The deputies gathered in Parliament, in Beirut, on Aug. 11, 2026.(Credit: Lebanese Parliament)
BEIRUT — The parliamentary session was adjourned Tuesday amid a dispute between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Defense Minister Michel Menassa over the general amnesty law.
The session is expected to resume at 6 p.m. According to press reports, the disagreement centers on Menassah’s desire to make a statement expressing the Lebanese Army’s position on the legislation, while Salam believes that it is the prime minister’s prerogative to express the government’s stance.
Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab told LBCI that the session was adjourned to resolve this dispute. Speaker Nabih Berri was scheduled in the meantime to meet with the prime minister in an effort to break the deadlock. Parliamentary sources told L’Orient-Le Jour that contacts were made with the Defense Ministry during the suspension in an attempt to soften the army’s position on the bill.
On Monday, the defense minister handed Bou Saab the Lebanese Army’s written comments regarding proposed amendments to the general amnesty bill. Menassah had earlier met with Berri.
A few days earlier, MP Nabil Badr told L’Orient-Le Jour that the amnesty bill should be adopted smoothly on Tuesday, especially since its final version had the backing of leading Sunni stakeholders. The Lebanese Forces, for their part, indicated they would stand behind the Sunni MPs on this issue, with party members expected to vote in favor of the bill.
On July 16, Parliament had already convened to discuss the amnesty law, at a time when the Sunni community — largely in favor of the principle of an amnesty — was nevertheless deeply divided over which version to adopt. On one side, some MPs were calling for the release of as many detainees as possible, including Islamist Ahmad al-Assir, who has been incarcerated since 2015 for his participation in deadly clashes with the army in Abra in 2013. Most of these MPs boycotted the session.
On the other side, several Sunni MPs called for the swift adoption of the amnesty law, including Nabil Badr (Beirut), Walid Baarini (Akkar), and Bilal Hosheimi, who attended the session.
