ALBAWABA - According to Al Jazeera, Wafiq Safa, the head of Hezbollah's Liaison and Coordination Unit, said in a televised speech on Sunday that the group is adamantly against Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea but does not object to Army Commander General Joseph Aoun's nomination for Lebanon's presidency. Geagea, according to Safa, is a "source of discord and destruction."
The address was given from the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah was the target of an attempted murder.
Shortly after Hezbollah and Israel agreed to a truce on November 28, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri called a meeting to pick a president on January 9. But the political impasse is still unsolved. The Lebanese parliament has failed to elect a president in 13 sessions since previous President Michel Aoun's mandate expired in October 2022; the most recent attempt was in June 2023.
Other prominent candidates include Acting General Security Chief Elias Al-Baysari, MPs Neemat Frem and Ibrahim Kanaan, and former ministers Jihad Azour, Ziad Baroud, and Jean-Louis Qirdahi, according to Al Jazeera, even though important individuals like Joseph Aoun and Geagea have not formally declared their intention to run.
Safa made his first appearance since the October airstrike in Beirut that caused serious damage and casualties. Safa stressed in his statement that Hezbollah has rebuilt its military capabilities and is "ready to respond to any aggression as it sees fit."
Internally, Hezbollah interacts with Lebanese groups and manages the party's foreign contacts via its Liaison and Coordination Unit. Al Jazeera emphasized the persistent political rifts and the anxiety surrounding the presidential election.
