Former Minister and head of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, continues a clear process of blackmailing his allies in the resistance axis, in light of the circumstances that Lebanon is experiencing through the fighting that Hezbollah and Palestinian factions are waging in southern Lebanon in the face of Israeli bombing, in light of international pressure on President Najib Mikati’s government, which has publicly declared that “the decision to enter war is final.”

In light of these circumstances, former Minister Gebran Bassil continues to exploit the need of the axis of opposition to him, completing his investment work in the joints of the state. Let’s begin with the position of governance of the Bank of Lebanon, in which he fought the battles to fight corruption for his own ends. Not to mention that the smells of corruption waft from many, the main of which are the ministries he headed or delegated authority to his advisors, led by the Ministry of Energy.

Today, Bassil continues his battle against the Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, resorting to the law, after directing his arrows at that institution on multiple occasions, ambiguously and blatantly, as he was counting on a candidate who could “support him” first and thus get rid of a potential presidential candidate who receives both international and domestic support.

A source following the pro-extension positions of General Aoun considers that it will constitute a red line for “Basilian” attempts to obstruct any extension plan, whether through the Strong Republic Bloc project to extend the retirement age, or the constitutional legal study completed by the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, Judge Mahmoud Makiya, but disrupting the quorum.

This study was not allowed to be brought to the Council of Ministers table, and thus what Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said earlier in response to the Lebanese Forces bloc’s proposal regarding the army leadership that “a la carte is not legislated” applies, and thus setting a date for the Council of Ministers session to discuss an entitlement related to the military institution in light of the clash at the southern border cannot be subject to Aounist blackmail.

Furthermore, the sovereign forces and the Maronite Patriarchate are exerting significant pressure through the stances of Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rahi, who addressed the obstructionists directly, stating, “You have no right to manipulate the solidity of institutions, particularly the military.”

Despite the beginning of the countdown to the departure of Army Commander General Joseph Aoun from his position on January 10th, 2024, Bassil will be unable to go against the flow of Bkerki and the sovereign forces, and to complete the attack on the third Maronite force, the only one that remained stable in the face of collapse, sources concluded.