Lebanon’s amnesty deal exposes deep divides as border escalation and political tensions intensify

Lebanon 20-05-2026 | 08:25

Lebanon’s amnesty deal exposes deep divides as border escalation and political tensions intensify

While Lebanon’s political factions moved toward a rare consensus over a sweeping general amnesty law affecting thousands of prisoners and exiles, renewed Israeli strikes, Hezbollah warnings, and mounting security tensions underscored the fragile reality of a country balancing internal compromise against the backdrop of a widening regional conflict.

Lebanon’s amnesty deal exposes deep divides as border escalation and political tensions intensify
Annahar caricature (by Arman Homsi).
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A chronic internal issue, intertwined with matters of security, sectarianism, the judiciary, and prisons, emerged as the only breakthrough amid the war crisis Lebanon is enduring, once again reflecting the “bizarre” nature of the country’s sectarian political structure — one that remains capable of reaching broad agreements on certain files, while such agreements become impossible when it comes to issues and crises that rise to the level of wars.

 

 

Within this equation, the broad parliamentary breakthrough came as the joint parliamentary committees reached a final consensual formula for the proposed general amnesty law, in preparation for its approval during the legislative session convened tomorrow, Thursday, by Speaker Nabih Berri. Most sides are set to emerge as “winners” in an almost all-encompassing compromise, as the demands of each of the influential major blocs were taken into account — from the army’s concerns regarding those convicted of crimes against the military, to Islamist detainees, individuals wanted in drug-related cases, Lebanese exiles in Israel, and those sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty.

 

Without any notable surprises in completing the consensus over the proposed amendments, the most prominent revisions approved to the Amnesty Law can be summarized as follows: the death penalty would be commuted to 28 years of imprisonment; life sentences to 18 years; detainees held without a verdict to 14 years; and penalties reduced by one-third. Exiles would be subject to the provisions of Law 194 issued in 2011, which was considered effective. It was also reported that the implementation of the amnesty provisions would remain tied to personal rights, meaning that no convicted individual would benefit from the amnesty unless the personal claim is waived. The principle of sentence integration was approved by adopting the highest sentence, while granting the judge the right to combine penalties up to one quarter of the harsher sentence. Amnesty was also approved for unregulated drug use and promotion, excluding organized trafficking and trade.

 

 

In this context, it is noted that the total number of prisoners and detainees in Lebanon stands at 8,590. The number of convicted individuals is 1,023, while 1,797 detainees and convicts are held on other charges. The number of detainees awaiting trial stands at 5,996. Meanwhile, the number of prisoners held under the 1958 Law on Terrorism is 228.

According to the latest amendments to the Amnesty Law, the estimated number of prisoners covered by the amnesty — excluding those in temporary custody — is 2,816, in addition to 310 individuals expected to benefit from the sentence reductions stipulated under the law. The total estimated number of beneficiaries from the Amnesty Law therefore reaches around 3,300, although this figure remains non-final. The number of wanted individuals subject to arrest warrants is estimated at 12,000.

 

 

 

Data circulating within the parliamentary committees indicates that the majority of those convicted in terrorist bombing cases who were directly involved and sentenced to death are unlikely to be released, contrary to rumors circulated in recent days, given that most of these crimes occurred after 2014, meaning that those convicted would still require many more years before becoming eligible to benefit from sentence reductions.

 

 

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab, following the Parliament bureau meeting chaired yesterday afternoon by Nabih Berri, confirmed that a formula acceptable to an overwhelming parliamentary majority had been reached regarding the amnesty law. He said: “I asked Speaker Berri not to enter into the bazaar of the law’s articles in the General Assembly, and we insist on ratifying it before Eid al-Adha.”

 

 

On the other side of the Lebanese scene, as waves of field escalation continued at their pace, concerned Lebanese circles yesterday denied all claims being circulated regarding Lebanese-Israeli-American military cooperation. They also affirmed that Lebanon has not yet received the American measures or arrangements related to the meeting of the Lebanese, Israeli, and American military delegations scheduled to be held at the Pentagon on May 29. The same circles clarified that it is unlikely the Lebanese military delegation would be divided along sectarian lines.

 

 

However, Hezbollah has resorted to escalating its “lowering the walls” rhetoric in campaigns targeting the Lebanese state’s negotiation options, as well as the issue of the return of exiles. MP Hassan Fadlallah considered that “there are collaborators among the exiles fighting alongside the Israeli army, and we will not accept their return or any amnesty for them,” stressing that “we will fight any collaborator with Israel just as we fight the Israelis.”

Noting that Hezbollah tasked him with consultations in Baabda Palace, where “there is no rupture with the President, nor any barrier to communication with him,” Fadlallah called on the state to “avoid direct humiliating negotiations and refrain from unilateral decision-making outside national consensus,” emphasizing that “any agreements or security arrangements concluded by the authorities with the enemy at the expense of the nation’s sovereignty will have no effect on the ground.”

In addition, MP Ihab Hamadeh warned “against what is being plotted to target the Lebanese army before targeting the resistance environment,” referring to discussions about forming a military brigade “to carry out a mission similar to the dirty role previously undertaken by Saad Haddad and Antoine Lahad.”

 

 

 

The Israeli army yesterday issued an urgent warning to residents of Toura, Nabatiyeh Tahta, Haboush, Bazourieh, Tayr Debba, Kfar Houneh, Ain Qana, Labaya, Jebchit, Shahabieh, Burj al-Shamali in Tyre, and Houmin al-Fawqa, as airstrikes, shelling, and targeted attacks continued.

In the afternoon, the Israeli army established a checkpoint at the Mari–Halta intersection, near shops that had previously been bombarded, where several citizens and passersby were detained. Meanwhile, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that two Israelis were injured after a drone launched from Lebanon struck a vehicle in Misgav Am.

 

 

In the evening, more than ten injuries, including children and women, were recorded in an airstrike on Deir Qanun al-Nahr, and rescue teams managed to retrieve ten victims, continuing the search for missing persons and removal of rubble.