The head of the Maronite Church, Bechara al-Rai. (Credit: AFP/File photo)
BEIRUT — Head of the Maronite Church Bechara al-Rai emphasized on Sunday the need to "make no changes to the land border in south Lebanon in the absence of a president."
Rai's comments come as Lebanon has been without a head of state since the end of Michel Aoun's term on Oct. 31, 2022, due to a lack of consensus on a candidate.
Rai denounced ongoing discussions, stating that there has been much talk recently about international action to delineate the land border in southern Lebanon even though it has been defined and set according to international resolutions for over 100 years. During his Sunday sermon, Rai stressed that all of this is happening while the country is without a president and the government lacks full powers.
Rai called for the application of international agreements and resolutions concerning the delineation of the land border in South Lebanon, especially UN Resolution 1701, and urged against making any changes in the absence of a president and under an incomplete executive authority.
This warning comes as caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah have shown openness to negotiations with Israel on the land border and the end of the conflict.
In Beirut, US envoy Amos Hochstein reportedly proposed a three-step approach to ease tensions in southern Lebanon. In the absence of an immediate cease-fire linked to the end of the war in Gaza, Hochstein suggested limiting the scope of combat to an 8-kilometer strip on both sides of the border, returning to the engagement rules established at the conflict's outset. After the cease-fire, a delineation of the land border between the two countries would be negotiated to resolve 13 points of contention along it, including the issue of the disputed Shebaa Farms.
On the political front, Rai reiterated that the election of a president should not be linked to ending the Gaza war, asserting that the future president will "support the Palestinian cause regionally and internationally and protect Lebanon."
Both Hezbollah and the Amal Movement continue to support the candidacy of Sleiman Frangieh; however, his candidacy is opposed by other traditional parties and the opposition. The majority of Christian parties favor the candidacy of Jihad Azour, former finance minister, with the opposition leaning towards a compromise figure. However, the candidacy of the current army commander Joseph Aoun, who increasingly seen as a figure capable of embodying this "third way," is likely to face resistance from the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil
