Jumblat: New Government Will Help Confront STL’s Repercussions

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Monday that the Nakba Day clashes that erupted at Maroun al-Ras and the Golan Heights on Sunday mark the beginning of a new Arab-Israeli conflict that will force the Jewish state to acknowledge the Palestinian people’s right to return to their homeland.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa magazine: “The developments in the Arab world confirm that the Palestinian people can no longer be denied their legitimate rights.”

Addressing last week’s Christian-Islamic summit, the MP said it was an attempt to restore dialogue among Lebanese sects “while contacts between political powers have been completely severed in an unprecedented development.”

“This severing of communication implies that the entire political class does not enjoy a sense of national responsibility that requires contacts and dialogue regardless of how great the disputes between them,” he stated.

To those who reject dialogue, Jumblat asked: “What is the substitute for dialogue? Where do you plan on taking the country?”

The MP noted that the dispute goes beyond the formation of a new government, but it is connected to the future of Lebanon and the possibility of destroying all national achievements accomplished since the Taif Accord should the political deadlock persist.

He therefore renewed his call to resume national dialogue under President Michel Suleiman as soon as a new government is formed.

“A new government should be formed as soon as possible in order for it to follow up on the regional developments and Special Tribunal for Lebanon,” he stressed.

“Forming a new government is one of the best ways to confront the negative repercussions of the STL,” Jumblat added.