MP Nadim Gemayel during his announcement of his candidacy for the 2022 parliamentary elections. (Credit: Kataeb)
BEIRUT — A fake grenade was found Tuesday near MP Nadim Gemayel's house in Achrafieh, Beirut, the MP confirmed to L'Orient Today.
"I want to clarify that the location of the grenade is situated outside the perimeter of my residence. It turned out that it is a model of a bomb that is not suitable for detonation," the MP told L'Orient Today, clarifying that the object was a "dummy."
Part of the Kataeb bloc since 2009, Gemayel is known for his hard-line positions against Hezbollah and its arsenal.
Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary-General of the Kataeb Party Patrick Richa told local media that "the grenade in front of Nadim Gemayel's house is a message before the [presidential election] session, and we will not skip it," referring to Wednesday's parliamentary session aimed at electing Lebanon's next head of state.
Nadim's father was Bachir Gemayel, the founder of the Lebanese forces militia during the Lebanese Civil War who was elected president in 1982 but assassinated in a bomb explosion before taking office.
Nadim's cousin, Pierre Gemayel, a former Lebanese politician in the Kataeb Party, was also assassinated in 2006 in Lebanon.