Joumblatt rejects changes after Barrack’s 'Bilad al-Sham' remarks

BEIRUT — Druze leader Walid Joumblatt on Monday, following a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, reaffirmed his attachment "to the current entities" after U.S. envoy Tom Barrack raised the issue of an "existential threat" to Lebanon.

"If Lebanon does not move, it will return to Bilad al-Sham"(historical greater Syria,) the American diplomat had said.

The Druze leader emphasized his attachment to "Greater Lebanon established in 1920," adding that "Bilad al-Sham starts from Lebanon all the way to Iraq, and we are attached to the current entities," in response to recent statements by Tom Barrack. The latter had warned against a possible return of Lebanon into the fold of "Bilad al-Sham," in the absence of Hezbollah’s disarmament and structural reforms. The U.S. envoy later sought to clarify his comments, assuring that it was not a "threat" to Lebanon

Read more about Barrack's comments

The return of the Syrian shadow in Lebanon

Regarding Syria, Joumblatt expressed his support for the "restoration of security and the conclusion of a reconciliation in Sweida, under the aegis of the Syrian state," stating that "Sweida, just like Jaramana, Homs, and all regions of Syria, is under the protection of the Syrian state." He made these remarks after clashes in Sweida between Druze fighters and local Bedouin tribes that resulted in at least 99 deaths, including 60 Druze, most of whom were fighters.

The Druze leader also considered the issue of South Lebanon "is in good hands." This matter "is in the hands of the three presidents" (Joseph Aoun, Nawaf Salam, and Nabih Berri), he said.

While the Israeli army still occupies five positions in South Lebanon and carries out near-daily strikes in the region as well as in the Bekaa, Joumblatt said that "Israeli threats are a sword constantly hanging over our heads, but this cannot go on: either a ceasefire is reached or it is not."