Lebanese MPs Slam Trump's Move as Berri Warns over Holy Sites

W460

Lebanon's parliament held a special session on Friday over U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.

At the end of the session, Berri addressed a recommendation, in the name of the Lebanese people, to the U.S. administration.

The recommendation supports “the right of the Palestinian people to resort to legitimate resistance and struggle to get rid of the Israeli occupation.”

Berri also called for “unifying all Arab efforts to employ the capabilities in supporting the Palestinians as they seek their rights,” urging “the avoidance of all other conflicts.”

“Parliament considers that the U.S. decision on Jerusalem would lead to wars, jeopardize regional and international peace, and represent a cover for the Israeli occupation,” the parliament's recommendation says.

At the opening of the session, Berri had warned that “those who dare to aggress against Jerusalem would dare to aggress against al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Resurrection, and therefore against Lebanon.”

Speaking at the session, the head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad described Trump's move as a “new aggression by the highest U.S. authority that is aimed at achieving common U.S.-Israeli interests at the expense of Palestine and the Arab and Islamic countries.”

Raad also called for “endorsing or benefiting from the confrontation plan that Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah suggested” on Thursday.

Kataeb bloc MP Fadi al-Habre meanwhile described Jerusalem as “a city for all religions.”

“Holy sites belong to the world, as the Vatican has been reiterating since the beginning of the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Habre added, noting that “Lebanon's higher interest lies in stressing the right of the Palestinians to return home.”

He also warned that “recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel would undermine the peace process.”

MP Ghazi Aridi of the Progressive Socialist Party said politicians in the region should not have been “surprised” by Trump's decision, seeing as “it was taken some time ago and is not new.”

“It is part of a U.S.-Israeli strategy that Trump is implementing after having announced it during his electoral campaign,” Aridi added.

Congratulating the Lebanese government on “repairing its policy of dissociation from regional conflicts,” MP Butros Harb emphasized that “Lebanon, through its state and people, categorically rejects any proposal aimed at distancing it from the Arab-Israeli conflict.”

“This cause transcends its national and historic aspect because it is an ethical and humanitarian cause. Today's meeting reaffirms the meaning of dissociating Lebanon from regional conflicts and Lebanon's commitment to Arab consensus,” Harb added.

Lebanese Forces deputy chief MP George Adwan meanwhile slammed Trump's decision as “an insult to the sentiments of Muslims and Christians.”

“We reject and condemn this illegal decision and we call on our government to inform the U.S. administration of our rejection and condemnation of Trump's decision,” Adwan added.

Jamaa Islamiya MP Imad al-Hout meanwhile called for summoning U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard to the Foreign Ministry and for “boycotting her” until the U.S. administration “reverses its decision.”

MP Sethrida Geagea of the LF for her part called for “avoiding violence” in responding to Trump's move.

Violence would “represent a justification or a cover for passing this sinful decision,” she warned.

“What is needed is a Christian-Muslim humanitarian uprising transcending borders and continents, which would be able to block this decision and seriously push for peace on the basis of the two-state solution,” Geagea added.

Change and Reform bloc secretary MP Ibrahim Kanaan meanwhile underscored that “Jerusalem does not need words but rather actions.”

SourceNaharnet
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