Anti-Hezbollah Shiite cleric Ali Al-Amin rebuffed accusations of normalization with Israel, saying that recent campaigns against him were the result of his rejection of the Iranian project that Hezbollah was importing to Lebanon and the region.
“Treason campaigns against me by Hezbollah are not new and are due to my rejection of the Iranian project they carry to Lebanon and the region,” Amin said during a press conference on Wednesday.
The Shiite cleric participated in a conference of religions in Bahrain attended by Jewish clerics from the occupied land, as he said. His participation prompted the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council in Lebanon to take a decision to isolate him from the Jaafari Fatwa department because he “sought to inflame internal strife among the Lebanese, and because of his normalization vision with the occupation.”
Hezbollah also denounced the participation of Amin in the forum, which the movement said was attended by “Zionist figures”. It also accused the cleric of seeking to “normalize” ties with Israel.
“I took part in the forum without knowing the participants’ names,” Amin said, noting the event was also attended by Lebanon’s ambassador to Bahrain.
He stressed that he didn’t hold any meetings with Jewish figures who attended the second day of the conference.
“I was not aware of their presence in advance,” he underlined. “I will remain opposed to Hezbollah’s policy of oppression and domination.”
The policies of Hezbollah and Amal movement “only bring harm to the Shiite community,” he told reporters.
“My disagreement with Hezbollah and Amal is not new, and I will remain supportive of the Lebanese people’s uprising,” Amin added.
