Delicate Situation Compels Hizbullah to Remain Mum on al-Rahi's Visit to Holy Land
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Hizbullah will remain silent regarding Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi's expected visit to the Holy Land to avert any war of words with Bkirki at the critical political stage that the country is passing through.
Al-Liwaa newspaper quoted Hizbullah sources as saying on Wednesday that the party “decided to remain mum at this stage and refused to comment negatively or positively” on the matter.
“The party is holding onto its confidential stance and will discuss the matter with Bkirki via the official channels and away from media spotlight,” the sources said.
Al-Rahi is expected to travel to Jerusalem to welcome Pope Francis during his brief visit to the occupied Palestinian territories on May 24-26.
The Patriarch's visit is diplomatically noteworthy because Lebanon remains technically at war with Israel and bans its citizens from entering the Hebrew state.
Sources close to the committee tasked with following up on the dialogue between Bkirki and Hizbullah told the newspaper that the “silence policy” of the party is to express its conviction that any verbal spat with al-Rahi would be “useless.”
However, the sources expressed fear over the “negative impact that al-Rahi's visit to Jerusalem would have on the relations between Bkirki and Hizbullah.”
“Hizbullah insists on dealing with the delicate matter calmly and reasonably,” sources told al-Liwaa, adding that the party's stance will be based on the developments.
The expected visit was met with huge controversy in the country, with some considering it a “historical mistake that opens the door for normalization with Israel” and Church authorities repeatedly assuring that it has a strictly religious character.
Maronite clergy may to travel to the Holy Land to minister to the estimated 10,000 faithful there.
Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said last week that al-Rahi was not part of the official delegation heading to the Holy Land and was going on his own initiative.
Al-Rahi would be the first patriarch to travel to Israel since the Jewish state was created in 1948.
H.K.
G.K.
14 May 2014, 08:30
113
Stop pretending you care about the Patriarch. You are a radical Salafist terrorist.
14 May 2014, 10:53
83
Now u want the batrak as Presidant? Last week you said that as a "Maronite" this was the first time you agreed with anything the batrak had said previously?
14 May 2014, 12:16
83
Lets be honest, all the batrak has said in the past week was he was travelling to Israel to greet the Pope... So if Aoun decides to go to Israel, you'll begin to like him and wish he is Presidant?
14 May 2014, 14:59
13
@Mowaten (Crusher) : tell me a little about Hassan Nasrallah. What is he exactly ?
A Religious figure (Cheikh / Sayyed) ? A politician or a Warlord ? I get lost !
The answer is all of the above.
Actually, I would not count him as a religious figure. He's more like a charlatan than a religious figure as he hides behind the name of god / sayyed and whatever nonsense bull to justify his acts of war and political hijacking of the country !
14 May 2014, 11:12
20
the "hebrew" sate....? so now we label countries based on their language?
14 May 2014, 12:24
26
funny hypocrit M8ers... not so long ago they said he was paid by the saudis and is an M14 and now they defend him... LOL
14 May 2014, 14:53
14
as usual FT denies... nothing new under his empty skull....pityful idiot
14 May 2014, 13:25
39
Again FT : it's none of any politician's business what Rahi decides. This is not a political matter and Rahi, in his position is above politics.
The president also dissuaded Hezbollah from going to war in Syria but they only answer to Khomeini as they don't recognise the republic of Lebanon.
If M8 wants a say in anything, they should start by condemning Iran sur Mer and Bashar el Assad, Lebanon's greatest enemy who harmed Lebanon more than Israel.
Maybe then can they earn the right to have an opinion...
14 May 2014, 13:41
63
Hezbollah's silence can sometimes be a blessing for it and us all and this time though rare, will still remain a blessing. I also hope that hezbollah will not be checking to see if one of His Eminence's plane engine parts are made or not in Israel.
14 May 2014, 17:19
51
as if... we can be against hezballah politically, but they are lebanese... they are disciplined and are extremely grateful that the batrak is not hostile. Shiites and christains are both minorities in the middle east and any attack on the batrak would be catastrophic to relations. Remember what happened when the martyrs sheik pierre, Antoine Ghanem and Gebran Tueini were killed? It was more an attempt to divide Christians. what would be the result if all Christians in Lebanon were united politically?
Last time that most Christians were united... they assassinated shiek Bashir and we lost Lebanon to the benefit of syria, israel, uae, ksa, usa etc.
14 May 2014, 17:48
42
Jerusalem is a Christian, muslim and jewish city! its not an israeli city that tolerates Christians and Muslims, and gives a tiny eastern part to Palestinians! this is the point that is being lost in the rubbish sectarian comments. Let us regain the international spotlight on the apartheid israeli state. God speed to the Batrak and may he be welcomed by tens of thousands of Christians along with his holiness Pope Francis.
14 May 2014, 16:15
02
I guess they have their own definition of "silent"
As Safir newspaper ran a critical piece headlined "Historic sin: Rahi goes to Israel,” in its Saturday issue in response to al-Rahi's controversial visit.
http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/129125
14 May 2014, 21:02
01
dear ado aka karim, try not to feel too sick because of sectarian comments:)
14 May 2014, 23:32
01
Wow! Aoun and his MOA did all of that. Goodness gracious he should be president for life! Let's get back to reality Ado. Aoun allies himself with whom he thought would give him the strongest position after he realized Mustaqbal was not going to endorse him for president. His MOA is a joke at best. Nothing but vague jargon to appease the gullible. As for HA, how many different assassinations have they been implicated in since the precious MOA was put in place? All Aoun did was provide them with political cover in return for power share. Last but not least, are seriously calling a sectarian militia that is labeled as a terrorist party and is on trial for killing political opponents secular because they are in bed with Aoun? Wow!
