President Joseph Aoun and Kataeb leader Samy Gemayel. (Credit: Lebanese presidency on X.)
BEIRUT — Kataeb leader and MP Samy Gemayel officially thanked the head of state, Joseph Aoun, for his recent remarks ahead of the 43rd anniversary of former President Bachir Gemayel, who was killed in a bombing on Sept. 14, 1982, by Habib Chartouni, a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP).
"President Joseph Aoun's remarks on the anniversary of the assassination of President Bachir Gemayel carry great significance: We have entered a new phase, where the entire Lebanese leadership is in a position of sovereignty, and where Bachir's project for a sovereign, independent and united state has become a concern for the entire state," said (Samy) Gemayel, according to statements released by the presidency in a statement posted on X after a meeting between the two men in Baabda.
On Saturday evening, Aoun stated that "the principles for which Bachir Gemayel sacrificed himself have become national constants for all Lebanese, especially a free and independent Lebanon."
However, these remarks were criticized by some parties close to Hezbollah and its allies, such as the SSNP, which considers (Samy) Gemayel's uncle a divisive figure, especially regarding his alleged ties with Israel, with which he is accused of collaborating.
(Bachir) Gemayel's son, Kataeb MP Nadim Gemayel, said Sunday that he was "celebrating for the first time in 43 years" this date, as "the entire axis responsible for Bachir’s assassination has collapsed and ended up in the dustbin of history," referring to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian regime and the weakening of Hezbollah following its war with Israel.
Hezbollah, for its part, has not yet responded to the president's statements, at a time when the party and its ally Amal contest any move to disarm the country’s militias if dictated by Israel, which continues to occupy at least six positions in southern Lebanon and to bomb Lebanese territory despite the cease-fire agreed at the end of last November after a war that began on Oct. 8, 2023, in the wake of the Gaza war.
The Kataeb leader, a fierce opponent of Hezbollah, took the opportunity to praise the presidential term begun by Joseph Aoun in January as well as the government formed by Nawaf Salam in its wake.
"I pay tribute to the president of the republic for his wisdom in managing the crisis facing Lebanon, for his clarity and firm position, and for his insistence on applying the presidential oath and the cabinet’s decision to restrict arms, while showing prudence and vigilance to avoid provoking the other side," said (Samy) Gemayel.
"We support President Aoun and have complete confidence in him: his only concern is the protection of Lebanon," he concluded.
The Lebanese executive went through a particularly critical phase between August and September, adopting a roadmap to restore the state's monopoly on arms, taking up the goals of an American proposal transmitted by envoy Tom Barrack, which was rejected by Hezbollah and Amal, then approving a plan by the Lebanese army to organize disarmament without a set timetable, which helped ease tensions within the government.
Israel continues attacks on southern Lebanon, demolishes buildings in Bint Jbeil