The US Embassy in Beirut postponed the visit of Ambassador Dorothy Shea to Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian on Thursday after protesters organized a sit-in outside Dar al-Fatwa in Beirut.
The protesters denounced the US position on the war on Gaza and carried Palestinian flags.
Dar al-Fatwa’s media office issued a statement announcing the “postponement of the visit of the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, upon her office’s request,” without specifying a new date for the visit.
Derian stressed the importance of stopping US support for the Israeli aggression on Gaza and urging the American administration to pressure the Zionist entity to cease its attacks on the enclave and the Palestinian people.
He called for establishing a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital after ending the Zionist occupation.
The Mufti hoped that the Arab and Islamic summit that will be held in Saudi Arabia would have a unified position and lead to international measures through the Security Council against Israeli aggression.
He asserted the need to preserve the legitimate rights of Palestinians, reiterating that Lebanon and its people support the people’s rights.
He also noted that the threat and intimidation of dropping seismic bombs or a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip would not frighten the Arab and Islamic nations but rather increase their belief in the rights of Palestinians in rejecting the occupation of Arab lands.
The solution to the region’s problems can only be achieved through justice for the oppressed Palestinian people, said Derian.
The Mufti also issued a stern warning about Israeli raids on southern Lebanon, saying Tel Aviv was seeking to encroach on Lebanese sovereignty.
