Jumblat: Jamil Sayyed Forged a Map to Put Shabaa Farms in Lebanon
Druze leader Walid Jumblat has said a Lebanese army map dating back to 1962 showed the Shabaa Farms outside Lebanon's border.
Jumblat displayed the map before engineers belonging to the March 14 groups visiting him in his hometown of Mukhtara on Sunday.
He said that the Syrian-Lebanese security apparatuses had altered the maps by pushing the borderline to include the Shabaa Farms into the Lebanese territory. By doing so, the security apparatuses had given a reason for Hizbullah to continue its military activity against Israeli troops supposedly occupying Lebanese land, according to Jumblat.
This way, the Druze leader said, "Syria and Iran could extend their influence in Lebanon through the continuation of Hizbullah's role."
Jumblat blamed the imprisoned former security chief, Jamil Sayyed, for amending the borderline in a map made in 2001 putting the farms in Lebanon.
Sayyed, who served under Syria's defunct tutelage, is awaiting trial along with another three former security chiefs for their alleged role in the assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri.
The Progressive Socialist Party leader said that Hariri "was not convinced of the 2001 forged map and that is one of the reasons why he was assassinated."
Lebanon and Syria say the farms are Lebanese, and therefore, support Hizbullah's sporadic military attacks against Israeli troops stationed there. Israel and the United Nations, however, say the area belongs to Syria and its fate is linked to U.N. Resolution 242 that calls on Israel to pull out from Syria's Golan Heights.
Jumblat added that the 2001 map had kept Lebanon hostage of Syrian and Iranian interests.
Jumblat displayed the map before engineers belonging to the March 14 groups visiting him in his hometown of Mukhtara on Sunday.
He said that the Syrian-Lebanese security apparatuses had altered the maps by pushing the borderline to include the Shabaa Farms into the Lebanese territory. By doing so, the security apparatuses had given a reason for Hizbullah to continue its military activity against Israeli troops supposedly occupying Lebanese land, according to Jumblat.
This way, the Druze leader said, "Syria and Iran could extend their influence in Lebanon through the continuation of Hizbullah's role."
Jumblat blamed the imprisoned former security chief, Jamil Sayyed, for amending the borderline in a map made in 2001 putting the farms in Lebanon.
Sayyed, who served under Syria's defunct tutelage, is awaiting trial along with another three former security chiefs for their alleged role in the assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri.
The Progressive Socialist Party leader said that Hariri "was not convinced of the 2001 forged map and that is one of the reasons why he was assassinated."
Lebanon and Syria say the farms are Lebanese, and therefore, support Hizbullah's sporadic military attacks against Israeli troops stationed there. Israel and the United Nations, however, say the area belongs to Syria and its fate is linked to U.N. Resolution 242 that calls on Israel to pull out from Syria's Golan Heights.
Jumblat added that the 2001 map had kept Lebanon hostage of Syrian and Iranian interests.
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