Patience is still the master of the situation in terms of extending the extension of the Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, amid a hostile campaign led by the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, to extend it in the interest of appointing a new army commander, a chief of staff, and directors of the General Administration and General Inspectorate, and this is what he reported to the Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi, who strongly opposes the involvement of the military institution in the vacancy in light of the exceptional circumstances that Lebanon is going through.

In exclusive information for “Sawt Beirut International” website, the government is waiting until now because the command in the military institution is different from that in force in other security institutions.

According to the information, command in the military institution is limited to the Army Commander and the Chief of Staff in his absence, and therefore it cannot be transferred to the highest-ranking member, who is the full-time member of the Military Council, Major General Pierre Saab, who is proposed by the Minister of Defense to act on behalf of General Aoun in managing the affairs of the military institution.

In this context, parliamentary sources believe that the solution could be to adopt the law proposal presented by the representatives of the “Democratic Gathering”, which requires raising the retirement age for all military personnel, especially since a quorum is guaranteed because it is held under the cover of the Shiite duo and the parliamentary blocs, with the exception of the “Free Patriotic Movement,” unless the party wants to go along with it by attending the session without voting on the proposal, which the leaders of the other security services will benefit from in order to block the way for an appeal against it, as it is immune to the that provide an excuse for Bassil to submit a review before the State Shura Council to nullify the work on it.

On the other hand, there is a lot of international pressure on Lebanon not to open its doors and expose it to security risks resulting from the vacancy in the leadership of the army or the move towards appointing a new army commander and opening political debates before a nation suffering from economic crises and security risks that threaten it, as a result of the ongoing war in Gaza and the existing tensions on the southern front. Therefore, efforts are focused on concluding the extension and keeping General Aoun at the head of the army command, especially at this delicate stage that Lebanon is going through, after which it is necessary to move towards electing a new president of the republic and implementing all constitutional entitlements to protect Lebanon from all the dangers facing it from all directions.
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