The only proper gateway to Lebanon's political and security stability is first and foremost the establishment of an actual civil state, one that abolishes the agency of sects over citizens and ends its hegemony, thus putting a stop to foreign control of Lebanese political life. Minteshreen adopts the principle of non-alignment with any country, party, or axis within regional and international conflicts. We propose reserving the right to confront any external aggression with an adequate defense strategy, one that limits weapons to the military and security institutions and limits the decision of war and peace to the political authority represented by the Lebanese government.

Defense Strategy

The weakness and absence of the state and its inability to protect Lebanese citizens, especially in the aftermath of the civil war, has led to the emergence of many armed groups that took upon themselves the tasks of deterring external aggressions and resisting occupying forces.This resulted in replacing the concept of national defense, which the state monopolizes with its armed forces, with the concept of popular resistance, which is based on ideological criteria (left, right) and/or sectarian ones (Christian resistance, Islamic resistance). This means that Lebanon's defense ability is intrinsically linked to a specific sect or political group, which renders the country vulnerable to targeting in the wake of any political clash between sects, parties, or their regional and international sponsors.

Faced with this reality, which we are currently experiencing with regard to Hezbollah’s weapons, it is imperative to adopt a comprehensive defense strategy, not only military, but also economic, social and diplomatic. It is also important that this defense strategy has the support of the widest segment of the Lebanese people, and returns the task of defending Lebanon to the military and security institutions, noting the following:

• Limiting the decision of war and peace to the political authority represented by the Lebanese government, and assigning it to define the rules of engagement that the armed forces must abide by
• Ensuring the transfer of the necessary human and material resources from fighters, weapons and equipment to the Lebanese military and security institutions, in a manner that does not expose these resources to any danger, and guarantees the independence of the military and security institutions, as well as the continuity of their subordination to political authority
• Securing a defense budget and a diplomatic umbrella to allow the Lebanese army to supply qualitative weapons, especially advanced air defense systems capable of protecting the Lebanese airspace
• Ensuring the right of the Lebanese state to deter any external aggression, especially the attacks of the Israeli enemy on land, in the sea, in the air, and against all of Lebanon's interests at home and abroad
• Fully demarcating the land and sea borders with Syria in the east and north - including the Shebaa Farms and Kfarshouba hills - and with the concerned authorities at the borders with occupied Palestine, in a manner that fully guarantees geographical, historical and economic rights

International Relations

The state of fragmentation and division that has always dominated the political powers in Lebanon has turned them and their parties into mere tools in the game of nations. Lebanon became hostage of regional and international conflicts, which lead to its stability being closely linked to geopolitical fluctuations and conflicts of axes. And thus, the country became trapped in an eternal cycle of imported conflicts and circumstantial settlements between parties, all of whom are pawned to foreign powers, all of whom have destroyed, killed and accumulated wealth in war and peace at the expense of the Lebanese people.

We at Minteshreen consider that the only gateway to Lebanon's political and security stability is, firstly, the establishment of an actual civil state that abolishes the agency of sects over citizens and ends their hegemony on people, along with putting an end to the foreign domination of Lebanese political life. Secondly, we must adopt the principle of neutrality and non-alignment with any state, party, or axis within the regional and international conflicts, while preserving the right to confront any external aggression within a defense strategy.

As for economic and cultural progress, the Lebanese foreign policy must harness all its energies to exploit Lebanon's strategic position, to open up to the west and east, and to establish a new position for it on the international arena as a center of convergence, not conflicts.

Hostility with the Israeli entity

Israel is an entity that was established on the land of the occupied state of Palestine, and that has followed an expansionist military strategy, occupying Lebanese lands, committing brutal massacres against Lebanese men and women, and pursuing a policy based on the permanent and continuous encroachment on Lebanon's sovereignty by land, sea and air.

We at Minteshreen consider that the hostility with Israel is not only circumstantial; that is, it’s not only related to the history and current state of the conflict, but also based on our principles, coming from a humanitarian perspective. In our view, the Israeli entity is a racist and sectarian entity based on extremist and exclusionary ideas, that does not recognize the right of return of Palestinians in Lebanon and the diaspora to their lands, and adopts the policy of apartheid between Arabs and Jews to secure its durability, which makes it fundamentally inconsistent with the concept of a just civil state such as the one we seek to build. In view of the above, we consider that any solution to the conflict with the Israeli entity can only be based on the Arab peace initiative launched from Beirut, which is based on the right of the Palestinians to an independent state that secures their basic rights and preserves the right of return, and stipulates that Israel withdraw from all occupied Arab lands that were occupied after the Naksa. This includes the Shebaa Farms, the Kfarshouba hills, and the Ghajar village, in accordance with the international resolutions issued by the United Nations.

Lebanese Syrian Relations

Politically, the relationship between Syria and Lebanon has never been a relationship of mutual respect between two independent states, despite their strong historical ties and their economic, social and familial relations that transcend the boundaries of geography and politics.Therefore, we consider that the beginning of any healthy relationship with Syria must be based on respect for mutual sovereignty. Progress begins with the abolition of the Syrian-Lebanese Supreme Council, the control of common borders, the closure of all illegal crossings, and the disclosure of the fate of the missing Lebanese in Syrian prisons. Economically, and in view of the civil war that ravaged Syria, as well as the economic and political crisis that Lebanon is going through currently, it is imperative to establish advanced economic relations that pave the way for the reconstruction of Syria and Lebanon's economies, within the framework of an integrative methodology based on common interests and respect for mutual sovereignty between the two countries.