Complaint filed against MP Camille Chamoun for describing the Israeli army as 'humane'

A complaint has been filed with the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation against MP and leader of the National Liberal Party, Camille Chamoun, for "inciting sectarian strife" after he described the Israeli army as "humane" in a television interview, Lebanese publication Mahkama reported on Tuesday. Contacted by L'Orient Today on Thursday, Chamoun said that he has not yet been notified of the complaint.

Although the Israeli army often carries out airstrikes without issuing evacuation orders, which results in casualties including civilians, with a total toll of nearly 1,100 deaths since March 2, Chamoun said during an interview with Red TV on March 19 that the Israeli army is the only army that provides prior notice to the area it intends to strike. He even praised the Israeli army for what he described as its "humanitarian aspect."

According to Mahkama, lawyers Hassan Bazzi, Leila Safa, Ali Chalabi, and Ali Youssef al-Moussawi filed the complaint on charges of "inciting sectarian strife, stirring discord, undermining national sentiment, and justifying killing and destruction."

The complaint was reportedly submitted by "Lebanese citizens who lost their homes and property and were forced to flee from the southern suburbs of Beirut due to the Israeli aggression against Lebanon."

According to the same publication, the plaintiffs have "taken personal legal action against Chamoun for the aforementioned crimes, demanding that he be investigated and tried, that the maximum penalties be imposed on him, and that he be fined $500,000 in damages to be paid to the families of Lebanese Army martyrs and to support the sheltering of those displaced as a result of the Israeli aggression."

Following Chamoun's interview, the Israeli army's Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said in a post on X: “A witness from their own people has testified … When the Lebanese MP Camille Chamoun speaks about the humanity of the Israeli army, he is not saying anything new, but rather reaffirming what is already established.”

On Thursday, Chamoun reiterated his comments made in the interview, telling L'Orient Today that "if the Israeli army was not issuing evacuation orders, the number of casualties would have been way higher."

Lebanon is in its fourth week of war between Hezbollah and Israel. Since March 2, Israeli attacks and threats have led to the displacement of over a million people, with around 20 percent of the Lebanese territory — in the South and Beirut's southern suburbs being subjected to evacuation orders.