The Kataeb’s Political Bureau, chaired by party leader Samy Gemayel, convened its weekly meeting to review the latest political and security developments and issued the following statement:

1. The Political Bureau considers that the remarks by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem—suggesting that the group will not remain neutral if Iran is struck militarily—amount to placing Lebanon in hock to the interests of another state and reviving the disastrous experiment of the so-called “support war,” which brings the country nothing but ruin, destruction and displacement.

The Bureau also believes that Hezbollah is once again seeking to monopolize decisions of war and peace, undermine the presidential mandate, and weaken both the government and its policy statement, as well as the commitments made to the president regarding the handover of weapons. This is a blatant act of defiance and a project of devastation that threatens Lebanon as a whole and strikes the Shiite community in particular.

The Kataeb Party reasserts that it will stand firm against any attempt to intimidate the State and its institutions, and calls on all political forces to rally around the republic and its president. The battle today is between legitimacy—backed by the overwhelming majority of the Lebanese people—and an illegitimacy that seeks to hollow out the very idea of the State. The party, therefore, reiterates its unwavering choice: the Constitution and the rule of law, without compromise.

2. While the Political Bureau welcomes the government’s referral of the draft budget to parliament within the constitutional deadline, it expresses regret over the failure to close the previous year's public accounts and the repetition of the same constitutional flaws, particularly those related to the so-called “budget riders."

The Bureau urges the State to improve revenue collection, dismantle the shadow economy and crack down on illegal economic activity, citing the direct impact of such measures on redirecting the budget toward investment, stimulating growth and strengthening productive spending.

It also warns that any budget adopted without first restoring the authority of the State and strengthening the enforcement of the law will fall short of its goals and cannot serve as a real gateway to reform, monetary stability, economic recovery, or sustainable growth.

3. The party stresses the need to hold parliamentary elections on schedule and calls on the State, across all its institutions, to fully assume its responsibilities, foremost among them the disarmament of weapons ahead of the vote. It also demands the repeal of Article 112 in a manner that guarantees expatriates the right to vote from their places of residence, in affirmation of constitutional equality and the unity of national representation.