Lebanon's cabinet defers decision on referring Dahr al-Baydar explosives file to the Judicial Council

⏱️ Timeline

1. 21 Oct 2026, 18:00 Reports said the Lebanese government would study at its Thursday session the referral to the Judicial Council, at the Justice Ministry's request, of the explosives shipment seized on the Dahr al-Baydar road that had been in the possession of two Hezbollah members. The Judicial Council is Lebanon's highest extraordinary criminal judicial body; cases are referred to it by cabinet decree and its rulings are not subject to cassation, and it has handled the country's major assassinations and bombings.
2. 21 Oct 2026, 21:28 Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called a cabinet session for the next day at Baabda under President Joseph Aoun to discuss referring to the Judicial Council the explosives seized at Dahr al-Baydar, which were found to belong to Hezbollah, and the explosives seized in Qaa. The Lebanese presidency spokesman said a legal study was under way to determine whether referral was possible, and Al-Arabi TV's correspondent said the request came at the initiative of Justice Minister Adel Nassar.
3. 22 Oct 2026, 06:32 Before the session, reports said Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri was seeking a postponement while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam insisted on a vote, and information suggested President Joseph Aoun would request postponing the explosives-shipment item to a later session.
4. 22 Oct 2026, 07:22 MP Hassan Fadlallah announced that the explosives shipment belongs to Hezbollah and demanded its return and the release of those detained. Reports said the cabinet would meet at 3 p.m. at the Baabda palace under President Joseph Aoun to discuss Justice Minister Adel Nassar's request to refer the Dahr al-Baydar explosives shipment, in addition to the material seized in the Qasr area of the Bekaa, to the Judicial Council.
5. 22 Oct 2026, 14:17 Justice Minister Adel Nassar said the explosives item would be tabled, that he would hear all views and present his position on referring the case to the Judicial Council, and that the decision would be taken on the basis of the discussion. Minister of State for Technology Affairs Kamal Shehadeh said ministers would vote inside the session on referring the explosives file to the Judicial Council if a vote were requested.
6. 22 Oct 2026, 15:20 The cabinet session began at the Baabda palace under President Joseph Aoun, in the absence of the ministers of social affairs, tourism and culture.
7. 22 Oct 2026, 16:08 Before the session, Industry Minister Joe Issa al-Khoury distributed to journalists papers containing examples of past cases referred to the Judicial Council, in a step that appeared to press for referring the Dahr al-Baydar file. Cabinet positions ranged between waiting for the investigation's results and immediate referral, with a shift in the last hours toward deliberation backed by President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
8. 22 Oct 2026, 17:06 The cabinet session convened under President Joseph Aoun, with the Dahr al-Baydar explosives file topping the discussion. Justice Minister Adel Nassar announced he would request the referral, and Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar affirmed that the security agencies are carrying out their tasks. The agenda included 21 items, led by the Finance Ministry's request to approve the draft law on the closing account of the 2022 general budget, alongside the full-time status of contracted professors at the Lebanese University and the organization of the judicial courts.
9. 22 Oct 2026, 18:14 During the government meeting, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam affirmed that the Lebanese state has no partner in the decision of war and peace, warning that storing or transporting weapons by unauthorized parties is a danger to safety and requires security follow-up and judicial prosecution, and stressing that the harshest punishment must be imposed on those who transport or stockpile weapons. He announced he would request the reading of a draft decree referring the explosives case in Dahr al-Baydar and Qasr to the Judicial Council, noting that the government asked the army to prepare an executive plan and that only the cabinet has the authority to review it, with arms restricted to the security and military institutions.
10. 22 Oct 2026, 18:40 The cabinet discussed item seven concerning the referral of the explosives shipment file to the Judicial Council. The session headed toward deferring two main files to later sessions: the full-time professors file at the Lebanese University and the Dahr al-Baydar explosives shipment file, with President Joseph Aoun expected to request postponing the explosives item amid a split between those demanding referral and those calling for waiting for the investigation.
11. 22 Oct 2026, 19:15 The Lebanese Forces party ministers withdrew from the cabinet session because the explosives file was not referred to the Judicial Council.
12. 22 Oct 2026, 19:36 The cabinet session at the Baabda palace ended, and Information Minister Paul Morcos announced decisions including halting the use of similar drugs imported from non-reference countries and restricting drug purchases to reference countries, appointments at the railway and common transport authority, and dedicating next Thursday's session to the waste sector. The cabinet emerged with a package of decisions covering the explosives file, the full-time status of Lebanese University professors, the waste crisis and the forensic audit of the electricity sector, in a session that lasted about four hours and decided to "continue examining" the referral request without settling it; Morcos affirmed that the investigation is ongoing and that referral has not been ruled out.
13. 22 Oct 2026, 22:00 Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji raised the government's position on the Dahr al-Baydar explosives truck file, saying it had gone beyond a security dimension to become a political issue touching state security, and demanding its referral to the Judicial Council and the application of the law to everyone without exception. Earlier, Industry Minister Joe Issa al-Khoury circulated a list showing the intervals between past crimes and their referral to the Judicial Council.
14. 22 Oct 2026, 23:17 During the cabinet session, President Joseph Aoun called on Lebanese parties to act wisely to spare the country the repercussions of regional escalation, renewed Lebanon's solidarity with Saudi Arabia against attacks threatening its security and sovereignty, and noted contacts for the return of Saudi flights and tourists to Lebanon. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed that the state's exclusive hold on arms is among the constants that "no longer accept debate".
15. 23 Oct 2026, 05:48 Reports said the cabinet postponed referring the Dahr al-Baydar truck file to the Judicial Council after about four hours of deliberations, pending completion of the investigations and determination of responsibilities, following contacts led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. The Lebanese Forces ministers withdrew from the session, Salam described the step as populist, and Hezbollah warned that passing the referral could lead to internal confrontation. Ministerial sources told Al-Liwaa newspaper that local and cross-border contacts succeeded in containing tension before the cabinet session and that "presidential wisdom" defused the crisis, considering the formula the cabinet reached satisfactory.

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