‘Shi’ite Signature’ May Re-Spark Dispute between Lebanese President, Speaker

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. (NNA)
Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. (NNA)
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‘Shi’ite Signature’ May Re-Spark Dispute between Lebanese President, Speaker

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. (NNA)
Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. (NNA)

Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri recently signed a decree on “giving priority” to officers who graduated from the military academy in 1994.

This issue reopened a debate in Lebanon over the “Shi’ite signature” on the majority of decrees in the country.

Decrees are usually signed by the president, a Christian, and the premier, a Sunni. The signature of Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, a Shi’ite, was ignored in this case, which angered Speaker Nabih Berri, also a Shi’ite.

The development may reflect negatively on Berri’s relationship with Aoun and fuel his insistence that a Shi’ite be handed the Finance Ministry portfolio in future cabinets. This would ensure that the Shi’ite voice is heard in any government decree.

Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “priority for officers” decree does not have financial demands and therefore does not need the minister’s signature.

“What happened was not a precedent and it does not deserve this uproar,” they remarked.

They stressed that several decrees had been signed in the past by presidents without the signature of the Finance Minister.

They underlined however that the president is keen on respecting the sectarian balance in Lebanon.

They questioned however the timing of the campaign against the signing of the decree, keeping in mind that several decrees had been issued by Aoun without Khalil’s signature and no one protested against them.



Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Israeli Forces Storm Major West Bank City of Nablus

Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)
Tear gas and smoke are pictured through a window during a large-scale Israeli military raid in the old town of Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, on June 10, 2025. (AFP)

Israel launched a large-scale military operation on Tuesday in the old city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, AFP journalists reported, with the army reporting injured troops and two Palestinians "eliminated".

Dozens of military vehicles entered the city shortly after midnight, an AFP journalist reported, after a curfew had been announced over loudspeakers the day before.

Military operations are focused on the old city, a densely populated area bordering a large downtown square where young men and boys gathered to burn tires and throw stones at armored vehicles.

The Israeli army said that one soldier was "moderately injured" and three others "lightly injured" when two Palestinians attempted to steal a soldier's weapon.

Troops opened fire and "eliminated" both Palestinians, the army said in a statement, using a term the military often uses when killing gunmen.

AFPTV footage showed Israeli soldiers standing in one of the old city's narrow streets, next to the bodies of two civilians.

Neither Palestinian medics nor the Israeli army confirmed the two deaths.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Tuesday that three people were injured from bullet shrapnel, four from "physical assaults", and dozens more from tear gas inhalation.

It added that many injuries had to be handled within the old city after its ambulances were blocked from entering.

Nablus is located in the northern West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967.

The territory's north has been the target of a major Israeli military operation dubbed "Iron Wall" since January 21.

On Tuesday, Israeli soldiers entered shops to search them and arrested several people for questioning, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.

The correspondent added that Israeli flags were raised over the roofs of buildings in the Old City that had been turned into temporary bases for Israeli troops.

Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas on Israel.

At least 938 Palestinians, including fighters but also many civilians, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to data from the Palestinian Authority.

During the same period, least 35 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids, according to official Israeli figures.