LEBANON Maronite Archbishop arrested, Hezbollah message addressed to Patriarch Rai

The prelate of Haifa and Jerusalem, Moussa el-Hage, was arrested at the border crossing when he was returning to the country. They seized his passport and mobile phone, as well as the money entrusted to him by the families of Lebanese who fled the country in 2000. The arrest warrant was issued by a magistrate close to the pro-Iranian movement, who has not digested the appeals of the Maronite Patriarch: he asks for a head of state “above the parties”. For the nuncio, this is a worrying precedent.

Beirut () – Great outrage in the Maronite community over the temporary detention of the Archbishop of Haifa and Jerusalem (Holy Land), Moussa el-Hage. The incident occurred on Monday at the General Security headquarters in Nakoura, in southern Lebanon, while the prelate was returning to the country by land. Both the timing and the unprecedented nature of the case give the impression that Hezbollah wanted to send a message to Maronite Patriarch Béchara Raï. This causes bitterness in public opinion, due to the instrumentalization of justice for political ends. In a statement on local television, the apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, Monsignor Josef Spiteri, said the episode set a “dangerous” precedent.

The Maronite archbishop came from his episcopal see in Haifa and was detained by General Security at the Ras Naqoura border crossing, reserved for clerics and the diplomatic corps. At 11:30 am he arrived at the scene escorted, as usual, by a detachment of the United Nations International Peacekeeping Force (UNIFIL). There the bishop was subjected to long hours of interrogation about his relations with the Lebanese community that took refuge in Israel after the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the border strip that it controlled until May 2000. He was only able to continue his journey thanks to the intervention of the patriarch Maronite and the highest judicial authorities in the country. Still, he has been summoned to appear before the military court today.

According to reliable sources, the General Security guards confiscated the prelate’s passport and mobile phone, and prohibited him from traveling. After a thorough search of his belongings, they confiscated the money that Moussa el-Hage had received from the Lebanese refugees in Israel (about 485,000 dollars), and a large quantity of medicines that he was carrying for his relatives in Lebanon. .

The vehicle in which the archbishop was traveling was intercepted pursuant to an arrest warrant issued by military investigating judge Fadi Akiki. Married to the niece of Nabih Berry, Speaker of the House and leader of the Amal movement, Akiki followed the interrogation remotely from Beirut. The bishop strongly protested against the detention, arguing that his mission was purely humanitarian and was to allow families separated by war to keep in touch, in the hope that one day they would be able to return to the country and register the births of their children (a right of which they are deprived, but which is fundamental for a succession).

Yesterday, Druze Sheikh Akl Sami Aboul Mouna contacted Patriarch Rai to denounce the incident. In fact, a significant part of the money confiscated by General Security was destined for Druze families.

Given the seriousness of the events and after hearing the testimony of Bishop el-Hage, the Maronite Patriarch decided yesterday to postpone his response to this unprecedented incident, pending the meeting of the restricted Maronite Synod, which is being held today. For Bkerké, the incident represents a serious deviation from the ethical norms that have always governed relations between the Lebanese State and the Maronite Church, and reveals a worrying drift in the course of justice. The Maronite patriarch also reportedly asked the bishop not to respond to the summons from the military court.

The incident has all the appearances of being an eminently political issue, in a context in which the Maronite Patriarch multiplies his criticism of Hezbollah, insisting that the next head of state have a profile “above the parties”. One condition, this, which excludes from the presidential race both the head of the party MaradaSleiman Frangié, like that of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, the two “workhorses” of the pro-Iranian party.