Hezbollah Criticizes US Embassy Statement

A member of the Democratic Gathering bloc, MP Bilal Abdallah, said that there are ongoing contacts between deputies of Hezbollah and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), adding that the political problem must be resolved.

In parallel, a minister representing Hezbollah in the cabinet noted that the relations between the two sides were not broken, but not at their best either.

This comes in light of a political relief after the reconciliation meeting held in Baabda Palace between PSP leader Walid Jumblatt and the head of the Lebanese Democratic Party, MP Talal Arslan, an ally of Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s cabinet met on Saturday for the first time since late June. Two aides to a government minister from the LDP were killed during June’s shooting in a town in Aley, and the minister’s allies accused the PSP of attempting to assassinate him.

Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani noted that several elements have contributed to the reconciliation, including external factors and the fragile economic and financial situation.

In a radio interview, he said: “We are half way through (Michel Aoun’s) presidential tenure, and we are facing one of the biggest economic and financial crises in the history of Lebanon.”

“External factors may have contributed to this [reconciliation]. Not only the US embassy statement, but a movement of American diplomacy to clarify Washington’s view on Lebanon’s political stability. There are indications that other countries have pushed for preventing the government paralysis because the current circumstances require it to convene perhaps on a daily basis,” the deputy premier added.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah criticized a statement by the US embassy that called on Lebanese officials to resolve the recent dispute caused by the Aley shooting.

Hashem Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, said that the statement was “rude,” describing it as a “blatant and shameless American intervention in Lebanese affairs.”

For his part, Hezbollah Central Council member Sheikh Nabil Qaouq said: “The statement has one positive aspect: A tacit recognition of the decline of the role and influence of the US embassy and its tools in Lebanon.”

At the same time, the party welcomed the reconciliation.

“The recent reconciliation and the cabinet meeting have promoted a positive climate, which is a step to addressing the people’s economic and living crises,” Qaouq said.