Delegation from Hezbollah Formally Visits Maronite Patriarch al-Rai
According to L’Orient Today, “A Hezbollah delegation called for ‘compromise’ on choosing Lebanon’s next president, following a meeting on Monday with Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai and as the country surpasses two months with no head of state.” [L’Orient Today] Hezbollah is considered to be a terrorist organization by the United States. 

Al Jadeed HQ Target of Armed Attack
According to L’Orient Today, “Unknown people fired bullets on the Al Jadeed television station in Beirut’s Moseitbeh neighborhood Friday morning, the station said, in the third such non-lethal attack this week following a controversial comedy sketch implying sexual relations between southern Lebanese women and foreign UNIFIL peacekeepers.” [L’Orient Today]

Sunni Grand Mufti Comments on Presidential Vacancy, Decries Threat to Muslims and Christians Alike
According to Naharnet, “Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan on Tuesday called for ‘finalizing the presidential election as soon as possible,’ warning that ‘the country and citizens can no longer bear this vacuum that is destroying all of the state’s pillars . . . ‘Presidential vacuum is a rejected and dangerous thing and it threatens Muslims and Christians in their country that is built on the basis of the culture of citizenship and coexistence,’ the mufti warned.” [Naharnet]

Former Assistant Secretary of State Comments on Presidential Vacancy in Interview
According to L’Orient Today, “Former US Middle East diplomat David Schenker expects Lebanese Army commander Gen. Joseph Aoun to become the country’s next president ‘in the next three or four months,’ he told local news outlet Asas Media.” [L’Orient Today]

Issam Fares Institute of AUB Hosts Conference on Genocide, Political Violence
Last December, the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) held a hybrid conference in collaboration with the Armenian General Benevolent Union Lebanon and Lepsius Haus Potsdam on the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime. IFI Executive Director Joseph Bahout said, “This is the sixth conference that we hold around the same thematic of genocide, justice, memory, remembrance, reparation, and other very painful issues . . . we have started to build an intellectual and conceptual coherence around a very important theme, not only politically but intellectually and conceptually on how to think about past wounds and traumas, and how to treat them politically and historically . . . without [which], there can’t be a peaceful present nor a peaceful future.” [NNA]

Humud writes, “The Biden Administration’s FY2023 budget request states that UNIFIL’s ‘most effective functions, including its liaison mechanism and patrols along the Blue Line, will provide value even as Hizballah impedes the mission’s freedom of movement and restricts access, preventing full implementation of UNIFIL’s mandate.’ The August 2022 resolution reauthorizing UNIFIL’s mandate (UNSCR 2650) reiterated that, per the 1995 status of forces agreement between Lebanon and the United Nations, ‘UNIFIL does not require prior authorization or permission to undertake its mandated tasks and … is authorized to conduct its operation independently.’ The language reportedly is intended to counter what UNIFIL has described as ‘misinformation’ among some residents that UNIFIL is not authorized to patrol without the presence of the LAF. A 2020 U.N. Secretary-General assessment of UNIFIL (S/2020/473) stated that in some instances, the local population hindered UNIFIL patrols unless they were accompanied by the LAF. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah described the resolution as a ‘violation of Lebanese sovereignty.’ UNSCR 2650 also extended for an additional six months a provision contained in UNSCR 2591 (2021) authorizing UNIFIL to take ‘temporary and special measures’ to assist the LAF by providing food, fuel, medicine, and logistical support.”

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McDonough writes, “A new public opinion poll of Lebanese citizens, commissioned by the Washington Institute and conducted by a regional commercial firm in November 2022, reaffirms ongoing frustrations amidst the country’s political and economic crises. Responses reveal an increased interest in international connections as pessimism on regional issues grows . . . This analysis is based on findings from a personal interview-survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Lebanese citizens, conducted in November 2022 by a highly experienced, independent regional commercial company. The sampling was done according to standard geographical probability procedures, yielding a statistical margin of error of 3%. Strict quality controls and assurances of confidentiality were provided throughout. Full results can be viewed on The Washington Institute’s interactive polling data platform. Additional methodological details, including demographic breaks and other relevant information, are readily available on request.”

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