Lebanese Leaders Respond to Macron’s Call to ‘Remove Them’ with Silence

The French President during his visit to the port of Beirut after the explosion in August 2020 (Getty Images)
The French President during his visit to the port of Beirut after the explosion in August 2020 (Getty Images)
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Lebanese Leaders Respond to Macron’s Call to ‘Remove Them’ with Silence

The French President during his visit to the port of Beirut after the explosion in August 2020 (Getty Images)
The French President during his visit to the port of Beirut after the explosion in August 2020 (Getty Images)

Lebanese politicians acted with disinterest towards the harsh statements made by French President Emmanuel Macron during his return from the Jordanian capital, Amman. Macron had attacked the Lebanese leaders, urging a change in the country's leadership.

Macron's statements are considered the harshest that he had leveled against the Lebanese political class so far.

The French president visited Beirut twice.

Macron’s first visit followed the Beirut port explosion in August 2020. In his second visit, which came about a month later, Macron gathered Lebanese leaders around a round table at the headquarters of the French embassy.

The French leader invited Lebanese politicians to agree on a formula that would allow the formation of a new government and pave the way for a solution to the worsening economic crisis.

“My answer is to try to help bring a political alternative to life... and to be intractable with political forces,” Macron said in media interviews.

He urged ignoring influential forces who have been keen on practicing extortion in Lebanon.

“I care about Lebanese men and women, not those living off their backs,” he said.

Macron said the priority now was to have “honest” people as president and as prime minister capable of moving swiftly to restructure Lebanon's failed financial system.

Responding to Macron’s statements, member of the Progressive Socialist Party, MP Bilal Abdallah, stressed that leadership change in Lebanon was a matter of sovereignty.

“Changing the leadership and the political system in Lebanon is a sovereign issue that is subject to the will of the Lebanese people, who alone decide who their leaders are, choose and hold accountable according to the mechanisms provided by our democratic system,” Abdallah told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Lebanese Forces bloc MP Ghassan Hasbani, in response to Macron’s remarks, said that those hindering reform are known and that the Lebanese crisis can be solved by the election of a reformist president and placing the right people in executive power.



Israel Declares 'New Phase' of War, Netanyahu Promises to Return Citizens of the North

FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
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Israel Declares 'New Phase' of War, Netanyahu Promises to Return Citizens of the North

FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa
FILED - 02 September 2024, Israel, Jerusalem: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference. Photo: Avi Ohayon/GPO/dpa

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that Israel was “at the start of a new phase in the war” amid rising tension with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

“We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance,” Gallant told Israeli troops.

He made no mention of the explosions of electronic devices in Lebanon but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”

Israeli leaders have issued a series of warnings in recent weeks that they might increase operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying they must put a stop to the cross-border exchanges to allow people to return to homes near the border.

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, according to an official with knowledge of the movements who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In his comments, Gallant said that after months of fighting Hamas in the Gaza Strip, “the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with top security officials at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the country's army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah.

Israel will ensure that tens of thousands of residents evacuated from northern border areas will be able to go back home, Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

"I have said it before, we will return the citizens of the north to their homes in security and that's exactly what we are going to do," he said in a brief video statement, giving no further details.

Israeli sources with knowledge of the matter said the army had moved its 98th Division, which includes commando and paratrooper formations, from Gaza to the north.