Antoun el-Fata, "Akhbar al-Yawm" agency

Lebanon's Defining Moment...A Critical Test for Reform and Stability

We are in a new phase under a new international guardianship

The defining feature of Lebanon’s current phase is that it constitutes a critical test spanning only a few weeks, a highly compressed timeframe in which the willingness of domestic actors to alter the country’s trajectory and transition to a new reality will be put to the test.

Past experiences have shown that prolonged international engagement with Lebanese authorities has not yielded cumulative success. This reality is now prompting the exertion of maximum pressure at all levels, in a world and a region that can no longer afford extended delays.

However, the repercussions of Lebanon’s failure in this test will not be limited to financial instability or the withholding of foreign aid and loans, according to multiple observers and experts. Instead, Lebanon’s very future as a state will be brought into question, within a global landscape that no longer tolerates economically failed states.

In light of these circumstances, Lebanon must either be placed on a new path in the coming weeks, or every official Lebanese entity will have to bear full responsibility for its actions, with history serving as the ultimate judge.

A political source noted that "Lebanon has historically been distinguished within its regional environment. However, today we find ourselves in a new era, one marked by a fresh form of international oversight".

Speaking to "Akhbar Al-Yawm" agency, the source emphasized that "the Lebanese state will be unable to undertake reconstruction or facilitate its reintegration into the international and Arab economic and financial system unless it fully upholds its commitments, particularly by implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 across its entire territory, simultaneously with the adoption of the required reforms."

The source concluded: "National unity and coexistence remain indispensable pillars for Lebanon’s survival. However, reform is equally non-negotiable. It is under this framework that the country’s future must be defined".