Hariri will Resort to Alternate Option if Dead End is reached
Lebanese Forces MP Antoine Zahra told New TV on Thursday that Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will resort to other options if he reaches a dead end regarding the cabinet formation. “Hariri is keen on having everyone take part in the cabinet, but he is keener on the progress achieved on the state building project.”
Zahra also said that his party will object to the Ministerial Statement if it were not first discussed with all parties, stressing that the LF will request the next cabinet to fully commit to international resolutions.
He also said that the opposition exploited Hariri’s good intentions and set impossible conditions, which would lead to annulling the parliamentary election results.
He highlighted that Marada Movement leader MP Sleiman Franjieh’s effort to facilitate the cabinet formation is “the only change in Syria’s approach” toward Lebanon. “The first concession was given by the opposition was made by Franjieh, while the rest were made by the majority,” he said.
“If Hezbollah and the Amal Movement had not linked their participation in the cabinet with Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun’s approval of the government, then he would not have been able to set any obstacle to impede the cabinet formation.”
He also said that the Justice Ministry cannot be granted to a party that does not wish to facilitate the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), a reference to the FPM, adding that obstructing the STL could take place by blocking executive procedures as well as the court’s funding.
Zahra commented on Tuesday’s exchange of fire between Lebanon and Israel, saying, “In spite of having 25,000 UNIFIL members in the South and UN Security Council Resolution 1701, we do not see in the South anything but Hezbollah’s [military] capabilities and Israel’s violations.”
He called on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and UNIFIL shoulder their responsibilities, adding that they fell short of performing their duties, “because a similar incident could have been disastrous for Lebanon.”