Gemayel Criticizes Geagea: He Accepts Hizbullah in Cabinet but Rejects Kataeb

Kataeb party chief Sami Gemayel lashed out at Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and accused him of planning to exclude his party from a new cabinet lineup, An Nahar daily reported on Friday.

“Geagea does not mind to be with Hizbullah in a single government, but he does not want the participation of Kataeb,” said Gemayel.

Addressing Geagea, he asked: “Did not we vote in your favor in the presidential election?”

“We have always been in the target circle, it is not the first time we find ourselves in a difficult position and amid attempts to isolate us. Let them try and the public opinion shall judge the actions of all,” he went on to say.

On the latest presidential elections, Gemeyal welcomed the election of President Michel Aoun although he believes that the decision to end the vacuum was not totally Lebanese, he said: “The Kataeb party has voted for the constants that we believe in, contrary to others who abandoned theirs.

“The circumstances that engulfed the election of Aoun were moved through a foreign settlement,” Gemayel believes, as he remarked that “the regional player which has been obstructing the country all through the presidential vacuum period is the same player that helped reach this settlement.”

“A pre-agreed settlement is what brought Aoun president, while we adhered to our consistent positions and beliefs. Bargains do not equate with constants and principles,” he said.

Stressing that Iran was the “first winner” in the presidency election, he said: “Let us be honest with ourselves…This is what (Hizbullah leader) Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah wanted and he has won. Why have not they elected Aoun before all these years? We would have saved the bloodshed of Pierre Gemayel, Gebran Tueini, Antoine Ghanem and all other martyrs since 2005 until today.”

Lebanon