The meeting requested by the head of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, with Hezbollah, so he set the date for him on August 11 in Clemenceau, cannot have its effects, no matter how long the meeting takes. Although more than a week has passed since Clemenceau’s meeting, several details about what took place on his table have not been revealed until now, after the two sides kept quiet about several points, all of which remained far from the media, but “Al-Diyar” obtained private information about the concerns raised by the leader of Mukhtara and what He declared it to his opponent yesterday, Hezbollah, and how did the party respond to Jumblatt’s concerns, so what happened on Thursday afternoon, August 11, from the moment Al-Baik received its guests until the moment of farewell?
In form, and unlike Jumblatt’s meetings, which are known to do not exceed a quarter or half an hour at best, the Clemenceau meeting gained Jumblatt’s attention, pushing Beik to prolong the discussion over 50 minutes. On his side, he said: “A well-known pilgrim, sit down.” On the opposite side, Haj Wafiq Safa, MP Wael Abu Faour and former Minister Ghazi Al-Aridi sat.
As he was keen to organize the seating process, the leader of Al-Mukhtara was also keen on “hospitality” and asked his guests what they would drink, so the “bitter coffee” was for Hajj Hussein Al-Khalil and the rest of the guests, while he preferred to sip the “mate” he had brought in a large jug that would last 50 minutes of talk.
And the discussion of the meeting of the hour began, in which Jumblatt seems to be a “minor,” as Al-Diyar’s information indicates that all the questions and themes that he was keen to put to Hezbollah were listed in an orderly manner on papers placed in front of him, on which he wrote all the questions he had in mind. This is in form, but in content, the presidential election was at the forefront of the debate, where Jumblatt took the initiative to say: Frankly, the words of Mr. Presidential), “worry me.” Do you want a presidential vacuum? Jumblatt asked his guests, and Hajj al-Khalil quickly responded: No, on the contrary, we want the award to be completed on time, and this is what we seek. Jumblatt replied: I do not want a “provocative challenge” president. It is remarkable that Jumblatt brought here the head of the Forces Party, Samir Geagea, and said: I, for example, cannot walk. Geagea for the presidency. He is a “obstinate” man. Al-Hajj Al-Khalil remained listening until he summed it up with: “I hope we will agree on a president who will be part of the plan to save the country.”
From this door, Jumblatt entered to ask about the ally, and he said: I realize that the resistance needs a Christian cover, but your ally over the six years has not had an encouraging experience and we have suffered a lot, so here Hezbollah, through Hajj Al-Khalil, was keen to comment very briefly: “This is our conviction” (referring to The party is convinced of its alliances and does not agree with Jumblatt’s opinion.”
Jumblatt continued his speech, comparing Lebanon to Gaza, asking Hussein Al-Khalil: Has Lebanon not become similar to the Gaza Strip? There are even areas that have become worse than the Gaza Strip, such as Tripoli, which suffers from poverty and deprivation. Al-Hajj quickly replied: What is this thanks to the Americans and the siege imposed on Lebanon by America and the Gulf? So Jumblatt asked how? Al-Hajj would answer by saying: For example, where has the issue of importing gas from Egypt and electricity from Jordan become? Why is the story stopped?
Jumblatt quickly approached Hajj al-Khalil with what the American ambassador, Dorothy Shea, said when she visited him, saying: “When the American ambassador visited me, she asked the same question, and I replied that there are two conditions that must be implemented, and Jumblatt sought help here” with Comrade Wael to remind him of the two conditions. Abu Faour responded that the government is required to raise Electricity pricing and the formation of the body that regulates the sector. Then, the political assistant to Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Hajj Hussein Al-Khalil, asked: What is the relationship between the American ambassador to interfere with the internal issues that the government should do?
On this point, Jumblatt responded, heading to Hebron, by saying: “The siege is not the only reason for what we have reached, as there is corruption in the officials that brought us here.” Hebron quickly said: What, and successive governments for 30 years are the ones that caused us distress and then the siege fell on us.
The conversation moved to the demarcation file. Jumblatt asked: What do you want to do with the demarcation? It was interesting here that Jumblatt asked Hebron what President Berri was doing, not what the three presidents had agreed upon. The guest (Al-Hajj Al-Khalil) replied by saying yes, even if we saw that what was agreed upon between the concerned parties constituted the minimum level of Lebanese rights, but this is the responsibility of the state and we do not interfere in the file, so Jumblatt was satisfied with “goodness.”
To continue, always heading to Hajj al-Khalil, who is sitting next to him: Do you not think that these marches that were launched are due to an Iranian decision to improve Iran’s conditions for nuclear negotiations? Al-Hajj hastened to say: “By God, we are very mistaken, Beck. The last concern of the Iranians is, even the nuclear agreement, if it is not completed, then it is not of the Iranians’ interests, especially since several years have passed from it and there is little left.” He added: The marches were launched by a purely Lebanese decision, and this is a card of strength for Lebanon and for the presidents. The three, and you are aware of this matter, so Jumblatt hastened to say: Ok, do you mean, are you going to war? Do you want to go to war?
Here, al-Hajj al-Khalil said frankly: “I tell you honestly, if Israel and America remain intransigent, and this is the last dose of oxygen for the Lebanese people. We would rather die a thousand times in war than not die in queues.” And all the rights of the Palestinian people. Al-Hajj Al-Khalil asked: Would Resolution 425 have been implemented without the resistance? For 25 years, he remained ink on paper, had it not been for the strength of the resistance. Jumblatt replied: “You are right!”
Al-Hajj Al-Khalil continued, recalling a drawing of a Palestinian painter, and said to the head of the Progressive Socialist Party: For many years, when the peace process began in the days of Abu Ammar, they asked a Palestinian painter to draw a dove of peace. Some of them were placed under these guns, the egg and the dove of peace, so the pilgrim concludes this narration by saying: Security and peace are not protected except by force, and truth does not come except by force!
Jumblatt replied with the best of the situation, and continued: You have the right to say hello to the master. I have a proposal that I want to pray for: negotiation is a thousand times better than war. Al-Hajj replied: It is true and we are with you, and if we can achieve our rights without war, then this is better for everyone.
Jumblatt continued with the demarcation file, saying: If we assume that we extracted oil, I have a proposal to form a national company that will undertake the negotiations with the other operating companies so that brokerages and deals are removed. He gave an example that in Saudi Arabia there is Aramco, and in Iran there is the National Oil Company, as well as in Venezuela. Hajj Al-Khalil said: “A respectable opinion that can be studied,” pointing out that this proposal reminds him of Speaker Berri’s proposal regarding the sovereign fund.
Jumblatt concluded the discussion with demarcation at this point, and moved to talk about another axis, and between the axis and the axis, he was looking at the paper placed in front of him on which he wrote everything on his mind “Al-Baik”, in order not to miss any question, so he asked about the International Monetary Fund and if Hezbollah was going with it? The answer came: “We have no problem in principle, but not “how it was.” If the conditions do not conflict with the sovereignty of the country and the dignity of the people, you are welcome, but this matter is the responsibility of all the components of the Council.
After these three main axes, there was talk in universities and hospitals, as in the case of Archbishop Musa al-Hajj. Jumblatt warned about the issue of universities and hospitals, which were ammunition for Lebanon, about the brain drain that is taking place from doctors and engineers, asking: Do you not think that the migration of people is harmful to the country? Al-Hajj Al-Khalil replied that this matter is not only harmful to the country, but that we consider it harmful to the resistance. “People are water for us.”
As for the case of Archbishop Moussa al-Hajj, which was the last point of discussion at Clemenceau’s table between the Socialist and Hezbollah, the head of the Progressive Socialist Party stressed that it is not the first time that this case has occurred, but I do not accept that money is brought from Israel to the Druze of Syria and Lebanon, and my statement was clear. In this regard, Al-Hajj hastened to praise Al-Baik’s position, saying: We heard you and your position was successful!
Before discussing the case of Archbishop Al-Hajj, Jumblatt, Fatih Jumblatt, the Hezbollah delegation on the issue of drugs and smuggling taking place through the crossings, considering that they are fleeing from Lebanon to Syria to the Druze Mountain and from there to Jordan.
No, Beck, we, knowing that we consider this matter to be forbidden by our religion and morals and by law, all the information we have is always keen to provide the security forces with it in full to facilitate the pursuit of wanted persons, even in our areas! Jumblatt replied: Well, Barki in Syria will also talk to the regime, before Al-Hajj resolves it by saying: “We do not allow ourselves to interfere in internal issues in Syria!
On these axes, Clemenceau’s extended meeting ended with an agreement to continue communication without setting specific dates, and pending the next meeting, prominent circles commented on the conversation by saying: Jumblatt may have asked all his concerns regarding the performance of Hezbollah in the next stage. As for Hezbollah God seemed, as usual, to be careful not to give a definitive answer when asking sensitive and crucial questions.