Lebanese president shakes hands with Israeli Druze leader at Vatican

A photograph circulating from the Vatican over the weekend shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun briefly shaking hands with Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, during Pope Leo XIV inauguration mass in St. Peter’s Square.

The image, published by Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster and shared widely on social media, marks an unusual moment of public contact between a Lebanese head of state and an Israeli religious figure.

In response, the Media Office of Lebanon’s Presidency issued a statement on Sunday—quoted by LBC International—asserting that Aoun was unaware of Tarif’s identity at the time.

“While on his way to the mass of Pope Leo, a Druze cleric approached the President of Lebanon and shook his hand. The president did not recognize him and had never met him before. It later became clear that the man was Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the representative of the Druze community in Israel,” the statement read.

The statement accused the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation of deliberately sharing the image with a misleading caption for “suspicious purposes that fool no one.

“These types of manipulative tactics are well-known practices of Israeli media at international events,” the presidency added, stressing that such portrayals do not reflect Lebanon’s official stance, nor that of Aoun.

“There is no need to spread such falsehoods or serve the interests of the Israeli enemy,” the statement concluded.

Tarif frequently participates in diplomatic and interfaith events abroad. Lebanon and Israel remain officially at war, and direct contact between officials or leaders from the two countries is virtually unprecedented.

Aoun was in Rome to represent Lebanon at the inauguration ceremony, which was attended by numerous world leaders and religious dignitaries.