Helf Alliance

The Helf Alliance or Tripartite Alliance (Arabic: الحلف الثلاثي‎‎; Al-Hilf al-thulathi), was a right-wing coalition formed in 1968 by the big three mainly Christian parties in Lebanon: The Pierre Gemayel's Kataeb, the National Liberal Party of former President Camille Chamoun, and National Bloc of Raymond Eddé. The coalition called for a Lebanese Nationalism as Regional and internal tensions rise, and as relations with PLO spoils. It was also seen as a counter-force against the Arabist line incarnated during his mandate by President Fuad Chehab. The alliance well-performed in 1968 Parliamentary elections winning 30 seats in the 99 member National Assembly - the best result until 2005 elections for any organized electoral force in Lebanon's notoriously fractured legislature. In 1969, the National Bloc left the alliance over a disagreement about the Cairo Agreement. The Kataeb and the NLP, still close allies, went on to form the Lebanese Front in 1976.