Hezbollah’s stances ‘unbearable Burden, ‘plunging Lebanon into the Iranian trap’: PSP official

Hezbollah’s stances and regional policies have become an unbearable burden for Lebanon, They are ‘plunging Lebanon into the Iranian trap’, the former Minister of Health and Social Affairs declared on Tuesday in response to the verbal attack by Hezbollah chief against the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its King Salman

By Ali Hussein

Beirut – Former minister, MP Wael Abu Faour , a key official of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) that is headed by Walid Jumblatt declared Tuesday that “Hezbollah’s stances and regional policies have become an unbearable burden for Lebanon.

He made the statement hours after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah launched a verbal attack against Saudi Arabia and its King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

“Insulting Saudi Arabia, its leadership and Lebanon’s Arab ties is no longer an occasional stance… It is clear that it has become a premeditated policy aimed at destroying these ties and plunging Lebanon into the Iranian trap,” Abu Faour said.

He criticized Hezbollah for “taking the country hostage to matters that have nothing to do with Lebanon’s belonging, interest or ability.”

“It is clear that the promised defense strategy is no longer limited to Lebanese soil and logic requires that it include Hezbollah’s policies in the region,” he added.

The leader of Lebanon’s Iranian backed Hezbollah militant group verbally attacked the king of Saudi Arabia on Monday, saying Riyadh helped spread extremist Islamic ideology worldwide and is taking the thousands of Lebanese who work in the oil-rich Persian Gulf region “hostage.”

 Nasrallah’s attack during a speech in Beirut came in response to comments by King Salman, who called on the Lebanese in a speech last week “to end the terrorist Hezbollah’s control” of Lebanon.

 Nasrallah’s comments come as Lebanese authorities are trying to mend relations with Saudi Arabia that hit a new low in October when the kingdom recalled its ambassador from Beirut and banned all Lebanese imports. The Saudi move followed comments by a Lebanese Cabinet minister who said in a televised interview that the war in Yemen was futile and called it an aggression by the Saudi-led coalition. 

Nasrallah’s attack prompted Lebanon PM Najib Mikati to blast the Hezbollah chief over his hateful speech  against the the Saudi king .  “For God’s sake, have mercy on Lebanon and the Lebanese people and stop the hateful sectarian and political rhetoric”, he told Nasrallah . Millions of Lebanese people depend on the remittances of about 500, 000 Lebanese of all religious sects including Shiites who earn their living in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries.

LEBANESE GETTING TITRED OF HEZBOLLAH

Former PM Saad Hariri on Tuesday also blasted Nasrallah over his latest anti-Saudi remarks, saying that “history will not be merciful on a party that is selling its Arab identity, its country’s stability and its people’s interests in return for some participation in the region’s wars.”

“Your insistence on antagonizing Saudi Arabia and its leadership is a continuous act of jeopardizing Lebanon, its role and the interests of its sons,” Hariri said in a series of tweets.

Similarly former minister , MP Nuhad Al-Machnouk launched a counterattack on Nasrallah, saying: “I am more and more certain that the Secretary-General of Hezbollah does not live In Lebanon, because if he was among us, he would have been outraged at the seeing the living conditions of the Lebanese at least as outraged he was over the assassination of Qassem Soleimani. But it seems that he is not aware of the state of collapse that people are experiencing, or that it is an issue outside his top priorities.”

Last week president Aoun also made similar statements when he criticized his ally Hezbollah and its Amal ally ( without naming them for their deliberate and systematic blockage of the cabinet meetings stressing that such behavior which dismantles the state and drives it to its demise must be ended.” 

The Cabinet of PM Najib Mikati has not met since October , since the Shiite alliance is insisting that the judge investigating the devastating port blast must be fired before their ministers rejoin the cabinet meetings.

One analysts told Ya-Libnan: “It has become a well known fact that Hezbollah is behind the 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate that exploded at the port on August 4, 2020 for this reason Hezbollah is trying to prevent Judge Tarek Bitar from completing his investigation and issuing the indictments “