Lebanese MP Gebran Bassil has expressed concerns that southern Lebanon could be separated from the rest of the country by Israel’s moves. Bassil, head of the Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement party, spoke after Israel launched a limited ground incursion into Lebanon last week, following Hezbollah’s attack on Israel on March 2.
Israel has been carrying out strikes on Hezbollah, which has increased its rocket fire, with large barrages and salvos fired every day toward the Jewish state. Hezbollah also has long-range rockets, and it has aimed at many areas in Israel.
There are reports in Israel that is preparing for a widening operation that could take over areas south of the Litani.
Hezbollah has long used areas in southern Lebanon as bases from which to attack its neighbor. The terror organization also has bases in the Bekaa Valley, in the center of Lebanon.
The Lebanese government was supposed to disarm Hezbollah in the last year. However, the leaders in Lebanon have not acted, and Israel wants the group disarmed.
Al-Akhbar, a pro-Iranian website in Lebanon noted on March 19 that “the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil, expressed his concern about the separation of southern Litani from Lebanon, considering that ‘the Israelis realize that the missiles that are launched come from a distance of up to 160 kilometers, and therefore the security belt does not provide them with protection.’”
Bassil has been critical of Hezbollah over the last year. In 2024, Asharq Al-Awsat noted that “Free Patriotic Movement MP Gebran Bassil announced that his party was no longer in alliance with Hezbollah.”
The Free Patriotic Movement was founded by Michel Aoun in 1994. Bassil, who is Aoun’s son-in-law, has run the party since 2015. It is a Christian political party, but in the past, it was allied with Hezbollah. It has 13 seats in parliament.
The other major Christian party, Lebanese Forces, led by Samir Geagea, has 19 seats in parliament and opposes Hezbollah.
Bassil spoke in a television interview this week about what might be next in Lebanon.
Whenever the resistance [Hezbollah] in Lebanon shows resilience, Israel becomes more ferocious,” he said.
Bassil noted that “the duration of the war is unpredictable, especially since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy is based on war, and what’s more dangerous is that he is facing elections in October, which makes him unable to stop the machine that is extending his stay in the premiership.”
Now, Bassil has accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing, which is very dangerous.”
He has called on all Lebanese, “Christians and non-Christians, to stay in their land, as there can be no discrimination between the sons of one people.”
Bassil: Lebanon must stay neutral as Hezbollah drags it into war
Bassil said that “Lebanon must be kept neutral from the conflicts of the axes, because any connection to the wars of others will cost the Lebanese people dearly, especially since no one can guarantee the results of these wars.”
“Hezbollah did not slip into the war, but rather dragged the country into it, and since the war of support for Gaza, the decline began, while the victory remains relative,” he said. He went on to say that “there is no possibility of Iran defeating the United States or Hezbollah defeating Israel, but there is a possibility of resistance.
“If this resistance is used to liberate the land and join the state, then this is good, but if it is used to prioritize the party’s decision over the state’s, then this is not positive.”
Bassil also said, “Hezbollah must realize that its military presence is over, but it is a mistake to believe that its political presence can be eliminated.”
He referenced former Lebanese president Aoun, who has said it is better to fight abroad than at home.
“I condemn the threat of internal war, and I refuse to conceal the facts at a time when some are calling for Syrian intervention and hoping that Israel will complete what it is doing,” Bassil said, also referencing potential direct talks with Israel.
Such talks, he said, would be “mere formal negotiations, and it is better not to proceed with them without something in return, especially since Lebanon has negotiated with Israel seven times previously and the result has not changed… any negotiation that aims only to perpetuate the occupation is unacceptable.”
Bassil also discussed the possibility of Syria intervening in Lebanon. He expressed “concern” about the border situation, “especially since certain powers and countries are encouraging Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa to contribute to the disarmament of Hezbollah.”
The Free Patriotic Movement leader said that several dangers existed in Lebanon, noting, “whoever thinks that they might end Hezbollah is mistaken, as they strengthen its role.”
He claimed that a conspiracy is now pushing a “Sunni-Shia strife project.” Additionally, he noted that the “aggression” against the Emirates was “completely unacceptable.”
“There is an American agenda in the region,” he insisted, adding that “the war in the Middle East has an economic dimension that goes beyond Iran to China, given the understanding that whoever controls the waterways controls the global economy.”