Foreign Minister visits Maronite Archbishop of Beirut, discusses general situation
Discussions between the pair reportedly touched on the current general situation in Lebanon and the broad region.
Minister Rajji Minister briefed Bishop Abdel Sater on the current government's concerns regarding ensuring internal stability and dialogue among various segments, restoring Lebanon's role as a key player in the region, and developing its relations with its Arab brothers and the West.
The discussion also highlighted the importance of the Christian presence and its reconciling and unifying role in the region and in Lebanon.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
4 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Bassil urges Hezbollah to admit its arms have become 'a burden'
by Naharnet Newsdesk 01 August 2025, 18:05 Free Patriotic Movement leader Jebran Bassil considered, amid domestic and American pressure to disarm Hezbollah, that it is time for the group to admit that its arms have become a burden to Lebanon. "I call on Hezbollah to act responsibly and to admit that these arms have become a burden," Bassil said in an interview Thursday with Lebanese TV channel MTV, also urging the group to do some "serious thinking" and "not to buy time." The Christian leader said that he supports peace but only fair peace, where Lebanon gets his full rights - to all its resources and territories - and is protected from Israeli attacks. Israel has repeatedly struck south and east Lebanon and less frequently Beirut's southern suburbs despite a ceasefire reached in late November. The Israeli army is also still occupying in south Lebanon five hills it deems strategic. Bassil said that Lebanon also can't make peace accords with Israel alone and can only consider peace once there is a comprehensive Arab decision to normalize ties. After several Arab-Israeli wars, Egypt was the first Arab state to recognize Israel diplomatically in 1979. It was followed by Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. In October 2023, Saudi Arabia suspended talks on the possible normalization of relations with Israel, following the Israeli war on Gaza.
Nahar Net
4 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Aoun holds 'positive' and 'frank' meeting with Raad
President Joseph Aoun held a meeting Thursday with MP Mohammad Raad, the head of Hezbollah's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc. 'It was a session of frankness on many files,' the Hezbollah-affiliated al-Ahed news portal reported. 'The meeting was positive, pending further crystallization of the picture in the coming days,' al-Ahed added. The talks come days before a crucial cabinet session scheduled for Tuesday that will tackle the issue of monopolizing arms in the hands of the state. President Joseph Aoun said Thursday that Lebanon is determined to disarm Hezbollah, a step it has come under heavy U.S. pressure to take. In a key speech marking Army Day, Aoun said Lebanon was demanding "the extension of the Lebanese state's authority over all its territory, the removal of weapons from all armed groups including Hezbollah and their handover to the Lebanese Army." He added it was every politician's duty "to seize this historic opportunity and push without hesitation towards affirming the army and security forces' monopoly on weapons over all Lebanese territory... in order to regain the world's confidence." On Wednesday, Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem had said that "anyone calling today for the surrender of weapons, whether internally or externally, on the Arab or the international stage, is serving the Israeli project." He accused U.S. envoy Tom Barrack, who has visited Lebanon several times in recent months for talks with senior officials, of using "intimidation and threats" with the aim of "aiding Israel." Lebanon has proposed modifications to "ideas" submitted by the United States on Hezbollah's disarmament, Aoun added, and a plan would be discussed at a cabinet meeting Tuesday to "establish a timetable for implementation." Aoun also demanded the withdrawal of Israeli troops, the release of Lebanese prisoners and "an immediate cessation of Israeli hostilities."
L'Orient-Le Jour
5 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Israel evacuates diplomatic staff in the UAE, Israeli media say
Israel is evacuating most of its diplomatic mission staff in the United Arab Emirates, Israeli media reported late on Thursday, after Israel's National Security Council sharpened its travel warning for Israelis staying in the Gulf country. The UAE's Israeli and Jewish community has grown more visible since 2020, when the UAE became the most prominent Arab state in 30 years to establish formal ties with Israel under a U.S.-brokered agreement dubbed the Abraham Accords. "We are emphasizing this travel warning given our understanding that terrorist organizations [the Iranians, Hamas, Hezbollah and Global Jihad] are increasing their efforts to harm Israel", the NSC said in a statement. The NSC warned of possible attempts to target Israeli and Jewish individuals in the UAE, especially around Jewish holidays and Shabbat. The Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. There was no immediate comment from the UAE's foreign ministry. Israel is concerned about retaliatory attacks following its recent military operation against Iran and as it faces mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. In March, the UAE sentenced three people to death for the murder of an Israeli-Moldovan rabbi who was killed in November in the Gulf country. Such crimes are rare in the UAE, which is largely viewed as one of the safest places in the Middle East.
