In a communiqué, the Council stressed “the importance of the agreement between the different political parties" since "divisions and conflicts only lead to more paralysis" at all levels of public life and among citizens.” It also reiterated its solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Beirut (AsiaNews) – Lebanon’s Mufti Council issued a warning yesterday that unless a president is elected without delay, the country is bound for "chaos, destruction, institutional collapse, and State implosion”.

Following a meeting chaired by Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian, Grand Mufti of Lebanon, in Dar el-Fatwa, the seat of the supreme authority of the Sunni community in Lebanon, the Mufti Council issued a statement in which it stressed "the importance of the agreement between the different political parties" since "divisions and conflicts only lead to more paralysis" at all levels of public life and among citizens.

The Council said that "a nation is not built without sacrifices,” and expressed concern that "the nation might disappear if an agreement is not found”.

It insisted on "the need to support Prime Minister Tammam Salam in his quest for appropriate solutions, far from personal interests," a stance that requires placing the national interest "above all other considerations".

It must be noted that Lebanon has been without a president for 18 months, and that the presidential vacancy has gradually paralysed the legislative and executive branches of government, because of rivalries between various political and parliamentary groups.

The communiqué also mentioned events in Palestine. In condemning "the terrorist Zionist aggression against al-Aqsa mosque," it called “for solidarity with the Palestinian people as well as support for its cause and for the establishment of a Palestinian state on all the territory of Palestine.” (FN)

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• mufti
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