Beirut Erupts In "Judgment Day" Protests // FAI ONLINE

Dana Itani takes a selfie in Martyr Square, Beirut in front of mock gallows set up by protesters "These politicians deserve to be hanged here.” (Credit: Diego Ibarra Sanchez, CNN).

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets and occupied several government buildings across Beirut on Saturday in what was described as “Judgment Day” protests after a massive explosion blamed on government negligence and corruption killed almost 160 people and injured thousands more. Rallying first in Beirut’s central Martyr’s Square, protesters chanted “The people want the fall of the regime” and “Revolution, Revolution,” signature cries of the Arab Spring movement that began almost a decade ago. Some raised mock gallows and burned an effigy of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah before fanning out across the city to different government buildings, pelting security forces with rocks and other objects, which was returned with tear gas, rubber bullets, and at least a few instances of live fire. At least 200 protesters have been injured so far, including over 60 hospitalized, putting further strain on Beirut’s already overwhelmed health care system.

Government officials, including Beirut governor Marwan Abboud, were forced to flee the city as demonstrators descended upon the capital district, repurposing tools they had used to clear rubble from the blast site as chisels to bring down the concrete barriers around the Lebanese parliament building. Protesters entered and occupied the foreign, economic and energy ministry buildings, as well as the headquarters of Lebanon’s Banking Association, setting the latter on fire. The nation’s economic agencies and financial institutions are largely viewed by the public as responsible Lebanon’s recent economic fiasco. A few citizen journalists even raided filing cabinets in the economic ministry building, live-streaming alleged evidence of government corruption in feeds that were picked up by Lebanese television news.

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Eventually, additional security forces were deployed into the streets and besieged government buildings, driving out protestors with truncheons and tear gas. Several witnesses reported random beatings on the streets, with police targeting anyone filming the crackdown with their cell phones. Despite the heavy-handed response to the demonstrations, Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab conceded that Tuesday’s blast was caused by government corruption, and called for early parliamentary elections this year, in an attempt to placate an angry public.

As always, we ask the global FAI family to join us in prayer for the Lebanese people. We pray that those injured by the blast would fully recover, and that the Lebanese public would be given courage and clarity to stand up to government corruption and the growing influence of Hezbollah and other Islamic terrorists in their midst, who exploit the Lebanese people for their own gain, and whose reckless hatred for the Jewish State has now brought unprecedented death and destruction on their own people.

Maranatha.