New Lebanese Govt to Steer Clear of Hezbollah’s ‘Army, People, Resistance’ Equation

A handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows President Joseph Aoun (font-C) posing for a family picture of Lebanon's new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 11, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows President Joseph Aoun (font-C) posing for a family picture of Lebanon's new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 11, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
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New Lebanese Govt to Steer Clear of Hezbollah’s ‘Army, People, Resistance’ Equation

A handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows President Joseph Aoun (font-C) posing for a family picture of Lebanon's new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 11, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)
A handout picture released by the Lebanese presidency shows President Joseph Aoun (font-C) posing for a family picture of Lebanon's new government at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 11, 2025. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

The new Lebanese government held its first meeting on Tuesday, forming a committee tasked with drafting its ministerial statement that is expected to drop the “army, people and resistance” term that justifies Hezbollah’s weapons possession in Lebanon.

Ministerial statements in recent years have all endorsed this equation, but with the Iran-backed party severely weakened after the Israeli war on Lebanon and its grip over political life slipping, the term is expected to be dropped.

There is optimism that the statement could be completed within days and that it would focus on President Joseph Aoun’s inaugural speech and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s remarks after he was named to his post.

Aoun had stressed during his speech the need to limit the possession of weapons in Lebanon to the state.

The committee is comprised of Salam, his deputy Tarek Mitri, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh, Industry Minister Issa al-Khoury and Transportation and Public Works Minister Fayez Rasamny. It held its first meeting on Tuesday.

The statement is expected to be “brief and to the point.”

Chairing the first cabinet meeting at the Baabda presidential palace, Aoun underscored the importance of reforms in Lebanon.

“It is important to restore trust, starting with fighting corruption and carrying out administrative, judicial and security appointments,” he told the ministers.

On Tuesday evening, Salam said during a televised interview, which included Asharq Al-Awsat, that the ministerial statement must address all challenges, starting with the continued Israeli occupation of Lebanese territories, as well as reconstruction of areas devastated by the war.

Responding to a question by Asharq Al-Awsat, he declared that the statement must “emphasize the full implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1701 and ceasefire understandings.”

It must also commit to the reconstruction process, he added.

Other challenges include financial, economic and political reforms, he went on to say, stressing that his government will be focused on “reform and salvation”.

Lebanon wants Israel to fully withdraw from Lebanese territories and “we will continue to resort to diplomacy and politics to make sure that happens” before the February 18 deadline for the pullout, Salam stressed.

He underlined the importance of diplomatic pressure on Israel, stressing that Lebanon is “performing its role in full by deploying the army and seriously approaching the implementation of resolution 1701. We have not shirked away from our responsibilities.”



Thousands Join Anti-government Rally in Jerusalem

The protest is the largest to take place in Jerusalem for several months - AFP
The protest is the largest to take place in Jerusalem for several months - AFP
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Thousands Join Anti-government Rally in Jerusalem

The protest is the largest to take place in Jerusalem for several months - AFP
The protest is the largest to take place in Jerusalem for several months - AFP

Thousands of protesters massed in Jerusalem on Wednesday, chanting slogans against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who they accuse of undermining democracy and resuming Gaza strikes without regard for hostages.

Protesters shouted "You are the head, and you're to blame" as well as "The blood is on your hands" at the demonstration near parliament, the largest to take place in Jerusalem for months, AFP reported.

The demonstration was organized by anti-Netanyahu opposition groups protesting the premier's move to sack Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, AFP reported.

Following Netanyahu's announcement to dismiss Bar, which threatened to trigger political crisis, Israel launched a wave of overnight strikes on Gaza, by far the deadliest since the start of a fragile ceasefire in January.

Relatives of the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza joined the rally outside the parliament in Jerusalem.

"We hope all people from Israel will join this movement and we will not stop until we restore democracy and freedom for the hostages," said Zeev Berar, 68, from Tel Aviv.

"At this rate we won't have a country left, not a democratic one. It will be a dictatorship," student Roni Sharon, 18, told AFP.

Some in the crowd brandished banners reading: "We are all hostages".

Relatives of the hostages in the Gaza Strip have said the decision to resume strikes could "sacrifice" their loved ones.

Of the 251 hostages seized during the unprecedented October 2023 Hamas attack that sparked the war, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

The demonstrators in Jerusalem also accuse Netanyahu of using the war against Hamas to distract from domestic political concerns.

The prime minister has so far refused to set up a national commission of inquiry into Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, while his bid to dismiss Bar threatened to plunge Israel back into deep political crisis.

Netanyahu's government recently also moved to oust Israel's attorney general and government judiciary adviser, Gali Baharav-Miara, a fierce defendant of the judiciary's independence.

A 2023 judicial reform project aimed at curbing the supreme court's powers fractured the country and sparked major protests -- before coming to an abrupt halt with Hamas's October 7 attack.

"The last two years have been a nightmare for us," said Yael Baron, 55, from the city of Modiin.

"I feel as though we are in the 99th minute and time is running out to save the country, the oxygen is running out for us, like democracy is running out."