Al-Rahi Accuses Complacent MPs of ‘Great Treason’ for Failing to Elect President

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. (Reuters)
Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. (Reuters)
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Al-Rahi Accuses Complacent MPs of ‘Great Treason’ for Failing to Elect President

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. (Reuters)
Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi. (Reuters)

Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi launched on Sunday a scathing attack against “complacent” MPs who have failed to elect a president since Michel Aoun’s term ended in November.

During his Sunday sermon, he said the lawmakers’ blind following of their political leaders was tantamount to “great treason.”

The Lebanese people are suffering from poverty and hunger. They are deprived of food and medicine. They don’t have rights and justice. All of this is the result of the poor performance of politicians, who have betrayed the people, declared al-Rahi.

“By blindly following their leaders, the MPs are refraining from electing a new president and consequently, deepening the crises at constitutional and public institutions,” he continued.

“They are deepening the people’s misery and forcing them to immigrate. Isn’t this great treason? Rather, isn’t this a great crime against the Lebanese people and state?” he asked.

They speak of the need for dialogue to agree on a presidential candidate through consensus, while others are clinging on to their candidate and seek to impose him on others, added al-Rahi.

Should dialogue actually happen, then Lebanon and its people should be its top priority. This will then be followed by the search for the best candidate who can lead the country during these conditions, he explained.

Meanwhile, parliament Speaker Nabih Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was “not pessimistic” over the presidential impasse.

He revealed that he will not call parliament to convene to elect a president until he senses that a candidate can be chosen or senses “real competition at the polls”.

He stressed that there will be no repeat of the “charades”, a reference to previous “routine” elections sessions that have not yielded a victor.

The Lebanese parties are the main factor in the electoral process, he stated.

Any foreign efforts to help elect a president can only be successful with a decision from within Lebanon, he went on to say.

“Everyone must realize this and not surrender to the vacuum,” Berri urged.

Moreover, the speaker said the delay in the election of the president cannot extend to month and years, especially since the country needs, now more than ever, every single effort to help it resolve its crises.

He underscored the need for the caretaker government to convene to address the people’s essential and pressing concerns, remarking that its failure to meet is a constitutional violation.

He made this last statement in reference to the Free Patriotic Movement’s (FPM) objection to the cabinet holding sessions amid the presidential vacuum.

Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut Elias Audeh, meanwhile, said that the current state of affairs in Lebanon can be blamed on “pride and selfishness”, “suspicious associations” and “sectarian interests, gains and divisions”.

“Stubbornness, arrogance, spite and settling scores have only led us to the current state of collapse,” he lamented.

“It is time to return to reason, humility and the constitution that alone can set our lives straight,” he said.

“Every official, leader and citizen should perform their duty in saving this country,” he urged.

“How can parliament, which is entrusted with implementing the constitution, hold back from electing a president? What do the obstructors have to gain from this?” he wondered.

Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan underlined the need to elect a president who seeks national interests.

“Any error in this regard will lead to Lebanon’s demise,” he warned.



Netanyahu Asks US to Broker Israel-Syria Negotiations

US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)
US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)
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Netanyahu Asks US to Broker Israel-Syria Negotiations

US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)
US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US envoy Tom Barrack he is interested in negotiating with the new Syrian government, with the US serving as mediator, two Israeli officials told Axios on Wednesday.

“Netanyahu is interested in negotiating an updated security deal and working up towards a full peace agreement,” according to a senior Israeli official.

“When Barrack met Netanyahu last week, the Israeli prime minister told him he wants to use the momentum from the Trump-al-Sharaa meeting to start US-mediated negotiations with Syria,” an Israeli official said.

A senior Israel official also told Axios that Netanyahu's goal is to try and reach a set of agreements, starting with an updated security deal based on the 1974 disengagement of forces agreement, with modifications, and ending with a peace deal between the countries.

The prime minister believes Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's aspiration to build close ties with the Trump administration create a diplomatic opportunity. “We want to try and move towards normalization with Syria as soon as possible,” the official said.

According to the official, Barrack told the Israelis that al-Sharaa is open to discussing new agreements with Israel.

After his visit to Israel, Barrack traveled to Washington and briefed Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A US official said the Israelis presented to Barrack their “red lines” on Syria: No Turkish military bases in the country, no renewed Iranian and Hezbollah presence and the demilitarization of southern Syria.

The Israelis told Barrack they will keep their forces in Syria until a new agreement is signed that includes the demilitarization of southern Syria, an Israeli official said.

The official added that in a new future border deal with Syria, Israel wants to add US forces to the UN force that was previously stationed on the border.

In a related development, the Israeli forces on Wednesday seized one vehicle and arrested three workers employed by Al-Quneitra city council. The forces had advanced into Al-Qahtaniyah village in Syria’s southern countryside of the governorate, deploying within residential neighborhoods and firing guns into the air.

The Syrian TV reported that the deployment coincided with loudspeaker announcements calling on residents to stay in their homes.

Last Sunday, the Israeli forces destroyed an agricultural land near the border in the southern countryside of Quneitra and confiscated a flock of sheep.

Earlier, the Israeli forces had carried out airstrikes in southern Syria, saying it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel.

Israeli shelling also targeted agricultural areas in the Wadi Yarmouk region.

Residents described increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported Israeli incursions into villages, where they have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops.