Saniora: Hizbullah Pullout from Syria Can Boost Ties with All Lebanese, End Suicide Attacks
Former premier Fouad Saniora, head of the al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc, urged Hizbullah on Friday to “return to Lebanon” and end its military intervention in neighboring Syria, which the party argues is necessary to protect Lebanon from extremist attacks.
“We believe that there is an essential need for Hizbullah's return to Lebanon, as this move would make it gain a lot through enhancing its ties with all the components of the Lebanese people and putting an end to the excuses used by some parties to carry out suicide attacks, which we condemn and reject,” Saniora said as he inspected renovation works in downtown Sidon.
“We must all cooperate to end these unhealthy trends in the Lebanese society,” the ex-PM added.
“We should end the alibis that some might exploit to justify the acts that are targeting innocents due to Hizbullah's continued intervention in Syria,” Saniora went on to say.
Eleven people were killed and more than 100 injured when two suicide bombers blew up two bomb-laden cars near the Iranian cultural center in Beirut's Bir Hassan district on Wednesday.
The double bombing was claimed by the Qaida-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which said the attack was in retaliation to the role of Hizbullah and Iran in the Syrian conflict.
Extremist groups have claimed responsibility for a series of suicide attacks in recent months against areas considered strongholds of Hizbullah that have killed dozens of civilians.
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