Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, a former foe of Syria and Hizbullah, has switched sides and now backs advanced arms for a war against Israel by the terrorist organization. In an interview with the BBC, he also said he is against peace with Israel.
Jumblatt, part of the Lebanese coalition in which Hizbullah has won a large influence, said in an Arabic-language BBC telecast, “We want neither peace nor a settlement with Israel.” The interview was translated by Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
The Druze leader, considered the canniest political leader in Lebanon, previously has said he feared his assassination for anti-Syrian comments. He opposed Hizbullah after the 2005 car bomb murder of anti-Syrian leader and previous Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, but after a recent meeting with Syrian officials, he stated, “It was agreed that we leave behind a tense chapter in bilateral relations and start anew, seeking to preserve and support the resistance.”
Resistance is used by terrorist groups as a euphemism for violence against Israel.
Jumblatt now blames Israel for the creation of Hizbullah and accuses the West of leaving the Lebanese Army dependent on the terrorist organization, which he accused as recently as last year of possessing “weapons of treachery.” Now, however, he told the BBC that his former statement was “based on mistaken information or mistaken analysis.”
He told the interviewer earlier this month that advanced weapons in the hands of Hizbullah “are efficient and are necessary for the defense of Lebanon. Unless the West and some Arab countries give the Lebanese Army high-quality weapons, we are in need of the high-quality weapons of Hizbullah."
While saying that Hizbullah should not maintain its arsenal until the Lebanese Army reaches the same level, he added that if he had anti-aircraft weapons, he would use them to start a war against Israel because “we have the right to defend ourselves.” Israel has frequently flown reconnaissance planes over Lebanon to monitor Hizbullah smuggling activity, in violation of the United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution that ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The arms added to Hizbullah's arsenal are in violation of that same resolution.
“We have agreed [with Hizbullah] on the basic principles – a special relationship with Syria and a truce with Israel,” Jumblatt added. “We want neither peace nor a settlement with Israel. This is the best way to defend ourselves.” He said that he is against a peace agreement with Israel even if the Jewish State were to surrender all of the area on the northern border where Lebanon claims sovereignty.
“We will be able to take the risk of peace [only] when a Palestinian state is established, and the Palestinian refugees return to their land,” he declared, referring to the Right of Return, the demand by the Arab world that Israel allow the immigration of millions of foreign Arabs claiming ancestry in Israel.
Replying to charges that Syria is providing Hizbullah with weapons, including Scud missiles, Jumblatt said, “The purpose of the resistance is to defend Lebanon. Where it gets its weapons – that is its own business… As I’ve told you, we asked the Western countries to give Lebanon weapons sufficient for its defense. But the West gave us nothing but some equipment, part of which was good, part of which was not. Where does the resistance get its weapons? I don’t care."