Jumblat urges Arabs to unite and act in face of 'growing Zionist threats'
Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat urged Arab countries to unite in order to protect the security of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
Jumblat's statements came ahead of an emergency Arab League summit and days after Israel said that Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria and southern Lebanon for an indefinite period.
Arab leaders will meet in Cairo on March 4 to counter U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to turn war-torn Gaza into a resort and resettle displaced Gazans in Egypt and Jordan.
"The Zionist threats are growing, destroying Gaza, invading the West Bank, and Syria's Mount Hermon," Jumblat said after a meeting with President Joseph Aoun in Baabda. "The Arabs cannot remain in their reserve trenches," he added. "Protecting Arab national security begins with Lebanon, Syria and Jordan."
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday that Israel has received a U.S. green light to keep its forces on five strategic hills in south Lebanon.
"We received a green light from the United States and we are staying indefinitely -- this is situation-dependent, not time-dependent," Katz said at a conference, few days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would also indefinitely stay in parts of southern Syria and will not allow Syria's new army to "enter the area south of Damascus".
Lebanon's new government, which on Wednesday won a confidence vote in Parliament after a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah, said in its statement that Lebanon has the right to defend itself against Israel and to liberate the occupied land, but that only the Lebanese army should defend the country, and not Hezbollah.
The Druze leader said he hopes the new President and Prime Minister will succeed in bringing stability and reforms to the war and crisis-hit country, despite the great challenges.
28 February 2025, 14:58
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Jumblat still living in loulou land fighting for Druze hegemony against Israeli Druze, forgetting that Arabs & Lebanon real problem is HizbIran. Immediate concern is for Lebanese government not spend one cent of taxpayer money on reconstructing Hezbollah towns prior to total disarmament of Hizb and bringing its leaders to justice for spending billions on arms & tunnels while most of Lebanese could not afford food or medicine, for sacrificing Lebanon acting as Iran Foreign Legion, for bankrupting Lebanon causing political instability that made long-term investment impossible, for assassinating Hariri, Tueni, Shateh, Slim & others; for their massacres in Syria, for training terrorist in Yemen & other Arab lands ruining governments for Iran benefit, for destroying Lebanese institutions while perfecting captagon and drug trade, money laundering, illegal crossings. Eradicating Hizb cancer for Lebanon to survive must be Jumblat priority if he truly cares about Arabs.
