Lebanese lawyers seek probe of banker over Netanyahu dinner

BEIRUT, July 29 - A group of Lebanese lawyers filed a complaint with the country's top prosecutor on Wednesday requesting an investigation into banker Antoun Sehnaoui over a dinner he allegedly co-hosted in Washington that was attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The document accused Sehnaoui of "communicating with the Israeli enemy", one of the complainants, lawyer Mohamad Amer Al Haj Hassan, told reporters.

The complaint reflects the heightened sensitivity in Lebanon over potential normalisation of ties with Israel, which still occupies a strip of land in southern Lebanon seized during months of fighting with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah earlier this year.

Lebanese law prohibits nationals from any transactions with Israeli citizens and institutions. Lebanon remains officially in a state of war with Israel despite a pledge by Beirut during recent U.S.-brokered talks to establish peaceful ties.

A statement by Netanyahu's office said the prime minister attended a July 27 dinner in honour of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a strong backer of Israel who died on July 11, without saying who organised it.

An Israeli official and a source briefed on the dinner said it had been organised by Sehnaoui and Morgan Ortagus, who previously served as U.S. President Donald Trump's deputy special envoy to the Middle East.

In a post on X, Lebanese lawmaker Halima Kaakour called Sehnaoui's meeting with Netanyahu a "major moral and national crisis" at a time when Israeli troops continue to occupy Lebanese land.

Sehnaoui, who resides in the United States, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The banker, who hails from a prominent banking family and is the chairman of Societe Generale de Banque au Liban, previously sparked controversy in Lebanon with a post on his X account in April, saying he had attended a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony in Washington with Ortagus. REUTERS