Hizbullah Weapons Is a Necessity; We Oppose a Hariri Majority
Telecoms Minister Gebran Bassil on Tuesday defended Hizbullah”s weapons as a "necessity" to confront Israel and said the Free Patriotic Movement opposed a parliamentary majority by the "Hariri family."
He was speaking during a tour of villages and towns in Batroun.
Bassil said that Hizbullah”s weapons were not a threat to Lebanon adding that "the real danger which the country was able to surmount" was posed by "active and dangerous fundamentalist movements and explosions across Lebanon."
"What Hizbullah is calling for today is a unified Lebanon. Hizbullah”s weapons are necessary to confront Israel and the conspiracy of settling" Palestinian refugees in the country.
Lebanon faced "grave dangers over the past years including fundamentalist networks that mushroomed in Nahr el-Bared" camp, he said.
On the elections, Bassil said the FPM was not against the Lebanese Forces and Phalange party winning a majority in parliament.
"But the FPM is opposed to a Hariri family parliamentary majority," he added.
He expressed hope that the FPM will have "the largest parliamentary bloc through which we can combat corruption."
Bassil said political opponents who "describe themselves as independents and centrists are unable to realize the change that we aspire for."
The 2005 elections presented an "opportunity to restore unity among the Lebanese based on partnership and balance. But we were stabbed by those we extended our hand to," he added.