Fadlallah Accuses US of Terrorizing Nations, Thwarting Peace Process

Originally published in the Daily Star, Lebanon.

Senior Shiite Cleric Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah Courtesy: saidaonline.com

(BEIRUT) - Senior Shiite Cleric Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah accused the United States of terrorizing nations, preventing the peace process and working on destabilizing the region.

"The United States' unconditional support for Israel should not be an excuse for its intrusion in Lebanese domestic issues and should be firmly confronted," he said.

Fadlallah urged Lebanese leaders to refrain from serving foreign interests and unite in order to guarantee Lebanese people social and political security.

"The state should launch a development plan that undertakes social, economic and political reforms," he added.

Fadlallah added that the government must fight corruption and prevent the squandering of public money.

Separately, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir expressed his disappointment over the return of assassinations to Lebanon and hailed President Sleiman's call for dialogue.

Thousands of Lebanese, including politicians and Druze clerics turned out for the funeral of a Druze politician assassinated in a bomb blast this week.

The slaying of Sheik Saleh Aridi is the latest in a spate of political assassinations that have shaken Lebanon in recent years. It came just days before rival Lebanese sides were to start reconciliation talks next week.

About 5,000 people attended Friday's funeral in his village of Baysour in the Druze-populated hills east of Beirut.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani also denounced on Thursday the "terrorist crime" that killed Aridi and warned against a renewal of attacks targeting politicians, "who believe in a well-built state."

The mufti added in a statement that the crime aimed at "dealing a blow to civil order and unity of the Lebanese people" and urged security forces to intensify efforts in order to seize the offenders and preserve civil peace.

Meanwhile, the vice president of the Higher Shiite Council, Sheikh Abdel-Amir Qabalan urged politicians in a speech on Friday to refrain from setting obstacles in the face of efforts to reconcile Lebanese. He also accused Israeli intelligence services of involvement in the assassination of Aridi.

Qabalan asked political leaders "to forget about the past," stressing the need for politicians and civil society members to take part in the national dialogue in order to implement reforms that serve the interests of all Lebanese.

He also denounced excessive power cuts in Beirut's southern suburbs.

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