Jumblatt to Hezbollah: Lebanon’s President Should be Accepted by All Sides

The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and political advisor to Hezbollah's Secretary General Hussein Khalil (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and political advisor to Hezbollah's Secretary General Hussein Khalil (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Jumblatt to Hezbollah: Lebanon’s President Should be Accepted by All Sides

The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and political advisor to Hezbollah's Secretary General Hussein Khalil (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and political advisor to Hezbollah's Secretary General Hussein Khalil (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, and political advisor to Hezbollah's Secretary General Hussein Khalil have discussed several problems facing Lebanon, mainly the upcoming presidential elections.

The meeting was attended by PSP officials MP Wael Abu Faour and former Minister Ghazi al-Aridi, and top Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa.

Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that discussions focused on their differences over Hezbollah's weapons and Lebanon’s defense strategy.

According to the sources, the meeting also reviewed the presidential elections, but no candidates were discussed. They instead addressed Jumblatt's rejection to support a candidate backed by Hezbollah.

They pointed out that Jumblatt called for electing a president who is not provocative and is accepted by all political parties.

The sources quoted Khalil as saying that Hezbollah seeks to form a new government and elect the president on time after Jumblatt warned that the country cannot afford a presidential vacuum.

The term of President Michel Aoun will end in October 2022.

During Thursday’s meeting, the PSP chief addressed the issue of Hezbollah sending drones over the Karish field and asked whether it was an Iranian message to improve the terms of its negotiations on its nuclear program.

Hezbollah said in July it had sent three unarmed drones towards the Israeli Mediterranean gas rig, which the Israeli military said it had intercepted.

Khalil stressed that Iran does not need drones to improve its position and that the unmanned aircraft aimed to improve Lebanon's position in the US-mediated negotiations with Israel on the maritime border demarcation.

The sources noted that Jumblatt asked about the possibility of a new war, and Khalil explained that if Israel continues to deprive Lebanon of its right, all options are on the table.

The head of the PSP asserted that Lebanon could not afford a new war, especially in light of the deteriorating economic conditions.



EU Urges Immediate Halt to Israel-Hezbollah War

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
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EU Urges Immediate Halt to Israel-Hezbollah War

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, left, meets with Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, right, in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP)

Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to Lebanon on Sunday, as the group claimed attacks deep into Israel.  

The Israeli military said Iran-backed Hezbollah fired around 160 projectiles into Israel during the day. Some of them were intercepted but others caused damage to houses in central Israel, according to AFP images.  

A day after the health ministry said Israeli strikes on Beirut and across Lebanon killed 84 people, state media reported two strikes on Sunday on the capital's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Israel's military said it had attacked "headquarters" of the group "hidden within civilian structures" in south Beirut.

War between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in late September, nearly a year after the group began launching strikes in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following that group's October 7 attack on Israel.

The conflict has killed at least 3,754 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.  

On the Israeli side, authorities say at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians have been killed.  

Earlier this week, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said in Lebanon that a truce deal was "within our grasp" and then headed to Israel for talks with officials there.  

In the Lebanese capital, Borrell held talks with parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of ally Hezbollah.

"We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701," Borrell said.  

"Lebanon is on the brink of collapse", he warned.  

Under Resolution 1701, which ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only armed forces present in the southern border area.  

The resolution also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon, and reiterated earlier calls for "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon."