BEIRUT, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri declared on Friday he would revive his Future Movement party and re-engage in elections, reversing a 2022 decision to quit politics, during a rally marking 20 years since his father Rafik Hariri's assassination

Speaking in Beirut's Martyrs' Square on the 20th anniversary of his father Rafik Hariri's assassination, Hariri positioned himself as a unifier. "We return not to repeat mistakes but to rebuild Lebanon with state authority, Arab partnerships, and peace," he said, endorsing President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's reform agenda.

Hariri, who previously served multiple terms as prime minister, had stepped away from politics citing "Iranian influence" and institutional collapse.

Now, he frames his return as a response to regional shifts, including Syria's 2024 leadership transition. He backed "Syria's stability through equal state relations" while accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of avoiding peace to maintain occupation.

He pledged support for UN Resolution 1701, which calls for Israel's withdrawal from occupied Lebanese villages, and urged Hezbollah strongholds to embrace state-led security. "Only the army can protect all Lebanese," he said.

The rally commemorated the 2005 truck bombing that killed Rafik Hariri, a prominent Sunni leader and former prime minister credited with rebuilding Lebanon after its 1975-1990 civil war.

A UN tribunal convicted a Hezbollah member in 2020 but found no evidence linking the group's leadership. Hezbollah rejected the ruling as politically motivated. Enditem

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