Over 4.1 million gather at Grand Mosque on 29th night of Ramadan    Myanmar earthquake death toll climbs to 144    Zelenskyy says new US draft minerals deal 'significantly differs,' rules out treating aid as a loan    Sudanese army says it has cleared final RSF positions in Khartoum    Trump renews push to acquire Greenland    Interior minister visits Grand Mosque operations center    Saudi Arabia prepares over 19,000 mosques and open-air prayer grounds for Eid Al-Fitr prayers    Reef Saudi bazaar celebrates rural heritage with traditional crafts and strong public turnout    World's largest barbershop opens at Clock Towers Center in Makkah to serve pilgrims    Saudi non-oil exports jump 10.7% in January    Saudi creatives shine at Jeddah's Fawanees Nights with art, fashion, and storytelling    OMODA&JAECOO Accelerate Global Expansion JAECOO J8 records strong first month orders in Saudi Arabia, J5 prepares for launch    LOT - The Value Shop makes its grand debut in Hafar Al-Batin    100 Thieves claim Marvel Rivals Invitational NA crown as 2025 scene heats up    T1 CEO confirms Gumayusi's return for LCK Spring after lineup shakeup    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Saudi Arabia hold Japan to goalless draw in Saitama to stay in World Cup hunt    Disney's Snow White film tops box office despite bad reviews    NewJeans announces hiatus after setback in court battle    George Foreman, heavyweight champion and cultural icon, dies at 76    Court rules against K-pop group NewJeans in record label dispute    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    King Salman prays for peace and stability for Palestinians in Ramadan message King reaffirms Saudi Arabia's commitment to serving the Two Holy Mosques and pilgrims    Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan 'out of danger' after attack at home in Mumbai    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Druze head scorns Hezbollah
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 09 - 06 - 2014

BEIRUT — The decision by Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group to join the civil war in neighboring Syria and fight along President Bashar Al-Assad's forces was a historic and moral “mistake” toward the Syrian people, a leading Lebanese politician has said.
The harsh criticism by Walid Jumblatt, who leads Lebanon's minority Druze sect, reflects his increasing pessimism about the bloody conflict next door, now in its fourth year.
Although he leads a minority sect, Jumblatt is a pillar and a mainstay in Lebanese politics and is often referred to as the country's “kingmaker” because of his small bloc's track record of tipping the balance during key votes in parliament.
"Hezbollah intervened in Syria and did not care about the Lebanese (public) opinion," Jumblatt told The Associated Press during a recent interview at his home in Beirut. “This is a historical and moral mistake toward the Syrian people.”
Hezbollah's fighters openly entered the fight in Syria in May 2013 and were instrumental in helping Assad's troops push back rebels and re-capture strategic towns and rebel strongholds along the border with Lebanon and near Syria's capital, Damascus.
This turned the tide in the conflict, giving Assad's forces the upper hand against the rebels seeking to overthrow the Syrian leader, who last week won a third seven-year term in a presidential election derided as a farce by the opposition.
Now, the Syrian civil war will be “very long,” Jumblatt said. Instead of fighting in Syria, he said Hezbollah should have focused on archenemy Israel.
“I say that the guns should be directed toward the Israeli enemy,” Jumblatt added.
Jumblatt — whose Druze are like Assad's Alawites — has been known for his shifting loyalties. His history with Hezbollah has been both complex and full of U-turns.
After the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, Jumblatt sharply criticized Hezbollah and the Syrian government, which many in Lebanon blamed for the killing. Damascus denies it was behind Hariri's slaying.
In May 2008, tensions between Jumblatt's Druze followers and allies on one side and Hezbollah on the other erupted into street fighting in Beirut and nearby mountains, killing 81 people and nearly plunging Lebanon into another civil war.
In 2009, Jumblatt reconciled with the Hezbollah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who the following year personally mediated a meeting between the Druze politician and Assad. That meeting was a sharp turn for Jumblatt, who only three years earlier had called the Syrian president a “snake” and a “tyrant.”
Then, after his last visit to Damascus in June 2011, Jumblatt again broke with Assad.
“We are still at the beginning of the war in Syria. In the long term, the map of the Middle East will be redrawn,” Jumblatt said.
“The main winner is the Islamic republic,” he said referring to Iran, which is one of Assad's strongest allies.
Jumblatt has repeatedly urged his countrymen not to get involved in the Syrian conflict.
But from the topic of war, the Druze politician is quick to turn to lighter subjects when prompted.
Asked about actor George Clooney's engagement to 36-year-old Lebanese-British international law attorney Amal Alamuddin — who like Jumblatt happens to be a Druze — he smiled and said he hoped the couple would soon visit the Druse heartland.
Jumblatt said he would be happy to welcome Clooney in his palatial mansion in the Druze village of Mukhtara, high in the mountains over Beirut.
Clooney will bring us “great publicity,” Jumblatt said. “He can make a movie about the Druse sect.” — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.