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.
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