BEIRUT — Maronite Patriarch Moussa al-Hage, archbishop of Haifa and Jerusalem, was received Friday morning by Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, four days after he was arrested for several hours at the Ras al-Naqoura Southern Lebanese-Israeli border.
Here’s what we know:
• "President Aoun discussed with al-Hage the circumstances related to what happened in Naqoura," the Presidential Twitter account reported without further details. The archbishop left Baabda without making any statements.
• Hage was arrested on Monday by General Security after the Military Court gave an order for the arrest. The archbishop was reportedly caught with a large number of funds which are believed to be donations sent by people to their relatives in Lebanon as the country suffers from an unprecedented economic crisis.
• Since the arrest of the prelate on Monday, some had seen it as a political message against Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai, who lately has been outspoken against Hezbollah’s weapons.