Hezbollah slams Bush Middeast visit

Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah on Thursday slammed President George W. Bush’s visit to the region saying it was aimed at sowing discord among Arab and Muslim states and at undermining the rights of Palestinians.

“The aim of the visit is to put an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict at the expense of the historic rights of the Palestinians and to pit Arab states against each other or against their Moslem neighbours,” the movement said in a statement.

It added that Washington’s bid to rally support in the region for its policy against Iran was aimed at weakening Arab states and transforming the conflict into a wider regional or sectarian standoff.

“We urge Arab states to beware of the dangers of the American policy as concerns the future as well as the stability and security of the Arab and Islamic world,” the statement said.