Lebanese Official Urges Expatriates in US to Form Group to Face Pro-Israel Lobby

Published August 16th, 2001 - 02:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday called on Lebanese emigrants in the United States to unite to defend Arab rights by establishing a lobby “to confront the Zionist lobby which draws up the foreign policy" of the US. 

Berri’s remarks came in a speech during a ceremony to honor Lebanese emigrants organized by the foreign relations bureau of the Amal movement, which Berri heads, according to the official Kuwaiti news agency, KUNA. 

Several ministers and Parliament members attended the ceremony. The speaker said that Lebanon, which liberated its lands after 22 years of Israeli occupation, was being “economically punished and there is no one supporting it but Syria.”  

"Syria has been committed to boosting peace and to Lebanon’s national unity… It supported the Lebanese resistance along with Iran and some Arab states,” he added.  

Berri expressed support for the continuation of the resistance in south Lebanon until the Shabaa farms and Kafr Shuba heights were liberated.  

For his part, foreign and émigrés minister, Mahmoud Hammoud, who deputized for the Prime Minister Rafiq Al Hariri at the ceremony, pointed out that Lebanon was obliged to complete the liberation and carry out many development projects, stressing the emigrants' role in this framework, according to the agency. 

Israel is struggling to deal with the legacy of decades of civil war, as well as an Israeli invasion that left behind countless orphans, minefields and ruined infrastructure – Albawaba.com 

© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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