Walid Joumblatt at Clemenceau on Aug. 27, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L’Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — Druze leader Walid Joumblatt on Thursday criticized Kataeb party chief Samy Gemayel’s proposal to enshrine neutrality in the Lebanese constitution, asking: “Will Israel withdraw from the occupied territories?” and warning against “a whirlwind of internal discussions we do not need.”
“Before calling for neutrality and amending the constitution, wait, gentlemen: Will Israel withdraw from the occupied territories? Is it wise to distance ourselves from the Arab world and abandon the principle of ‘land for peace’?” Joumblatt asked on X. “As for amending the constitution, it could drag us into a whirlwind of internal discussions we do not need.”
قبل ان نناشد الحياد ونعدل الدستور مهلا أيها السادة فهل اسرائيل ستخرج من الأراضي المحتلة وهل من المفيد الخروج من المحيط العربي والتخلي عن مبدأ الارض مقابل السلام .اما تعديل الدستور فقد يدخلنا بدوامة نقاش داخلي نحن بغنى عنها #لبنان pic.twitter.com/HYpyFYOUPn
— Walid Joumblatt (@walidjoumblatt) November 13, 2025
“Enshrine neutrality in the constitution.” This is the slogan the Kataeb launched on social media following the bill submitted by the party leader, aiming to add a clause enshrining the principle of neutrality in the preamble of Lebanon’s fundamental law.
While the Kataeb have long championed this slogan, Gemayel is calling for enshrining neutrality at a time when the drums of a new war with Israel are getting louder, Hezbollah refuses to discuss its disarmament, and above all as Lebanon is intensively debating the possibility of direct talks with Israel on a long-term stability agreement.
This is an option the Kataeb support, with Gemayel even suggesting that such negotiations could be led by President Joseph Aoun himself if necessary.
