Gemayel was a figure in the ultrarightist Phalange Party, which is backed by wealthy Maronite Christians. He was a leader of the majority coalition in the Lebanese parliament, which opposes Hezbollah and other forces allied with the Syrian government. Many of those who turned out for Gemayel’s funeral carried signs demanding the resignation of Lebanon's pro-Syria president, Emile Lahoud.

The day of the assassination, the governments of Syria and Iraq announced the resumption of their diplomatic relations. Speaking in Baghdad with his Iraqi counterpart, Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Muallem said his government "seeks future cooperation with the United States in all fields," suggesting it might consider collaborating with Washington in Iraq.

John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Washington would consider it a "serious problem" if an investigation showed Syrian involvement in Gemayel's death. On the eve of a summit in Jordan with Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, U.S. president George Bush alleged that the Lebanese government was being “undermined” by “extremist forces encouraged out of Syria and Iran.”

The White House has been pushing for a special UN-sponsored tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 car bomb assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, an outspoken opponent of the Syrian presence in Lebanon. On November 13 the Lebanese cabinet approved a UN draft proposal to establish the tribunal. Cabinet members from the Shiite-based groups Hezbollah and Amal resigned ahead of the meeting in a failed attempt to block the decision. Lahoud called the cabinet meeting illegitimate because of the resignations.

In multi-party talks, Hezbollah has demanded a larger share of cabinet seats, which would give it effective veto power. The majority bloc in the government, which won the elections after Hariri's assassination, has refused the proposal. Hezbollah has threatened to hold mass street protests unless its demand is met.

The political divisions in Lebanon are rooted in a divide-and-rule setup imposed by French imperialism, the former colonial power there. It largely disenfranchised the Muslim majority and ensured that the president and armed forces chief would be Maronite Christians. Lesser posts were split among Sunni and Shiite Muslims. A 1958 revolt against this arrangement was contained with U.S. military intervention.

In 1976 Syrian troops entered Lebanon's civil war to prop up the government and its rightist allies, who were facing defeat by Lebanese nationalists and Palestinian refugees. Five Arab heads of state and Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Yassir Arafat then met to broker a deal in which Syrian troops and a few units from other countries would police the country under command of the Lebanese government.

Syrian troops were withdrawn from Lebanon in the wake of massive protests following the February 2005 assassination of Hariri, for which many Lebanese held Damascus responsible.  
 
 
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