The Fatal Encounter

Hadi Wahab

"On March 27, 1976, while the civil war raged in Lebanon, a meeting took place that is perhaps the most famous in the history of the war. A closed eight-hour session brought together Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, who had intervened with his forces in Lebanon to support right-wing parties against the Palestine Liberation Organization, and Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the National Movement allied with the organization. The details of that session remained secret, and only a few of its main points were leaked over the subsequent years.

On March 16, 1977, the Druze leader was assassinated near a Syrian army checkpoint, which was part of the Arab Deterrent Force.

On September 30, the Taif Agreement consecrated the end of the civil war, and in 1992, national reconciliation took place among all parties that participated in the war, including parties and sects, and a new chapter of coexistence began in Lebanon.

On December 8, 2024, the Syrian regime fell.

Then, in 2025, the killer who eliminated Kamal Jumblatt at the behest of the regime at the time was found.

Now that the accusation has been proven, the publication of the minutes of this session, which would not have appeared had it not been for the fall of the regime, the storming of administrations, and the exposure of secret documents, seems highly important for what it reveals about the antagonism and sharpness that overshadowed that charged session between the two men.

The text is in colloquial Arabic, as we chose to publish it as is in compliance with professionalism and credibility, but the conversation is clear, the words are clear, and what is clearer is what was not said...

Prepared and presented by: Hadi Wahab – a Lebanese researcher with a Ph.D. from the University of Exeter in Britain, author of the book

"From a Balcony in Jahiliyya: Blood, Love, and Sectarianism in Mount Lebanon"
and

In addition to several scientific articles on sectarian identities and the relationship of minorities with terrorism during the Syrian war."