DAILY SCOPE: BLOM Bank Explosion Seeks to Sow More Tension, Fifth Row Exploiting Situation

Local Editor

LEBANESE DAILIES:

AL-AKHBAR:

Terrorism Hits "BLOM Bank" in Lebanon

Encircling Resistance with Sanctions, Discord

AS-SAFIR:

Manbij: "Closed Plan" Warns of Fiery Battles

AN-NAHAR:

Orlando Monster Rocks America, Kills 50... Daesh Declares Responsibility

AL-BINAA:

BLOM Bank Explosion: War on Hizbullah Escalating, Country Exposed

After hours of silence and calm in Lebanon, the terrorist attack targeting BLOM bank in Beirut came to break the silence and allow some voices seeking strife in the country to rise.

Newspapers on Monday touched on the meaning and message behind such an explosion that came at a time when the streets are empty as people usually during the Month of Ramadan are busy breaking their fast during this particular hour. The papers stressed that no one should rush to make conclusions or make accusations that would only cause tension in the country.

AN-NAHAR: Fifth Row Trying to Exploit Tensions, Deal a Blow to Lebanon's Economy

MP Walid Jumblatt warned that there is a fifth row trying to exploit the tensions, assuring that "everyone in the country should cease the uncalculated and quick accusations towards Hizbullah as standing behind Sunday's explosion."

In a statement to An-Nahar newspaper, Jumblatt said that "the objective behind the explosion is to deal a blow to Lebanon's economy," adding "I had called for a calm dialogue in terms of the US sanctions."

Moreover, Jumblatt went on to say that it seems "that some parties do not want dialogue over the issue of the US sanctions; it is important to preserve the coherence of the banking sector."

A bomb went off Sunday evening outside a branch of the BLOM Bank in Beirut's Verdun area, injuring two people. Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq said the bomb was inside a suitcase that was placed outside the bank, noting that the blast did not seem to be related to the previous wave of bomb attacks in the country or to any recent intel that security agencies have received about possible terrorist attacks.

On another note, and in a remarkable move, Lebanon's Health Minister Wael Abou Faour told An-Nahar newspaper that as Syria heads towards a new round of battles and violence, it is expected "that the number of Syrian refugees coming to Lebanon will increase by that the pressure will increase on the economy, health sector, and the people of Lebanon.

AL-BINAA: Explosion to Send a Message, Not Cause Destruction

Well-informed sources told al-Binaa newspaper that looking at the nature of the explosion and its location, it can be said that the aim behind the explosion is to send a message and not cause destruction.

Interior Minister Nouhad Mashnouq had said that a bomb containing about 3-4 kilos of explosives had been "placed behind the back wall of BLOM Bank. Yet, sources told al-Binaa that the bomb contains about 10-15 kilos of TNT and was set out during the time of Iftar (breaking the fast in the Month of Ramadan) when the streets are almost completely empty.

The sources went on to say that taking the whereabouts and details of the act, the perpetrator was either not professional, or that he was bound due to the strict security measures across the country, or that it was just a warning message that was meant by the terrorist act.

AL-AKHBAR: Sides Trying to Exploit Hizbullah-Banking Sector Tensions, Sow Strife in the Country

Commenting on the same topic, al-Akhbar newspaper said that it has become clear that Hizbullah is at row with the banking sector after the US sanctions went into effect, where the US has been trying through different means to choke the resistance and its people and supporters through putting pressure on its social and medical institutions.

The newspaper added that in such circumstances, a certain side is trying to take advantage of the situation through a terrorist explosion targeting BLOM bank, to point fingers at the resistance and try to exert more pressure with the sanctions through accusations and strife.

AS-SAFIR: Explosion Aims at Increasing Sectarian, Political Tensions

Also touching on the topic, As-Safir daily said on Monday that thinking for a second about what had happened, one arrives to an obvious conclusion, which is that those standing behind the explosion wanted in first place to invest in the dispute between Hizbullah and the banking sector to widen the gap between the two, as well as to increase sectarian and political tension in the country, by that prepare Lebanon's ground for the tension and strife sweeping across the region.

Source: al-Ahed News