Jumblat on Govt Formation: Demands of Some Parties Have Become Absurd

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has noted that the demands of some parties concerning shares in the new cabinet “have become absurd and are apt to protract the vicious state of procrastination the country is going through, amid the growing political, financial, economic and social challenges.”

In his weekly column in his party’s mouthpiece Al-Anbaa newspaper to be published Tuesday, Jumblat described the illegal construction of houses on public property as “an infringement of the State, its image and its role,” stressing that “it cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.”

The PSP leader called on all political parties to cooperate with state authorities in order to find a final solution to the problem.

Addressing the death of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden overnight Monday in an operation by U.S. special forces in Pakistan, Jumblat said “the United States’ success in finally eliminating one of the top icons of a terrorist school of thought -- which has killed innocents and civilians in the U.S. and other places in the world under the banner of fake jihad -- is a significant event which is expected to have major political consequences at various levels.”

He called on Washington to “reconsider its policies in the Middle East by ending its total bias in favor of Israel and its interests and terrorist policies in Palestine and Lebanon.”

On a separate note, Jumblat saluted rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas for reaching an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal.

The Palestinian factions will sign a reconciliation deal in Cairo on Tuesday intended to repair ties and end a bitter divide between the West Bank and Gaza.

The surprise deal, announced last week, comes after 18 months of failed talks and envisions the formation of an interim government of independents that will prepare the way for presidential and legislative elections within a year.