Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Breakthrough Reached in Lebanon’s Presidential Crisis 

Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) shakes hands with Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), the former French foreign minister and special envoy for Lebanon, at Berri's house in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 July 2023. (EPA)
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) shakes hands with Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), the former French foreign minister and special envoy for Lebanon, at Berri's house in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 July 2023. (EPA)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Breakthrough Reached in Lebanon’s Presidential Crisis 

Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) shakes hands with Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), the former French foreign minister and special envoy for Lebanon, at Berri's house in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 July 2023. (EPA)
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) shakes hands with Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), the former French foreign minister and special envoy for Lebanon, at Berri's house in Beirut, Lebanon, 25 July 2023. (EPA)

French presidential envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian kicked off a Tuesday a new visit to the country in the hopes of achieving a breakthrough in the impasse over the presidential elections.

He started his three-day trip by meeting parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who described the talks as good.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Le Drian briefed him on the talks that were held by the quintet on Lebanon in Doha.

Berri said a breakthrough in the deadlock has been reached, but declined to offer more details about his optimism.

He explained that it was not appropriate for him or others to speak in detail at the moment since Le Drian hasn’t completed his meetings with Lebanese officials.

French diplomatic sources were more cautious, warning against “excessive optimism”. They told Asharq Al-Awsat that the conditions were “constructive”, denying that the envoy had proposed a new initiative to end the crisis.

Lebanon has been without a president since October when the term of Michel Aoun ended. Ongoing political squabbling has led to the current vacuum. Numerous presidential elections sessions have been held, but no candidate managed to secure enough votes to be declared a winner.

Le Drian also met on Tuesday with head of the Kataeb Party MP Sami Gemayel and head of the Progressive Socialist Party MP Taymour Jumblatt.

He is scheduled to meet with several officials and party leaders whom he had met on his previous visit to Lebanon around a month ago.

Since then, the quintet had met in the Qatari capital, calling on Lebanon to intensify efforts to elect a president, who would unite the country and prioritize its interests and carry out crucial economic reforms.

Meanwhile, the “Shiite duo” of Hezbollah and Berri’s Amal Movement have continued to slam “foreign meddling” in Lebanon, most notably in wake of the quintet talks, which were seen as dealing a blow to the French initiative that backed the presidential nomination of Marada movement leader Suleiman Franjieh. The duo also backs his candidacy.

The quintet also rejected the call for dialogue made by the duo, saying it would not be productive at this time.

Hezbollah MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan said on Tuesday that no progress has been made over the presidential elections.

“Are you still expecting someone from abroad to come up with a solution that the Lebanese can reach among themselves through understanding?” he asked.

Head of Berri’s Development and Liberation parliamentary bloc MP Hani Kobeisy expressed his rejection of “foreign decisions”, adding: “We will reject foreign sanctions that will starve our people. We will not accept a quintet or sextet that holds dialogue instead of us and wants to impose its decisions on us.”

“We have always called for dialogue and continue to do so in spite of the rejection expressed by some parties,” he added.

Meanwhile, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said: “Along with its allies, the LF is waging the battle of reclaiming the republic from its kidnappers, by preventing the ‘resistance axis’ from controlling the presidency.”

“We know we have a long road ahead of us in liberating Lebanon from its kidnappers and restoring its state institutions, but we are determined to forge ahead without hesitation until the Lebanese people achieve their goals of a dignified life in a prosperous and sovereign nation where rule of law prevails,” he added.



Gazans Must Return Home, EU Plans to Tell Israel 

A Palestinian man and two girls stand a mid of the rubble of homes, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive against Hamas in in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
A Palestinian man and two girls stand a mid of the rubble of homes, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive against Hamas in in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
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Gazans Must Return Home, EU Plans to Tell Israel 

A Palestinian man and two girls stand a mid of the rubble of homes, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive against Hamas in in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
A Palestinian man and two girls stand a mid of the rubble of homes, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive against Hamas in in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)

The EU plans to tell Israel next week that Palestinians uprooted from their Gaza homes should be ensured a dignified return and that Europe will contribute to rebuilding the shattered territory, according to a document seen by Reuters.

That echoes Arab positions but conflicts with President Donald Trump's stated aim for the US to take over the shattered coastal strip and rebuild it into a "Riviera of the Middle East" while Gazans emigrate to other nations.

The EU, which has been a major aid provider to Palestinians, is to outline its position to Israeli officials in talks in Brussels on February 24 as part of the EU-Israel Association Council, the first such session since 2022.

A document outlining the draft EU position emphasizes both Europe's commitment to Israel's security and its view that "displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes in Gaza".

"The EU will actively contribute to a coordinated international effort to early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza," it said, also calling for full humanitarian access.

"The EU deeply deplores the unacceptable number of civilians, especially women and children, who have lost their lives, and the catastrophic humanitarian situation notably caused by the insufficient entry of aid into Gaza, in particular in the North."

Israel launched its assault on Gaza after fighters from the Palestinian group Hamas stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 48,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave has been laid waste with most of its 2.3 million pre-war population displaced multiple times, humanitarian agencies say.

"The EU strongly opposes all actions that undermine the viability of the two-state solution," the document added, referring to its position that Palestinians should have an independent homeland alongside Israel.