Lebanon’s Patriarch Rai prays for success of Israel negotiations

Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï used his Sunday homily to call for the success of ongoing negotiations between Lebanon and Israel, renewing his longstanding plea for Lebanese neutrality and urging "collective responsibility" in the face of chaos and poverty gripping Beirut.

"We pray for the success of the negotiations and discussions underway, and that all those who play a role in the Lebanese question, inside and outside the country, be inspired by wisdom, discernment and responsibility," the head of the Maronite Church declared, according to Lebanon's official National News Agency.

For Raï, Lebanon's identity is inseparable from its neutrality. "Whatever the difficulties, Lebanon remains, through its neutrality, a message of civilisation, encounter and openness," he said — a pointed reminder, directed as much at Hezbollah as at any foreign power, that Lebanon's sovereignty cannot be indefinitely mortgaged to regional agendas.

A state struggling to assert itself

The patriarch's words land against a sobering backdrop. The Lebanese government's April 9 decision to make Beirut "a city without Hezbollah weapons" remains largely unenforced. 

The Iran-backed group has rejected both the Lebanese authorities' disarmament push and the direct negotiations with Israel — taking its cues instead from Tehran, which is seeking to link any Iran-US deal to a resolution of the Lebanon conflict.

A ceasefire brokered by Washington, extended twice since April 17, holds — for now. Its goal is to permanently end the war that resumed on March 2 and to disarm Hezbollah. Neither objective is close to being achieved.

Raï has been one of the most consistent voices calling out Hezbollah's role in dragging Lebanon into a war it did not choose. His prayers may be sincere. Whether they are heard by those with weapons is another matter entirely.