Hezbollah’s recent steady military advances against Islamist militants on the rugged outskirts of the northeastern town of Arsal have put MP Walid Jumblatt on edge for two reasons, sources close to the Progressive Socialist Party leader said.
First, Jumblatt is worried that the Nusra Front or ISIS militants might carry out security operations or bombings inside Lebanese territory in response to Hezbollah’s military gains on Arsal’s outskirts.
Second, Jumblatt also sees threats facing the fate of his fellow Druze in the Syrian province of Swaida, a stronghold of the Druze minority that has largely avoided the bloodshed of Syria’s 4-year-old civil war.
Such fears have prompted Jumblatt to launch a flurry of internal political activity aimed at confronting a possible wave of terrorism that might strike Lebanon, as well as the consequences of the suppression of Syria’s Druze at the hands of jihadis. The PSP chief has initiated this activity by meeting Sunday with Speaker Nabih Berri.