Asharq Al-awsat English https://aawsat.com/english Middle-east and International News and Opinion from Asharq Al-awsat Newspaper http://feedly.com/icon.svg

Condemning 'Hezbollah' Confuses Beirut

Condemning 'Hezbollah' Confuses Beirut

Tuesday, 21 November, 2017 - 07:30
Aboul Gheit met on Monday with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace/NNA

Beirut observed on Monday a state of confusion amid fears from an open crisis in the country, one day after the Arabs condemned Lebanon's terrorist Hezbollah as a partner in the government, and on the eve of ongoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s comeback to the country.


During a visit to Beirut on Monday, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told Lebanese officials that regional sides recognized the "specificity" of the Lebanese situation.


"No one has accused the Lebanese government of terrorism. The Arab League statement was only referring to one of the Lebanese government partners and accused it of terrorism," Aboul Gheit said.


Meanwhile, Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah denied in a televised speech on Monday that his party had sent weapons to Yemen, Bahrain and Kuwait.


Nasrallah also announced his readiness to withdraw “Hezbollah” fighters from Iraq after defeating ISIS, to deploy them at other fronts.


Meanwhile, an Egyptian diplomatic source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hariri will arrive in Cairo on Tuesday evening, adding that Egypt was currently exerting efforts to solve the crisis and contain any escalation.


According to the same source, Egypt would ask Hariri to take some measures that could prevent any kind of tension in Lebanon.


“Egypt, of course, rejects any intervention in the internal affairs of Lebanon. Only the Lebanese are concerned with reaching a political solution to the crisis,” the source said.


Also, the French diplomacy was still holding talks with Arab and international parties to de-escalate tension in the region and to find exits to the crisis in Lebanon, sources in Paris told Asharq Al-Awsat.


Three days following his arrival to Paris, Hariri is still silent regarding his future political intentions and the path he plans to take after his arrival to Beirut on Tuesday or Wednesday.


The ongoing Prime Minister limited his comments to some tweets he posted on his account that offered nothing new to his previous statements.


However, the absence of public positions do not mean that Hariri is not holding a series of discussions and talks with several Arab and Lebanese figures who are currently in Paris to prepare for the expected resignation letter that he plans to offer to Aoun in Baabda, and to follow-up with the president on the conditions he had earlier suggested to withdraw the resignation.


Editor Picks

Multimedia