A man waves the Druze flag near a community shrine in the Lebanese village of Sharoun, July 16, 2025. (Credit: Dany Moudallal/L'Orient-Le Jour archives)
It is a message that reflects a certain unease. “Congratulations on your speech [in Washington], and on your excellent approach to the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons,” Walid Joumblatt wrote on Wednesday to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. While the head of state had embraced the idea of an “Irish-style” disarmament of the party-militia, an approach advocated by the Druze leader, he did so in the context of the framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel under U.S. auspices. It was the very same agreement that Joumblatt had denounced in a speech in early July as “a unilateral document imposed by Israel… on a country that has only limited expertise in law and diplomacy.” Beyond the headlines Framework agreement with Israel: Understanding Walid Joumblatt's position The skillful politician, accustomed to walking a tightrope,...
It is a message that reflects a certain unease. “Congratulations on your speech [in Washington], and on your excellent approach to the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons,” Walid Joumblatt wrote on Wednesday to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. While the head of state had embraced the idea of an “Irish-style” disarmament of the party-militia, an approach advocated by the Druze leader, he did so in the context of the framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel under U.S. auspices. It was the very same agreement that Joumblatt had denounced in a speech in early July as “a unilateral document imposed by Israel… on a country that has only limited expertise in law and diplomacy.” Beyond the headlines Framework agreement with Israel: Understanding Walid Joumblatt's position The skillful politician, accustomed to walking a...
