Lebanon’s Aun stresses importance of preserving Jerusalem in meeting with Hamas leader
Beirut: Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Friday reaffirmed his country’s position on the Palestinian issue during a meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’ political bureau.
Aun expressed “the right of the Palestinian people to establish their own independent state over all their national territories, with Jerusalem as their capital” and stressed the right of Palestinian refugees to return home.
“Palestinian resistance to occupation is not terrorism,” Aun said, “no one can imagine Jerusalem without the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and other holy sites,” and “stressed the need to preserve Jerusalem, where Christianity, Islam and Judaism meet.”
After the meeting, Haniyeh said: “The occupation of Israel does not differentiate between a Muslim and a Christian in Palestine, especially in Jerusalem.
“Hamas stands in solidarity with Lebanon and condemns the Israeli enemy’s attempt to steal from Lebanon’s marine resources.”
He said he wished Lebanon “security, stability and greater solidarity”.
Haniyeh’s visit to Lebanon is his third visit in two years and coincides with World Refugee Day. On his first visit, he said: “Our missiles will be launched from our land (targeting Israel) and we will not include Lebanon.”
Rafat Murrah, a Hamas official, said Haniyeh’s visit to Beirut “highlights the need to address the Palestinian refugee crisis in Lebanon.”
Haniyeh’s office said one of the aims of the visit was to “address the Palestinian cause in Lebanon and the reality of Palestinian refugees” as well as “consult and cooperate with officials from Palestinian factions that serve the Palestinian cause.”
A Palestine Liberation Organization official in Lebanon, who chose to remain anonymous, told Arab News that “the PLO and Fatah are not involved in Haniyeh’s visit to Lebanon. The visit is part of a special program between Hamas and Hezbollah.”
During his time in Lebanon, Haniyeh also met with Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdel Latif Derian and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah said that “Haniyah and Nasrallah underlined the importance of cooperation between the axis of resistance for the fulfillment of the central goal, which concerns Jerusalem, the holy sites and the Palestinian cause.”
The PLO official said Hezbollah was “trying to resolve the problems between Hamas and the Syrian regime.”
Asked about Hamas’ declaration that Haniyeh’s visit to Lebanon was related to the Palestinian refugee camps, he said that the refugees had their own right – the PLO – and that Lebanon recognized the independent state of Palestine and all issues facing the camps. tackles to address it. ,