Jumblat says Telegraph report 'shameful' as airport tour begins

W460

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has dubbed reports that Hezbollah was storing weapons at Beirut airport as "shameful" and "dangerous".

In an interview, Jumblat accused the British daily The Telegraph of "promoting war".

The newspaper said Hezbollah is storing missiles and rockets at the airport, where "whistleblowers" had reported the arrival of "unusually big boxes".

"Some want war in Lebanon and outside Lebanon," Jumblat said, adding that ties between him and Hezbollah are "not severed."

Caretaker transport minister Ali Hamieh denied Sunday the report, inviting ambassadors and journalists to inspect the airport on Monday morning in a visit "open to all".

During the tour on Monday, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib said the airport is "civilian and safe".

"These are rumors," he added. "They are creating pretexts for war."

أكّد الرئيس السابق للحزب التقدميّ الاشتراكيّ وليد جنبلاط، أنّ الملك الأردني عبدالله الثاني يحاول باتصالاته العربية والدولية التوصل إلى وقف إطلاق النار في غزة.

وأوضح جنبلاط، في لقاء مع قناة المملكة الأردنية، أنّ وقف إطلاق النار إذا تم، سينسحب هذا الأمر على لبنان و"نستطيع أن نجنبها من حرب أوسع".

وأشار إلى أنّ الحرب تتوسع وقواعد الاشتباك الأولى تغيرت والقصف يطال تقريبًا مناطق لبنان كلها.

وقال إنّ رئيس وزراء إسرائيل بنيامين نتانياهو يتحدى العالم كله في حربه على قطاع غزة، بيد أنه ذكر أن "جهود الملك الأردني عبدالله مهمة باتصالاته العربية مع أمير قطر والرئيس المصري ومع الغير في محاولة وقف تلك الحرب وباتصالاته مع العالم الخارجي".

واعتبر جنبلاط أنه "يستشرف بتوسيع الحرب" في ظل "عدم جدية" الموقف الأميركي في وقف الحرب على قطاع غزة.

وقال: "لا أرى جدية في الموقف الأميركيّ وخصوصًا في هذه المرحلة مرحلة الانتخابات الرئاسية".

وأضاف: "لم نر أي جهد أميركيّ جدي ... لم يخففوا شيء من هذه الحرب" بعد 9 أشهر على مرورها، وفق جنبلاط."

وأوضح أنّ كلا المرشحين في الانتخابات الرئيس الأميركي الحالي جو بايدن والرئيس السابق دونالد ترامب "يتوقان إلى إرضاء الأداة الإسرائيلية الصهيونية الأميركية".

SourceNaharnet
Comments 10
Thumb i.report 24 June 2024, 19:06

If all Arab state are owned by the Zionists, and we know for a fact that the Western World also is, does it mean they also own you?

Thumb i.report 24 June 2024, 19:09

I’d like a copy of the daily telegraph article and read who signed it. Some ‘journalists’ are IDF relays as we saw this year in the NY Times.

Thumb justice 24 June 2024, 19:19

Apparently it was not signed.

Thumb i.report 24 June 2024, 23:43

Thanks for clarifying Justice.

Thumb i.report 24 June 2024, 23:51

Zionist this, Zionist that - you see Zionists in every corner, and likely even their shadow on your wall as you lie in bed each night. We are acutely aware that Hezbollah is entwined with the very mafia that has plundered us and the State; I doubt anyone here believes otherwise (perhaps Mystic, but even he, in his heart of hearts, knows the truth). Are there connections and converging interests between our warlords, the Arab leaders, and the Zionists? Undoubtedly, a resounding million times yes. If Israel were to vanish tomorrow, Hezbollah would simultaneously lose its raison d’être. However, in the present moment, they merit our encouragement for upholding the honour of every Lebanese by challenging the genocidal Zionist entity. If our leaders, regardless of faith, possessed even a modicum of honor, they would dispatch some of their men as well.

Thumb chrisrushlau 25 June 2024, 21:09

Hezbullah exists because article 24 of the Lebanese constitution reserves half of parliamentary seats to Christians. Noam Chomsky opined that more than half of Lebanese are Shia Muslims. As peace gets closer, its costs come into view.

Thumb abe.linconstein 26 June 2024, 15:17

Now we can add liar to his many accomplishments. Chomsky doesn't even know he opined that more than half of Lebanese are Shia Muslims. This total fabrication is an invention of the racist lying deceitful fool chrisrushlau or maybe his brain just too malformed for him to understand what he hears/reads.

The following is an email exchange between chrisrushlau and Chomsky, posted on naharnet by chrisrushlau himself:

https://m.naharnet.com/stories/en/297828-syrians-abandon-babies-at-mosques-and-under-trees

Thumb abe.linconstein 26 June 2024, 15:20

chrisrushlau
From: Chomsky, Noam - (noamchomsky) <noamchomsky@arizona.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 1:12 AM
To: Chris Rushlau <chrisrushlau@msn.com>
Subject: Re: [EXT]You said in an interview maybe ten years ago that Shias were more than half of Lebanon's population. Do you stand by that claim?
I doubt that I said that. Could you send me the source.
No one knows, because of the need to avoid disrupting the delicate confessional system left by the French. It's commonly assumed that Shia are the largest group.

chrisrushlau
So it looks like I'm wrong here. No, what I probably heard is that Hezbullah's being the largest party, assuming mass allegiance of Shias, makes it the government former, in the standard parliamentary practice. "Forming a government" means getting together a coalition. I stretched that into a majority, my mind being very deceitful when I let it go.
So I'm sorry.

Thumb abe.linconstein 26 June 2024, 15:20

https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/297828-syrians-abandon-babies-at-mosques-and-under-trees

Thumb abe.linconstein 26 June 2024, 15:01

chrisrushlau exists because the condom his inbreed parents used, failed and abortion was still illegal.