A man walks past the damage caused by Israeli attacks in Tyr Debba (Tyre), on Nov. 30, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Five months after his election, President Joseph Aoun met with a Hezbollah delegation on Monday to discuss the issue of the state’s monopoly of weapons. The meeting was originally meant to be a formal occasion — to “congratulate” Aoun on the anniversary of the “liberation” in 2000 and the conclusion of the municipal elections. But it turned into an opportunity to address, for the first time directly, the question of Hezbollah’s disarmament – even north of the Litani River – which the president committed tackling through a bilateral dialogue with Hezbollah.According to sources close to the president, the latter mainly sought to hear the concerns expressed by the delegation members, led by Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc chief, Mohammad Raad. “One of the fears voiced was the feeling of being caught in a vice from all sides. The delegation...
Five months after his election, President Joseph Aoun met with a Hezbollah delegation on Monday to discuss the issue of the state’s monopoly of weapons. The meeting was originally meant to be a formal occasion — to “congratulate” Aoun on the anniversary of the “liberation” in 2000 and the conclusion of the municipal elections. But it turned into an opportunity to address, for the first time directly, the question of Hezbollah’s disarmament – even north of the Litani River – which the president committed tackling through a bilateral dialogue with Hezbollah.According to sources close to the president, the latter mainly sought to hear the concerns expressed by the delegation members, led by Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc chief, Mohammad Raad. “One of the fears voiced was the feeling of being caught in a vice from all...