Bassil Opposes Hezbollah by Nominating Nawaf Salam for PM’s Post

President Michel Aoun receives British Ambassador Ian Collard at the Presidential Palace in Baabda (Photo: Dalati and Nohra).
President Michel Aoun receives British Ambassador Ian Collard at the Presidential Palace in Baabda (Photo: Dalati and Nohra).
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Bassil Opposes Hezbollah by Nominating Nawaf Salam for PM’s Post

President Michel Aoun receives British Ambassador Ian Collard at the Presidential Palace in Baabda (Photo: Dalati and Nohra).
President Michel Aoun receives British Ambassador Ian Collard at the Presidential Palace in Baabda (Photo: Dalati and Nohra).

Political contacts are accelerating in Lebanon ahead of the binding parliamentary consultations, scheduled for Monday, to designate a new prime minister to form a government.

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri abandoned the mission earlier this month after failing to agree with President Michel Aoun and the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gibran Bassil.

A well-informed Lebanese source told Asharq Al-Awsat that former Prime Minister Najib Mikati would be appointed on Monday with 60 to 65 parliamentary votes, while former Ambassador to the United Nations, Nawaf Salam, would receive around 20 votes, based on the decision announced by Bassil’s FPM on his nomination.

The source noted, however, that the formation of the government would then be impossible, due to Aoun’s objection to Mikati’s designation.

Meanwhile, sources close to Hezbollah said that the negotiations with Mikati were serious, adding that the latter was also discussing “details of two governments”, in preparation for the post-elections phase and the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

On the other hand, the FPM is heading towards nominating Salam, a move described by Hezbollah as “quarrelsome with the party, and will not gain American approval,” according to the sources.

The sources said that a meeting was held between Bassil and the leadership of Hezbollah on Thursday, during which the head of the FPM openly informed the party of his opposition to assigning Mikati.

The sources added that Bassil warned that if the FPM and the Lebanese Forces blocs did not vote for Mikati, the latter would be named prime minister without the approval of a major Christian bloc. This prompts Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to find a solution before holding the consultations.

The Lebanese Forces bloc, which had supported Salam in the previous designation process, abandoned his name, as announced by the head of the party, Dr. Samir Geagea, on Friday. The Democratic Gathering bloc would also refrain from nominating Salam, sources close to its head, MP Taymour Jumblatt, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

In remarks on Friday, Geagea said that the bloc would not name any candidate in the parliamentary consultations, noting that there was no solution to the deadlock but by holding early parliamentary elections.

According to Geagea, it is impossible to reach any reform as long as Aoun and Hezbollah hold onto power.

Asked about the reason that led the LF to abandon Salam’s designation, he said: “We named him a year ago, when we had some hope that there might be some improvement under the existing structure, and with a very big international initiative - the French one. But at the moment, we are convinced that we cannot reach a result, no matter who the prime minister is.”



UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Rapporteur Calls for Global Action to Stop ‘Genocide’ in Gaza

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following an Emergency Conference of States, hosted by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel in relation to the conflict in Gaza, in Bogota, Colombia, July 15, 2025. (Reuters)

The United Nations’ special rapporteur for Gaza and the West Bank said Tuesday that it's time for nations around the world to take concrete actions to stop what she called the “genocide” in Gaza.

Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries meeting in Colombia’s capital to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and ways that nations can try to stop Israel’s military offensive in the territory. Many of the participating nations have described the violence as genocide against the Palestinians.

“Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel ... and ensure its private sector does the same,” Albanese said. “The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal.”

The two-day conference organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa is being attended mostly by developing nations, although the governments of Spain, Ireland and China have also sent delegates.

Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.”

Analysts say it’s not clear whether the conference's participating countries have enough leverage over Israel to force it to change its policies in Gaza, where more than 58,000 people have been killed in Israeli military operations following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. The death toll comes from the health ministry, which is under Gaza’s Hamas government and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The UN and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties.

“The United States has so far failed to influence Israel’s behavior ... so it is naive to think that this group of countries can have any influence over (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu’s behavior or on the government of Israel,” said Sandra Borda, a professor of international relations at Bogota’s Los Andes University.

She said, however, that the conference will enable some nations of the Global South to clarify their position toward the conflict and have their voices heard.

The conference is co-chaired by the governments of South Africa and Colombia, which last year suspended coal exports to Israeli power plants, and includes the participation of members of The Hague Group, a coalition of eight nations that earlier this year pledged to cut military ties with Israel and to comply with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

For decades, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party has compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank with its own history of oppression under the harsh apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to “homelands” before ending in 1994.

South Africa’s current argument is rooted in the sentiment that Palestinians have been oppressed in their homeland as Black South Africans were under apartheid.

The gathering comes as the European Union weighs various measures against Israel that include a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, an arms embargo and individual sanctions against Israeli officials, who are found to be blocking a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Colombia’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mauricio Jaramillo said Monday that the nations participating in the Bogota meeting, which also include Qatar and Türkiye, will be discussing diplomatic and judicial measures that can be taken to put more pressure on Israel to cease its attacks.

The Colombian official described Israel’s conduct in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as an affront to the international order.

“This is not just about Palestine” Jaramillo said in a press conference. “It is about defending international law... and the right to self-determination.”