Kataeb's political bureau member and former minister Alain Hakim sharply criticized the Lebanese leadership's handling of the U.S. proposal put forth by U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack, urging a bold national response to defend state sovereignty.

In a post on X, Hakim reacted to Barrack's recent visit to Beirut, saying it laid bare what he described as the Lebanese state's fragile and inadequate response.

“Thomas Barrack’s visit to Beirut exposed the weakness of the official Lebanese response to the U.S. proposal,” Hakim wrote. “Silence has become complicity, and hesitation is an unjustified concession.”

Without specifying the details of the American proposal, Hakim stressed that decisions affecting Lebanon’s sovereignty must be made internally, free from foreign influence or passive leadership.

“The decision is ours to make, and what’s needed is a bold and courageous national stance that upholds state sovereignty, not one marked by leniency or steered by outside actors,” he said.

Hakim warned that the stakes are high, declaring that Lebanon’s 2026 parliamentary elections would be “pivotal” in determining the country’s future trajectory.