The political debate escalated between the “Free Patriotic Movement” and Hezbollah, following a harsh response issued by the movement, on Saturday, targeting the former MP and the party’s head of the resources and borders file, Nawaf al-Moussawi, against the backdrop of the latter’s statements in which he criticized the leader of the movement, Representative Gebran Bassil.
In a statement published on the “X” platform, the movement criticized Al-Moussawi’s style of commenting, calling on him to “adhere to the limits of politeness and decency in expression, and to listen carefully before launching wrong positions.” The movement stressed that Bassil’s positions “express all Lebanese and do not target a specific environment,” stressing that its president has always “honestly defended and embraced our people in the south, the Bekaa, and the suburbs.”
The statement indicated that the suffering of the current war affects all Lebanese, including the movement’s partisans and supporters, as a result of the repercussions of “a war into which all Lebanese were pushed outside of any Lebanese national interest,” considering that what Al-Moussawi issued reflects his hobby of “inciting strife and launching weak slogans.”
The movement considered that the campaigns against it and its president confirm the correctness of its approach based on “Lebanon’s self-interest outside of any focus,” pointing out that Al-Moussawi’s record “witnessed poor performance and behavior that harmed his party and the Lebanese, which put him in the position of a former representative.”
In a related context, the movement stopped at the second anniversary of the assassination of the former Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, remembering him “with great sadness,” and considering that his presence would have “saved his party and Lebanon from many mistakes.” The movement called on Hezbollah to avoid getting into “unjustified problems” with the Lebanese, which only lead to increasing its isolation and growing tension, reiterating its continued embrace of the party’s environment.
Nawaf Al-Moussawi had made statements on Al-Manar channel in which he responded to Bassil’s words about the party, describing it as “shameful.” He said in his criticism: “I am certain that no one likes this person in Lebanon. Only Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah tolerated him.” As a result, escalatory reactions continued between the two parties.
