Lebanese prosecutors probe banker over Netanyahu dinner

Lebanese authorities have opened an investigation into a prominent banker after he was photographed hosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a private dinner in Washington, an act that has sparked legal complaints and public outrage in a country where contact with Israelis is a criminal offense. The public prosecutor in Beirut instructed security forces on July 29 to investigate the authenticity of the photograph and determine whether banker Antoun Sehnaoui violated Lebanon's anti-normalization laws.

The image, first shared online by an Israeli journalist, shows Sehnaoui seated with Netanyahu and his wife at a dinner on July 27. The event was co-hosted by former U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus and was described as a memorial for the late U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham. The guest list reportedly included several U.S. lawmakers. The dinner occurred as U.S.-backed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel continue, aimed at ending hostilities, but also while Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon have recently concluded following months of conflict.

More than a dozen Lebanese lawyers filed a formal complaint with the prosecutor's office on July 29, accusing Sehnaoui of...