Former chief of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Jumblatt called for ending Hezbollah’s so-called support front for Gaza and stopping Iran’s use of Lebanon as a battle ground to serve its own interests.
“We cannot continue supporting Gaza. We have to separate Lebanon from the war going on in Gaza,” said Jumblatt, who was hosted in ‘Sar el Waet’ talk show on MTV Thursday evening.
“Enough of Iran’s use of Lebanon to improve its terms in the nuclear negotiations with the United States. The use of the south as an arena of conflict to support Gaza and the West Bank must be stopped.”
“I took my position against Iran out of my conviction that Lebanon is not an arena, but rather we must be an independent state through discussion among the Lebanese, including Hezbollah,” Jumblatt added.
The Druze leader underscored the need to restore the 1949 armistice agreement between Lebanon and Israel which is the basis of UN Resolution 1701 and encompasses decisions 1559 and 1680 and is upheld under the 1989 Taif Agreement which ended the 15-year civil war.
Jumblatt, who was the last political figure to meet US envoy Amos Hochstein before the latter left to Israel as part of his efforts to negotiate a US proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, said “Hochstein heard from me the necessity of implementing 1701, the exclusivity of weapons (in the hands of the Lebanese army) south of the Litani River, and returning to the armistice agreement.”
On the chances of reaching a ceasefire, he stressed that “the ball is in Israel’s court.” “We are awaiting a signal from Hochstein in the next 24 hours. It may be positive as it may be negative, since no one knows (Israeli Premier Benjamin) Netanyahu’s true intentions.’
Nonetheless, he added that “everything is possible” as it is the last attempt by the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden to achieve a ceasefire. “I hope that we can extricate ourselves from this hellish circle. We have paid a heavy price by connecting the two tracks (Lebanon and Gaza).”
https://thisisbeirut.com.lb/articles/1301836/jumblatt-enough-of-irans-use-of-lebanon-as-battleground