January 27, 2026
Former President of the Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, strongly attacked the speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, describing it as “irresponsible, irresponsible, irresponsible,” warning of its dangerous repercussions for Lebanon in light of the tense regional circumstances.
In a statement to the newspaper “L’Orient Le Jour,” Jumblatt said: “I do not know why he wants to drag part of the Shiites and Lebanon into war,” considering that the speech issued by Qassem “provokes the Israelis,” and constitutes an uncalculated escalation at a delicate moment that the country is going through.
Jumblatt added that this position “undermines the plan drawn up by the government for the army’s work in southern Lebanon,” noting that this plan had achieved notable progress on the ground, as part of official efforts to control the security situation and prevent a slide into a broader confrontation.
Naeem Qassem had confirmed in a speech he delivered the previous day that his party was “concerned with the necessity of confronting the American threat” to Iran, stressing that Hezbollah was “not neutral” in any conflict affecting the party that sponsors it regionally, in a position that sparked a widespread wave of internal political criticism.
Jumblatt’s positions reflect the escalation of concern among several political forces about the possibility of Lebanon being once again involved in regional conflicts, at a time when the Lebanese state affirms its adherence to the exclusivity of security and military decisions, and the army’s continued role in maintaining stability and preventing the explosion of the southern front.
