BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister said on Wednesday he’s no longer a candidate for the post, eliminating himself from consideration on the eve of scheduled consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs for naming a new premier.

The move by Saad Hariri comes amid much uncertainty and heightened tensions following recent violence. There were several days of confrontations involving security forces and anti-government protesters as well as supporters of Lebanon’s two main Shia groups, Hezbollah and Amal. They torched cars, smashed window shops and burned trees in central Beirut. Police have responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

The violence threatened to plunge Lebanon further into chaos and ignite sectarian strife amid two months of anti-government protests and a spiraling financial crisis. Politicians meanwhile, have been unable to agree on a new government since Hariri resigned Oct 29 in response to unprecedented, nationwide protests. Those demonstrations were sparked by a tanking economy and united the Lebanese against their leaders.

The western-backed Hariri has insisted on a government of specialists to deal with the economic and financial crisis, while others including Hezbollah demand a government that includes all major political parties much like Hariri’s unity government that was brought down.

It has become clear to me that, despite my categorical commitment to forming a government of specialists, the positions [...] are not changing, I therefore announce that I will not be a candidate to form the next government, Hariri said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement said Hariri’s bloc in parliament will meet on Thursday morning, ahead of the scheduled consultations with President Michel Aoun, to determine who it will name as their candidate for PM.

A mob attacked the office of a Sunni Muslim religious leader in the northern city of Tripoli, smashing in windows early on Wednesday, Lebanon’s official news agency and the military said. The assailants then moved to one of the city’s main squares and set fire to the traditional Christmas tree.

The violence indicated that tensions that have recently gripped the Lebanese capital, Beirut, fueled by an online video deemed offensive to the country’s Shia Muslims, are spreading to Tripoli, the country’s second-largest city. The city is predominantly Sunni.

The military said a mob of men on motorcycles gathered outside the home of Sunni Mufti Sheik Malek al-Shaar and rioted, used profanity and smashed property. The mob then moved to the square and threw fire bombs at the Christmas tree, setting it on fire. The military said it arrested four men and confiscated their motorcycles.

On Tuesday, anger boiled over in Beirut after the offensive video was widely circulated online.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2019