“I don't see any reason why we cannot sign peace with Israel,” Makhzoumi said, adding that it was possible for Lebanon to “achieve” membership in the Abraham Accords.
Lebanon can join the Abraham Accords once Hezbollah is disarmed and can no longer use the country as a “launching pad” for attacks against Israel, Lebanese Sunni MP Fouad Makhzoumi told Middle East 24 last week. Makhzoumi, who has previously urged the Lebanese military to demonstrate its willingness to confront Hezbollah’s arms trafficking by establishing a checkpoint in Beirut’s Dahieh neighborhood, said diplomatic relations and trade with Israel would be possible once “our side, as Lebanese, disarms the militias.” As it stands, he said, Lebanon has a border that is outside the state’s control, allowing arms to be smuggled into and out of the country.
“I don't see any reason why we cannot sign peace with Israel,” Makhzoumi said, adding that it was possible for Lebanon to “achieve” membership in the Abraham Accords. The CEO and executive chairman of Future Pipe Industries, a major international conglomerate, and the founder and leader of Lebanon’s National Dialogue Party, he framed Lebanon’s economic recovery and future growth as depending on the state’s ability to tackle corruption within the judicial system and dismantle Hezbollah’s “parallel state.”
Lebanon scored 23 out of 100 on Transparency International’s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 153 out of 18 countries. Makhzoumi’s comments also came the same week that Lebanon’s central bank announced that France-based consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal would conduct an audit of transactions dating from October 1, 2019, through December 31, 2023. For Makhzoumi, restoring investor confidence requires more than financial reforms. He argued that capital will not flow into Lebanon until there is a regulatory framework that is fairly applied to every investor, one military force representing the country and one law applied equally to all. (Ed note: It appears that voices are trying to rise up within Lebanon. It will be interesting to see how long it takes before Hezbollah tries to kill them.) (Read More)
