State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Claude Ghanem has decided to dismiss the complaint filed by pro-Hezbollah lawyer Hassan Bazzi against Lebanese Ambassador to the U.S. Nada Hamadeh Moawad, MTV reported on Thursday.
The lawyer filed the complaint over unconfirmed reports that Moawad had contacted Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter to inquire about the health of his son, who was seriously wounded in a Palestinian car ramming attack in the occupied West Bank. Moawad and Leiter have participated in several rounds of Lebanese-Israeli diplomatic talks since June -- the first between the two sides since 1983.
Lebanon’s boycott law, adopted in 1955, prohibits direct and indirect dealings with Israeli individuals or entities, including commercial, financial, and cultural institutions. It carries prison sentences ranging from several years to harsher penalties under the broader criminal code.
Israel and Lebanon have technically been in a state of war since May 1948, when Lebanon joined surrounding Arab nations in a war against the newly-established Israeli state. Israel has since waged several wars on Lebanon, resulting in around 40,000 deaths and massive material damage.
A U.S. Department of State spokesperson told Al-Arabiya television on Tuesday that it was disappointing that a military court was considering a complaint against the Lebanese ambassador in Washington for carrying out the policy of her government and participating in U.S.-led negotiations.
The spokesperson emphasized that the Lebanese military judiciary should employ its limited resources to prosecute Hezbollah members who “conspire against the government and people of Lebanon, rather than prosecuting those working on their behalf."
The spokesperson also stressed that laws and practices that enable this type of “politicized targeting,” while providing “systematic protection” for Hezbollah members, must be repealed, noting that Washington "no longer has any patience for such obstruction."