In a statement, the Ministers of Public Health, Dr. Rakan Nasser Al-Din and Labor, Dr. Muhammad Haider, clarified the truth of what was raised after the last cabinet session regarding the issue of the “negotiation mandate,” stressing, to prevent any confusion or inaccurate interpretation of what happened during the session, the following: The two ministers said: “Our position on the issue of direct negotiation with the Israeli enemy is clear and consistent, and we have expressed it repeatedly on various occasions. It is the same position that the ministers of the national duo agreed upon, under the roof of what was announced by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Nabih Berri, which is based on rejecting any direct negotiation with the Israeli enemy, and adhering to indirect negotiation within the approved frameworks. The Minister of Public Health, Dr. Rakan Nasser Al-Din, clearly confirmed this position in his statement to the media prior to the Cabinet session. They added: “Any item related to the ‘negotiating assignment’ was not originally included on the agenda of the Cabinet session, nor was it presented during the session in any form related to the assignment, authorization, or granting authority to conduct direct or indirect negotiations. They continued: “What happened during the discussion was limited to confirming that any potential agreement, once reached, will be presented to the Council of Ministers to take a decision on it in accordance with constitutional principles, which is completely different from the issue of assigning or authorizing any party to negotiate. The two ministers stressed that any interpretation of what happened as an approval or authorization to negotiate is an incorrect interpretation and has nothing to do with the truth of what took place in the session. The statement concluded by stressing that the position on this file is clear and consistent, and not subject to ambiguity or compromise, and is based on the national principle of rejecting direct negotiations with the Israeli enemy, a position that has not changed and will not change, and expresses the political and national conviction to which they have committed and will continue to adhere with complete clarity.”