Member of Parliament Adib Abdel Massih, center left, seated next to the leader of the Kataeb, Samy Gemayel, during a press conference on May 7, 2026 in Saifi. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Independent, anti-Hezbollah MP from Koura, Adib Abdel Massih, announced Thursday that he is joining the Kataeb Party’s parliamentary bloc during a press conference at the party headquarters in Beirut.
"I am announcing my membership in the Kataeb parliamentary bloc. Kataeb is a historic party with which I share common principles: sovereignty, independence, love of country, God, and family. I also share the same national stances, from the restoration of the state to the rejection of mini-states and the fight against corruption," he said. "I will be the free and sovereign voice of Koura, and when it comes to national positions, I will abide by the bloc’s decision," said the MP.
"MP Adib Abdel Massih has joined us on every occasion. We must remain united in the face of the challenges ahead. Lebanon can rebuild after the crisis. Solidarity makes us stronger. Welcome to MP Adib Abdel Massih, with whom I have collaborated and met on many occasions," Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel wrote on X.
The group now includes five MPs. In addition to Gemayel and Abdel Massih, it consists of Nadim Gemayel, Elias Hankash, and Faysal Sayegh.
Gemayel also commented on the 18th anniversary of the events of May 7, 2008, when Hezbollah militiamen stormed the capital amid a political and security crisis. "May 7 is an important date because it refutes the claim that the (Hezbollah) weapons are directed externally. (They) were turned inward, used to bend the state and its institutions and to impose internal power dynamics unrelated to the fight against Israel. May 7, 2026, will mark the end of May 7, 2008 — the end of the coup — thanks to the unity of the Lebanese people," he said.
