"The Mar Mikhael Agreement" is a thing of the past... Gebran Bassil confirms the "FPM's" shift regarding its alliance with the "Party," and raises the bar of objection to the "unity of the battlefields"
It can be considered that the "Mar Mikhael Agreement" has become a thing of the past after it stood for years challenging many difficulties and both internal and external obstacles. This time, however, the leader of the "Free Patriotic Movement," MP Gebran Bassil, completed the path of breaking away from his ally, reinforcing the stance of former President Michel Aoun and solidifying a shift in his alliance with "the Party" and raising objections to the "unity of the battlefields" formula announced by the latter to justify military operations against Israel in support of "Hamas" in the Gaza war.
After about five months since the onset of field confrontations on the Lebanese-Israeli borders, the gradual "awakening" of positions announced sequentially in the last two days by President Aoun and then his son-in-law, the head of "FPM," serves as the most "updated" protest message against "the Party" causing an Israeli war on Lebanon, although the real core reasons for this development are not far from the developments of setbacks in the relationship between the two former allies.
According to "Al Nahar," the Aounist team is settling some of its accumulated accounts with an ally who let it down in many presidential, governmental, and other calculations. Therefore, Aoun and Gebran Bassil linked their objection to the "unity of the battlefields" with also strongly nearing the stance of the opposition forces insisting on open parliamentary sessions to elect a president, though the "FPM" differentiated itself from the opposition by adopting a flexible stance towards consultation or dialogue, thereby drawing closer to the Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.
In his press conference yesterday, the head of the"FPM" employing a mix of breaking and algebra said: "We appreciate the deterrence equation established by the Party, which alone has prevented Israel from carrying out a major aggression against Lebanon so far, and we commend the courage and wisdom of Sayed Nasrallah's positions, which show his concern for Lebanon and lead to its protection without losing the strategic gains achieved... Our stance is known that we are in favor of defending Lebanon and we are not in favor of Lebanon bearing the responsibility for the liberation of Palestine, as this is the responsibility of the Palestinians, and we are not in favor of the unity of the battlefields, i.e., linking Lebanon to other fronts, specifically linking the cessation of the southern war to the cessation of the Gaza war, understanding its motives."
Regarding the presidential file, Gebran Bassil said: "We will be initiators consulting in a way that leads to understanding and consensus on a program, specifications, and the name of a president, and giving a specific and short deadline to move to open sessions in the Parliament in case of non-agreement so that we elect a president democratically."
President Michel Aoun said the day before yesterday in a television interview: "In Lebanon, we are not linked with Gaza by a defense treaty, and whomever can link the fronts is the Arab League, yet a part of the Lebanese people made its choice and the government is unable to take a stance, and victory is for the nation and not for a part of it." He believed that "electing the president is done by holding consecutive sessions and voting among the proposed candidates."
