The distinguished Jaafari Mufti, Sheikh Ahmed Qabalan, issued a statement in which he addressed “the Lebanese authority and political and media forces,” saying: “The country and the region are on a powder keg, and nothing is more dangerous to Lebanon than hatred, incitement, and the promotion of sectarian and political strife, and nothing can burn the country more than media mercenaryism and political madness.” He pointed out that "the authority in this area is turning into a political team and a partisan group, and this is disastrous for the country and the concept of its national administration. Lebanon is the product of a long national effort by all its components and not a farm for anyone, and it is not possible to manage national and sovereign files without a formative national partnership." He said: “The authority that denies the south and its people cancels itself, and just as it is not possible to accept a quarter of a homeland, so it is not possible to accept a quarter of an authority. The nature of the war in the region and what terrorist Israel is doing puts the fate of Lebanon above the southern front and its border villages. The current authority is required to have a criminal record certificate from the border villages of the south to prove its national legitimacy. Without that, the authority deposes itself and pushes Lebanon into the unknown.”