The General Directorate of General Security issued a statement denying circulating claims of mistreatment of the Maronite Archbishop of Haifa and the Holy Land Moussa Al-Hajj during his detainment at the Naqoura border.
“Some media and social networking sites covered this morning what they claimed was a call conducted by the Director-General of Public Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, with the Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Raï, following what happened with Bishop Moussa Al-Hajj at the Naqoura General Security Center on the 7/18/2022.”
“This contact did not take place, and what was mentioned in the alleged leaks is made up, with malicious intentions to trouble the excellent relationship between the patriarchal edifice and the Director General,” the statement said.
The General Directorate indicated that what it did at the Naqoura border post with Archbishop Moussa Al-Hajj upon his arrival from Israel is a legal measure.
The measures came in implementation of the judiciary’s notice and the instructions for crossing to and from the occupied Palestinian territories, to which all crossings are subject without exception.
“What was said about the mistreatment of Archbishop Al-Hajj during his time in the center is incorrect, and the evidence for it was transmitted from Archbishop Al-Hajj personally,” the statement concluded.
Related: Maronite Archbishop Arrested After Returning To Lebanon From Israel
