Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, Vice President of the Supreme Islamic Shia Council, delivered the Friday sermon from the Council’s headquarters on Airport Road, where he called on the political authority to “stop the series of retreats in the face of the Israeli enemy and its supporters, and to stop making free concessions without any return.”
Al-Khatib also called on the government to “prioritize the liberation of the land, the return of the displaced, the start of the reconstruction process, and the liberation of the prisoners,” referring to “the Iraqi initiative to contribute to the reconstruction.”
At the beginning of the sermon, Al-Khatib congratulated the Lebanese, Christians and Muslims, on the occasion of the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ and Imam al-Baqir, saying: “We salute these occasions, and we hope that the world will emerge from the reality in which it lives, and that there will be a return to the sources of religion and morality.”
Al-Khatib addressed the current political situation, considering that “the end of a year and the beginning of another should bring hope for a new reality that erases the burdens of the past lean years on the political, security, military, social, and economic levels,” pointing out that the Lebanese “are suffering bitterly as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression against our people in various regions,” in light of “the Lebanese authority’s confusion without achieving the obvious achievements or setting a clear roadmap to extricate the country from its crisis.”
He continued, “One of the worst things that this authority has presented to us on the doors of the new year is its intention to move to confine weapons north of the Litani, according to what the Prime Minister stated, in a free initiative and without any return or price from the Israeli enemy, which is still insisting on occupying the land and continuing the aggression and inflicting killing, destruction, and devastation on our people, and the Zionist immorality has reached its peak without deterrence.”
He added: “This policy, to say the least, is a policy of surrender to the will of the enemy and its supporters, and disregard for the pain and daily suffering of our people, and a disregard for all the sacrifices made by our people over decades in defense of the land and honor,” asking: “What policy is based on concessions only? And what future do we expect if it continues?”
Al-Khatib added: “There is an impression that those who run the country are implementing what the Americans impose, and we are not facing a government that governs the country,” calling on the government to “review its position and stop the series of retreats,” and stressing that “the patience of our people is a sign of strength, not weakness.”
He stressed the need for the government to “prioritize the liberation of the land, the return of the displaced to their towns, the reconstruction of their destroyed homes, and work to liberate the prisoners held by the enemy,” considering that “there is no security or stability in Lebanon as long as the South is suffering,” which is the rule upon which the disappeared Imam Musa al-Sadr based his vision.
Al-Khatib also praised “the recent Iraqi position regarding its willingness to contribute to the reconstruction, and the decision of the Iraqi government to open a special office inside the Iraqi embassy in Beirut to follow up on the implementation of reconstruction projects in southern Lebanon, direct coordination with the concerned Lebanese authorities, and identify urgent priorities according to the actual needs on the ground.”
Al-Khatib concluded by saying: “As we bid farewell to one year and welcome another, we have mercy on our martyrs, and we sympathize with our wounded, displaced, and displaced people, and we ask God Almighty to strengthen their hearts with patience… and give good news to the patient.”
