Leader of the Kataeb party Sami Gemayel asserted that Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri, whom he accuses of obstructing the presidential election, is attempting to balance his alliance with Hezbollah and his relations with the United States.
“Berri cannot go against the Americans, as he has interests in the United States where members of his family reside, but at the same time, he is under the sword of Damocles of Hezbollah, which he cannot afford to defy either,” Gemayel commented in an interview with al-Horra channel on Monday.
Gemayel also downplayed the importance of the initiative proposed by the National Moderation parliamentary bloc, considering it a waste of time. “Only one thing is required: for Hezbollah to stop blocking the presidential election by causing a lack of quorum or by refusing to discuss a third candidate.”
The Moderation initiative aims to hold parliamentary discussions on the presidential election that would be followed by a call for an electoral session of multiple rounds until a president is elected. “Are we playing games here? Let Hezbollah tell us that it is ready to engage in discussions about a third candidate so that we can sit down for dialogue. The fact is, Hezbollah wants to continue wasting time,” he lamented.
He confirmed that he is working to form a broad opposition front “that will hold Hezbollah accountable.”
“Either it decides to coexist with us, within the framework of the same state, or it must establish its own because we have no intention of living in the same state with it,” he declared.
Gemayel explained that the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) will not be part of this opposition front. While he acknowledged “significant progress in the FPM’s stance towards Hezbollah,” he noted that it remains insufficient as the party led by Gebran Bassil “has still not rejected the presence of illegal weapons in Lebanon or the fact that Hezbollah monopolizes the decision of war and peace in the country.”
