WikiLeaks: Hamadeh Says Elias Murr Playing on Both Sides of the Fence, Trying to Save Himself Politically

MP Marwan Hamadeh accused Defense Minister Elias Murr of “playing on both sides of the fence” in the political divide on Lebanon, said a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar on Friday.

He said in the August 1, 2006, WikiLeaks cable that Murr believed that Hizbullah would be victorious in a Lebanese civil war and “he is trying to save himself politically on the internal scene that would be established after a war.”

Hamadeh also revealed that then Prime Minister Fouad Saniora was upset with Murr over his criticism of his seven-point plan aimed at ending the July 2006 war.

Addressing the war, Hamadeh, who was then the telecommunications minister, said that resolving the issue of the Israeli-occupied Shabaa Farms would “remove the most important element in Hizbullah’s propaganda campaign” that justifies its ongoing possession of arms.

As long as the issue of the Shabaa Farms is not settled, “then Lebanon will remain Syria and Hizbullah’s hostage, he stressed.