Jumblatt Says Hezbollah Leading a War in Yemen, Ignoring Lebanon’s Interests

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. (Reuters)
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Jumblatt Says Hezbollah Leading a War in Yemen, Ignoring Lebanon’s Interests

Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. (Reuters)

The head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Walid Jumblatt, lashed out at Hezbollah, saying that the Lebanese “cannot bear the war of others on our land.”

Hezbollah “is leading a war in Yemen… and does not care about the interests of the Lebanese in the Gulf,” Jumblatt said, in reference to the country’s crisis with Saudi Arabia and Gulf states over harmful remarks by Information Minister George Kordahi.

“Lebanon has been linked to decades of political and economic relations with the Arab Gulf, and there are hundreds of thousands of Lebanese living there, and they send money to Lebanon; where will they go?” he asked during an interview with Russian RT channel.

The PSP leader went on to say that Hezbollah “largely controls political decisions in Lebanon,” reminding of previous Iranian statements that Tehran enjoyed major influence in the country.

He called for “freeing the government from pressure.”

“This government cannot convene today as a result of [Kordahi’s] remarks that are politically backed by the axis of the resistance,” he remarked, in reference to Hezbollah and its allies.

On Monday, Jumblatt had similarly slammed Hezbollah, telling local MTV channel that the immediate way out of the Gulf crisis “begins with the dismissal of Information Minister George Kordahi, and then a formal Lebanese apology to the Gulf.”



Biden Calls for Immediate Gaza Ceasefire in Call with Netanyahu

FILE PHOTO: US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
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Biden Calls for Immediate Gaza Ceasefire in Call with Netanyahu

FILE PHOTO: US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, July 25, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

US President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said, as US officials race to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20.
Biden and Netanyahu discussed efforts underway to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the Palestinian enclave and free the remaining hostages there, the White House said in a statement after the two leaders spoke by telephone.
Biden "stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal," Reuters quoted it as saying.
Netanyahu updated Biden on progress in the talks and on the mandate he has given his top-level security delegation now in Doha in order to advance a hostage deal, Netanyahu said in a statement.
The two leaders also discussed "the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region," the White House said.
Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN's "State of the Union" program earlier on Sunday that the parties were "very, very close" to reaching a deal, but still had to get it across the finish line.
He said Biden was getting daily updates on the talks in Doha, where Israeli and Palestinian officials have said since Thursday that some progress has been made in the indirect talks between Israel and militant group Hamas.
"We are still determined to use every day we have in office to get this done," Sullivan said, "and we are not, by any stretch of imagination, setting this aside."
He said there was still a chance to reach an agreement before Biden leaves office, but that it was also possible "Hamas, in particular, remains intransigent."
During their call, Netanyahu also thanked Biden for his lifelong support of Israel and "the extraordinary support from the United States for Israel’s security and national defense," the White House said.