Najwa Abi Haidar wrote in Al-Markaziya:
It is not the first time, and it will not be the last, that the bullets of ignorance and “ceremonial” backwardness strike Beirut Airport with its planes and runways, and “at the hairline” of Lebanese and foreign travelers passing through it, putting its security and safety at stake by the “recklessness of its shooters,” intentionally or unintentionally. It makes a difference as long as the result is the same, amid the inability of the successive authorities to deter such people and put an end to the practices of some of those who benefit from the surplus power of the mini-state in what remains of the State of Lebanon, by not implementing their promises to punish the shooters or by taking a long-awaited decision to operate all the existing airports. In Lebanon and the liberation of the Lebanon Gate from the grip of the “thugs”.
The situation is no longer tolerable and “not every time you receive the jar,” political sources told Al-Markaziya. The same incidents are repeated and developed. On New Year’s Eve, bullets fired in abundance in the area surrounding the airport hit two Middle East Airlines planes, T7-ME9 and T7-ME2. That night, a stray bullet landed and lodged in his cell phone. The citizen, who was pulling his baggage cart, was saved by divine providence. About a month before that, a bullet hit a plane returning from Jordan, with a female deputy in the Lebanese Parliament on board, while it was landing at the airport, without any injuries.
About 7 to 8 planes are exposed annually to stray bullets, without the repeated appeals of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Middle East Airlines, Muhammad Al-Hout, and the Director General of Civil Aviation, Fadi Al-Hassan, and the citizens whose lives are at risk, that radical solutions must be established by the competent ministries and concerned agencies. And punish the shooters according to what the act requires in terms of retribution, so that they may be an example to others. However, the officials who are absent from hearing and “awareness” in the state of dissensions and the republic of hatred, who are distracted from the basics by arguing and exchanging accusations, are content with lofty positions and do not take any action to remove the specter of death from Beirut airport and its passengers.
About three weeks ago, the caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Judge Bassam Mawlawi, toured the airport, accompanied by the commander of the Airport Security Service, Brigadier General Nabil Abdullah, and senior officers in the Airport Security Service, the Internal Security Forces, and Public Security at the airport, and was briefed on the procedures and measures taken by the agencies. He held a press conference, in which he announced that he had discussed with the Airport Security Service some of the security breaches that were recorded in the previous period around the airport and issues that threaten aviation safety, such as random shooting or stray bullets in places surrounding the airport, and this must be put to an end. It will happen, as the Ministry of Interior, the airport security service, and the specialists are working to find a solution, as it is unreasonable that the airport’s vicinity witness stray bullets.” And he reassured the travelers of the safety of their arrival to Lebanon.” However, the reality contradicted the promises of the minister, whose least duties require the deployment of security personnel in the area surrounding the airport to prevent exposing it to danger, as had it not been for God’s providence, a number of “reassured” travelers would have been killed or wounded. God forbid, because bullets hit a plane while it was descending and a citizen’s phone was a few centimeters away from his body.
The sources confirm that the area surrounding Beirut Airport, the gateway to Lebanon and the jewel of the East, as Minister Mawlawi called it, must become demilitarized, and if it is not possible, in light of the state’s loss of its ability to deter the Al-Duwailah group, to bring at least one of the shooters to justice and prosecute him to be deterred. the others. This is in addition to the danger posed by the birds scattered in the locality due to the mountain of Costa Brava waste, which is no less important than the stray bullets, leading to the crash of planes.
Away from physical danger, the sources reveal to Al-Markaziya that the cost of repairing one plane as a result of being hit by a bullet exceeds one and a half million dollars, since the matter is not limited to a “patch”, but requires sending a team of engineers from the parent company to supervise the repair process for fear malfunctions later
The Lebanon Gate is in dire need of rapid security maintenance before the prohibition takes place, otherwise any incident that may be exposed to passengers on an airplane or a passenger at the airport will have dire repercussions, and regret will not work at that time… so take action.