⋯ The alleged group opened fire on a first car close to the Nevo military base, drove and shot at a second near the Beit Ha’arava Junction, and finally targeted a third nearby before burning their vehicle and escaping.

The settler who died was a dual US-Israeli citizen.

⋯ The dead man in the Jericho operation yesterday is Elan Ganeles (27), from the US state of Connecticut.

His family belonged to "Young Israel of West Hartford"; he attended Modern Orthodox schools. He deferred enlistment in the US military, to spend a year in Israel. That time in Israel stretched beyond a year, and he enlisted instead in the IDF. He then returned to the USA in 2018 to attend Columbia University, where he graduated in 2022. (Times of Israel)

💸 Members of the municipal police in Tyre, South Lebanon, stormed the SGBL bank demanding the disbursement of their salaries.

💸 Lebanon's supermarkets partially move to dollar pricing

Starting tomorrow, 1 ⁠March, supermarkets will be required to price their dollar-supplied goods in dollars. The caretaker-minister of economy, Amin Salam, explained the decision today, as quoted by Bint Jbeil:

«The financial system of the past is over and the last rings of the structure have fallen. (...) I've resisted the issue of dollar pricing for a year and six months, but today I cannot leave [the Lebanese] dependent on chaos and randomness [after the rapid depreciation of the lira]. This measure will begin to be applied tomorrow. Our goal is to protect the citizens by knowing the real prices of goods inside the supermarket.»

Customers can pay in the currency of their choice. The dollar-to-lira exchange rate must be prominently displayed at the store entrances.

🔴 Lebanon's security chief has retired, after 12 years in office

General Security chief Maj.-Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, responsible for intelligence and immigration, has left office today, after reaching the legal retirement age of 64 years.

Caretaker-Minister of Interior Bassam Mawlawi (pro-KSA) has refused to discuss an exemption to extend his term, although it can be issued if a vacuum risks instability, and Speaker Nabih Berri has refused a parliament session on it.

The acting successor will be Brig.-Gen. Elias Baissari.

⋯ Abbas Ibrahim, who has been in office since July 2011, is close to Amal and Hezbullah, yet a friend to the West and the USA. He worked with the CIA to free Americans held in Syria—notably the case of Austin Tice, who went missing in 2012.

Asked today about his political life, he said that he aspires to become foreign minister if offered a ministerial post. Asked whether he is eying the parliament speaker post (since he's a Shia), he replied: “May God prolong Speaker Berri’s life”.

⋯ Currently, Lebanon has no president of the Republic (term ended in October 2022), no plenipotentiary government (caretaker capacity since the elections in May 2022), no General Security chief (he just retired).

Many nominations for top positions are delayed, waiting for a plenipotent government.

🚨 The Market exchange rate surpasses 90,000 LBP/USD. That's an additional devaluation of 30,000 LBP since January.

For non-Lebanese followers, the highest banknote denomination is 100,000.

Is Putin “paying Palestinians in Lebanon's camps to fight in Ukraine”?

Yesterday, 28 ⁠Feb, the Jerusalem Post has released a #fake_news:

💬 “A Lebanese government security source has told The Media Line that Palestinians residing in Lebanon have signed up [to fight in Ukraine], having been offered a sum of $350 by Russian entities”, namely by Wagner and Syrian units supervised by Russia... 300 Palestinians, from Fatah and PFLP, are already there!

⚠ The Media Line is a small Israel-focused, Jewish-owned outlet, by Felice & Michael Friedson. Per its team presentation, it doesn't have any correspondent in Lebanon.

There is no such Russian recruitment, and certainly not being “carried out in coordination with” Hezbullah, because Russia recruits from CIS countries.

One year ago, we wrote this article about the Ukraine War:

https://telegra.ph/War-in-Ukraine-What-Russia-Failed-03-02

This morning, the exchange rate has reduced to below 80,000 L.L./USD.

On 1 ⁠March, it surpassed 90,000. With supermarkets pricing goods and adjusting their price in dollar (read ⁠here), as well as private hospitals requesting to do the same, the rate is expected to skyrocket.

Illustrated: Central Banker Riad Salameh. (Credit: Bint Jbeil News)

Frangieh is parliament speaker's pick for presidency

Suleiman Frangieh has won the open support of Speaker Nabih Berri for the presidency of the Republic (reserved to a Maronite by customary law), but the Maronites are still divided—FPM leader Gebran Bassil must come to terms with Frangieh.

Berri told Al-Akhbar on 2 ⁠March that “our candidate [Amal and Hezbullah's] is known, he is Suleiman Frangieh. The blank votes named him without writing his name” [referring to the blank votes in the past 11 ⁠sessions]. “In the first session on 29 ⁠Sept, he received 63 votes. Almost half plus one. Our candidate is serious and we have repeatedly emphasized it. Their candidate [US-backed Michel Moawad] is nothing but a test-tube experiment”.

Berri will set another session should the leader of Marada secure 65 votes. The last round was on 19 ⁠Jan.