Beirut [Lebanon], June 13 (ANI): Lebanese politician and Free Patriotic Movement leader Gebran Bassil has said that while Hezbollah has committed a series of ‘mistakes’ since the 2006 war with Israel, that does ‘not justify’ supporting Israel or ‘allowing’ Israeli ‘occupation’ of Lebanese territory.
In a post on X, Bassil stressed that Israel remains the party carrying out military operations against Lebanon and causing widespread destruction.
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‘Hezbollah has been making mistakes since the Attribution War up to this day, but the mistake of any Lebanese team does not justify standing on Israel’s side or allowing it to occupy Lebanese territories and threaten the Lebanese people,’ Bassil said.
The Free Patriotic Movement chief, whose party, as per Al Jazeera, represents the Maronite Christian community and was founded by his father-in-law, President Michel Aoun, emphasised that his movement’s position is guided solely by Lebanese national interests.
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‘As the Free Patriotic Movement, we hold a Lebanese stance, so neither Israel nor Iran concerns us. And when I stand with Lebanon, I am keen on its sovereignty, and the Movement’s position remains aligned solely with Lebanon, neither with Israel nor with Iran,’ he claimed.
Bassil also called for the development of a comprehensive national security strategy under state authority, arguing that Lebanon must regain control over decisions affecting its future without triggering internal instability.
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‘What is required is to wrest the Lebanese paper from the hands of the outside through building a national security strategy that the state puts in place, and the government committed to preparing this strategy, but did not take the initiative to put in place the necessary mechanisms for its completion,’ he said.
He added that one of Lebanon’s most sensitive challenges is achieving state control over all weapons while avoiding renewed domestic conflict.
‘The main challenge lies in how to arrive at the exclusivity of arms without causing a civil war or the collapse of the state,’ Bassil noted.
His comments come amid growing political debate in Lebanon over relations with Israel and the future role of Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said that the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran will address a range of issues, including Tehran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief, the Lebanon conflict and the status of the Strait of Hormuz.
He also stated, ‘We will never leave Hezbollah in Lebanon alone, and the end of the war in Lebanon will include all fronts.’
This comes after Araghchi said that the ‘Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding has never been closer’, indicating that it was nearing finalisation.
Earlier this month, in a significant diplomatic breakthrough, Israel and Lebanon found common ground on ‘the implementation of a ceasefire’, which remains strictly conditional on ‘a complete cessation’ of Hezbollah fire and the removal of all Hezbollah operatives from southern Lebanon, according to a joint statement released after the fourth round of US-mediated talks on June 3.
The diplomatic progress unfolded amidst a fragile security environment, as the ongoing ceasefire has seen repeated violations, with Israel and Hezbollah continuing to trade strikes.
The intensive negotiations, held at the US State Department, lasted nearly nine hours on June 3 and followed a full day of preliminary talks on June 2.
Looking ahead to build on this momentum, Israel and Lebanon ‘agreed to reconvene the political and security tracks the week of June 22, with a view toward reaching a comprehensive agreement’, while the US ‘agreed to continue facilitating communication between the parties in the interim.’ (ANI)
