Druze leader Walid Jumblat on Thursday defended Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi after he was attacked on social media by pro-Hezbollah journalists and activists.
“We condemn any domestic inflammatory remarks, especially against Patriarch al-Rahi, during this extraordinarily dangerous period in the history of Lebanon and the region,” Jumblat said in a post on the X platform, formerly Twitter.
“Internal unity is above any consideration,” he added.
Al-Rahi had on Wednesday said: “Our people in the South are leaving their homes and this means further poverty, that’s why we have asked our parishioners to offer sums of money and to present Sundays’ trays (of donations) to our people who are coming from the southern towns.”
Since October 8, thousands of residents have fled the southern border towns amid daily clashes between Israel and Hezbollah against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.
Al-Rahi’s remarks infuriated some pro-Hezbollah activists, including al-Manar reporter Ali Shoaib and al-Mayadeen reporter Ali Murtada, who launched vehement attacks and insults against al-Rahi on their social media accounts.