BEIRUT: The Future bloc’s condemnation of Hezbollah reached a peak Tuesday, as the bloc expressed its severe discontent with the party for continuing to allow celebratory gunfire that it says stokes sectarian tensions in Lebanon.
In a statement released after their weekly meeting, the bloc slammed shots fired into the air in Beirut during a highly anticipated speech by party chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah last week, saying that the capital was transformed into a “city of fear.”
The bloc noted that heavy gunfire was part of Hezbollah’s routine “display of force” that aims to intimidate and terrorize the Lebanese. “Hezbollah could stop [celebratory gunfire] if it wanted to,” the statement read.
“It contradicts the mission of ongoing dialogue between Hezbollah and the Future Movement with regard to reducing sectarian tensions."
Automatic weapons could be heard firing in many parts of Beirut both before and after the roughly 90-minute afternoon speech delivered by Nasrallah. Celebratory gunfire of some sort is a staple of Nasrallah speeches, but his supporters kicked it up a notch Friday, with the sounds of small blasts believed to be from rocket-propelled grenades echoing across the city.
The bloc also denounced Nasrallah’s speech as “unilateral and hasty,” saying it eliminates the will of the Lebanese people who are committed to U.N Resolution 1701 that ended the summer 2006 war.
Nasrallah spoke as part of a ceremony to honor six Hezbollah fighters killed during the Jan. 18, Israeli airstrike in Syria’s Qunaitra, taking the opportunity to announce that the rules of engagement between the resistance and Israel had ended.
The Future bloc also condemned a Damascus bus blast that killed six Shiite pilgrims Sunday, saying that this “dark and blind terrorism” urges all political parties to consider the reasons behind the continuous reoccurrence of these attacks. The bloc also said that the incident should prompt questions about the buildup of sectarian tensions and extremism in the country.
The bloc's remarks were a silent allusion to the fact that they believe Hezbollah’s role fighting alongside the regime in Syria has sparked this wave of terror attacks - a position the party has repeatedly adopted throughout the four-year conflict next door.
The bloc also said it rejected what it called Iran's ambition of “transforming Lebanon into an arena of confrontation with Israel,” adding that the move only benefitted the Islamic Republic and had no relation to Lebanese or Palestinian interests.
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