Bassil offers condolences in Dahieh after missing Nasrallah's funeral
Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil on Tuesday visited Beirut’s southern suburbs to offer condolences to Hezbollah over the death of slain leaders Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Sayyed Hashem Safieddine.
A Hezbollah official had criticized Bassil for not attending Nasrallah’s massive funeral in Beirut on Sunday, although the FPM was represented by six of its MPs.
“He should have been among the first attendees,” Hezbollah politburo member Ghaleb Abou Zeinab said.
“I’m speaking in personal capacity. I was surprised that he was not present at the funeral, seeing as I know what Sayyed Hassan had done as part of the relation with the FPM and for its sake. I might understand the matter as political calculations, but not at the personal level,” Abou Zeinab added.
FPM official Michel Abou Najem hot back at Abou Zeinab, saying Bassil was present at the funeral “through the parliamentary delegation that represented (former) President General Michel Aoun and the FPM’s chief.”
“He was there through his statement, national stances and loyalty, but where were those who should have been loyal, during the national and political junctures that you know and that we know?” Abou Najem added.
A Hezbollah delegation had visited Bassil and handed him an invitation to the funeral.
Speaker Nabih Berri and Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh were the only senior political leaders at the event.
U.S. Republican Representative Joe Wilson had criticized Lebanese politicians who would attend the funeral.
"Any Lebanese politician who attends the funeral of the murderous terrorist Hasan Nasrallah is standing with the Iranian Regime," Wilson said on X.
Source: Naharnet
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