No Way to Settle Shabaa Farms Issue Without Formal Syrian Approval
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Monday said "no way" to settle the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms issue without formal Syrian approval.
"The Syrians are avoiding formal approval of the border (demarcation) so Lebanon”s future would remain at their mercy and so they could maintain a bargaining chip they could use in their negotiations with Israel at the expense of Lebanon”s future and sovereignty," Jumblat said in a speech at the German embassy.
Jumblat described as "Syrian bases full of arms" Palestinian positions located outside refugee camps in Lebanon.
He said these bases also include "some Palestinian dissidents and many known and unknown members who infiltrate into Lebanon without any attempt to prevent them from arriving to Bekaa or Beirut and any other region."
Jumblat said "only global pressure" or "European monitors" could solve this problem.
"Dispatching delegations from Europe and the U.S. to Damascus, however, would only encourage (Syrian President Bashar) Assad and provide him with a sense of assurance," Jumblat complained.