Geagea: Mar Mikhael Agreement Reason Behind Lebanon Crisis

Geagea and his wife, MP Strida, attend the annual memorial Mass in commemoration of the "Martyrs of the Lebanese Resistance" on Sunday | NNA
Geagea and his wife, MP Strida, attend the annual memorial Mass in commemoration of the "Martyrs of the Lebanese Resistance" on Sunday | NNA
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Geagea: Mar Mikhael Agreement Reason Behind Lebanon Crisis

Geagea and his wife, MP Strida, attend the annual memorial Mass in commemoration of the "Martyrs of the Lebanese Resistance" on Sunday | NNA
Geagea and his wife, MP Strida, attend the annual memorial Mass in commemoration of the "Martyrs of the Lebanese Resistance" on Sunday | NNA

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea strongly attacked Sunday the ruling authority and Hezbollah, saying that the current situation in Lebanon was caused by the Mar Mikhael agreement signed between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement, headed back then by current President General Michel Aoun.

“Instead of Hezbollah falling within the confines of the state, the state entered more and more under Hezbollah. Every opportunity for the establishment of an actual state was destroyed, and relations between the Lebanese groups became tense .. and Lebanon fell into an unprecedented Arab and international isolation,” Geagea said.

The LF leader’s comments came at the end of the annual memorial Mass in commemoration of the "Martyrs of the Lebanese Resistance", which was held Sunday at the Lebanese Forces general headquarters in Maarab, under the auspices of Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai, represented by Bishop Antoine Nabil Al-Andari.

Geagea defended Rai, who some accused of dealing with Israel after he proposed the Lebanon neutrality initiative.

He demanded Hezbollah hand over the decision of war and peace to the state and stop its blatant, unjustified interference in the affairs and concerns of more than one Arab country.

“The time has come for Hezbollah to take the difficult but right decision by placing itself at the service of Lebanon, its people, its security and its interests, instead of remaining in the service of the Islamic Republic and its interests, at the expense of the people of Lebanon, their security, stability, livelihood, present, and future,” the LF leader said.

He lamented how "the Lebanese state today is captive to the existing alliance between the weapons system on one hand, and the system of corruption on the other hand," adding that "this infernal alliance has depleted the state's financial, economic, and human capabilities."

Geagea also considered that the October 17 uprising changed the course of events and mentalities, but it will not bear fruit without a clear roadmap.

“After the early parliamentary elections, we will be before a new parliament, a new government, and a new authority...and when the hour of the presidential elections strikes, we will have a word, a decision, and a position, and we will not accept that this election be subject to bargaining, deals, and a means of striking the unbridled popular will that is yearning for change," he said.



Egypt Hosts Hamas in New Gaza Ceasefire Push, Looting Halts Aid

Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
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Egypt Hosts Hamas in New Gaza Ceasefire Push, Looting Halts Aid

Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian security officials on Sunday in a fresh push for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, two Hamas sources said, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene his security cabinet on the matter, two Israeli officials said.

The Hamas visit to Cairo was the first since the United States announced on Wednesday it would revive efforts in collaboration with Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, that would include a hostage deal.

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said he thought the chances of a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza were now more likely.

"(Hamas) are isolated. Hezbollah is no longer fighting with them, and their backers in Iran and elsewhere are preoccupied with other conflicts," he told CNN on Sunday, Reuters reported.

"So I think we may have a chance to make progress, but I'm not going to predict exactly when it will happen ... we've come so close so many times and not gotten across the finish line."

Palestinians say Israel's operations on the northern edge of the enclave are part of a plan to clear people out through forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli military strongly denies this and says it is fighting against Hamas.

The military says it has killed hundreds of Hamas militants in that part of Gaza as it fights to stop the faction regrouping. It has also lost around 30 soldiers there in combat with Hamas fighters over the past two months, a relatively high death toll.