Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Hossam Zaki. (Courtesy of Hoda Chedid/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Assistant Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ambassador Hossam Zaki, met with several Lebanese political leaders on Wednesday, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Kataeb leader MP Samy Gemayel, and Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) head Gebran Bassil, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). The discussions focused on the rising tension between Hezbollah and Israel along Lebanon's southern border.
According to a statement by the FPM, Bassil and Zaki also discussed "initiatives for presidential elections." Lebanon has been ruled by a presidential vacuum and a caretaker government since October 2022 when former president Michel Aoun's term ended. The Parliament has held 12 sessions to elect a new president, but all of them were without success.
According to the NNA, during his meeting with Zaki, Gemayel "reiterated his party's stance against Hezbollah's unilateral decisions regarding war and peace, stressing the need for Lebanon to avoid entanglement in conflicts detrimental to its stability and the region's peace initiatives."
Since Oct.8 Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in daily cross-border fire. Hezbollah states that its actions are in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas and that a cease-fire in Lebanon is contingent on a cease-fire in Gaza.
The Arab League has repeatedly called for the “immediate” withdrawal of Israeli forces from all areas in the Gaza Strip and an end to the siege imposed on the enclave while condemning Israel’s ongoing offensive. Despite this, it has not made direct comments on Hezbollah’s offensives.
