The Maronite League strongly condemned in a statement the “baseless allegations and accusations” made by “Al-Alam News Channel” against His Beatitude Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Raï, and those he represents in Lebanon and Christianity.
The League stated: “While firmly denouncing what was mentioned by the aforementioned channel and reserving the right to review the competent judiciary, we urge the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants to summon the Iranian ambassador and inform him of Lebanon's outright rejection of such positions.” The Al-Alam channel had reported on the responses related to the call for neutrality and the internationalization of the Lebanese crisis, as well as the gathering that took place at the Maronite Patriarchate in support of Patriarch Raï's proposals. The report claimed that these actions hide behind slogans that only serve Lebanon's enemies and those plotting against it, primarily the Israeli entity, in a move observers viewed as an attempt to isolate the resistance and undermine its national achievements.
The channel cited member of the Loyalty to the Resistance bloc, Hassan Fadlallah, affirming that: Hezbollah has a different opinion from the Patriarch on this point, believing that internationalization does not resolve the issue; on the contrary, our view is that it complicates the problem. Observers noted that Patriarch Raï's proposal was seen as yielding to the desires of certain internal political forces working according to pre-prepared foreign agendas.
The channel also reported that Patriarch Raï acknowledged the dangers of the slogans raised during the gathering last Saturday, where he made corrections concerning the criticisms raised, stating that the displays and slogans targeting the resistance and the position of the presidency do not align with his general proposals. He reiterated in a television interview his rejection of the resignation of the President of the Republic and affirmed the defensive strategy between the army and the resistance, while also rejecting the call for early parliamentary elections.
