The head of the FPM at a dinner in Koura, North Lebanon, Aug. 27, 2024. (Credit: FPM press office)
Gebran Bassil, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), reiterated his party's stance Tuesday evening on Hezbollah's involvement in Gaza, lamenting that Lebanon has "lived in fear of strikes" since the group opened a "support" front on Oct. 8, 2023.
"The FPM had the courage, as early as Oct. 7, to call for Lebanon not to be tied with other fronts and international conflicts," Bassil said during a party dinner in Koura, North Lebanon.
He emphasized that the fear of strikes has impacted the arrival of expatriates in August. Although no official figures for tourist arrivals in August have been released, the most recent data from the Tourism Ministry shows a 16.1% decline in visitors in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023, with a total of 630,075.
Despite this decrease, the figure remains 10.4% higher than in the first half of 2022, according to the Byblos Bank's "Lebanon This Week" newsletter, which compiled the data. Visitors to Lebanon include Lebanese expatriates with dual nationality entering on foreign passports. Only a cross-reference of data from General Security and the Tourism Ministry would clarify the proportion of foreign tourists within this total.
Bassil added that the Lebanese "have the right to ask themselves why this war is being waged" in South Lebanon, and "what is the point of linking Lebanon's fate to that of other countries."
"Iran, Syria and Iraq have not gone to war against Israel. So why should Lebanon alone wage such a war?"
He insisted that he does not intend to "abandon the Palestinian cause," but argued that Lebanon must "be strong" to support Gaza. "What purpose does it serve when the country is without a president, without a government, without an economy, and hosts two million displaced Syrians?" he added.
Lebanese authorities frequently cite the figure of two million Syrian refugees in the country, of whom 815,000 are registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
