Jumblatt: “Disarming Hezbollah by force, as the Americans demand, is militarily and domestically impossible in Lebanon”

Former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt stressed that “dialogue must be held with Hezbollah, as it is not a foreign body in Lebanon.”

He noted: “The problem today is: with whom do we engage in dialogue within the party? In Hassan Nasrallah’s days, it was possible to talk to him, because he understood Lebanon in his own way and had a broad popular base. Today, however, we do not know who is actually leading the party. Naim Qassem is merely a spokesman, not the decision-maker. As long as Israeli attacks, assassinations, and shelling continue, you cannot ask a Hezbollah fighter to hand over his weapon. He will simply tell you: go away. For disarmament to be put on the table, a degree of calm must first be achieved, the Israelis must withdraw with American guarantees, the Lebanese Army must be strengthened, and a new international force must be established to replace UNIFIL.”

Jumblatt continued in an interview with the French online newspaper Mediapart: “Let us be clear: disarming Hezbollah by force, as the Americans demand, is militarily and domestically impossible in Lebanon. The Lebanese Army is made up of Lebanese — Shiites, Sunnis, Druze, and others — and it cannot be pushed into fighting Shiite villages.”

In response to a question, he said that “history is repeating itself, but with more brutal and advanced means.” He explained: “In the past, Israel had not destroyed the occupied area as it is doing today south of the Yellow Line it drew unilaterally. It has acted as it did in Gaza. It has created a small Gaza in Lebanon.”

He added: “As for negotiations, I support them, whether direct or indirect, but on conditions: a return to the 1949 Armistice Line, with a mechanism for mutual monitoring and an international force that could include the French and the Italians.”