Lebanon's Maronite bishops have thrown their weight behind the ongoing Lebanon-Israel negotiation process, declaring that direct talks could help "consolidate security and stability" in the country, and delivering a stinging indictment of the path that Hezbollah's strategy has led Lebanon down for decades.
The statement's most striking passage was its blunt assessment of what the alternative to negotiations has produced © Mena Today
Lebanon's Maronite bishops have thrown their weight behind the ongoing Lebanon-Israel negotiation process, declaring that direct talks could help "consolidate security and stability" in the country, and delivering a stinging indictment of the path that Hezbollah's strategy has led Lebanon down for decades.
Meeting for their monthly session on Wednesday, the bishops emphasised "the importance of approaching the negotiation process with Israel under Arab and international sponsorship, in a way that serves Lebanon's interest and consolidates security and stability in the country."
The statement's most striking passage was its blunt assessment of what the alternative to negotiations has produced.
"The alternatives to this process, experienced over decades, have engendered occupation instead of liberation, recourse to external support instead of sovereignty, and submission instead of freedom and dignity," the bishops said.
The words need no elaboration. They are a direct verdict on Hezbollah's armed resistance strategy, which has brought Lebanon into multiple devastating conflicts, most recently the war triggered by the group's unilateral rocket attacks on Israel on 2 March, launched without any national consensus, to "avenge" the death of Iran's Supreme Leader.
The bishops also underlined that "the return to the 1949 armistice agreement constitutes an essential step on which it is possible to build in this process, with the necessity of pursuing it toward a lasting peace », signalling that the Church views direct talks not as a temporary arrangement, but as the foundation of a durable settlement.
Neutrality as a national project
Crucially, the bishops called for Lebanon's neutrality to be "consecrated by a UN decision", a long-standing demand of Lebanon's Christian community that would enshrine the country's non-alignment in international law and, in theory, shield it from being dragged into regional conflicts by armed factions answering to foreign powers.
The statement expressed full support for the efforts of President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker to end the war, reinforcing the message that Lebanon's legitimate institutions are aligned behind the diplomatic process, whatever Hezbollah may say.
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