These incidents are no longer foreign to Lebanon. In a new incursion, Lebanese MP Cynthia Zarazir protested internal consumption In north Beirut, after she demanded her deposits, to no avail.
According to the information, Zarazir entered the Byblos Bank branch in Antelias to demand a portion of her deposit to perform an operation.
After the bank refused to hand her the amount, the politician announced a sit-in inside the building until she handed over part of it, amounting to $8,000.
An unprecedented crisis
It is noteworthy that last month, Lebanon witnessed several similar incidents, starting with the storming of the young woman, Sally Hafez, a bank in Beirut, threatening with weapons, which later turned out to be just a game, in order to demand access to her money that the bank had unlawfully seized, with the aim of treating her sister with cancer in head, before you get $13,000.
Then a second depositor entered the branch of BLOM BANK in Beirut, threatening and demanding his money back. This was followed by a new depositor who stormed a branch of Lebanon and Gulf Bank in Beirut as well, and another in the Hamra area, where an angry citizen forcibly entered the branch of the Lebanese French Bank.
The town of Chehim in Mount Lebanon Governorate also witnessed another incursion by a security element.
It is noteworthy that since 2019, Lebanese banks have prevented most depositors from withdrawing their savings, while the economic crisis has worsened, leaving many citizens unable to pay for their basic daily needs.
In 2020, the economic and living situation in the country collapsed in an unprecedented manner, the value of the local currency deteriorated, and the price hike, amid high unemployment rates, amid expectations that the number of bank breakers would rise in the coming weeks after the crisis worsened, and the dollar crossed the threshold of 37,000 pounds on the black market.
These intrusions have opened the door to questions about the recurrence of this phenomenon recently, and several depositors have resorted to recovering part of their money by force, after the banks deliberately seized them without a legal justification.