Since October of 2022, Lebanon has been without a President due in part to factional politics that have torn the small Levantine country apart. Hezbollah and their allies especially have contributed to the issue, with their insistence that the post go to the Christian Maronite Suleiman Frangieh, who’s is the heir to a Lebanese-Christian political dynasty and a friend of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. His grandfather of the same name served as president from 1970 into Lebanon’s 1975-90 civil war.

Foreign powers have historically held large sway over the election of the President, especially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who up until recently supported Lebanon quite heavily, but due to Hezbollah’s growing significance in both the country and abroad, have withdrawn much of their support.

After Hezbollah’s General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah’s death last week, Hezbollah has expressed willingness to be flexible on the issue of the Presidency, stating that they will support the election of a President that does not present a “challenge” to anyone.

This comes as Israel begins its invasion of Lebanon amid increasingly violent tensions between Iran and Israel. Israel is now currently waging a major offensive against Lebanon which has killed more than 1,000 people in the country since September 16 and uprooted one million.

Source: Reuters