Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rai criticized on Sunday the Lebanese authorities’ position on Hezbollah’s weapons, stressing that officials “have no right to justify the plurality of arms.”
In response, Grand Jaafari Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Kabalan emphasized that the Shiite sect’s “choice begins and ends with the resistance,” meaning Hezbollah.
Beirut's response to the Gulf initiative, which avoided discussing Hezbollah’s arms and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1559, has sparked fierce debate in Lebanon. The initiative is aimed at mending Lebanon's ties with the Gulf, which believes that Iran-backed Hezbollah has become too dominant in the country at the expense of its Arab identity.
During his Sunday sermon, Rai said: “It is not permissible for some to invoke the new reality and promote the postponement of the parliamentary elections.”
“It is the state’s duty to make bold and correct decisions, and respond effectively to every effort to save the country from collapse and put it on the path of real rescue.”
The patriarch stressed that efforts must be made by the authorities to reject the status quo, domination, prejudice and aggression against brotherly and friendly countries, while demanding the implementation of international resolutions.
He continued: “The Lebanese state is unable today to agree on a unified position regarding the proposals and initiatives that are presented to it. For this reason, we have proposed holding of an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations that would establish an executive mechanism for international resolutions…”
Rai’s position on the plurality of arms was met with a response from Kabalan, who underlined the Shiites’ insistence on their stance towards Hezbollah’s weapons.
“The choice of the Shiites and every free patriot begins and ends with resistance,” he said on Sunday.
He added: “We will engage in Lebanon’s electoral and political battles with the same resistance patriotism, on the basis of a free and sovereign country, a country of coexistence…”
