Lebanese lawyers file complaint against banker who met with Israel's Netanyahu

BEIRUT (AP) — More than a dozen Lebanese lawyers filed a complaint at the prosecutor's office in Beirut on Wednesday against a prominent local banker, saying he violated the country’s laws by meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington this week.

Lebanon and Israel have been holding U.S.-backed direct talks for the first time in decades over the past three months, seeking an end to the latest fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in southern Lebanon.

Lebanon’s laws prevent its citizens from having contact with Israelis — the countries remain in a state of war since Israel was established in 1948 — and violators could face prison terms.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid posted a photo on X of the banker, Antoun Sehnaoui, sitting at a restaurant table with Netanyahu and his wife, Sara. Ravid wrote that Sehnaoui and former U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus hosted a dinner on Monday in memory of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham that was attended by Netanyahu and U.S. officials.

A Sehnaoui-linked website, This is Beirut, also reported details of what it called the “special dinner.”

Sehnaoui’s lawyer in Beirut did not immediately respond for comment.

The complaint said Sehnaoui committed “the crimes of contacting and dealing with the Israeli enemy, violating the Israel boycott law, the crime of treason and state security crimes.”

Two of the Lebanese lawyers who filed the complaint told The Associated Press that the Sehnaoui-Netanyahu meeting came as Israel’s military is still carrying out attacks on Lebanon.

The conflict revived two days after Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, when Hezbollah fired at Israel and Israel responded with airstrikes and ground forces. More than 4,000 people in Lebanon have been killed, and Israel still occupies dozens of villages and towns. The countries recently reached a framework agreement.

One of the lawyers, Hassan Bazzi, said Sehnaoui violated the law and offended national sentiments. Bazzi said the lawyers hope the prosecutor’s office performs its duties “effectively and swiftly.”

Another lawyer, Mohammed Hajj Hassan, called Sehnaoui’s meeting with Netanyahu “a public offense,” and now the judiciary is expected to investigate the case in what could lead to issuing arrest warrants.

It was not immediately clear how prosecutors will deal with the case. In the past, they issued arrest warrants in similar cases for Lebanese citizens outside the country.

A Lebanese foreign ministry official refused to comment when contacted by the AP.

Sehnaoui, who has been mostly based in the U.S. in recent years, has several businesses in Lebanon and abroad in sectors including banking, media and the film industry.

Like other senior bankers, Sehnaoui was harshly criticized following Lebanon's historic economic meltdown in 2019, when most people lost access to their money. The economic crisis was described by the World Bank as among the worst in the world since the 1850s.

Sehnaoui's meeting with the Israeli leader occurred as some in Lebanon have called for abolishing a 1955 law that bans dealing with Israel or having contacts with Israelis and punishes offenders with up to 10 years in jail.