter corruption and mismanagement. Government Lebanon's confessional political system divides power among its three largest religious communities (Maronite Christian, Sunni, Shi'a), to which it allocates the posts of president, prime minister, and parliamentary speaker, respectively. Lebanese President Michel Aoun was elected in 2016 by Lebanon's parliament for a six-year term. Aoun is affiliated with the Christian Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), which along with Hezbollah and the Shi'a Amal Movement comprise the major components of the March 8 political bloc. Parliamentary elections in 2018 gave the bloc, which advocates friendly ties with Iran and Syria, a simple majority (68 out of 128 seats). The United States has maintained ties with March 8's political rival, known as the March 14 bloc, which includes the Future Movement (Sunni), the Lebanese Forces, and Kataeb (both Christian). 2019 Government Collapse Former Prime Minister and Future Movement leader Saad Hariri formed a government in January 2019. The 30- member Hariri cabinet was majority March 8, reflecting the results of the 2018 legislative elections, but parties expected to align with March 14 held 11 seats. In October 2019, Hariri resigned amid mass protests against state corruption, ineptitude, and economic mismanagement, triggering the collapse of the government. 2020 Diab Government Resignation In January 2020, Lebanon formed a new government under Prime Minister Hassan Diab. The 20-member Diab cabinet was the first since 2005 composed entirely of parties from a single political bloc (March 8). Parties affiliated with March 14, which opposed Diab's nomination on the grounds that he was selected by Hezbollah allies over the objection of Lebanon's largest Sunni party, boycotted the government. The new cabinet described itself as technocratic and most ministers were not career politicians. However, most had ties to established political parties and lacked the ability to operate independently from party leaders. On August 10, Prime Minister Diab resigned in the wake of the August 4 explosion at the port of Beirut. His government will remain in a caretaker capacity with Updated August 27, 2020 reduced authorities until a new prime minister is appointed and forms a new government, a potentially lengthy process. Figure I. Lebanon Source: Created by CRS using ESRI, Google Maps, and Good Shepherd Engineering and Computing. Beirut Port Explosion & Investigation On August 4, 2020, a massive explosion at the port of Beirut killed over 190 people, injured thousands, and displaced 300,000 people. Lebanese officials linked the explosion to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been confiscated from a disabled cargo ship in 2014 and stored in a warehouse at the port. According to the government, the initial cause of the explosion was a welding accident at the port, but many Lebanese blamed the blast on government negligence and mismanagement. Lebanon has named a military judge to lead the investigation into the cause of the blast; some Lebanese have questioned his independence from political elites who were aware of the presence of explosives at the port but took no action. To date, charges have been filed against 25 people, none of whom is a minister or political official. An FBI team was dispatched to Lebanon in mid August to assist with the investigation. Hezbollah Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), operates in Lebanon as a militia force, a political party, and a provider of social services. It is closely linked to Iran, which provides it with significant funding and has used it as a proxy or allied force to threaten Israel. While Israel withdrew in 2000 from areas of southern Lebanon it had occupied since 1982, Hezbollah has used the remaining Israeli presence in disputed areas in the Lebanon-Syria-Israel triborder region to justify its https://crsreport,

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