Lebanon parliament meets again despite the twin suicide bombing

Despite the twin suicide bombing that took place in Hezbollah’s stronghold southern Beirut suburb of Burj al-Barajneh, the Parliament met for a second consecutive day Friday to discuss the remaining items on the agenda , after approving more than 20 draft laws in a meeting one day earlier.

The MPs stood for a minute of silence over the bombing that was claimed by ISIS which killed 46 people and wounded over 200.

Of 22 items set to be discussed, the most significant are the municipal funds law and the money laundering law.

The municipal funds law would see the government paying municipalities the money owed to them since 1994 from telecoms revenues, which amounts to about $2 billion annually.

The World Bank has also called for Lebanon to pass the money laundering bill to preserve Lebanon’s banking sector, and protect it from so called terrorist funding.

The Parliament meet for the first time in more than a year yesterday and approved several draft laws , including a law allowing foreigners of Lebanese origin to reclaim their citizenship, a food safety law and a bill bolstering the army’s infrastructure.

Thursday’s meeting was attended by 100 lawmakers. The World Bank’s $600 million in soft loans and aid from international donors are expected to be passed during Friday’s session.