Syria is working hard to keep Egypt out of the political settlement process in Lebanon after the fall of Lebanon's Saad Hariri's government, former President of Lebanon Amine Gemayel has said. Gemayel held Syria responsible for the failure of Syrian-Saudi mediation efforts to resolve the disagreements between Lebanon's opposition and government over the international tribunal probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Gemayel said Syria is biased in favor of the opposition since Syria shares interests with Lebanon's opposition. He also said armed confrontations in Lebanon will likely follow the withdrawal of Hezbollah's government members and the subsequent collapse of the government, adding that the deployment of Hezbollah's soldiers on 18 January sent a clear message to the people to either choose Hezbollah's nominee or else risk wide-scale destruction in the country. In a reference to Hezbollah, Gemayel said, "This is a group that has used arms, pressure and threats to achieve its goals.” He went on, "And this group is supported by foreign powers that supply it with weapons and the capabilities needed to achieve its goals at the expense of the Lebanese regime." Gemayel said Hezbollah uses its arms to serve political ends, including internal political objectives, and not for resistance. Hezbollah's arms should have been abandoned following the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon in 2000 since they only serve to intimidate Lebanon's people, he added. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
