Hizbullah fighter to be quizzed over helicopter shooting
Lebanon”s top military prosecutor will interrogate on Tuesday the Hizbullah member said to be responsible for the fatal shooting at a Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) helicopter, judiciary officials said Monday. Gunfire killed First Lieutenant Samer Hanna on August 28 as the LAF helicopter in which he was traveling touched down in Sejod, a region in South Lebanon with a wide Hizbullah support base. Hizbullah initially remained silent over what it referred to as a "tragic and painful" incident but was widely blamed on it by pro-government supporters.
The day after the shooting, Hizbullah handed the man responsible over to the Lebanese authorities and issued a statement saying it would "fully cooperate with our dear brethren in the Lebanese military and with the judiciary so that the truth is uncovered." The man, who has not been officially identified, is reported to be a 20-year-old from the Moqadem family who is part of a special Hizbullah combat unit, and fought against Israel during the 34-day war in the summer of 2006.
The fighter told investigators he thought the helicopter was Israeli and that "he did not notice the presence of a Lebanese flag or emblem." He did not alert his superiors, he added, "because he thought he was faced with an Israeli military airdrop."
UN Security Council Resolution 1701, issued to end the 2006 war with Israel, stipulated that there should be no armed groups present in South Lebanon other than the LAF and UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL. The attack on the helicopter took place outside the area of operations of UNIFIL.
The resolution also called for Lebanon”s territorial sovereignty to be respected. However, Israel”s warplanes routinely violate Lebanese airspace and its ground forces continue to occupy the Lebanese territories of northern Ghajar, the Shebaa Farms and the Kfar Shuba Hills.
While Lebanon”s national unity government issued a ministerial statement in August recognizing the right of Lebanese to use all means possible to "liberate" land occupied by Israel, Hizbullah”s possession of arms remains a highly divisive issue among the country”s political parties.
In a televised speech on Thursday, Hizbullah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed that his group would not lay down its arms "so long as Israeli threats persist."
"These weapons will remain because they are used for defense," Nasrallah said during an iftar hosted by the Hizbullah Support Committee.
The resistance leader also expressed his condolences to Hanna”s family. "I address the father of the martyr Samer Hanna and send you my deepest condolences," he said.