Anti-Syrian official meets Hezbollah to push Lebanon reconciliation

Beirut - Lebanese anti-Syrian Druze leader and member of parliament Walid Jumblatt met pro-Syrian Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah in a move aimed at moving Lebanon to a stage of 'reconciliation and cooperation,' a source close to Jumblatt said Friday. The Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah in a statement Friday said the two leaders held an in-depth discussion on 'the previous stage' overnight that focused 'on the need to move Lebanon from the situation of crisis to cooperation.' Shiite MP Ali Hassan Khalil told the Hezbollah-run al-Manar TV that the Nasrallah-Jumblatt meeting will have positive repercussions on the future of Lebanon. He added that the talks will open the doors of cooperation which will be in Lebanon's favor. According to al-Manar, the agenda of the Jumblatt-Nasrallah meeting touched on the latest speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Jumblatt warned Thursday against an Israeli attack on Lebanon in light of Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu's speech, which focused on the growing Iranian threat. Netanyahu's speech, he said, could import aggression on Lebanon under the slogan of 'thwarting the Iranian threat.' Netanyahu said in his foreign policy speech last week said that Israel currently faces three tremendous challenges: the Iranian threat, the financial crisis, and the promotion of peace. Jumblatt called on Lebanese to 'put aside the drama of the thrill of election victory of the ruling majority forces and gear up to face the challenges ahead of us and the great Israeli threat that was clearly reflected in Netanyahu's speech.' According to the daily As Safir newspaper the two officials also discussed prospects of dialogue between Jumblatt and Damascus. Jumblatt's relations with Damascus and Hezbollah soured after the 2005 assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri, during which the Druze leader openly accused Syria and its Lebanese allies, including Hezbollah, of being behind the Hariri killing. Hariri was killed in a massive bomb blast in Beirut along with 20 other people. His killing led to an international and local outcry that forced Damascus to withdraw from Lebanon after a 30-year military presence. Syria has denied any links to Hariri's killing. Jumblatt is a key member of the anti-Syrian ruling majority that the latest June parliamentary elections. It was the first meeting between Jumblatt and Nasrallah in about three years. Until the recent election in Lebanon the two exchanged harsh criticism and insults. Jumblatt had accused Hezbollah of trying to destabilize Lebanon under the orders of their backers in Iran and Syria. Nasrallah accused Jumblatt and allies in the Western-backed ruling majority of implementing US policies in Lebanon.