Hariri: Brital Clashes, Shebaa Blast Hinder State Efforts to Combat Terrorism

Mustaqbal Movement leader MP Saad Hariri condemned on Wednesday the silence over the recent clashes in the Bekaa region of Brital and the bombing of an Israeli patrol in the Shebaa Farms, wondering whether the “Lebanese people should turn a blind eye to Hizbullah's actions.”

He said in a statement that the party's “insistence to adopt such choices, whether they are arbitrary or serve foreign agendas, not only hinder national efforts to combat terrorism and extremism, but they raise questions over the violations of issues that enjoy national consensus.”

“It is unfortunate that some sides are maintaining their policy of burying their heads in the sand” instead of confronting Hizbullah, he continued.

“These sides are acknowledging that the party has the exclusive right to set up camps in Lebanon and wage wars without the consent of the state, government, and army,” said the former premier.

Moreover, Hariri questioned why the issue of holding negotiations or a prisoner swap with Islamists, who abducted Lebanese soldiers and policemen in the northeastern town of Arsal in August, would need unanimity at cabinet.

“There is a political camp in the government that deals with matters of war and peace as it sees fit and in accordance with its regional allies, without taking into account the consensus of the ministers, state, and legitimate authorities,” he lamented.

“During this critical time, we are not seeking to nitpick at any political error committed by another camp or party, but we believe that Lebanon needs policies that unite the factions, not divide them,” he noted.

“We should unite our efforts under the authority of the state and its institutions in order to protect it and thwart terrorism,” he added.

This cannot be achieved however because some sides are placing their petty interests above national ones, he noted.

“They are deliberately violating national consensus and luring the army and official state security forces in missions that are orchestrated by Hizbullah's operations rooms,” remarked Hariri.

“The basics of national partnership require us to once again make the call for a national awakening that would stop Lebanon's involvement in other people's wars,” he said.

“This awakening is not possible without the participation of all sides, starting with Hizbullah, which is violating national consensus and attempting to force others to cover up for its actions,” he stated.

“Exploiting Lebanon's border in order to deliver security and military messages is a step towards the unknown that does not offer Lebanon any strength,” he said.

“It is time to become aware of the dangers of such developments and to exert efforts on all fronts to protect the state from complete vacuum,” explained Hariri.

This requires the election of a president as soon as possible and “pave the way for a new phase of national commitment” that will place the state's authority over all else.

Two Israeli soldiers were wounded on Tuesday in a bombing that targeted an army patrol in the Shebaa Farms in the South.

Hizbullah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation against Israel's assassination of a party military expert as he was dismantling an Israeli spy device in September.

Eight Hizbullah fighters were killed over the weekend in clashes with al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front jihadists in the eastern Bekaa region of Brital.

Al-Nusra Front on Sunday launched an assault against a Hizbullah post in Brital's outskirts, which sparked a major confrontation with the group along the entire Eastern Mountain Range.

Hizbullah said that dozens of militants were killed in the fighting.

M.T.

H.K.