The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, Gebran Bassil, surrounded by his supporters in Chekka, Batroun district, Jan. 19, 2025. (Credit: Photo from FPM's X account)
The video that circulated on social media on Sunday showed the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FMP) Gebran Bassil addressing his supporters during a tour of Chekka. Deploring the two-month war between Hezbollah and Israel, he lashed out at Hezbollah.“They [Hezbollah] didn’t listen to our advice or our warnings against a war we didn’t want ... They didn’t listen to us because they turn a deaf ear at home and only listen to what foreign parties tell them,” said Bassil. “They embarked on a project that destroyed them and destroyed us along with them.”These remarks are reminiscent of a well-known episode in January 2018. During an election rally in Mehmarch (Batroun), Bassil had described Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri as “baltaji,” (thug), which triggered the ire of the Shiite public opinion and degenerated into a serious political...
The video that circulated on social media on Sunday showed the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement (FMP) Gebran Bassil addressing his supporters during a tour of Chekka. Deploring the two-month war between Hezbollah and Israel, he lashed out at Hezbollah.“They [Hezbollah] didn’t listen to our advice or our warnings against a war we didn’t want ... They didn’t listen to us because they turn a deaf ear at home and only listen to what foreign parties tell them,” said Bassil. “They embarked on a project that destroyed them and destroyed us along with them.”These remarks are reminiscent of a well-known episode in January 2018. During an election rally in Mehmarch (Batroun), Bassil had described Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri as “baltaji,” (thug), which triggered the ire of the Shiite public opinion and degenerated into a...
