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.



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)

Politicians in Beirut said they have not received any credible information about Washington resuming its mediation efforts towards reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon despite reports to the contrary.

Efforts came to a halt after US envoy Amos Hochstein’s last visit to Beirut three weeks ago.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed the reports as media fodder, saying nothing official has been received.

Lebanon is awaiting tangible proposals on which it can build its position, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The only credible proposal on the table is United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, whose articles must be implemented in full by Lebanon and Israel, “not just Lebanon alone,” he stressed.

Resolution 1701 was issued to end the 2006 July war between Hezbollah and Israel and calls for removing all weapons from southern Lebanon and that the only armed presence there be restricted to the army and UN peacekeepers.

Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri opposes one of the most important articles of the proposed solution to end the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

He is opposed to the German and British participation in the proposed mechanism to monitor the implementation of resolution 1701. The other participants are the United States and France.

Other sources said Berri is opposed to the mechanism itself since one is already available and it is embodied in the UN peacekeepers, whom the US and France can join.

The sources revealed that the solution to the conflict has a foreign and internal aspect. The foreign one includes Israel, the US and Russia and seeks guarantees that would prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. The second covers Lebanese guarantees on the implementation of resolution 1701.

Berri refused to comment on the media reports, but told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was the first time that discussions are being held about guarantees.

He added that “Israel is now in crisis because it has failed to achieve its military objectives, so it has resorted to more killing and destruction undeterred.”

He highlighted the “steadfastness of the UN peacekeepers in the South who have refused to leave their positions despite the repeated Israeli attacks.”