Jumblat says Aoun still his candidate, rejects peace with Israel

Druze leader Walid Jumblat has said that Army Commander General Joseph Aoun is still his bloc’s presidential candidate, adding that his nomination has received “positive feedback from the five-nation group for Lebanon.”

“Let us elect from the first round, seeing as postponing the elections until after the inauguration of (U.S.) President(-elect Donald) Trump could be a major mistake and could plunge us into the unknown, because the country cannot bear postponement,” Jumblat said in an interview on LBCI television.

“If the army chief’s election fails, we have no alternative, and Aoun’s election represents a chance,” he added.

As for the latest Israeli war on Lebanon, Jumblat said: “Hezbollah was not defeated and I respect the martyrs. The group suffered from internal gaps and the new reality must be accepted.”

Rejecting the latest statements by Hezbollah chief Sheikh Naim Qassem and Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa, Jumblat called for “building and immunizing the state” and suggested that Hezbollah’s fighters can be “integrated into the army.”

As for the continuous Israeli violations, the Druze leader voiced concern that Israel could be seeking a new buffer zone in south Lebanon.

“We must benefit from the presence of U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein and Israel has bad intentions and ambitions, such as the Litani’s waters,” Jumblat added.

Noting that “Iran has not abandoned Hezbollah, but has rather offered the available capabilities,” the Druze leader pointed out that “even these capabilities could not keep up with the U.S. technology.”

“I’m against peace with Israel. I have been against it in the past and will always be and we must inherit this confrontation to the coming generations,” Jumblat added.

“I had asked Hezbollah, through messages, not to get implicated in the war, and currently there is no cohtact with Wafiq Safa, but I have learned that he wants to meet with me and I don’t mind this, and there is no relation with Sheikh Naim Qassem,” Jumblat went on to say.

Jumblat also called on Hezbollah to transform into a “political party,” adding that the country “has had enough wars” and needs “stability for its children.”