Naharnet

Jumblat Urges Return to Dialogue: Inevitability of History Proves All Peoples Will Earn Freedom

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat noted on Monday that Palestine will remain at the heart of the conflict in the Middle East, noting that the "Arab Spring" has arrived in its territories.

He said in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anabaa magazine: “The inevitability of history proves that all peoples will earn their freedom, rights, and dignity.”

“The developments in Gaza eliminate all myths that speak of the superiority of the Israeli army that had been previously defeated in Beirut, Sidon, the South, and western Bekaa, and the July 2006 war,” he added.

“The Palestinian people are bound to be victorious at the end because they are demanding legitimate national rights,” remarked the MP.

“No matter how powerful Israel grows, it will not be able to destroy these rights,” said Jumblat.

“Ending the Arab-Israeli conflict can only be achieved through the two-state solution for Palestine, which requires a political miracle or serious intervention by major world powers,” added the PSP leader.

The legitimacy of the Palestinian demands does not eliminate the need for all sides to reconsider the term of “harboring environment, which has changed significantly” in the past few months, he continued.

The Egypt of former President Hosni Mubarak has changed from the Egypt that now exists, he noted.

Mubarak had respected every article of the Camp David peace agreement with Israel, stated Jumblat.

“The current conflict in Gaza however may create a new reality on the ground, even if Egypt decides to respect, in theory, the Camp David agreement, whose primary purpose was to separate Egypt from Gaza,” he added.

In Syria, he said, the revolution is bound to be victorious, which will create new realities on the ground that may call for suspending the 1973 disengagement agreement.

As for Iran, it is better off seeking rapprochement with Arab countries instead of hanging on to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Jumblat stressed.

“It is strange how Iran supports the Palestinian people's struggle against Israeli oppression, while simultaneously backing the Syrian regime that is exercising the cruelest oppression against its people, who are also demanding freedom and dignity,” he noted.

As for Lebanon, the concept of “harboring environment” changed due to the sharp political divide and the events of May 7, 2008, stated the MP.

“This makes it necessary for all sides to avoid accusations of treason against each other and once again return to the national dialogue headed by President Michel Suleiman,” stressed the Druze chief.

“The dialogue must primarily address how to employ the resistance's arms for defense purposes in order to fortify the internal scene during this critical regional situation,” Jumblat stressed.

On the sixth anniversary of the assassination of former Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, the MP renewed his solidarity to his father Phalange Party leader Amin Gemayel.

“On this occasion, we remember the martyr who strived to achieve freedom, independence, and his dream of the rise of a united and strong state capable of defending all of its people without discrimination,” he remarked.

On November 21, 2006, gunmen opened fired at close range on Gemayel's car in the Northern Metn district of Jdeideh, killing the then industry minister and his bodyguard, Samir Chartouni.


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