Bassil: Iran, Syria, Iraq have not waged war on Israel, so why should Lebanon?
Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil has again criticized Hezbollah’s so-called “Gaza support front” in south Lebanon, noting that “the FPM had the courage from the first day after October 7 to demand that Lebanon not be linked to other arenas and to the interests of other countries.”
“Since that date, Lebanon has been fearing strikes, and unfortunately this matter has affected the arrival of expats during the month of August,” Bassil added, in a speech at the annual dinner of the FPM’s Koura department.
“The Lebanese people have proven their ability to persevere and confront whenever war has been imposed on them. When war erupts for the sake of Lebanon’s interest, liberating land, returning refugees, investing in the oil and gas resources or preventing attacks on our territory, then I don’t feel that anyone will dare not fight it,” Bassil said.
He however added that “some Lebanese feel that they have nothing to do with this war” and that they have “the right to ask why this war is being fought.”
“Why are we linking Lebanon’s fate to the fate of other countries and for whose interest?” Bassil wondered.
“These are questions that can be asked and every Lebanese has the right to ask them. It is not the FPM that should be accused of treason if it asks about the impact on Lebanon after around 11 months” of clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, the FPM chief added.
Noting that “Iran, Syria and Iraq have not waged war on Israel,” Bassil asked “why should Lebanon alone wage the war.”
“We are asking this question to rectify the course, not to give up the Palestinian cause,” he added.
“We would defend the Palestinian cause with stances and weapons if needed, but not in a way that harms Lebanon and does not provide help and assistance for Gaza,” Bassil went on to say.
He also stressed that Lebanon “should be strong to be able to assist Gaza,” decrying that “Lebanon is being left without a president, government and economy amid the presence of two million displaced Syrians, while the (caretaker) government is standing idly by.”
