Lebanese MP Marwan Hamadé issued a statement on Saturday clarifying the circumstances surrounding the broadcast of his interview by the Israeli French-language news channel i24 News.
A screenshot of Marwan Hamadé’s interview on the Israeli channel
Lebanese MP Marwan Hamadé issued a statement on Saturday clarifying the circumstances surrounding the broadcast of his interview by the Israeli French-language news channel i24 News.
He emphasized that the interview had been recorded in Paris, at the headquarters of BFMTV, and not intended for broadcast by any other network.
“No normalization, no escalation. I recorded the interview in Paris, at the BFMTV France headquarters, with French journalist Christian Malard, and I was surprised to see it aired on another channel. I have condemned this and lodged a protest. That’s the end of the matter,” said Hamadé.
In the interview — which is also available on i24 News’ YouTube channel — the Druze lawmaker discusses the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and the possible future disarmament of the Palestinian movement.
i24 News, owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi (who also owns the French telecom group SFR), broadcasts in French, English, Arabic, and Hebrew from its studios in Jaffa (Tel Aviv). However, content in French, Arabic and English is limited to only a few hours a day, with the remainder being subtitled versions of the Hebrew channel’s programming.
There has been speculation that Drahi may consider selling or shutting down i24 News due to persistent financial losses and low viewership.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun chaired a high-level meeting Tuesday with Army Commander General Rudolf Hage and members of the advisory team accompanying Lebanon's delegation to the Washington negotiations, as the fifth round of Lebanese-American-Israeli talks enters what he described as a potentially decisive phase.
Lebanon and Israel began a new round of talks on Tuesday in Washington, with Beirut determined to press ahead with direct negotiations even as they appear to be overshadowed by Iran's decision to make Lebanon part of its talks with the U.S.
Iranian chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf declared this week that the United States and Iran would jointly "guarantee Lebanon's unity and the integrity of its territories."
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