Alagha 477to its disintegration, as was the case during the civil war.) The Hizbullah-
led opposition waged a campaign of civil disobedience, blocking vital
routes and key arteries for the Lebanese economy, such as the national
airport and the Beirut port. In scenes reminiscent of the civil war, turf
battles between the warring factions left more than 65 people dead and
200 wounded,^74 including at least 16 Hizbullah fighters, as conceded by
Nasrallah.^75
n an unprecedented development—which had not taken place even I
during the 14-day Israeli occupation of West Beirut in 1982—Hizbullah
cracked down on the media supporting the cabinet, silencing Future
TV, al-Sharq Radio, al-Mustaqbal and al-Liwa’ newspapers, and al-Shira‘
weekly journal, physically attacking many of their facilities, and threaten-
ing them with total annihilation if they resumed broadcasting or publi-
cation. This situation continued till 14 May, when Hizbullah handed the
media outlets over to the Army. Although Hizbullah’s al-Manar TV and
Member of Parliament Hasan Fadlallah, the head of the media and com-
munications parliamentary committee, paid lip service in condemning
such events, such a condemnation did not revoke the damage caused by
Hizbullah’s actions.
ith the arrival of an Arab League delegation on 14 May, the cabi- W
net annulled its two decisions as Nasrallah had demanded in an 8 May
press conference, thus setting the stage for an end to the crisis. The guns
were completely silenced on 15 May after the Arab League delegation was
able to broker a deal among the warring factions. The “Beirut Declaration”
stipulated that the warring factions would send representatives to dia-
logue sessions in Doha, Qatar, aimed at reaching a final settlement. When
a “Doha Accord” was reached, after five days of intensive negotiations,
Hizbullah finally had veto power in the cabinet. The Hizbullah-led oppo-
sition would have eleven ministers in the thirty-member national unity
cabinet, while 14 March acquired sixteen ministers, and the president
three. Based on this, after 537 days, Hizbullah ended its sit-in in down-
town Beirut. After six months of vacancy in the seat of the presidency,
the consensus president Michel Sulayman was elected on 25 May by 118
votes out of 127 MPs.^76 The next day Nasrallah delivered a fiery speech,
but nonetheless stressed that Hizbullah abides by the Ta’if Agreement and
would honor the Doha Accord to the letter.