On February 6, 2006, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement at the time, Michel Aoun, signed a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in the Mar Mikhael Church, in Haret Hreik, with the important belief that this understanding would achieve coexistence between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon.

The memorandum discussed the differences and common goals of the two parties, including: consensual democracy, a proportional electoral law, Lebanon’s foreign relations, and the mechanism for disarming Hezbollah. Following this understanding, an alliance was established between them, which led to Aoun’s support for Hezbollah in the 2006 war, and Hezbollah’s adoption of Aoun’s candidacy in the 2014–2016 presidential elections.

However, the terms of this agreement regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah were not fulfilled, in addition to some provisions that have not been implemented to this day. The party gained Christian cover from this understanding, and Aoun obtained the presidency of the republic in exchange for his silence regarding Hezbollah’s illegal weapons.

Today, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Representative Gebran Bassil, seeks to repeat or revive a new understanding similar to the Mar Mikhael understanding by presenting issues that were stipulated in the Taif Agreement and were not implemented, which means that Bassil wants to sell Hezbollah proposals that already exist in Taif in exchange for his acceptance of Hezbollah’s candidate, the head of the Marada Movement, Suleiman Franjieh.

In the eyes of observing political sources, behind this new understanding, Bassil seeks to establish himself as a future candidate for the presidency indirectly, that is, he is trying to reach the presidency after the Franjieh era “if he reaches Baabda,” and this seems impossible, because Hezbollah realizes that Bassil’s proposals are not implementable, and the party did not accept them.

The sources added to the “Sawt Beirut International” website, “Hezbollah has become aware that Bassil is seeking an agreement in which he achieves his personal goals and nothing more, and this is what the party did not give him.”

The sources reveal that Bassil tried, during his meetings with Hezbollah officials, to block the way for the army commander, General Joseph Aoun, and that he opposed the idea of his arrival in Baabda. However, Hezbollah was strict and refused to enter into any prior bargaining with General Aoun, and preferred to limit the meetings to the issues raised.