Lebanon is currently experiencing "conflicting" atmospheres, with the presidential electoral climate in its flexibility, allowing optimism after the Parliament's extension of the term of the Army Commander.
This article is originally published in, translated from Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa.
Simultaneously, there is a tense situation in the southern region, where prospects remain closed, and there is no international or regional effort to end the Israeli "onslaught" on Gaza and its inevitable repercussions on southern Lebanon.
On the presidential front, there seems to be harmony among internal parties, particularly among Christian and reformist leaders, and the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, who may represent the "Amal-Hezbollah duo" within this framework.
This direction received a new endorsement from the Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi in his message on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year's on Saturday.
He stated, "Our political officials in the Parliament, government, parties, and parliamentary blocs need the light of God's word to emerge freely from the darkness of their personal and factional interests and to lead the country out of the presidential void at the most critical and dangerous stage in Lebanon's history!
"We say to them: You are committing a crime against the presidency, constitutional institutions, and the Lebanese people while persisting in holding the election of the president hostage to a person, project, or hidden agenda. The victim is the state with its entity and the people with their dormant rights."
Al-Rahi added, "The internal and external public opinion welcomed the decision to extend the term of the army commander and the leaders of the security agencies based on the general rule: 'The salvation of the nation is the supreme law.'"
"How much more important is the election of a president, protecting the state from the disintegration of its institutions, the dispersion of its people, and its absence from the talks taking place in capitals about this turbulent Middle Eastern region, with Lebanon at its forefront."
He questioned, "Why do you want to ruin the state by not electing its president? You well know that there is no state without a president! They talk about consensus on the president's qualities; this consensus is achieved during successive election cycles according to the rule of democracy. The evidence is a year and three months of vacancy, to no avail?"
He continued, "Who protects the constitution in the president's absence when he alone swears to protect it? In his absence, who heads the two constitutional institutions, the Parliament and the government, in terms of coordinating their work, as they are the 'wings' of the state, and the president must ensure their 'harmony' under the banner of respecting the constitution! "
"In his absence, who requests a review of laws and their signing in conformity with the constitution and to avoid any injustice that may occur?"
Meanwhile, Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, said during a tribute event for martyrs on the "Road to Jerusalem:" "We are not the resistance waiting for the American and Israeli determination of its fate. We are here in southern Lebanon and Jabal Amel, and in the great and model experience we presented at the level of our nation."
He added: "We cannot wait for Biden, Netanyahu, or any international society claiming to be concerned about peoples' future to determine our destiny. We are the ones who determine the fate of the south, the borders, and the future of this country in the face of the enemy, whom we will not allow to dominate Gaza or our resistance in the coming days."
On another note, Major General Abbas Ibrahim received the US Ambassador, Dorothy Shea, in his office on a farewell visit.
Ibrahim thanked Shea for her measures and the efforts of the United States in supporting Lebanese institutions.
He emphasized that "Lebanon faces the danger of an Israeli aggression that may expand and lead to unforeseen results, especially in light of the destruction witnessed in Gaza."