Unstable Lebanon is a fertile ground for Turkish exploits

Lebanon falls within the Turkish objectives of building a 'new Ottoman Empire'

Wherever there is hunger and poverty, bloodthirsty terror recruiters work overtime to brainwash and enrol youth into their ranks.
According to a report published by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the rate of poverty in Lebanon had jumped from 28 per cent in 2019 to 55 per cent in May 2020, months before the Beirut blast on August 4 that left more than half of the capital destroyed and 300,000 people homeless.
On July 4, the outgoing Minister of the Interior, Mohammad Fahmi, announced the arrest of four individuals, two Syrians and two Turks, as they tried to smuggle $4 million from Turkey, which according to him, would have been used to finance 'urban riots'.
Jiwan Soz, a journalist specialising in Turkish affairs and minorities in the Middle East, told Khaleej Times: "Months ago, the authorities arrested four people of Lebanese, Turkish, and Syrian nationalities at Beirut airport, who were coming from Istanbul and carrying $4 million. No traveler can carry such an amount even if it is a 'currency teller' as these people claimed. This serves as a confirmation that these funds were to be used for Turkish military objectives. We do not really know how much Turkish money is in Lebanon, especially since the Turkish embassy has funded many projects over the past years under the guise of civil society work. The task of the people who implement these projects, in fact, has been political and military. Lebanon falls within the Turkish objectives of building a 'new Ottoman Empire'."
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army announced in a press release on September 5 that it had dismantled a terrorist cell of Daesh, which was preparing attacks in Lebanon.
The arrests of the members of this cell took place in north Lebanon and in Bekaa, on different dates, and it turned out that they had received military training and stored weapons and munitions of war.
Days after the Beirut blast, a Lebanese army intelligence source voiced his concern to Al Arabiya that Turkey is allegedly sending weapons into Lebanon. "We are pretty worried about what's going on. The Turks are sending an incredible amount of weapons into the north," the intelligence source said. Asked about the flow of Turkish weapons, a senior Lebanese diplomat said there were no specific details, but "we know they're active."
The last thing that Lebanon needs is a new wave of terrorist acts on its soil. The Lebanese have not yet recovered from the trauma of seeing a big part of the capital destroyed to the ground because of the explosion.
On many occasions since 2014, Daesh has vowed to take over Beirut and free terrorists who are in Lebanese prisons.
As the Lebanese army is poorly equipped to handle any big threat, this gives an excuse for Hezbollah to justify its existence as a militia and a political party.
The danger is real. Lebanon needs help from the international community to put the economy and the country back on track. 
Christiane Waked is a political analyst based in Beirut