Minister of Public Works and Transportation Ali Hamieh

In an interview with Al Mayadeen, on Monday, the Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, said, "The railway project in Lebanon is geopolitical and strategic," noting that "there are new strategic roads," and "the Lebanese railways must be linked to them."

Hamieh added that "the maritime borders are drawn from the land borders, specifically from the point of Ras Al-Naqoura," stressing that it is "a property owned by the Lebanese state, but it is under Israeli occupation."

وزير الأشغال العامة والنقل اللبناني علي حميّة #بإيجاز:
"مشروع سكة الحديد في #لبنان جيوسياسي واستراتيجي، واستعادة الأراضي اللبنانية هي مشروع سيادي بما فيها أراضي النفق."#نفق_الناقورة_المحتل @ramiaalibrahim @alihamie_lb pic.twitter.com/66ugotYaWl
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) July 18, 2022

Hamieh insisted that "the Lebanese territories must be restored," because it is a "sovereign project, including the lands of Al-Naqoura tunnel."

Regarding the reconstruction of the Beirut Port, the minister explained that "the offers that were made are studies and not aimed for reconstruction," calling on all companies to "be part in the reconstruction of the Port of Beirut," and stressing that "the decision was taken to reconstruct it."

Hamieh confirmed to Al Mayadeen that "We are against the embezzlement of government funds by the private sector."

In addition, the minister revealed that a tender had been launched to secure drivers for the 50 buses donated by France.

Earlier, on Sunday, the minister declared from Ras Al-Naqoura that "We will recover the last occupied inch of the Ras Al-Bayada tunnel in Al-Naqoura."

The Ras Al-Naqoura Tunnel became a new point of conflict between Lebanon and the Israeli occupation, and the Minister of Public Works and Transportation added the topic of the “railway tunnel” to the land and sea border disputes between Lebanon and the Israeli occupation.

The British army built the Ras Al-Naqoura tunnel between 1942 and 1944, to pass a railway that it uses for rapid movement between Lebanon and Palestine. The tunnel was closed in 1948 with the Nakba, according to historical documents published by local media during that time.

The Lebanese Minister of Public Works, Ali Hamieh, practically included the tunnel in the disputed land areas between Lebanon and the occupation, under the title "The Occupied Naqoura Tunnel", adding it to the cases of the Shebaa Farms, Kfar Shuba hills, and the town of Ghajar, in southeast Lebanon on the border triangle with Syria and "Israel", as well as other border points.