The demand for rents has recently increased in various areas of Lebanon, which has led to fears that Hezbollah members infiltrating among the displaced people will use these properties to hide.
This issue raises concern among the population about the possibility of a attack Israel Air attacks on these areas if military operations escalate between the two sides.
On Saturday, an Israeli raid targeted a residential apartment in the Barja area in Mount Lebanon, killing 4 people.
The mayor of Barja in Iqlim al-Kharroub, Brigadier General Hassan Saad, denied, in a statement, what was being circulated on social media that a Hezbollah center in the town was targeted by the Israeli raid, stressing that “there is no office for the party in the town, and what was targeted is a residential apartment.” “inhabited.”
Calls to ban leasing
Calls emerged from some municipalities, such as Falogha in Upper Matn, (Mount LebanonAs well as the city of Batroun in northern Lebanon, to prevent renting houses without verifying the identity of the tenants and the approval of the municipality, for fear of any potential security threat.
As a result of repeated Israeli raids, areas believed to contain military headquarters or leadership are being targetedHezbollahThis is considered a violation of international humanitarian law that requires the protection of civilians.
“Horror and chaos”
Wajdi Abu Mahmoud, a private sector worker and resident of the city of Aley in the Mount Lebanon Governorate, told Sky News Arabia: “I refused to rent my house because the tenant refused to show his identity to ensure that he is not from Hezbollah.”
In turn, Wissam Al-Mawla (a family head), a resident of the town of Dibbiyeh in the Chouf District, told the “Sky News Arabia website” that “whoever had a vacant house here chose to rent it to one of his relatives or friends, with a high degree of trust.”
Al-Mawla continues, “Everyone is experiencing a state of anxiety about the presence of Hezbollah elements among us.”
Regarding his recent experience of renting a house, Muhammad Fishir confirms that a few days ago he tried to make a preliminary reservation “online” for one of the residential apartments in an area with a Christian majority close to the tourist market in the city of Batroun, so that he could move there with his family to escape the sound of the Israeli bombing in the capital, Beirut.
Muhammad says that when he was trying to complete the final steps of the reservation and pay $1,700 in advance as monthly rent, the responsible employee asked for his ID, and as soon as she had doubts about his family name and the area he belongs to (South Lebanon), canceled the reservation immediately and said the apartment was booked.
In the Achrafieh district, east of the capital, Beirut, which is predominantly Christian, an employee at the telecommunications company, Mahran Abdo, told Sky News Arabia: “I had to seek the help of a colleague from the same area to find out about me so that I could rent a small apartment in the Achrafieh neighborhood for two months.”
Precautionary measures to combat discrimination
Private sources from the city of Batroun and its neighboring villages in the north of the country confirm that “fear is the dominant situation there, but there are precautionary measures taken by the city’s activities through coordination between the security services and mayors since the first day of the war.”
The sources add that “a specialized cell has been formed in this regard and is following up on all the details to protect civilians.”
In this context, Sky News Arabia learned from sources that “there are reports of some owners’ reservations or reservations Real estate brokers to rent their properties to people from towns considered incubators for Hezbollah, for fear of the tenants being linked to military groups.”
Mahmoud from the town of Siblin (Chouf) told Sky News Arabia, “Despite these concerns, there are attempts by some civil associations and non-governmental organizations to address, in particular, sectarian discrimination, including initiatives to promote community dialogue and to emphasize the importance of coexistence, and the right of every citizen.” To choose his place of residence without discrimination.
Justified fear?
This situation has raised divisions among the Lebanese, as there are those who see these measures as a protection for their security and those who consider them discrimination against certain groups of the population, especially those affiliated with Hezbollah.
Political analyst Beshara Khairallah says that the fear prevailing among the population can be understood Civilians Of renting homes to strangers in the areas, it can be described as a “phobia” that controls citizens in most areas in Lebanon.
In a statement to Sky News Arabia, Khairallah considered that this fear falls within what is called “proactive security,” as citizens began “to take this measure as a precautionary measure, especially after the Israeli raids on the Al-Kula and Al-Nuwairi area in Beirut.”
As for the head of the civil movement in northern Lebanon, Raed Al-Khatib, he confirmed that civil activists toured the hotels that received the displaced and the shelter centers in schools. Pointing out that “the only condition for the presence of the displaced person in Tripoli is that he not possess weapons, indicating that the majority of the displaced people are women and children.”
He continued to Sky News Arabia: “I do not think that verification is based on knowing the identity of the tenant or the displaced person, especially in the first stages of displacement, but the condition remains not to carry weapons.”
