“Renewal of land buyouts in Jezzine: demographic goals or commercial ones?”
“Renewal of land buyouts in Jezzine: demographic goals or commercial ones?”
An Nahar, an independent pro government newspaper, reported in its January 5 issue about the latest developments in Lebanon. The newspaper wrote: “The Jezzine area is characterized with a nice geographic location between the Shouf, Biqaa, and the south. It is unique in the context of Christian demographics as the area of concentration for the largest congregation of Christian sects in the south followed by Hasbayya and Marj-El-Oyun. The Jezzine province has constituted across the past decades a symbol for coexistence between the various Lebanese sects as it is home to. Despite the sectarian and religious wars that tore Lebanon, both Christians and Muslims from various sects and its inhabitants managed to protect this uniqueness despite the Israeli occupation of the region and the divisive techniques used by the enemy in that period to spread strife didn’t succeed...”
The newspaper added: “The area of Jezzine is back in the headlines of the media these days not for security, electoral, financial, or development matter as was the usual following the liberation but for a very sensitive issue that concerns the demographic structure of this area: the mass and suspect buying of wide tracts of land in the Jezzine area that doesn’t disappear in one area before appearing in another…During the two last years, the mass purchase of land was again brought to the surface along with fears about changing the demographics of the area amidst renewed talk about settling the Palestinian refugees in Jezzine. This was compounded by confirmed reports that one of the wealthy men from outside Lebanon is buying wide areas of land and presenting incentives…”
The newspaper continued: “But today and after the recent statements by the head of Democratic Congregation MP Walid Junblatt about “mass buyouts of land in Jezzine, Alaih, Suq Al Gharb and others” by “suspect factions using false names”, the problem is worsening again as the reports state that “one of the wealthy businessmen in the Shi’i sect is buying wide tracts of land in the area stretching from the surroundings of the Darayya farm through Al-Qatrani to the Druze village of Al-Sarirah in the western Biqaa”. The same information points out that the “buyer intends to build large apartment buildings on the aforementioned lands as well as stores and gas stations and schools along with all other requirements for human settlement so that the area will turn into a self sufficient town from all the economic, social, and living angles”…” - An Nahar, Lebanon
An Nahar, an independent pro government newspaper, reported in its January 5 issue about the latest developments in Lebanon. The newspaper wrote: “The Jezzine area is characterized with a nice geographic location between the Shouf, Biqaa, and the south. It is unique in the context of Christian demographics as the area of concentration for the largest congregation of Christian sects in the south followed by Hasbayya and Marj-El-Oyun. The Jezzine province has constituted across the past decades a symbol for coexistence between the various Lebanese sects as it is home to. Despite the sectarian and religious wars that tore Lebanon, both Christians and Muslims from various sects and its inhabitants managed to protect this uniqueness despite the Israeli occupation of the region and the divisive techniques used by the enemy in that period to spread strife didn’t succeed...”
The newspaper added: “The area of Jezzine is back in the headlines of the media these days not for security, electoral, financial, or development matter as was the usual following the liberation but for a very sensitive issue that concerns the demographic structure of this area: the mass and suspect buying of wide tracts of land in the Jezzine area that doesn’t disappear in one area before appearing in another…During the two last years, the mass purchase of land was again brought to the surface along with fears about changing the demographics of the area amidst renewed talk about settling the Palestinian refugees in Jezzine. This was compounded by confirmed reports that one of the wealthy men from outside Lebanon is buying wide areas of land and presenting incentives…”
The newspaper continued: “But today and after the recent statements by the head of Democratic Congregation MP Walid Junblatt about “mass buyouts of land in Jezzine, Alaih, Suq Al Gharb and others” by “suspect factions using false names”, the problem is worsening again as the reports state that “one of the wealthy businessmen in the Shi’i sect is buying wide tracts of land in the area stretching from the surroundings of the Darayya farm through Al-Qatrani to the Druze village of Al-Sarirah in the western Biqaa”. The same information points out that the “buyer intends to build large apartment buildings on the aforementioned lands as well as stores and gas stations and schools along with all other requirements for human settlement so that the area will turn into a self sufficient town from all the economic, social, and living angles”…” - An Nahar, Lebanon
