Hezbollah’s leadership instructed the party’s officials, cadres and its electronic army, not to react to declarations made by the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and avoid entering into debates or arguments with the movement’s leader and “former ally” Gebran Bassil.
Hezbollah’s argument is that it is too preoccupied with the battle against Israel in South Lebanon and does not want to engage in “side debates” that would distract it from its “main mission,” especially since Israel has shown no real restraint in targeting Lebanon.
Meanwhile, a Hezbollah delegation, led by the head of the party’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, met with former president and FPM founder Michel Aoun recently in an ice-breaking effort on the part of the pro-Iranian party.
A Hezbollah official said that the meeting took place at the initiative of the party, after the party leadership decided to break the deadlock in the relationship with the FPM.
“We took the initiative because we do not want to have a disagreement with President Aoun and the FPM at this stage,” the official said.
Regarding the strained relationship with the FPM’s leader, the official said, “it would be arranged” as Bassil will still be given a certain margin of action.
Lebanese Forces’ circles believe that Bassil will not break up with the party, despite his criticism during which he avoided calling for the removal of Hezbollah’s weapons as stipulated by UN resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701.
In a recent interview, Bassil strongly criticized Hezbollah’s involvement in the Gaza conflict through opening its so-called “support front” in South Lebanon, by saying that “it is not Lebanon’s duty to liberate Palestine.”
In a related development, the party’s leadership asked officials to send strongly worded messages against Israel that would contribute to strengthening the resolve and engagement of its popular base and raising their morale.
Raad was quoted as saying, “We are waiting for Israel to commit the greatest mistake in order to challenge its mere existence.”
His colleague, MP Hassan Fadlallah, responded to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s statement that his country “has only used 10% of its capabilities against Hezbollah,” by cautioning that the Iranian-backed group “has only used 5% of its (military) capabilities to confront Israel.”
Hezbollah’s argument is that it is too preoccupied with the battle against Israel in South Lebanon and does not want to engage in “side debates” that would distract it from its “main mission,” especially since Israel has shown no real restraint in targeting Lebanon.
Meanwhile, a Hezbollah delegation, led by the head of the party’s Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc, MP Mohammad Raad, met with former president and FPM founder Michel Aoun recently in an ice-breaking effort on the part of the pro-Iranian party.
A Hezbollah official said that the meeting took place at the initiative of the party, after the party leadership decided to break the deadlock in the relationship with the FPM.
“We took the initiative because we do not want to have a disagreement with President Aoun and the FPM at this stage,” the official said.
Regarding the strained relationship with the FPM’s leader, the official said, “it would be arranged” as Bassil will still be given a certain margin of action.
Lebanese Forces’ circles believe that Bassil will not break up with the party, despite his criticism during which he avoided calling for the removal of Hezbollah’s weapons as stipulated by UN resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701.
In a recent interview, Bassil strongly criticized Hezbollah’s involvement in the Gaza conflict through opening its so-called “support front” in South Lebanon, by saying that “it is not Lebanon’s duty to liberate Palestine.”
In a related development, the party’s leadership asked officials to send strongly worded messages against Israel that would contribute to strengthening the resolve and engagement of its popular base and raising their morale.
Raad was quoted as saying, “We are waiting for Israel to commit the greatest mistake in order to challenge its mere existence.”
His colleague, MP Hassan Fadlallah, responded to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant’s statement that his country “has only used 10% of its capabilities against Hezbollah,” by cautioning that the Iranian-backed group “has only used 5% of its (military) capabilities to confront Israel.”
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