After the departure of Lebanon's visitors from the Vatican and the Arab League, politics resumed its holiday. However, the southern front did not calm down despite a decrease in threats in recent hours.
Regarding the presidential issue, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari emphasized the "importance of completing the presidential entitlement," affirming that "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is keen on Lebanon and its people to emerge from its crises." He pointed out that "the efforts of the quintet committee have not ceased in assisting the Lebanese to elect a president and are cooperating with everyone to reach solutions that contribute to rescuing Lebanon from its current situation."
Regionally, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that "if we reach an agreement allowing the return of northern residents to their homes, we can reach a settlement," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant mentioned that he told the Americans, "We do not want a war in the north and will accept an agreement that keeps Hezbollah away from the border."
Furthermore, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced, "We prevented a decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the European Council meeting," considering that "our success in preventing the decision came thanks to cooperation, joint efforts, and the support of our European friends."
Hamas commented on the security cabinet's decision to expand settlements, stating that it is "a practical declaration by the fascist occupation government to proceed with the plans of extremist Smotrich to control the West Bank." The movement considered that "these fascist measures require a unified Palestinian stance to reject and confront them and to face the policies of the extremist Zionist government." Hamas called on the United Nations and the international community to take practical steps beyond condemnation to work on stopping these measures, which represent a dangerous attempt to eliminate our people's cause.
In a separate context, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirmed his openness to opportunities to restore relations with Syria and its President Bashar al-Assad. This came after Assad expressed his "openness to all initiatives related to the relationship between Syria and Turkey based on the sovereignty of the Syrian state over its entire territory and combating terrorism and its organizations."
In Iran, where presidential elections were held, the voting period was extended. Reports indicated that polling stations in the capital, Tehran, witnessed a heavy turnout of voters.
Internationally, news emerged about the debate between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican candidate Donald Trump. It was noted that the candidates exchanged accusations and inappropriate expressions.
Following the debate, some Democrats called for replacing Biden with another candidate. In his first speech hours after the debate, Biden confirmed his determination to win the U.S. elections.
Elsewhere, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that his country should start producing short- and medium-range missiles that were previously banned under an arms treaty with the United States.
On the last day of the election campaign, French President Emmanuel Macron promised to give clear instructions for voting in the event of a showdown in the second round of legislative elections between the left and the far-right National Rally party.
Economically, the International Monetary Fund urged the United States to increase taxes to control rising debt levels while praising the "strong and active" growth of the world's largest economy and the progress being made toward controlling inflation.
