Hassan Diab, an academic and former education minister, was designated on Thursday as the next prime minister with the support of heavily armed Shiite Hezbollah, Lebanon's most influential group, and its allies.

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"Previous governments in the last decade took a year to form and I seek to form a government in the next four weeks or a period that does not exceed six weeks," Diab said in an interview with Deutsche Welle.

On Friday night, Lebanese troops fired tear gas in Beirut to disperse hundreds of youths who were protesting against Diab's designation, witnesses said.

The protesters threw rocks and fireworks at the soldiers in clashes in the streets of the Corniche Al Mazraa district. Many of the youths torched tires and fires broke out in several streets.

Diab's designation set the stage for a cabinet without allies of the United States and Sunni Gulf Arab states while underlining the sway of Iran's friends. The move will complicate efforts to secure Western financial aid, analysts say.

Lebanon, in its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, has been seeking a new government since previous Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned on Oct. 29 in response to protests against a ruling elite seen as venal and incompetent.

Efforts to reach a deal on a new premier have been hurt by rifts that reflect tensions between Hariri, who is aligned with the West and Gulf Arab states, and Hezbollah. Washington classifies Hezbollah as a terrorist group and has imposed sanctions on it.

Hariri was quoted in an interview with Lebanon's MTV channel as saying "one has to brace for the worst."

Senior US State Department official David Hale, who arrived in Lebanon on Friday to underscore Washington's support for the country's stability, urged the bickering political leaders to implement speedy economic reforms.

"It's time to put aside partisan interests and act in the national interest, advancing reforms, and form a government committed to undertaking these reforms and capable of doing so," said Hale said after meeting President Michel Aoun.

He later met parliament speaker Nabih Berri and had lunch with Hariri.

Washington, which Hezbollah accuses of inciting some protesters, was not meddling in Lebanon's politics, Hale said.

Aoun told Hale the new government had "many tasks ahead" of it and said peaceful protesters were being protected by the army to safeguard freedom of speech.

Since the protests broke out, there have been several attacks by supporters of Shiite groups Hezbollah and Amal against anti-government demonstrators in a square in Beirut. Security forces have intervened to prevent the attacks from escalating amid fears of wider clashes.

Analysts say Diab is facing obstacles due to his reliance on Hezbollah's support and a lack of real support from his Sunni sect or the protest movement.

"Diab is already presented as a pro-Hezbollah PM which kills any possibility to get the international financial aid which is the only chance to get out of the crisis," said Sami Nader, head of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs.

Diab, who failed to win Hariri's support under a sectarian political system that leaves the premiership to a Sunni Muslim, dismissed accusations that the government would be under Hezbollah's thumb. Hariri is Lebanon's main Sunni politician.

"This matter is silly because the new government will not be a government of a political grouping chosen from here or there," Diab added.

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Hassan Diab, a professor at the American University of Beirut, was named by President Michel Aoun after a day of consultations with lawmakers in which he gained a simple majority in the 128-member parliament. He won support from 69 lawmakers, including the parliamentary bloc of Shiite Hezbollah and Amal movements, as well as lawmakers affiliated with Aoun.

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But Diab failed to get the support of Lebanon's major Sunni leaders, including former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. This is critical because under the country's sectarian-based system the premier must come from the Sunni community.

That also will make it difficult for him to form an inclusive cabinet able to gain the international community's trust and unlock badly needed assistance for the tiny Mediterranean country that is facing its worst economic and financial crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.

Friendly nations, including France, have made it clear they will not support the heavily indebted nation before a reform-minded cabinet is formed.

Demonstrators called the 60-year-old Diab part of the old ruling class that they oppose and continued their protests.

In his first public address, Diab said he would work quickly to form a government in consultations with political parties and representatives of the protest movement. He said he is committed to a reform plan and described the current situation as "critical and sensitive," requiring exceptional efforts and collaboration.

"We are facing a national crisis that doesn't allow for the luxury of personal and political battles but needs national unity," Diab said. He told the protesters he hears their "pain."

US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale was traveling to Beirut, the most senior foreign diplomat to visit the country since the crisis. US diplomats have said they support the quick formation of a government that can bring about reform.

Support from Iran-backed Hezbollah guarantees Diab a thorny path, potentially inviting criticism from Western and Gulf nations that had supported Hariri. The Shiite group is designated a terrorist organization by the US, some Gulf Arab countries and a few Latin American nations. The European Union considers only Hezbollah's military wing to be a terrorist group.

Maha Yahya, director of Carnegie Middle East, a Beirut-based think tank, said Diab arrives with no support from his community and no consensus at a time when Lebanon is facing an economic meltdown and needs international assistance.

"The problem is he is coming on as a weakened prime minister," she said.

Following Diab's appointment, protesters gathered in central Beirut's Martyrs' Square, the epicenter of the protests. They cast him as part of the class of politicians they oppose. Supporters of Hariri also began taking to the streets.

"I see the country is going to waste. With this kind of government, no one will deal with it, no Arab, no Europe and no US," said Saeb Hujrat, a protester in Martyr Square. He held a large banner reading: "We want a government outside of the ruling class."

For two months, the leaderless protests have been calling for a government made up of specialists that can work on dealing with the economic crisis. The protests have recently turned violent, with frequent clashes between security forces and protesters.

Supporters of Hezbollah and Amal also have attacked the protest camp site in Beirut several times. The most recent one came last weekend when they set cars on fire and threw stones and firecrackers at security forces for hours.

Diab gained attention after caretaker premier Hariri withdrew his name from consideration following weeks of haggling and deep divisions among the various factions over naming him again. Hariri resigned Oct. 29 in response to the unprecedented mass protests and as an already-dire economic crisis deteriorated quickly.

Hariri had insisted he would head a cabinet made up of specialists to deal with the crisis. Hezbollah, which initially backed him, demanded a government including all major political factions.

Diab served as minister of education from 2011-14, when Hezbollah and its allies overturned a cabinet headed by Hariri at the time.

Diab was in the UK when Lebanon's civil war broke out. There, he received undergraduate and graduate degrees in communications and computer engineering from the universities of Leeds Metropolitan, Surrey and Bath.

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Hundreds of youths on motorcycles waving their party and religious flags gathered in downtown Beirut chanting "Shiites, Shiites" and setting fire to tires. They hurled stones and fireworks at security forces standing nearby, witnesses said.

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Ignoring calls for restraint by politicians, the youths tried to break a security cordon to storm the square where demonstrators have set up tents as part of an anti-government protest that has been going on for weeks.

In the vicinity of the area close to the main road that links the capital's eastern and western sections, scores of youths had burned tires, smashed office buildings, and torched several cars, live coverage by local television stations showed.

The protesters camped in the square have been targeted by Shiite groups in the past angered by chants against their political leaders, although Tuesday's violence was of an overtly sectarian nature.

The video, which inflamed passions in a country where sectarian divisions run deep, was purportedly made by an expatriate Lebanese Sunni from the northern city of Tripoli and released on social media.

In the predominately Sunni populated city of Saida in southern Lebanon, groups of masked youths stormed into a main square where they set ablaze several tents set up by demonstrators who have camped for weeks, local television stations said.

Lebanon has been gripped by a historic wave of protests since Oct. 17 leading to the resignation of Saad Hariri as prime minister, amid anger at the government's failure to address the country's worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

More than seven weeks since Hariri quit, politicians have been unable to agree on a new administration despite the deepening financial crisis.

The impasse took a violent turn over the weekend when Beirut was clouded in tear gas as security forces clashed with protesters who blame the ruling elite for corruption and bad governance. Dozens were wounded.

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The violence around the epicenter of the protest in Beirut was some of the worst since the demonstrations began two months ago.

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More than 40 protesters were wounded, including some beaten repeatedly with batons by security forces. The clashes brought the downtown area to a standstill for over eight hours as security forces fired a stream of tear gas canisters at the hundreds of protesters, who set fires in trash cans on the main streets, in part to mitigate the effects of tear gas.

The protesters chanted slogans against security forces and government officials, and pelted police with stones in scenes not seen in the capital since the demonstrations began on Oct. 17. At one point, the scuffles reached the headquarters of one of the main Lebanese political parties, the Kataeb, where many protesters were taking cover. The head of the party, Samy Gemayel, appeared on local TV stations as he tried to separate the protesters from advancing security forces.

Lebanon is facing one of its worst economic crises in decades, and the protesters accuse the ruling political class in place for three decades of mismanagement and corruption.

The violence comes just two days before the president is due to hold talks with different parliamentary blocs to name a new prime minister.

The government headed by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri resigned Oct. 29, two weeks after the nationwide protests began. Political groups have been unable to agree on a new candidate while protesters have been calling for a government unaffiliated with established political parties.

Local TV station LBC showed dozens chanting against Hariri, who is emerging as the favorite candidate despite all the political bickering. The protesters also shouted, "The people want to bring down the regime" and accused government forces of excessive force.

The Red Cross and the Lebanese Civil Defense said at least 46 people were wounded and transported to hospitals.

More protests are expected later Sunday.

The trouble started Saturday when dozens of men, some wearing masks, threw stones and firecrackers at security forces on one edge of the protest camp in central Beirut. They were supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal groups, angered by some of the criticism of their leaders by anti-government protesters.

It was the second time this week the groups tried to attack the protest camp. The National News Agency said one member of security forces was wounded. Local leaders, including a mosque preacher, appealed to calm.

Hours later, hundreds of anti-government protesters, including women, gathered outside parliament, hundreds of yards away from the protest camp. Chaos ensued with reports of an attack on the anti-government rally, leading to a confrontation with security forces who tried to disperse the protesters. For the first time since the protests erupted in Beirut, anti-riot police fired rubber bullets as they chased the demonstrators away from the area.

It was not clear what caused the crackdown. The parliament speaker is the head of the Shiite Amal group.

The clashes spread to streets surrounding the protest camp, engulfing the area in thick white smoke and the odor of tear gas. Security forces chased protesters around central Beirut, some firing rubber bullets and several volleys of tear gas from armored vehicles. Dozens of protesters had traveled to Beirut from the northern city of Tripoli to take part in the rally outside the parliament building.

The National News Agency reported that some shop windows in the commercial part of central Beirut were smashed by vandals. One officer was wounded in the eye when a protester hit him with a stone, according to an Associated Press reporter. Early Sunday, nearly a dozen riot police stood over two protesters and beat them with batons, according to an AP reporter on the scene. The two were later taken away to be treated by medics.

Tension has been building up in the protest camp. Some accused activists who organize discussions in the camp under the name "the Hub" of hosting critics of Hezbollah and calling for the normalization of ties with Israel. The tent was attacked earlier in the week with firecrackers, burning it down. On Saturday, a rally to support the Hub was canceled shortly before the attempted attack on the protest camp.

On Friday, Hezbollah said the next government must bring together all sides but signaled no progress in talks on a new cabinet.

"How can a government of one color tackle a crisis this dangerous?" Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech. "The crisis requires that everyone stand together."

The leader of the Iran-backed Shiite terrorist organization said Hezbollah insists on its ally the FPM – Lebanon's largest Christian political bloc – taking part in the new cabinet.

He added that he hoped a new prime minister would be named on Monday, but said that even so, forming the government would not be easy.

Nasrallah added that Hariri, the former prime minister, had set conditions that were "not appropriate or right." He said it was still on the table for Hariri to be premier if he loosens his terms or for somebody Hariri backs to head the cabinet.

FPM chief Gebran Bassil, Aoun's son-in-law, said on Thursday his party would not join a government under Hariri's terms but would not obstruct the formation of a new cabinet.

Nasrallah said neither a government that only includes Hezbollah and its allies, nor one that only comprises its rivals, could pull the country from crisis.

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The country is in political and economic turmoil after three weeks of nationwide protests that prompted Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri to resign last week.

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"The time has come to meet the people's demands and the national free will that transcends sects, political parties, and regions," Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian said in a televised address on the occasion of Prophet Mohammed's birthday.

"The time has come and is opportune, after this national wake-up call, for the reform process to begin and for those in power to form an emergency government made up of competent people, without delay," Derian said.

It is time "to immediately proceed with carrying out the reform package prepared by Prime Minister Hariri to solve the country's problems", he added.

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Lebanon's top Christian religious authority, has also called for a change in government to include qualified technocrats.

Before he stepped down, Hariri agreed to a package of reforms with partners in the coalition government aimed at easing an economic crisis that sparked the unprecedented protests against the sectarian ruling elite.

The plans included a 50% reduction in the salaries of current and former officials and $3.3 billion in contributions from banks to achieve a "near-zero deficit" for the 2020 budget.

But Lebanese politicians have yet to make progress towards agreeing on a new government to replace one that was toppled.

The country's power-sharing system is based on 18 recognized religious sects and dates back to French colonial rule. It allocates posts for each of the country's communities, forming the basis of its major political parties and creating a delicate balance between Christians, Sunni and Shiite Muslims and other groups.

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Protesters attacked the offices and houses of deputies affiliated with these two political factions, burned posters of Berri and Nasrallah and expressed their anger over what they perceive as Hezbollah and Amal corruption. Specifically, they claim that the organizations are plundering the coffers of the Lebanese state and skimming the budgets allocated to their ministries, at the expense of the Lebanese people.

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Protesters have singled out Hezbollah deputy secretary-general Sheikh Naim Qassem, Nasrallah and Berri as being deeply involved in corruption and stealing public funds.

Hezbollah's reaction to the events in Lebanon is understandable; any change in the governmental structure could put Hezbollah's control over the Lebanese government at risk. The election of President Michel Aoun, for example, was only attained after months of strenuous effort and lobbying by Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is not interested in changing the political situation in Lebanon. Nasrallah vehemently opposes the dissolution of the government despite an insoluble political and economic crisis, because it would create "chaos and a political vacuum." The reforms announced by Prime Minister Saad Hariri – who resigned the next day – on Oct. 21, are too little, too late, and frankly impossible to implement in the immediate future.

The Lebanese public, unlike its politicians, has lost confidence in the system and is appealing for a radical change (such as a technocratic government and bringing all officials accused of corruption to justice), a situation which the country's political factions refuse still to digest. Across the country, massive rallies chant, "The people want to bring down the regime."

Illustrative of the stalemate reached in the Lebanese crisis, consider the reaction of the Arab states to the events in Sudan and Lebanon. Sudan, which was experiencing a severe constitutional, economic and political crisis in the aftermath of the coup against President Omar el-Bashir, received a quick bailout of three billion dollars from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

In Lebanon's case, none of the wealthy Arab donors have expressed readiness to assist financially. The reason is obvious: supporting Lebanon would mean bailing out Hezbollah, which Saudi Arabia, the UAE and most other members of the Arab League have designated as a terrorist group. From this perspective, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states may withhold aid to weaken Hezbollah or at least curtail its arrogance, belligerence and regional aspirations in the service of its Tehran patrons.

Nasrallah declared on two occasions, on Oct. 10 and Oct. 26 (with only the Lebanese flag behind him, and not Hezbollah's as is usual), that he opposed the resignation of the government and very bluntly announced that he would do all in his power to prevent such a development. "We will not allow the country to be dumped or destroyed," he said.

In the Oct. 10 address Nasrallah painted a very bleak picture of what would happen if the government were to resign. According to him, an intolerable vacuum would result; the country would drift into chaos, no one would receive a salary, and the country would be left with no future and no solution.

Nasrallah even went a step further by questioning who was behind the financing of the protests, insinuating that the American CIA and Israel were behind the current unrest. The United States and Israel were inciting the demonstrations to defeat Hezbollah politically, he claimed, after their failure to do militarily with Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in May 2000.

As a proof, Nasrallah pointed to the fact that members of the defunct South Lebanon Army living in Israel had demonstrated in solidarity with the protestors in Lebanon at the Lebanese-Israeli border, at "Fatima Gate" near the northern Israeli town of Metula.

The protesters were not convinced by his diatribe and continued with their demonstration while chanting anti-Hezbollah slogans and denying any foreign funding. The message was clear to Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Hezbollah's response was to dispatch on Oct. 21 a convoy of 200 motorcycles driven by thugs armed with bats and branding the flags of Amal and Hezbollah to confront protesters in the Beirut's Riad Al Solh and Martyrs' squares. The tactic mirrored that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to curb the protests in Tehran in the summer of 2009.

The Lebanese Armed Forces deployed immediately and succeeded in blocking the convoy and sending it back to where it came from in Beirut's southern suburbs.

Hezbollah and its ally Amal then turned against the protesting crowds in the Shiite hinterland south of Beirut, in Tyre, Sidon and Nabatieh, where operatives and agents of both organizations attacked and tried to disperse the protesting crowds, but were again stopped by the army.

A new foray followed in Beirut, with Hezbollah supporters dressed in black shirts and waving portraits of Iranian ayatollahs Ruholla Khomeini and Ali Khamenei, as well as of Nasrallah and Berri, and chanting slogans praising the Iranian leaders and the Islamic Revolution and swearing allegiance to Iran, again attempting to confront demonstrators. The demonstrators took refuge behind army lines, and the military once more dispersed the rally, as well as the tents that had been put in place in preparation for a sit-in.

Undeterred, Hezbollah planned a huge rally of thousands of its supporters to fill the protest squares to boost the government and show the Lebanese political factions that Hezbollah is ready to fight for the survival of the present Lebanese nation-state. However, in a surprise move, Nasrallah on Oct. 26 ordered his supporters to retreat from those rally points. Hezbollah supporters left the main squares in Beirut, but still paraded in the Shiite areas of Beirut and major Shiitecities.

The specter of civil war

Until Nasrallah's Oct. 26 speech, no Lebanese political figure had dared raise the specter of another civil war. However, after Nasrallah's pronouncement and the protraction of the political stalemate, such a war is increasingly being seen by many in Lebanon as almost impossible to circumvent.

Any change significant enough to mollify the protestors, such as the formation of a new government after the resignation of the present one, would be tantamount to a declaration of war against Hezbollah and its allies, with potentially dire consequences for the stability of Lebanon. It would overturn the Taif Agreement of 1989, which served as "the basis for the ending of the civil war [which broke out in 1975] and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon."

Indeed, a radical change in the political landscape triggered by the resignation of the government would probably provoke Hezbollah to resort to manu militari, or force of arms, to preserve its grip on Lebanon. Lebanon could then find itself in a renewed military conflict with no foreseeable outcomes. The two million Syrian refugees in Lebanon could be among the first to suffer – they are already a target for all Lebanese political factions, who demand their repatriation to Syria.

Algeria's political experience may present a stop-gap solution. Exactly as in the Algerian case, the army can be engaged as a buffer between the parties by declaring a state of emergency and handing government rule to the army until political order is restored. Such an outcome, however, would not fit Hezbollah's goals and plans.

In the meantime, the Lebanese are contemplating once more the possibility of "exporting themselves." In times of dire crisis, Lebanon has witnessed waves of emigration: between 1850 and World War I, a third of the Lebanese population emigrated from Lebanon. In the 1970s, a million more left the country during the first years of the civil war.

This option is not to be underestimated, extreme as it is. It would mean an erosion of the human richness of Lebanon, but on the other hand, were it not for the remittance payments of Lebanese expatriates to their families in Lebanon – which amount to almost $8 billion annually – Lebanon would not have survived as long as it has.

This article first appeared on the website of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and is reprinted with permission from JNS.org

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The message was conveyed primarily to the United States and France in a variety of forums.

Officials who spoke with Israel Hayom said that any plan to stabilize Lebanon must also include a pledge by the government of Lebanon to stop the missile project pursued by Hezbollah in Iran.

According to foreign reports, Hezbollah has 150,000 missiles and has received help from Iran in its effort to upgrade them into GPS-guided projectiles, making their potential impact much more devastating.

Israel has vowed to counter this threat. Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon presented the UN Security Council with specific diagrams and figures several months ago, accusing Iran of turning Lebanon into its missile hub.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced Tuesday that he would be stepping down over his government's failure to address the concerns of the Lebanese people. Protesters have taken to the streets over the past several weeks, accusing the Lebanese establishment of corruption and being out of touch.

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Saad Hariri spoke Tuesday after nearly two weeks of nationwide mass demonstrations. Protesters are calling for the resignation of the government and the overthrow of the political class that's dominated the country since its 1975-1990 civil war.

Hariri's comments were quickly cheered by the few protesters who had returned to the epicenter of the protests in central Beirut.

A mob had broken up the protest camp shortly before Hariri spoke, tensions that reflected the division among politicians over how to handle the crisis.

Hariri called on all Lebanese to protect civil peace and prevent further economic deterioration.

He said he will present his resignation to President Michel Aoun.

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Lebanon's highest Christian Maronite authority and a prominent Druze politician threw their weight behind the groundswell for change, calling for qualified technocrats to be included in any government shake-up.

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With a population of 6 million people including around 1 million Syrian refugees, Lebanon has been swept by protests against politicians blamed for corruption and waste in a state mired in debt and economic crisis.

Flag-waving protesters kept roads blocked with vehicles and makeshift barricades for a seventh day on Wednesday. Banks have been closed since Friday and will remain shut on Thursday, the banking association said. Schools are also closed.

Soldiers scuffled with demonstrators as they struggled to unblock main roads.

"We're staying in the streets until the looted public funds are restored, until the government falls," said Heba Haidar, protesting at a makeshift barricade of empty trash containers and steel rods in Beirut.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government announced an emergency reform package on Monday, to try to assuage public anger and steer the state away from a looming financial crisis.

Hariri's government, which took office at the start of the year, groups nearly all of the main parties in a sectarian power-sharing system.

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Hundreds of thousands of people have flooded public squares across the country in the largest protests in over 15 years, unifying an often-divided public in their revolt against leaders who have brought the economy to the brink of disaster.

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The protests have been extraordinary because of their size and geographic reach in a country where political movements are normally divided along sectarian lines and struggle to draw nationwide support.

Sparked by proposed new taxes, the protests have shaken the country and top leaders, who are scrambling to come up with concessions to appease the public.

Roads were blocked for the fifth day across the country. Schools, banks and businesses were closed, and banks expected to remain shut on Tuesday.

Following a nearly five-hour cabinet meeting, Hariri announced a series of economic and financial reforms, saying no government in Lebanon's history has taken such radical steps before.

"The decisions that we made today might not fulfill your goals, but for certain it achieves what I have been seeking for two years," Hariri told the protesters.

"These decisions are not in exchange for anything. I am not going to ask you to stop protesting and stop expressing your anger. This is a decision that you take," he added.

Following his speech at the presidential palace, thousands of people gathered outside his office in downtown Beirut chanting: "The people want to bring down the regime," and "Revolution! Revolution!"

The number of protesters swelled following the cabinet announcement amid intense skepticism that the reforms amounted to anything serious. They included many young men and women as well as entire families, with children waving the national red and white flag with a cedar tree in the center.

Layan Ajineh, who came to the protest with her two sons, said that politicians "have not been able to adopt reforms in 30 years, so how did they come up with them in three days?"

"This is a joke. Do they think we are fools?" the 40-year-old, who says she is worried about her sons' future in a country where unemployment stands at more than 30%, said.

"The people want the government to resign. People see that this government cannot be given another chance," she said.

The protests have paralyzed the country for five days, with schools, universities, banks, and other businesses shuttered. The protests are building on long-simmering anger at a ruling class that has divvied up power among its members and amassed wealth for decades but done little to fix a crumbling economy and dilapidated infrastructure.

It was not clear how the situation would move forward, especially when the main political parties have all taken the position that the government should not resign. In Lebanon, the president is a Maronite Christian, the parliament speaker a Shiite while the prime minister is a Sunni. Cabinet and parliament seats are equally divided between Christians and Muslims.

While Hariri has urged the army not to intervene in the protests, Heiko Wimmen of the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank, said, "If this mood prevails and protests continue at the current pace and scale, the country may be in for a prolonged period of unrest."

He added that no alternative political leadership or real opposition to the ruling parties exists.

Hariri said that the cabinet approved the 2020 budget Monday with a deficit of 0.63% with no new taxes. The reforms include cutting in half the salaries of top officials including ministers and members of parliament, overhauling the electricity sector, working to scrap the Information Ministry and other public institutions and downsizing others as part of cost-cutting measures. The deficit for 2019 is around 7% of GDP.

Hariri, when asked why people should believe the government is serious this time, said: "We should gain this confidence since people will not give it to us. If I were in their place in the street, I would not give confidence."

He praised the protesters, saying: "What you've done has broken all barriers and shook all political parties."

He added that the country's central bank and the banking sector, which are flush with cash, will help in reducing the deficit by about $3.4 billion in 2020. The government will also study the privatization of the telecoms sector.

The banking sector was criticized by many of the protesters, who blamed it for charging the state high interest rates as it carries much of the $85 billion public debt that stands at 150% of the gross domestic product. Some senior politicians are either owners or major shareholders in private banks, and Hariri said taxes will be increased on financial institutions.

The government will also distribute millions of dollars to families living in poverty and will also give $160 million as housing loans in an attempt to revive the struggling construction sector. Hariri said a law will be drafted to restore money that was usurped as a result of widespread corruption in the country.

Later Monday, President Michel Aoun signed the budget, which will be sent to parliament for discussion and approval.

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