Lebanese Move Against Hezbollah
Top Lebanese leaders have joined forces to block the advance of Islamic militants in this politically and religiously fragmented nation, promising to stabilize the country by steering a moderate course.
The first political alliance to publicly challenge the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement faces its first contests in parliamentary elections that began Sunday.
The alliance’s criticism of Hezbollah’s guerrilla war against the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon is sure to win favor with the United States.
“There is no way we can cooperate with extremists. They have their platform and we have ours and they are far apart,” Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said Tuesday.
Hariri, a Sunni Muslim billionaire, is a leader of the alliance, along with National Assembly Speaker Nabih Berri, a Shiite Muslim, and Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.
Leaders of the coalition say they are bent on defeating Hezbollah in the phased parliamentary elections, to be completed over the next four Sundays.
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