Der Spiegel Report Is an Israeli Accusation and Will Be Treated as Such
Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Monday denounced a report implicating his party in the killing of ex-premier Rafik Hariri as "very, very dangerous" and accused Israel of being behind it.
"The report in Der Spiegel is very, very, very dangerous," Nasrallah said in comments transmitted via video link to thousands of supporters massed in the southern suburbs.
"I consider the report in Der Spiegel an Israeli accusation that Hizbullah killed the martyr Rafik Hariri and we will deal with this claim as such," he said in a speech marking the ninth anniversary of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
He warned that the report was "more dangerous than Ain el-Rummaneh bus attack" which the Lebanese 15-year civil war.
"This is why we have to deal with it responsibly because it is an agenda to stir strife," he said.
"Israel has issued its verdict in the Hariri case," he said.
Germany”s Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday that the U.N. commission probing the Hariri murder had new evidence that Hizbullah special forces "planned and executed" the Beirut car bombing on February 14, 2005.
"Through this report they (the Israelis) are saying that if the international community does not punish Hizbullah then Israel will punish it along with its leader," he added.
Nasrallah said the report was clearly aimed at sowing discord between the country”s Sunnis and the Shiites.
"The Israelis and the Americans wondered how to scuttle the election and influence its outcome. Der Spiegel was their answer," Nasrallah said.
"Spiegel… and the Zionists are saying: “Oh Sunnis, those who killed your leader are the Shiites and more specifically Hizbullah," he said. "As such, your vengeance and your war should be directed at them."
He described the accusation as an "act of provocation against the Shiites."
Nasrallah singled out MP Walid Jumblat”s reaction to the report praising the Druze leader for his "audacity, courage and his reading into the dangers of the article."
The Hizbullah leader also reached out to the Druze community asking them to "beware of anyone who wants to present the Shiites as an enemy."
He also warned the Shiite sect against presenting the Druze "especially the Progressive Socialist Party as enemies."
"We are not enemies. The Israelis are the enemies who want this to happen between us.
"I would like to underline that since the establishment of Hizbullah, we have had good relations with our Druze brothers, not only in Mount Lebanon, but across Lebanon, with all their leaders and their religious authorities."
He said tensions between Shiites and Druze emerged "after certain speeches that assailed the resistance and its arms. Since then relations deteriorated to reach its most dangerous levels in May 2008. "
Nasrallah praised the role played by Minister Talal Arslan to "contain" the conflict and acknowledged Jumblat”s efforts to ease tensions and his positive input during the Doha conference.
He called for dialogue among all parties following the elections "regardless of the results" stressing that the homeland cannot be founded on "conflict and isolation."
"On behalf of Hizbullah and the Amal Movement, I assure our Druze brothers that we adhere to coexistence in Dahiyeh, Mount Lebanon, Rashayya, Bekaa, Hasbaya, Marjeyoun, Beirut and every other region as one people away from enmity," he said.
Nasrallah in his hour-long speech which was met with celebratory gunfire in Beirut also warned that Hizbullah along with the army would be on alert when Israel launches one of its biggest military maneuvers ever at the end of this month.
"No one will see us, no one will see our weapons, no one will know we”re there," he said. "If you are stupid enough to enter our land, we will destroy your troops and your army," addressing Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
He praised President Michel Suleiman for calling a meeting of the higher council for defense to discuss the maneuvers.
In his wide-ranging speech, Nasrallah sought to appease sentiments over recent remarks in which he described May 7, 2008 as a "glorious day" and accused opponents of taking the phrase out of context to stir tensions.
"My speech was partitioned and only that phrase was selected while all the questions I raised remained unanswered," he said.
He said that the May 7 events succeeded in foiling a plot to "turn Beirut into a war zone and drag it into street warfare that would have lasted for weeks. I have details of such a plan."
"But this does not mean that May 7 was not also a sad and painful day because of the victims, the material losses and the tension that it caused among the Lebanese," he said.
"Militias were being formed under the cover of security companies. Its members were trained in Arab countries that I will not name. Thousands of armed men were brought to Beirut which was not under any kind of threat," he said.
"I tell the people of Beirut to ask the leaders of al-Mustaqbal movement about these companies and about the thousands of armed men who were brought to the city from the Bekaa and the north."
Nasrallah said the plot reached its final stages on May 5 when the government decided to shut down an extensive telecommunications network run by Hizbullah during a marathon cabinet session. The decision came after authorities accused Hizbullah of installing surveillance cameras at the airport.
He said that Hizbullah on May 7 decided to "swiftly intervene to block the way for plans to cause a Sunni-Shiite war, prevent the resistance from being targeted and foil attempts to place Hizbullah in confrontation with the army."
He said the repercussions of May 7 were "far less dangerous than what was being prepared for Beirut as a result of May 5."
Nasrallah also praised MP Michel Aoun describing him as a "leader with a vision and a platform."
"He is an independent man par excellence. No embassy can influence him nor can anyone make him do anything that goes against his beliefs," he added.
"Aoun is loyal to Lebanon as a homeland and a unified state at the same time he is loyal to the role of Christians in the country. He also proved his loyalty during the July war although our alliance was only months old," Nasrallah said.
"When it comes to Hizbullah no one can take anything by force or through threats because we do not fear death, threats or intimidation. With loyalty you can take everything. It is the foundation of the alliance in the elections," he said.