Sehnaoui faces possible arrest at home after dining with Netanyahu
Lebanese judicial authorities have issued a warrant seeking the arrest of influential businessman Antoun Sehnaoui accused of meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A Lebanese judicial source told AFP that prosecutor and judge Ahmad Rami had issued a 30-day wanted notice for Sehnaoui "on charges of dealing with the Israeli enemy and violating Lebanon's boycott law against Israel".
Lebanese law criminalizes contact with Israel, despite the countries beginning direct talks under U.S. sponsorship in April, a month after the latest fighting erupted between Israel and Hezbollah.
Axios journalist Barak Ravid had reported that, on Monday night in Washington, Sehnaoui and former U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus hosted a dinner attended by high-profile officials including Netanyahu.
The dinner was in memory of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who died this month.
An accompanying photo showing Sehnaoui, a Lebanese Christian, and Netanyahu at the same table sparked uproar on social media in Lebanon across the political spectrum.
The judicial official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Lebanese security forces had established that the photo was authentic and had not been altered.
In another image, posted on Netanyahu's X account, Sehnaoui is visible behind the Israeli premier.
The judicial official said that several lawyers had also submitted a report demanding "the prosecution of Sehnaoui for crimes related to dealing with Israel and communicating with Netanyahu".
The prosecutor is to examine the matter and decide whether to refer it to the military court.
Sehnaoui, who is in favor of normalizing ties with Israel, is chairman of Lebanon's SGBL bank and involved with Lebanese media outlets. He is also a movie producer and philanthropist.
Lebanese lawyer Wassef El-Harakeh said he had lodged a personal complaint against Sehnaoui for "dealing with the enemy", saying the matter required a "serious, transparent judicial investigation, free of any political, financial or clientelist immunity".
In April, at an event at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in which Sehnaoui was recognized as a donor, Ortagus said Sehnaoui and his family "come from generations of committed Lebanese Christian Zionists", according to footage of the event.
"I'm going to brag on him because I love him... What Antoun is doing today is technically illegal in Lebanon," she said, in reference to Lebanese laws banning contact with Israel.
The move stirred controversy in Lebanon at a time when Israel was pummeling the country during its war with Hezbollah.
Source: Agence France Presse
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