Hussain Abdul-Hussain
Daily Star staff

Former President Amin Gemayel made a pitch Tuesday for national unity as the only way for Lebanon to face its current challenges, particularly the threat posed by Israel.
Gemayel’s comments came after his visit to the prominent Shiite cleric, Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, in Haret Hreik.
Gemayel, who Sunday announced the founding of a “reform movement” to topple the the Phalange Party leadership, was accompanied by former party figures Joseph Abi Khalil and Joseph Hashem, a former telecommunications minister.
“Unity allowed us to liberate the South from the Israeli occupation. In the same manner, unity should allow us to complete this victory by liberating Lebanese citizens,” Gemayel told reporters after the meeting.
He said that discussions with Fadlallah had an “ideological and intellectual nature” and denied that the talks touched on local political issues in light of the launching of his reform movement.
“During this visit, we ignored all the political noise that we hear at the national level while putting matters into a broader and a more humane perspective,” Gemayel said.
The former president added that if all Lebanese took Fadlallah’s views, which he said were based on “spiritual and humane principles, into consideration, we would have spared our country a lot of trouble.”
For his part, Fadlallah said that dealing with “the confrontation with Israel over its operations in Lebanon and the region” should be the country’s top political priority.
Fadlallah described Israel’s plans “as strategic and not coincidental,” calling on the Lebanese to put aside their differences in order to the threat.
The Shiite cleric  said politicians must choose their words carefully during difficult political and economic situations, warning that the specter of sectarianism may grow into “a beast that will swallow up all patriotic slogans.”

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