Maronite Patriarch Bechara al Rahi on Sunday stressed that some officials and those who engage in political work are seeking to impoverish citizens instead of fighting poverty, saying  that the soaring of the dollar price against the Lebanese Lira is what affects dignity and humiliates citizens.

"Unfortunaely, the Lebanese politicians are failing to address the acute crisis with the Gulf states, while the drain of time leads us to an economic and living drain that makes solutions difficult and harms the interests of the Lebanese," Al-Rahi said during Sunday sermon..

"No party has the right to impose its will on all the Lebanese, contribute to the turmoil of the relationship with the Gulf, disrupt the work of the government, paralyze the judiciary, and create an atmosphere of threat and intimidation in society," he added.

“If some consider neutrality a difficult burden, for us it is the only solution to save Lebanon. Dignity is not linked to stubbornness, but rather to wisdom and a good relationship with the sisterly Gulf states, and their role has always been positive and unifying, not negative, divisive and militaristic,” he concluded.