The meeting at Beirut’s Venezia Hotel on Saturday was framed by its convener as a practical gathering, not a ceremonial one. “I want our meeting today to be practical and focused on clear priorities, far from slogans, and aligned with our national responsibility,” Makhzoumi told the assembled Sunni MPs. What followed was anything but routine — it was a political realignment that observers are already describing as the most significant shift in Sunni Lebanese politics since Saad Hariri’s exit from the scene.
Opening Remarks — Venezia Hotel
The challenge today is the serious transition from acknowledgment to full implementation, including confining arms to the hands of the state, encompassing Hezbollah’s weapons and all armed militias outside the state’s framework, as a fundamental entry point to restoring trust and consolidating stability.
— MP Fouad Makhzoumi, Venezia Hotel, May 3, 2026
The Breakthrough: One Room, One Voice, One File
For the first time since 2005, Lebanon’s Sunni MPs from different regions sat around the same table — and left with a single, unified position on a strategic national file. The significance of that fact cannot be overstated. The Sunni political vacuum created by Hariri’s departure had, until Saturday, left the community without a coherent parliamentary voice on the defining questions of Lebanon’s future: disarmament, sovereignty, and the path to peace.
Political Watershed — What Changed on May 3
Makhzoumi reshaped the Sunni political center. For the first time since 2022, the Sunni component speaks with one voice on a strategic file. The vacuum left by Hariri was closed today. The negotiation file is no longer an adventure for Joseph Aoun — it has become Lebanon’s stance. The burden of rejection has now shifted to only one party.
The implications are both domestic and regional. Domestically, Makhzoumi has provided President Aoun the parliamentary cover he needed to confront Hezbollah’s obstruction of the Washington negotiating track. Hezbollah can no longer claim that direct talks with Israel lack national consensus. They now represent the declared, unified position of Lebanon’s Sunni parliamentary bloc — and Hezbollah stands alone in opposing them.
The Speech: Six Points of National Policy
Makhzoumi structured his remarks around six interconnected pillars, each building toward the same conclusion: the Lebanese state must be the sole authority over arms, over negotiations, and over Lebanon’s future.
I
Constitution & Taif — The Only Framework
Makhzoumi opened by anchoring the bloc firmly in the constitutional reference and the Taif Agreement — “in letter and spirit as a unifying framework that protects stability.” He named Saudi Arabia’s pivotal role in the agreement’s birth and declared unambiguously: “In crises, there is no refuge but the state and its institutions.” The sub-text was clear: not Hezbollah, not Iran — the state.
II
From Acknowledgment to Full Implementation
Support for PM Nawaf Salam’s government in implementing its decisions — Resolutions of August 5, 7, 2025 and March 2, 2026 — was reaffirmed. But Makhzoumi went further, naming the gap between words and action. The challenge, he said, is “the serious transition from acknowledgment to full implementation, including confining arms to the hands of the state, encompassing Hezbollah’s weapons and all armed militias outside the state’s framework.”
III
Direct Negotiations — The State’s Decision
Support for direct negotiations with Israel within constitutional frameworks — framed not as a concession but as the sovereign expression of Lebanese state authority. The bloc’s constants: exclusive state control over war and peace decisions, full recovery of all 10,452 km² of Lebanese territory, return of all prisoners and detainees, and final border demarcation.
IV
Condemnation of Aggressions + Army Deployment
Condemnation of Israeli aggressions against civilians, journalists, and civil defence elements — and, in the same breath, a call to strengthen the Lebanese army and endorse declaring Beirut a weapons-free city as a “practical step to restore the state’s prestige.” The pairing is deliberate: the state condemns violations while asserting its own exclusive authority over security.
V
Reconstruction, Economy & National Unity
Lebanon must seize the serious international opportunity for reconstruction and economic recovery — provided the state fulfills its full role. Makhzoumi paired this with a call to preserve national unity and reject any incendiary or confrontational rhetoric. He specifically commended the statement of the Mufti of the Republic and affirmed “the pivotal national role of the Sunni sect as a fundamental partner in entrenching moderation.”
VI
Amnesty Law & Rule of Law
A call for a just and comprehensive general amnesty law that achieves fairness and equality — in parallel with strengthening the rule of law and its application to all without exception. No one above the state. No one exempt from its authority.
Closing Declaration of the Speech
“Before us is a clear path: consolidating the state’s reference, implementing decisions, confining arms to its hands, advancing the negotiation path, and benefiting from international support to rebuild Lebanon and restore its role.“
What Observers Said
“Today at the Venezia Hotel, MP Makhzoumi presented the most prominent Sunni political breakthrough since Hariri’s departure. He gathered the Sunni MPs and succeeded in achieving what four years of scattered initiatives had failed to do: a single, declared parliamentary stance supporting the Lebanese state’s authority to negotiate directly with Israel through the track sponsored by Washington. One room, one voice, and one file.
He granted Joseph Aoun the parliamentary cover he needed to confront Hezbollah’s obstruction. They can no longer claim that the Washington track lacks national consensus — it has become clear that only one party opposes it.
The message to the region and to Washington: The Lebanese state enjoys an internal majority supporting direct negotiations. Hezbollah now rejects them alone, exposed.”
“
A RENEWED COMMITMENT TO STATE AUTHORITY, THE CONSTITUTION, THE TAIF AGREEMENT, AND NATIONAL UNITY IS EXACTLY WHAT LEBANON NEEDS AT THIS MOMENT.
For the first time since 2005, Sunni MPs from different regions are back around the same table following the call of MP
@fmakhzoumi.
Key points agreed upon: Reaffirmation of the Constitution and the Taif Agreement as the guiding framework for Lebanon’s political life, safeguarding stability and state institutions, with recognition of its Arab sponsorship and the role of Saudi Arabia. Emphasis that in times of crisis, the only refuge is the state and its institutions. Support for PM Nawaf Salam in implementing decisions of August 5 and 7, 2025, and March 2, 2026.
Commitment to strengthening state sovereignty and ensuring the exclusive control of arms by the state.”
Primary Source: Makhzoumi’s Speech on X
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Primary Source — Full Speech@fmakhzoumi — Venezia Hotel speech, Sunni MPs consultative meeting
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Analysis@caromoufarrej — “Most prominent Sunni political breakthrough since Hariri’s departure”
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Reaction@Rulaelhalabi — “Exactly what Lebanon needs at this moment”
Fouad Makhzoumi
Venezia Hotel
Sunni Political Breakthrough
Hezbollah Isolation
Direct Negotiations Israel
President Aoun
PM Nawaf Salam
Taif Agreement
Lebanon Sovereignty
Saudi Arabia
May 2026
