Lebanon refers complaint against ambassador for review

Lebanon’s public prosecutor has referred a complaint against Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad to the government commissioner at the Military Court for review, prompting condemnation from the United States. The referral does not itself amount to a charge or formal investigation, according to reports on the procedure. Lawyer Hassan Adel Bazzi filed the complaint after reports that Moawad had contacted Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter. The accounts said she reached out after Leiter’s son was injured in an attack in the West Bank and expressed sympathy. Moawad has not publicly confirmed or denied that a conversation took place. Lebanese media have reported denials, while other accounts describe contact; its occurrence and nature remain unconfirmed. A State Department spokesperson criticized the military judiciary’s involvement, saying Moawad was carrying out her government’s policy and participating in U.S.-led negotiations. The department urged Lebanon’s military judiciary to focus on people it accused of plotting against the Lebanese government rather than on diplomats involved in the talks.