Lebanon closes airspace, Hezbollah launches rockets at Israel
Lebanon has announced the closure of the Lebanese airspace to aviation due to the Iranian drone attack on Israel.
Hundreds of protesters on Monday took to the street in Lebanon and asked the banks to allow them to withdraw more money.
The demonstrators demanded banks allow small depositors to use their money freely.
Depositors in Lebanon can only withdraw a limited amount of money weekly, ranging from $200 to 500.
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Lebanon has witnessed a shortage of US dollars during the past few months.
Amid a spiralling financial crisis, Lebanese banks have imposed informal withdrawal limits of a maximum of £228 a week and totally halted transfers abroad.
Anti-government protesters, who largely blame the country’s dire economy on corrupt politicians, say the limits are illegal and have turned their fury against bank officials and the financial sector.
Over recent weeks, the local currency has taken a nosedive, losing more than 30% of its value after over 20 years of being pegged to the dollar.
Meanwhile, layoffs and salary cuts are becoming the norm while politicians have continued to bicker since late October over forming a new government.
After nationwide protests erupted on October 17 over Lebanon’s plummeting economy, banks closed down for two weeks fearing anger and panic from depositors. When they re-opened, at least one armed security guard was added to each branch, in addition to the regular private security.
A spokesman for the Lebanese banks association said the capital controls are only a temporary measure to deal with the country’s severe liquidity crunch.
Georges Abi Saleh, director of communication for the association, said that there were strict orders to avoid clashing with depositors.
The economic slowdown and a drop in cash injections from Lebanese abroad reduced the central bank’s foreign currency reserves and led to a shortage in dollars for businesses and individuals.
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