Beirut – July 25, 2025
Lebanese freedom fighter Georges Ibrahim Abdallah arrived at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut from France, after spending more than four decades unjustly imprisoned in French prisons on “charges” of assassinating American and Israeli diplomats in the 1980s.
His release was accompanied by years of legal and political controversy, with a decision to grant him conditional release issued in November 2024, on condition that he leave French territory immediately. Despite objections from the French public prosecutor’s office, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the release decision in July 2025, paving the way for his return to Lebanon.
Abdallah was welcomed at Beirut airport by a popular and official delegation, including members of the Lebanese parliament and supporters of his cause. Crowds gathered around the airport, waving Lebanese and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans welcoming his return.
In his first statement after his arrival, Abdullah called for strengthening solidarity with the Palestinian people, especially in light of what he described as the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip, stressing that resistance remains the only way to achieve justice and freedom. He considered that the Israeli occupation is living its last days, what he called “the final chapters of its existence.”
In his initial statements, he also addressed the weakness of the Arab position—both popular and official—towards the genocide in Palestine, expressing his anger at this weakness on the one hand, and expressing the need to take concrete steps towards the Palestinian cause on the other. Abdullah also called for rallying around the resistance as a path to liberation.
Georges Abdallah was arrested in France in 1984 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987. Although he has met the legal conditions for parole since 1999, his release has been delayed due to repeated political interference from the United States and the Israeli occupation authorities, until he finally won his freedom through unparalleled steadfastness and determination.
Abdallah’s return to Lebanon represents a milestone at a critical moment in the region’s history, particularly for the resistance in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, and for the Palestinian people, who are suffering from genocide and ethnic cleansing. His release evokes in the Arab collective consciousness a new symbol of struggle, resistance, and perseverance.
Photo: Taken from the Lebanese website Al-akhbar
-The editorial team of the Republic of Palestine
