From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Lebanese lawyers file complaint against banker who met Netanyahu in Washington
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More than a dozen Lebanese lawyers file a complaint at the prosecutor’s office in Beirut today against a prominent local banker, saying he violated the country’s laws by meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington this week.
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 US envoy Morgan Ortagus hosted a dinner on Monday in memory of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham that was attended by Netanyahu and US officials.
????????????????????????Lebanese businessman and banker Antoun Sehnaoui and former U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus hosted a dinner in memory of Sen. Lindsey Graham at the Four Seasons in Washington, D.C., on Monday night
????????The event was attended by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife… pic.twitter.com/00v3Q6EK28— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) July 28, 2026
A Sehnaoui-linked website, This is Beirut, also reported details of what it called the “special dinner.”
Sehnaoui’s lawyer in Beirut does not immediately respond for comment.
The complaint says 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.”
One of the lawyers, Hassan Bazzi, says Sehnaoui violated the law and offended national sentiments. Bazzi says the lawyers hope the prosecutor’s office performs its duties “effectively and swiftly.”
A Lebanese foreign ministry official refused to comment when contacted by the AP.
The Times of Israel Community.