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Lebanon: Aoun Wants Half of Ministers in Mikati Govt

Aoun and Mikati meet at the presidential palace. (NNA)
Aoun and Mikati meet at the presidential palace. (NNA)
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Lebanon: Aoun Wants Half of Ministers in Mikati Govt

Aoun and Mikati meet at the presidential palace. (NNA)
Aoun and Mikati meet at the presidential palace. (NNA)

Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati was surprised during his last meeting with President Michel Aoun by the latter’s demand of a share of 12 ministers, or half of the ministerial portfolios, political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

According to the sources, Aoun’s new conditions have returned the government formation negotiations to square one, noting that the president stipulated that there would be no possibility to resume the talks unless Mikati agreed to his demand.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Paris was forced to intervene, warning that hindering the formation process would force it to take an irreversible stance towards the political team affiliated with Aoun, starting with the head of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the president’s son-in-law, MP Gebran Bassil.

Paris is directly keeping pace with the recent developments, the sources stressed, given that French Ambassador Anne Grillo is on annual leave.

Consequently, Aoun was forced, under pressure from Paris, to maintain the channels of communication with Mikati and sent Bassil to meet with the premier-designate.

The sources stressed that Bassil is planning from now to control the government, even if it means obstructing its productivity, should his demands remain unmet. Aoun’s son-in-law wants to have the last say in the government, otherwise he will seek to disrupt its ability to make any efficient decision.

Bassil had previously announced that he will not be part of the government.

This has not deterred him from attempting to impose his influence and seek to become a partner in decisions it takes. Otherwise, he would be forced to thwart it from taking any decision, said the sources.

Aoun is blindly following his son-in-law, paving the way for him to not only control half the government, but to seize service portfolios that would improve his image ahead of next year’s elections, which perhaps will restore his chances of running for president.

Therefore, if Aoun does not change his position, it will be as if he wants to use all his political weight to serve Bassil’s electoral ambitions.

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Netanyahu ‘Takes Revenge’ on Macron in Lebanon

 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
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Netanyahu ‘Takes Revenge’ on Macron in Lebanon

 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)
 A photo of Netanyahu and Macron during their meeting in Jerusalem in October 2023 (AFP)

Israel’s insistence that France can not be a member of the international committee that will monitor a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon is due to a series of French practices that have disturbed Israel recently, political sources in Tel Aviv revealed.
These practices are most notably attributed to the French judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, who has joined other judges to unanimously issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the sources revealed.
“The Israeli government is following with concern the French role at The Hague,” they said, noting that veteran French lawyer Gilles Devers led a team of 300 international lawyers of various nationalities who volunteered to accuse Israel of “committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
According to the Israeli Maariv newspaper, Israeli officials believe that Devers, who signed the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Galant, would not have dared to do so without having received a green light from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Israeli sources also mentioned other reasons for Israel’s anger at France, such as the government’s decision to bar Israeli firms from exhibiting at the Euronaval arms show near Paris earlier this month.
French officials have repeatedly said that Paris is committed to Israel's security and point out that its military helped defend Israel after Iranian attacks in April and earlier this month.
Paris has so far also refused to recognize the Palestinian state. But the Israeli government is not satisfied. It wants France to follow the United States and blindly support its war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Tel Aviv also feels incredibly confident that France should be punished, and therefore, decided that Paris could not participate in the Lebanese ceasefire agreement, knowing that the Israeli government itself has traveled to Paris several times begging for its intervention, especially during the war on Lebanon.
Meanwhile, an air of optimism has emerged in Israel around the chances for an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon following negotiations led by US envoy Amos Hochstein.
But any optimism relies on Netanyahu’s final decision. The PM is still conducting talks with his friends and allies of the far right who reject the ceasefire agreement and instead, demand that Lebanese citizens not be allowed to return to their villages on the border with Israel. They also request that a security belt be turned into a permanently depopulated and mined zone.
Hochstein Talks
Meanwhile, political sources in Israel claim that what is holding up a ceasefire deal so far is Lebanon. According to Israel's Channel 12, Hochstein expressed a “firm stance” during his talks with the Lebanese side. The envoy delivered clear terms that were passed on to Hezbollah, which the channel said “led to significant progress” in the talks.
Israeli officials said that Tel Aviv is moving towards a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon with Hezbollah in the coming days.
The channel said that during his late visit to Tel Aviv, coming from Beirut after talks with Speaker Nabih Barri, Hochstein said, “I placed before them (Lebanese officials) a final warning, and it seems to have been effective.”
Iran Obstacle
Despite the “positive atmosphere,” informed diplomatic sources pointed to a major obstacle: Iran.
Channel 12 quoted the sources as saying that Lebanon has not yet received the final approval required from Iran, which has significant influence over Hezbollah.

According to the draft proposal, the Lebanese Army must be redeployed to the south and carry out a comprehensive operation to remove weapons from villages. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will “supervise and monitor the implementation of the operation.”
Channel 12 said Israel believes that such details could still derail the agreement. It also said that Hezbollah could violate the truce.
“In such cases, Israel would have to conduct military operations inside the Lebanese territory,” the channel reported, adding that “one of the unsettled issues is related to the committee that will oversee the implementation of the agreement between Israel and Lebanon.”
The sources said Tel Aviv “insists that France is not part of the agreement, nor part of the committee that will oversee its implementation.”