Jumblat-Hizbullah Ties in Tatters over al-Rahi’s Statements

Relations between Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat and Hizbullah seem to be reaching an all-time low after the Shiite party’s al-Manar TV station slammed the Druze leader for criticizing Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.

Al-Manar said in reference to Jumblat in its newscast on Monday that some officials remain steadfast in their stances while others tend to swing to adjust to the “regional winds.”

The network compared the PSP chief to the Lebanese Forces in its criticism of al-Rahi over his statements on the Syrian crisis and Hizbullah’s weapons.

PSP sources told al-Akhbar daily published Tuesday that al-Manar’s remarks were a clear “attack” from Hizbullah on Jumblat. They were surprised by such an “attack,” saying the MP’s stance from the resistance and his rejection to link Lebanon to any regional crisis hasn’t changed in the past three years.

However, a Hizbullah MP denied that al-Manar’s criticism was a political message to Jumblat, telling al-Akhbar that the remarks were only part of the TV station’s praise of al-Rahi’s stance from Hizbullah.

Last week, al-Rahi said the fate of Hizbullah’s arms is linked to the termination of Israeli occupation of Lebanese territory and the return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland.

Al-Rahi also warned that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria was a threat to Christians. He said Syrian President Bashar Assad should be given the chance to introduce reform.

But Jumblat noted on Monday that the latest “fear-inciting remarks on the rise of Salafist or fundamentalist movements … are being used as a scarecrow.”

He also rejected to link “Lebanon’s fate to the liberation of the Shebaa Farms and the entire conflicts in the region.”

March 8 sources told al-Liwaa newspaper that Jumblat’s stance reveals a rift between him and Damascus. They said Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi, who is loyal to the PSP chief, has tried in vain for three consecutive times to set a date for a visit by Jumblat to the Syrian capital.