In the Bekaa region, the Nasser al-Din clan held an iftar in honor of the leadership of the Amal Movement, represented by Representative Ghazi Zuaiter and the rest of the movement’s leaders. The event was held at sunset on Friday on the banks of the Orontes River in Hermel, in the presence of prominent figures such as the head of the movement’s executive body, Mustafa Al-Fouani, and the official in charge of the Bekaa region’s leadership, Asaad Jaafar, in addition to members of the leadership of the region, regions, and divisions, a number of muftis and clerics, directors of government and private hospitals, and activists and representatives of the Baalbek-Hermel clans.
During the celebration, Zuaiter stressed the importance of unity, solidarity, and rejecting differences, stressing loyalty and sincerity to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the face of the enemy, and he specifically mentioned the martyrs of the recent Israeli aggression that targeted the Bekaa territories. He also strongly denounced the repeated Israeli attacks on the south and the Bekaa, especially the recent attacks that brutally targeted civilian homes and housing units, resulting in innocent civilian casualties, including children.
Zuaiter called for strengthening the state’s sovereignty over its entire territory, stressing the necessity of having a state that respects the law and institutions, guarantees rights and duties, and is committed to justice and equality. He referred to Imam Sayyed Musa al-Sadr’s vision of building a final homeland that embraces all its people, considering that this project is still ongoing under the leadership of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Zuaiter stressed “remaining in the position of defending Lebanon’s sovereignty, freedom and independence,” noting that the government, according to its statement, is committed to the Taif Agreement, which calls for expelling the occupation and strengthening Lebanon’s sovereignty and right to defend itself. He added that the commitment to resistance is “a commitment of faith, as President Berri said, as long as the land is occupied,” along with the Lebanese army as long as Israel occupies and carries out its attacks in the south, the suburbs, and the Bekaa.
Regarding the electoral issue, Zuaiter stressed the necessity of holding the elections on the scheduled date of May 10 in accordance with the applicable law and without any postponement, considering this “a duty regardless of political opinions because it is the law.” He criticized the measures taken by the advisory body in the Ministry of Justice, describing them as “evasion of holding elections and political and constitutional heresy,” stressing that he would run for the election “with our people and our people in response to the call of the martyrs and sacrificers,” and considering that “the bets of those holding dollars to change the face of Lebanon, its constants, and its principles will fall as they fell before.”
Zuaiter called on all parties to engage in dialogue, and was surprised that dialogue was considered a “scarecrow.” He also addressed the issue of the Lebanese who were displaced from their properties in Syria, considering them “forgotten and displaced in their homeland,” and calling on the government to assume its responsibilities in providing justice to them. He likened what is happening today to what happened in southern Lebanon when Israel occupied property and lands in the seven villages.
He called on the Prime Minister to visit the region, especially the people displaced from their lands, to closely examine their conditions. He also touched on the issue of high prices, the rise in fuel prices, and the increase in the value-added tax to 12 percent, stressing that “the Amal Movement is in favor of fairness to workers and employees, but not through unfair decisions that burden citizens.”
One of the residents spoke demanding the approval of a general amnesty, similar to the settlement reached with the Syrian leadership that led to the release of 300 prisoners, and at the same time called for accelerating trials and justice for the detainees in accordance with legal procedures.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, Muhammad Nadim Nasser al-Din delivered a speech on behalf of the Nasser al-Din clan, in which he welcomed the leadership of the Amal Movement and Representative Ghazi Zuaiter.
