Beirut barracks bomb preparer, Hariri assassination mastermind killed near Damascus
Israel may have been behind an explosion that killed Mustafa Badreddine, the Hezbullah commander who prepared the bombs for the US Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, and who is said to the mastermind of the assassination of Lebanese President Rafik al-Hariri in 2005, among other crimes. Badreddine was killed in a blast near the Damascus Airport a few days ago.
An initial report by Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV said that Badreddine,
55, died in an Israeli air strike. But a later statement by Hezbollah on
al-Manar's website did not mention Israel.
Israeli media reported that the government refused to comment on whether it was involved in Badreddine's death.
Israel has been accused by Hezbollah of killing a number of its fighters in Syria since the conflict began.
The
group was established in the wake of the Israeli occupation of Lebanon
in the early 1980s, and has called for the "obliteration" of Israel.
A number of Twitter accounts supporting Syrian rebel groups and the
al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front say Badreddine was killed in a battle
in Khan Touman, southern Aleppo, rather than in Damascus.
Khan
Touman was captured by a coalition of groups including al-Nusra Front
last week and has been subject to heavy shelling in recent days.
No official sources have commented on the reports.
Born
in 1961, Badreddine is believed to have been a senior figure in
Hezbollah's military wing. He was a cousin and brother-in-law of Imad
Mughniyeh, who was the military wing's chief until his assassination by
car bomb in Damascus in 2008.
According to one report,
a Hezbollah member interrogated by the Canadian Security Intelligence
Service (CSIS), described Badreddine as "more dangerous" than Mughniyeh,
who was "his teacher in terrorism".
They are alleged to have
worked together on the October 1983 bombing of the US Marine Corps
barracks in Beirut that killed 241 personnel.
Badreddine is
reported to have sat on Hezbollah's Shura Council and served as an
adviser to the group's overall leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Badreddine was tried in absentia by the ongoing Special Tribunal for Lebanon, in The Hague, over the killing of Mr Hariri.
Any of the armed groups seeking to overthrow Mr Assad might have
sought to kill the man co-ordinating Hezbollah military activities.
However, suspicion is likely to fall on Israel, which fought a war
against Hezbollah in 2006.
Israel has been accused of killing
several of the group's leaders over the years, although it has never
officially confirmed its involvement.
Hezbollah military chief
Imad Mughniyeh was killed in a car bombing in Damascus in 2008 that US
intelligence officials said last year was a joint operation by the CIA
and Israel's Mossad spy agency.
In January 2015, a suspected Israeli air strike in the Syrian Golan Heights killed six Hezbollah fighters, including Mughniyeh's son Jihad, and an Iranian Revolutionary Guards general.
And in December, Hezbollah said one of its senior figures, Samir Qantar, was killed when missiles fired by Israeli jets struck a block of flats in Damascus.
Israel
has also reportedly conducted air strikes aimed at preventing advanced
weapons shipments from Iran from reaching Hezbollah via Syria.
The 'no comment' is Israel's standard operating policy, but if Israel is involved in this, you can bet the Obama administration will make sure everyone knows about it.
The Israel Project's Omri Ceren provides more background by email.
Organizationally Badreddine was "dual hatted," per Matt Levitt, a Washington Institute director and the scholar who literally wrote the book on Badreddine [c]. He was both the head of Hezbollah's external global terror operations and the head of all Hezbollah activities in Syria [d].
Badreddine killed so many different people in so many different places that it's not actually clear if the Israelis were the ones who got him [e]. Under interrogation by Canadian security officials, a Hezbollah member once reportedly described Badreddine as "more dangerous" than his predecessor and cousin Imad Mughniyah [f]. He was unpopular even inside Hezbollah: Levitt tweeted he was "rash, hot tempered, impetuous, even unstable," and "was very close [to] Nasrallah, but widely disliked within Hezbollah," and was "a philandering playboy, not particularly religious" [g][h][i].
A couple of timelines: 1st, Badreddine's terror activities going back decades, 2nd, how the U.S. Treasury designated him as a terrorist starting in 2012, though last month
Badreddine terror activities timeline
1980s - In October 1983 he prepared the bombs for the Beirut barracks bombings, which killed 241 U.S. and 58 French servicemen. The targets were separate American and French buildings [j]. In December 1983 he was part of the Iran-backed cell that launched seven attacks in one day in Kuwait, killing 6 and wounding almost 90. The targets were the American embassy, a residential building for American company Raytheon, the French embassy, the Kuwaiti airport, the Kuwait National Petroleum Company oil rig, and a Kuwaiti power station [k].
1990s - He helped establish and then he coordinated Hezbollah Unit 1800, which facilitated terror attacks against Israel from the West Bank and Gaza [l].
2000s - He helped establish and the he coordinated Hezbollah Unit 3800, which launched attacks in Iraq against American, British, and Sunni forces [m]. In 2005 he masterminded Hariri's assassination in Lebanon, which killed Hariri and 21 others.
2010s - He's been coordinating all Hezbollah activities in Syria.
U.S. sanctions and designations timeline
2012 - Treasury designated Badreddine pursuant to E.O. 13224, labeling him a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" [n]. The Treasury notice cited him for "providing support to Hizballah’s terrorist activities in the Middle East and around the world," assessed that he was currently "Hizballah's top militant commander," and noted that "the prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon charged Mustafa Badr Al-Din with the attack... that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 21 others."
2015 - Treasury piled on more sanctions, this time pursuant to E.O. 13582 [o]. The Treasury note assessed he was "responsible for Hizballah's military operations in Syria since 2011," having sat with Nasrallah during meetings in Damascus throughout 2011 before expanding his role.
April 2016 - Treasury tagged him again, this time under the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015, making him subject to secondary sanctions [p].
Badreddine's assassination could lead to war between Israel and Hezbullah.
On Friday morning, Mohammed Shattah, an adviser to former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri - who was assassinated himself in 2005 - was assassinated in downtown Beirut.
MEMRI has posted video of the reaction during the morning television show of Future TV, whose studios are near the blast site. It's worth watching.
Let's go to the videotape.
Notice how she immediately assumes it was Israel's doing....
A powerful explosion has rocked downtown Beirut Friday, according to the Washington Post, shattering windows and killing an unknown number of people.
It has been confirmed that former Lebanese minister Mohammed Shattah, adviser to former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and
a staunch critic of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, was killed in the
blast. Hariri and 21 others were killed in a car bomb attack in Beirut
in February 2005 [pictured above. CiJ]; the attack was blamed on Hezbollah, and pushed
sectarian tensions in the country to the brink.
The Guardian notes that Shattah, 62, is the second senior
opposition figure to have been killed in the past 14 months. Figures
linked to the Hariris have a history of being killed off over at least
nine years, the news agency said.
The explosion was heard at about 9:40 a.m. emanating from just behind the Four Seasons hotel in the Lebanese capital. USA Today notes that the site was just a few hundred yards from important government and parliamentary buildings.
Reports now indicate that the explosion was from a car bomb. The
engine of the car carrying the bomb was flung about 50 meters, according
to the Wall Street Journal. Black smoke could be seen billowing from the area.
...
At least 5 people have been confirmed dead, with 15 injured; local
media reports describe dead bodies littering the bomb site. The Lebanese
Health Ministry has reportedly raised the number of injured to as high
as 70, according to the Los Angeles Times.
No terror group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Lebanese media outlet Al-Mayadeen, which is close to Hezbollah, reported that Shattah was the target of the attack.
In addition, several news outlets have pointed out that the attack
comes just hours after Shattah posted and anti-Hezbollah tweet. Shattah
was outspoken against the terror group, and its influence on the
Lebanese government, reports say.
Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri is blaming Hezbullah for the assassination.
"As far as we are concerned the suspects...are
those who are fleeing international justice and refusing to represent
themselves before the international tribunal," Hariri said, referring to
five Hezbollah suspects indicted for the 2005 killing of his father.
The trial of the five suspects is due to open in The Hague in January.
The suspects are all fugitives and Hezbollah, which denies any role in
the Hariri assassination, has refused to cooperate with the court which
it says is politically motivated.
...
A tweet posted on his Twitter account less than an hour before the
blast accused the Shi'ite movement of trying to take control of the
country.
#Hezbollah
is pressing hard to be granted similar powers in security &
foreign policy matters that Syria exercised in Lebanon for 15 yrs.
The
explosion sent shock waves among residents and emptied the streets in
downtown where people, seeking a respite from recent turmoil, had
ventured out to enjoy the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
...
Sources at the explosion site said Chatah was on his way to attend a
meeting at Hariri's headquarters when the explosion tore through his
car. Hariri himself has stayed away from Lebanon for more than two
years, fearing for his safety.
A Reuters witness at the scene said
his car was "totally destroyed, it is a wreck." Chatah's identity card,
torn and charred, was found inside his car.
Hezbullah will do anything - ANYTHING - to keep the truth about who killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri from coming out. The latest tactic is hacking the computers at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and publishing details of the witnesses before the Tribunal.
There is an ongoing United Nations Special Tribunal preparing
indictments related to the assassination, which is widely thought to
have involved the Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah and its Syrian
allies. The investigation was thrown into disarray last month when Al Akhbar,
a Hezbollah-linked newspaper, published confidential details of 17
witnesses likely slated to testify in any murder trial over Hariri’s
death. The details included names, passport pictures, dates of birth,
and places of employment. The U.N. blasted the publication, noting that
it put the witnesses’ lives at risk.
Now the names and photographs of more than 200 additional witnesses have been posted on the website of the pro-Hariri Al-Mustaqbal
newspaper, which claims that the information was posted by a hacker who
compromised the paper’s servers. Hezbollah websites promptly took the
list and republished it. The Tower has viewed the information and can confirm the details of the story, if not the accuracy of the personal information.
But Europe is still not ready to call Hezbullah a terror organization.
Lebanese Christian MP accuses Hezbullah in assassinations
Lebanese Christian MP Fadi al-Haber has accused Hezbullah of being behind the assassinations of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri and former Lebanese MP Gebran Ghassan Tueni, who was also the former editor of the an-Nahar daily newspaper.
Speaking to Kuwaiti daily al-Seyassah, al-Haber said that "all of the
assassination attempts that have taken place [in Lebanon] were
coordinated between Hezbollah and Syria."
"It's clear that Hezbollah was ordered to carry out a number of assassinations," al-Haber was quoted as saying.
Al-Haber
noted that last year, the UN special tribunal had indicted four
Hezbollah officials over Hariri's murder. Hezbollah has refused to hand
over the four men.
The Lebanese lawmaker also accused Hezbollah of
working with Iran to providing military support to Syrian president
Bashar Assad's forces.
Al-Haber added that cooperation between Hezbollah, Iran and Syria is not new.
Since
its inception, Hezbollah has been led by Iranian strategy, and there is
evidence that Iran and Hezbollah are providing military support for
Assad in Syria, al-Haber said.
The Lebanese MP's remarks come a
day after another Lebanese politician, Butros Harb, and members of
Tueni's family filed a lawsuit against two Syrian officers allegedly
implicated in Tueni's assassination. Harb has asked the UN Special
Tribunal for Lebanon to look into the matter.
Report: Mughniyeh killed Hariri without Nasrallah's knowledge
A report in France's Le Figaro claims that Hezbullah operative Imad Mighniyeh arranged the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri all by himself, and that Hezbullah chieftain Hassan Nasrallah didn't know about it.
The French daily claimed that the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 was planned by top Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh, without Nasrallah's knowledge.
Could it then be that Mugnhniyeh's assassination three years later was an inside job by people in Hezbullah who were angry with him over Hariri, and not, as everyone has assumed until now, an Israeli operation? Hmmm.
Lebanon denies knowing whereabouts of Hezbullah suspect
In an interview with Time Magazine, one of the four suspects in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri claimed that the Lebanese government knows exactly where he is if they want to come and get him. The Lebanese government denies that is the case. And Hariri's son, former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, is furious.
“Does Prime Minister Najib Mikati, with his team of ministers, in principle responsible for Lebanon’s adherence to the Special Tribunal [for Lebanon], want to listen to this interview and the announcement that came from the mouth of the accused about [authorities] not apprehending him despite knowledge of his whereabouts?” Hariri asked in a statement, according to his office.
In an interview published on the Time magazine website Thursday, one of the Hezbollah suspects who spoke on condition that his name and location not be revealed, said he was wrongfully accused in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and said Lebanese authorities had knowledge of his whereabouts but would not apprehend him.
Saad Hariri also made reference to President Michel Sleiman in his statement, asking: “Has President Michel Sleiman heard of this interview that Time magazine published with one of the accused and who is wanted by international justice in the case of the assassination of [former] Prime Minister Rafik Hariri?”
Hariri accused Lebanese officials of bowing down to Hezbollah’s demands.
“It appears, neither of these [officials], want to listen or read or see or even speak. The policy of … burying ones head in the sand towards everything that deals with Hezbollah and its influence on Cabinet’s decision … is prevalent and none of the authorities can oppose the views and will of the supreme leader of the Lebanese republic,” Hariri said, in an apparent reference to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah.
The only thing that's surprising here is that Hezbullah has not tried yet to kill Saad al-Hariri.
I hope he has better security than his father had.
It's apparently only in the German version (I can't find it in the English), but Der Spiegel is reporting that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is looking into connections between Iran and the four Hezbullah members STL has accused of murdering former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
The four men named in the indictment issued by the STL are members of Hizbullah and the tribunal is “following evidence that lead to Iran.”
The magazine said that the four suspects traveled to Iran in 2004 and during their stay, they went through military training in “Khomeini’s training camp” near the city of Qom.
It added: “The training supervisors built sets similar to the crime scene” of Hariri’s murder.
Der Spiegel said that “al-Quds brigades” that is considered the revolutionary guards right hand, supervised the entire operation.
“Syrian intelligence officials also participated” in the training, the magazine reported.
Hezbullah, Syria and Iran are essentially one. What could go wrong?
LebanonHezbullah tells STL they can't find the killers
The Hezbullah-dominated Lebanese government has told the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that it cannot find the four senior Hezbullah officials who have been indicted for the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in 2005.
Lebanon informed the U.N.-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri Tuesday that it has so far failed to arrest four Hezbollah members accused of involvement in the killing, a move that set the stage for their trial in absentia.
In the meantime, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel confirmed that police have carried out raids in various areas, including Hezbollah’s stronghold in Beirut’s southern suburbs, in search of the four party suspects.
“The Lebanese authorities reported to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on the measures that they have taken to search for, arrest and transfer those accused in the Feb. 14, 2005 attack,” the Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon said in a statement.
The statement said that Lebanese Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza submitted his report to the STL Tuesday in which he stated that “so far none of the four people who are accused have been detained.”
“The president of the STL, Judge Antonio Cassese, will now consider the report carefully and will in due course make a determination on the next steps,” the statement said. “Lebanon’s obligation under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1757 [is] to arrest, detain and transfer the accused continues,” it added.
The STL did not release any details of Mirza’s report, which came two days before a 30-day deadline set by the tribunal for the arrests to be made.
Of course, no one expected Lebanon to 'find' any of the four, but at least there is one small consequence to this:
Now that the four suspects have not been apprehended within 30 working days after the indictment’s release, the court will go public with the contents of arrest warrants. Lebanese authorities then have an additional 30 days to try and arrest suspects.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has released details of the indictments in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen ordered the lifting of confidentiality on the full names, aliases, biographical information, photographs and charges against the individuals named in the indictment, the tribunal said in a statement.
The four men named in the indictment are Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi, and Assad Hassan Sabra, the tribunal said.
The indictments were issued late last month but the identities of the accused were kept secret for a short period in order to allow the Lebanese government to investigate and arrest them.
The names released on Friday matched those reported by Beirut’s Daily Star newspaper upon the original issuing of the indictments last month.
All four of the suspects are linked to Hezbollah.
Interpol issued “red notices” for the four suspects earlier this month. The notices, which are not international arrest warrants, are a request that the wanted person be arrested with a view to extradition. The four Lebanese men who were named in an STL indictment last week are wanted for trial in the Netherlands, where the STL sits.
The Hezbollah-led Lebanese government has not made any arrests as a result of the indictments. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has repeatedly said the UN-backed Lebanon tribunal is under the influence of Israel and the US.
We all know that the odds of the Hezbullah-led Lebanese government arresting any of these suspects are slim to none. It's not going to happen. Will the World sanction the government of murderers? No, they're too busy with Israel.
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.
“I will now examine the indictment and the warrants to take the appropriate measures,” [State Prosecutor Saeed] Mirza told reporters following a meeting with a three-member delegation from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).
A judicial source told The Daily Star that the indictment identified the suspects as Mustafa Badreddine, Salim al-Ayyash, Hasan Aineysseh and Asad Sabra.
The STL delegation handed over to Mirza the sealed indictment and arrest warrants for the four suspects during a meeting held at Mirza's office at the Justice Palace in Beirut before midday Thursday.
Hezbollah has denied involvement in the Hariri assassination and has described accusations as an “Israeli-American project.”
Speaking to a local radio station during a break from talks at Baabda Palace, Minister of State of Administrative Affairs and Hezbollah member Mohammad Fneish said: “When we see the [STL] indictment, we will comment on it.”
Badreddine is a cousin and a brother-in-law of Hezbollah’s slain commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was assassinated in Syria in 2008. Badreddine eventually replaced Mughniyeh as Hezbollah’s chief operations officer.
According to the indictment, Badreddine masterminded and supervised the plot to assassinate the Lebanese statesman while, Ayyash, 48, is alleged to have headed the cell that carried out the assassination of Hariri.
Lebanon, according to experts, now has 30 days to serve out the arrest warrants. If the suspects are not arrested within that period, the STL will then make public the indictment and summon the suspects to appear before the court.
I cannot envision a Hezbullah-led government allowing these prosecutions to go through, but at least the world will know who did the dastardly deed and (maybe) Hezbullah will be forever excluded from participating in the international community.
Five Hezbullah terrorists to be indicted for Hariri murder
Five senior Hezbullah terrorists are to be indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for the 2005 murder of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Five high ranking Hezbollah officials are expected to be indicted in the next few days by the United Nations special tribunal investigating the assassination of Rafik Hariri, London-based Asharq Alawsat reported on Monday.
Once the indictments are released, the identities of the accused will be kept secret for a short period in order to allow the Lebanese government to investigate and arrest them, according to the report.
Initially, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) probing the murder of Rafik Hariri focused on Syria. Lately, indications suggest that the main focus is now on Hezbollah.
Tension is currently rising in Lebanon, amid reports that the STL is to issue indictments in the very near future. The tribunal is tasked with investigating the 2005 murder of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, which took place on February 14, 2005. The indictments were orginally expected to be issued by the end of 2010, but were postponed several times.
I doubt the current Hezbullah-dominated government is going to arrest Hezbullah officials, but now the rest of the world will know who done it.
Hezbullah looks to attack Western targets ahead of Hariri indictments
Intelligence sources indicate that Hezbullah is planning to attack Western targets ahead of the release of indictments by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
The report said the intention of such an attack is to divert global public opinion from the indictments expected to be issued by a special United Nations tribunal dealing with the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.
Lebanese officials and Western diplomats expect the court to accuse Hezbollah members of involvement in the assassination, a prospect Lebanese politicians fear could fuel further tensions.
The Lebanon tribunal, the world's first international court with jurisdiction over the crime of terrorism, was set up to try those accused over the 2005 bombing that killed Lebanese ex-prime minister Hariri and 22 others.
Israel's counter-terrorism bureau issued a similar warning on Wednesday, focusing on the Far East, Greece and Turkey.
And what are they doing about it in the United States? TSA is on the case.
Can Lebanon stop the Special Tribunal looking into the Hariri murder?
With the indictments for the murder of then-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri currently under review by pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen, Naharnet looks at the limited ability of whatever new Lebanese government takes power to legally stop the proceedings.
Western sources stressed that the Lebanese government did not have the authority to withdraw the judges from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that will prosecute ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's suspected assassins.
"The judges were appointed by the U.N. secretary-general. That's why the Lebanese government cannot withdraw them," the sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in remarks published Wednesday. "The judges could resign however," they said.
If Lebanon decides to stop funding the tribunal, then the issue would be discussed at the Security Council, the sources said.
They told the newspaper that funding was one of the major challenges facing the court and unveiled that the tribunal was seeking to find other channels in case Lebanon doesn't pay its dues by the end of April.
STL officials will meet with leaders of Gulf countries and will continue their consultations with American and European officials to convince them "to double their shares," according to the sources.
Turkey and Greece have already made commitments to provide funding to the court in the coming years, they said.
Asked about the arrest of suspects, the sources told al-Hayat: "The arrest of people in Lebanon goes back to the Lebanese government because the tribunal doesn't have its own police."
"A memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Interpol. So, If arrests were made, they (the suspects) would be brought to trial or else they would be tried in absentia," they said.
The sources stressed that people and not parties would be named in the indictment "because a crime is the responsibility of people."
So what will happen? Here are some of my thoughts.
First, although Hezbullah members will be indicted, they will never serve a day in jail.
Second, it won't matter. The point here isn't necessarily to punish the culprits (regardless of what's said above). The point is to expose to anyone willing to listen that Hezbullah is a ruthless terror organization.
Third, murdering judges to encourage their colleagues to resign (a tactic Hezbullah has used to deal with Lebanese MP's in the past) will not ameliorate Hezbullah's public relations problems.
Give Saad Hariri credit. He managed to stay alive and in power long enough to make sure the Tribunal is meaningful.
In a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati, Hezbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has rejected any reference to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the new government's ministerial statement (which sounds like what we would call a coalition agreement here in Israel).
[The pan-Arab daily al-Hayat said Sunday] that the premier-designate was informed of this decision during a meeting with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that was held away from the media spotlight about a week ago.
The meeting also tackled other issues related to the formation of the Cabinet, including the party's demand that some of its Sunni allies be represented in the government, a matter that Miqati has reservations over because he is seeking to avoid a dispute with Sunni politicians.
The sources said that Miqati is currently awaiting a reply from Hizbullah over a suggestion that the ministerial statement include a demand to achieve justice and uncover the sides behind the assassination of former Prime Minster Rafik Hariri.
"Nasrallah adamantly refused to include any phrase related to the STL, while Miqati's position stems from his adherence to the decisions reached during the 2006 national dialogue," they added.
His position also stems from the need to avoid western nations taking a negative stand towards the new government seeing as the ambassadors of these countries have repeatedly highlighted the importance of Lebanon respecting international resolutions and commitments.
Note the part that I highlighted. Doesn't it remind you of OJ Simpson's pledge to find the 'real killers'?
An Israeli official has said that a plan to withdraw from the Lebanese side of the occupied border village of Ghajar is now on hold due to recent changes in the region, including Lebanon.
"We don't want to give the Hizbullah government free gifts," the official in Jerusalem told Israel's Ynet news website, hinting that for the time being the plan to withdraw from the northern part of Ghajar has been frozen.
The Israeli security cabinet approved a plan to pull forces out from the Lebanese side of Ghajar around three months ago. Under the plan, Israeli troops were to withdraw from the area and leave it under UNIFIL's authority.
"The idea was to boost the moderates, not the extremists," the official said. "Today it's problematic to hand over Ghajar to the Hizbullah government. We are discussing the matter with the U.N. and UNIFIL. Back in December we couldn't have predicted the current instability and Hizbullah toppling the government."
"Nothing will happen before the Hariri report comes out," the Israeli official said in reference to the indictment that will eventually be made public by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
Nothing will happen after the Hariri report comes out either, because it's likely to precipitate a coup by Hezbullah. But then, that was foreseeable three months ago too.
I know that some of you are still wondering why Hezbullah cares about the results of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. Here's Lebanon expert Jonathan Spyer trying to explain.
With all the current maneuvering, two points need to be borne in mind.
First of all, this process is about Hizbullah’s legitimacy, not its physical power. What is at stake is the movement’s attempt to present itself as a patriotic, Arab movement engaged centrally in fighting Israel.
Should it be tainted with the murder of Hariri, the movement will instead come to be seen by millions across the Arab world as an alien, Shia force supported by non-Arab powers and engaging in activities that place it far outside the Arab political consensus.
Hizbullah dreads this outcome, and the possibility of it underlies its present obvious discomfort.
At the same time, what is not at stake is Hizbullah’s real-life dominance of Lebanon.
Whatever the outcome of the present crisis, the undeniable reality that the Iranian-sponsored Shia Islamist movement is the strongest force in the country will remain.
Hizbullah thus finds itself in the unfamiliar position of being without peer in terms of its physical strength, and yet unable to translate this reality at the present time into a situation to its liking politically.
The result is that the irresistible force of Saad Hariri’s (current) refusal to abandon the Tribunal tasked with finding his father’s killers is currently set against the immovable object of Hizbullah’s physical domination of the means of force in Lebanon.
What will be the outcome? As speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Nabih Berri put it in an interview with Asharq al-Awsat, Lebanon is currently entering “a tunnel whose beginning we know but whose end we don’t see.”
The weekend's events in Tunisia could only have increased Hezbullah's discomfort.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
