Minister of Agriculture Requests Security Services' Help to Control Smuggling Operations

Agriculture Minister in the caretaker government, Abbas Al-Haj Hassan, appealed in a statement for "the Lebanese Army Command, as well as the Ministries of Defense and Interior, security forces, customs, and state security to assist in controlling smuggling operations, amid the continuing influx of various agricultural products, particularly citrus fruits, olives, olive oil, vegetables, and herbs, entering Lebanese territories through illegal means, especially with the start of local production. This situation results in significant losses for Lebanese farmers and harms the agricultural sector and the Lebanese economy." Al-Haj Hassan praised "the efforts of the various agencies" and called for "collective efforts to reduce smuggling operations for the sake of Lebanese farmers, especially after the disaster that struck the olive sector due to international law prohibiting phosphorus bombings and the deliberate burning of large numbers of olive trees and fruit and forest trees."