Jumblatt Meets Aoun to Mend Relations, Prevent Strife in Mount Lebanon

Aoun and Jumblatt during their meeting in Baabda on Monday (Dalati & Nohra)
Aoun and Jumblatt during their meeting in Baabda on Monday (Dalati & Nohra)
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Jumblatt Meets Aoun to Mend Relations, Prevent Strife in Mount Lebanon

Aoun and Jumblatt during their meeting in Baabda on Monday (Dalati & Nohra)
Aoun and Jumblatt during their meeting in Baabda on Monday (Dalati & Nohra)

The head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), former deputy Walid Jumblatt, made a surprise visit to the Baabda Palace on Monday to meet with President Michel Aoun, for the first time in nearly a year, despite the deep disagreement between them, and the direct attack by Jumblatt and his team against the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM).

Sources close to the matter told Asharq Al-Awsat that the main reason behind the meeting was to ease tension in Mount Lebanon and prevent a lurking clash.

According to the sources, MP Farid Boustani, a member of Aoun’s parliamentary bloc, sought to mediate between the two sides, “in order to prevent a further political escalation” between Christians and Druze in the region.

The same sources noted that the meeting touched on the upcoming meeting in Baabda, which would gather the heads of political blocs to discuss the economic rescue plan recently adopted by the government.

Jumblatt apologized for not being able to attend the gathering for health reasons, but said he would present his written comments to the president, according to the sources.

In remarks following the meeting, the PSP leader said he agreed with the president on the need to tackle controversial issues with “rationality.”

“I visited President Aoun in a goodwill initiative, in order to clear the dispute with the (Free Patriotic Movement),” he noted.

Jumblatt stressed that he was not part of any bilateral or tripartite alliances, saying: “My own calculations are based on the necessity to shape the relationship and manage the dispute with the FPM.”



Palestinian President Urges Hamas to Hand over its Arms

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves while walking on the day he holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 23,2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves while walking on the day he holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 23,2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman
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Palestinian President Urges Hamas to Hand over its Arms

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves while walking on the day he holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 23,2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves while walking on the day he holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 23,2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas on Wednesday to cede responsibility for the Gaza Strip, hand over its arms to the Palestinian Authority and turn itself into a political party.
Hamas has refused calls in recent months by Israel and the United States to lay down its arms.
Abbas made his remarks in a speech during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah at which he is expected to name a successor, part of efforts to answer international doubts over the Palestinian Authority's viability at a critical moment for the region.
"Hamas must hand over (its) Gaza responsibilities and hand over its arms to Palestinian Authority and transform into a political party," Reuters quoted Abbas as saying.
Abbas has criticized the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which he said gave Israel a pretext to destroy Gaza. Israel launched its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack.
Hamas, which opposes Abbas' efforts at peacemaking with Israel, has accused him of cracking down against militant factions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It did not immediately comment on Abbas's new remarks.
Abbas urged world leaders to compel Israel to end the war in Gaza, pull put its forces and end the activities of Jewish settlements, adding that there can be no peace until the Palestinians establish a state in the borders that were in place before the 1967 Middle East war.