Israel Matzav

Going the way of his father?

Call me irrational, but I have this feeling that, like the Gemayels, deep down, Saad Hariri is a decent man who cares about his country, and who, in the absence of outside interference would make peace with Israel. But if he keeps saying things like this, he's not going to live long enough for us to find out.

"The weapons (of Hezbollah) are the cause of the problem in Lebanon. Hezbollah does not know what to do with its arms. It is our problem with Hezbollah and also it is a problem for Hezbollah," Hariri told a local television channel.

"What is it going to do with them? Is it going to continue pointing them at the Lebanese?" he said, speaking from Paris.

The group says it needed its weaponry to fight Israel, but in 2008 its supporters fought followers of Hariri, a Sunni Muslim, in sectarian clashes in which at least 81 people were killed.

I would not want to see Hariri killed, and I certainly admire the way in which he has continued to force the issue of his father's murder. But it seems to me that either he has to go into exile and fight from the outside (in which case he can say whatever he wants), or he should stay in Lebanon and work more quietly behind the scenes. Otherwise, he is likely to follow in his father's footsteps in a way that I'm sure he does not want.

Labels: Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbullah, Rafik al-Hariri, Saad Hariri, Special Tribunal for Lebanon

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:43 PM