November 6, 2026
Lebanese MP Jamil Al-Sayyid strongly criticized a statement issued by five foreign embassies in Beirut, in which they called on members of Parliament to declare their public support for the positions of President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, which stipulate that the decision of war and peace be exclusively in the hands of the state.
Al-Sayyid described this demand as “blatant interference” in the constitutional role of representatives, likening it to the practices of dictatorial regimes that require absolute loyalty to official positions. Although he stressed – as an officer and a son of a state – that he did not oppose the principle of the exclusivity of weapons in the hands of the state, he expressed his astonishment at the manner in which the embassies called on representatives to support presidential statements.
The MP considered that the official positions on arms exclusivity remain mere “speech slogans” in light of the inability of the international community to oblige Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon, and at the same time prevent arming the Lebanese army in a way that would enable it to defend the country out of respect for Tel Aviv.
Al-Sayyid stressed that actually enabling the Lebanese army to perform its defensive role represents a “natural and inevitable result” that ends any need for popular resistance, stressing that the Lebanese constitution does not grant representatives a role based on “applause” for official statements.
At the conclusion of his positions, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri called for the initiative to hold an official meeting with the ambassadors of the countries concerned with the statement, to inform them explicitly that the shortest path to achieving arms exclusivity is to ensure Israel’s rapid withdrawal from the south and to strengthen the military capabilities of the Lebanese army.
